Coronation's Vigil of Honour

On one side of the palace walls, boxes of honours had been lain on tables, from the new ruler's to the Telbun's, to Rembrandt's Memorial Honour Box, competing quite rightly for being the rarest most precious collection of items with the actual regalia, so much platinum and so many emeralds having gone into its construction. This addition to the tradition only came into effect when actual military officers, commissioned or not, were present. That the reforms from Amarat's predecessor had favoured the replacement of aristocrats with a background in law with military officers shone in that the palace wall was barely long enough for the tables.
  Rembrandt's memorial was not there for any particular officer, but stood in for the fallen soldier, as it did any time Rembrandt's medal was present in any of the honour boxes, when it did not, an empty space was left, instead. Officers who had fallen during the preceding Meihomei's reign's boxes were also present, in abbreviated form, on the other side of the palace gate. That there was enough for more than one table spoke to the length of the reign of the preceding Meihomei, and the quality of her advisors... When the common people would be allowed to file in and view the tables, over the next week and under heavy guard, many would wonder at how so much emerald on black velvet there was.