Across Huenya, the majority of people celebrated the country’s Independence Day January 26th amid a strong security presence. In both rural areas and communities of all sizes, Independence Day celebrations were being held. The largest celebrations occurred in regional capitals and in the national capital, Chuaztlapoc.
In the Necatli capital Acalan, the Necatli tlahtoāni Macochu reaffirmed his people’s commitment to the Huenyan state. He praised the recent crackdown on the radical group Tlamiquiliztli Cihuatlampa, and pointed to improving economic and security indicators as evidence that his people were better off as part of a united Huenyan state. “We once, in ancient times, tried to stand alone against conquest and tyranny. We could not do so in the end alone. Today, as part of a Federation of peoples united by culture, heritage and a shared cause of freedom, we have found the strength needed to stand against the darkness. And we will continue to do so,” he told a crowd of people celebrating the holiday.
In the Tepiltzin capital of Oacalco, the Teplitzin tlahtoāni Cusuyo also praised the progress that his region has made recovering from the Second Xiomeran Civil War and pledged more to come. “Our former oppressors tried to destroy us at the end of the war. They failed. Our people and our land are well on the road to the brighter future they deserve, with our fellow neighbors and with the rest of the world. We cannot and will not be held back now.”
In the Itotemoc capital of Ixtenco, Huenya’s largest city, the Itotemoc tlahtoāni Sirua urged both her people, and Huenyans as a whole, to keep working to “make sure that the Huenyan experiment in freedom” succeeds. “Our former rulers in the Xiomeran Empire have said, ever since we gained our independence, that we were doomed to fail. They say that Huenyans were never meant to rule themselves. They claim that they are the ones at the rightful top of a pyramid of power where we, by everything both scientific and holy alike, were meant to be ruled at the bottom. The Huenyan Federation is the first free and democratic state to ever exist on the Huenyan subcontinent. We are, by definition, a great experiment to see if the Xiomeran Empire was right about us, or not. Every day that Huenya exists, and that Huenyans are free, is more proof that they were wrong. Let us fight harder and work harder every single day to prove to our friends and enemies alike that Huenyans both deserve to be free, and can remain free.”
In Calanochti, the capital of the Xiomeran Autonomous Homeland, cihuātlahtoāni Yauhmi praised ethnic Xiomerans who have remained loyal to the Huenyan state by saying that “history will prove and remember that we were on the right side of it.”
“When Huenya came into existence as a free state, we Xiomerans had a choice. We could either fight it, or join in the great work that both our faith and the facts called us to. It is the destiny of all of the peoples of Huenya to unite as equals and build a homeland for all of us, one that will redefine what greatness really is on our subcontinent. This is what our gods and goddesses demand. This is what our faith demands,” Yauhmi said. “But more importantly, this is what justice demands. This is what our moral values and our hearts demand. And this is what shall be. We will reject the mistaken ways of our past and we will create a future we can all be proud of. This will be a future where the sons and daughters of Huenya, united beyond arbitrary divisions, will stand together as a single people united under the sun.”
While the celebrations in the regional capitals drew large crowds, none were larger than the one in the national capital Chuaztlapoc. At the center of the Green Zone, wracked by the terror attacks of the Golden Blade a year ago, President Xiadani gave a speech that was both triumphant and challenging amidst the backdrop of a rebuilt and restored capital. The President praised the Huenyan peoples’ determination to fight for their newly emerging nation against all odds. “The past few years have been extremely difficult for both Huenyans as people, and for our country as a whole. But we have stood steadfast and strong throughout all of the challenges and struggles we have faced.”
“Today, Huenya reaches its fourth year as an independent nation. We haven’t reached that milestone alone,” the President said. She then thanked the nations that have supported Huenya with economic and military assistance. “Our friends and allies see past the Huenya that exists today, to the Huenya that can be. They see a nation that, if given the chance, can become a pillar in the society of free and democratic countries. It is now up to us as Huenyans to have that same faith, to see ourselves as that nation. It is up to us to transform the Huenyan subcontinent from the domain of tyranny and oppression it was for six centuries into a bright beacon of freedom that will light up all of Caxcana. And no matter who opposes or tries to stop us, Huenya will fulfill that vision. Huenya will never fall, we shall only continue to rise.”
The President also reaffirmed, in her strongest language yet, that the official position of the Huenyan government remains that of reunification. “The people of Xiomera do not deserve to suffer under the rule of cruel despots and oligarchs any more than the people of the rest of Huenya did. One day, the blue banner of the Huenyan Federation, and the freedom that it stands for, will wave over this entire subcontinent. On that day, all Huenyans will be liberated, and united, as we fulfill our destiny.” Her statement was received most eagerly by members of her Unification Party, who have been the strongest advocates for the idea of cemēlle, the Huenyan word for “unity” which has become a byword for reunification.
As the official speeches, military displays and parades ended and night fell, the celebrations in most of Huenya took on more of the aspect of a festival. Fireworks displays, musical and dance performances, and street parties helped Huenyans finish their Independence Day in an exuberant expression of national pride. “We’re all just happy that we can be out here having fun and celebrating,” Tlaxahual, a street vendor at the celebration in downtown Ixtenco, said. “The terrorists are being defeated, things are getting better. I think most people believe that we’re going to make it, that Huenya is going to make it. That’s worth celebrating.”
