Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bells in Earta Square's Clock Tower rang twenty-seven times in all. At the start of every celebration in South County, the great bell was rung twenty-seven times to commemorate the original Twenty-Seven Heroes.
And because those heroes had lived in different ages, the twenty-seven tolls did not ring out in a continuous sequence, but in three groups.
The first three represented the Hero of the Sword, the Hero of the Shield, and the Hero of the Staff, who had wrested a homeland for humanity from the Great Dragons, elves, orcs, dwarves, and other races during the golden age.
The next nineteen represented the nineteen heroes who had stepped forward for humanity during the Mist War in the age of the Empire.
The final five represented the five heroes of the Sacred Empire's "missing century."
People today firmly believed in the existence of the first twenty-two heroes.
But because records were lacking, people now questioned whether the five heroes of the holy age had really existed.
Still, the ancient custom had been preserved.
As the bells echoed, the Count of South Los's Chief Swordsman stood on the raised platform on his behalf and read out the ceremonial address-
"When the storm comes, hold fast to the ropes in your hands!
When the waves tower high, hold fast to the oars in your hands!
I shall give you courage and my promise..."
Given the Count of South Los's habit of keeping to himself, he had once again failed to appear at the Swordsmanship Tournament.
In fact, it was not just the Swordsmanship Tournament. Even at the Peace Festival and Storm's End Day among South County's four regular festivals, the count rarely appeared.
His last appearance had been on Storm's End Day three years ago.
But even without the