squiring ♔ the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Alexander Karamazov, Mars Dacey, Adam Weiss, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || March Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || April 1st, 2014, 6:00PM
HOW || Actionspam

The impressively large Great Hall of the castle could easily pass as a royal throne room, with its length and the red carpet leading up to a set of steps. However, there is no throne set at the top of them, and the Hall is wide enough to accommodate hundreds of Knights. And indeed, several hundred Knights stand in ranks on either side of the wide stretch of red, each wearing the traditional set of ceremonial armor in their possession.

The newest squires have been fitted to his armor after meeting with Wynn, and it's traditional for them to appear for the first time before the Knighthood wearing it. They are assured that only a very small number of the Knights make use of their armor for other circumstances, but it does create an intimidating sense of unity as they stand shoulder to shoulder in rank and file to receive their newest pledges.

They enter together, with a flair of orchestral music that fills the hall with as much pomp as possible. It's a lot like that last scene in A New Hope. Yeah, you thought I was going to get through an entire post being all serious, didn't you.

At the top of the steps, Wynn waits, wearing a sword on his belt that canny eyes† might recognize as familiar.

It's one hell of a long walk past all those staring, curious eyes. Luckily, it's a long musical number.

For additional dice rolling fun (optional):

† Roll or randomize a d20. Those who roll a 15 or above can spot the sword for being the exact same sword that was suspended in the statue above the Round Table, when they met with Wynn in the Prologue.
† Roll a d20 dexterity check. If your character rolls a 2 or 3, at some point during their walk they're bound to stumble. A critical fail will lead to an epic faceplant ... or worse.

Comments

The Walk

[wynn]

[Optionally play out your character's WALK OF DESTINY down the red carpet, and people in the crowd can judge them / encourage them / gawk ]

[ambitionist]

[alex is doing pretty good y'all. he's had ample time to recover from throwing out his back at faye's b-day party THANKS FOR THAT FAYE. now he's a graceful swan. (dex 15)]

[charismapotion]

[ Mars was a little nervous but he managed to walk with his head held high and try to look as perfectly dignified as he could.(Dex; 19)]

[ex_psionic439]

[Wow, this wasn't awkward. Adam just focuses on not tripping over himself because if his armor makes him look anything like the two chucklefucks he's standing next to, then he already looks fucking ridiculous (Dex 17).]

The Ceremony

[wynn]

[ When they have arrived at the far end of the carpet and stand before him beside each other, Wynn addresses both would-be squires solemnly by name. ]

Alexander Karamazov. Mars Dacey. Adam Weiss.

Kneel. And repeat this oath.

The Pledge

[wynn]

[Each line is spoken separately as a call and respond.]

"I swear to defend the Knighthood."

"I swear that I shall protect all weaknesses and shall constitute myself the defender of them."

"I shall not recoil before mine Enemy."

"I shall make war against injustice, without cessation and without mercy."

"I shall never lie, and shall remain faithful to my pledged word."

"I shall be generous, and listen to and respect all."

[And finally, in ringing tones:]

"I shall be everywhere and always the champion of the right and the good against injustice and evil."

[optional rolling; roll a D20 Wisdom check in order to see if your Knight can remember the phrases properly or not so much. Remember that a 10 is an average person's capacity to do so. :) ]

[ambitionist]

[he remembers the pledge pretty well, too. (wis 16) look at him, being all good at reciting shit and whatever.]

[charismapotion]

[ Sadly, Mars tripped over a couple words along the lines of 'shall constitute myself the surrender of them' Smooth, kid. Smooth. (Wis 12)]

[ex_psionic439]

[A couple of those lines make it hard for him to keep composed because rly guys, but by the time Wynn gets halfway through his, "I shall never lie..." refrain, Adam just kind of ... snorts--which he immediately attempts to play off as a cough (Wis 6).]

Sorry. Can you repeat that last one?

[wynn]

[ s-so patient, is wynn. sort of. eyeing you up, boy. ]

I shall be everywhere and always the champion of the right and the good against injustice and evil.

[ex_psionic439]

[Apparently he gets his shit together real quick after that little side-eye from Wynn-sama (Wisdom 14, thank Christ). Like it was hard to echo one line tho...]

Dubbing

[wynn]

[With a beautiful sching noise, Wynn draws the oh so shiny sword from its sheath. One by one he lays the flat of the blade upon the squires' right shoulder, then raises it gently above their head to place it upon their left. When he is finished with each of them in turn, he returns to his place at the top of the steps, and announces:]

You may rise: Sir Alexander Karamazov. Sir Mars Dacey. Sir Adam Weiss.

[The moment the squires begin to rise, the entire hall bursts into a frenzy of cheers, applause, hoots and hollering that's practically deafening. It quiets a bit when Wynn speaks again.]

We ask you to join us tonight in celebration of our newest members in the ballroom.