squiring ♔ every man is guilty of all the good he did not do

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Emma Swan, David Charming, Killian Jones, Tybalt, Gold, Fred Jr., Mark, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || February Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || Feb 1st, 2012, 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, in theory. Numbers are thinner today than they were in the last month or so: a number of crises have the Knights spread across the world and so perhaps fewer than one 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 new squires are fitted to their armor after meeting with Wynn, and it's traditional for each to appear for the first time before the Knighthood wearing it. Each new member is 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.

The squires are ushered in 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 ]

[unhand]

[Dex 10. Which is to say, it would have gone more smoothly except THAT IS DEFINITELY EMMA SWAN WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE.]

[uncurse]

... Hook? [ nat 20 spot check this was unavoidable. maybe she even sees through his clothes. you don't know. ] What the hell are you doing here?! [ what's tact. what's class. emma got a 21 dex check but that doesn't make her smart enough not to talk in a hoarse kind of stage-whisper while they're walking. y e p. ]

[unhand]

Getting knighted. [He gives her a look like DUH WHAT DO YOU THINK HE'S DOING? IN HIS PLATE ARMOR. WALKING DOWN MAGIC DESTINY PATH.] I thought you were headed back to Storybrooke.

[uncurse]

So you can what, bring an army behind you to Maine? Steal some ... some weapon from them? [ pfffff ] You're not exactly knight material.

[unhand]

Why would I want to bring an army to Maine? [He knows there's something about Maine that he must have forgotten, but he thinks he'd have known if he needed an army for it.] Wynn thought I was knight material.

[uncurse]

[ she rolls her eyes, because he obviously must just be an arrogant twit who thinks he doesn't need an army to kill rumpelstiltskin. except that he's here so he knows better. ]

Has he met you?

[unhand]

Of course. And I'll have you know they frown on tying up your teammates. [A beat.] Unless we did it in private...

[uncurse]

[ yeah they reach wynn now. it's the worst timing ever. ]

Do you know how to shut up?

[unhand]

I'm sure you could find a way to make me. [Look, hitting on Emma is way more important than some dumb knighting ceremony. He winks at her then turns towards Wynn looking as innocent as he can manage. Which isn't very.]

[uncurse]

[ R U FUCKING SRS she's staring at him like he's a dip shit right now which is probably why she sucked at the oath lbr. ]

[uncease]

[And who was purposely lagging behind during that domestic dispute? Well, it was your dad, Emma. But he doesn't know that.

David slides up once the pair of them have quieted down, giving Wynn a small nod as he just stands there, making that squire garb look good~]

The Ceremony

[wynn]

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

Emma Swan. David Charming. Killian Jones. Tybalt.

Kneel. And repeat this oath.

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.]

[uncurse]

I swear ...

[ wis 6.

this isn't going to go well.

there's a lot of perplexed pausing, like she spends so long trying to think about how ridiculously over the top this ceremony is that she forgets to pay attention to the line itself and has to paraphrase. she gets through it, at least, but not with any grace. ]

[unhand]

I swear... [Nat 20 wisdom check. Killian remembers it all, though he does add in a few embellishments here and there. For fun. Cause he can't take it all that seriously...]

[wynn]

[ just. this look, jones. wynn can tell you've got it down pat and are playing it up. HE'S WATCHING YOU. ]

Pledge

[quarrelsomecat]

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

[Tybalt is perhaps a bit too serious with this pledge, but at least he sounds like he means it as he repeats the words, only switching up a few of them with similar words with his 17 Wis roll.

When he finishes he bows his head to Wynn, though he shoots a sidelong glance in the direction of the other knights. Especially Emma, who seems to be having considerable trouble keeping pace with the pledge.]

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 Emma Swan. Sir David Charming. Sir Killian Jones. Sir Tybalt.

[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.

Dubbing

[quarrelsomecat]

[There's a not so unfamiliar swell of pride in Tybalt's chest at the cheering, and he stands a bit taller, a little straighter, trying to resist the urge to look around. While some things about the Knights may feel a bit off, nothing feels more right than a sword at his side and having a purpose again.

Maybe his is what he has been searching for all this time? He tries to keep to the right of the other knights during the ceremony, avoiding having them in his blind spot. So maybe he is slightly suspicious of those three, he is far more curious about Wynn and the other knights than any of the squires, and with only rolling a 4 in his charisma he isn't likely to handle first introductions as anything other than his usual prickly self.]

The Peanut Gallery

[wynn]

[ALL THE GOSSIP. Anyone in the crowd can make threads here to talk amongst yourselves.]

[undealt]

[That is the fugliest hook I've ever seen.]