squiring ♔ i would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Maxwell Briggard, Erky Timbers, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || May Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || May 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 squire has been fitted to his armor after meeting with Wynn, and it's traditional for him to appear for the first time before the Knighthood wearing it. He 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.

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 ]

The Ceremony

[wynn]

[ When he has arrived at the far end of the carpet and stands before him, Wynn addresses the would-be squire solemnly by name. ]

Maxwell Briggard. Erky Timbers.

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.]

Dubbing

[wynn]

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

You may rise: Sir Maxwell Briggard. Sir Erky Timbers.

[The moment the squire begins 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 member in the ballroom.

[beatemup]

[Max walks down the red carpet like a boss. How hard can it be? He has walked a place like this hundreds of times. Well, not in the real world, but if playing warrior of light walking the red carpet towards the king's throne counts, he definitely has done it tons of times. He walks toward Wynn like it is nothing hard, composed and showing a little bit of dignity. (dex 19)]

[beatemup]

[This is piece of cake. The initiation pledge of his old group was much more longer than this. He remembers each line, but he cut short a few unnecessary words out of the pledges, except the last line which he repeats perfectly well, because it sounded important(wis 15).]

[druidisms]

[ with his arms crossed in apparent boredom, gus might not stand out in the crowd, but he's definitely watching this guy. he doesn't look too impressed, but he's willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. ]