Chapt. 1 ♔ the age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth.

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, characters newly joining the Knights, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || February Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || February 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. Today no theories are needed: it seems that almost every Knight in the London area has decided to attend the squiring. Perhaps it's the rumors floating around that some of these arrivals have caused something of a stir even with Wynn himself, but whatever the reason, the 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 were 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]

[ALL EYES ARE UPON YOU. Feel free to RP out their ... walk of destiny if you'd like.]

[aproperdoctor]

[Wearing a suit of armor is weird at first, but it actually gives Martha a strange sort of confidence. Granted, it's practically impossible to get into and out of it in less than half an hour, but, you know, minor details and all that. Besides, it's not like she's going to wear it all the time. It's heavy and kinda hot - but it's the right clothing for this situation, and it helps her walk calmly down the hall. Everybody else is wearing it, after all, and it makes her feel like she actually fits in somewhere in this world.]

[oerban]

[Vanille is in no way prepared to be wearing the armor and actually moving in it. It's so heavy, and such a change from what she's been wearing, and she finds herself weighted down and not walking as confidently as some of the others. Her tiny frame feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, and her feet drag at first. Her hands nervously knit together and she looks around the room as she makes her way.

At several points she stumbles, but never actually falls, and her gangly legs are quick to swing back into motion once again. At least there's nice music, though! She finds her rear end shaking and her feet eventually moving to the beat of the music, and she basically prances the last bit of the way.

Yep. That's how she rolls.]

[asap]

[The armor is heavy, and impossible to really run in, but that's... kind of a good thing. Since this is one of those places where she really shouldn't be running. But man, is she ever glad this is not the always attire. Andie looks around as she walks, waving to some of the knights she knows, until she reaches the front. Then she stands there and figits as she waits for the rest of the knights to show up.]

The Ceremony

[wynn]

[Once all the squires have made it to the foot of the steps, hopefully all in one piece, Wynn speaks to each in turn, his eyes landing on each one for a prolonged moment. Like Galadriel, but less creepy.]

Spike. Buffy Anne Summers. Sven van Tol. Andrea Dodge. Ethan Mavery. Martha Jones. Oerba Dia Vanille.

Please kneel. And repeat the following.

[He intones each line separately, call and response]

"I swear to defend the Knighthood."

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha kneels obediently with the other six people. She wonders briefly where they're from and what their stories are, her gaze running over them for a moment before Wynn begins the oath.]

I swear to defend the Knighthood.

[oerban]

[Kneel?

She has to kneel in this armor? And then get back up?

Gulping, Vanille wobbles her way down to a kneel. She glances over at the others, briefly making eye contact with some. But her attention has to be on Wynn right now, and not them, so no matter how curious she is, she forces her attention to be on the man in charge. Since this is an oath and she feels it should be semi-heartfelt, she places a hand over her heart. It just feels right to do, like making a promise she can't let herself break.]

I swear to defend the Knighthood...

[asap]

[God, could this ceremony crawl on any more? It doesn't help that Andie's excited. She breathes slowly, using the meditation techniques her father had taught her to slow down.]

I swear to defend the Knighthood!

[bigbad]

[Kneeling feels weird. Spike agreed to all of this, and he thinks it's the right thing, but... it's weird. He already doesn't like taking orders.

He swallows the discomfort down and looks up.]

I swear to defend the Knighthood.

[slays]

[ Oh boy. Ceremony. How she was destined to mess this up majorly, let Buffy count the ways. Her eyes wander, fixing on her fellow knights, and she slowly lurches to a kneeling position with some minor awkwardness because, well, let's face it. Her body type was so not meant for full plate armor. ]

I swear to defend the Knighthood.

[militarized]

[ It's just ceremony, he realizes that, but there's something about it that doesn't sit well with Ethan. He's done oaths before -- to get his commission. But this is different. Brotherhood was something he had with his unit, everything since then has just felt cult-y by comparison. Still, through a somber, even gaze, he stares up at Wynn as he goes forth with the ceremony. ]

I swear to defend the Knighthood.

[thebetrayer]

[Sven kneels with everyone else, calm in both manner and facial expression. He's no stranger to ~ceremonies~. He knows how all this shit works. But, this one is different. This is going to be different than everything he ran away from. He wants to believe it will be different.]

I swear to defend the Knighthood.

[wynn]

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

[wynn]

"I shall not recoil before mine Enemy."

[wynn]

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

[wynn]

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

[wynn]

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

[wynn]

[And the final... said most solemnly of all. And it's a mouthful. HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD MEMORY.]

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

Dubya

[wynn]

[With a delicious sching noise, Wynn draws the ridiculously shiny sword off from his belt. One by one he lays the flat of the blade upon the squire's 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 Spike. Sir Buffy Anne Summers. Sir Sven van Tol. Sir Andrea Dodge. Sir Ethan Mavery. Sir Martha Jones. Sir Oerba Dia Vanille.

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

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha watches the sword, her brow furrowing for a moment in thought. It looks familiar, but where has she seen it before? As Wynn knights her, she realises that it's the sword she'd previously seen in the crystal statue of the dragon. She wonders about the significance of it, but it's time to rise and be presented to the knights.

All right, so standing up in a full suit of armor isn't the most graceful thing in the world, but she still manages it without falling over or anything, which is a definite plus. Mostly it's the promise of being able to change into something lighter - a nice dress - once all this is over that helps her stand.]

[asap]

[Andie rises quickly, armor clattering as it tries to keep up with her. She grins, looking around the room, and waves at the people she knows in the audience. She's proud of herself. Sure, getting to this particular point mostly took talking to Wynn, but she'd made it here.

Her dad was in the audience, smiling a quiet, reserved smile, and she knew he was proud. She thought her mom would be too, if she were there.

She looked around at the other new squires. She didn't know them, but she figured that would change soon. She rocked on her feet excitedly, ready to get going.]

[slays]

[ She waits until she's on her feet and the applause is going to cringe a little as she addresses Wynn. ]

Sir? Really? There's no ... alternate title? Like maybe Lady? I could be a Lady.

[militarized]

Sir Captain Ethan Mavery, if we're throwing titles around. [ He gets to his feet with a kind of smirk, then glances out at the crowd. Everyone who might have come is either long dead or the reason he's here. So, it's just an ocean of unrecognisable faces, as far as he's concerned. ]

[oerban]

[She winces at being called Sir anything. She's a girl, isn't there a better title? But these people are helping her and giving her a place to belong, so she bites her tongue and tries her best to just hop up to standing while wearing the armor.

It's hard to do, but she manages well enough, with only a little wobbling.

At the applause going around the room, she feels color rising to her cheeks, and she gets a bounce going as she turns this way and that to scan the crowd. A hand raises up in the air and she waves to no one in particular. She may not know anyone here, but that doesn't stop her from acting like she does, and that she belongs just the same as everyone else.]

The Peanut Gallery

[wynn]

[For current Knights to stand around and judge you all / gossip / etc]

[socialgraces]

[Francesca is aware of all the judging and gossip around her, but she doesn't pay particular attention to most of it. There's only one voice among the audience that she finds herself unable to ever not listen to and she's sure he'll have an ear-full for her.

She, however, just silently observes the stage and the Squires on display upon it. She doesn't really have any opinions on the new lot yet, preferring hold her judgement until she actually meets them.]