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

[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.

[militarized]

[ Ethan's eyes scan the room and land on Francesca. He picks her out of the crowd pretty easily -- the hair makes her hard to miss, even amongst the drow -- and can't help but notice how intently she's staring. Huh. He raises a gloved hand to wave to her with a waggle of his fingers, winking. ]

[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."

[wynn]

All of our Knights carry the title of Sir. If you desire a different title, you will have to seek it on your own. [It sounds like he's almost... joking. :| Or something like it.]

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha repeats every line after Wynn says it. Luckily, she doesn't stumble over the last line or anything, because she's JUST THAT AWESOME.] 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. I shall be everywhere and always the champion of the right and the good against injustice of evil.

[Dang, that was long. Martha needs a glass of wine to wet her throat now.]

[everyredcent]

[Of course he does, he only comes to these things to offer his helpful commentary, after all. Christos eyes them all with a great deal of judgment.]

Wonder who'll get stuck with this lot.

[He doesn't really make any effort to keep his voice down from his place in line, and so the Knights around them all get to hear everything too]

We'll probably lose half of them by April.

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha gives him an unimpressed look.] Even the RAF has doctors with their units, yeah? Just think of me as a combat medic, if you like. [Granted, she's not so huge on the whole combat part of it all, but she's not going to mention that.] Besides, maybe I want to help people by keeping them from getting injured in the first place.

[socialgraces]

[And she rolls her eyes.

She turns to the man beside her, who is also a drow, and mumbles a few words. For the rest of the ceremony she is careful not to make direct eye contact with Ethan.]

[militarized]

Or injuring them. [ He shrugs, raising an eyebrow. ] Protecting people as a general rule involves hurting the ones you aren't protecting. Not something I'd expect out of a doctor.

[slays]

Thought knights weren't allowed solo missions? [ Yeah, she will snark right back. Because she would legitimately quest for the title of Lady, ok. ]

[socialgraces]

[Francesca doesn't turn to look at him when she responds, and she has the decency to keep her voice low.] At least they have your vote of confidence. [She keeps her sarcasm obvious, but not heavy. She does actually enjoy his commentary. Or maybe it's just become so expected she can't imagine these things without it.]

[wynn]

You are, however, allowed private lives. [lmao, lies]

[everyredcent]

I wonder which of them it was that Wynn found so... fascinating. [This is said in a lower tone, a murmur, almost. Christos is really only here because of the rumors that Wynn's meeting with some of these knights caused him to contact the Dragon's Hoard and lock himself up with Lis'sa and Gar, talking for hours.]

[socialgraces]

[That comment causes Francesca to actually turn to look at Christos. She hasn't heard any rumors of this. She opens her mouth slightly, as if to ask him to elaborate, but then her good sense kicks in and she realizes this is neither the time nor place. She'll ask him later.

Instead, she decides steal his interest back ;) She turns back to face the squires, and makes her comment as nonchalant as she can manage.] One of them is squired to me.

[everyredcent]

[She really does know how to play him like a fiddle. It's kind of sad. He tenses, not that she can see it. Thank god. And immediately starts scanning them all again with renewed attention to detail.]

You hadn't mentioned getting a squire.

[socialgraces]

[Francesca expertly keeps her focus and her face steadfast.] Wynn only asked me a few days ago. I haven't met him yet. The squire, that is. And I don't really know exactly why Wynn asked me to take him on... [She shrugs] but I didn't really have a good reason to turn it down. [She doesn't offer up her squire's identity right away, leaving him guessing for a few silent moments.]

[everyredcent]

[His eyes flash across them all once more, narrowing in on the three guys. His lip turns down into a deeply set disapproving frown.]

Just see that it doesn't get in the way of your missions. [That's his discreet and jerky way of reminding you that now you have someone who's going to be stalking you everywhere. 8| ]

[socialgraces]

[She turns her head again and gives him an 'are you serious...?' look.] Don't worry. I won't. [She's slightly irritated now and her tone is short.

Her gaze settles on Ethan then and for only a fraction of a second she wishes she could think of something really insulting to say to Christos. But then it passes and she caves, like she always does.

She lets out an audible sigh.] I didn't mean to not tell you, you know. [And she really wishes she didn't feel the need to justify her every move with him.] It just hadn't come up yet. It's Ethan Mavery, by the way. My squire. [She glances at him out of the corner of her eye to see if he's still even listening to her.]

Apparently he's a former Royal Air Force Captain or something, so I'm sure he can at least handle his own.

[everyredcent]

[Oh, he's listening, but he's not looking at her. His gaze has honed in on El Capitan over there and he says disdainfully:]

He looks like he has elf blood. [His argument trumps yours forever. ELVES CANNOT HANDLE THEIR OWN.]

[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.]