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.]

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."

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.]

The Peanut Gallery

[wynn]

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

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

[rationalizes]

[Wedged into the second row next to Kat is Sir Gar, the Knight who brought Martha here to meet Wynn in the first place, who beams with pride when she marches past. Gar looks as if she's on the verge of having to hold back an over-enthusiastic wave at her intended squire, but she manages to reign in her excitement in a totally dignified manner. Or something like that. Still, she gives a little nod to her as she passes, of acknowledgement, looking more than a little awkward and uncomfortable in the armor herself.]

[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.]

[shootfirst]

[Kat is incapable of a) taking this serious ceremony stuff ... seriously and b) standing still in all this heavy, cumbersome armor, so when Vanille goes bounding by, she breaks the respectful silence to let out a hoot and yell:]

Yeah, work it, girl! [She's promptly elbowed in the ribs by Sir Gar, but since they're both wearing metal, it makes a big clanking sound that is probably more distracting than the shout was. Which just makes Kat smirk even more, and Gar look completely mortified.

Carry on. :| ]

[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]

[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.]

[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!

[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.]

[telekinect]

[Tia's watching calmly from the crowd, gathered in the front ranks of the Knights, along with the other Section Heads. Her eyes seek out Andie's father in the sea of faces, and she seems lost in thought, but a small smile works its way across her expression as Andie waves in her direction. She waggles her fingers back surreptitiously.]

[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.

[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]

[ 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.

[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. ]

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha nearly grins at her, but gives her a (mostly) restrained smile instead. She's walking like a badass, after all, and grinning might ruin her dignity. Not that dignity is something that Martha normally worries about, but this is a special occasion, and she suspects Wynn might disapprove of something like that.]

[aproperdoctor]

[Martha keeps looking at Ethan; he seems vaguely familiar, but she has no idea who he reminds her of. Anyway, as long as we're doing the title thing; Martha only speaks loudly enough to be heard by the other new Knights and Wynn, not the rest of the room.] So I guess that would make me Sir Doctor Martha Jones?

[Man, that sounds pretentious.]

[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.]

[socialgraces]

[As he turns towards the crowd, Francesca looks more closely upon her Squire, the Captain. She isn't quite sure whether to be amused or annoyed by his cockiness.

Either way, the indifferent expression on his face stirs a small amount of curious concern within her.]

[militarized]

A doctor? So what are you doing with the bloody cavalry? Shouldn't you be in a hospital trading your plate mail for a lab coat? [ His tone drops enough so that they can have a conversation that isn't overheard by the entirety of the room. ]