squiring ♔ what is a hero without love for mankind

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Erica Reyes, Jackson Whittemore, Derek Hale, Avaleen, Allison Argent, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || August Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || August 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 squires have been fitted to his armor after meeting with Wynn as always. It's traditional for them to appear for the first time before the Knighthood wearing it and they are assured that only a very small number of the Knights make use of their armor for other circumstances. It does, however, 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 they have arrived at the far end of the carpet and stand before him beside each other, Wynn addresses both would-be squires solemnly by name. ]

Erica Reyes. Jackson Whittemore. Derek Hale. Avaleen. Allison Argent.

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. Remember that a 10 is an average person's capacity to do so. :) ]

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 Erica Reyes. Sir Jackson Whittemore. Sir Derek Hale. Sir Avaleen. Sir Allison Argent.


[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.

Peanut Gallery

[killingtodeath]

[Among the crowd at this ceremony is Stiles, who figured he would come just in case someone beefed it like he did on the walk up to Wynn. But then he starts to recognize people. A lot of people. As in... most of the people being knighted???

But one face in particular makes him stop dead in his tracks, eye twitching as his brain tries to process what's happening.

Jackson Whittemore. Is here. Being squired.]

Oh, come on!

[immuno]

Are you completely incapable of showing up to one of these without making a scene?

[ Lydia is swatting him instinctively all #married. Seriously tho bro shut up.

Truth be told, she's pretty surprised too. She hadn't seen Erica before now (and if she hadn't tried to murder Lydia in the past, perhaps Lydia would have it in her to be relieved that Erica was okay after the summer-long kidnapping. Alas).

At least she and Allison had already caught up, so minimal shock factor there. It gives some context to demanding Stiles shut his whore mouth and stop ruining her bff's ceremony. ]

[killingtodeath]

[He absently rubs at the spot on his arm where Lydia smacked him.]

That depends on if I keep finding out that Wynn decided to let jerks like Jackson freaking Whittemore into his gang of supposedly good guys.

[The more Stiles meets people here, the less "good" he thinks the knights are though. Maybe Jackson will fit right in :| ]

[delicere]

[Avaleen at least seems to have the grace to walk without so much as the hint of a stumble (Dex 20 Total), the blonde taking in the room with wide, almost unnaturally blue eyes as she files in with the others.]

[delicere]

[Ava focuses on every word that passes Wynn's lips, repeating them back with ease (Wis 16). She even manages to restrain herself from hugging him in thanks when she's finished (Will Save 17).]

[thetokenaussie]

[Frankie's ears perk up at that, casting an arched eyebrow in Stiles direction.]

Real jackass this Jackson then? [Playing it cool. Not like she has a vested interest or anything... What with him being her new Squire and all. (Gather Info 16).]

[immuno]

Not always.

[ She doesn't look Frankie in the eye as she answers, just glances back out at the ceremony.

Right. She's mad at him. She presses her lips together. ]

We used to date.

[instinct]

[ derek feels a little discomfited in the armour, both as constriction and in the way it matches everybody else. he's never really been a joiner, but apparently he doesn't remember that well enough, because here he is, walking through the large hall with ease (DC 7), no sign of his last-minute misgivings. if he's nervous, it's hidden deep (bluff 23). ]

[ still, he can't help scoping out his surroundings, looking around the hall (spot 14) at the faces of the other knights watching his procession. ]

[ there is no indication that he recognizes any of the men and women walking alongside him — or any of those in the crowd, his eyes passing over them before finally alighting on wynn when he takes the last few steps to the dais. ]

[killingtodeath]

99.9% of the time. But sure- not always.

[Hi, he's still a brat.]

[instinct]

[ despite his stoic expression, derek is secretly deeply adverse to being in a wide open space with dozens and dozens of pairs of eyes on him, and some of the phrases seem to slip in one ear and out the other. (WC 8...) ]

[ swearing to defend doesn't give him any trouble, though he mumbles a bit on constitute, like he's not entirely sure what that word was. and the phrasing gets a little mucked up: "my enemy" "without cessation or, uh, mercy". ]

[ there's a blonde who's definitely sure of the whole thing, so after the first few lines he just concentrates hard and repeats what she's saying, a beat behind. it does leave his vows sounding a little autopiloted. ]

[thetokenaussie]

[She gives nod and drags her gaze back to proceedings.]

Good to know... [Nothing about her response sounds like this is in any way a good thing. Her face may in fact have the 'wtf have I gotten into' expression etched across it.]

[immuno]

[ Trying so hard not to be pressed as fuck, Lydia yoyos into the other direction of feigned apathy. Really well feigned apathy (bluff nat 20). ]

I don't care that he's here. If Wynn really wants to watch him crash and burn, that's his problem. It's fine.

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles is over here still grumbling under his breath. And it's only then that he registers the other names.]

Anyone else wondering if Wynn made a significant recruiting effort in Beacon Hills?

[And by anyone he just means Lydia since that won't register to anyone else probably.]

[bitchywolf]

[Erica repeats each of the lines of the pledge with no trouble at all (wis 18). If that was supposed to be the hard part of the evening, well, this is off to a good start for her so far.]

[immuno]

I doubt he found them together.

[ wis 20 total. ]

Is it me, or does it look like they don't all recognize each other?

[ Erica and Derek in particular. It feels like this should be more communal than it is. At least some interaction, verbal or non-verbal. ]

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles only got a wis of 10 so he just squints and shrugs.]

I don't think Derek knows how to make expression that aren't some level of grump. Or maybe the Veil pulled one over on them.

[theminotaur]

Was the term "stick up his ass" coined specifically for him? [ meaning derek. she met jackson and didn't find him all that offensive, but once lydia explains how she knows him, it explains stiles' reaction. ]

[immuno]

[ Wow. You know, she's not actually sure. Her lips purse and she nods, thoughtful. ]

The case could certainly be made.

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles snorts and gives Abigail a look like 'oh you came to play??' He is pleasantly surprised by her a lot.]

No, that case is closed. Because he 100% is the reason that phrase exists.

[theminotaur]

So the surly one is obviously headed toward the Hide. [ she is basing this on the muscles. derek's pretty, pretty muscles. i mean what. ] But how is Jackson going to be useful?

[immuno]

You're joking, right?

[ jackson is at least as built as derek, ok. #lacrosse #werewolf. ]

[killingtodeath]

Jackson being useful is a pretty good joke, if I ever heard one.

[And then he is going to flounce so that he can try to get ready for this party and who up this jackass.]