Squiring ♔ honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost.

[wynn]

♬ Troy - James Horner

WHO || Wynn, Chiaki Yoshida, Haymitch Abernathy, Rayna Valentine, Fyrel Lear, Finnick Odair, current Knights attending the ceremony
WHAT || March Squiring Ceremony
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Great Hall
WHEN || March 2nd, 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.    Numbers are thinner today than they were in the last month or so: a number of crises have the Knights spread across the world and so perhaps fewer than one 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 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]

[Optionally play out your character's WALK OF DESTINY down the red carpet, and people in the crowd can judge them / encourage them / gawk ]

[65]

[Not only does Finnick walk, he basically strolls like he's some kind of celebrity, doing waves and shit. Especially to the ladies. He's used to this kind of thing. Maybe not the armor, but he knows how to work it.]

[eldritchweaver]

[Spock's This guy's stony face says one thing as he watches his squire on display:

SERIOUSLY?]

[wildmind]

[Whatever, Spock, at least some of the ladies seem to think he's charmingly adorable enough, and offer him plenty of smiles and looks of appraisal. Yep.]

[killarevolution]

[Haymitch is walking along the path, looking disgruntled, but clean and not hobotastic. So what else is new? If you were expecting him to be the one faceplanting, well... He had a really lucky roll, okay? No stage-dives tonight.

Also the armor chafes. :|]

[attollores]

[Alainn is standing at the front of the crowd, scanning (yet again) the new faces for her squire. What the heck Wynn had been thinking giving her a squire, she had no idea, but she was excited either way.

Her eyes find Haymitch, having been told he was a bit older than the rest of the crew, and she sizes him up. There was something about the way he carried himself that caught her attention, the shuffling gait, the disgruntled look on his face...

Ohhh boy, he kinda looked like a grumpy old man. He would totally fit right in with the grumpy old men's club. She was so looking forward to this now! Her excitement was perhaps a bit weird and un-explainable, but it is clearly there on he face as she watches him throughout the rest of the ceremony.]

[lear]

[ Simply mincing down to the end of the hall is for suckers who want to be forgotten. Lear lifts her chin, puts on a close-lipped smile, and rolls like a motherfucker. ]

[ Despite that last, about halfway down the red carpet, her walking stutters a little and she goes to one knee, reaching out for the support of the person nearest to her. ]

Oh gosh.

[ She whispers, seemingly embarrassed, pale cheeks flushing as she attempts to pull herself up. ]

[sirstickuphisass]

[Eric's been watching his squire-to-be with marked interest, and so his eyes are glued on her when she almost takes a spill. His lips purse together and he looks down, giving the appearance of disappointment or frustration with the event. He appears lost in his own thoughts again until the actual ceremony starts.]

[mellifluence]

[Well this isn't at all the most comfortable get-up in the world, or the most graceful walk, but she manages something close to a natural gait. She's still not entirely sure about all of this - it seems more like a fantasy than a reality - but there's no turning back now. She keeps her head ducked down to watch her feet for the most part. She didn't know how to greet people if she managed to make eye contact anyway.]

[layonhands]

[Risa tries to see over the others to get a good look at her squire, but she seems to be just as intrigued by the rest of them as well. It's hard to get a good view, and Rayna doesn't look her way, so she finally settles back in to wait and listen.]

[chiakiyoshida]

[Chiaki rolled 17 is pretty smooth as she walks down the red carpet. If she's nervous, she's doing a good job of hiding it. She's not terribly pleased with being the first in line, but, hey, whatever.]

[spellfile]

[This guy looks almost respectable in his armor as he watches the girl with analytic interest. That won't last long. She seems to know what she's doing at least. If she looks in his direction, she'll get a tight nod.]

The Ceremony

[wynn]

[When they have arrived at the far end of the carpet and stand before him in a row, Wynn addresses each would-be squire solemnly by name.]

Chiaki Yoshida. Haymitch Abernathy. Rayna Valentine. Fyrel Lear. Finnick Odair.

Kneel. And repeat this oath.

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.]

[killarevolution]

[Being the second person in line sucks so hard and Haymitch's roll sucked, so basically he ends up muttering his way through it and looking like a jackass, but what are they going to do? Throw him out? At least he didn't make up his own words.

Yeah, he's going to be all the topic of gossip tonight. GEE WHO LET THE HOBO IN?

...Hey, that bronze-haired guy at the end of the line kinda looks familiar.

...

...

Nah. No, he doesn't.]

[lear]

[ Finnick's probably safe for something to follow, since Lear repeats each phrase crisply and clearly. Unlike her time on the floor, here she does not falter, and there is just enough passion in her voice to make it clear she is going to try her hardest to uphold each tenant. ]

[ Without cessation and without mercy. Oh yes, she's going to enjoy being a knight. ]

[mellifluence]

[She actually got a decent roll, so she manages her way through every line, but she's soft-spoken in front of the crowd. She can practically feel them all watching and it makes the pledge feel only slightly shorter than the walk. Thankfully it sounds like Lear has it all covered anyway, so she speaks under that crisp voice.]

[chiakiyoshida]

[Basically, someone with Chiaki's wisdom score is going to rock any goddamn wisdom check ever. Come on, she's a mage and a programmer, she memorises shit all the time. She reels off the pledge effortlessly and clearly.]

[65]

I swear to defend the Knighthood ...

[Finnick got a horrible roll so I guess he blanked out and forgot all the words. But it's okay, because he's last! Because he was last listed and therefore the very last to pledge. So he can just ... mimic all the people who just went before him and come out not totally humiliated.]

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 Chiaki Yoshida. Sir Haymitch Abernathy. Sir Rayna Valentine. Sir Fyrel Lear. And Sir Finnick Odair.

[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.

The Peanut Gallery

[wynn]

[ALL THE GOSSIP. Anyone in the crowd can make threads here to talk amongst yourselves.]

[king]

[ What with the total lack of Knight presence, Arthur has a position a little closer to the front than he might otherwise have, and he's watching the ceremony with interest. ]

[ It's interesting, to see it from the other side. He's never going to deliberately not attend; something about the pomp and grandeur of a knighting ceremony just sings to him. ]

[ Although... ]

Er. Is it just me, or is the music different?

[everyredcent]

[Standing in the very front, Christos doesn't even turn around as he responds in a loud sarcastic tone:]

Yes, I wonder what that's all about.

[lissatrinall]

[And Lis'sa pipes up right next to him, her voice much quieter, since she really only wants Christos to hear (though Arthur can overhear for a listen check of 12 since he's right behind them)]

Somehow I doubt the feast will be nearly so impressive either. [You know. That feast we won't have.]

[king]

[ And whoops, he hears her. Raises an eyebrow. ]

Won't it.

[everyredcent]

[Christos doesn't give a shit what you hear. Actually, he prefers it this way.] You might call that a once in a lifetime occurrence. Hopefully your Majesty won't find the usual fare lacking in compare.