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Sep. 20, 2009
Crazy Strianelian Coronations....
A week later, Tell and Josephina were officially crowned King and Queen of Strianel. The tall columns glistened in the sunlight that streamed through the circles of glass set into the ceiling of the Great Hall of Evenvinder. Only one, long isle was clear, all the rest of the room was packed with people. Balconies were lifted above those on the main floor of the hall, and these too were filled with people. Garlands of flowers twisted around the columns, the empty thrones, and anywhere else that they could be placed. These were accented by white peacock feathers that looked like strange snowflakes. Petals drifted down here and there, showering the shoulders of those below.
Jasper shifted uncomfortably. He was wearing the formal robes of the chieftain of the SyDow, and he felt as if he were being roasted alive over a campfire. The first part of the costume was mostly normal: pants tucked into knee-high leather boots and an off-white fencing shirt. It was the second part of the outfit that gave Jasper woe. The purple velvet tunic that he wore over the shirt was fur-lined. This gave it a magnificent fur edging at each hem, but also made it unreasonably warm . Over that was a long cape, also lined with fur, that was fastened at the shoulder with a large circular broach with beautiful tracings of filigree. The cloak was a rich, deep blue that Jasper liked, but its warmth threatened to render him unconscious. To top everything off, he wore a wide circlet of hammered gold that was studded with gems.
Misty stood beside Jasper, dressed in red satin. The dress was long and full and seemed to float about her. The girdle was of cut glass beads threaded on strands of silver that were braided together. It caught every facet of light, casting rainbows of color about her. Misty's hair was piled beautifully on her head and laced with strands of diamonds. Her cloak was deep purple and embroidered with fantastic designs, but its lining of black fur was causing her sweat slightly. Misty took a signet ring that she held, slipped it onto one of Jasper's fingers, and kissed his hand, making her movements flamboyant. Several people seemed to notice the exchange, and Jasper and Misty were satisfied.
Jasper was not chieftain of the SyDow by birth; it was Misty's family that filled the role. But Misty was the last of her line, so Jasper, her husband-to-be, was required, by law, to take the role of chief. Only now did Jasper understand the level of respect that Misty's father must have had for him. By giving Misty to Jasper as his betrothed, Fredrick Johnson had named Jasper as his heir instead of Misty. Misty, by handing over the signet ring at a random time during the coronation, showed that it was with her full agreement that Jasper became of the chieftain in her stead. These realizations had caused Jasper to rethink all his actions since his parents had died. He had spent a great deal of time the night before talking about them with his closest friends, starting with his running away from his guardians. In retrospect, it seemed to be a miserably ungrateful action.
"Ungrateful or not," Jonathan had told him, however, "you acted without intention of insult. You did not know what Fredrick had bestowed upon you. All you knew was that both you and Misty were unhappy. What you did, you did for the happiness of the woman - or more correctly, girl - that was betrothed to you, and no one can demonize a man for doing that."
Jasper figured that Jonathan was right, and he found it hard to regret his decision to come to the mountains. Much had happened to him because of that decision that would have not happened otherwise, most of it good. Still, he wished that Fredrick Johnson was still living so that he could apologize for running away.
A thud startled Jasper from his reverie, and he looked up to see that Tell had entered the room through a door at the side of the dais, followed by a boring-looking man in a black robe. The man opened a thick book and called out in a near-monotone, "Who speaketh for the Sarconians?"
Jack, who was on the other side of the hall from Jasper, stepped forward. "I do."
"By what right?"
"By the right of my father, Alex, whose father was Steven..." and Jack named his whole linage back to Jason, the younger brother of Queen Amara.
"Are there any descended directly from the Queen Amara?" asked the man in the robe.
"There are no closer kin than that of her younger brother; the queen never married."
The man looked over the thick, old book and said, "It is proper. The council recognizes thy right to speak for thy people." The man then looked around and said, "Who here speaketh for the ConVal tribe?"
A short, fat man robed in bright green came forward. "I do."
"By what right?"
"By the right of my father, Conrad, whose father was Bryan -" the man named his linage, ending with, "whose father was Owyn, who spoke at the First Council."
"It is proper," said the man in the robe. He put a hand over his mouth, hiding a yawn. "The council recognizes thy right to speak for thy people. Who here speaks for the ConYav tribe?"
A tall, thin man stepped from the crowd. "I do."
"By what right?"
"By the right of mine father Edgar..." this linage was longer, and the man spoke in a monotone. He at last ended with, "whose father was Luft, who spoke at the First Council."
The man in the black robe affirmed his right to speak for the tribe, then moved on to the next tribe, the VenTal tribe. Their chieftan lightened the mood somewhat by reciting the names with some vigour. Next was the VenDoi tribe, then the VenNon. Last to be called upon were the SyKen, the SyOnt and the SyDow tribes. "Who speaks for the SyDow tribe?" asked the man at last, his voice even more bored than before.
Jasper came forward. "I do."
"By what right?"
"By right of my wife's linage." Though Jasper and Misty were not yet wed, for the purposes of the tribal council, betrothal and marriage were one in the same. "Her father was Fredrick, his father was Rick..." and Jasper named all Misty's ancestors back to, "John, who spoke at the First Council."
The man in the black robe showed the slightest bit of interest. "Is thy wife her family's only heir?"
"Yes."
"Was thy marriage arranged in proper order by your fathers or those who had guardianship over thee?"
"Yes."
"Has thy wife given thee the signet ring of her father?"
"Yes."
"Who beareth witness?" asked the man. "Who didst see her place it on his finger?"
Seven people stepped from the crowd and said that they had.
"Very well," said the man. "It is proper. The council recognizes thy right to speak for thy tribe."
The man scanned the crowd, then called out, "Does Tell ConRay appear here today as a representative of his tribe?"
All those of the ConRay tribe shouted, "Yes!" Some of the knights clashed their swords on their shields to punctuate the statement.
"By law, he is king in place of his father. Do the chieftains accept him?"
"Let council be held," said the fat man in green who was chieftain of the ConVal tribe.
Much to Jasper's relief, chairs were brought in for the chieftains to sit in, and servants entered with cool drinks. Misty perched on the wide arm of Jasper's chair, waving a small fan as fast as protocol allowed. After half an hour of debate that was actually the edited recounting of the debate that had gone on at the First Council, the chieftains rose in turn to give the speeches of their ancestors.
The fat man in green rose to his feet. "Ever our people have been wandering tribes, each tending to their own affairs. All this is well and good, but the world is changing. Enemies rise up against us, wanting to crush us and rule our lands. If we are divided, they will break us one by one. But if we become one union, we will stand! Here is one willing to lead us. Let him do so! Without him, we will all perish in quicker time. The ConVal tribe says, 'Yes! Tell ConRay shall be our king! ' "
Jack stood. Sweat was beaded on his forehead, for he sat in the sun, and the long, heavy robes he wore were no help to him. "For ages beyond count, my family has ruled. We have fought for our freedom from Corvan, and we have gained it. But only for the nonce. Once we were great, but now we are small, and our power is quenchable. This union will bring strength and give us all a better chance of survival. The Sarconian throne is mine, but I hereby relinquish it and vow that I shall never rise against the royal family unless they commit unforgivable atrocity against their people. The Sarconians will take Tell ConRay as their king."
Jasper nearly fell asleep during the next six speeches. He was sorry to listen as once-stirring words were recited with no emotion. It was a sad fate, for the speeches were, in themselves, quite wonderful. But one could hardly listen to them, so dull they seemed. The room grew hotter. The flowers drooped, and several women fainted, as well as a few of the men. Jasper went into a half trance, occasionally feeling Misty mop his face with a kerchief. Many of the more pompous chiefs felt that it was necessary to add to the words of their ancestors, and therefore took long periods of time with their speeches. At last, it was Jasper's time to speak. He rose slowly, swallowing against the lump in his throat.
"The sun rises, the sun sets, and ever the world changes. Once my people had respect. Now a slave may garner more respect than we, the SyDow, the 'Last Ones." But we are not here to speak of past wrongs. We are here to choose a king. The SyDow know that change must come. But let it not come in full. Let us bring the new, but keep what is good in the old, allowing the fresh to reinforce the temper of our nation. SyDow, 'Last Ones,' we are called. Last in what? None has ever said. But let it be said now that we will be the last ones to abandon loyalty to our king! Tell ConRay shall rule us, and may the Lord watch over his reign." Jasper held out his right hand, palm out. "Hail, king."
Tell turned, lifted his face to heaven, and said, "Hail, Lord."
This rather set everyone off balance, for Jasper had edited the speech. He was supposed to have said, "may the gods watch over his reign," and then Tell would have hailed the gods, at which point several priests and priestesses would have thrown themselves to to trances and started screaming gibberish. The high priest would have supposedly translated their wild rantings, blessed the king, and then crowned him. Now Jasper had muddled the proceedings, the high priest was turning purple with rage, and no one knew exactly what to do. In the growing confusion, a young Sarconian Scout stepped forward and, with his voice cracking slightly, asked the people if they would permit him to lead them in prayer. There were no protests, so the young man bowed his head and spoke a simple prayer, asking the Lord to bless everyone present, bless everyone not present, and give the king wisdom to rule. Then he prayed that the high priest be spared from a heart attack and that rain might fall on the land. As he finished, the wind picked up outside, and clouds began to gather, causing murmurs to spread through the crowd.
Everyone was still confused, however. The high priest had stormed out during the prayer, and since he was the one who was to have done the crowning, no one was exactly certain who should do the job. A loud 'smack' added to everyone's agony. During the dull proceedings, the two pages carrying the crowns had begun a conversation. It had turned into a quarrel and had now come to blows; they were slapping each other in turn. A frustrated knight stepped in and boxed their ears, but the atmosphere was still tense. At last, the lad who was carrying the king's crown lost his patience for the second time that day. "I don't know about the rest of you," he said, "But I am tired and hot and really want this to be over. Who's going to crown the king?" No one answered. The chieftains looked at each other, each thinking of a reason why he was qualified. The boy sighed in exasperation. "Fine! I'll do it. Kneel, Mr. king, sir, I'm not tall enough to get this crown on your head otherwise." Everyone gasped at the child's impertinence, but Tell, with a smile, dropped to one knee. The boy placed the crown very neatly on his head. "Well, that makes you king, and I figure you'll be good at it, since you've been prayed over and since you're obviously very patient to have listened to all that." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the robed man and the chieftains, then bowed stiffly and backed away.
Jasper and Jack grinned at each other across the room, then called out, "Hail, king," and dropped to one knee. Everyone else in the room shrugged, then followed suit.
Tell scanned the crowd as they rose. The first king of Strianel, Timothy the First, had asked his beloved, Victoria Breaker, to marry him during the coronation. Ever since then, the king's queen-to-be would stand in the crowd with her tribe, whether she was already married to the king or not, and he would come and find her. Tell finally found Josephina and made his way towards her. She dropped into a deep curtsy as he approached. Tell sank to one knee, bringing himself eye-level with her. "Josephina ConRay, will you do me the honor of being my queen?"
"With all my heart," said Josephina.
They rose together, and Tell, taking Josephina by the hand, led her to the dais. After enduring a long questioning from the robed man that confirmed beyond a doubt that they were legally wed, Tell called the page holding Josephina's crown forward. The queen's crown was a wreath of silver roses and gold filagree in the shape of peacock feathers. Josephina looked quite lovely in it and everyone cheered her heartily. The king and queen now took their seats on the throne and, one by one, the chieftains swore fealty to them. There was more cheering, and Tell gave a speech about what he would do for the country as its king. Then they were all released to the banquet hall for the feast as a gentle rain started to fall.
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