Closing court began with the Crowns and Coronets seated at
their thrones. Since HRH Thomas was “unavailable”,
as it were, heralding duties were taken over by His Grace, Duke Eduard. It’s okay, he’s done this before.
Her Majesty pumps her fist in the air and yells, “Go
Piggies!” Truly, a great day for the
Barony of Tir Ysgthir, as two out of the three finalists hailed from this
Barony. His Majesty spoke words of
praise for the caliber of today’s tournament.
Truly, I can agree with this statement, having witnessed this tournament
with my own eyes and seeing the good, clean blows that were dealt and
accepted. His Royal Highness also spoke,
thanking the populace and expressing his excitement at being able to serve our
wonderful kingdom.
Because this will be the first time that
there will be a Crown Prince and Princess at Estrella, Their Majesties
presented some regalia that was commissioned in order to ease the burden on
Their Highnesses and provide some beautiful works of art for their office. Lady Valora tou Ayiva, known far and wide for
her excellent silk banners, presented a set of silk banners showing the
heraldry for the Crown Prince and Princess.
These will be used to designate their encampment at Estrella. Mistress Cassandra of Kingswear came forth
and presented the first of four different types of fighting tunics that will be
constructed and included in the Regalia.
These tunics will bear the Crown Prince and Princess’ heraldry as
well. HRH Thomas announced that HRH
Illora will be taking the heavy combat field at Estrella. Thus, all of our Royalty will be defending
the Kingdom at Estrella War this year.
Lord Martin de Gras, Corona Herald, came forward and
presented tokens of his appreciation to the heralds that assisted him in today’s
tournament. These tokens were in the
form of a small stainless steel flasks decorated with a special sticker
commemorating the recipient’s role as a Field Herald for this Crown
Tournament. Baron Michaelis, Lord
Kedivor, THL Jean Andre, THL Jerusha (Hey, that’s me! ;) and Master Seamus “Padre” were called
forth and recognized for their work in the today’s tournament. Three cheers were given, and His Majesty took
the time to thank all of the staff and officers that help run Crown Tournament.
Their Majesties called forth Luanna of Atenveldt, who is the
lady of Sir Ian Nudd, the current Kingdom Earl Marshal. As she knelt in front of them, they spoke of
her service to the kingdom and her efforts as a “spousal deputy” to Sir Nudd,
providing him with love and support in his duties. Their Majesties chose to recognize her as a
Lady of Atenveldt and extolled her to continue in her service.
Baron Brian the Pious, the current Warlord, was called
forward to speak about the following day’s tournament. Because of the change in the Estrella War
date, His Majesty announced that the winner of tomorrow’s tournament would be
known as the Prince’s Warlord and would be invested as Warlord at
Coronation. Brian announced that the
tournament would be open to all fighters, Chivalry and non, and asked that
fighters come prepared with gauntlets and two handed weapons.
Her Majesty then spoke of the Queen’s Rapier Championship
tournament that will be taking place tomorrow as well. It will be a bear pit style tournament with
the top fighters moving forward to a traditional tournament style. She asked that all Rapier fighters bring
their cards.
I would like to stop for a moment to describe the
shenanigans that were going on during these announcements were being made. It seems that Baroness Elizabeth was
continuing her quest to fatten up the warriors of the kingdom by constantly
tossing Twinkies to his Majesty. He in
turn would toss the Twinkies to Baron Brian, who would then toss them to the
crowd. In addition, there was much witty
banter between the Queen, the Herald, and the King. Suffice it to say, there was a spirit of
giddiness and fun that is a joy to see in a court.
Their Majesties call forward Thegn Tighernain the Hound to
Their Presence. They speak of this good man’s service to the
Crown and Kingdom through his work as a formal Earl Marshal, Baron, and artisan
for the Kingdom. They recognize his
service by making him a Companion of the Beacon of the Desert.
Dame Jennifer Trethyw is called up and thanked for her
service as Kingdom Signet for the past two years. Her successor, Mistress Dairine, is called
forth and swears the oath of service to the Kingdom as the newest Kingdom
Signet. Her lord, Sir Jacob, holds the
Sword of State as this is done. Three
Cheers were given for both ladies and to the continuation of the Scribal
tradition of this great kingdom!
Their Majesties called forth Viscountess Victoria, Baroness Magdalene,
and Mistress Tigra and introduced them as the Main Stewards for Estrella War
29. They will observe at this year’s war
and will run it next year. A solid roar
of approval came from the crowd.
Lord Correus Dracontius was called forth. Their Majesties spoke of his service to the
Shire of Granholme, serving as the Seneschal as well as assisting his lady wife
with stewarding various events in their Shire.
For his continuing service to the kingdom, he was admitted unto the
Light of Atenveldt!
Her Majesty brings forth the Shield of Chivalry, beaning His
Majesty over the head with it in the process of getting it out from behind the
thrones. She thanked the outgoing
bearer, Master Charles De Lacey, for his tenure and acknowledged his great
deeds on the field. Then, she spoke of
the hard decision that she had to make, due to the many acts of chivalry,
courtesy and grace that the fighters on the list demonstrated. She stated that there was no clear winner
from the Ladies of the Rose nor could she find consensus with other people she
questioned about the tournament. She
said that this was a testimony to the grandness and high character of the day. She stated that she chose
the bearer of the Shield based on their conduct both in the tournament and
without. She spoke of this person’s
heart, drive, and willingness to learn.
To the roar of the crowd, she called forward Sayyida Mariyah al-Medinah
and invested her as the Bearer of the Shield of Chivalry.
Finally, Their Majesties asked Lady Tatiana Verolini to come
forward and demonstrate the new parasol she was commissioned to make. Based on a period design, the parasol can be
folded into a bag that is specially made for it, and the top finial has its own
padded box so that it can be protected when not being used. As she was putting the final finishing
touches on the bag, Their Majesties spoke of her artistic prowess and how the
beautiful parasol was almost like… a masterwork.
There was about five seconds of silence. Slowly, Tatiana’s face blanched, and to the
overwhelming approval of the populace, Their Majesties called forward the Order
of the Laurel! Dumbfounded, Tatiana sank
to her knees as Their Majesties explained that she would be asked a question
and her answer would be received at Sunday Court at Estrella War. She was then yanked up by the excited Laurels
around her and was about to be led away when Her Majesty stopped them. It seems, she was not quite done yet.
A hushed silence fell on the crowd as Her Majesty came
forward and started walking out of the pavilion and scanned the area with her hand over her eyes. Indeed, all eyes were on her as she walked up and
down the aisle, searching for the next candidate for the Order of the
Laurel. She went back into the pavilion,
and made her way to the front row, over to where THL Raven Mayne was sitting
with his lady wife, Mistress Turrel. She
took him by the hand and started leading him towards the thrones. At first, there were small gasps and
individual shouts, as the view of the populace was blocked by the assembled
Order. But soon, the word spread like
wildfire and the Crowd rose to its feet.
I will unabashedly state that I was jumping up and down for sheer joy
and a grin appeared on my face that has yet to leave. To the most ardent approval of the crowd,
Their Majesties asked Raven to contemplate accepting the Order of the Laurel
from their hands! They announced that
they wished him to present his masterwork at Coronation and answer the question
at that time.
The candidates were led away and Their Majesties announced
that the following morning’s court would begin at 11am. They then closed their court and the crowd
disbursed, running towards the newest candidates as well as preparing for an
evening under the stars or back at home.
Tomorrow is another day, but today was truly a red letter
day for this kingdom. Once again, Craven
and Elzbieta have chosen wisely and well in their accolades. Estrella War will be an event of EPIC proportions!
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