RE: Spheres of Influence: Alliance
11-11-2019, 09:06 PM
The Royal Wedding in Tiranóg was an unusual affair - For anyone unfamiliar with how such things were typically done.
All the heads of state and government of the member nations of the Alliance were invited to attend, and some very much did arrive in person, while others sent representatives. The Dwarven kingdom of Thertarr, normally content to pretend its neighbours didn't exist, consented to send a younger member of their royal family as representative. While the Kingdom of Gundarth on the other hand, showed up with all due pomp and circumstance, their foppish extravagence at odds with their rough and tumble demeanours, hard features, barking laughs, and rough spun cotten tunics and kilts that were Gundarthian traditional garb.
King Thedrin of Khuln Kalduhr and his Queen, Durgana arrived, as did, rather controversally, Admiral Jack Rousseau of the Freed Bay Post, a calculated but appropriate choice for the Post Office to send. As decorum meant the state could not be denied an invite for diplomacy's sake, but the tensions meant most possible representatives sent would be considered inappropriate, a naval officer was the closest to a neutral candidate and one welcomed by Tiranóg. Aztra of the Antipode Coalition, Tiranóg's closest neighbor by sea arrived, as well as the other representatives of Alliance states, great and small were invited and had arrived for what was intended to be a symbol of Alliance Unity and strength after a year of Chaos, both for Tiranóg nationally, and for the Alliance as a whole. Surprisingly, and perhaps to some alarm, the Queen of Borok had been invited as a sign of good faith on Tiranóg's part and had arrived with her entourage, rowdy and proud, keen to prove to these soft Southerners they were not to be taken lightly.
The Wedding Ceremony itself was as formal as everyone had expected it to be, taking place in one of the lesser Cathedrals of Dunfelian, as the newly instated High Priest of the Tiranógi faith officiated the proceedings, invoking the blessings of Ashurian, the Tiranógian king of the gods and god of kings on both sovereigns. An unusual deviation of normal proceedings, as typically only one of the pair was truly sovereign until the marriage had taken place, hence only one of them needed to be specifically given over to Ashurian even though the spouse always had to adopt him as one of their gods to become consort, but given the strange state of affairs, and Queen Justine's ascension to the Royal Dignity prior to the wedding, both had to be officially blessed, anointed with oils and finally after the vows and the cheers, ritually doused in buckets of Whiskey as a reminder of their duties as Heads of State and Warlords to drink of the common water in times of war. The common water being, obviously, cheap whiskey in this analogy. Queen Justine was less enthused by this part of the ritual but she was consoled both prior to and after it by Geród's good cheer. After which, according to tradition, the consort was allowed the blessings and rites of her own gods if they wished, while the Tiranógian monarch would seek the blessings of his church's other gods after Ashurian.
Then the brawls would begin.
In Tiranógian tradition and since antiquity, weddings were raucous affairs, especially as the mercenary and adventurer traditions became more ingrained in society. Centuries ago, one of Geród's ancestors managed to convince the Captaincy, both of his military and the Mercenary companies, to at least hold off on their shenanigans until after the religious ceremony had been concluded. This led to the tradition of the Caller, whose sole duty was to speak when it was time for the celebrations to begin in earnest. What began as a barely threadbare measure to withhold the raucous chaos of Tiranógian celebrations turned into a prestigious position, equivalent to the Best Man and awarded by the Sovereign to a person held in high regard. This Wedding's Caller was chosen to be Duic MkFieldan and with great gusto and aplomb, as the royal couple left the Cathedral, he gave the call that the Wedding had been concluded not a second after the dousing in Whiskey on the Cathedral steps. As tradition dictated, the street festivals began in earnest and would continue onwards throughout the week, but for the night in question, it was open feasting, drinking, song making and not an hour into the festivities, the first fistfight broke out between a Tiranógian Captain of the Crimson Guard and a cocky young mercenary.
After that, and much to the shock of some of the continentals, several of the Tiranógian nobility got involved, as did the Gundarthians who had similar traditions, while those guests less so inclined were invited to the feasting hall by the Ríoch. The Borokians, not to be left out of the affair, would begin challenging all comers and be promptly trounced by the nearest Half Elf Dignitary, if not King Bigfist herself, or the nearest dwarf who'd happily enjoy the challenge. The fights were as often broken up as they were started as much by the Dunfelian citizenry as by officers of the law who were well used to this nonsense culturally and easily began sorting out the worst of the offences from the simply recalcitrants and directed the fighting to pre-arranged boxing rings drawn up in the market place specifically for this tradition, the 'Mercenary's Wedding Feast' as the custom was known in the past became the norm for the Tiranógian Wedding reception throughout the nation, the royal wedding was just an especially large and boisterous affair given its importance. The Borokians had the time of their lives at least.
It was, however, also the one occasion where the normally libertarian Tiranógians, when it came to weaponry at least, confiscated and banned open carry in the city except by authorized personnel and special guests. It was all said and done, a grand affair of much feasting, drinking, and tearful rapprochements after one two many busted noses, blackened eyes, and chipped teeth. While those guests less inclined to the rowdy end of the Tiranogian tradition were treated to a round of balls and feasts in the Noble Houses and estates of Dunfelian to bask in the higher end of the cultural display.
It was hoped that this one event however small in the grand scheme of things, and despite everything that had occurred, would help ease tensions and provide confidence in the stability and the unity of the alliance in spirit and trust if nothing else.
All the heads of state and government of the member nations of the Alliance were invited to attend, and some very much did arrive in person, while others sent representatives. The Dwarven kingdom of Thertarr, normally content to pretend its neighbours didn't exist, consented to send a younger member of their royal family as representative. While the Kingdom of Gundarth on the other hand, showed up with all due pomp and circumstance, their foppish extravagence at odds with their rough and tumble demeanours, hard features, barking laughs, and rough spun cotten tunics and kilts that were Gundarthian traditional garb.
King Thedrin of Khuln Kalduhr and his Queen, Durgana arrived, as did, rather controversally, Admiral Jack Rousseau of the Freed Bay Post, a calculated but appropriate choice for the Post Office to send. As decorum meant the state could not be denied an invite for diplomacy's sake, but the tensions meant most possible representatives sent would be considered inappropriate, a naval officer was the closest to a neutral candidate and one welcomed by Tiranóg. Aztra of the Antipode Coalition, Tiranóg's closest neighbor by sea arrived, as well as the other representatives of Alliance states, great and small were invited and had arrived for what was intended to be a symbol of Alliance Unity and strength after a year of Chaos, both for Tiranóg nationally, and for the Alliance as a whole. Surprisingly, and perhaps to some alarm, the Queen of Borok had been invited as a sign of good faith on Tiranóg's part and had arrived with her entourage, rowdy and proud, keen to prove to these soft Southerners they were not to be taken lightly.
The Wedding Ceremony itself was as formal as everyone had expected it to be, taking place in one of the lesser Cathedrals of Dunfelian, as the newly instated High Priest of the Tiranógi faith officiated the proceedings, invoking the blessings of Ashurian, the Tiranógian king of the gods and god of kings on both sovereigns. An unusual deviation of normal proceedings, as typically only one of the pair was truly sovereign until the marriage had taken place, hence only one of them needed to be specifically given over to Ashurian even though the spouse always had to adopt him as one of their gods to become consort, but given the strange state of affairs, and Queen Justine's ascension to the Royal Dignity prior to the wedding, both had to be officially blessed, anointed with oils and finally after the vows and the cheers, ritually doused in buckets of Whiskey as a reminder of their duties as Heads of State and Warlords to drink of the common water in times of war. The common water being, obviously, cheap whiskey in this analogy. Queen Justine was less enthused by this part of the ritual but she was consoled both prior to and after it by Geród's good cheer. After which, according to tradition, the consort was allowed the blessings and rites of her own gods if they wished, while the Tiranógian monarch would seek the blessings of his church's other gods after Ashurian.
Then the brawls would begin.
In Tiranógian tradition and since antiquity, weddings were raucous affairs, especially as the mercenary and adventurer traditions became more ingrained in society. Centuries ago, one of Geród's ancestors managed to convince the Captaincy, both of his military and the Mercenary companies, to at least hold off on their shenanigans until after the religious ceremony had been concluded. This led to the tradition of the Caller, whose sole duty was to speak when it was time for the celebrations to begin in earnest. What began as a barely threadbare measure to withhold the raucous chaos of Tiranógian celebrations turned into a prestigious position, equivalent to the Best Man and awarded by the Sovereign to a person held in high regard. This Wedding's Caller was chosen to be Duic MkFieldan and with great gusto and aplomb, as the royal couple left the Cathedral, he gave the call that the Wedding had been concluded not a second after the dousing in Whiskey on the Cathedral steps. As tradition dictated, the street festivals began in earnest and would continue onwards throughout the week, but for the night in question, it was open feasting, drinking, song making and not an hour into the festivities, the first fistfight broke out between a Tiranógian Captain of the Crimson Guard and a cocky young mercenary.
After that, and much to the shock of some of the continentals, several of the Tiranógian nobility got involved, as did the Gundarthians who had similar traditions, while those guests less so inclined were invited to the feasting hall by the Ríoch. The Borokians, not to be left out of the affair, would begin challenging all comers and be promptly trounced by the nearest Half Elf Dignitary, if not King Bigfist herself, or the nearest dwarf who'd happily enjoy the challenge. The fights were as often broken up as they were started as much by the Dunfelian citizenry as by officers of the law who were well used to this nonsense culturally and easily began sorting out the worst of the offences from the simply recalcitrants and directed the fighting to pre-arranged boxing rings drawn up in the market place specifically for this tradition, the 'Mercenary's Wedding Feast' as the custom was known in the past became the norm for the Tiranógian Wedding reception throughout the nation, the royal wedding was just an especially large and boisterous affair given its importance. The Borokians had the time of their lives at least.
It was, however, also the one occasion where the normally libertarian Tiranógians, when it came to weaponry at least, confiscated and banned open carry in the city except by authorized personnel and special guests. It was all said and done, a grand affair of much feasting, drinking, and tearful rapprochements after one two many busted noses, blackened eyes, and chipped teeth. While those guests less inclined to the rowdy end of the Tiranogian tradition were treated to a round of balls and feasts in the Noble Houses and estates of Dunfelian to bask in the higher end of the cultural display.
It was hoped that this one event however small in the grand scheme of things, and despite everything that had occurred, would help ease tensions and provide confidence in the stability and the unity of the alliance in spirit and trust if nothing else.