Peerage Bestowment Ceremony
In Fermion, the ceremony for being a noble was filled with pomp and circumstance. Every act was carried significance and deep meaning. Knowing today would be filled with ceremony, Will motivated himself to leave the bed.
Will woke up to a beautiful woman sleeping on his left shoulder. Last night, was full of passion and exhaustion. Will woke up this morning full of vitality. He left the bed, without waking April changed into his clothes, and went downstairs for his morning routine.
After Tai Chi, Will joined his parents and Rebecca for breakfast in the gallery. A long dining table sat in the gallery. The dining table was filled with mounds of fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, potatoes, toast, freshly squeezed juice, steamy cups of tea, and an assortment of pastries. Will sat at the head of the table, to his left was his father. His mother sat in between Rebecca and his father.
"Mother why can't I sit next to Will? No one is sitting to his right," Rebeca asked incredulously.
"As I mentioned a thousand times, that seat is reserved for Will's fiancée or wife," Helen vont Ballard scolded her daughter.
"James!" Helen reminded her husband.
"Oh, yes, Will are you any closer to deciding whom you'll marry?" James vont Ballard asked.
"Yes, I hope you decide to marry before I die!" Helen said passive-aggressively.
"Indeed," James concurred after Helen glared at him.
"Now upstairs, hurry, the king's herald could be here at any moment to deliver your 'writ of Summons," Helen said hurried Will upstairs to change.
"Mother, may I finish my breakfast first," Will asked smiling.
Seeing his mother flustered, and his father relaxed made Will chuckle. His parents were total opposites. His mother was high-strung, passive-aggressive, or downright aggressive at times. While his father was relaxed and direct. Will thought his reincarnated parents complimented each other nicely. More importantly, they were in love.
In this medieval era, love was irrelevant in marriage. Instead, love was replaced with more practice notions of family background and financial arrangements. Jason and Kathryn had arranged marriages from birth. Rebecca was also arranged to be married until she became a Disciple of Aether. Disciples were considered married to the church, the same as a nun. As the second and third sons of a rural baron, there were not many lords willing to arrange a marriage to their daughters.
That was the reason why Will had the freedom to select his bride. However, Will could tell his parents would be happy to arrange a marriage at a moment's notice.
"When Will becomes a baronet what happens to our family," Rebecca asked planning with her omelet.
"When Will becomes a baronet, he is removed from our family tree and placed as the head of a new vont Ballard family," James said eating as much food as bear getting ready to hibernate.
"Does that mean I'll no longer be his sister?" Rebecca questioned sadly.
Will wanted to interject and say, 'I wish,' but he keep that comment to himself.
"You'll always be his sister dearest," Helen hugged her daughter.
After breakfast, Will ran upstairs to change. Will saw April and his bedsheets had disappeared. No doubt, both needed a good washing. By the time Will left the washroom, there was a new white tunic, gold belt, and white slippers onto his freshly pressed bedspread.
The first part of the peerage bestowal ceremony, required a dress in a plain white tunic to show his submissiveness to the crown. The candidate for peerage was only afforded one item of clothing they could wear. Will choose a gold belt to represent his prosperity and what he could contribute to Fermion.
At the 10th bell, the king's herald walked into the Great Hall. He was a tall slender man with a powdered white wig, red suit, and black shoes. He wore a serious judgmental expression. Inside the Grand Hall, Will's family stood proudly behind him. Behind his family, was a row of the household staff.
"William vont Ballard, kneel" the herald commanded.
Before Will could drop to one knee, Michael placed a red cushioned pillow on the floor. Will's kneeled with his right knee on the pillow and bowed his head to hear the kings summon.
The herald unfurled a scroll and coughed twice.
"William vont Ballard, on this most auspicious of days, in the year 1327 of our gods, His Majesty King Remus Albus Fermion IX hereby summons you to the castle to bestow upon you the sixth rank of a baronet," the herald proclaimed.
"Please let the His Majesty King Remus Albus Fermion IX, I am humbled and graciously accept," Will repeated the words his father had told him.
Then Will stood, and the herald bowed to him before leaving. In Fermion, when a herald proclaimed the king's writ, regardless of status, everyone had to bow. The reason, why the herald bowed to Will, was because he was no longer acting on the king's behalf.
Tradition, customs, governed every aspect of a noble's daily life. And Traditions and customs of peerage were the most observed.
After the writ was given, Will was ushered to his bedroom by his groomsmen. Will's hair was trimmed, he had to bathe in a bath of milk and perfumes. He was then dressed in a new black suit with shoulder straps.
After his peerage ceremony, the Head Stewart of the king would place a white sash with black strips on him. Each noble peerage had its color sash. Baronets wore a white sash with black stripes, barons wore a white sash, viscounts wore a yellow sash, earls wore a blue sash, marquis wore a red sash, a duke wore a purple sash, and royalty wore golden sashes.
At parties, the sash was an easy identifier of who belonged to which social stratum. Will shoulder straps would soon hold his white sash with black stripes.
After three maddening hours of being pampered, Will was finally dressed and ready to head to the capital. Will and his family loaded into the carriage and made their way to the castle. As the carriage made its way to the castle, Will noticed the cloudless blue sunny sky. It was the perfect fall day. The wind quietly blew through the carriage windows.
As the carriage passed over the bridge and through the castle walls, Will saw the castle's massive battlements. The castle guards walked along the parapet, diligently watching Will's carriage.
The castle's keep was a massive structure jetting towards the sky. The keep had four round 50-meter towers and twin spires rose above the keep's roof. For some reason, Will kept thinking the keep looked like a medieval skyscraper. The keep had a wide base and tall frame.
Outside the keep, Will was greeted by two columns of palace knights, dressed decoratively in their silver and gold armor. The knights' silver breastplate had a royal coat of arms, two golden dragons holding a golden shield with a golden crown atop a mithril helmet. Both dragons wore golden crowns. The three crowns were bejeweled with bright red rubies. Around the shield were the words "In The Gods We Trust, By The Gods, We Shall Conquer." The shield was divide into four sections. The top right and bottom left had three golden griffins over a red background. The top right was a golden spear over a purple background and the bottom left was a golden prayer book over a purple background.
Will could tell all the knights were held the rank of master. Their battle aura and sword intent were enough to put guess at unease. Will and his family walked past the guard. Will saw his mother, gripped her husband's arm tighter. Helen vont Ballard, was not a magic-user, unlike her husband, daughter, and son. Besides his mother, Will's older sister Kathryn was the only non-magic user in the family.
Walking through the keep was like walking through a museum. The keeps floor was polished marble. Old knight armor and paintings surround Will and his family on the way to the Royal Court. Will was marveled at the paintings of past sovereigns, battles, and mythical depictions of might. The paintings gave the impression, the king's family was the offspring of gods. In Fermion, the king was considered to be a demi-god. To go against the king, was blasphemy and punishable by death.
Outside the Royal Court, a royal steward with a powdered wig and cane stood next to Will.
"William vont Ballard, are you familiar with the customs and tradition of the peerage?" the old man asked like a grandfather advising his grandson.
Will nodded. His stomach was suddenly in knots and he couldn't speak.
"Good then, let's go in," the old steward said smiling, he could tell Will was nervous.
The old steward pressed a light button with his cane, and the patiently waited.
The large golden door began to open, at their zenith Will saw to columns of immaculately dressed nobles. The entire court was filled with noblemen. The largest windows Will had ever seen, brightly lit up the court with sunlight reflecting off the golden room. A red carpet led to the throne. The polished marble floor resembled a sea of white.
Then Will heard a herald shout, "Approaching the thrown your majesty, William vont Ballard, accompanied by his father Baron James vont Ballard, his mother Hellen vont Ballard, and his sister Disciple Rebecca vont Ballard.
Without thinking, Will felt his legs carry him toward the throne. The throne sat on a raised platform four steps from the floor. It reminded Will of his old office in New York, where his office chair stood six inches taller than the quest chair. The appearance of making yourself taller served to intimidate his guest while making himself look more esteemed. The same principles are applied now.
King Remus Albus Fermion the IX, sat on the gold throne staring at Will. This was only Will's second time seeing the king. The King was a frail old man, with shoulder-length white hair and beard. His eyes were a deep piercing icy blue and small moles cluttered his face.
The queen sat next to the left of the king, she was a beautiful woman with flawless pale skin. Her hair was a mix of white and light blonde. Her hazelnut eyes looked at Will inquisitively. Behind the Royal couple were four blonde children with a mix of blue, brown, and hazelnut eyes. Standing to the right of the king was the crown prince and second prince. The left of the queen was the oldest and youngest princesses.
In front of the king and to his right stood his royal advisors. Will was surprised to see Elder Thaddeus standing among them, smiling from ear to ear.
In front of the throne stood the duke and Cardinal vont Gaius. Will had not seen the cardinal in a year, since the last midyear duels.
Will approach the throne and place his right knee on the ground and cover his heart with his left hand.
The king looked at Will and said, "For someone so young, you have accomplished great things. Surely the Godmother Gaia favors you. Thank you for providing my people with much entertainment.
Furthermore, your heroics in Death Valley were exemplary. My former tutor and adviser Grandmaster Thaddeus has told me many wonderful stories about before today's ceremony. He sees much potential in you!" The king said warmly.
When the king spoke about Grandmaster Thaddeus, the crown prince frowned. It was a well know fact Grandmaster Thaddeus refused the king's invitation to tutoring the crown prince.
"Your words honor me, your majesty," Will said humbly.
"You look young, but your eyes are mature like an old man. I look forward to seeing what else you have in store. Ah, if I was but a younger man I would ask you to be one of my advisers," the king said to audible gasps of the crowd. To say that was to offer Will high praise.
After saying these words the king stood. The entire court became silent. Speaking out loud the King raised his feeble voice, "Here me today, in honor of your achievements in Death Valley and your merchant success. I, King Albus Fermion the 9th, hereby bestow upon you the 6th title of baronet!"
After hearing those words, Will took out his sword and placed it before with the tip resting on the ground. The Will shouted, "From this day forth, my sword is pledged to my sovereign, my country, and our people. May the Gods forever favor Fermion!"
"Rise Baronet William vont Ballard!" the king yelled.
Will stats screen blinked.
Race: Human
Rank: 1 (Baronet)
Class: Merchant
Sub Class: Spellsword
Attributes:
Constitution—50
Strength—50
Dexterity—46
Intellect—66
Charisma—15
Ranks Skills: Management (50), Diplomacy (35), Accounting (52)
Class Skills: Appraisal (15, 100), [Radar]
Abilities: Journeyman Swordsmanship (1, 50), Journeyman Terramancer (1, 50), Gaia's Blessing (multiplies your spell strength x2), Novice Blacksmith (20, 25).
Will stood facing his majesty. The king glanced at the Head Stewart. The Head Stewart said, "in addition, His Majesty King Remus Albus Fermion the IX, also bestows upon you the title Lord of Games."
Once again, Will's status screen blinked.
Race: Human
Rank: 1 (Baronet)/ Lord of Games
Class: Merchant
Sub Class: Spellsword
Attributes:
Constitution—50
Strength—50
Dexterity—46
Intellect—66
Charisma—15
Ranks Skills: Management (50), Diplomacy (35), Accounting (52)
Class Skills: Appraisal (15, 100), [Radar]
Abilities: Journeyman Swordsmanship (1, 50), Journeyman Terramancer (1, 50), Gaia's Blessing (multiplies your spell strength x2), Novice Blacksmith (20, 25).
As Will continued facing his majesty. His father, James, slid the white sash with black stripes through Will's shoulder strap. On his suit, over his left breast James pined the Lord of Games medal and Will's medal of valor. The Lord of Games medal was a gold oval with a silver Phoenix surrounded by a gold wreath. Attached to the gold oval were four gold trapezoids on the top, sides, and bottom.
"Hail, Baronet vont Ballard" James led the court in a chant.
After the chant third chant, the peerage ceremony concluded. Will slowly took three steps back before leaving the court.
In the carriage ride back to his estate, Will saw his mother teary eyes. During the entire ceremony his mother Helen had cried tears of joy. To have your child bestowed a peerage an honor not just for the child, but also for the parents.