Day 19 - It Only Took Two Years

Today I'm taking a break from music to do something which, while not conventional A&S, still counts as far as I'm concerned.

When I was lucky enough to take up the post of Blackwing Herald, I inherited a whole lot of stuff with it, including the Book of Ceremonies. It's a file, with a fancy heraldic medieval-looking camouflage cover, containing all of the common award, court and procedure ceremonies for Lochac. If I'm called on to do anything, up to and including swearing in of a new King and Queen, this folder has what I need.

Every ceremony takes up at least one page, with fancy, curly writing and the full procedure for the ceremony, including what the Herald and the King and Queen say.

The thing is, Kings and Queens don't follow the script. It's not as if they have to. Every King and Queen I've seen so far prefers to wing it, giving each ceremony a more personal touch as they can specifically focus on the candidate(s) and their achievements. Only the Herald needs to follow the script, given that we're not allowed to improvise in court.

When I was lucky enough to herald for Ariston and Lilivati at May Crown, they had different versions of each ceremony to match the time period of their rule. They were amazing ceremonies. And it only took three A4 pages to fit every single one of them, since they knew full well that the Herald's the only one who needs to follow the script.

Today I'm writing shorthand versions of each ceremony, consisting only of what the Herald needs to say. I won't replace what's in the Book of Ceremonies, but I'll add a cheat sheet to it, fitting all the basic ceremonies on as few an amount of pages as I can. If a Herald is confident enough to be able to call for people to enter court, and call for cheers, without reading verbatim, then those sheet(s) should be all they need.

I also need to spend some time rearranging the ceremonies that are in there. They've gotten a bit scrambled since I took office. Whoops.

Tonight I'll upload another of my older songs, tentatively named 'Withdrawal'. A member of our peerage posted on Facebook on the first day of this year about their first cup of coffee, concluding with 'Hello, my friend.' Cue the comments echoing 'The Sound of Silence'. Cue me, bored again, stretching my filk muscles.

Withdrawal

 Withdrawal

To the tune of 'The Sound of Silence'

 

Hello caffeine, my old friend
I'm feeling energised again
My sword and board shall ring in conquest
I'll stand and hold the field the longest
In days to come
The tales of my dominance shall echo through the feasting hall
When bards recall
The love I share
With coffee

When first I tried that potent brew
I found that nothing else would do
The power surging through my muscled frame
Adrenaline that none could ever tame
I took the field
And ten seconds later, I saw a dozen fighters dead
The others fled
Before the might
Of coffee

And then one day, on cobbled stone
I knelt with pride before the throne
No longer counted with the amateurs
I took the belt and chain and golden spurs
The words were spoke
With blade on my shoulders, a knighthood given unto me
On bended knee
And all because
Of coffee

The game goes on, the night grows cold
With faces new replacing old
I know that royalty will come and go
Even the etiquettes and rules I know
Nothing immune
No matter what happens, one thing I know shall never change
The sweet exchange
Between myself
And coffee

And though my might has never fled
From time to time I wind up dead
The black bean's influence has just begun
It seems I may not be the only one
My secret's out
The source of my power has found its way to others' lips
My light's eclipse
It seems they've stole
My coffee

- Technically written for Sir Nathan Blacktower, but go ahead - try to tell me you don't know anyone this could apply to.