A New Son of Rangi

[BenOfTheIwi]

On the 23rd of March 2019 Prince Kimo will turn ten years of age. This is an important time in the life of a Maori boy, a time when they put aside the carefree nature of childhood and begin to assume roles within the Iwi. Each Iwi celebrates this process in its own unique way and the Ngāpuhi will host a ceremony for Kimo's coming of age. As the largest Iwi of the Unified Commonwealth, and the Iwi from which the royal family descend this ceremony shall be witnessed by members of all Iwi's. We therefore extend this invitation to those foreign dignitaries who have been adopted into any of our Iwi. We look forward to welcoming you to our Marae on the 23rd and sharing this joyous occasion with you all.

Royal Envoy
Tane Sevasi of the Ngāpuhi

[Libby]

Several years ago the Queendom of Lodja and the Commonwealth of the Unified Iwi became friends and the then Queen Viktoria was adopted into one of your Iwi. I was present at that ceremony and was honoured to witness it and know that the whole of Lodja had been united in friendship with the people of that Iwi. I would therefore be honoured that my first formal visit as a member of the Lodjain Royal Family would be to revist the land who kindly showed us such hospitality. As a result I would be honoured to attend this ceremony on behalf of the Lodjain Queen and her people.

May The Goddess Bless You

Crown Princess Roksana of Lodja, also of the Ngāti Rongomaiwahine

[Achkaerin]

A couple of years ago the Achkaerinese Prefect[1] of Ardia and his family were honoured to be present at your Matakiri, a day that saw the adoption of my nation into an Iwi, which would make us family if I correctly understand the culture and traditions of the Commonwealth of the Unified Iwi. Therefore it will be a great honour to attend this coming of age ceremony in person with my immediate family and learn more of your people and nation.

Emperor Peter Azurewind of Achkaerin, also of the Ngāti Paoa

1.	Senior Continental Ambassador

[Norgeras]

"My father still remembers fondly the Matariki where he and his close friend Julian Wingert had been adopted into the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi, representing our nation as a whole.

While i will sadly be preoccupied having to deal with the Heads of state in Mid Aranye, the Emperor is thrilled to get his chance to finally be able to visit your homeland in Person. He will Travel with my Father, Prince Kurt, and Julian Wingert. Depending on their behavior we might bring one of the Imperial children close to Kimo's age along for the Trip, if it does not mean too much of a hassle for the Prince and your preparations at this important day in his life.


With my best Regards, and sincerely wishing i could come myself,

Prince Albrecht of Uburzis, Regent to Emperor Orion the First of Uburzis

[BenOfTheIwi]

The Ngāpuhi Marae was in a small village around 20km from the capital of Hunter's Bay, it was perched on top of white chalk cliffs which overlooked the Krimeon. The large traditional Wharenui meeting hall still had the village carpenter, an old man who despite his age still had a vice like grip of the chisel he used to finish his carving. It showed a fern leaf uncurling under the newly rising sun which was wearing a crown. Yet another image in the lengthy history of the  Ngāpuhi Iwi. The last carefully considered flourish of the chisel saw the image done and then the old man reached down and picked up a series of small ceramic pots examining each in turn he elected for the red and used it to rub into the freshly exposed wood, next he selected a yellow colour and used that to help bring his stylised image to life. His work done he looked around the hall, so much of the walls covered in dark scenes from the past, one that now he hoped would just as his picture was in contrast to the dark, would only get brighter. To the people of the Commonwealth today marked something special. It would be the first time they'd crowned a monarch born as a free Maori, not someone who had been born into warfare like the other Maori Kings.

The young Prince sat nervously with his father overlooking the sea. Both were dressed a like, the giant of Piripi his arm around his boys shoulder telling him some story from their tribes ancient past of how they had come from a land unknown on giant canoes. One example of that sat in one of the large halls that dotted the collective compound. It had always been a favourite place for Piripi as a child and more than once he'd been told off for climbing on it playing with his now deceased older brother. The wind picked up for a moment or two billowing the King's colourful feather and fur cape soon his son would have a matching one it being the symbol of royal rank. As the father and son sat talking they didn't hear the approach of bare feet on dew soaked grass, Queen Maata approached. "The guests are beginning to arrive" she said waiting for the pair to join her and make the way back to the centre of the village. Like her husband she was wearing her cloak and the pair walked hand in hand as Prince Kimo walked ahead of them.

In the village centre there was a hustle and bustle as hundreds of Maori put the finishing touches to the tribal common grounds. Sideless tents had been erected, ten in total with one running perpendicular to the rest. If it hadn't been for people taking pictures on mobile phones the scene would have looked much like one when the Maori canoes had arrived, everyone was wearing traditional grass skirts and dresses, almost every man was carrying some kind of war club or spear. It was only the front gate of the compound that looked like 2019 with armed soldier patrolling the perimeter. It was through this gate the arrivals being ferried to the village would pass, there would be less fanfare than when the nations first visited, after all they were no longer classed as strangers but rather members of an invited Iwi. The King and Queen made their way to the hall with the giant canoe in ready to greet the various guests as they came.

[Achkaerin]

Peter was enjoying the weather, it was a nice sunny day with a gentle breeze, it reminded the Achkaerinese Emperor of home well except for the bit where the Iwi was certainly much warmer temperature wise than Achkaerin was. He'd been looking forward to the opportunity to visit the Iwi, he'd heard an awful lot about the country from the Cox family who'd been here before and judging by what they'd told various members of Achkaerinese society they'd been impressed. It only took entering the compound for Peter to understand why they'd been impressed, there was a definite strong sense of identity standing out about the country. Peter glanced at his wife Renee who gave him a smile

"Kirsty would love this." Peter said referring to his goddaughter "The craftsmanship on show here is excellent."
"Well if Xiaoling gets a chance to come out here be sure to suggest she bring Kirsty along." Renee said

This being something of a family occasion for the Iwi had guided Peter to bringing his own family with him his son Simon was tying his shoelaces while his wife Lydia stood next to him, her eyes subconciously darting everywhere, keeping watch as it were a reflex she couldn't turn off, even on days like this. Why was Simon tying his shoelaces well he was preparing himself for the possibility of having to chase his twin daughters Aeolia and Lamia around if they decided to misbehave, they'd promised to be as good as gold but Simon remembered the last time they'd said that that the pair of practical jokers that the girls were had managed to replace someones shaving foam with squirty cream.

Rounding out the Achkaerinese guests was Peter's daughter Serenity, being supported by her husband Isaac, this was due to Serenity not being completely sure of her artificial leg's footing on the wet and slippery grass and then there were their two girls Astrid who was skipping around so carefree and so oblivious to the fact that this was technically her first official oversea's visit and Lisa who wasn't straying too far from her mother's side.

"Now girls don't go getting into any trouble." Peter said looking at his four granddaughters
"We won't." the four girls said
"Aeolia and Lamia I can see those crossed fingers from here." Lydia said
"Let's find our host." Renee said

The family made their way to the hall, finding themselves the first arrivals took Peter a little by surprise, he wasn't used to that feeling. He approached Piripi and Maata standing a respectful distance from them and then gave as he always did when meeting another monarch for the first time a respectful bow, always better to be safe in such things.

"Your Majesty." Peter said "It's an honour to finally meet you, your family and to be able to experience your country, may today be a joyous and a day remembered for many generations to come. Allow me to introduce you to my family." He then proceeded to introduce their hosts to each member of the family who'd made the trip with him.

OOC - Hope this is ok. Isaac used by an agreement between myself and Cool regarding some of each other's characters just bear in mind that I can't talk about Revanan policy as it's not my nation. 

[DaveIronside]

"Flying Officer Harrison-Ironside" the Camp commander sat behind his desk as Sophie walked in, "Please take a seat" He gestured to the seat opposite his own. "I've got some fresh orders for you. The first is assigning you to Ostlake East as part of the Rapid Reaction Force. The second is that your uncle is assigning you to a diplomatic mission, you are to accompany Princess Lilian to a state occasion overseas."

"Whereabouts sir?" Sophie asked the senior officer.

"Erm..."he re-read the document, "Some place I can't pronounce in the Iwi" Sophie was rather excited she'd heard her uncle the King talk about the Maori people and longed to go and see the nation for herself, beside that since the nation had joined with East Moreland as part of the CNN she'd had to learn a little about their nation and people just incase they ever deployed together. It would be nice to put in place what she'd learned.

48 hours later the two female royals were inbound on Ironside Two the private aircraft that was generally used by Princess Freya but today a very nervous duo of young royals sat catching up. Sophie and Lilian weren't really that close, by the time Lilian had finished her studies at University her cousin Sophie had headed off for the Air Force. The flight had been a good chance for them to chat and relax before the formalities of the day. They'd actually found they'd quiet a bit in common, both at some point had been outcasts from the Royal family, Sophie because her mother the now deceased Princess Joanna had been shamed by her family into giving the child up, Lilian meanwhile was the younger sister of the disgraced royal exile James and as such had once been an outcast herself until her cousin King David had welcomed her back into the fold.

As they landed in the Iwi the pair gathered up the various boxes and packages that they'd been sent with and boarded the transport to the village. As they entered the compound Sophie, who was in her Air Force uniform, an empty scabbard at her hip indicating she had not yet had her own sword ceremony. Upon entering the village it was Sophie who took the lead despite Lilian being the elder of the two down to the fact that Sophie had at least been on a few state visits and had even been regent of East Moreland for 24 hours once. She spotted the usual large Achkaerin delegation and nodded respectfully and then headed towards the hosts. Sophie took a deep breath and practiced some words in her head. "Kia Ora. Kingi Rawiri ka tukuna pai pai" she said with her eyes closed as she tried remembering the Maori words she'd learned ready for the meeting.

[BenOfTheIwi]

Piripi was pleased that the foreign guests had started to arrive and was slightly surprised the Morelanders had been beaten to the arrival by the group from Achkaerin. He wondered if the same would have happened if King David had been attending rather than his cousin and niece. The King gathered his family together. It would be a very different welcome than the last time people from their nation were here, no challenge as they arrived, no offering of a symbol, it would all be much simpler. Piripi crossed first of all to Emperor Peter an shaking his hand he pulled him towards him leaning down and pressing his forehead to Peters as their noses touched, it was an exchange of the breath of life a traditional greeting between the Maori and honoured guests. The King's wife Maata followed him as they moved around the group, it was when he reached the children that the 6ft 5inch tall King knelt down so he could do the ritual with the kids. "That now means you've become part Maori" the King explained to the children, "Not only you part of your family but your part of our family too." he said as he got to his feet and moved towards the Morelanders. "Archduchess Sophie it's nice to see your Maori coming along", she'd made some small mistakes but otherwise she'd done well. The King touched noses, "No Rollo?" the King asked, "We had hoped to maybe come play rugby here or something" he smiled. He next turned to Princess Lily, "I hope you will pass on our best wishes to your cousin the King and especially to Princess Rhiannon. How is she?" the King asked.

The King turned and barked some words in his best soldiers voice speaking Maori. Two youngsters appeared, nephews of one of the tribal leaders who Piripi was friends with. "Take  Princesses Astrid, Aeolia and Lamia to the children's hall." The two young girls wearing grass skirts and woven vest tops but bare feet ushured the girls along with them towards a thatch roofed open sided hut, four or five elderly women, a pair of women in their early 20's were seemingly supervising a group of children. The woman in charge was Aetora, she was the wife of one of the senior elders in the Iwi and now in her 60's she was practically the villages most senior woman unless Maata was present.

"Girls come and take a seat" She motioned to the giant circle of around 30 children sat cross legged on the floor. "We are playing Tutukai" the woman began to explain, "Its a guessing game, we have Roatao here in the centre." A girl who seemed to be about six or seven years old stood in the circle. "We'll quickly blindfold them." One of the younger women draped a thick cloth over the eyes of the girl and tied it at the back. "This object" Aetora held up a pine cone," Will be passed between you as we chant, it can go in any direction and be passed however you think best. When we stop chanting Roatao there must guess who has the object." Aetora passed the pine cone to Astrid and then nodded allowing the blindfold to be removed. The girl looked around the ring and then they began chanting, "Rapua te taonga. Tiakina kia haumaru. Rapua te taonga. Tiakina kia haumaru."[1]. Around the circle people pretended to smuggle the object while the pine cone whizzed forward and back around the circle, sometimes being passed sneakily through the dirt other times being thrown blatantly when the guesser in the centre had their back turned. After about a minute the chanting stopped and the guesser looked around the circle.

"It's....it's there with....." the girl pointed at Lamia with her fist as pointing with fingers was considered rude. "Erm...." the girl couldn't remember the name. "Princess Tahu Wahine[2]" The circle laughed but as Aetora clapped her hands the circle fell instantly silent.

"Princess Lamia" the woman corrected the girl in the centre.

"Sorry Your Highness" the girl removed a glass bead from her bracelet and handed it to Lamia, "I'm sorry" she added again before returning to the centre of the circle it seemed to satisfy Aetora that justice had been done, an insult to a royal was rather serious and a gift of remorse was the only way to ensure the insult didn't impact the Tapu, or spiritual power, of the victim. Aetora stood up, "Who has the item?" A tall girl stood and held up the pine cone with a bright smile on her face. "Very good" Aetora smiled and held up a wooden box, the girl with the pine cone came over and the girl selected a glass bead from the box before heading clockwise around the circle letting everyone touch the bead until everyone had been involved and then she sat down and affixed it to her own bracelet. The games continued, they played Poi Rakau and Taonga Tākaro[3].

While the children played Kimo had been taken off to prepare for the ceremony later in the day and so that left the King and his adult guests to have a wander around the village. It was a hive of activity with people still putting finishing touches to pieces of meat ready to bury them on hot rocks for the feast. A hut had a group of young me, most in their late 20's sat around, there were muffled noises from inside, the King headed that way and the men stood respectfully as the party passed. Inside there was a low wooden platform with rush matting on. A man laid face down and kneeling next to him was a older man, his face criss crossed in patterns , he held what looked like a chisel in one hand except it was attached to a stick at the top. In the other hand he held a small mallet, another man was sat next to him with a cloth in his hand. The man placed the chisel on the mans skin and tapped it with the mallet three times, he removed it then dipped it into the ink while the other man wiped the excess ink not hammered into the skin away. "Today many of these men are having their first tattoos, each is approved by their elders and can only be done on special occasions." Piripi said explaining the line outside. They sat at a low table as the tattooing continued. "So I want to thank you all for coming today. Its a great honour to have you with us. Now today may at times be a little bit crazy. I suggest you go with the flow." The King smiled half keeping an eye out for other guests.

1.	Find the Treasure. Keep it Safe
2.	Girl with flames
3.	You stick a feather in your hair and then race around trying to be the last person in. You eliminate people by snatching their feather

[Norgeras]

The imperial Airship had been delayed a little due to bad weather they needed to avoid, and Orion was visibly nervous about their time of arrival as they finally made it to the village.

"We aren't late, are we?" the young Emperor paced around his uncle as Julian pushed the Wheelchair:

"We aren't, look. They are still preparing. He nudged the black haired boy behind himself: "Don't hide yourself behind us Sebastian. You're an adult by their account."

"I'm not even a real Prince." the black haired kid answered, trying his best not to be seen with the purple Tunic he was wearing. Among the four he stood out being the only one without blonde hair.

"I said you are, which makes you. Alexandra isn't the Empress, i'm the Emperor. And you are a treasured Nephew of mine Sebastian." Orion took a deep breath while gently pushing Sebastian to walk next to himself.

"Boys, let's go greet the hosts." Kurt turned his head towards Julian: "Thank you for making time. I know you are currently in the middle of Exams."

"I took up a duty when i did the Ritual Kurt, it's the least i can do. Aside from that i prefer the Ritual a lot over dealing with the Trial on our public end. The Journalists back home hound me over something when all i have to do with it is talking with Viktor from time to time."

"Please, try not mentioning that while we are here." Orion nodded slowly, before the Group was arriving at the makeshift Tattoo Parlor.


"Oh! Looks like it hurts!" Sebastian proclaimed with a shudder: "Did yours hurt as well?" He turned to Julian, who visibly blushed:

"Eh, Sebastian. Really. Mine is about as much an insult to their Traditions as it can get." the Old teen put his hand on his shoulder where the tattoo was hidden below a tunic and toga: "I didn't have permission and we sneakily got it. It's nothing compared to theirs."

Sebastian shook his head: "You made it because you guys scored a huge win. I think it's cool."

Orion coughed: "Guys?" before making his way to Piripiri:

"You're Majesty, a pleasure to get a chance to meet you in Person again." he inclined his head, not wearing a wreath today at all:

"I still fondly remember Timoti Kauri at my Coronation, and have been looking forward to a chance for a visit the Iwi ever since."

He nodded to the other three: "I think you already know Julian Wingert and my Uncle Prince Kurt, they young man here..." He got Sebastian up front: "I don't think you have met Prince Sebastian yet. From my Nephews and Nieces he's the oldest. A little older than your son. I would have brought the Twins as well but those two already had their state visit this year..." Orion glanced over to the Achkaerin delegation: "And are grounded for now."

Sebastian did a polite bow in his tunic: "An honor, your Majesty." though he nervously gripped the tunic in his hands

[DaveIronside]

Lilian was rather surprised by the welcome even though Sophie had told her what to expect. It was a strange greeting as far as she was aware, and probably not the most hygeinic but her uncle had warned her about not responding positively. "Its lovely to meet you all" she said "As for Rhiannon she's responding well to her treatment but it still means she'll be weak for several months. Their keeping her away from people as much as possible....until she recovers. She'd have loved that." Lily gestured to where the children where running round playing games trying to grab feathers away from each other.

Sophie too rather liked watching the games going on but knew that without being taken over to watch it may not be appropriate. She also had to smile at the line of young men waiting for their turn to be inked, her thoughts turning to her boyfriend Rollo who had a Honeybadger on one ankle and a Bear representing his native home of Seaforth on the other. She'd gone with him when he'd had them done and was pretty certain that he'd made more noise than these men were making.  As the group from Neu Urburzis arrived Lily and Sophie waited for the hosts to greet them before making their own greeting, attention then turning back to Piripi and Maata, "My uncle sent us with some birthday gifts for your son. I was wondering what happens in that regard?"

[KrisNord]

Prince Lennox really had very little experience of the Maori except for a brief joint military exercise with them. They'd seemed nice guys but he had struggled to understand some of their cultures. As he arrived he found the settlement rather a odd place for a Prince's coming of age, back home his own family would have had their key landmark moment celebrated in the Shrines of Claith rather than out in the open air of a wooden village. King Piripi was greeted warmly, he was a man deserving of respect as he was a highly experienced soldier. The Prince added his greeting to those from East Moreland first. He'd read about Sophie's athletic achievements and that of rowing the Mhorish and of course Princess Lilian was rather stunning so he was more than happy to greet them. The Achkaerin delegation lead by the Emperor, another military man he shook hands with. Meanwhile those from Urburzis he hardly knew much of, he left the diplomacy to his his elder brother and so merely gave brief handshakes too as he joined everyone outside the tattooing hut.

[Achkaerin]

Serenity was wearing a proud smile, her two girls Astrid and Lisa were having a lot of fun and they appeared to be making friends with the locals which was good, it was probably the most like kids the two girls had been able to act for a while. Lisa had been pretty good at Poi Rakau, but had had a little momentary 'loss of balance' when it came to feathers, though Serenity suspected that she'd been being nice to Astrid in making sure the youngest of the four kids hadn't been the first to lose a feather. She could have happily watched them for hours but there were other things to think about, she turned her attention to the tattooing and smiled a little, she had her own tattoo on the back of her right shoulder it was, rather predictably, of a fox, she'd got it after her stem cell transplant a few years ago to deal with her aplastic anemia and it covered the scar that a Borlander bullet had inflicted on her shoulder, she remembered wincing a few times when the tattoo had been applied.

Peter was enjoying himself, he'd heard plenty about the customs and traditions of the Iwi, but seeing them for himself was definitely something else. He remembered the last time he'd been in the same place as Sophie in any official capacity and that had been in Tim Carpenter's mother's house with a homecooked supper and drinks when Sophie had found herself running East Moreland for a few hours, he could also remember Serenity telling him how nervous Sophie had seemed on her first outing years earlier, he smiled a little how times had changed in that regard. For him this was an opportunity to get to know the people he didn't know that well and of course to meet the Iwi that had adopted his nation, he also knew the value of being able to have an opportunity to relax a little after a stressful few weeks dealing with responses to various matters elsewhere on Mundus. He banished thoughts of those matters from his mind, today was a day for celebration. 
 

[BenOfTheIwi]

King Piripi had drinks brought over, the Maori had no history of traditional alchoholic beverages and so everyone was passed one of a variety of fruit juices. As they sat outside the tattoo hut various other delegations arrived. First the Imperials of Neu Urburzis, the King was pleased that they'd remembered Kauri Timoti the youngest chief of any of the Iwi's. "Chief Kauri of the Ngāti Kahungunu will be along at some point" the King explained as he gave each of the new arrivals the traditional greeting and inviting them to come and take a seat. "It's tradition that each of the tribal chiefs declare their loyalty to the new King, they'll do it twice. First today when my son is crowned within my lifetime and the second time when he is crowned as the actual King."

"But that is many many years away" Maata squeezed her husbands arm.

"Hopefully" the King smiled as he spotted Lennox arriving. The two had never meet officially but he'd heard much of the man, a combat veteran like himself. He drew the man into the traditional nose rub and offered him a drink as he joined the rest of them. Seemingly with quiet a gathering already beginning the King allowed everyone to finish their drink before moving on. "We need to get you all dressed the part." The King said mysteriously as they stood and crossed to an open sided hut next to the main hut of the village. Under its low roof on the central table was a pile of fabrics, or at least thats what they resembled at first glance. Maata began picking them up and separating them. She quickly formed three neat piles. "The cloak symbolises status" Piripi began to explain, "We can't have you cloakless" he picked one up of the children's pile and held up against Sebastian judging the size of it. Unsatisfied he placed it back on the table and picked up the next one as with all the others it was two layers of material, the inner a corse brown twine woven material while the outer was decorative skins or feathers. One with a flash of green feathers among the black caught the King's eye and satisfied that it looked good he checked the size for Sebastian. Without much of a word he swung it around the boys shoulders and effortlessly tied the front together. The whole group were soon annointed with cloaks connected to their rank and once everything was in place headed for yet another hut, once inside the hall had been split down the middle with two ropes forming a walkway down the centre. Piripi lead the men to the left while Maata lead the women to the right.

"Your Majesty, we've a space here for our brothers" Kauri Timoti yelled above the throng of noise that was filling the hall. The King pointed the Neu Urburzis delegation towards the young chief who greeted those who were technically part of his Iwi and had some of his fellow members of the Ngāti Kahungunu shuffle around to make space on the reed matting they were all sat on. "Before we have any coronation there has to be a gathering of all the Iwi councils." Kauri motioned at everyone sat down, "Each Iwi has ten people here, their chief and anyone invited by the King from that Iwi." Each of the others had been sat with their own Iwi's and the little groups shared out snacks of dried smoked meat, fresh fruit and flatbreads as Piripi and Maata took their place on thrones at the end of the room. Each person was sat in their own cloak and while some tribes took the time to discuss their own business others joked and teased neighbours about such trivial matters as rugby results or recent marriages while each Iwi with a foreign guest explained the process.

The Achkaerin Emperor found himself sat on the opposite side of the room to the  Ngāti Paoa Chief, Maata Mere the 22 year old woman sat next to Serenity and called across to the Emperor. "I'm sorry I couldn't greet you personally" she had to partly yell above the echoing sound, "For Tepu (spiritual) reasons when in council the males and females sit seperatley." she explained. She turned to Serenity, "We'll each be expected to make a report on our tribe, just a quick formality, then the Prince should be ready for his crown."

Down the way with the Ngāti Rongomaiwahine had a similar problem as its Chief was sat on the opposite side of the hall to Sophie and Lilian but left it to his daughter Serak to explain to the Morelanders what was happening. As the groups chatted a conch shell was blown and the room fell silent and Piripi stood. "Welcome to the latest gathering of the tribal council. I am Piripi not of the Ngāpuhi but of the Iwi and I bring greetings of the ferns. Our Iwi stands at some 6million people and its Chief is in good health, his heir is Prince Kimo." With that the King sat down and the Chief of the next Iwi stood.

"I am Tama of the Ngāti Porou and I bring greetings from the Whales. Our Iwi stands at some 5million people and its Chief is in superb health" The tall muscular chief seemed to flex his muscles and pose slightly as he said it causing a ripple of laughter through the group. "His hier is Olana." He sat down and one by one all the Commonwealth's Iwi's gave their report, it was then Princess Lilian was given a nod by the Ngāti Rongomaiwahine members and stood (OOC- Dave allowed me to write this so its clear how things are done).

"I am Lilian of the Morelanders and the Ngāti Rongomaiwahine. I bring greetings of the Honey Badgers. Our Iwi stands at some 100million people and our Chief is in fine health, his heir is Princess Rhiannon." she breathed a sigh of relief and retook her seat. Soon the others gave their reports and then Piripi stood.

"I am delighted the Iwi's have gathered and that our guests are here. With the Commonwealth and its friends accounted for I believe now is the time to appoint our new King." The King stood along with the Chiefs who motioned for their guests to follow them and the group headed outside. Each person was handed a small stone carved axe and then the group proceeded towards the hut in which Kimo was preparing.

Piripi was joined by Tama of the  Ngāti Porou and Kauri Timot.

"Ko wai hei rangatira!" Piripi yelled towards the hut his axe levelled. "Ko wai hei rangatira" he repeated. He waited and a third time yelled "Ko wai hei rangatira" A small nervous looking figure in a cloak much to big for him appeared on the porch of the house. In perfect harmony the three men, Piripi, Tama and Kauri began to yell in unison.

"Ko wai hei rangatira
Kaore ia e oma
Ko tenei whenua
a ko ia te whenua

whakaputaina tana waka
kua oti tana haere
ka mate te whenua
kaore ia e mawhiti

Kua karangatia koe
arahina te tangata maori
te rongo i raro i te kapua
kua mutu te waa[1]
As soon as the song was over a group of around twenty men carried out a canoe and placed it between the Prince and his father. Piripi looked at the boat and at his son, "Canoe or crown?" he posed the question.

"Crown" Kimo said nervously.

Piripi turned to the Chiefs and the foreign guests all holding their stone axes. "Destroy" he said with a smile and as a cheer went up he, Kauri and Tama rushed to the canoe and began hacking at it with the axes. The others rushed forward and joined them dragging the guests with them urging them to set about the canoe. As they hacked and slashed at the boat a roar of high pitching screaming came from around them as children, including Princesses Astrid, Aeolia and Lamia surged forward grabbing up bundles of the chopped wood and scurrying back towards freshly dug pits about thirty meters away. As they dropped one batch the group sprinted back still screaming and cheering. Piripi was enjoying himself as he destroyed the beautifully made boat, "The children scream to frighten the evil spirits so we have an auspicious day" he laughed, "They terrify me yet alone the spirits" those around him laughed and they hacked off more of the boat and threw it behind them. Soon the boat was reduced to kindling and by the time they'd finished smoke was raising from the pits as the wood had been ignited. Now stones were being put on top and soon leaf wrapped food would be placed on the hot stones and buried ready for the evenings feast. Slightly out of breath Piripi had one of his men collect the axes and then grabbed his son walking with an arm around him towards the large central hut. "Soon we shall crown him, but first I think we need to get our breath back and have a drink" As they reached the doorway people began taking pot mugs of water and juice as they milled around. Many came up to Kimo exchanging the breath of life with him before adding to his cloak a single thread in different colours soon he would be crowned but for the last few minutes he was free to enjoy the day.

1.	Who shall be chief He shall not run He is the land and the land is him Bring forth his canoe He shall not leave Should this land die He will not escape You have been called lead the Maori the days under the cloud this time shall be over.

[Norgeras]

Sebastian was brimming brightly when Piripiri fitted him with the cloak, glancing to Orion with an almost guilty grin. "I know you are almost as tall as i am, not everyone can be a runt like me." Orion joked as they made their way to Timoti's table:

"You've into quite the Man." Orion said after properly greeting Timoti, while the others took the seats offered to them: "I hope i didn't bring too many." nodding to his family. Julian helped Kurt out of his wheelchair, and onto the matting:

"As long as you help me back up im fine." Kurt reassured Julian, though Orion made sure his Uncle's legs where covered, then Sebastian helped to readjust the cloak on Kurt. "Just don't expect me to stand up." He joked with a smile.



As the Horn was blown and the Chiefs announced their health, Orion realized in he was supposed to speak, hitting him quite unprepared, counting from the Morelander he quickly fumbled together from what was said that his response was about heir and health... and it was already his turn:

"I am Orion of the Uburzians and the Ngāti Kahungunu. I bring greetings from the Wolves. Our Iwi stands at about one hundred Million, and our Chief stands in excellent health."

Orion felt like it sounded like a joke, seeing as his  nephew was almost as tall as he was, but continued non the less:

"He first has to grow up a bit and marry to have his own heir, but his eleven Nephews and Nieces will cover for him in the meantime."

The young Emperor was hoping he didn't mess up, though technically it was right. It just painfully reminded him how short his time grew before the senates would pick a wife for him.



It took The Uburzians a short moment to make their way over to Kimo's Hut, getting Kurt back into his wheelchair.

"I like the Hut." Sebastian whispered to Orion while watching the Ritual going on.

"I think he's adorable in the huge cloak." Kurt added with a smile

Julian leaned to Orion meanwhile: "If i get the small bits right, it's about the chief being bound to the land, if i get the connotation right, he's sacrificing his freedom for the chiefdom."

"Sounds about right" Orion added: "At least a wise chief would have too."



The chopping was underway, and Sebastian took it upon himself to get some smaller pieces to Kurt so his Great-Uncle got some chopping done as well. Julian and Orion gave it their best to hack some parts down as well, Sebastian a lot more reluctant.


As the got some drinks back at the other hut, The uburzian lot  watched Kimo getting the Breath of life, and threads attached to his cloak. Kurt rolled over to Kauri Timoto in a hushed tone:

"Pardon our Ignorance, but what do the attached threads symbolize? We don't want to waltz in without knowing what it means."


Sebastian on the other hand had a job of his own, so he approached Kimo with a small basket he hid under Kurt's wheelchair. He  very, very carefully exchanged the breath of life with kimo, afraid to mess up, before handing him a small potted tree with green leaves:

"Uhm so..." He seemed shy: "Back at home only your own Parents give fancy gifts like toys, while the Invited Kids have to gift something they made themselves. From my Family i'm the Green thumb so i thought i'd bring you one of last year's cuttings from my own Birth Tree. It's a plum. I grafted it last year myself, and it grew well."

Sebastian wasn't even sure if it was the right time, but showing up to a birthday with no proper gift was a no go for him. He handed the basket to Kimo, which also contained a jar of labelled Plum Jam, but Sebastian had forgotten about that all together.

[Achkaerin]

Peter was continuing to enjoy the day, the many traditions of the Iwi fascinated him and he looked forward to getting a chance to talk Maata Mere later on in the day. When time for the reporting came there was a quick glance across the room shared between Peter and Serenity as Maata spoke, the daughter asking the father the question 'who is doing it?' with her eyes, Peter gave a signal that told Serenity that he should and so it was the Emperor who stood.

"I am Peter of the Achkaerinese and the Ngāti Paoa. I offer you the greetings from the Fox's of the frozen north as we call it. Our Iwi stands at approximately seventy three million and our chief is in very good health his artificial arm not withstanding." Peter said "His heir is Serenity."

When the time came to destroy the canoe, the Achkaerinese found themselves smiling a little - odd that the royal family of a seagoing nation should take pleasure in destroying a vessel of this sort, but it was a great bonding exercise and Lydia nudged Serenity as the kids ran back and forth it looked like they were enjoying themselves

"They'll be talking about this for weeks." Lydia said
"Yes they will." Serenity said

[DaveIronside]

Sophie gave the stone axe a few testing swings, it was in her mind much more clumsy than a sword but nonetheless was a useful too. She looked over at Lilian who being a bit more of a girly girl was looking rather awkward with her own. Sophie headed over to the canoe, eyed up a piece that was of yet untouched and swung the thing two handed embedding the heavy head deep into the wood, she hefted it free before arcing it down to thud once more into the wood. Lilian meanwhile was barely scratching the thing and seemed more concerned about hitting the scampering children who were surrounding the canoe. Soon Lilian gave up picking a splinter out of her finger while Sophie continued hacking until the thing was reduced to matchsticks. "I'm certain my uncle would have loved seeing this." She said to King Piripi as she handed the stone axe back to him. "Good work out too" she added feeling her arms burning, it was no wonder most of the Maori were huge if this was the kind of thing that they did regularly. She accepted a drink and sat down watching the scene around her.

[Libby]

(OOC- Imagine I've always been here)

Roksana found the whole destruction of a canoe a bit tricky, she'd grown up a Lodjain noble woman and had no idea how to use an axe and while those around her were more likely to be cleaving off huge chunks of wood Roksana was effectively turning the thing into matchsticks. She would have prefered to go and sit down but figured that would potentially be rude and so flailed away for a while longer, pleased that the work was soon done and trying her best not to get shards of wood on her green dress. As the group sat having a drink while people took things to attach to the cloak of the young Prince Roksana found herself gravitating towards Lilian. She wouldn't have looked out of place in the Lodjian court and seemingly had a similar attitude towards the axe work as Roksana herself. "Princess Lilian" Roksana sat down next to her, "That's rather harder work than it looked isn't it?" the new Crown Princess of Lodja remarked as he delicatly sipped on a drink. "What do you make of the cloak adding?" she asked not sure what to make of it. " They are beautiful cloaks though." she gave an appreciative glance at her own and hoped they'd be allowed to wear them, she figured she'd get some attention back home wandering around the Palace in it, especially now Stasya and her fashion statements were in East Moreland. "Have you had chance to catch up with Lady....I mean Baronetess Stasya yet? Hows she settling in." She enquired of her former colleague while they waited for the Maori to explain the thread thing to Kurt.

[BenOfTheIwi]

 Kauri Timoto lowered his tone to match Kurt. "The cloaks each person wears are a tale of their life, that of their Iwi and their own family. With the future King he will need to show all three and so the people he will one day lead give up part of themselves to form the cloak of the King, its a symbolic reminder that we support him and that he will literally have us behind him. Additionally it reminds him that he doesn't rule just for one Iwi but he rules for many. Probably by the end of the day his cloak will be rather heavier."

The scraps of the boat were now being gathered up by children and placed on fires that were burning under rocks foil wrapped chunks of meat, vegetables and potatoes were placed upon them and then earth pulled over the top. They'd spend the rest of the afternoon slowly cooking and steaming the food under the ground. If you looked carefully you could see whisps of white smoke against the green glass as a clue of the underground cooking that was being observed by those elder men and women of the tribe.

Kimo meanwhile just allowed people to get on with the business of adding things to his cloak as he spoke to various people until Sebastein approached. "There is no real allocated time for gifts" he began, "But thank you." he examined the fruit tree cutting, an interesting choice. "If it is OK with you I'll have it planted in one of the woodlands were the Ngāti Kahungunu dwell." He looked at his father nervously as though assessing whether the decision was correct, but his father stood rather stoic, after all a King made decisions, often it didn't matter what decision was made only that a direction was selected and the followers headed towards it.

"I'll put it somewhere safe" Queen Maata said as she carefully took the plant. "Thank you" she added as she took it inside the hut. It seemed that for now there was a pause in proceedings that was until a rather solid looking old Maori man appeared and spoke to Piripi. The King stood and without a word took his cloak off and handed it his wife. "Some formalities" Maata explained as Piripi lay down on his back on the veranda of the hut. The man who had appeared unwrapped the white linen bundle he was carrying and carefully placed it on the ground. "Our Tā moko (face tattoo) are important parts of our traditions" she explained. The man was merrily tapping away at a small ink tipped needle with a small wooden mallet, he odd grunt from Piripi as he did so. For an hour the guests had refreshments as people came to speak with Kimo who was forced to sit in the chair still having his cloak added too. At the end of the hour the tattooist wrapped up his equipment and helped the King up. His face had tiny trickles of blood down his chin and cheek where a series of swirling patterns now appeared. Maata handed him a piece of cloth to help dab at the blood.

"The pattern is one that represents a father of royalty." Piripi explained. "One day Kimo will have this to look forward to, if he has sons." The King had several of his friends come up and examine the work some teasing him playfully about the patterns or the grunting he'd made. The King seemed to take it in his stride and gave as good as he got. "Now I'm afraid its time for the actual coronation." He explained as a second chair was brought out and placed next to Kimo's. Piripi took a seat in it his wife stood next to him, people from the settlement came and sat on the grass but blankets were placed down for the visitors. Two crown bearers appeared and the first offered the crown to Piripi who placed it on his own head before standing. " The man to my left is my son Kimo. He is the rightful heir to the my land and titles, a line that goes unbroken all the way back to Rangi Umaga. In 1817 he did what many said could not be done and united all the Iwi's under one banner. It took us close to 200 years but eventually we won victory and now Kimo will become the first King of the Unified Iwi to be born a free-man." The crowd cheered, "Through my life I have had to fight to win our people's freedom but I pray my son never needs to fight, but he must know how to." Piripi removed from his hip the small stone club, the same one he'd used to execute the Seleucid war criminal. "A King must know how to defend his people." and Piripi handed the club to his son. "A King must also know how to provide for his people." Maata unveiled a thick spear about the height of a man but the shaft as thick as a mans wrist. "This hunting spear shall enable you to do that." Kimo sat with the club in his left hand and the spear his right. "Finally a King must have a symbol of his rank, so people may follow him." He picked the crown identical to his own up and placed it on his son's head, it nearly falling off because it was too big for the child. "I hereby name you King Kimo not of the Ngāpuhi but of the Iwi." Carefully Kimo stood the crown heavy on his head.

"I am King Kimo not of the Ngāpuhi but of the Iwi and I shall ensure the next King is also born a free-Maori." the crowd cheered the nervously said and heavily rehearsed line. And as he retook his seat people lined up to present gifts. Things broke formality very quickly as children rushed back to playing, men headed to uncover the cooking pits as women began dishing out thick waxy fern leaves as plates.

"Foods up" A voice yelled as some still waited for their moment with the new King. It seemed Tipene Tama had taken control of the food. "We have lamb, goat, chicken, fish, crab, prawn......for the weird ones we have vegetable fritters." He was holding up a lambs leg using a knife to carve off chunks of meat and place them down on the fern leaves. "Come on East Moreland Princesses." He yelled at Sophie and Lilian, "I hear you like BBQ, this is a real one." he waved towards himself with a knife. "Let our guests through, I'm not leaving them with the smallest fishes." Two of Tipene's men bustled through the crowd making a hole for them. "Come on before it gets cold. Children first" he eagerly called the Achakerin royal children forward.

[Norgeras]

Orion watched the people getting in Line, and Sebastian nervously fumbling his fingers, seemingly afraid or unsure how to properly join the line. Orion took the initiative and placed his nephew in the line for Crab, with a big smile: "Make sure i get some as well, i want a quick chat with Kimo."

He took a deep breath as well, looking around himself. How far he had come himself. Back with Victorias Death he was still trembling in his boots. Well, beating the living shit out of the guy who had kidnapped him and murdered Arthur had helped, but overall, he knew that his family would give him the free room to remain being a teenager form time to time, and he would give them the Head of the Family they needed.

He made his way back over to Kimo, a bright smile on his lips:

"Let me say this, from today on, i no longer am the youngest crowned Head on Mundus. That title is now yours. Kimo, King of the Iwi." he offered him his hand:

"If you ever feel like the Burden on your shoulders is about to overwhelm you, there will be a Seat at my Hearth for you to come and find rest. I had many to help me grow in the past two years,..." Orion had to chuckle a bit considering he was still and would likely always be the short stick in his family:  "...and if you ever need not a parent but an older brother to help you, i'd gladly be there for you."

[Achkaerin]

Peter was smiling again, it was funny and quite nostalgic to see Serenity and Lydia in mother mode sorting out what was going on their kids plates, what undoubtedly helped was that the food on offer resembled to a large extent the Achkaerinese diet, so there wasn't anything new as it were food wise to scare the four grandchildren of the Emperor off. He waited and once he had his food he spent time conversing with the members of the Iwi that Achkaerin was linked to, getting to know them was one of the reasons he'd wanted to attend the days festivities, one of the other reasons was the family feel the day had to it. There was no getting away from the responsibilities that being a member of the Royal Family brought but on days like this it was just good to be able to be the father, the daughter, the son, the granddaughter etc. After a fruitful conversation with the chief of the Ngāti Paoa Peter made his way to where Piripi stood

"My father told me when I was just a little older than your son that the Royal family didn't rule the people but served the people. Watching the events of today reminded me of that." Peter said "Though it's also strange to think that the next time this happens it may well be Kimo standing where you are and Serenity standing where I am."

[BenOfTheIwi]

Kimo was left alone, after all he was now in the eyes of the Maori a King, not a full King like his father but a King non the less. The ceremony had meant there could be no challenge to the boys ascendancy to the throne on the day that his father died and with crossed fingers that would be the first for the Commonwealth. As Peter talked to Piripi the giant of a man smiled, "There must in our mind be no "may well" it must happen, for too long our people have lived our lives with no long term plan, or stability. We must begin to change that. We lived essentially Matariki to Matariki just pleased that things had not gone too wrong. Kimo needs to start planning on the kind of Commonwealth he will hand to his son when the time comes. To think otherwise is just bad tepu" The King explained referring to the concept of spiritual power.

Meanwhile Kimo was talking to Orion he was kind of relieved that there was someone in a similar position to himself. "You're part of our Iwi" Kimo said reassuringly, "So please remember that like you offer me the offer is always here. Our halls are your halls." He said kindly. Noting that the line of well wishers had ended he strolled with Orion back towards the food. People moved aside as the young King approached.

"The King is here." Someone yelled at the place where food was being carved up. "Bring his plate" an old woman busied herself gathering up a large wooden plate.

"Oh No" Kimo had forgotten this part. The plate he was handed was not empty, it had a sheeps heart, a chickens heart and a fish heart sat on it. While everyone else received fresh cuts of meat he sat looking at this collection of offal, thankfully it wasn't raw, he'd had nightmare over that. His large plate was then filled with various vegetables and fruits to make quiet a mound.

"You're a growing boy so eat up." Maata the boys mother winked at him as he carried his plate away. The hearts symbolised a connection to the sky, land and sea that he would rule. As he sat he noticed eyes on him discreetly and as he began to eat the fish heart, he figured he'd start with the smallest, he noticed a man wave to someone in the crowd. A fient strum of a ute and a blow on a taonga puoro drifted over the crowd. It took a moment but the words began to swell forth as more and more joined in. 

Tama Roimata was sat with the foreign guests enjoying some fish and was one of the few who didn't join in and instead translated.

God of heavens! At thy feet
in the bonds of love we meet,
hear our voices, we entreat,
god defend our free land.
Guard the Maori's triple coast,
from the shafts of strife and war,
make her praises heard afar,
god defend your children

Men of every creed and race
gather here before thy face
asking thee to bless this place god defend our free land
from dissension, envy, hate
and corruption guard our state
make our country godd and great
god defend your children
.
Peace, not war, shall be our boast but should our foes assail our coast
make us then a mighty host
god defend your children
lord of battles, in thy might
put our enemies to flight
let our cause be just and right
god defend your children
.
Let our love for thee increase
may thy blessings never cease
give us plenty, give us peace
god defend your children

from dishonour and from shame
guard our country's spotless name
crown her with immortal fame
god defend your children
.
May our mountains ever be
freedom's ramparts on the sea
make us faithful unto thee
god defend your children

"That is our nations anthem" The large chief explained, "Written...at least so the story goes....by Chief Rangi Umaga himself to give all the Iwi a song to sing to our chief God, the Earth Mother,  Papatūānuku."

The evening began to fall and the warmth of the day began to cool but the cloaks helped with that, soon roaring fires were raging and people sat eating and drinking. SOngs were sung, tunes shared but different words, even among those gathered around the same camp fire. Tama Roimata sat next to a man with a ukelele enjoying the singing when a man came over and took a seat. "No, Rafiam find another fire, we have to many Ngāti Porou here." he gestured around the circle. The man was about to leave when a younger man gave up his seat. "On days like this it would be too easy to have the Iwi's turn into isolated little groups. So a limit is set, no more than ten men from an Iwi around a fire. Women and children are exempt from this rule." He added. The rest of the day was simple, eat too much, drink too much and sing.