East Moreland Royal Wedding & Coronation 2.0

[DaveIronside]

6am 22nd Feb 2020, Northfort Royal Palace.

While King David may have only just been rousing from his sleep the Palace was already a hive of activity. Staff were busy preparing for the day ahead and the smell of breakfast wafted up from the kitchen to greet the King. David stretched one more time and swung his feet onto the floor before heading for a shower. By the time he'd come out a mug of coffee was on his bedside table and his black Alpine Cadre uniform had been hung behind the door. Even in the darkness of the room the light from the bathroom picked out the newly shined silver buttons. It had been a while since the King had worn it and by rights he could have been wearing a Field Marshall's uniform from any unit in the army but he was happy wearing his Captain's pips. He got dressed and headed out into his suite's lounge. Alex Redfern was already there tucking into a bowl of porridge wearing just his boxer shorts. "You not ready yet?" David asked.

"Danny's in the shower. Just got jump in and we're good to go." Alex explained and with perfect timing Major Danny Frost of the Alpine Cadre emerged in a uniform that matched the King's. The three men, David, Alex and Danny had all joined the regiment at the same time and while Redfern had ventured off to become a Red Legionnaire and Danny had remained with the unit. Alex finished his breakfast and then headed in to get changed emerging soon after wearing the red jacket of his elite unit. There was a knock of the door and Robbie Peacock of Red Legion wandered in hefting two brightly polished breastplates. The two Red's helped each other on with the silver armour as Danny and the King checked over each other's white beret's for fluff. They each inspected each other as though about to go on a Sergeant Major's parade and when satisfied that everything was in order made their way down to the small private Temple within the Palace where several of the Palace staff had already begun taking their prayers for the Feast of Helus. Despite their status the four men stood patiently and then took their turn at the alter offering their own prayers to the God. Once that had been done it was about 7:30am, time to start the walk to the Temple of Marissa where the wedding would take place. As they left the Palace a group of six military officers stood waiting, the King had invited several nations from across Mundus to send a representative of their Cultist community and now the King and his party greeted them all.

First there was Captain Qadir Bousaid from Royal Seleucid. He was a infantry officer and had been one of the officers from the Seleucid military who had worked with the Morelanders as a scout during the genocide in his homeland, Robbie had meet him during the operations there and the pair exchanged hand-shakes. "Captain Bousaid" The King shook the man's hand. "Thank you for your efforts saving our people." David said warmly. "it's an honour to meet you in person."

"I'm honoured to meet you Your Majesty" the officer said humbly. "Its a priviledge to be in Northfort on this most Holy of Days." He had already been up joining the throng of pilgrims taking advantage of the early opening of the Temple of Helus for their blessing so that the Temple could be closed to the public later in the day. Next up was Captain Hamasaki Yumiko of the Imperial Rokkenjiman Navy. "Captain" David shook their hand as he moved down the line. Up next was Brigadier Dominic Atkins of Bakkermaya's Horseman of Jekar his uniform an almost identical one to the Red Legion outfit except in blue rather than red. The King had meet the Brigadier several times and liked him so was pleased he'd been selected to take part. There was then a Vaguzian officer[1] before the King moved onto Rion Ayanami. "Nice to have some family in the escort" David smiled as he shook her hand refering to the ancient connection between them. Finally there was the kilt wearing tall Air Force officer from Seaforth called Callum McDuggan. The King having greeted them all allowed Alex Redfern to explain the task at hand.

"Our task is simple, we walk down Embassy row, throw a right get to the Temple of Marissa at which point we pick up the King's sword and Robbie here gets the Shield. At least its not raining." The day was certainly cooler than when the King married Matilda and the grey overcast day was only just beginning to clear as they left the Palace.

6am 22nd Feb 2020, Northfort Military Barracks

Stasya had spent the night in the Military Barracks in the Officers Mess. The Mess had largely been taken over by the Lodjains and a whole block of barracks normally reserved for visiting troops had become a temporary home to the East Moreland officers. The base was a hive of activity and a hanger near the main runway had been turned into a kind of makeshift reception area. Chefs were cooking up scrambled eggs, salmon, bacon and various other treats to serve to the officers involved as well as visiting dignitaries arriving. It would be the newly appointed Foreign Minister, Orlaith Kade, the King's cousin who would be greeting any of the foreign Heads of State or other representatives. Stasya had been awake a while, mainly just looking at her dress she would have liked it to have been slightly more modern but tradition was important. She'd spent the best part of the last hour having her hair and make up done and now found herself laying face down on the bed as her Ladies in Waiting, Jessica and Emma, directed by her own mother forced the bodice ever tighter. "Now sit up" Stasya's mother instructed her and she perched herself on the edge of the bed. "We can get a little more, it'll make your waist smaller and bust fuller" she instructed and Stasya took a deep breath and felt the strings pull again. It pinched slightly but looking in the mirror she was pleased with how she looked. She had spent the last few days looking at video of the wedding of David and Matilda and she was happy that she looked better, Matilda was like a twig with no real shape. Stasya and her Ladies made their way downstairs where the base commander had gathered a committee of officers who would make sure the party got where they needed to be. Stasya's father Duke Tobias held a blue box at the foot of the stairs and smiled at the sight of his daughter. "Queen Klara found the dress you wore the day you meet King David. We cut it into strips to make a scarf" It was tradition that in East Moreland a baby was wrapped in a blanket at birth and on their wedding day the bride wore a scarf made from each parties woven together. Staysa hadn't been born a Cultist and so a replacement had been sought and High Priestess Skye Maddix had approved of the substitution. The King meanwhile had some of his left and the white rough blanket material was now interwoven with a beautiful red satin material.

"Thank you" Stasya hugged her father as he placed it around her neck.

"Your Grace" General Katie Yacobs gave a salute. "Your escort awaits you when your ready." Stasya followed her outside and a group of three Air Force officers stood ready alongside three officers from Lodja. The Queen spoke briefly with each switching effortlessly between the two languages. Stasya had taken a leaf out of Queen Klara's playbook by wearing a pair of trainers underneath the long flowing skirt which swept the floor. Crowds had already gathered at the bases gates as the Queen and her party began making the way towards the Temple of Marissa, a large cheer coming from the crowd as their future Queen appeared.

7am 22nd Feb 2020, Northfort Military Barracks

Orlaith Kade was sat in the Hanger that had been decorated with a variety of flags from the military to cover up the metallic walls. The front door was open and heaters had been installed, it looked more like a party venue than the home of two fighter planes, both of which had been evicted for the weekend. Aircraft from visiting nations would land, go to the far end of the runway where the wedding guests would be brought by car down to the hanger for breakfast. Naturally it was a plan that had room for some error as they had no idea whether some would elect to come for breakfast or go straight to the Temple of Marissa.


7am 22nd Feb 2020, Northfort's Temple of Marissa.

There were lines across the street as pilgrims to the Temple of Helus made their last dash to receive blessings before the Temple shut so Red Legion could shut off the Temple District for the Wedding. The Temple of Marissa sat just 100 meters down the street but already barriers were being moved to ensure the safe arrivals. Those who had stayed in East Moreland last night would arrive here first and it was the duty of Princess Freya to meet them. She was, like most people on this day, wearing her military uniform, the dark khaki of the Light Scouts while next to her was Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside in her Air Force blues, "To think at the last one I was sat watching you on TV from a children's home" Sophie mused, it had seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Shhh....we don't mention that today" Freya said. It was considered bad luck to mention a past wife or husband when some remarried. The sound of a stone skipping across Marble could be heard behind them and Freya turned, "Rhiannon, don't do that." The Princess was playing some kind of Hopscotch on the marble tiled floor with a stone she'd found. "Come here" Freya instructed and waited for the 6 year old to head over. "Today you have to be a proper Princess OK. Like those in Frozen or something." Freya despite now being a carer for Evie, the girl Alex had rescued, still didn't really feel that maternal and loathed the stuff they watched on TV. "Come and stand with us. When anyone arrives you'll be expected to say hello." Freya reminded her. "I'll tell you what, for every face you remember I'll give you an hour fencing lesson....Deal" Freya held out her hand.

"Deal" Rhiannon shook it and stood between the two women while they waited for people to arrive.

1.	Assuming Yolo sent one as would seem strange Vaguzia not doing so

[KrisNord]

King Finley and his wife Queen Riona spent the evening in the Cenneg embassy. Finley had arranged for them to dine in a local restaurant that the Ironside's had recommended and he'd rather enjoyed it. The place was stocked with Seaforthian whiskey but not enough Cenneg for his liking. This was something he would need to make sure was sorted going forward. It would not do that have a CNN nation not blessed with the full range of Cenneg distilleries. This morning the King had risen early and been for a quick run around the park, his security had rather enjoyed it.

Now the King and Queen had attired themselves in tradition Celtic attire, the King a short black jacket with white shirt and bow tie, his nations tartan kilt matching his wives all tartan dress. The duo had elected to make their way to the Temple of Marissa directly and exited their car at the edge of the Temple District and marvelled at the fact so many people were lining up for their worship. The King and his wife strolled hand in hand until they reached the Temple and then made their way up the steps to where the three Ironside women waited. Finley wasn't really sure who he should greet first in terms of hierachy so went according to Cenneg traditions. "Good Morning Princess Rhiannon" the King greeted the young Princess and heir to the throne. "I believe I also should wish you a joyous Feast of Helus." the King spoke softly to the Princess. "Its good to see you, you've certainly grown since last time I saw you." He then turned to Freya, "and I believe last time we spoke Your Highness was when you left the CNN HQ, you should come back and visit." He then turned to Sophie, "And Archduchess I'm honoured to meet you. I hope after the world cup is over you and that Celtic boyfriend of yours can come and visit us, your Air Force duties permitting. How are they going." Finley enquired.

[Libby]

As one would expect on such an occasion the Lodjain delegation was rather large and while some of them would be watching the ceremony up close and in person. "I look like a giant blue elephant" Queen Klara remarked as she shuffeled into the rear seat of the large black SUV they had borrowed from the embassy during their stay. "This dress is like a tent" she attempted to smooth down the traditional blue and gold dress, this time with Honeybadger embroidery to mark the occasion. She was six months pregnant and had cut down on her official business during this time having suffered terribly from morning sickness however that was now largely in check and she felt she couldn't miss the wedding of her nations closest ally and one of her best friends.

"Nonsense" Leopold squeezed her hand gently as he moved across to take the seat beside her. The pair had married out of the Queen's sense of duty and respect for tradition but while the pair were still not madly in love they did enjoy each others company and Leopold could imagine in the next few years love being a word he would use in honesty rather than as a show in public. He was excited about becoming a father, a little Prince or Princess to help cement the legacy of his family. "You sure you want to go to the Temple, you could always watch from the Palace. Me and Roksana can handle the public appearence" He knew the Queen would reject the offer, he'd made it twice already.

"He's right" Roksana, the Queen's wife and Crown Princess said as she took a seat in the rearward facing seats opposite the Queen. "It's not like we haven't both been to these kind of things before." She added as a security guard shut the door of the vehicle. Before becoming the wife of the Queen she had been a Lady in Waiting for several years and was an old hand at these kind of occasions. She enjoyed them all the glitz and glamour but this would be the first one since she had assumed a royal title herself and she was intrigued to see what things would be like from the different side of things so to speak.

Normally the follow up vehicle would have been filled with the Queen's Ladies in Waiting however today because of the limit of foreign guests they would not be permitted to enter the Temple and so therefore would be heading to watch the ceremony elsewhere, in this case the girls had determined that they would go to People's Park to watch it on the big screens. Zhenya and Anna would be heading back to the embassy the moment they saw the ceremony end to hel the Queen prepare for the coronation and so they had long grey overcoats on to protect their plain blue dresses. Tonya meanwhile was looking forward to seeing what things would be like in the park and didn't mind showing off her blue dress as she believed it was rather fetching on her figure. She had found a nice place to sit with a good view of the screen and was using the overcoat more like a blanket to sit on. Jasmina had joined her but had opted to keep the coat on, avoiding the cool day more important than turning heads. She was rather disappointed that Prince Lennox hadn't been sent by the Cenneg but was still intent on enjoying herself at this evenings celebrations. The Four Ladies in Waiting would be attending the ball and banquet following and if the Lodjains' knew anything it was how to enjoy a good party.

The car carrying the Queen arrived at the Temple of Marissa just as the Cenneg deleagtion had appeared and Leopold exited the vehicle first buttoning up his dark suit jacket. He reached a hand inside and helped Roksana out who waited patiently for the Queen to edge her way to the seat and then as elegantly as she could exit. The trio made their way up the temple steps with Klara sandwiched between the pair, one hand being held by Roksana and her other arm entwined with Leopold. "Princess Rhiannon" Klara greeted the King of East Moreland's daughter. "So glad to see you again, my friend Stasya has been telling me how well you've been doing." She turned her attention to Finley. "King Finley, QUeen Riona, nice to see you again. I do hope we can enjoy a drink....well an organge juice for me....together later."

[Achkaerin]

Truth be told Rion felt a little out of place in the parade group, she was a graduate of the Achkaerinese Army Academy but she'd been a Justicar for near enough her entire military career, that put her in the intelligence world so she didn't have the level of combat experience that others around her did. Being on parade like this meant that for the first time in years her dress uniform for the Aelmoor Watch had come out of the wardrobe, the black trousers, the midnight blue jacket with the gold buttons on it and her Djana Cross, Queen's Star and Emperor's Commendation Medals pinned to the chest, the black leather belt all cleaned, groomed and polished, her hair tied back for now and the officers cap that matched her uniform atop her head. Her sword, a katana style blade about three quarters the length of the more traditional Toshikawan made blade hung sheathed from her belt, she had her left hand lightly gripping the top of the handle to avoid it moving around in the morning breeze too much.

Walking down embassy row was an experience in itself, not much would be expected from this experience on pretty much any other day but, the wedding day of the King of East Moreland? There were members of staff in the various embassies looking out of the windows to catch a glimpse of King David as he made his way to the Temple. She had David in the corner of her vision they were probably best described as distant cousins all of it stemming from the second marriage of Paul the Explorer, arguably the most famous of East Moreland's monarch's, who'd he married? An Achkaerinese maiden sister by the name of Anezaki Ayanami, Rion's own family line descended from Anezaki's sister Eleanor. She'd had many moments in her career to be proud of but not many got close to this one.

There was, when it came to overseas business, something of a perceived tradition to be observed, generally speaking Achkaerinese delegates tended to turn up in numbers so considering that this was a wedding of a man related distantly to an Achkaerinese noble family there was probably an expectation that the vast majority of the Achkaerinese population were going to descend on Northfort. However it wasn't to be like that the Achkaerinese party had, with guests, spent the last couple of days at Highwick Manor - though Rion had spent the previous night at the Achkaerinese embassy in Northfort to guarantee getting to the palace on time. Five people got out of the Achkaerinese car when it arrived at the temple, for once not one of the Crown Princess's collection but a nice sedate saloon style.

Attending the ceremony for the Achkaerinese were Peter, who wore a traditional suit, which was to say all black except the tie which was a moderate crimson, he was accompanied by his wife Renee who wore an elegant dress to match Peter's tie, while the third member of the group Serenity wore a purple dress that was elegant but a little more modern in style. They weren't the only Achkaerinese of course - the Ayanami clan had as expected turned out in force and were watching the ceremony elsewhere but they'd be around later, they were also babysitting Serenity's two daughters.

Peter waited as both the Cenneg's and then the Lodjan's greeted the Morelanders and then they approached.

"Good morning Princess Freya, Princess Rhiannon, Archduchess Sophie." Peter said addressing the Morelanders first then he turned to the Lodjan's "Your Divine Majesty Queen Klara it's good to see you. King Leopold, Crown Princess Roksana. I trust my nephew isn't making mischief down in Lodja?" finally he turned to the Cenneg's "King Finley, Queen Riona it's an honour to finally meet you[1] my sister Esme once went to your Canmore games, she found them quite interesting to watch." he smiled a little before turning back to Freya "I hope you don't mind but we carpooled with a mutual friend."

The remaining two people who'd got out of the car now joined them - Harper Rhodes, the Countess of Stirling and member of the Seaforthian Royal family escorted by Julian Lawson who wore his own uniform, that of the Rosemoor Guards it was essentially the same as what Rion was wearing except his was red where hers was blue, his belt was white and he didn't carry a sword.

1.	OOC - unless I've missed something I don't believe Peter and Finley have ever met but I may be wrong.

[Beatrice]

Up until the day prior Evanthe was unsure who would be accompanying her, however, the night before she had overcome her anxiety and invited her Vicegerent, Count Emerson Ravenswood, to accompany her to East Moreland for the wedding of King David. "I'm sorry," Evanthe said during the flight, "I didn't consult with you prior to addressing the press. I simply presumed to state you'd be staying on without giving an option beforehand. But," she paused, "I'm glad you're here, all the same. At least, for a few days, we can place the difficulties and work before us aside and join some good friends in celebrating a most joyful occasion."

"You are alright working with me, yes?" she asked, still feeling the weight of guilt for the rather unusual personal situation they had experienced. "It's just sometimes I feel like I can never say sorry to you enough, not that it would begin to make up for anything. And there I go again," she said as she placed her hands in her lap, "making things even more awkward and difficult than they need be." She took a quick glance outside of her window, "You should know you have full permission to tell me when I needn't say anything further, and I imagine Beatrice granted you the same right, though for different reasons. So please let me know, I won't take offense."
Following the Achkaerinese approached Evanthe and Emerson. "Princess Freya, it's been far too long, it's such a pleasure to see you again," Evanthe said with a smile. And Princess Rhiannon, how you've grown!" she said as she pulled a bag from her purse. "If it's alright, I stopped by a certain shop before boarding the Imperial Concorde and brought some strawberry bootlaces with me, I understand we share a favourite treat from there. Archduchess Sophie, I've no sweets to offer you, however I'm pleased to meet you all the same."

Evanthe next turned her attention to King Finely and Queen Riona. "Your Majesties, it's a pleasure to see you again and a pleasure to meet you," she said, respectively. "As you may know I've recently found myself in a new job, and should the opportunity arise in the coming months I'd wish to speak with you in a more formal setting. I know our nations haven't often seen eye-to-eye, but I'd wish to explore our options moving into the future."

Next she approached Emperor Peter and the Achkaerinese, "Your Majesty, it is good to see you again," she continued, turning to Serenity. "While she was disappointed she couldn't come personally Crown Princess Adriana asked me to deliver this on her behalf," she said as she handed an envelope to Serenity. "I do believe it's an invitation to Pyrena Castle, and I understand the Crown Princess has some things she'd like to discuss with a fellow Crown Princess. I also understand it is at your leisure, but I believe she'll be looking forward to your reply with anxious anticipation until she hears back from you."

"And Harper," she said with a gentle embrace, "I've missed you, I haven't been the best at keeping in touch so please do forgive me. It's been....well, you know all too well. We should talk later when the opportunity presents itself," she continued, handing Harper a piece of paper. "These are all of my numbers, personal and professional, if you shouldn't be able to reach me on one of them, you'll certainly reach me on another. I'll do better to keep in touch, I promise."

[BenOfTheIwi]

It may have been a colder day in Northfort than back home in the Commonwealth but that wasn't about to step the monarch of the Unified Iwi and his wife from wearing their traditional attire. The giant King Piripi was wearing his military uniform, East Moreland were a nation that respected military traditions and the King suspected there would be a lot of them on display over the day and so didn't want to miss out. Unlike the others though it would be difficult to make out the various emblems and devices on the dark green jacket as he wore a traditional cloak wrapped tight around his shoulders the various feathers and furs creating a shape distorting fit. Queen Maata meanwhile was more in need of her own shorter cloak, she had opted to wear a green traditional dress that covered between knee and shoulders but with a reed skirt tied around her waist. She topped her outfit off with a red and black headband made from wooden beads. The Queen had got to known East Moreland rather well as of late having spent some time visiting various hospitals in East Moreland as part of her continuing involvement as a doctor back home in the Commonwealth and she'd spent six weeks working in Northfort Royal Infirmary patching up the Friday and Saturday night drunks. She'd found it at times rather incredible what they had to deal with as drinking back home wasn't that big of an issue as the Maori had no real history associated with booze. It did mean though she'd made several friends in East Moreland and some of them had asked if she could somehow get them into the ceremony and despite the Commonwealth being one short of the three seats permitted she hadn't offered the spare to anyone figuring it would seem rather impolite to bring a random health care professional to a royal wedding.

The pair saw quiet a crowd gathering on the steps of the Temple and so headed up to join them. Piripi extended a hand to Freya first as Maata greeted Rhiannon. The Queen knelt to be closer to Rhiannon's height. "I'm not sure if you are aware of our way of greeting each other in our country" Maata spoke softly, "We touch noses together and breath out, we believe it helps connect us together." Maata waited to see if Rhiannon would join her while Piripi and Freya touched foreheads. The King looked around to see who else was there already and seeing Finley crossed over and embraced him like a brother forehead to forehead. "Finley, its been far too long. We need to find a corner and see about this world cup, between us maybe see if we can hamstring a few Honeybadgers eh?" He chuckled before turning to Peter and shaking his hand while exhcanging what was known as the "Breath of Life."The Achkaerin nation had been adopted into an Iwi duirng a Matariki ceremony and so in the King's eyes that effectively made them family. He was about to hug Queen Klara then remembered her growing belly and so proceeded more gently. "I hope the little one is doing well" he asked her as he shook hands with Leopold. He mused for a moment considering how much simpler greetings were here than back home but also that a traditional Maori welcome was much more exciting.

[Xaeth]

Princess Yu-Phin woke from her room in the Kinkhn embassy bright and early, or perhaps 'dark and early' would be more a more accurate term as she awoke several hours before she really needed to. And her reasons for doing so were two-fold: she wanted to get a chance to jog and do her morning exercises and she heard that Wattana Sanya Maliwan, the Kinkhn ambassador to East Moreland, enjoyed sleeping in. Yu-Phin smirked as she prepared for her jog, thinking about the poor ambassador having to wake up early and how it must be so inconvenient for the woman to have to actually do her job. And it also meant that Yu-Phin would be able to eat her breakfast nice and early, and not risk having to dine with ambassador Wattana. Yu-Phin had managed to avoid talking to the empress's fawning sycophant since she arrived in the embassy yesterday, and to be honest the Princess would be perfectly happy to not see the ambassador until they headed off to the King's wedding.

And the Princess's plan went off flawlessly; she had exercised, showered, eaten, and dressed with plenty of time to spare and without so much as a single glance of the ambassador. In fact the Princess began to think that Ambassador Wattana was just as averse to seeing her as she was to seeing the Ambassador. Then the time came to head out to the cars in order to head off to the Temple of Marissa, and Yu-Phin need have only taken a single glance at Ambassador Wattana's face to see that wasn't true. To some measure of credit the Ambassador waited until they were all in their car to speak up.

"Where have you been?" Ambassador Wattana demanded, "I was beginning to think my staff were lying about you even being in the country."

"Your Imperial Highness," Yu-Phin said casually, a dumbstruck look appearing on the Ambassador's face before she realized what the Princess meant and the anger returned.

"Where have you been, You Imperial Highness," the Ambassador practically spat out the words.

"I have been resting in the embassy, waiting for the hour of King David's wedding to arrive. The same as you."

"You know that is not what I meant," the Ambassador said, before quickly amending it with another, "Your Imperial Highness."

"I didn't want to talk to you, of course," Yu-Phin said with a shrug and for a moment Ambassador Wattana simply stared in disbelief at the Princess' blunt candor.

"Your Imperial Highness, we need to speak. About the wedding. And about the meeting with King David. Or did you forget all about that in your efforts to avoid me?"

"Please, Ambassador, I am a great many things but irresponsible is not one of them," Yu-Phin grinned internally as the Ambassador clenched her teeth, "But we have plenty of time in the car. So, let's talk..."


The pair were both dressed in traditional Kinkhn attire: silk skirts and blouses, the skirts brightly coloured whilst the blouses were pure white with a sash of colour matching the skirt. The blouses themselves were what high-ranking Kinkhns wore when on business in nations not as comfortable with skin in formal setting as the Kinkhns are. Princess Yu-Phin outfit was composed of turquoise with golden trim, whilst Ambassador Wattana had chosen a more subdued and simple dark blue. The pair had arrived just after the Maori delegation and they took what time they could to observe those already present. Yu-Phin silently cursed the empress and that her simple-minded policy of not engaging in any international diplomacy beyond what was absolutely necessary to function had steered Kinkhnland for so long. So many powerful people, and so any of them knew one another. All except the Kinkhns, who stood out as complete & total strangers in this place. The pair allowed those who arrived first to get through their own greeting before speaking up.

"Princess Freya, Princess Rhiannon, Archduchess Sophie. I must say that it is an absolute pleasure to be meeting you all," the Princess smiled and gave a respectful nod to each of the individuals in turn, then turned the rest of the assembled individuals, "And I hope to speak with all of you ever further; perhaps I can meet and speak with some of you again at a later date, when we are not all distracted by such a joyous event as a royal wedding, no?"

[RobertAgira]

It had been a difficult decision for the Bakkermayans as to whether they stayed home during the Feast of Helus or came to the wedding. Had it been any other nation they would probably have sent some minor underling of the Grand Duke however this was the "Motherland", the place where Helus resided and the wedding of the descendent of his favourite human. It had been in a time before Hugo Lascelles had assumed to title Grand Duke that the King's first wedding took place and Hugo had been shocked that no Bakkermayan had attended then, at least not anyone of significant rank. It was with that in mind that the decision was taken to send the Grand Duke himself. Hugo had naturally been up at sunrise and over to the Temple of Helus making his offering to the God, had he been back home he would have a day packed with public appearances and religious duties but these had been handed over to the Lead Sword Anna Davison. Hugo rather enjoyed being among the pilgrims in the most holy city of his faith and very few people paying any mind to him, obviously he was recognised but people were more focused upon their prayers and offerings than worrying about the Grand Duke of Bakkermaya.


He took a morning walk around the city before heading to the Temple of Marissa, a freshly purchased bunch of flowers in hand. He waited his turn greeted all the visitors before making his way to the PRincesses and Archduchess and wishing them well. He then asked Freya "Could you point out the Priestess of Marissa for this Temple please. I wish to make an offerinh."

[Tytor]

Prince George, Duke of Clarence and heir to the throne of Tytor, was not used to being anything more than a representative of his father in official visits like this.  With the Tytorian monarchy having the place in society that it did, these functions were almost always attended by either a diplomat or an elected official.  In fact, the plan had been for the Tytorian ambassador in East Moreland to join the prince and his wife at the wedding.  Thanks to a sudden stomach virus, the task of representing Tytor's elected government had been delegated to George by the prime minister at the last minute.  Prince George had accepted the delegation as a personal favor to Thatcher; technically, he didn't have the legal authority to do it, but Thatcher figured there wouldn't be a problem.

Accordingly, Prince George arrived with his wife, his ever-radiant Elizabeth, and absolutely no one else besides the driver of the embassy car.  Along the way, he found himself admiring the architecture of Northfort, subconsciously comparing it to Tsargrad.  He saw rather more similarities than he would have expected from two cities with such serious differences in origin and history.  Perhaps it was the engineer in him.  Regardless, the Morelanders certainly had a way with construction.  All too soon, the drive from the embassy was over and it was time to socialize.  As George helped Elizabeth out of the car, he glanced around to see if there was an obvious welcoming committee.

After all, there usually were at events like this one.

[DaveIronside]

For the little Princess things had gotten a bit much. She had been used to meeting foreign guests but never so many in such a small space of time, her mind was racing trying to remember the names and faces but it had overwhelmed her and so after not to long she found herself clinging onto the hand of Sophie and shying away behind her. In a mumbled response she thanked Evanthe for the shoe lace sweets and was about to eat one but Sophie stopped her. "You know better than to eat at Temple" she gently whispered to her. "Beside you need to save room for the feast." she added as the sweets got placed in Sophie's tunic pocket. "Thank You Your Highness." The whole formalities with the Maori took much more time than with the others but Freya was only too aware of the importance of the traditional side of things to them and so was more than happy to indulge. It was Sophie who found herself having to converse with Princess Yu-Phin. "Your Highness, I'm delighted you've come. I do believe this make you the first royal from your nation to come here on official business." Sophie wasn't much of a historian but she vaguely remembered it from the briefing they'd been given, unless she'd confused them with someone else. The Lodjains were of course much easier to deal with, after all this day in some ways was as much theirs as it was East Moreland's, the daughter of one of their most noble families marrying a royal, the wedding was being shown on TV back there too and so Freya made a point of ensuring the press would get a good view of her and Queen Klara speaking. "I hope your feeling better after your hospital stay" Freya enquired, "when are you due?" she added. Soon Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles had arrived and naturally Freya was only too happy to point him in the direction of one of the ladies dressed in white robes at the side of the Temple helping seat guests. Freya naturally ensured she was deep in conversation when the Achakerin delegation arrived, she greeted the Emperor and Empress as you would expect and as soon as possible returned her conversation to the Grand Duke leaving Sophie to make small talk. "I apologise for the three person limit" Sophie began, "Otherwise we were a little concerned half of Achkaerin would turn up, and the Temple isn't that big." She smiled making reference to the reputation of the Achkaerin government at occasions, while it was well expected the Morelanders would be early, it was also expected that anything involving Achkaerin would see a rather hefty entourage. Finally Prince George and his wife Elizabeth arrived, "Good Morning" Freya greeted them. "Welcome to Northfort. I know my brother will be grateful for your attendance.

A trumpet sounded a fan-fare indicating that the wedding processions were coming close and as such everyone was ushered to their seats. Unlike in some cultures were the two families each had their own side of the venue a Cultist wedding ensured people sat intermingled and so you could see the obvious Lodjains in flamboyant dresses and suits mingling with the Morelanders in their traditional tunics or military uniforms. A Priestess was escorting the Grand Duke to the front of the Temple where an alter sat, its polished white stone squareness sat in front of a huge marble statue of the Goddess Marissa. It was designed to look like she was floating along, her long dress billowing behind her and a bouquet of flowers in her hand and a naked dagger tucked into her belt on her hip. While she may be the Goddess of Love and Fertility she was also like all Morelander Gods a warrior and had fought against the Underlords and so her statue reflected that by having the dagger's edge appear chipped as though from battle. The Priestess waited for the Grand Duke to make his offering and then gave him a blessing before escorting him back to the group and their seats. Freya would be needed for part of the ceremony and so bid the guests goodbye for the time being. Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn came over and introduced themselves to everyone before joining them. "I think a few of you may have been here first time around." The Prime Minister began, "But essentially its a case of a bit of a procession of swords and shields, as you'd expect. We sing some songs, tie the pair together, although the King's first marriage makes that an awkward part and then leave. Normally we'd all then party til the small hours but we have a short costume break before the Coronation. I must say I prefer that ceremony to this, I always find weddings a bit long winded for what they are."

OOC - I'll maybe add more later but feel free to jump in, even if you'd not arrived yet.

 

[RobertAgira]

Grand Duke Hugo excused himself from the others at the Temple's entrance and took his flowers down towards the statue. He stood there for a moment or two with the rest of the congregation gathering in behind him. He took his sword from it's scabbard and placed it on the floor in front of the alter before kneeling. He carefully unwrapped the stems of the flowers that he had brought and placed them a single flower at a time. As he placed each he asked the Goddess for a blessing, for his family, then for his friends, his country. Once he had done he picked up his sword, sheathed it and then made his way to join the others.

[Xaeth]

"Indeed I am; it has been a long time since any of us Kinkhn royals have visited another nation. Officially, at least," Princess Yu-Phin said with a smile, responding to Archduchess Sophie, "But Ambassador Wattana Sanya has done an admirable job holding down the fort here at our embassy."

The Ambassador furrowed her brow at the Princess' compliment but quickly turned her attention towards the Archduchess, "We are delighted to be able to attend such an auspicious occasion ourselves, your Grace."

"And I must say that East Moreland is a beautiful country," Yu-Phin added, then chuckled, "Albeit much colder than I am used to."

At the sound of the trumpets, the Princess & Ambassador quickly and silently allowed themselves to be shown to their seats. They sat & listened to the Prime Minister's words and while neither quite understood exactly why King David's previous marriage would make the tying awkward they both had the good sense not to ask. "Well I must say it is quite the pity that we won't be able to indulge in the partying," Yu-Phin said with a chuckle, "That is often the most enjoyable part of the wedding."

[Geo]

Representative George Lloyd finished reading the article and turned to his secretary.
"A royal wedding? Why does this matter?"
"It could improve relations between us and East Moreland if we attended, Sir"
Lloyd frowned and thought. "The other Representatives?"
"Issued public statements denouncing their Monarchy this morning, Sir."
Lloyd sighed. He would attend, only to foster relations. The 7 years it had taken for the new Government to instate control after the Revolution had been 7 years of isolation. They lacked friends in Mundus. If the 4 others were too stuborn to see it, so be it.
"Sophie, get Abraham on the line, we are going to East Moreland."

[Geo]

The plane put its wheels down and George Lloyd, Representative of the Low Lands of Aschlon, stepped out and sniffed the air. So this was the country. It still suffered under Religion, its stony eyed gaze glaring down at the country's people, keeping them in control so their monarchs, no doubt corrupt and selfish, could live a life of ease. And yet here he was. To foster relations with a country that willingly enslaved itself so that Aschlon could prosper. All in the name of peace of course. The press were going to enjoy this. He glanced at his watch. According to his PA, Sophie, they had landed an hour before the ceremony. He glanced at Abraham, and saw  the heavily bearded man reverse a BMC 4X4 17 out of the planes storage. With luck they would only miss the beginning of the main ceremony. They sped along the road towards where the ceremony would take place. Sophie tapped him on the arm and handed him a sword, apparently having one was very important here. He examined it and smiled at the irony. It was the sword that had hacked off Pope Louis I's head off. 

They arrived at the Temple of Marissa, and looked around in confusion. There was nobody there except some guards. Lloyd turned to one and asked in his thick Aschlonian accent "Where is everyone?"
The guard looked amused and responded "You are early, sir."
Lloyd glared at Sophie who shrugged sheepishly.
"Well," he said "we better take a seat then." 

[DaveIronside]

With the late arrival of David Lloyd a few East Moreland eyebrows were raised, it was well known that this nation was no lover of monarchies or religion for that matter and so attending a Royal Wedding in the Holy Land of the Cult of Helus was rather interesting. It was left to Foreign  Minister Orlaith Kade, the King's couisn, to direct them to their seats having arrived from the airfield at a similar time. "Representative Lloyd" she extended a hand, "I'm Orlaith Kade, East Moreland's Foreign Minister" She began walking him down towards the front of the temple where the other foreign guests were seated and made sure to introduce the new arrival around before taking her own seat.

The two wedding parties had arrived at opposite ends of Temple District and the TV cameras trained on the groups as final preparations were being made. At the King's end his multi-national military escort fanned out as the Groom's party formally formed up rather than casually walked. A young army NCO passed a large metal shield to Robbie Peacock who took up position in front of the King, meanwhile Alex Redern and Danny Frost flanked him with their swords now drawn and resting on their shoulders. To this moment the King had walked without his sword, it having spent the evening in the Temple of Jekar under the watch of Flying Officer Hope Meadows who now neatly stepped forward and handed the sword over before stepping back and saluting. She hurried off to the Temple as she would be singing for part of the ceremony.

Meanwhile at the opposite end Stasya was meet by what would be her "Shield Maidens", just as the King had Alexandrea Samuel, Stasya's new Head of Household, took the shield, while Jessica Spence-Cole and Emma Mayburn, her two Ladies in Waiting flanked her, minus swords. Stasya smiled as her choice of sword bearer approached, it was Jinny Denman leader of the Sisterhood of Helus, the branch of the faith that Stasya was following. The self-appointed High Priestess of the Sisterhood handed the slim ornate blade to Stasya as she offered a prayer before making her own way into the Temple to get ready for the small role she would have in the ceremony.

Inside the Temple of Marissa High Priestess Skye Maddix had entered, a series of young girls aged around 10 walked ahead of her each grasping a large bunch of flowers from which every few steps they discarded one to form a multi-coloured floral carpet down the aisle. Each had about six flowers left as they reached the low white marble alter that dominated the front of the Temple where the flowers were spread across the alters surface as an offering to the Goddess. "Children of Helus" Skye began her address, "Friends of East Moreland, honoured guests. Today we are gathered to share in the love of a couple dear to the heart of the Goddess Marissa. Today we will hear them dedicate themselves to each other and I hope we will all support them for the rest of time to keep their vows. I ask that we please be upstanding for the happy couple." On cue a fanfare played and the King's party made their way down the aisle the metal segs in the heels of the men's military boots clanking off the polished marble floor. Upon reaching the alter Robbie Peacock removed the shield from his arm and placed it carefully on its stand on the left side of alter. Redfern and Frost each took up a position either side of the alter while Peacock disappeared off towards the rear of the Temple. There was a little pause before the fanfare played again.

"Don't look back" Redfern whispered, it was considered bad luck for the groom to not wait for his bride, it was said that if a man looked back up the aisle he was turning his back on Marissa and the marriage would end loveless. David tried to remember whether he had looked backwards when he had married Matilda but couldn't remember. He felt an urge but resisted instead trying to gauge Skye Maddix's expression. She was though stood eyes closed, her mind running through the ceremony as Hope Meadows had begun to sing a song selected by Stasya, the corset was digging in a little but as they say fashion is meant to be painful. As they neared the alter their approach was much quieter with the women wearing the soft soled shoes. Alexandrea placed the shield of Stasya on a stand in-front of the King before joining Peacock and the overseas escorts at the rear of the Temple, while Emma and Jessica split left and right to stand beside the men. It was only when the shields were in place on the alter that the King turned to his bride. "You're stunning" he whispered as he took in the sight of the simple but elegant dress similar to those all brides wore, he was partly relieved however that she hadn't taken any liberties with the fashion of the dress knowing her dress sense.

The next people to enter the Temple would be the fathers of the couple, however in King David's case this wasn't possible. It was custom that they signalled that they were giving their approval of the families joining. Duke Tobias Pelagiya while not a Cultist was happy to take part in the ceremony because it meant his family would be forever entwined with royalty which was something any Lodjain liked the sound of. Meanwhile the King was represented by his daughter Princess Rhiannon who had walked happily down the aisle with Duke Tobias. The pair stood in front of their family member and handed a gift forward, Tobias an elegant silver tiara encrusted with various precious stones while Rhiannon a small dagger. "Please remove the items for the binding" Skye addressed the pair and Tobias untied the white and red scarf from the neck of his daughter while the King helped Princess Rhiannon take hold of his sword belt. Each item was passed forward and with a well practiced motion Skye wove them into a reef note before taking hold of the couples hands and tying them together. "Who shall support this man in his duties as a husband" Skye asked loudly.

Alex placed his hand on the King's shoulder, "I do" he declared loudly.

"And who shall support this woman in her duties as a wife" Skye enquired.

"I do" Emma Maybury confirmed as she placed her own hand on the shoulder of the future Queen of East Moreland.

The High Priestess seemed satisfied and double checked the knot she had tied earlier before continuing. "It is now neccessary for each of the two parties to give their oaths to each other. They shall do so freely and with love in their hearts. I invite first Duchess Stasya to give her oath to His Majesty King David."

Stasya turned and looked at her soon to be husband, she had dreamt of a wedding day like this all be it never a Cultist one, that didn't matter to her though only the fact that in a few short hours she'd be able to call herself a Queen and would spend the rest of her days in the lap of luxury with influence far beyond what a Patrician of Lodja could have amassed. " On this day I give you my heart and soul. I give you my promise that I will walk with you hand in hand wherever our journey leads us. Living, Learning, loving together forever." It was then that Jinny Denman's role in the ceremony came about, the self-proclaimed High Priestess of the Sisterhood. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Stasya's "In the name of the Almighty Helus I bless your oath. She shall watch over you, bring you joy and long and happy years together." The short words were something that brought a feint mumble from the audience as it was unheard of to allow the Sisterhood to have an input into such a significant day but Stasya had insisted. With the first oath and blessing done it was the King's turn.

"From this day forward I promise you these things. I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow. I will share your dreams and support you in all you do. I will help you when you need it and step aside when you don't. I will remain faithful to you for better and worse, in times of sickness and in health. You are my best friend and I shall love you forever." The Cult didn't offer a blessing at these points, trusting the fact that the oath givers were deemed worthy of a sword meant Helus would naturally bless their efforts and so Skye remained silent in that regard.

She gently removed the hands of Alex and Emma before spinning the couple so they now faced the audience. "You have heard the oaths of the couples and they are tied in union. From this day forth this physical bond between them shall be a spiritual and loving one." She spoke as she raised their tied hands for all to see. "I am pleased to name them as man and wife." With those words the pair exchanged a kiss and Redfern hefted both shields with a little held attaching them to his arms by Emma. The King's best friend assumed his position at the front of the couple and lead them out of the Temple followed by the others in the escort and Duke Tobias and Rhiannon. As they exited the Temple cheers could be heard from all over the city as people celebrated the King's marriage. It took some time for the newlyweds to exit the Temple and make their way to the carriage which would take them to the Palace ready for the coronation that was to come.

Inside the Temple all the various guests departed except those from other nations. While the new couple raced back to the Palace and changed for the coronation those who had been in the wedding party made their way into the Temple's admin complex where they hastily changed amid desks normally reserved for the scholars. Meanwhile it was left to Foreign Minister Orlaith Kade and various other government ministers to keep the guests company. Skye Maddix had arranged for glasses of champagne and non-alcoholic wine to be served as people mingled.

[KrisNord]

Finley had sat through the ceremony holding Riona's hand the whole time. It was the first time that he had witnessed a Cultist wedding ceremony first hand and he had rather enjoyed it. The whole symbolism of the joining of hands, shields coming together was rather sweet. He thought he'd even detected a tear in the eye of his Queen, a hopeless romantic herself. The couple waited for the ceremony to finish and made his way over to where people waiting for the coronation were congregating. He gladly accepted a glass of champagne , a drink that frankly he didn't particularly enjoy but he wasn't sure that pulling out his hipflask of whiskey from his sporran was going to be looked upon favourably. He stood chatting with his wife for a moment before approaching the East Moreland Foreign Minister. "Minister Kade" he extended a hand, "Congratulations on your appointment. I trust things have got off well, you won't have a better start to things than today." He gestured around at the various guests representing many of the nations of MUndus. "I hope that perhaps tomorrow we can have a meeting with the King, or if he's busy, yourself. I think there are a number of issues we could do with discussing." The King needed to seek some advice on the Celtic Protectorate and a few other matters for which he believed the Morelanders were uniquely positioned.

[Libby]

Feeling the size of an elephant Queen Klara remained seated as everyone gathered at the back of the Temple, she would have enjoyed a chance to socialise with others some of whom she considered friends rather than just counterparts. "Could you get me a drink pelase?" she asked Roksana who made her way to the doorway of the Temple where others had congregated, she cornered a server and acquired a glass of champagne each for her and King Leopold while retrieving a glass of orange juice for her wife Klara. As Roksana returned and distributed the drinks it was Klara who suggested Leopold head up to speak with the others after all he was probably the 2nd most influential Lodjain and someone should be there getting the gossip for the Queen.

Leopold made his way to the front and found Princess Freya and Alex Redfern. "Congratulations to your brother." He smiled at Freya, "I'm looking forward to the coronation, I've heard it is a rather different experience to the ones we have back home, I suppose no one drinking someone else." He chuckled. He next turned to Redfern, "I don't suppose once the formalities of the day are out the way I could have a moment of your time. I've kind of been lumbered with helping ensure we don't look ridicuolous next time your friends do our military review and well despite on paper having military experience you'll be aware that for a Lodjain that means very little if they are my age."

[BenOfTheIwi]

While it seemed everyone else was heading towards the entrance to socialise King Piripi and his wife Maata headed towards Queen Klara. "Nice to see you again" The King took a seat opposite the Lodjain while his wife took a seat next to her. It was the Queen who started the conversation. "I'm pleased you could be here I heard of how you'd had an awful beginning to your pregnancy. Trust me though it'll be worth it when the little one arrives." She remembered fondly the birth of her boy Kiamo and his recent coronation and she was interested to see how the Morelanders one would go in comparison. "When exactly are you expecting?"

[Geo]

George Lloyd stepped out into the cool air, walked down the steps onto the pavement, sighed and lit a cigarette. The marriage ceremony had been dull, and full of religious nonsense. As he sucked in the smoke he tried to wrap his mind around the situation at hand, and more importantly, the people around him. From what he could gather from his PA’s frantic explanations during the car journey here, King David had supreme power. Oddly though, he did not use his powers without the explicit permission of a democratically elected council. Lloyd found that curious. Here was a man, that though a King, treated his people with respect enough to give them the ability to do as they choose. Maybe he could grow to like this King David.
His phone started ringing, jolting him out of his thoughts. He picked it up and noticed it was from Representative Jovi. He picked up and greeted him in Aschlonian.
“Bill, how are things in Aschlon?”
“Listen, George! The other Representatives are gone! I’m trying to manage things back here, I need you to make friends with the chaps at the coronation! Gotta go, bye!”
“What do you-”
Representative Jovi had hung up. Lloyd swore and glanced back into the Temple and sighed. Time to make friends then. Even if he did not approve of them apparently, according to Representative Jovi, Aschlon needed to make friends.He was unsure why, and he was also unsure why the other Representatives were dead. He sighed again. He walked up the stairs and glanced at the men and women representing their countries. Which were from Albion? He noted Queen Klara and her companions from Lodja, Grand Duke Hugo from Bakkermaya and Prince George from Tytor and his wife Elizabeth. He extinguished his cigarette and put it in his tobacco case for later. He decided that Queen Klara from Lodja seemed like a sociable person, so he walked up to her and smiling with a smile which concealed his weariness, greeted her.
“Good afternoon. Queen Klara was it? I do not believe we have met. I’m Representative David Lloyd, from Aschlon. Nice to meet you.”

[Libby]

As Lloyd approached where Klara and Piripi were sat and introduced himself Klara saw the slightly confused look on her wife, Crown Princess Roksana's face. There were traditions to uphold and while Piripi was known to the Lodjains and considered friends this man was new and different. Roksana found herself slipping back into her own ways as a Lady in Waiting. "Representative Lloyd" she announced, "I have the pleasure to introduce you to Her Divine Majesty Klara II of Lodja, Guardian of Sessifet" she then realised she had made an error as another Head of State was sat there and of course she knew only too well the complex nature of greetings in Maori culture but then Lloyd had seemed only interested in speaking to the Queen so perhaps it was right to announce her first. "I also have the pleasure to introduce....." she hesitated unsure of the exact wording of the King of the Unified Iwi's title. "His Majesty King Piripi not of the Ngāpuhi" she watched the Maori Kings face hoping she had not butchered the pronountation of his tribe too badly, "But of the Iwi" she added using what she hoped from memory was his full title.

Klara laughed and while resting a hand on the back of her seat hoisted her pregnant frame up from the seat and extended a hand towards Lloyd. "Lovely to meet you." She lowered herself back into her seat while Roksana offered a helping hand, "And while my wife here was quick to introduce everyone else she forgot to introduce herself, this is my darling wife Roksana" she squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry but we have some rather formal traditions back home about meeting new representatives from other nations. I suppose if you were a Star Trek fan you'd call them First Contact Protocols or something, Roksana here spent several years as one of the Ladies in Waiting to two Queens before me so hard habits die hard."

"Yes, its a hard habit to break" Roksana confirmed, "But I don't think those back home would like to think the Queen is not following tradition" she knew Klara was quiet often targetted for being a little bit "Qwirky" compared to the former Queen's of Lodja and giving some of the older Patrician families another chance to criticise her wasn't something Roksana would allow.

"King Piripi here is from one of our closest friends, the Unified Iwi, sadly not an Albion nation but we're bound to each other through the CNN organisation." The CNN was an alliance between East Moreland, Ui Cennesliag, Lodja and The Unified Iwi and something Klara held very dear as it had brought great advancement to many things in Lodja. "So now your civil war is over are we to imagine you'll be more active in Albion, maybe even joining the Council of Albion?" Klara asked, "Early days I know but worth having a look at. Is this your first overseas visit as a Representative of Aschlon.........what does that mean exactly, just its hard to keep track of all these titles around Mundus."

[Paracambi]

Emperor Benson had not particularly enjoyed the day so far. It wasn't because of it being a foreign religion, or the fact he'd recently had a disagreement with the Morelander King, nor the fact he believed the future Queen was a touch of a attention seeking strumpet these were all things he could take in his stride or he realised they would have no impact on his life. What he hadn't enjoyed was the coldness, not in terms of temperature, although he found Northfort a bit chilly compared to his tropical paradise home, but in terms of  the building, it was just cold stone. The ceremony was almost sterile, just people watching on. He thought how different it was to a wedding back home be it a Rastafarian one or a Vodou one. It was this somberness that he didn't like. He stood and headed to find a drink while waiting for the coronation and in hope that something more exciting would take place there.

[badlegoblox]

"fook" the ringing alarm beside Perceval is really hurting his ear. after turning it down he wake up from the bed at Ubrriek Embassy and readying himself for the coronation at the morelander ceremony. as the current high lord of Ubrriek he need to attend this ceremony which need to be attended personally by some high profile of the empire as a goodwill, after all the empire just starting recovering and risking the wrath or enmity of the nearest powerful country is unwise.

"The car is ready sir we can go anytime now"
"very well lets go gentlemen"
Perceval diplomatic contingent is filled with some diplomat, ambassador and amusingly a forgelord from one of the forge city. they wear every formal attire and traditional attire of their respective original citystate and in case of the forgemaster is a uniquely uniform that will make him stand out so much with all the metal in his clothes. Perceval himself wore his old Capitol Official Uniform for High Lord in formal event. luckily it seem their travel time is sort and they can arrive at the temple under 2 hours.

"fookin time"
"need to watch your tongue sir"
"for all of us, yes." Perceval chuckle as he is reminded of his language, after all he prefer to people acted around him like how he conduct his old detective job.
anyway there is ceremony to attend and to watch attentively with, and noble dignitaries and any sort of people to socialize. this is going to a be long day as perceval thougth to himself

[DaveIronside]

Orlaith Kade was pleased to see King Finley, he was someone that her cousin King David had spoken fondly of several times and he was considered a good friend both in terms of diplomacy and personally. "Your Majesty" she bowed. "I'm certain that we can find a moment or two tomorrow to have a talk.....hangover permitting." She remembered David telling her how much Finley enjoyed a whiskey or six and had already seen him passing a hip flask around not that she minded.

By now the royal carriage had reached the Palace with the road behind it strewn with flowers the crowd had flung, Stasya had managed to catch a few as she'd been waving and now even as the King helped his new wife down from the carriage a team of young soldiers from the King's Light Cavalry swung into action cleaning the carriage out of the newly acquired foaliage. There was quiet a bit of work to do but not much time to do it. "Your Majesty we've 30 minutes" Quinn Germainethe King's Chief of Household pressed a button on her watch starting the countdown. They'd agreed a schedule with EMTV and while naturally the TV station would be flexible it would make their life difficult if the timetable went slightly off. Stasya's two Ladies were already beginning the process of readying the future Queen as they headed into the Palace and towards the Royal Suite. They were busy trying to untie the strings on the corset style dress she was wearing while another handed her a wipe for her make up. The King meanwhile swung off into his Office where as he and his party began to get changed Quinn stood at the door giving him his daily briefing about what was going on across Mundus. She stood with her back to the room reading from her clipboard as the King, Redfern, Frost and Peacock removed their military uniform to don the traditional red tunics and their sword belts. It was something they'd got used to during their time in the military, the quick change, and unlike their uniforms the traditional tunics didnt take much checking.

Upstairs Stasya was sat like a statue as a hairdresser set about piling her hair atop her head, they'd practiced a week ago with the crown to make sure Stasya was satisfied with how it would look with her new hairdo. While that was being done a professional make up artist was busy applying a new layer of blushers, masquera and the like. "Fifteen minutes" the voice of Quinn came through the door as she immediately hurried away. Stasya was soon attired much like the King, plain black trousers with black shiny boots, a red tunic and her sword belt around her waist. It wasn't the most fetching or glamorous of attires but she was hopeful that the people of East Moreland would love the way she'd embraced their traditions. "Five minutes" and by some miracle the Queen was ready. As she headed downstairs back towards the carriage which was still being given its decoration of a variety of shields the King and his friends were busy laughing as Rhiannon, dressed in a quartered red and white tunic indicating the fact she was not of an age to have had her sword ceremony, was having an impromptu swordsmanship lesson with Danny Frost much to the laughter of those watching. "Time to go" Quinn ducked behind them as an EMTV camera team were visible at the door. Rhiannon tucked her sword into her sheath and began to move towards the back of the group which was forming up.

"Come here Rhiannon" David motioned. Tradition dictated that the King and future Queen would travel at the lead of a group of escorts, then the other royals, then nobles etc would travel in procession in a series of carriages that were waiting. The Princess would ride with her auntie Freya and cousin Sophie however that was not the issue. "Sword" David stood with his hand out. Rhiannon looked confused but her father knew this was merely a trick of hers, "Sword....unless you want to miss the party." Rhiannon huffed and pulled her tiny sword out of her sheath before handing it pommel first to her father who handed it one of the many Palace stewards. While Rhiannon may be a Princess she was not entitled to wear a sword and like all those who had not been deemed worthy she would wear the quartered tunic and carry an empty scabbard despite her best efforts at sneaking her blade in. The procession formed up and began the trip back down the Palace drive and towards the Temple District.


"Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Lords and Ladies, Friends" Alexandrea Samuel yelled having tapped her champagne glass with a small dagger. "I have been informed that the procession is leaving the Palace if you would please head across the street and into the Temple of Helus." She motioned to where they should go and a escort of military officers helped them find the way, the street had been filled with thousands of people in red tunics that had managed to push the crowd out the way and form a kind of guard of honour, each of them had their sword resting on their shoulder. It was only around 100meters to the Temple of Helus and into its ginormous circular chamber with a single flat stone the size of a large kitchen table in the middle. A single hole in the roof allowed a small beam of light to strike the grey rock making small crystal like specs shimmer slightly. Legend told that the stone was the one on which Helus himself had stood and addressed mankind following the defeat of the Underlords and every King or Queen of East Moreland had been crowned here in its presence. The seats ran in a circle around the stone with a route through from each of the cardinal points. "Please take a seat wherever you wish." Alexandrea informed the foreign guests.

Outside the coaches carrying the royals had left the Palace and leaving the gates the King remembered to don his crown, something that he didn't particularly like wearing but on occasions like this he did so proudly. Military soldiers saluted as the procession passed each raising their sword to their face before swiping it downwards. David recognised several and nodded a greeting to them. "Who have you selected as your Champion?" David asked Stasya as they saw the tower of the Temple of Helus become visible among the other Temples.

"That's for me to know and you to find out" she kissed his cheek as she waved once more, her arm was in fact becoming a little sore from it all.

As they reached the Temple Skye Maddix reappeared. Coronations were the only time a High Priestess wore black and it contrasted with the solid gold ringlet on her head. "Hello everyone" she said as she stood near the God Stone, "I understand for some of you this will be a 2nd coronation and if you recall there are moments crowd interaction is permitted" she looked around trying to work out who had been here when David had crowned Matilda. "For those that haven't you'll pick it up pretty quickly. I hope you enjoy." She headed for the Temple door and watched as the Royal Party exited their coaches and formed up. Some of the soldiers who had formed the honour guard for the guests to move from one temple to the other had now set themselves up with shields each bearing the nations coat of arms. The 50 Red Legionnaire veterans formed two files infront of the King and on the nod from Skye marched up the steps with swords in their right hand and shields strapped to the left. Following them were members of the prestigious chivalric order The Court of Canley. They entered the temple, their black boots clanging on the polished grey stone. They didn't approach the God Stone and instead formed a ring all the way around the congregation sat facing the ceremonial slab. Skye had now moved to stand with the stone between her and the door that the the soldiers and the Court of Canley had entered through. She saw the Kings banner top the steps carried by Alex Redfern and began the ceremony.

"BEHOLD!" she yelled "Mighty Helus your chosen representative approaches, welcome him into your house and bless him with your wisdom and bravery. Today he comes before you with his wife asking for you to bless her and accept her as his Queen, bless her with your wisdom." She'd timed it perfectly as the King entered just as she finished the incantation. Redfern headed immediately to the God Stone and draped the King's banner across. The King had been handed a purple cushion at the top of the Temple steps by a young Priestess. On top of the cushion sat the crown of the Queen of East Moreland and Stasya left his side to stand with the young Priestess. The King entered carrying the crown before him, he bowed to the High Priestess and then placed the cushion before her before taking position next to her. Skye waited for the full procession of royals to enter and stand behind the King, Freya, Sophie, Rhiannon and then the various members of the Kade and Ironside family junior branches.  Skye was satisfied that everyone was where they needed to be and so gave the small signal to allow Stasya to enter where she stayed her side of the God Stone and then carefully knelt making sure she didn't tangle herself in her long slim sword.

Skye waited for the Temple to become silent again. "Millenia ago Helus gave life to us all, to create order he appointed monarchs from his bloodline and blessed them with wisdom. Before you todays stand King David Ironside, third of his name, son of Sven, descendant of Unasson, he is the rightful King of East Moreland and all Morelanders and today he wishes Helus to recognise his beloved as Queen. David do you posses the Crown of the Queen." David picked up the crown leaving the cushion behind.

"I do" the King said loudly handing the crown to the High Priestess who now prayed over it for a moment or two before holding it aloft while she completed a lap of the God Stone. When she returned to her start position she placed the crown in the centre of the God Stone and removed the cushion.

Skye removed her own sword and using two hands she held it across the God Stone its point a good meter away from Stasya but clearly pointed at her. "Is this the woman who shall become Queen" the High Priestess enquired.

"I present Stasya Ironside, first of her name, daughter of Tobias Pelagiya, beloved of Helus." King David confirmed the identity of the future Queen, he'd found himself grinning widely as he said the name Stasya Ironside.

"Stasya Ironside, as Queen you must appoint a Champion to defend your honour and good name. Who do you name?" It was a ceremonial role that the Queen at her coronation had a person to essentially stand on her behalf. There were rules about the situation such as the fact that it must be a man, couldn't be related to the royal family by blood and had to have served in the military. David was nervous at this point as Stasya had kept things tightly under wraps about who she had selected.

Stasya was still kneeling on her side of the God Stone. "I name as my champion Louis Blanche" From somewhere in the Temple a door slammed open and a man entered in full armour except for his helmet. A shield in one hand and a drawn sword in the other he stood behind Stasya. The King smiled, Blanche was a Mundus Games Medieval MMA Champion and held the World Title, in truth he was as good a choice you could get even if it was only a ceremonial role. David could hear shuffling behind and it was Rhiannon trying to see her hero in a slightly better light than tucked behind a maze of legs. Skye meanwhile was trying not to smile at the choice of Champion but was certainly satisfied the guy was up to the job and so continued the ceremony.

"Do you promise to support the King in all he does." Skye asked and in a loud voice Stasya confirmed that she would. "Do you promise to protect those in need of protection" Once more Stasya loudly affirmed she would. "Do you Promise to honour your ancestors and those of the Royal Family?" Once more the answer was that she would. "Finally do you promise to Place the Kingdom above all things." Stasya confirmed that she would put it before even her own life. Stasya picked up the crown once more and began walking laps of the God Stone. "You have heard Stasya's promises, you have heard our King proclaim her as his Queen. Helus has given her his blessing, she is his chosen Queen for the Kingdom. WHO HERE DENIES IT!!" Skye snarled the final words her sword pointing accusingly around the circle sat around the stone watching. Those who had been here when Matilda was crowned knew what was coming and no sooner had Skye snarled everyone Louis Blance leapt onto the God Stone while the Court of Canley and the Red Legionnaires began slamming their sword blades together while stamping their feet. Even Rhiannon was stamping as loud as she could while transfixed on the knight on the God Stone yelling "I challenge any who deny Helus. I beg you to come and test your sword. She is Queen." he bellowed. Stasya made another two laps of the God Stone before sheathing her own sword. She wondered what would happen if someone did make a challenge, she suspected it would not end well with so many well trained swordsman and a world champion in the room but it was now clear no one would be doing so. The High Priestess was now stood behind Stasya and raised the crown high above her and with no word the deafening din stopped. "Helus has proclaimed you Queen Stasya Ironside, first of your name. May the Gods Watch Over You and Your Reign Be Long." she placed the crown on the head of the kneeling woman who quickly checked it was balanced correctly before standing as everyone in the ceremony except the King knelt. The King walked around the stone and took hold of Stasya's hand before leading them out of the Temple as everyone filed out.

[Geo]

OOC- Before the Coronation and after the marriage
“Lovely to meet you all”, said Lloyd, taking a seat, “The title of Representative means I, as the name suggests, represent one of the five provinces of Aschlon, in my case the Low Lands, in the Tarc, our parliament.”
He thought for a second and absent mindedly reached for his tobacco pouch, and then remembered where he was and jerked his hand back.
“I do hope,” he said, ”that Aschlon becomes more active globally, 14 or so years of isolation has not served well for us. I would personally love to have Aschlon join your Council of Albion, however we are experiencing some,” he frowned as he struggled to find a correct word for whatever was going on back in Aschlon, “difficulties at the moment, so it might be a while till we join any organisation.”
So far Lloyd liked the Lodjains he was talking to, despite them being royalty. When he had met King Henry VII, back when he was teaching Aschlonian as a professor at Hootoft University, had been haughty and cold. They were quite the opposite. He turned to King Piripi and greeted him. He sat back in the chair and tried to think of some small talk.
“So,” he said, “How are things going back in your homes?”