Medalling Ceremony-2/20/06

The trumpet fanfare erupted from heraldic trumpets, and the great gates of the ducal palace in Wentus Castrum were wheeled open by running pursuivants. From them, the duke on his prancing parade mount Ermine emerged onto the street to cacophonous applause.

Down the street in the Cathedral of St-Germain, the richer and more well to do of the population lined the pews. Knight and burgess, reeve and envoy sat in expectant but grinning and self satisfied silence as the trumpets grew nearer.

The clatter and tinkle of shod hooves and leather saddle sounded immediately outside the cathedral doors after the trumpets died down, and then procession entered to fill the remaining rows in solemn silence as a canter sang a hymn.

The duke and the herald Coroanch mounted the pulpit after Father Hadrian's mass, Coronach carrying the velvet lined case draped with the ducal arms.

The duke turned toward the congregation, golden solar legion grand master's collar glinting over a dagged sleeve doublet in the sunlight coming through the stained glass, heels of his thigh high leather boots clacking on the floor.

The duke chuckled. "I wonder sometimes if Evander, that ancient ancestor knight of the dukes of Wessex, credited with the gift of prophecy, had known what a jewel his Wessex would become. If he did, I wonder also if he knew to whom to give the credit, for surely it is the great assembly I see before me to whom one should look. Without question, the hominy has been separated from the crop of all the races, and now congregates here. I made the most stringent exams, the most regimented structure, and rather than deter, it has attracted, like a sailor's beacon, other great lights of this world. To all of you, the very sparkles in the true crown of Mercia that is Wessex, I give my praise."

The duke stepped back and bowed magnanimously as hands came together in that Cathedral. Only the scantest few keen individuals paused in brief consideration of the meaning of the duke's last sentence before continuing with their applause.

"Here then, are your latest honorees".

Amidst silence, the duke turned and reached into the open velvet case that Coronach, herald in full tabard, held.

"Among our new clerks, a most determined and ingenuous individual has earned our recognition for a most valuable contribution. To Robert Setles we award the Medal for Service to the Kingdom for his design of a Wessex hierarchy chart.

"To Protonix, also among our clerks, we award the Achievement Medal for his constant parlance among the races and nations of Agon, spreading the name of Wessex far and wide. We also award him a Commendation Medal for initiative he took in suggesting a diplomatic mission which paid great dividends to Wessex politically.

"To the envoy Laflayus we award the Commendation medal for his excellent diplomatic mission to the Monastery of the Knights of the Red Order.

"To the shining star of all the heralds, Nira Nathair, we award one Achievement Medal for her continued recruitment from the other nations of Agon, and a Medal for Service to the Kingdom for her leadership and initiative among all heralds, especially to clarify and reorganize the protocol for public forum signatures.

"To Fenris Sigismund, Esquire, sheriff of Wessex, we award the Achievement Medal for his constant model performance of the duties of sheriff in this city.

"To Father Hadrian, our Bishop, I award the Commendation Medal for his timely arrival to assist Envoy Laflayus in his diplomatic mission to the Red Order.

"To Falt, our straight shooting footman, we award the Achievement Medal for her constant seeking of new villeins for the Duchy's fields.

"To Gerhard Sigismund, Esquire, I award the Achievement Medal for his superb involvement in storytelling and the stimulation of creativity.

"To Destinova, clerk of the Ducal Court, I award the Achievement Medal for his organization of a Clerk Welcome Package and model performance as a clerk.

"To my own brother, Lord Aeneas, Knight of Wessex and Knight of the Solar Legion, I award a commendation medal for his own work in reorganizing the process by which villeins and soldiers are registered in Wessex."

As the medal awardees stood before the crowd in congregation, the duke invited a final celebratory applause from the masses gathered. In a holy water font nearby, the stained glass depicting St. Germain, the famous Itinerant Count, was reflected up to the duke's narrowed, scheming eyes.

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