This page will serve as a Chronicle of the path to the Accolade of Chivalry for Aaron Palomides of Buckminster.
While the Knighting Ceremony itself will be at the Pennsic War on August 13th, 2003! (And it happened! I'm a newly minted Knight!)
Here's a chronological order of what has transpired so far. More will be added later.
(WARNING: I'm not thumbnailing the pics yet - No time as of present.... They'll take a long time to load in some cases - be patient, please)
I was offered admission into the Order of the Chivalry on June 22nd, 2003 . This happened at West Kingdom June Crown Tournament, in which Viscount Sir Ragnar Beowulf won for his lady Sciath. (please excuse the misspellings) He met Viscount Sir Thor Stagge (fighting for his lady Eowyn) in the finals. My knight, Duke Sir Stephen of Beckenham (pronounced Steven) was also made a Companion of the Order of the Pelican!
Here's what I wrote about it in an email a little later....
As all of you know - I got my Pelican(Bird) as a complete surprise. They called up my squire brother, Magnus (who I thought was going to be Knighted - that happened 9 months later), he swapped places with the Herald because he wanted to do theceremony, and then they called me up, offered me the bird, and made me swear on the spot. Right after I was a Bird, someone asked me if I wanted to be surprised when I got Knighted. I said 'No way - I want my peeps there.'
Well, they paid attention to the letter of the law...
So - Sunday. sunday morning, Chiv Council was at 8 AM. We tried to get Steve up, and no dice. (yeah, like you try going in that tent to wake up someone who's not a morning person....RIIIIIGHT....). During the council meeting (which went long), one of the Dukes came and GOT HIM. Woke him up and everything. I went to take him coffee, that same Duke came out and got the coffee before I got anywhere near council.
Now, you say - dude, wake up! They're talking about you! Well, let's just say that the Harry Potter book was very enjoyable. I didn't even blink. (Yes, I finished it. Yes, it is that good. Yes, go read it.) There is also the fact that I had convinced myself that they weren't going to do it in this Kingdom, so I was like 'whatever'.
In Pel council afterward, it was decided that Steve should get his Pelican. Tobi (da wife, don't cha know...) said that it should be a surprise in the future. No problem. Cool.
So, we go and fight in the William Marshall Tourney, and after that, we're waiting for Court. I look at Steve.
"Boss, can I go to court in my gambeson?"
"Riiight. Go put on a nice tunic. You know better."
(story enters third person mode...)
Me is a fop (Pimp in training). Me has nice tunics. Me puts one on. Me remembers that they're making another Pelican at court. Me puts on nice red mantle Kiwi-bird made for him, nice Squires belt and Stealth Pel Medallion. No Problem.
Whole household goes to court. Does Me notice? Naah. Me thinks 'whatever.'
Me is at Court. Me goes up when first Pelican is made. King looks at me and
says 'we will be doing the other candidate today'. Hmm. Cool. "Tobi has
something up her sleeve. No prob."
Me is lounging in court.
King (HRM Alden) calls up Me AND Steve.
Hmm. Okay, they're calling Me up to make sure Steve no runs away. Cool. No prob. Me gets up and joins my Knightly guy.
(now going back into first person mode....)
I look at Steve, evebrow raised. Steve looks at me, eyebrow raised. We both shrug slightly (there is some laughter), go up, bow, kneel.
The household says I was kind of sitting there kneeling, just kind of like 'Whatever - la la la...' (this, of course is because I'm thinking he's going to offer the bird to Steve)
Then, HRM Alden says - 'Knights - attend your King' (or something like that...now we start to get fuzzy)
I'm like 'Huh?' Brain turns on, starts to process. jaw DROPS.
Crowd gasps.
Mouth is still hanging open.
Knights show up like roaches, man, they're all around me.
I stop breathing.
HRM Alden looks down at me, and says "We'd like to offer you Membership in the Order of the Chivalry."
Brain goes into feedback overload.
I fall over, start bawling. (Yes, I bawled. Bite me.)
They let me do this for about 5 seconds. I hear - Rusty... get up, dude...).
People help me up. I clear Brain, remember where I am, say to myself, "Shit
- I
can't believe I bawled", steady myself, nod off help, wipe the crud out
of my eyes, and look back up at HRM.
He says, "Think about it, you don't have to decide now."
I nod, look at Steve - He's beaming.
They say for me to go greet the Order. I start getting Mobbed.
Steve starts to leave. HRM's say 'Nope, you can't leave yet.
He's like 'Huh?'
I'm kneeling about 4 feet away, trying to figure all this out; they call the
order of the Pelican back. A Pel (Flieg) comes, grabs me, yanks me over. By
this
time, I'm back to full composure. Steve is, well, not. ;) He's looking daggers
at the herald. It is *priceless*.
They go right into the Pel ceremony. People say cool things about him (including me and Tobi), he swears fealty. We give him a medallion. BAM! He's done.
After court, I got mobbed for a good long while. They even said the Crowd gave me a standing ovation. Tres Wow.
2 surprises, 1 court - It's ranking as one of the best surprise double whammies ever.
So - just wanted to share.
That's it! All she wrote! THA end!
Here are some pictures, text will come later.
Wait - Your Grace, you have to stay....
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The Western Flag. How fitting!!!!!
Here are some pictures that Caitlin Piper took. I brought them down from 1792 by 1200 pixels to 400 by 300 pixels.
These are when we were inducting Duke Stephen into the Order of the Pelican.
THE VIGIL - WEST
Here's the formal text I sent out to the world...
Unto these presents does Aaron of Buckminster, Seventh Squire to His Grace, Duke Sir Stephen of Beckenham and Candidate for the Order of Chivalry, send heartfelt and personal greetings!
The high summer of July comes to close, and with it, does the door to August open wide - heralding the cool breezes of Autumn. With these portents of the new season coming ever clearer, they also bring with them the following sigils of information:
I would like to invite you all to offer words of advice and wisdom as I sit vigilant for the Order of Chivalry at Kingdom Arts and Sciences, on the evening of Saturday, the 26th of July. The Location of Vigilance will be on the Fighting Field, and The Hours of Vigilance will span the duration between 1 Hour Before Dusk and the Dawn of the Following Day.
As you offer your thoughts, there will be drink to quench your thirst, and food to satisfy your palate. You may also leave any written words you wish to share. If you cannot make it to A&S, but wish to send words electronically, please contact Mistress Eliza O'Donegan at sherryl_oneill@yahoo.com.
It is also my wish to share with you that I will sit vigilant again at The Great Pennsic War, on the evening of Tuesday, the 12th of August. This will take place on the Battlefield, inside the Fort. The Bestowing of the Accolade is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, the 13th of August, in the West Kingdom Royal Encampment. I extend an invitation to all of you to bear witness and continue your gifts of wisdom to me during The Pennsic War.
I thank you for your time and attention to my missive, and I hope to see many of you and benefit from your cogence.
Please feel free to crosspost this information on other lists as you see fit.
In service,
Aaron
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And for those of you that have requested a translation of the above:
HEY!
You!
Come to A&S!
Give Rusty advice on Saturday night! Drink Beer! Eat Food! Sign Book!
Come to Pennsic too!
Thank you! Tell all your friends!!
And Here's a bit more about what happened there......
Lots of cool stuff happened here. While most of it was a blur, I learned a lot of information, and it was a sobering experience (in a very good way) that I will never forget. I won't share a lot of the words here, but I'd like to personally thank everyone who came and offered words. The list would be very long to include here (and believe me, I started to...), so I will just say thank you; especially to those that took care of me, guarded me and took horrible pictures of me. You guys rock (and I will pay you back! :):))
Here are some pictures of the occasion. Including the horrible ones. (Yes, I said I'd post them....) This is what happens when you start dozing off between 5 and 6.....
THE VIGIL - PENNSIC
The vigil was very very cool. I didn't have any pictures taken. I guess I should have.
Here's some words I wrote about it in an email, which I think sums it up really well.
There is nothing like sitting in a fort turret at Pennsic, watching Mars
chase the Moon. There is
nothing like staying up to see the Dawn with the Sword and Fealty chain of your
King. There is also nothing
like hearing the resounding cries of Social all through the night - "We
love you, Aaron!" Man, that's
love. ;)
Social is a card game created by the Hrogn, The Lost Boys brother household in Ealdormere.
And some other thoughts:
Man - it was too fricking cool for words. It just was. Having my first set of guards in period clothing, right down to the armour. Having my vigil free of rain, on a clear night that you could see forever. Seeing Mars so very bright as it chased the moon acorss the sky. Seeing the Moon go from Blood Red to Orange to Pale, Pale white.. Deep conversations. Some very silly conversations. Hearing the strains of Social into the wee hours.
Mistress Morgan Athenry. Duke Talimar. Johnny and Mord and that first flat snap. The Hrogn coming to visit after Social.
Watching the candles burn. Holding the fealty chain Aldex Rex bid me to ponder on in my hand, and realizing just how heavy it was. Seeing the sky go from light to black to gray and then light again. Kneeling with sword and chain at Dawn and praying to walk the right and true path.
Eating food, that, in the words of Boss, was 'far too nice for me'. Nummers.
Having Saint Michael watch over me the ENTIRE evening and bring me coffee. Man, now that's a Gryphon.
THE CEREMONY
wow. it was just, wow.
People keep asking me: "was it all that you wanted it to be?" It was that, and so much more.
Yep - it's a sappy statement. It's also a true one.
What I remember:
-The Angels walking me in, and looking tough as hell.
-Magnus's words, welcoming me in
-My oath. Every word, inflection and punctuation therein.
-The dubbing. I thought I was going to get cut by the blade
-The Buffet. Hard as hell (it hurt the next day), and that's just the way I wanted it.
-The Old Code. Drinking to the health of the Kingdom with 32 year old GlenMorangie.
-Mord and Johnny and Marianne being there. God, that was COOL!
-Brian's book.
-The Squire Kits. That outstanding box.
One of the other cool things was that a bunch of folks got together and
Here are some pics, too
.
Heh. In true 'mess with ya' fashion (but, in a very good way), here's what happened to my truck when I got back:
FINAL THOUGHTS
To the folks that guided me on this path:
Sir Theodric of Skane, Mistress Temparia, Sir Eric Ibrahim Mozarabe, Duke Sir Stephen of Beckenham, Duchess Elina of Beckenham, Ritter Hans Landgraf von Wolfholz, Duke Fabian Arnett von Schwetzingen, Ritter Tristan Pfaltzgraf von Eisig, Viscount Sir Alfred of Carslyle, Caballero Orlando Alvarez, and Master John the Pell
As well as my lineage:
Sir Thomas, Sir Arias, Sir Eric, Sir Richard, Sir Brion, Sir Magnus
Thank you.