Ceremony of the Wing
From FiranMUX
Sabria is in the temple wearing her uniform. She seems to be a little on the nervous side for some reason.
Aeryk arrives in plain grey iron, with flashes of leather and green here and again. Just to break it up. He's taking his time about choosing a seat. In the back.
Shade stands at the front of the temple, an array of feathers spread out upon the altar. She checks and double checks the feathers, fingers brushing lightly across them. She greats each new entrant into the temple with a nod, but little else before the ceremony begins. She looks, perhaps, a hint nervous, and every now and then she bites down at her lip.
Ranselis arrives in his nifty republic armor and such, making his way in and tilting his head to the side as he finds a place to stand and wait for things to begin.
Sabria deals with a few messengers and then moves up to assist the priestess like a good little Initiate should.
Shade smiles to Sabria, if it is only a shy, slight little smile. "Sentry Sabria," she says. "I have a task for you, before the ceremony. If you could circulate through the temple and ask if anyone has questions about the ceremony -- and answer them if they do -- I would appreciate it."
Sabria nods to Shade and then starts doing as she's been tasked. She begins to move to the others in Uf's temple, curstying where appropriate and such. "Does anyone have any questions about the Ceremony of Wing?" *Firan*
Sabria nods to Shade and then starts doing as she's been tasked. She begins to move to the others in Uf's temple, curstying where appropriate and such. "Does anyone have any questions about the Ceremony of Wing?" *Firan*
Sabria glances to Ranselis, she tries to explain, "Not yet, Lord Centerion. There will be a point when you will -- given a chance as - pilot to get some of the feathers so you can carry Uf's blessing into the air with you." *Firan*
Rally peeks in curiously into the temple. She's never seen a Ceremony before so she comes to watch.
Galen slips into the temple of Uf. Sure, he's a kid, and definitly not a pilot, or an archer, but he does have plans eventually to become a pilot.
Jericho slips in quielty and looks around watching everyone filter in. Hes been to a Ceremony of the Wing before so he gets it.
Aeryk has settled. No questions on his front. Just settling, folding one hand over the other, and watching.
Ranselis nods slowly, obviously satisfied as he grins and adjusts his helmet.
Sabria continues to go around to each person, curteying, saluting and all the other stuff like that. "Does anyone else have any other questions while Priestess Shade prepares?" *Firan*
Arik ducked in a bit belatedly. He looks as usual faintly distracted with a few feathers perhaps because he knows of nowhere better to leave them. His eyes flicker around the area to see how many have shown for the ceremony as he reaches up to brush back some hair.
Marsalos has taken like five baths today, it's awesome. Hair wet again from his latest sprint to wash up, it's kind of standing up in little spikes as he slides his helmet off. And does he care? Nah. He heads up along the side of the temple, rubbing the tip of his nose with the back of his hand.
Shade brushes her fingertips against those feathers one last time -- all of them, in different colors and sizes, arrayed across the temple -- before turning to face the temple at large. She smiles shyly at first, and then fondly, before motioning for all to fall silent. "Servants of Lady Uf, citizens, archers, and pilots of the Republic," she begins, her voice the resonant voice of a storyteller. Practiced, calm. Well, perhaps she /looks/ a little jittery, but her voice does not betray it. "Welcome to the Temple of Uf, and to the Ceremony of the Wing. For those who do not know the ceremony, or who have never seen it, I will bestow a single, blessed feather upon each of the pilots and archers here. Pilots who guide their griffons; archers who fight upon them."
Sabria moves up to support Shade and get her whatever she needs. She reaches up to remove her helmet out of respect for Lady Uf and feel the breeze in her hair. Her braid has a single griffon tucked within. Donos's entry to the temple is quiet, his escort mostly remaining at the door, only a pair accompanying him as he walks towards Shade's oration.
Ranselis removes his helmet belatedly and pays attention to what is being said. Aeryk removes his plumed helmet and sets it on his knee. An eagle feather is threaded behind his ear. His attention is rather set on Shade at this point.
Galen just barely notices Donos come in, and he bows neatly to the Bear Lord, before taking his seat, just listening at the moment.
"I ask, now, that all pilots and archers in attendance rise," Shade says, and she lifts both hands, palm up, in an indication of -- hey! stand now! "Rise, and come and stand before us." One of the initiates pipes in to add, more practically, that everyone should form a line! "I want you all to think, as you stand here, as you feel Lady Uf's winds upon you -- I want you all to think of your greatest strengths, and greatest weaknesses. We are all strong, and we are all weak, in our own ways. And, when I call upon you, I ask that you share your strength and your weakness, that I may bestow the right feather upon you. We are all of us, quite different, and we have different needs."
Sabria steps forward as she is there as well. Initiate/pilot/archer and more importantly, farrier. "I'm Sentry Sabria, near legendary farrier and backup pilot and archer."
"Sentry Sabria," Shade says. "Please, share with us a strength and weakness, and if you have any, your doubts -- that I may lay at least one of them to rest."
Sabria considers, "My strength is my love for the griffons. It helps me heal them better. I hope Lady Uf sees that I --- them ahead of my own self in many ways. My weakness, I have many. Mainly, I am most comfortable with the griffons so that I -- not good with people. And my doubt are that I will not be able save all the griffons I can as we go of to war. We'll loose some, I know, but I fear that I will not be enough to save them all." *Firan*
Taleena slips into the Temple of Uf with a strange sort of oddball furball in her arms. It is curled up and sleeping for now, and a tail twitches back and forth in relative contentment. She stays near the back of the Temple, eyeing the birds like they are a puzzle to be figured out, and settles herself on one of the benches.
Shade selects a feather from the altar. It is a long and thin feather, grey towards the quill, shading darker toward the tip. She bows her head, whispers a prayer into the feather, and then holds it out to Sabria. "Sentry Sabria," she says, "I bestow upon you a goose's feather. Geese work together, fly together -- that they may be stronger in a group than alone. Sentry Sabria, I have placed a blessing upon this feather, and I pray it will help you embrace your fellow pilots. I pray it will help you with teamwork."
Sabria nods and moves off to the side. She thinks about the feather, contemplating it and how goose work. She then nods as she understands. She sticks that feather into her braid beside the griffon feather.
Shade calls Arik to come forward.
Arik gets up slowly carefully moving his way into the line. He waits a moment glancing around again before lowering his head quietly in prayer and thought. He frowns and notes he's near the front, luckily Sabria is ahead of him. He waits quietly and intently thinks before offering on his turn, "Pressed to say, I would hazard that my greatest strength and my greatest weakness are one and the same... My... putting it lightly obsession to duties that I take upon myself. For it I have done the best things in my life including the tours of duty in the republic service. But also for what I felt was my duty I have taken actions which have on occasion had me whipped, jailed, and stripped of my ranks and responsibilities, amongst a host of other things." Besides it's not as if Arik does much else he can come up to talk about! *Firan*
Shade selects another feather from the altar, this one bearing rows of grey and brown, alternating from a dark quill. "I bestow upon you the feather of a falcon," she says, after she has given the appropriate prayer. "Falcons are strong and brave birds, but they can be obedient too. For this reason, we often send them out as messengers -- and we know they will return. I bless you with the willingness to follow authority, to reach out far and return successful."
Arik inclines his head as he takes the feather and bows his head offering a quiet prayer as he shuffles along. He follows authority...most of the time and when he doesn't at least he takes his punishment. He waits then off to the side to see how the rest go.
Ranselis keeps his helmet tucked under his arm, free hand resting lightly on his sword as he steps forward, eyebrows raising. He seems to think this over for a good long while. "On the social scene and amongst certain circles, I suppose I'm relatively charming. I'm passionate and dedicated to whatever I put my hands to, even if I'm not very good at it." A sheepish grin. "I'm...a wee bit uh, uncoordinated I suppose that's a weakness. Train extra hard so I don't trip over my own shoes or fall over in my armor. But..yeah." Then he looks down for a few moments, looking back up. "Doubts? I doubt I'll be half the soldier my father was...that I'll mess up some how, and not honor his memory." *Firan*
Once settled, Taleena takes some time to get her bearings, peeling her eyes away from the birds and the puzzle they present with the little furry fluffball in her arms, and turning them to the proceedings beyond, a very shrewdly thoughtful expression on her features. She nods to each of the people who seem to do their Ceremony blessings in turn, and watches Shade in a hawkish sort of manner.
Shade drags her fingers across a few feathers, seeming indecisive between two of them -- but at last, she chooses a bright and colorful one, jewel-toned though it is also tiny. "You worry that you will not be half the soldier your father was," she says, "but you forget, perhaps, that even the smallest things can be great too. How small the hummingbird is beside the hawk, but it is graceful too. I bestow upon you the feather of the hummingbird, for great coordination and skill in battle. Small motions, quick motions -- but accurate ones too." Blessing given, she offers the feather to Ranselis.
With a heavy clank, Aeryk verily steps forward. "My strength." Aeryk pauses, before he begins. Ah, that whole speaking thing. "I am not afraid of victory with a cost. Give me a price and I will take it. I will do anything for my Republic. Anything for my clan. Anything for my family." And the young noble says this with his habitual subdued intensity when speaking of such things. And then he pauses. Again. "My . . . weakness. I am not unintelligent, but I am not - clever. Given a combat situation, I tend to take a predictable route. I am not a tactician and I am not an innovator. My - doubt is that this combination will make my actions at war more harmful than helpful, now and again. That I will do something bold, but not wise. That I will sacrifice, but that matters will be made worse for it. I - that is my doubt."
Ranselis smiles and bows his head, accepting his feather before stepping aside, bowing his head quietly in prayer.
Shade does not hesitate in her selection of feathers. Two feathers, rather than one. A dark feather, sleekly so, and the other seeming almost dusty by comparison. "For you, Lord Centurion, I have two feathers," she says. "The first, is that of a raven. The raven is a clever bird, very smart and very cunning. This feather will serve you well. But the second, Lord Aeryk -- the second is that of a buzzard, for you have come so close to death already. May the buzzard protect you from those that would prey upon you. Like buzzards, themselves. They will think, perhaps, that you are still weak, that you are still so near to death. But I know you will not be."
Shade calls Donos to come forward.
Donos walks forwards, a dip of his head towards Shade before looking up towards the roof of a temple. "I am Lord First General Donos Ista Aldrik, High Priest of Zin, commander of the Firan army and I have been a pilot for twenty four years. My greatest strength is that I have never, and will never back down from any challenge. All difficulties are there to be surpassed and assailed; in short, nothing is too dangerous to undertake. My greatest weakness...is that I see nothing as being too difficult or too dangerous. All challenges are there to be opposed, no matter the risk. Some might say there are difficulties that are wiser to avoid, but that is not in my nature. Besides, I might get lucky. *Firan*
Aeryk takes the two feathers in hand, the dark and the other. He nods low and accepting and quietly withdraws.
Sabria watches Donos as she is now back to assiting Shade. Her eyes fix on the Lord General with nothing more than complete respect that is reserved for only a few others...most of those being last named Oshta or formerly so.
The feather Shade chooses is white, strikingly so, but with flecks of a brown so dark it is almost black. She says a prayer over it, holds it out to Donos, and says, "Lord First General Donos Ista Aldrik, High Priest of Zin, commander of the Firan Army, we have placed so many hopes upon you. The trust of your soldiers, the prayers of those who remain home. I do not doubt they weigh upon you. And so, Lord Donos, I bestow upon you a feather given by my own companion, the feather of an osprey. The osprey is noble, as you are, and strong, as I know you are also. A leader. May you carry our hopes as the osprey carries a fish -- facing forward, toward a great future. Let no weight, however heavy, weigh you down."
Shade calls Marsalos to come forward.
Marsalos didn't have to think about this too much. He says the first thing that came to mind, instinct talking here. "A great weakness. I am often far too rash. I have a fiery whip for a temper, I don't mind admitting that much. When I get angry it builds until it explodes. It is something I've been working on personally for a while now, but it has been very difficult for me to overcome. I may be working on it for the rest of my life." He smirks slightly. "But my greatest strength..." He presses his lips together briefly, then quirks a brow, almost amused at something private. "...is that I learn from my mistakes. If I have made an error I treat it not as something to be swept under the rug but something to be faced with courage, because I have found that within the darkness of failure there is always...always a path back to victory. It's just up to me to choose to forge it." *Firan*
Donos inclines his head with a smile towards Shade, saying to her quietly as he steps to the side. "Many times at sea have I seen them swoop, thank you Priestess." *Firan*
Arik continues to listen quietly. Not surprisingly the majority of the pilots seem to share a common trait. They tend to make rash decisions when faced by a hard one. Chosing to act and possibly act wrongly rather than not to act. He stands a bit taller, once again reminded why he considers the Air Force to be the finest outfit in the Republic arsenal. Of all the troops they will not falter. They may be defeated but they will always return to the fight.
"Lord Captain Marsalos," Shade says, and she needn't even glance at the feathers as she selects one. She knows where it is by instinct, and it is a feather all in brown -- dark brown and light, tannish brown. Shades of the earth. "I bestow upon you the feather of the owl, that wisdom may temper rashness. We all make mistakes, it is so. But one needn't be rash to be brave, and great insight makes for great plans. With courage and wisdom, I am sure, Lord Marsalos, that you will see the path through the darkness even clearer."
Jericho gets into line with the other pilots and listens to those before him. He takes his time thinking his own words over and sighs when he is called, moving to the front. "My strength and weaknesses... I hate this question because theres so much on both sides. I guess my strength would be my ability to think out side of the box.. although sometimes that doesn't sit well with others. My greatest weakness is one a lot of soldier's share. Fear. I fear what will happen if I fail and don't return, or if I will be able to do anything helpful to fight these.. blasted goats." he says and frowns, furrowing his brows, "I feel I can conquer most of my fears, but there are always moments of weakness.. where the urge to back down and get away become great." he says, but he hasn't run yet!
Marsalos accepts the feathers from Shade with a grateful nod, doesn't speak. It's Jericho's turn and some junk. He slides his feather onto his belt, careful with it, and steps back out of the line.
Many feathers remain -- some like others that have already been gifted, others quite different still. Shade picks a black feather, or at least, it is almost black, except where it shades white near the quill. "Centurion Jericho," she says, "fear tears at all our hearts. Fear of death, of loss, of failure. But we mustn't let it destroy us. The more we fear, the more likely our fears are to be made true. The more likely we are to make them so. Centurion Jericho, I bestow upon you the feather of the eagle, a brave and courageous bird."
Feather of an Eagle, wow, feather of his clan of another bird he knows. He smiles at shade and bows his head as she gives him the feather. "Thank you.." he says and says a prayer to Uf before backing away.
Shade announces, "Today, many pilots of the Republic have gathered in the Temple of Uf for the Ceremony of the Wing. Blessed feathers have been given to each of them! The goose's feather for teamwork. The falcon's feather for obedience. The hummingbird's feather for coordination. The raven's feather for cleverness. The osprey's feather for strength. The owl's feather for wisdom. The eagle's feather for bravery. May Lady Uf's blessings guide our pilots to great victory on the battlefield!
If you are a pilot and were unable to attend the Blessing of the Wing, blessed feathers will remain in the Temple of Uf till you leave for war. Please, come by, take a feather, and give prayer to the Lady. All our hopes go with you. Lady Uf Bless.
Shade adds,"This speech was given with the permission of Lady General Taleena."" The crowd seems interested.
Sabria stays up near Shade trying to help. She then lowers her head to pray to Lady Uf.
Once prayer has been given, Shade motions to each of the pilots in turn, a sweeping glide of her wrist, of her fingers. "Our brave pilots stand before you," she says. "They have confessed a weakness, and a strength, and been given a new strength in turn. We have given prayer to Uf, and now I ask we give one last thing -- I ask we give our pilots a moment of applause. And I ask we give them respect."
Donos focuses on the feather in his hand as his lips move soundlessly in prayer. He turns his head, nodding once towards Shade. "Priestess, on behalf of all those who know but a taste of the wonder that Lady Uf's birds must feel as they fly, my thanks. The bond between pilots and this temple is as strong as ever and you do much credit to your order. When Ellish is won, we shall return and give great thanks to Lady Uf for the grace of her griffons and the lives of our pilots"
Sabria seems to shrink back as she's praised. She then glances over to Taleena but doesn't disturb the Lady Proxy High Priestess although it looks like she wishes to do so.
Shade smiles at Donos, and attempts a curtsey for him, though it is an awkward curtsey made all the more so by her all-too-prominent pregnancy. "I will pray for you, Lord Donos," she says. "As I will for all pilots. Know that though I remain here, and many people do, our hopes do not remain with us -- they go with you."
Marsalos makes some noise for the pilots, man. He'll save the ear-piercing whistling for the battlefield, of course, but he can applaud just the same in here.
Galen can't praise, however, the young boy is on a bench and cheering loudly. He can do loud, and chereful, and happy, see? Plus Donos is there. Double plus for more cheers.
"Thank you, everyone, for attending!" Shade says, and the smile she shows the temple is, well, perhaps a little excited! Her nervousness has passed. Now she is all warmth.
Donos smiles at that, a wry lift to his lips turning into a resolute look. "It is the people of this city nay, the people of the whole Republic who give me the strength I need for the burden I carry. Not since the short years after Unification have so many come together to assist, support and praise the military. And it is thanks to people such as yourself, Priestess, that we shall march south as well armed and caprisoned as we are...and thanks to this temple, that we take more pilots and griffons with us than ever before. May our enemies know to fear those most proud and noble of Lady Uf's creatures."
Shade adds, just /oh so/ sweetly, "And if any of you brave pilots do not yet know how to pray, it would behoove you to learn how to do so before war. Lady Uf would really like that!" She looks so hopeful! So wide-eyed and hopeful!
