Ironsides Family/Armstrong/Funeral of the Fallen King

Funeral of the Fallen King

Roleplay from Thomas Foxglove
Message sent to the Rulers of East Continent (8 recipients)

Thomas arrived at the Westmoorian border just after nightfall. Looking into the gloom, he could see the Nivemus banners across the open fields in Oberndorf. He knew that somewhere among them was the body of Armstrong, fully prepared and dressed in his armour as Kronogos Vessol had pledged. Thomas had brought an honour guard of almost one hundred men with him, and the flickering light from the burning torches some of them held glinted on the ceremonial armour worn by the king. All of the men wore cloaks of brilliant scarlet so that they formed a unified and dignified sight, even though some wore battleworn armour.

At his command, the standard bearers unfurled large Westmoorian banners so that they snapped and twisted in the light wind blowing from the north. Two riders brought forth a closed wagon that flew a banner of Fane and silently pulled back the cloth sides, waiting to receive the body of the fallen King Atrmstrong.

Roleplay from Thomas Foxglove
Message sent to everyone in the region Morshes (6 recipients)

Thomas's men were dressed in the long scarlet cloaks he had ordered them to wear for the occasion. They formed two ranks, ninety men strong, lining the track that approached the Order of Sacred Battle guildhouse in Morshes. Each of them held a Westmoorian banner, with the cloth snapping in the light wind blowing from the north. The King noted that the stone tomb for Armstrong had already been completed, as he had ordered, and the masons stood to one side with lowered eyes.

The approach of the cart bearing King Armstrong's body was heralded by the sound of the wooden wheels rattling on the track. The old man had been laid out in full armour, with his sword in its sheath, his shield resting upon his chest, and the crown of Fane upon his head. Behind the cart walked two minor nobles carrying large banners of Fane. A tent had been erected to hold the fallen king's body until the time of the ceremony, and the cart drew to a halt close to it. Four soldiers took up the board upon which the corpse lay and carefully carried it into the tent. Two of them remain inside as an honour guard for the body, while the other two took up positions on either side of the opening into the tent.

Having seen the body safely into the tent, King Thomas went over to inspect the tomb. It was made of dressed stone, perhaps twenty paces wide by thirty paces long. Above the door, the coat of arms of Fane had been cut deep into the header stone. Stepping inside, he found the empty stone casket that waited for the old king. The lid rested to one side and was an effigy of Armstrong, dressed in full armour. He imagined that once it was in place it would deter any tomb robbers. On the back wall of the tomb a list of all the titles and honours Armstrong had held had been carved. The first and largest was "KING OF FANE", followed by the various titles he had held in Westmoor: Lord General; Duke of Oligarch; Count of Morshes. The list went on until it reached the older titles that Thomas had never even known the old man had held. One, Inquisitor of the Invigilators of the Forth Law, hinted at mysteries in the old king's past of which he had never spoken, at least not with Thomas.

Thomas exited the tomb and spoke to those assembled there.

"I am pleased to see many of you have chosen to attend, even those from far away lands. We will lay King Armstrong to rest in his tomb tomorrow evening. There are still some nobles making the journey here. Although I would like them to attend if they wish it, I will not delay the entombment any longer than that. In the meantime, should any of you wish to pay final respects to King Armstrong, the guards have been instructed to grant you entry to the tent that currently houses his body. Brother Deklan, I expect you will be able to see to any final rites that must be made before the entombment."

With that, King Thomas retired to his own tent that had been set up at a respectful distance from the tomb.

Roleplay from Thomas Foxglove
Message sent to everyone in the region Morshes (7 recipients) The moon was full and high, casting a pale light over those assembled in Morshes. Thomas had donned his ceremonial armour once more, after spending the day in seclusion in his own tent. The servants of the guild had worked tirelessly to meet the needs of all of the nobles and soldiers that had gathered in the grounds of their hall. Now they lingered at a respectful distance as the King walked into the open ground before the tent that had served as a temporary home for King Armstrong's body since it had been brought there the previous evening. As Thomas glanced around those assembled here, he saw some friends, some nobles he hardly knew, and banners of those who had travelled from other lands. He passed a hand over his brow, and gave the command to begin the ceremony. He was happy to see that a priest attended to deal with the religious rites.

Horns called out, as though ordering the charge of cavalry. Thomas smiled, remembering Armstrong's interest in heavy horse. As the long notes of the horns died away, drums began to sound. Deep and heavy, as though emanating from the ground itself. The four guards who had protected King Armstrong's corpse throughout the last day carried him from the tent on the wooden litter and set him on a small platform in front of the tomb. Servants had worked through the day to ensure that Armstrong's armour was well polished, and an ornate cloak had been placed around his shoulders to form a blanket of sorts under the body. Once they had made sure the corpse was arranged with dignity, each of the four guards moved to a corner of the platform and stood resting their hands on the hilts of their swords. The heavy drum beats died away, and King Thomas walked forward and stood near the old king.

"We gather to remember a fallen hero," Thomas began. "Some of us knew him well, other knew him very little, and others yet still took up arms against him. I expect it would please him to see us all here at this place. King Armstrong built this guildhouse as a gathering place for those who walked the same path as him. Those who risk all for the glory of battle and to be remember in songs and tales long after the stories of those of us who follow lesser callings have faded from memory. Perhaps more than any other I have known, King Armstrong embodied what it is to make the hero's journey."

There was a murmer of approval from the assembled servants and officials of the Sacred Order of Battle.

"When such a man dies, it would shame us not to mark his passing with all due honour and ceremony. I will not dwell here on the troubles of recent times, but I must respect a man who crowns himself king by his own hand. I long had the feeling that King Armstrong had grown tired of this world and wished only to make an end worthy of a song. Although I may disagree with the actions he took towards the end of life, there can be no question that the bards will sing the tale of the King of Fane in halls, taverns, and camps, for generations yet to be born. Now, I think I have spoken enough. I will end with King Armstrong's battle cry, heard so often in these lands. Glory Be!

"Glory be!" The crowd cried.

Thomas stepped aside. The attendants of the dead walked forward ready to place the old king's body in the tomb, after the priest had performed his rites and any others had taken the opportunity to speak.

Roleplay from Mathros Hagakure
Message sent to all nobles in the region Morshes (7 recipients)

Mathros watched in silence as the funeral played out. Armstrong had been his liege again and again, after his short tenure as count of Commonyr he had gone back to Morshes as knight and again after his shot tenure as duke of Kazakh he had returned as Armstrong's knight. After Armstrong had become the duke of Oligarch it had been strange to have been given charge of the region and now to be here as lord of Morshes at the burial of his former liege. Only the day before he had been conversing with Armstrong to try to find a home for him after his duel. Mathros had no idea that the duel was to the death and that Armstrong were to perish in it. It seemed that he had finally found the death he had been seeking. If he had not there would have been countless opportunities for him to pursue in the south but such was the tragedy of this occasion.

Looking around at the many faces in the crowd he could see famous nobles from Westmoor and also Sirion. It was also telling from those in Westmoor who hadn't shown up. Some still had the breath of his treachery fresh on their noses but here in Morshes it was the peasantry themselves that seemed to care the most having served Armstrong for so long.

Mathros placed a rose on the casket and stepped back to allow others to pay their respects.

Roleplay from Erik Eyolf Serpentis
Message sent to everyone in the region Morshes (7 recipients)

Erik was there to see Armstrong's tomb. As Judge of Sirion, he could remember a young of adventurous spirit who defied his guards, trying heroic escapes from the dungeons or having good conversations when that was impossible. The last few days had been so with Armstrong regularly visiting his prison. The conqueror of Oligarch was wearing a white robe now under the light armor, again as High Priest of the Sacred Grove. As so, Erik walked until the tomb, lying there a elvish sword as a last present. A small scar was left of the last duel with the hero, when completely drunk after the conquest, the Duke of Avamar lost the clash. At least Armstrong died after win against one of the best duelists of East Continent.

Erik Eyolf: "Rest in peace, old hero. I will take care of 'your' city. Wait for me and we will drink and fight in the Great Halls with euphoric women screaming our names, especially my own. Farewell, King of Fane..."

Roleplay from Ubin cIipt
Message sent to everyone in the region Morshes (7 recipients)

Ubin had spent the past couple of days exploring the place of his childhood. In these times of peace he was able to go to river of his past where he had first met his future wife. But, Ubin did not travel to Morshes to remissness. He was there to celebrate the life of one his most formidable enemies. Though of different realms, Armstrong and Ubin were both brothers of faith.

Ubin looked at the few other nobles at the celebration most were of Westmoor, however, to his surprise he saw another noble of Sirion in the crowd. This noble, even in the distance, was clearly recognizable as the Silver Dragon of Sirion, Duke of Avamar, Judge of Sirion, Erik Eyolf Serpentis.

Ubin thought to himself, "I wonder what he's doing here? Well at least it is nice not to be the only member of Sirion at this funeral." Ubin went up to the judge and congratulated him on his re-election, "Congratulations, Duke, you have done a very nice job as judge, though I will not give up trying to take that title from you. Next month I will be running again for Judge, I was away from duty to properly campaign this month. I wish you the best of luck."

Moving on from the crowd, Ubin greeted the members of Westmoor and the Priest giving the Sermon. "Glory Be", Ubin said before he payed his respects to this fallen hero. "King Armstrong, I hope you find peace, and that you and my brother Webin are reminiscing on past battles over a pint. I did not know you personally, but you are a great worrier and a fierce swordsmen, I always felt pride when I had the chance to fight you in battle. Goodbye". On that, Ubin gave him the halves of a once great sword that had broken in a battle against Armstrong, and his brothers Lance that he had fallen in battle with.

Leaving the procession, Ubin passed by The Westmoor King Thomas saying, "Thank you for this well organized event, it is a shame about the weather causing so many people to miss this. Death is inevitable in war, we all lost a noble warrior". There was a short pause before he continued, "I just wanted to say I have no hard feelings to the men who killed my brother. He died honorably and that is how he would of wanted to die, just as King Armstrong probably would have like to have gone as well. I wish to see that one day Westmoor and Sirion could become allies". After a few more minutes of conversation Ubin said he must jouney home and attend to his estate. "I hope you can give my friend Lord Maliki, my best wishes, I thought he would of been here but I am sure he is a busy man. Peace be with you and have a safe journey back to Westmoor city."

And after turning away from the king, Ubin got on his horse and rode of with his men back to the land of Sirion, hoping that things would get better during peace times between Sirion and his former home.

Roleplay from Thomas Foxglove
Message sent to everyone in the region Morshes (5 recipients)

With the speeches over, the four honour guards once more picked up the wooden litter bearing King Armstrong's body and carried it into the tomb. The deep beat of the drums began again to accompany this last act. Once the needed rites had been performed, they gently lowered the corpse into the stone casket in the middle of the tomb and servants of the guild ensured that the old king's armour and cloak were correctly arranged. When they were satisfied, they placed his shield so that it rested on his chest, and then helped the honour guards to lower the heavy lid of the casket into place. It took eight strong men to do the job. Thomas had no intentions of making it easy for any robber to open that casket again.

When all was finished, they made a final bow to the dead and walked out of the tomb. Heavy doors were swung into place and sealed by the masons. They could be opened again on feast days and holy festivals to allow pilgrims to pay homage directly to the body, but only the servants of the guild knew the trick to unsealing the doorway.

The ceremony was complete, and Thomas spoke a few final words of thanks to those who had travelled to attend, and then ordered his men to make preparations to break camp and journey on.