The Ceremony.
Jan. 13th, 2008 08:02 pm.....This last weekend was of course Twelfth Night, where Her Excellency Brighid Ross was elevated up into the Right Noble Order of the Pelican. I had a part in the ceremony as I was the Chief Elf under the auspices of Santa Callista. I helped with the writing of the ceremony. I helped put together the scroll text. I helped organize the vigil, ceremony and celebratory party. I did what I could to help Viscountess Callista as she wrangled all the various elements together so that Brighid's ceremony would be awesome and memorable.
.....It is all over now and I can tell you that the time between the announcement in September and the ceremony in January was a time of great angsting on my part. And I really can not pin down the exact reason why. But I can tell you that every time I sat down to draft e-mails or write text or ceremony I would run off on tangents or go into brain freeze mode. Things moved painfully slow for me. Towards the end I dispaired of the ceremony actually happening at all, to be honest. Thankfully, Brighid has many wonderful and intelligent friends who helped ensure that things moved forward and that everything that needed to be accomplished was. For me this Saturday was the perfect example of the lines out of 'Shakespeare In Love' in real life, 'Strangely enough, it all turns out well. How? I don't know. It's a mystery. "
.....But I think that I shall always remember the ceremony on Saturday. It had a magically and fearsome quality to it. We had done a walk through of the ceremony and we were all lining up downstairs in the back of the court. We were all just a little (o.k., maybe a lot) nervous. I remember looking at Brighid and hoping that she was happy and that everything turned out as beautifully as we had all hoped.
.....Then Countess Elisabeth called Viscountess Callista forward and the ceremony began. The members of the Order of the Pelican were called forward. Then Brighid Ross was called forward. A Guard of Honor preceeded her, followed by a banner bearer carrying her device (made by the Beloved Tamm just that week). Then Brighid Ross came forward, escorted by His Excellency Cedric Wlfraven. They toasted Their Royal Majesties and Their Royal Highnesses of An Tir.
.....The ceremony progressed into toasts made by representatives of all the peerages. The Royal Peers were represented by Countess Daedin. The Knights were represented by Viscount Sir Donnan. The Laurels were represented by Master Ljotr. The Pelicans were represented by Viscountess Nedezhda. All had the very best things to say.
.....Then it was time for Brighid to have the mantle of peerage placed upon her. A lot of emotions were running through me at that moment. I was proud of everything that she had accomplished to make it to that point. I felt incredibly lucky to be able to call myself a friend to her.
.....But, you know, at the same time I felt a little sad. For some strange reason I felt like a father watching his daughter walk down that aisle. I've always felt at least a little protective of Brighid and I was watching her grow up. Would she come to me and ask me for advice any more? Would she want my help for anything in the future?
.....Those are rather silly thoughts of course. Brighid is a remarkably bright and fiercely active force in her own right. She has never really needed me to gain the accomplishments that she has, but I still couldn't shake off that feeling.
.....Weird, huh? :-)
.....Brighid is always saying that she admires those 'Forces of Nature' like Countess Elisabeth or Countess Dagmaer or Viscountess Callista or Countess Daedin. But if she really were to take a second and look in that proverbial mirror, she might be surprised to find out just how much a 'Force of Nature' she already is. She isn't living in someone else's shadow, she's out there creating her own.
.....Just sayin'
.....Arontius.
.....It is all over now and I can tell you that the time between the announcement in September and the ceremony in January was a time of great angsting on my part. And I really can not pin down the exact reason why. But I can tell you that every time I sat down to draft e-mails or write text or ceremony I would run off on tangents or go into brain freeze mode. Things moved painfully slow for me. Towards the end I dispaired of the ceremony actually happening at all, to be honest. Thankfully, Brighid has many wonderful and intelligent friends who helped ensure that things moved forward and that everything that needed to be accomplished was. For me this Saturday was the perfect example of the lines out of 'Shakespeare In Love' in real life, 'Strangely enough, it all turns out well. How? I don't know. It's a mystery. "
.....But I think that I shall always remember the ceremony on Saturday. It had a magically and fearsome quality to it. We had done a walk through of the ceremony and we were all lining up downstairs in the back of the court. We were all just a little (o.k., maybe a lot) nervous. I remember looking at Brighid and hoping that she was happy and that everything turned out as beautifully as we had all hoped.
.....Then Countess Elisabeth called Viscountess Callista forward and the ceremony began. The members of the Order of the Pelican were called forward. Then Brighid Ross was called forward. A Guard of Honor preceeded her, followed by a banner bearer carrying her device (made by the Beloved Tamm just that week). Then Brighid Ross came forward, escorted by His Excellency Cedric Wlfraven. They toasted Their Royal Majesties and Their Royal Highnesses of An Tir.
.....The ceremony progressed into toasts made by representatives of all the peerages. The Royal Peers were represented by Countess Daedin. The Knights were represented by Viscount Sir Donnan. The Laurels were represented by Master Ljotr. The Pelicans were represented by Viscountess Nedezhda. All had the very best things to say.
.....Then it was time for Brighid to have the mantle of peerage placed upon her. A lot of emotions were running through me at that moment. I was proud of everything that she had accomplished to make it to that point. I felt incredibly lucky to be able to call myself a friend to her.
.....But, you know, at the same time I felt a little sad. For some strange reason I felt like a father watching his daughter walk down that aisle. I've always felt at least a little protective of Brighid and I was watching her grow up. Would she come to me and ask me for advice any more? Would she want my help for anything in the future?
.....Those are rather silly thoughts of course. Brighid is a remarkably bright and fiercely active force in her own right. She has never really needed me to gain the accomplishments that she has, but I still couldn't shake off that feeling.
.....Weird, huh? :-)
.....Brighid is always saying that she admires those 'Forces of Nature' like Countess Elisabeth or Countess Dagmaer or Viscountess Callista or Countess Daedin. But if she really were to take a second and look in that proverbial mirror, she might be surprised to find out just how much a 'Force of Nature' she already is. She isn't living in someone else's shadow, she's out there creating her own.
.....Just sayin'
.....Arontius.