From alt.pub.dragons-inn Wed Jan 4 09:14:42 1995 Xref: netcom.com alt.pub.dragons-inn:8039 Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!woodlawn!djb6 From: djb6@woodlawn.uchicago.edu (Dennis Brennan) Subject: [Dougl/Academy] Alma Mater Message-ID: <1995Jan4.004723.27870@midway.uchicago.edu> Sender: news@uchinews.uchicago.edu (News System) Reply-To: djb6@midway.uchicago.edu Organization: Earthforce Central Command Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 00:47:23 GMT Lines: 117 ALMA MATER The floor of the chapel was cold and hard. Dougl tried to put the discomfort of prolonged kneeling from his mind and concentrate on composing his spirit in preparation for daybreak, when he would at last graduate from his training at the Academy and be anointed as a Knight Paladin in the Order of St. Cuthbert. The purpose of this midnight vigil was to provide a moment of reflection and prayer for the candidates. In older times, some candidates were said to have experienced visions of glory. Dougl recalled a legend he had had to commit to memory about one of the Academy's more illustriate graduates- Sir Kiftar of the Golden Hand- who, just before his ordaining, experienced "...a Passion so Inspired and Pure that Bold Kiftar did burst forth from the Chapel and slay Villainous Fiends and Ogres numbering Threescore and Three..." Dougl privately wondered where Kiftar happened to find threescore and three ogres and fiends in the vicinity of the Academy in Generica. Dougl's eye did water after a time- not with a "Passion", but when he recalled the situation which led to his enrollment in St. Cuthbert's Military Academy. Dougl's father and mother, Aron and Lyra of Vascondy, were both adventurers. Aron mysteriously disappeared on an adventure before Dougl was born. When Dougl was very young, he was given over to an old family friend- Karl, the quartermaster of Glorshanned Keep in Generica- who raised him as his apprentice. Old Karl was as devoted and patient a foster father as any child could hope to have, but when Dougl was kidnapped by Rameshaners (and rescued) Lyra decided that it was necessary for Dougl to be in more diligent custody. Dougl was sent to St. Cuthberts, but continued to visit Karl whenever he could until Karl's death on Founders' Day last year. Dougl's eyes went misty as he remembered the people who had been closest to him. But such unmanly sentiment would not become a true Paladin. And for all intents and purposes Dougl was truly a paladin. He knew by heart the seven ways to destroy a wight, the formal etiquitte of the royal courts from Ydione to Rameshan and the finer points of swordplay and horsemanship. While his mother's original intent may have been to ensure that Dougl could defend himself adequately, Dougl was now schooled in the means of defending his Faith and his Lord as well. His Lord. There was the problem. When young Paladins graduated from the Academy, they typically assumed a commission in the service of some lord or noble, or as the lieutenant of a particular bishop or temple. One of Dougl's close friends had been offered a position with the the Third King of Alasir, another with the Marquis of Metain in Ydione. But Dougl, lacking the ties of blood or community to any of the great noble houses or abbeys of Nexus, hadn't been offered a commission. Tomorrow at daybreak he would graduate, but no ducal service awaited him. It was for this reason that Dougl regarded graduation more with dread than with the eager anticipation his classmates enjoyed. * * * Dougl and the other candidates retired to their rooms after the vigil, not to rest but merely to refresh themselves- perhaps to splash some cold water on their faces before dressing for the graduation ceremony. Dougl's stomach already growled in protest of the day-long period of fasting preceding graduation, which would not be broken until the banquet after the ceremony. He pulled on his best white dress tunic and gold sash, wiping his several medals of merit with a soft cloth until they shone like the sun which was beginning to rise over the hills in the west. * * * In Generica, the first day of the year was traditionally considered to be a lucky day- a fortuitous time to begin contracts, to seal alliances and to celebrate weddings. Babies born on the first of the year were reputed to be prosperous and robust, and crafts completed on that day seemed to have some extra degree of quality. Business agreements made on the First Day of the First Month were rarely broken. In this spirit the Academy of St. Cuthbert Militant scheduled its convocation on the first day of the year. The new Paladins' commissions were typically given out the same day, Dougl noted grimly. The candidates had rehearsed some, but not all parts of the convocation ritual. This arrangement made for both a sense of just order and divine mystery to the affair. Prayers were spoken, parts of the Canticle of St. Cuthbert were chanted, a visiting Cardinal delivered an (extremely lengthy and rather dull) homily entitled "Sword of Virtue, Man of Iron", and finally each Candidate was anointed one by one with the blessed oil and water. Due to Dougl's rather exemplary record as a Paladin-Candidate at the Academy, it was his honor to be among the First-Score- the first group of candidates to be anointed. When it was Dougl's turn he solemnly rose from his pew, approached the altar with humility in himself and pride in his faith, and knelt at the feet of three men: the Chancellor of the Academy, the High Bishop of the temples of Generica, and Sir Rowack of Vascondy, an instructor at the Academy who had agreed to act as Dougl's sponsor in the absence of any "noble-blooded alternative". Softly, the Chancellor asked Dougl if his intentions were pure, to which Dougl replied "They are." Next the Chancellor asked Sir Rowack if Dougl's candidacy was with merit, to which Sir Rowack replied that it was. Other similarly ritualized questions were asked both to Dougl and his sponsor. Finally the High Bishop produced a rod, roughly a foot in length, with which he lightly tapped Dougl on both shoulders as he intoned, "With Graywand, emblem of the righteous St. Cuthbert and of his Thrice-most Holy House, I dub thee Knight Paladin. Arise." Dougl gratefully did, and turned to return to a pew. As a candidate he had sat on the left side of the Chapel's aisle, now he would assume a place on the right. As he made his way to his pew he looked at the many assembled dignitaries and citizens of Generica who had assembled in the back of the Chapel for the occasion. In vain he scanned the multitude for his mother's countenance. One face did catch his eye momentarily-- a squarish face set on broad shoulders which belonged to a simply dressed man who stood with arms folded in front of a statue representing "The Torments of Hell". Wrestling with his joy of finally becoming a paladin while enduring the heartbreak of finding his mother absent, Dougl did not pause to wonder who this spectator was, nor did he anticipate the significance this person was to have in his life... ADMIN: It's good to be back. -- Dennis Brennan "Understanding is a three-edged sword." djb6@midway.uchicago.edu University of Chicago