The Realms / Crowning the King of Blackwood

This past summer, a royal dynasty came to end and a new began.  King Karrell Kalamar Forester of Blackwood abdicated the throne.  The First King of Blackwood was the last member of his house to hold the highest title in Blackwood. Before King Karrell his older brother Santiago was the Arch Duke of Blackwood and before that their eldest brother Aerik was heir to Prince Nigel's throne.  The Kingdom of Blackwood and its people, under the watchful eyes and blessings of the Gods, crowned a new king marking the start of a new dynasty.  Follow our guest writer Dame Sayeh Saphierien as she details the events of the grandiose day and its subsequent crowning of King Saegan Hart, First of His Name.

Dear Honorable Readers,
Word as reached me across the sea that all season there has been but one singular question that has been asked at each gathering, at the camp fire, and the gates of East Blackwood's camps...

Where is Dame Sayeh?

Well, allow this knight to finally reveal to you what she has been doing all this season across the sea back in the Kingdom of Blackwood.

At the start of the new year, in the cold of winter, His Royal Highness asked his squire Heda to make an announcement to the Realms, and gave the tasks to his knights to deliever invitations to the various leaders of the Realms. Of which, as the niece of His Majesty King Cecil of Chimeron, the invitation to the longest reining king was my task. Mind you this knight has not been to her uncles court for many years, and unfortunately my uncle could not attend the celebration feast that started the new year.

Now, as a Knight, as Her Highness's Duchess Vanadis of Validar's Left Hand, and as a diplomat to my crown... one should never do a task half way. For the invitation to a King's Coronation, especially when that King is a man who has pushed you beyond your comforts and inspired you to reach horizons once believed out of reach... you do not simply give such an invitation to the warlord of you uncle king who has ruled longer than any other monarch in the Realm... it must be personal.

A journey in the spring to the royal courts of Chimeron, is a task I have long held off. Many years also, Chimeron was once my home, until I betrayed them breaking law and oath to the crown, to the lords, and to these lands. Now, I was on a path as a knight and diplomat to give my uncle an exceptional invitation for my Prince... and soon to be King.

Such moves are carefully calculated and words are chosen wisely, for Blackwood Coronations are known to be great moments of celebration. A new generation is taking a stand to lead the nation into a new age, and Kerrell's Golden age was coming to an end. With King Saegan we would enter into our Platinum age, with feast of plenty, song, and moments for those to rise form their humble beginnings.

In the Coronation of a Blackwood King, there is a moment when the former king and queen would take the new king's crown, and it would be passed to that of the noble hands of Blackwood's Knights. For a moment, as a knight you hold the future in your hands and you are reminded that your other is to the head that wears this hallowed symbol of regal rule, your thoughts and dreams and visions of the future are passed from your minds eye to this simple ring of mental to transform it into something more, so that in turn it will transform the one who will wear it on the throne of your lands.

With this blessing form the knights, the Dukes and Knight commander raise the crown high to place it slowly on the head of out King, and in that moment the kingdom, its people, its land in anew. A knight takes a knee and re-states their vows spoken from their heart and soul, and the people fall to their knees to show that they acknowledge this Man to be their King.

My King, His Majesty, Saegan Hart, the mighty stag on which our former king leaned upon, and our arrow pointing to true north, would now sit upon the throne while the nation and allies of the kingdom would feast on the finest foods prepared by the royal kitchens. Sir Pilpus would invite the bards and minstrels to entertain the masses, and... new knights would also be named.

A Knight of the Eternal Flame is the highest order of knights given only to those who have given the greatest gifts and sacrifices. Little did I know that on the night of the coronation, that these knights – a honor that has had kings of the kingdoms in it's circle and those that have been or could be one day, would invite my dearest Sir Elizah to join them that night.

Tears of joy are plentiful at coronations in Blackwood. Tears for those in spirit are also shed, as Lady Christina, the confidant of Sir Vawn, gifted to His Majesty, Seagan, a necklace that her knight wore everyday of his life. A gift that His Majesty did not hesitate to place around his neck in the moments it was gifted to him, remembering his mentor and friend.

So,,, you can imagine that all of this yet to be was all upon my shoulders as I journey into the Kingdom of Chmeron, knowing I was transformed into something far greater than I was when I left. My Royal Uncle sat on his throne as I bowed to him, and revealed to him the personal heraldry in which I would wear to show my knightly pride, the belt I was honored to wear, but above all the man I had come to represent. A warrior, a mentor, and the man I believed more than anything, deserved to stand on equal ground with my uncle as a king.

I do not forget the warmth in my uncle's hands when he took my hands in his and told me how proud he was of the woman I had become, and that he loved me, and never stopped loving me. He of course accepted the invitation to come to Saegan's coronation, and when the gifts from each nation were given, my Royal Uncle gifted to His Majesty, King Seagan a new tree. A Black Oak sapling to mark the beginning of a new age, and how our kingdom had grown not only in its people but beyond the lands themselves and across the sea.

And so... my dear honored readers in Mitrasphera … this year I have been here to solidify and stand at my King's side, and I hope as I did when I faced my uncle to invite him, that you might see my king for the great man and mind that he is and why I have devoted my life to his reign.

Long Live King Saegan. For Crown and Country!

By Dame Sayeh Saphierien