In the last post, B : Building, you were introduced to the site of the convocation. In this one, you get to witness part of the convocation welcoming ceremony. What makes it even more special for Karst is the participants: Brial and the young Telyn who was making her first ever presentation.
From Fire and Redemption:
Feldt moved to the center of the immense terrace and raised his hands. A low rumble rolled across the crowd and an anticipatory silence fell over the crowd. “Welcome to the convocation of the clans.” The caravan’s leader boomed from one end of the gathering to the other. “A time to renew old relationships and make new friends. A time for dancing and marriages, greetings and farewells, and planning for the future.” He waved to the set of steps at one side of the stage and then to the other.
Eight girls ranging in age from having seen twenty cold seasons to just showing the first signs of womanhood were escorted to the edge of the stage. Telyn and Brial stood on the bottom step on the side closest to him.
A single note from a horn silenced the crowd. Like everyone else, he held his breath. It felt like a communal prayer of hope for the girls’ successful evening.
A young woman halfway through her second decade climbed the steps on the far side of the entrance, then marched with an elegant step to the first of the statues and the stone bowl at its feet. Turning, she faced the sea of watching faces. “From the heights to the sand. Clan Llanrug is in attendance.” A dip of her torch and a flame exploded into existence within the heart of the bowl. She moved to the larger stone circle and laid her torch in a slot on the raised edge so that the sparks fell into the dark pit.
Three heartbeats later, a blond woman whose hair sparkled in the torchlight climbed the opposite side of steps and repeated the process of announcing her clan, calling out their battle cry, and starting a fire at the feet of one of the statues before placing her torch on the wall. Shadows from the firepits danced along the building’s façade. Younger and older girls, some dark-haired, others blond, presented their fires. Soon only one bowl remained dark.
Telyn climbed the last step and entered the light. A deep breath and she lifted her torch so that the shadows danced on the statue behind her. Her voice carried to the crowd. “Iron to hand, iron to the road. Clan Vreis is in attendance.”
~till next time, Helen
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I could picture this ceremony. Held a bit of anticipation and tension throughout.
ReplyDeleteVery dramatic, Helen
ReplyDeleteAm reading the book now. So far it's great
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this is an excerpt from a novel or if you are writing these scenes just for the challenge, but I enjoyed it. The description of the ceremony is well done.
ReplyDeleteSorry, the excerpt is another one from Fire and Redemption (Book 2 of the Tear Stone Collectors)
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