Thoren overheard a remark: "A ward married off on short notice with none of her family present," the young Elinor Mallister gossiped to her handmaiden, "Lord Lyman must be blind or trapped to permit such a thing within his own hold."]

Father Mattheus was well within his element as he concluded the ceremony. His eyes swept the Sept, noting a handful of the particularly pious among the assembled guests, unsurprised to see a Mooton and Vance among their number. He called for the blessing of the seven on the wedding and tournament to come.

As the ceremony came to its conclusion, some guests hurried from the sept, eager to make their way to the tourney grounds, while others dallied to further pay their respects to the celebrating couple and their families. Others waited in quiet contemplation or prayer.

All present gain 2 XP
Catelyn and Valen win regard with the Most Devout.
Bryn, Jenny, and Thoren gain in-character insights that may provide situational benefits within later intrigues.

With the ceremony concluded Valen can finally take his attention away from fully dedicating himself to the proceedings. As such once more he looks around the wing of the Sept where most of the Blackfin party was loosely sitting around, until finding a specific person.

Carefully weaving around others who are now leaving the Sept Valen approaches Catelyn and does the motions of a formal greeting upon entering her line of sight. "Lady Catelyn Mooton? It's an honor to make your acquaintance, I'm Valen Vance, squire and ward to Ser Berion Knollwood." Despite a brawny build for his age, he speaks very politely. As the vassal house to House Blackfin, he is by association clearly one of their retainers as well.

"Your performance of the rites during the ceremony was very well done, have you participated in others like this before? Being in the same area and in his previous efforts to cover for Berion he had picked up on Catelyn's practice. It was evident by the way he spoke of the topic that the squire is a very pious person, and seeing this connecting point he is shows a genuine amicable demeanour.

When Cat hears her name she turns to see the face that goes with the unfamiliar voice, a little surprised anyone has learned her name yet. "Yes?" As Valen introduces himself Cat also goes through the formal greeting motions. "It is an honor to meet you, too, Valen Vance. I am a ward here, myself, of House Blackfin. How long have you been squire and ward to Ser Beriod Knollwood?"

When he comments on the rites she replies, "I noticed you performed the rites well, too. Yes, I have been to some other weddings. The first I recall was my father's. And I would honor the Seven, so I have payed attention at the few I have been to. Have you been to many before?"

Valen thinks for a moment at the question, recalling how long now he had been in that position. "I was sent to squire for Ser Berion at the age of nine, so it has been six years now. Boys usually became squires at that age and pages could become wards at even earlier periods of their lives, but Valen had passed that first phase of training in Atranta.
"I'm sure you must be informed on the people of the main house and court already, but if you are curious about any other matters or the land itself, I can try my best to answer. He could still remember the time he arrived as a ward with nothing but doubts about what life there would be like.

Valen is a bit surprised when she mentions that she noticed his performance as well. "Between the branches of my House there are many relatives so I've frequented many weddings, and I some times observe the devout of Blackfin Den in other ceremonies whenever I'm free from my duties.

As they talk Cat walks with Vance, leading slightly away from others; not really far away, just far enough to make their conversation private. "Well, that would make us about the same age, then. But I have only just become their ward. I began last night. So I really don't know almost anyone in the main house or court yet. Only a few I've just me and one cousin I hadn't seen for a long time until yesterday evening. If you have tales to tell, I'd be happy to listen."

Valen follows Catelyn as she leads the conversation to a more private location."If that's the case then I'm happy to talk about it some. It's probably for the best that you learn about Lord Thaddeus yourself but he is a good and honorable liege, and if you've just become a ward then you've certainly already met Lady Gwendolyn and maybe her entourage." As a squire he preferred to not talk too much about the Lord and Heir of the house.

"The Master-at-arms is the Lord's brother, Thoren, he's very serious and dedicated, and is undipustedly a great commander, specially with ships, his wife is Lady Lanna Blackfin. His son Darvil is less strict and quite friendly, but follows his father when it comes to being acquainted to vessels." He was currently trying to find a good way of giving Catelyn a quick measure of the people in question that wasn't long and convoluted to the point of causing confusion or overstepping.

"Ser Donwald Cooper is Captain of the Guard, Maester Quill also acts as the Steward, and Burrich is the Stablemaster, be very careful with the horses around him or he gets angry. He can't help but let out a cautionary line at the end, having been at times on the other side of the Stablemaster's temper.

"And Ser Berion of course is head of House Knollwood and a landed knight under House Blackfin, he's incredibly skilled and renowned for his feats on the battlefield. He has been a great teacher to me and a true knight in my view. Valen doesn't hide that he has great admiration for his mentor.

"It'd be best to go over it again with someone from the House itself, which should happen eventually as a new ward, it only came a little later for me due to my age at the time and squire’s duties." He gives Cat an empathetic smile, hoping this has been helpful in dealing with a situation that was similar to his once.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:22, Fri 21 Jan 2022.

"Yes, I met Lady Gwendolyn and her entourage last night. They seem agreeable. And as things are headed, this wardship may turn out much better than I was worried it would be."

When Valen finishes with his smile, she smiles back at him. "Wow. That's a lot summarized quickly. Thanks." She glances toward the rest of the crowd from the wedding, moving off from the wedding itself. She keeps her body toward Valen with no indication she'll start walking anywhere, so it looks like she's observing with him rather than looking where to head. "Hmm... So what's next? This should be an interesting day," she says, clearly directing this to Valen more than wondering aloud, even if it is wondering aloud.

"It's good that it seems to be going smoothly." As Catelyn glances around he follows where she's looking at as well with curiosity.

"If you mean what event will come after this one, it'd be the Parade of Arms before the actual tourney proceedings. He speaks this as the first response to thw wondering, but noticing the attempt at subtlety he puts out a question at a lower tone. "Or do you mean another location?
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Fri 21 Jan 2022.

"Yes, that was what I was asking. Last time was a long time ago. I know the rites, but I was so young at the others, so much is just a blur in the past. These things are not the same for little children, except the ceremonies in the Sept. I'm guessing your Ser Berion Knollwood will be one of the many knights in the Parade of Arms. Should we try to find a good spot before they're all taken, since neither of us will be given a prime seat?"

"I can show you where the parade grounds and help you look for a good spot then." He turns his gaze to the door and in the direction of the location of the incoming event, then looks back to confirm if Cat wants to walk there now.

"Tournaments in celebration of weddings also vary from the usual form, there won't be a melee in this one for example." He nods in affirmation when she mentions Ser Berion participating.
"Picking a seat beforehand is a wise choice, it tends to be one of the more crowded events. I'll actually be participating in the Parade itself as I've been permitted to take part in the Squire's Tourney that will occur." As he mentions the latter event, his excitement over it shines through.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:33, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

"Yes, that would be great," Cat replies to his offer to show her the grounds.

After Valen tells her he'll be competing she says, "Really? How wonderful. I wish I could. Well, I wouldn't want to be hit by a lance held by someone several times my size. But archery at the least. Have you jousted in a competition before?"

At the confirmation Valen starts to make his way out of the Sept and in the direction of the Parade grounds with Cat following.

"I'll admit that even between jousters of similar sizes lances pack a mean punch.
At the mention of archery he says. "Are you well-versed with the bow? I haven't had much practice in it yet since it's not Ser Berion's specialty. The contest should come after the squire's tourney and it's usually easier to get a spot with a good view on it at least."

At the last question he replies. "I've done minor competitions between the squires of Blackfin Den, but it's my first time on an event as big and official as this one."

As they start walking Cat says with a mischievous smile, "I'd offer to race you, but this gown would get in the way and I don't think it would make a good first impression on my new wardens." Her expression suggests she might well race anyway, but she's just holding herself in check.

In response to his bow question she replies, "I wouldn't say 'well-versed,' but I've had some practice. I'm sure I wouldn't do that well against knights who train regularly. Daddy did let me practice, though. My step-mom wasn't so thrilled."

"Oh, your first big tournament? That's great! But how does it feel? Are you nervous? Excited?"

After the train passed, Jarrak started to walk out.  Positioning himself at roughly appropriate place in line to offer good wishes to the bride and groom (If that is done in setting, otherwise please ignore that part.). Once through the line, and outside, he breathes a bit freer.  These cold temples to the new gods are much like the new gods themselves, meant to force a certain order that perpetuated stasis.  Later, he would find some place in the woods or field away from others to be closer to the Old Gods.  He chuckled to himself at that thought, as if the Old Gods are not everywhere.  It seemed to him that though the Gods Woods were sacred,it was a bit of concieted hubris to think they were the only eyes of the Old Gods.  Their spirits were everywhere, in all things.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

When Cat talks about racing he has to take a moment to stifle a laugh at the suddenness of it but eventually returns a smile as well. "It would certainly make a strong impression. However it'd be dishonorable to compete when the difference in outfits provide a disadvantage, I'm sure there'll be plenty opportunities to race another time." He seems to be fully considering the idea of a contest of speed eventually. "The parade grounds aren't too far anyway, it'd make for a poor track."

"Practice makes perfect, and knowing how to handle a bow has many uses."

"I'm certainly excited about it, it's my first proper chance to test my skill at arms and training against opponents I don't know from Blackfin Den. I believe I can perform well but I'd be lying if I said I'm not a tad nervous.

Cat laughs a little. "Yes, a strong impression. Probably not the best the first day I've been with the Blackfins. But if it's not that far, walking can certainly do."

"Yes, exactly. So I really do need to practice more. It shouldn't be so bad to put arrows in a target or into a bird while hunting. But most people would rather see me putting needles through fabric than arrows through straw. Archery is so much more practical than embroidery."

"True: testing yourself against opponents you don't yet know is important, especially when you know you can survive the encounter. Though I'm not sure I'd survive a hit like that. I can certainly understand nerves. Now that I know you, I'll probably grimace a little at those impacts."

"Training the bow is a good way to develop patience and concentration as well, I don't see anything wrong with that, it's probably a lot more fun than embroidery as well. He smiles.

Some of the stands and the ground of where the Parade will occur now become visible as they approach. "Thankfully with tourney lances the armor and shield are usually enough to save you from the more serious of injuries, but it can still happen. Well if you do I'm thankful for the concern, and in turn do my best to handle them, the feeling is not a foreign one at the very least."

When she can see the stands Cat says, "Well, those are obvious, as long as you know where to go. Do you know which way the parade will go? Do all the knights parade first and then all the squires?"

"Well, I'm glad all the knights are protected well. Even so, I would not want to experience the impact. And then there would be the impact from landing on the ground. Yikes. But that's why you're training to be a knight and I'm not. Courts and towns can be dangerous even with no knight on horseback charging at you, but those are dangers I'm more suited to."

"The parade usually takes a pattern where all participants of circling around the grounds, though it eventually gets less organized as knights and squires veer off individual displays and ask for favors."<Blue>

He scans the grounds ahead trying to get a sense of how many people are already flocking over. <Blue>"The fall is less noble in its countermeasures, as they are trying to roll along it as best as possible to not fall on your ass. I'm not one to underestimate the dangers of those two envinroments, and it does require its own form of training, my mentor has repeatedly established that it is foolish to take your eyes away from it.

He pauses for a moment before continuing to speak. "Have you already considered anyone to grant your favour to in the events of the day?

"Grant favor? Me? Oh, I guess I am old enough now? I hadn't even thought about it. May the Crone guide my judgement."

"May she shine her lamp for you." He follows the prayer earnestly.

"It was very pleasant to talk with you, I hope there'll be more opportunities in the future." Seeing the numbers begin to swell he looks to the tent where he, Jerom and Ser Berion should be setting up soon.

"I should probably say my farewells for now, it should be nearing the time for it to start."

"It was nice to meet you, too. I'm sure we'll see each other again, both being connected to the Blackfins." Cat waits for him to head off, then she seeks a good spot while good spots remain.

Jenny smiled at Caetlyn "Join us to watch, Lady Caetlyn? It's going to be wonderfull exciting."

Cat had found a decent spot from which to watch. But when she gets the offer from Jenny to be in a better spot, she doesn't hesitate. "Thank you, Lady Jenny. I would be delighted." She moves to the new spot,