This month, being January 2003 Gregorian, marks the fifth anniversary of the Barony of Seleone. For those who have joined our Barony since, I shall tell the tale of the investiture of Finn and Isolde, first Baron and Baroness Seleone.
The story actually starts several months before the investiture when it came time for populace of Seleone to submit to the crown names for Baron and/or Baroness Seleone. Isolde and I did not want to be handed the job just because we had founded the group, so we tried to impress upon the populace that there were many other gentles who would be good choices. When the votes were counted Isolde and I had received 96%. See how well our children mind us? The final say is always with the Crown and they could have chosen someone else as founding coronets. Faced with such an overwhelming vote however, the Crown decided to accede to the populace's wishes.
The preparations for investiture were under way when a new wrinkle was added. Sir John the Pursuwer was autocrat for Gulf Wars that year and the Kings of Ansteorra and Trimaris wished to have a meeting with the autocrat and the King of Meridies before the war. They thought January would be a good time frame and the location should be in Meridies about equal distant from both Ansteorra and Trimaris. What better place to have the meeting than the Seleone Investiture!
An unsophisticated Viking like myself gets nervous when he is under the gaze of royalty. Now we would have not only the royalty of Meridies but of two other kingdoms as well. Gak!
Since we were becoming a barony, we needed regalia. Isolde and I resolved to try to have as much of our regalia made by the artisans of Seleone as possible. Lord Ladislaus de Brady was commissioned to make our coronets and a gentle named Anthony the Woodwright made the thrones. When we previewed the thrones, we were extremely pleased with them. We never even realized that there was a problem.
On the morning of the investiture, I was out greeting the populace, trying to look noble and baronial, when our seneschal, Lord Wilhelm von Rhine, approached Isolde and me. It seemed that the baronial thrones were taller than the royal thrones! There was not much we could do about this faux pas except make apologies to His Majesty and offer to have the throne cut down after the investiture. His Majesty Ailgheanan said that he would take care of the matter at Court.
At the investiture court when the thrones were brought in, Ailgheanan looked askance at them and asked his herald if the thrones were of proper height. The herald took an appraising look at the thrones and proclaimed, "The thrones are exactly the size they should to be."
At this pronouncement, His Majesty was satisfied and the thrones of Seleone have stayed that height ever since.
We received many investiture presents at our first court. One of them was a pepper pot received from our cousins of Bryn Madoc. The pepper pot is a piece of mathom that is passed to every incoming coronet in Meridies. Baron Hywel and Baroness Irena had been stuck with it for five years before there was a new territorial baron or baroness in the Kingdom. The pepper pot is currently in possession of Rashid and Genevote, Baron and Baroness of Small Grey Bear.
To understand the next presentation, it is necessary to go back to the early history of Seleone. Back in those days, Isolde and I started collecting aluminum cans for recycling in order to raise money for the canton. This became known as the Cans for the Canton Campaign.
When Axemoor came into investiture court, they started to bring before us a trash bag full of aluminum cans. "No, no, no!" Baron Shaul intoned, "they are not a canton any longer."
Next the populace started to pass forward a sack of organic fertilizer. "No! No! No!" Baron Shaul admonished them, "They are not a shire any longer either. They are a Barony."
The Coronets and populace of Axemoor then presented Isolde and I with a couple dozen teddy bears.
Isolde and I gave some of the bears to the visiting royalty and after the investiture, we donated most of the remainder charity. We did keep the largest bear for the barony, however. We had been told that most of the population of Axemoor had developed a deep affection for the bear and had given it the name Fealty.
Today, Fealty Bear can be seen at Viking Vineyards Manor firmly ensconced upon our piano stool.