The Tyrant Philosophers/the coronation at the pools
The coronation at the pools was the investiture rite by which Gorbudan was formally declared Alkhand, the sovereign of Alkhalend, in the events of Days of Shattered Faith. Conducted at a set of pools situated halfway up the waterfall cliffs that overlook the city, the ceremony was deliberately sited so that the act of coronation could be witnessed from most of Alkhalend below, making the declaration of a new ruler a public, visible event for the populace as well as a sacred obligation for the presiding clergy. The rite involved the the Usrani in coaxing the creature Kakrops from the cave where it had withdrawn, and His Quietude the Grand Moerend Arkanith in the role of presiding officiant, though the Grand Moerend's evident haste in moving through the prescribed formalities, and the overall flatness of the occasion, set the coronation apart from the festive ceremony one might expect at the founding of a new reign.
The event's significance in the narrative is retrospective rather than immediate: by the time Cohort-Monitor Aspel discusses it in chapter 17, the coronation is already a week in the past, remembered as a subdued and somewhat anticlimactic affair. Its political consequence - Gorbudan's formal assumption of the title Alkhand - underpins the ongoing governance of Alkhalend throughout the book, while the manner of its execution, marked by a withdrawn Kakrops and a hurried Grand Moerend, carries an undercurrent of unease that colours the city's mood in the days that follow.
The Event
When & Where
The coronation took place approximately one week before the chapter-17 conversation in which Cohort-Monitor Aspel recalls it, situating it firmly in the recent past at the point the reader encounters it - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 17. The physical site was a set of pools halfway up the waterfall cliffs above Alkhalend, chosen specifically for the visibility it afforded the city below, so that the declaration of a new Alkhand was a spectacle as well as a rite - ch 17.
Who Was Involved
Gorbudan was the subject of the rite, the individual being formally declared Alkhand - ch 17. His Quietude the Grand Moerend Arkanith presided over the ceremony as the senior Moerend officiant, though he rushed through the prescribed formalities - ch 17. The the Usrani performed the practical step of coaxing Kakrops from the cave in which the creature had withdrawn, an integral part of the investiture - ch 17. Cohort-Monitor Aspel is the narrative point through which the event is recalled, discussing it as a recent memory seven days after it occurred - ch 17.
What Happened
The coronation was an investiture rite whose central act was the formal declaration of Gorbudan as Alkhand - ch 17. As part of the ceremony, the the Usrani were required to coax Kakrops out of the cave where the creature had withdrawn, a task that formed a necessary element of the rite - ch 17. His Quietude the Grand Moerend Arkanith presided over the proceedings but moved through the prescribed formalities in a visibly rushed manner - ch 17. The ceremony was staged so as to be visible from most of Alkhalend below, making the public declaration of the new Alkhand a communal spectacle - ch 17. The overall mood of the occasion was notably subdued; by the accounts recalled a week later, the event was remembered as one in which the expected festivity had simply not materialised - ch 17.
Causes & Consequences
The coronation was the necessary public and ritual act by which Gorbudan assumed the title and authority of Alkhand, establishing his rule over Alkhalend in the formal terms the city's institutions require - ch 17. The manner of its execution - the need to coax Kakrops from seclusion, the Grand Moerend's evident haste, and the flat, unfestive atmosphere - marked the occasion as underwhelming and left a lingering sense of unease rather than celebration in the city's memory - ch 17. The coronation's aftermath was still being discussed by Cohort-Monitor Aspel a full week later, indicating that its subdued character registered across the social strata of Alkhalend - ch 17.
History
Days of Shattered Faith
The coronation at the pools was the formal declaration of Gorbudan as Alkhand, an investiture rite conducted at the pools situated halfway up the waterfall cliffs overlooking Alkhalend, a location chosen so that the ceremony was visible from most of the city below - ch 17. In the account given seven days after the event, the rite had required the the Usrani to coax Kakrops from the cave where the creature had withdrawn, and the His Quietude the Grand Moerend Arkanith presided over the ceremony but rushed through the prescribed formalities - ch 17. The mood was notably subdued: "Nobody had really got into the festive spirit" - ch 17. By the time of Cohort-Monitor Aspel's conversation in chapter 17, the coronation was remembered as a recent past event rather than a current or ongoing one, having taken place a full week earlier - ch 17.
Relationships
- Gorbudan - the individual formally declared Alkhand at the coronation; the entire rite exists to enact his assumption of sovereign authority over Alkhalend - ch 17.
- His Quietude the Grand Moerend Arkanith - presided over the ceremony as the senior officiant but rushed through the prescribed formalities, a manner that contributed to the occasion's subdued tone - ch 17.
- the Usrani - performed the required ritual task of coaxing Kakrops from its cave withdrawal, a necessary component of the investiture - ch 17.
- Kakrops - the creature whose cooperation was integral to the rite; its withdrawal into a cave necessitated the Usrani's intervention, and its participation in the ceremony was part of the coronation's formal structure - ch 17.
- Cohort-Monitor Aspel - recalled the coronation a week after it occurred, treating it as a recent and notable event still worth discussing - ch 17.
Notable Quotes
- "Nobody had really got into the festive spirit" - narrator, in Cohort-Monitor Aspel's recollection, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 17
Tags
- coronation · #ceremony · #succession