<em>"Ahhh, master Tehr ir'Wynt, it is good to see you are back amongst us in the city. I admit I have missed your company.<br/></em><br/>Tehr bowed low to the queen,<strong>"As I have missed yours my queen, as well as the fine city.  I am glad to be back."</strong><br/><br/><em>"I was planning to end this court session here, unless you have something in mind for the court, but I would enjoy exchanging a few words in privacy afterwards."</em><br/><br/><strong>"Actually,"</strong>Tehr said a slight smirk on his face as he adjusted his silk tunic slightly setting it perfectly on his shoulders,<strong>"If my liege would grant me the honor of addressing her court?"</strong><br/><br/>The queen smiled softly and nodded, giving him permission and Tehr turned, facing the assembled nobles and diplomats.  Taking a deep breath he began speaking things that had been on his mind lately.  Not knowing exactly where he was going, but knowing what was in his heart.<strong> "My fellow nobles, diplomats, countrymen, Britannia has seen some hardships in the last few months.  Between the plots of of a disgraced house that is no more, the murder of a daughter of a noble house, the trials and execution of one who was a player in our circles, the scandal of holy men that betrayed our trust, and the violence that followed in the wake, there has been one thing that has seemed to be at the center of all our problems."</strong><br/><br/>Tehr paused, letting everyone's mind fill in the name of the church of the one god,<strong> "But no matter what faith you follow and what you believe, I think all of us have a common thread among us, one of goodness and decency.  We all want to grow and do good even as we strive to make ourselves, our houses, our businesses, or our nation better."</strong><br/><br/>Tehr gestured to a window, outside the winter's night had already fallen,<strong> "Sometimes we lose our way in the dark cold night.  We forget that we need to be decent people.  We forget that love of our fellow man, of our nation, of our queen is more important than our own personal ambitions and desires.  We forget that we need to strive to be better than just animals huddled in caves, afraid of the cold dark night.  No matter what your faith, be it a follower of the one god or of the old ways, we want the same thing."</strong><br/><br/>Tehr gestured to a nobleman who he had heard rumored was strongly in opposition to the church, and it had been rumored had secretly been behind several riots against churches,<strong>"Lord Thomas, do not the old scrolls say that whatever you do, shall be returned to you three fold?  The old ways teach us this, that hate and intolerance will come back upon you, correct?"</strong><br/><br/>The old man nodded his head, somewhat uncommitted, but agreeing.  Tehr then gestured to a very wealthy merchant who he knew to follow the church and asked,<strong>"And does not your holy text say in it 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"</strong>The merchant called out an agreement that it did say such a thing.  Tehr spread his arms wide and nodded,<strong>"In fact while there are differences between the two faiths they both teach of how to live, morally, righteously.  While we may not agree with the other side's method, we can not let the differences drive us apart any longer."</strong><br/><br/>He stepped away from the throne and towards the center of the room, turning slowly to take in the crowd around him as he spoke,<strong>"Unite under whatever banner you choose, be it the wise, beautiful, gracious, and fair queen.  Be it under whatever flag you might hale from,"</strong>Tehr gestured at the spanish noble,<strong>"Be it even under a mutual business arrangement that offers you profits." </strong>Tehr gestured to a group of merchants who had clustered in a far corner.<strong>"But unite!  Come together with your fellow man and woman.  The time of previous kings and queens where humans ruled Britannia with a fear of other races has come to an end as it must.  The time of choosing one religion and hunting or excluding others has come to an end under Queen Elizabeth!"</strong><br/><br/>Tehr began speaking louder, and not a breath could be heard in the court as his firey speech began to build to a creschendo.  He again pointed to the darkened window,<strong>"Out there, members of our city, of our country, followers of the one god, are celebrating one of their most holy days.  The day of the birth of their god.  But as I rode through the streets of Londinium, I saw no singers, no revelers, no merryment.  Why?  Because they huddle in their homes and in their churches, afraid.  Afraid of the backlash of those not of their faith, afraid to be branded the same type of animal as the foul perversions of faith that hurt those children, that plotted a civil war, that killed an innocent women in the streets."<br/></strong><br/>Tehr flexed his fingers, and from across the room, his magical staff vanished from it's resting spot against the wall, and appeared instantly in his hand, the crystal atop it glowing with a magical light.  He slammed the but of the staff into the marble floor to accentuate the next few words as he called them out in a loud and clear voice,<strong>"IT, IS, NOT, RIGHT!"</strong><br/><br/>The silence in the court was deafening, and the echo of his staff striking the marble faded quickly, leaving an emptiness.  He took a moment to compose himself, taking a deep breath.  When he continued his voice was much calmer, almost quiet, and the crowd, now enthralled seemed to lean in to listen,<strong> "We must not damn an entire faith because of a handful of those who did wrong.  The guilty have been punished and the church has lost the stranglehold on our nation that it had under previous rulers.  But for us to conduct a witch hunt against those that follow the christ god, would make us no better than the previous two rulers of this nation.  The hunt and persecution of those who follow the old ways was a horror wraught upon my father and his father, and I would not wish to see it happen again, but to those who follow the church."</strong><br/><br/>Tehr walked to the merchant who had responded earlier, the silver and jeweled cross hanging about his neck displayed proudly almost as an act of defiance, and clasp his hand on the merchant's shoulder.  He spoke loud enough for his voice to carry,<strong>"I do not believe in your god sir.  But if you bear no hate in your heart for me, or the other pagans in this nation. If you wish only good for the queen and the nation, then you are my brother, my countryman.  So I see no reason why you should not celebrate openly this holy day of yours, and I join you and celebrate with you when you make your religious signs."</strong><br/><br/>Tehr took his free hand from the man's shoulder and brought his hand up in front of his forehead before bringing it down to his waist, then across to each shoulder, copying the religious gesture he'd seen in the past, drawing a smile from the merchant.  Then handing his staff to a guardswoman, he strode to the throne again and said loudly,<strong> "Just as I hope you, and the other followers of the church, can learn to live with us pagans in peace."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Thus in a show of love and commitment to my queen, I utter this oath, along with a sacred and ancient ritual."</strong>He held his hands out to the queen.  Her hands were warm and soft in his as he pulled her to her feet and he knelt on the ground before her.  The ritual of the five fold kiss is one that would have earned him a death sentence under the previous queen, and so was somewhat shocking to see preformed so publicly.  But he risked it, seeing as how the entire court was now hanging on his every word and action.<br/><br/>He knelt and kissed both her feet, starting with the right and said,<strong>"Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways."</strong>Then rising slightly he kissed her knees, starting with the right, over the silk of her fine dress saying,<strong>"Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar."</strong>Then rising he planted a kiss upon the silk of her dress that covered her lower abdomen and said,<strong>"Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be."</strong>Then standing slightly he kissed the tops of her breasts, again starting with the right, as they were exposed from her bodice and said,<strong> "Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty."</strong><br/><br/>Then standing fully, his body pressed against hers, he looked down upon her and said,<strong>"and blessed be thy lips, that they shall utter the sacred words and commands, I shall die to follow."</strong>Then he took her in his arms and kissed her full on the mouth.  A shock as the ritual usually concluded with a chaste and ceremonial kiss, but his was anything but.  His kiss was full of passion and the love he felt for the ruler of his land, and the woman he did truly lust after.<br/><br/>There was a soft gasp from the court as he did so, but before the kiss was broken that gasp had turned into a thunderous round of applause and cheers from the court.  Nobles, merchants, countrymen, even guards stomped their feet, clapped and cried out at Tehr's impassioned speech, unified in that moment and not fighting, swayed by the power of his words and the actions he showed.  When he broke the kiss, the Queen's face was flush and he turned to face the court.<strong>"Brothers and sisters, join me, and kneel before our queen, and we may all move forwards together!"</strong><br/><br/>Tehr dropped to a knee, holding the queen's hand and looking up at her as if she were the only thing in the world for him.  It was only a heartbeat later that the first nobleman fell to the floor, kneeling and facing the queen.  The sound of garments rustling filled the court as every man and woman fell to one knee, facing the queen.  It took the queen a moment before she tugged on Tehr's hand, bidding him to rise and she spoke to the crowd.<strong>"All of you rise.  Master Tehr ir'Wynt speaks from the heart and speaks true.  I can think of nothing better to say to this then we shall end court today and you all should go out and be with your family, your friends, your loved ones.  Whether or not you follow the church, today is a holy day.  Every day is a gift, go live it, and we shall live it together."</strong><br/><br/>The round of applause was strong as people stood, and then when it tapered off, the Queen took Tehr by the hand and led him from the throne room, her face still red and flustered.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">ooc</div><div class="spoiler_body">Diplomacy roll for the speech.<br/>Natural 20 on the roll.  :D<br/><br/>I know i took some liberties with the scene, but I feel like a natural 20, and a total of 32 gave me the leeway to do it.  I hope you don't mind.   The only thing is the part AFTER your double horizontal lines doesn't QUITE fit.  Would you maybe mind editing that out and adding it to your next post?  I feel like the queen would likely want to respond to Tehr's speech before talking about the magical cups?<br/><br/>Roll Result: rhev rolled: 1d20, adding 12to the total<br/>Comment: Tehrs diplomacy<br/>Result: 20, <br/><strong>Total: 32</strong><br/><br/>https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=65201<br/><br/><br/>Also i got that ritual from a list of 'pagan rituals' and thought it would be shocking, appropriate, and also give a great precursor to the court about his soon to be nomination as prince regent.</div></div>