silvergarden | Avalon Inbox

[Claire, ever watchful, tightens her hold on Rinea's arm just in case. Smiling, she shakes her head.]

Nothing huge and formal. Just an audience, and he said some stuff, and I said some things. It felt like the right thing to do.

[Laughing, and maybe offering a sheepish smile...]

I don't know much about knighthood, honestly. What does it mean for you in Rigel?

Rigelian knightage... [Rinea's gaze drifts to the scenery again as she contemplates how to summarize the concept. Compared to Zofia, Rigel's military was much more integrated into life there.] Knighthood is both a great honor and an expectation for noble sons. It was also granted very rarely to commoners for great deeds of service to the country. But... I know only of one such man who rose to status in that manner, and he was granted knighthood by the late Emperor himself.

[Calling Emperor Rudolf the "late" emperor feels a bit strange... but it's true.]

The code of conduct is perhaps the more relevant part. Knights of Rigel are celebrated for their power, but chivalry was also core to the ideal of a knight. To behave with dignity and respect for all... To protect those with less strength... They are the face of the country and should act accordingly.

Even so... not every knight followed these very closely.

[Rinea smiles ruefully. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and all that. Lord Duma's influence probably didn't help, either. But that's Rigel, and this is Avalon.]

But Claire will not have any trouble with that, I hope!

[That's about what she expected in an answer, really. Rigel, from her hazy memories, definitely struck her as the kind of place that honored knights, and held them up but also was probably a bit of a stickler for ceremony.

Her mouth twitches into a broad grin and she laughs at the final part.]

Oh, I don't know. I'm a scoundrel through and through.

[She's putting on an accent, for that. Pretending to sound roguish.]

[Rinea laughs too, covering her mouth with a hand.]

Claire! [she admonishes, though it's clearly just a joke.]

Speaking on that, however... Do you have a title, now? [Her smile still has a jovial tilt to it-- she knows Claire will probably ask NOT to be addressed this way-- but still, she wants to know.] Shall I call you Lady Claire? Or is it "Dame"?

Edited (html lol) 2021-06-12 21:28 (UTC)

It's true!

[Laughing, Claire pulls Rinea's arm closer her, just jostling the two of them as they walk. She's definitely some sort of rapscallion, in her own mind.]

And yeah, it's Dame, but don't call me that. It doesn't feel right. Dame Redfield...it's kind of a mouthful.

[Too much of one!]

Why, I think Dame Redfield sounds lovely! [Half of that is probably just Rinea being used to such name conventions back home, but. Still!]

But even so... [Rinea's expression drops the teasing edge, leaving just her sincerity.] I take pleasure in calling you just Claire, all the same.

And I appreciate that.

[She dips her head, a sincerely appreciative look on her face.]

Titles and such are just not a part of my country's culture. We deliberately got rid of kings and stuff.

Truly? [This is the first Rinea has heard about other worlds like that! Since Avalon itself has a king (even if its nobility system is odd), the concept hadn't really crossed her mind.

Rinea is quiet for a moment. She doesn't want to insult Claire with ignorance, so it takes her some time to formulate the question properly.]

Then... how is your country run? You mentioned being in a city, once before. What is the family governing it like?

Truly.

[Oh. Right. Rigel isn't exactly a Christian Democracy or whatever America calls itself in ye olden times. Claire lets Rinea get her question out...nodding.]

So. Governing isn't done by family lines, or hereditary things. We don't have nobility. Instead, people elect a council to govern. So, like, the people choose who represents them on this council.

The person at the head of state is called the President, and then there is a body of representatives called Congress that help run the nation. Our nation is divided into States. 50 of them. Think...provinces? Each State has a Governor, and each city within a State has a Mayor. The Mayor more or less runs day to day things in the city, the Governor helps support all the Mayors, and the National Government...the President and Congress...help support all the Governors.

[This is a lot to take in, and Rinea falls silent again as she puzzles it over. A lot of the terms fly over her head...

But still, she can grasp this much:]

So your country is run not by people born to be there, but by people who wish to be there. That must be very nice.

That's right. It's not something you're born into. It's something that you choose.

[At least, that's the idea. Claire is a little too young and removed from politics to have thought much about the American political caste.]

It's worked for the last couple hundred years, which says something.

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