The Wedding Feast of Sesel and Zaida al Rashid

[rules for participation are in bold immediately following the bullet-list of gifts]

The procession begins in the harbor of Cothon, at the great tavern Cothon-Under-Star which is housed under the immense shell of a mother whelk. Drums are beaten, and tamburs clashed, and men with two-handed longswords held aloft and flaming with pitch cry out, "Sesel, Voice of the Survivors! Come forth as one dead to your life before, but alive to the new life ahead of you!"

Sesel, Voice of the Survivors, comes forth from the tavern door, accompanied by his closest companions, and submits to the procession of men wearing the sign of the Banu al Rashid, who come bearing flaming swords and clashing timbrels. And the men announce to city, in the failing light of the evening, "This one is promised to Zaida al Rashid--and as was promised, so shall be done, and we take him now to Bayt al Rashid! All those who wish well to the bride and groom may join!"

And with a cry, and another clash, the procession sets out into the night, making a great tumult through the streets of Cothon. Such things are heard now and again--carousing for this reason, or that--but tonight holds an especial place for the barbarian-adventurers who have come to Cothon-Gadeed seeking riches in the underworld of the Tel al Safina, for Sesel is one of them, and many have adventured with him, and know of his recent accession to citizenship in Gadeed, Mother of Cities. And now this wedding to one of the great tribes of that very city, mistress of the Ten-Cities League! Is this not the very apotheosis of the barbarian's dreams of wealth and glory, a shining testament to the success-that-can-be?

As this is a public wedding, all those who hear are welcome to join the procession--which is to say, all those to whom Sesel is known have reason enough to join the festivities of the wedding-feast, to offer the bride and groom a fine gift for the start of their new life, and to feast and make merry. By nature of the public procession, the Processional Way between the Long Walls that connect Cothon to Gadeed are open to those who march alongside (where otherwise the gates are blocked to those who are not citizens, or who have no proper invitation by a citizen).

All of which is a long way of saying--readers of these chronicles, whose player-characters are active in the city, feel free to join in the celebrations!

The procession takes Sesel and his companions to the manor-complex of the al Rashids, a veritable palace built around a central courtyard in the midst of Gadeed, with rooftop gardens especially festooned for the nighttime celebrations with multicolored lamps of various shades, all hung with flowers of effervescent or delightfully-spiced bouquets (More traditionally, Zaida might have had a procession to Sesel's tribe-house; but the circumstances being what they are, and Sesel marrying into the Banu al Rashid, this is the nature of the night). Tables are set out with all manner of food--cheeses, skewers of the slow-roasted or fire-grilled meats of hma, hmela, or dejaja; whole fish baked in pastry, or fried in oil; grilled, smoked, or pickled ninenyelu and other fodder of the ocean; iced and cut fruits of all varieties; and wine, and beer, and palm-wine, and skooma, and liquors of all varieties!

A dais stands in the central court, upon which are set Sesel, groom and honor-guest, and his bride Zaida al Rashid, painted with henna even more extravagant and elegant than what she usually wears, dressed in the finest Klackon silks. These two preside, as "emir wa emira" for the night, lofty even above their highest ranked guests out of courtesy for the occasion.

Musicians play according to the whim of the emir wa emira, and dancers of the traditional dabke perform alternately with skillful belly-dancing by women and girls. A sword-dance is an indispensable tradition, in which two lines of dancers face off, with a belly-dancer between, and then exchange challenges of high- or folk-poetry for her affections, all of which ultimately coalesces into a mock dance-battle of men wielding walking sticks like swords. When sent aside by bride and groom, these musicians or dancers perform more privately throughout the gardens to delight guests here and there in the perfumed night.

All who come--great or small--must, of course, pay homage to the emir wa emira at least once during the night, and present to them a gift according to their means. From the lowly, a wreath of flowers is acceptable, or promise of first choice from next week's catch (from a fisherman, say). But for those of means, it is dishonorable to stint with a mean gift, especially for a wedding of such a tribe as al Rashid.

For instance, here are the gifts offered by several of the representatives of the other great tribes of Gadeed:

• the merchant tribe Banu al Luz (not forgetting their debt) offer the first fruits of their harvest of tree-nuts and other fruit, to the total value of some 2500 gold; but the giver also points out that the botanists of his tribe would be happy to assist the couple in "reinvesting" some of that value into the soil itself, to produce new orchards ...
• human servitor al Ghazali of the Bulrathi Banu Barraqi (of recent court fame) presents a pair of fine kyni-falcons, trained at the rookery in distant Nous--"Descendants of Aeon the Dread, a prince of the kyni race. May they serve you well in any hunt or venture."
• Qiyrdun the Shipwright of Banu Munqidh gifts the happy couple a fine riverboat from the tribe's holdings, the Silver Qaqtla
• Banu Urdos provides a promissory note of twenty head of hma and five of chlen-beasts
• another merchant tribe, Banu Hanbal, gifts the couple with one silver key representing the metaphorical shackles of a majordomo slave, as well as five iron keys representing same for five laborers
• Ishna of Banu al Dawr presents a fine wardrobe of Klackon silks and true-dyed textiles for the new Lady Zaida, valued at some 2000 dinars; a clever eye might notice that one of the wraps appears to be quite similar to a Klackon khipu
• Adolin ibn Dalinar, accompanied by Teleb the Bowman, both of Banu al Khalid presents the arms, armor, and accoutrements to equip 10 men-at-arms, all of superior make from the well-known armorers of their own clan
• Meridas of Banu al Saddiyas gives eighty-one head of fine hmela ("Seeing that the groom has no land or real wealth for mahr"), less the one that he brought to be sacrificed and roasted this very evening in celebration
• Txach'achit of the Fifth House of the Attine Klackons of the Great Spire arrives in the later evening leading a pomp of pale-carapaced dores and their dark-carapaced escorts bearing  black dklakolel-chitin shields; these Klackons bring greetings on behalf of the entire Spire, and offer a boon of the service of a dore-architect--"Your human assistance with the cleansing of the Sixth House was unlooked for, but appreciated. Perhaps this can lay the groundwork for a new--a separate--Accord."

As to any gifts from player-characters--those who provide gifts at the feast will receive xp equal to the gp amount spent on such a gift, up to twice the level of the player-character. Such gifts as are commissioned, but require time to produce, will provide the xp assuming that the "receipt" is provided as the "gift" now, and the bride and groom receive it in full due when it is finished; also, though it is considered gauche in our society to declare volubly the "monetary value" of a gift, in this society of Cothon-Gadeed, the greater a gift's price/value, the greater the honor of the giver (and also, how else are the scribes to value it for xp??), so only be secretive with the value if you desire neither honor, nor xp.

But there is one gift that supersedes all others, and it is granted around midnight, after most gifts have already been given. Khusra al Arasqiy, the second Souffet herself is a guest (her counterpart, unfortunately, was detained elsewhere by City-business), and as the night draws on she approaches to offer both bride and groom horns of wine. But before they drink, she forestalls them, and says, "These cups hold not merely wine, but also obligation. I gift them to you, but you are free to take them up, and drink of both--OR pour them out, and let the wine and the land lie fallow, and I will furnish as gift the rest of the barrel of wine, and other such fruits. But if you drink and accept, the Iqta' of the North Cliffs is yours, with all its wants, and all its provisions. It is a gift; take it up, or not, as you will."

There is a great hurrah from the crowd. The mothers, cousins, &c. of al Rashid look on expectantly, seeing their hard bargaining with the Souffets so close to fruition. And the celebrations will continue into the next day, regardless of the couple's choice. It is assumed the outcome ... Zaida herself touches horn to lips, ready to drink, looking deeply into her groom's eyes ... but it is not the place the of scribes to ascribe choices to what is chronicled here, only to record, and so we will let Sesel respond as he will, while the festivities continue joyously around him. In either case, truly, great wealth is coming to him; and in both also, great cares and responsibilities!

But enough of such worries! Drink now, and be merry!