Sword Ceremony

Sword ceremonies happen when a monarch dies and The Kings Sword returns to Swordsholm Palace courtyard. During this time, a regent is appointed to oversee the nation and then mentor the new monarch in the day-to-day workings of the court. This usually lasts for two to three years.

Every adult citizen of Cendliand is invited to pull the sword. At this time, the Prince/Princess of the Sword are also identified and inducted into the royal court. They can be identified at other times, but most of are found during the ceremony. The notable exception is children of reigning monarchs who are “found” when they are old enough to communicate their reactions to the sword effectively.

The citizen who frees the sword is appointed monarch. Any family they have are given courtesy titles, and if they have a life partner, that person is declared King/Queen Consort .

The ceremony concludes with a coronation and the funeral of the previous monarch. Although there have been some notable exceptions, such as King Mathia Gressa , who for security reasons postponed his coronation until the conclusion of the War of the Four Islands. He authorised the funeral of Queen Phyllis Craeve after three months for the peace of mind of her husband and children. During that three-month period after Mathia pulled the sword, he had it formally displayed next to Phyllis’s coffin and permitted the procession of mourners to identify any Prince/Princess of the Sword . This was because Mathia pulled the sword five days after it had returned to the courtyard, making it one of the shortest recorded interregnums. At the end of that period, The Kings Sword was removed from display, marking the formal end to the ceremony.