Nuptials, by Charles Matthias

Story name: Nuptials
Author: Charles Matthias
Publication date: December 11, 1999

Date: circa early November, 706 CR
Location: Lorland, Metamor Keep

Overview

Phil and Clover are married. Charles Matthias has a special surprise for Kimberly.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

On the grounds outside the castle walls of Lorland, Thomas marries Phil and Clover. Misha and Charles are both guards for the wedding; Caroline and Kimberly are both in the crowd. The crowds cheer and follow the new couple to the reception. Clover opens the gifts for Phil. The first gift is from Misha, a handmade clock. Misha demonstrates a feature on the clock, where a rabbit pops out and rings a bell on the hour.

Christopher walks up with Lurene and praises Misha's invention. After some pleasantries, Misha tells Caroline to take Kimberly and Lurene to the food table. In a low voice, Misha asks if there is anything more. Chris only hopes that this joy will last. Misha thinks it will; Metamor's forces are at their strongest, Nasoj does not seem to be making any further plans, and all three of them have found love. The three agree to enjoy themselves.

That night, although most of the wedding party continues at Lorland, Charles and Kimberly have returned to the Keep. They watch the stars for a bit from the parapets, before they return to Charles's room. He has a surprise for her: his room is filled with self-lighting candles, just for her. Nervously, he shares another surprise. He falls to his knees and gives a poem, expressing how without her he is incomplete, but there will always be beauty and joy if she agrees to be his wife.

He opens a paw to reveal a diamond ring. She quickly takes it and says yes, and they embrace each other with kisses.

Characters

Main Characters:

• Charles Matthias: A rat morph, a Long Scout, former headmaster of the Writer's Guild. He attends Phil's wedding as a guard. That evening, he proposes to Kimberly, who accepts.
  • During the wedding, he wears a bright green tunic with the Long Scout heraldry. He and Misha are the only visible Longs at the wedding.
  • The only deer morph Charles knows even slightly is Jon.

Supporting Characters:

• Phil: A rabbit morph, Crown Prince of Whales and Protector of Lorland, headmaster of the Writer's Guild. He marries Clover of Barnhardt. Being more heavily morphic than Clover, he lets her open the presents.
  • For the wedding, he is dressed in fine gold brocade and satin.
  • The first gift he receives is a mantle clock from Misha, which Phil requested several months ago, and which Misha has been making since Clover came to the Keep. It has a mahogany frame lined with a familiar-looking metal (to Charles), with ornate numbers and carrot-shaped hands. It uses springs to tell time, a rarity in the world. Every hour a tiny rabbit holding a carrot appears and rings a bell. There is a small screw in the back to manually adjust the time.
• Misha Brightleaf: A fox morph, leader of the Long Scouts, friends with Phil and Charles.
  • He has gray eyes.
  • He stands across from Charles in the aisle.
  • He wears green. He carries his 5-foot-long black axe Whisper, which he twirls with ease.
  • His present to Phil was wrapped in bright thin fabric tied with a blue ribbon.
• Kimberly: A rat morph, a kitchen maid, Charles's beloved. Charles proposes to her at story's end, making her his betrothed.
  • She wears a new violet dress for the wedding, which she last wore in Liturgy of Blood. In the evening, she wears a cloak over it.
  • Her engagement ring is completely covered in diamonds.

Minor Characters:

• Clover: A rabbit morph from Barnhardt. She marries Phil.
  • For the wedding, she is also dressed in fine gold brocade and satin.
• Chris: A bear morph, trapped in full morph but able to speak telepathically, a Keep tutor.
• Caroline: An otter morph, Misha's girlfriend. She joyfully attends Phil's wedding, but says nothing before Misha tells her to take Kimberly and Lurene to the food table.

Cameo:

• Thomas: A horse morph, the Duke of Metamor Keep. He acts as an officiant for Phil's wedding (instead of a priest, likely because Phil is non-religious).
• Lord Barnhardt: A salamander morph. He attends Phil's wedding to represent Clover.
• A diplomatic functionary from Whales, here to represent Phil on behalf of King Tenomides.
• Wessex: A child morph, a mage, a good friend of Phil's. He is best man to Phil's wedding.
• Yacoub Egland: An elk morph, former knight of Yesulam, one of the few survivors of the Patriarch's assassination, trapped at Metamor for an injured leg.
  • He wears a bright blue doublet and hose, with white frills in the corners. He is still on crutches.
• Lurene: A wolf morph and female gendermorph, Chris's ward and lover. She accompanies Chris to Phil's wedding but only gives wary glances to Charles and Misha.
  • She wears a bright blue coat and gossamer dress.

Important Mention:

• The chandler, whom Charles buys candles from, and has learned some magic to make expensive self-lighting candles.

Referenced:

• Tenomides: King of Whales, Phil's adopted father. He does not attend the wedding, but has sent an official in his stead.
• Loriod: A deceased male gendermorph, the former ruler of Lorland.
• Akabaieth: The former Patriarch, who died soon after leaving the Keep a few weeks ago. The Keep has been mourning his death since then.
• Vinsah: The late Patriarch's confidante, who survived the assassination but was so severely injured that he has been in a coma in Coe's infirmary since — as far as Charles knows.
• Kashin: A Yeshuel, one of the few survivors of the Patriarch's assassination. He lost an arm, but was well-enough to leave the night after. No one has seen him since.
• Coe: A raccoon morph, the Keep physician.
• Nasoj: The evil wizard who cursed Metamor.
• Channing: A goose morph, a former Headmaster of the Writer's Guild. Charles had learned astronomy from him. Channing has since left the Keep to places unknown.

Locations

• Phil's and Clover's wedding takes place on the lawn just outside the castle walls of Lorland. All the guests are standing. Among the guests are Wessex and most of the Writer's Guild. Thomas is officiant. There are woods surrounding the lawns with Thomas's guards, and Long Scouts hiding in the woods.
  • Near the front of the guests is Yacoub Egland on crutches. Kimberly is farther back, near Charles and Misha, who are visible Long Scouts.
• In Charles's quarters, he has soft winter quilts, and self-lighting candles that alight with a single word.

Society

• The Long Scout's heraldry consists of a dark fox, with bow and axe.
• In the eastern early night sky is a constellation that Channing called The Hunter, consisting of an arrowpoint-shaped cluster, various stars for the neck and legs and arms, and a bright star called the Eye of the Hunter.
  • There is a constellation known as The Dragon. The Dragon is seen chasing his tail. It is said that when the Dragon catches his tail, then the world will end. It is known that the stars move, and that this is a real possibility, although not in a very long time.
• In the winter, the Writer's Guild holds various contests, like who can name the most rhymes or the most animals.

Chronology / Story Connections

• Christopher remembers when he fought alongside Charles in Fetish, nearly half a year ago. Charles was still under his oath never to harm another. Charles does not elaborate on the oath he changed in Keeping the Lamp Lit.
• Phil requested the clock in Keeping Time, said to be several months ago.
• Clover first came to the Keep in Jormugand. It is said that Misha first started making the clock around then.
• Nasoj is said to have made no moves since his last plan failed in the summer. This seems to refer to either Ryx's Watchwood cycle, or to Declarations of Allegiance.
  • Note that, chronologically, there have been other attacks towards Metamor by Nasoj's forces since then (Penance and Retribution, A Journey Into Shadows, Undersiege and Llyn's Tribulations), but all of these stories were written after "Nuptials".
• The Patriarch died in Liturgy of Blood, said to be a few weeks ago.
• Charles was raised to the Longs in Longing, said to be a week back.
  • After Charles returned to the Keep in pink dye, he went on a short mission with Finbar, during which his color returned.
• Phil's wedding lasts long into the night at Lorland. There is a celebration at the Deaf Mule. The rest of the Keep is fairly quiet.
• Charles promises Phil that he will be back to Lorland tomorrow.

Points of Interest

• The other Long Scouts are serving as guards hiding in the woods around the wedding.

Behind the Scenes

• The bulk of the story was written in October 1999. On October 31st, the author read the story aloud to his girlfriend, and re-enacted the poem from memory. The ending was written afterwards, and made as close to the real-life Kimberly's reaction as Matthias could make it.

< Second Cycle	Matthias's Third Cycle	Fourth Cycle >
Stories	Stories in yellow are not part of the cycle proper, but give important context for other stories.
	False Winds · Stepping Up to Destiny · Fingers in the Weave · Four on the Floor · Fireside · Hunt · Intercessor · Intersecting Correspondence · Jormugand · The Three Sides of Truth · Lawbreakers · Casualties of War · Killing Time · Legacies · Libraries · Four by Four · Liturgy of Blood · Longing · Nuptials · Relic · Wandering the Keep · Winter's First Chill · The Winter Assault
Major Characters	Charles Matthias · Garigan · Kimberly · Misha Brightleaf · Rickkter Akabaieth · Caroline · Gornul · Father Hough · Jessica · Kashin · Phil · Saulius · Thalberg · Duke Thomas · Vinsah · Wessex · Yonson · Zagrosek · Zhypar Habakkuk