A Treatise on Kvaszian Courtship

[TwistChunky 321]

 

Slow Dancing In The Dark (Violin)

 

Issued by the

DUCHY OF KVASZ

Naf zwy 11th hag i Jula ag i 575 E.S

༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ ⠀𓄿⠀༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ 

“To put it simply, it was the color of love.” 

🎕

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

The Color of Love

 

“Behold”

She uttered with a smile;

She wrapped it, 

The piece of jewelry,

Around my wrist

A bracelet.

  

“What does it depict?” 

A crow between the chains; 

But the color, 

The color intrigued me.

 

It seems familiar, 

“Like that of a Cherry Blossom?” 

Nay, it was warmer in tone. 

“When the day meets the night?” 

Slightly cooler.

“Flamingos!” 

Close enough.

 

To put it simply, 

It was the color of love.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

🎕

We often found ourselves wondering what it was like for our ancestors when they proceeded with the typical practices of courtship. That also brought us to discover that neither of our families had any true traditions surrounding courtship and marriage, other than a quiet exchanging of vows and prayers for a prosperous marriage with their spouse. Seeing as it is of vital importance for Heads of House to set traditions for their predecessors to follow, we decided on a series of traditions that all future Ludovar should adhere to when they begin their rounds of courtship in society. 

 

Courtship and Holy Union. Such are fundamental in our lives as we navigate within our society. As the generations grow, so do our traditions. Yet, the themes of love and loyalty remain the same. The role of courtship is not just so that good societies standards are met, but also to truly take the time to get to know a person and decide if they are the right one to spend an entire lifetime with. Annulments are seen as a taboo within the Ludovar tradition. Marriage without thought is a fate that could end up worse than death, should one find them disagreeable or incompatible. The practice of courtship should always be met with good intentions, whether it is advantageous for the family or simply out of fondness for one another. 

 

Here it is outlined, simple traditions that should be upheld from now and forever more, such traditions shall henceforth be engraved within the tapestry of the everlasting Ludovar Line. GOD willing. 

༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ ⠀𓄿⠀༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ 

– The Rules of Courtship – 

1. A courtship initiated by a Ludovar must be approved by the head of their partner’s household, always. An offer of courtship to a Ludovar must be approved by the head of the Ludovar household. 
2. Should the Head of House disagree with one’s choice of courtship, there are three options available, to which the Head of House should be willing to oblige:

• The Head of House must meet directly with the Ludovar in question and their intended partner, and hear out a plea. 
• The Ludovar may challenge the Head of House to a duel. Should they lose, is it absolutely imperative that the notion of courtship ends, but if they win, the courtship may continue. 
• The Head of House may present a second option of courtship to the Ludovar in question. If the Head of House does not have a second option, the courtship may be halted for a period of four (4) saint’s weeks. If they do not present a reasonable courtship by then, the original courtship may presume as intended. 

3. After the approval of courtship, there is no specified period of time one should wait to marry, though, it is recommended that one courts for at least six (6) saint’s weeks to truly get to know their partner. 
4.  During courtship, twice will the Ludovar issue a challenge to their intended: The first will be a challenge of wit, to determine their partner’s efficacy, and the second will be a challenge of character, to determine the compatibility of their partner’s nature to the Ludovar’s own. 
   • A challenge of wit may range from reading a soliloquy, to solving a riddle or puzzle, or even having them write a paper on politics or religion. 
   • A challenge of character is certainly more complicated, but the Ludovar is expected to be creative with such.
5. After the challenges are issued, and presumably passed to a reasonable extent, next shall come the bestowing of their bracelet. Each Ludovar will be gifted a golden bracelet upon birth, with wings of the crow imprinted between the chains. When a Ludovar is sure and only when a Ludovar is absolutely certain, that this partner has impressed upon them the worthiness of the name Ludovar, will this be given as a final act before a proposal is issued. 

༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ ⠀𓄿⠀༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ 

– The Marriage Rites –

“The Light bid unto mankind the treasure of love,

Foremost among the pleasures of spirit, and the merriment of soul.

There exists no greater vow, no greater promise.” 

(Villorik, 529 E.S.)

In typical Ludovar fashion, the wedding will be officiated by a member of the canonist church within the tradition of the Jorenic Rite. For the Ludovar family is and will remain of the canonist faith for as long as our line should persist. However, there are some cultural traditions native to the Ludovar family. These traditions originate from the Carrion and Raevir cultures of yore whilst modernized and expanded upon for the current times through generational innovations. 

🎕

-The Sudden Vows-

At any point during the day/night before the wedding, the groom-to-be shall instruct  friends and family both the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be to lead the bride to a place of the groom’s choosing. The bride will be aware that she is to be taken away at any point in the day, but it will be a surprise as to when and where this play “abduction” shall take place. The groom will not be included in the actual activity; Rather, he will be there at the place of his choosing, waiting. When the bride is taken to a secondary location for the two of them to exchange private vows in the sight of their closest relatives and friends. 

 

🎕

-Ceremonial Traditions-

1. During the betrothal ceremony, the Jorenic rite is to take place.
2. After the typical unveiling of the bride, special wedding crowns will be placed upon the heads of the bride and groom before official vows take place. 
3. A reception is optional but almost always recommended, as it gives the newlyweds an opportunity to receive gifts and be perceived in the eyes of society as a single operating entity. 
4. If a reception takes place, then the groom and bride’s family will be given the opportunity to present a small speech, (hopefully no more than a few sentences in length. We do not wish to bore the guests.) After toasts and speeches are made, there will be merriment filled with dance and socializing, until the newly wedded couple is ready to depart for their getaway. 
5. Upon leaving, guests should line up in the form of a walkway with bird seed in hand to toss over the couple’s head, as a symbol of fertility and growth. 

 

Marriage is terrifying. I am sure you have read the fairytales of easy love and knight slays dragon with a single fell swoop and saves the princess- rest assured, it is anything but. Marriage is the dragon itself, and it will take a thousand cuts over a thousand lifetimes to bring it down. So, I shall advise that this beast is taken on much easier when there are two people present to wrought the abhorrent creature. Please, choose your partner wisely. It does not need to be a love match, but it is imperative that the one you choose is a friend to you before they are a friend to anyone else. Slaying dragons is much easier when you can work with the person whom you slay it with. 

🎕

༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ ⠀𓄿⠀༻⊰───────────────⊱༺ 

 

HER LADYSHIP, OLENYA OF KRAJIA,

 Heiress-Consort to the Duchy of Kvasz, Baroness-Consort of Isaakev

 

 

His Lordship, ROBERT AUDEMAR LUDOVAR,  

Heir to the Duchy of Kvasz, Baron of Isaakev

 

 

Edited March 28, 2025 by TwistChunky
needed to change the date -oop

[harvestskies 362]

Spoiler

Based lore, +1