Becoming a Lion

In Leon their are two routes into knighthood, Noble Knights and Vilage Knights.

Noble Knights
The son of a knight is forever destined to become a knight, regardless of ability, intelligence, chivalry or general all round competence, and as such is trained from birth in the ways of knighthood.

Pageship
Upon turning 7 any son of a nobleman is granted a Pageship, in which during times of peace they are educated in hunting, riding, religion and manners (the concepts of chivalry are considered to be quite beyond them) and play board games (such as chess) and roleplaying games (with play swords and shields made from wood.). During festivals an extra pair of hands is often necessary and so the page is drafted into the ranks of servantship. The only other time when their education ceases is during war when they will serve their farther, helping him with his weapons and armour.

Squireship
At the age of 10 or 12 (varies from one noble family to another) a page is transformed into a squire and must learn the code of chivalry and the rules of heraldry of by heart. They would also have to learn horsemanship and swordsmanship.

Dubbing
When a Squire is considered ready by his farther the Squire is dubbed a Lion Erander in a highly ritualised process.

The future Lion would be informed the day before the ceremony commenced so that he could get extra sleep through the night and day. After supper the squire (as he is still) is bathed to purify himself and dressed in symbolic clothing (a white shirt for purity, a red cloak for nobility and black trousers for death). He is then taken to the chapel where he kneels by the alter with a sword and shield are laid before him and he must pray silently to Briskos and Aruseus for 10 hours without a wink of sleep.

A lengthy and particularly boaring sermon is then given (he can not move to see the priest) on the duties of a knight and what will surely befall him should he not do these things (their is usually a subsection on valour, loyalty, courtesy and a particularly long one on vows).

The shield and the sword are then blessed by the priest and presented to the squire's friend.

The squire's farther climbs on to the dais and the knight turns to face him and is presented by the squire's friend with the sword.

The squire swears to for those are the vows of honor.
 * Always fight honorably without using weapons that can kill from range and always accept a challenge to single combat.
 * Always fight with valour on the field of battle never retreating or surrendering.
 * Always to show loyalty and never to disobey the king or The Holy
 * Always to be courteous and never to be knowingly deceiving
 * Never draw sword against a fellow Lion save for in the course of trial or tournament

The squire will then swear to follow the orders of his farther.

His farther will then strike the squire on both shoulders and the top of the head and finally says "Arise sir " the knight erander (for upon the word sir he becomes a Lion with all the rights that entails) then stands takes a step backward and extends a hand raised to head height which his farther presses a sword into before receiving the shield from his friend.

The knight erander is then lead to the stables by his farther and given the pick of several new horses one of which he rides out of the stables to fanfare and confetti.

That knight a great feast will be held and the following mourning a tournament but the knight must still prove himself worthy of a domain.

Tour les Erands
During their time as a Lion Erander the knight is expected to travel widely seeking experience, known as an Erantery Tour which the knight should do alone, covering his shield to show that he does not go forth to fight for glory but experience and he should travel alone refusing all summons until they think themselves worthy. However this is often not the case. Many Lion Eranders fight for their future glory and travel with other Lions to ensure their safety on Leon's dangerous roads and fathers could not see their son come to harm so they summon them back within weeks of them setting off on their Erantery Tour.

Service des Erands
In a Service des Erands a Lion Erander will serve in an army, normally their farther's, to gain experience of combat hoping to conduct a feat of arms on the battle field that makes their commander feel that it is time to invest the Lion Erander.

Un Quest de Erands
It is not unheard of for a Knight Erander to be given a task by a noble and is invested upon completions. Typical of such quests is one where the noble belives the knight to be worthy of investment as a Lion du Royaume but lacks any land to grant to him. This problem is solved by setting the knight on a quest to reclaim a lost dominion and granting it to him on his success.

War Des Erands
In times of great need the King of Leon declares an erantery war and upon the wars completion grants all the Lions Erander the chance to become a Lion de la Famille. This is the only time at which a summon by the king can be refused and even then it is considered the height of selfishness.

Village Knights
If a village should, for whatever reason, find it's self without a knight a patron, by tradition the fairest damsel in the village who will become the knights wife, can declare a quest which any volunteer may chose to attempt to complete (go kill a monster being typical of such a quest).

Any volenteer becomes a Lion Erander (although as they will probably soon be dead they are not afforded the rights of a Lion) and will go and attempt to complete the quest with the first to complete the quest becoming the Lion du Royaume of the village. Such a person will have the odds ever stacked against them as in most cases they will never have trained in armed combat and be booth ill equipped and ill prepared or at best a mere man-of-arms for the last knight and so the damsel must think hard about a quest that is both gallant and achievable.

Should a knight fail the challenge but still be alive they can apply to a noble for the noble to make them a Lion Erander as if the knight were the nobles son.

Should all the knights of the village fail in their task then any other Lion Eranders can atempt the task.