Over time it became increasingly common for powerful nobles to adopt talented children into their own family. To avoid this fate, a noble would send every second child to be raised in the houses of friends and allies. To ensure these oaths were kept, all the noble's children would be taken as hostages. The Test of Ardour is just one of the many complex social rules surrounding marriage in Dawn.īefore Imperial rule forbade war between the houses, it was commonplace for a defeated noble to swear oaths of fealty or good intention. Members of the noble house that adopts them
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They must take a second Test of Mettle to prove themselves and such tests are fatally difficult it must be clear to everyone who witnesses the test that it was difficult enough to erase the stain of previous failure.Ĭhildren passed over at birth are raised as full Such a fate is almost irreversible it is exceptionally rare for another house to allow a former noble to join. Such tests are rare for the challenger risks the same fate as the person they challenge the loser is stripped of their nobility and reduced to the status of yeofolk. They are not always accepted however facing such a challenge is a simple way for a foreigner to impress, especially if they can win, or at least lose graciously.Ī Test of Resolve between members of a noble house is the only way for a noble to be ejected from the house. Tests of Resolve are often offered to citizens of other nations who bring complaints against individual nobles. Champions are rare however for they share the fate of the noble whose cause they championed if they lose. It is possible for either party to employ a champion from their house to compete in their stead.
If a knight and a troubadour disagree, an Earl is much more likely to set them a challenge that does not favour either of their particular skills.
Refusing to comply with or enforce an agreed penalty causes a great loss of renown for all involved.Ī fair test is one that plays equally to both parties' strengths if two knights are arguing then an Earl might order a bout of arms to settle their dispute. The penalty is announced before the test begins, which has lead to several tragic incidents.
The loser faces the judgement of the Earl, which can be anything up to expulsion from the house. It is much more in the Dawnish spirit for the matter to be settled with a challenge. Choosing one side or the other risks favouritism. Usually the Earl sets a challenge to resolve the matter - a Test of Resolve. When a dispute arises between members of a noble house, it falls to the Earl to settle the matter. Those attempting to pass their Test of Mettle are formally called knights-errant and are often accorded some of the privileges of nobility.ĭisputes are settled by a Test of Resolve direct martial challenges are common but by no means universal. For this reason most tests are deliberately open-ended, giving the aspirant as much time as is needed to prove their worth. Ignominy befalls those who attempt the test and fail, whether yeofolk or noble born, and the test is difficult to pass and often dangerous, not least because many Dawn children take the view that you should pass the test or die trying. The tests are difficult even for noble children and groups of them will often work together to help each other pass their test. In practice, while the rewards for success are high, the tests are difficult to pass without the support that an upbringing in a noble house provides. In theory any yeofolk child can take the test, a fact of which the Dawnish are inordinately proud. Dawn legends are full of tales of heroic individuals passing the tests against such odds but the reality is usually more prosaic.Īny Imperial Citizen is eligible to attempt the Test of Mettle and most scions of noble houses attempt it. Consequently it is almost impossible to pass the test unless the noble house that is judging you is amenable to your success.
Passing a noble house's test makes the applicant part of that house. The test exists to judge who is glorious enough to join the ranks of the nobility. The Imperial citizenship tests were created by the Dawnish but the Test of Mettle remains unique to Dawn.
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