The wedding started out a lot like System Day. Rodrige and Madely were hustled back to their separate parents’ homes, and when they came out the guests lined the street. Except on System Day the adults had held candles and watched in silence at night; here it was the middle of the day and everyone hooted and clapped as either of the couple passed by.

Unlike System Day, not everyone in town was part of the ceremony, but even those not involved stopped and clapped as the wedding party went by.

When Rodrige passed his section of the street, Brin clapped and cheered along and followed him down the street until they arrived at the temple. Rodrige and Madely came from different directions to meet at the doors of the temple, and opened the doors hand-in-hand. Music started, played by Davi and Jeffrey.

Instead of regular lute music, it sounded like an entire symphony, no doubt from some Skill or device of Jeffrey’s. The emotional power of [Bard] music hit them all at once; it spoke of celebration, but also dignity and class. It was pompous, in every sense of the word, rather like a French Overture from his old world.

Rodrige and Madely walked all the way down the aisle to stop in front of Ellion the priest at the altar. Only once they were there did the rest of the crowd filter in to take the pews. The music for guests’ entrance was still flowery, but less grandiose than what had been played for the couple. Then the music ended, and a hush followed.

Rodrige’s best man, his brother, took position to his left, while Madely’s mother stood to her right. With everyone in position, Ellion began his speech.

Ellion spoke to the couple, and through them, the crowd. It was a new experience for Brin, but also sort of nostalgic from his old life. He’d never heard the priest deliver a sermon before; the man usually counseled people one-on-one. He was rather like an army chaplain in that way, guiding people along the path for whichever of the gods they worshiped.

He invoked only the lesser gods in his sermon. He talked about how Eridu demanded strict chastity before marriage for an uncomfortable amount of time, and neither Rodrige nor Madely turned around so Brin couldn’t see how they were taking it, but he thought he saw the evidence of a blush on the back of Madely’s neck.

Then Ellion spoke of Solia’s high esteem of motherhood, how Nedramus expected gentleness and forgiveness, and how Anshar expected men and women to love fiercely and protect each other with boldness. Sezorat and Magelin were lumped together, with a warning about how much they each cherished honesty. Maybe they got less time because the domains of Sezorat and Magelin were so similar to Nedramus and Anshar? He still didn’t know as much as he should about them. Most of what he knew about this world’s theology centered around Solia. He’d read some of her scriptures and he recited his prayers… when he remembered to.

Then Ellion reached behind him to the altar, where a folded tablecloth was sitting prominently on top. He unfolded it solemnly, to reveal a gauzy, nearly transparent white fabric.

“Hastow aught to seyn?” Ellion asked Rodrige. Brin thought it was a different language at first, and only realized he was hearing archaic High Frenarian when Rodrige gave his response.

“I vowen to my lawful wyf to yeven fulle felawship and leautee, to leden and giden hir, to holden and yeven hir lawful sustenaunce, whethir she be riche or povre, seek or hool, foul or fair, from this day forthward, by the hooly ordinance of Solia, I plighten my trouthe.”

Clearly that was a traditional memorized vow, but Brin couldn’t help but smile at the fact that he’d promised to marry Madely even if she was ugly. This sounded like a holdover from days when people got married before ever getting to see each other. The shroud, or veil, over the both of them supported that idea.

Madely’s vow was next. “I behighte to my lawful housbonde to yeven fulle felawship and leautee, to accepten and supporten, whether he be riche or povre, seek or hool, strong or feble, from this day forthward, by the hooly ordinance of Solia, I plighte my trouthe.”

It was interesting that both of them swore by Solia. She seemed to be in high esteem in Hammon’s Bog, but Brin wasn’t sure if that was true more generally or just a local thing.

“I pronounce you husband and wife. You may pierce the veil,” said Ellion.

Rodrige’s brother drew a sword. Jeweled and golden, it was clearly ceremonial, but the blade looked sharp. Rodrige took it and cut the veil covering him and Madely in half. The fabric tore easily, clearly designed for it, and the separate pieces fell to the floor.

Everyone stood and cheered, and Brin expected a kiss next. That happened, but not in the way he expected. Ellion kissed both the bride and the groom, both cheeks, Italian-style.

Both Madely and Rodrige opened their eyes wide in shock, but Brin didn’t think it was from the kiss. He could see their eyes scanning back and forth reading something–the telltale mark of someone reading a System notification.

Wait. Was there an Achievement for getting married? He’d ask someone, but then that would be admitting that he didn’t know. He’d have to ask Hogg, but Hogg wasn’t here. Whether he wasn’t invited or he simply hadn’t come to maintain his status as a mysterious hermit, Brin didn’t know.

There hadn’t been a slew of weddings during the siege, so whatever bonus the wedding Achievement gave probably didn’t have any combat applications? Speculation made his mind go to places he’d rather not go here in the temple, under the judging gazes of the gods. He forced himself to think about something else.

The wedding party left the temple. They moved to the town square where Rodrige’s dad invited them to the feast. Brin sat with Davi’s family as they ate. Myra joined them as well since she didn’t have any family in town, and before too long Zilly snuck over to sit with them as well.

The food was surprisingly heavy, even for Hammon’s Bog. Huge mutton chops, root vegetables, and thick gravy, served alongside black bread, somewhat like pumpernickel but even more sour.

Wine flowed quickly and freely, which was a little bit of a culture shock. In weddings in his old life, the teenagers had to wait for all the adults to get drunk first and then sneak off with a bottle to the back outside next to the dumpsters. Here, Davi filled up his glass three times under the approving gaze of both his parents. Even little Yon got a glass, though they watered his down a little, and he abandoned it in disgust after the first sip.

Rodrige, ever the social butterfly, moved from table to table, working the crowd with the kind of natural charm you had to be born with. That had to be as much to do with his celebrity status as his [Carpenter] Class. When he got to Brin’s table, he guessed that Brin probably wasn’t drinking enough, poured him another glass and pushed it into his hands.

Throughout it all, Jeffrey played softly on stage. Only when plates started to get clear and voices started to get loud did he change the tune to something more lively. His song wasn’t the delicate, wandering tones of an artistic piece for listening, the way he normally started his shows. This music had a clear beat. A demanding beat. This was dance music.

Almost before he knew it, Brin was on his feet standing with the men on one side and the women on the other. Rodrige, their bannerman, led them forward while Madely led the other side. The two opposing armies met in the middle and the dance began.

Brin let himself get swept up in the music. Any dance in his past life was marred by social anxiety and awkwardness, as well as a complete inability to dance. Here, he didn’t let that stop him. The only way to get good was to practice, right? His Dexterity should help here.

Not all of the songs were danced in lines like the first one. After that, Davi joined Jeffrey on the stage and they played songs more conducive to pairing off. Before the music lost its hold on him, Brin found himself dancing with Zilly and Myra, as well as six other girls his age, and a few women very much not his age. He’d even ended up pairing up with Bruna at one point, to which Alvir pretended to be beside himself with jealousy. What had she told him?

When the music finally let him go, Brin felt like he’d run a marathon. He thought he was getting kind of good by the end, but he wasn’t sure if that’s because he’d successfully learned how to move or if he’d drunk too much to care.

Through training, you have increased the following attribute:

Dexterity +1