Challenger in Waiting
Overview
The Challenger in Waiting is an Imperial title awarded to a citizen of Dawn. Construction of the Challenger in Waiting was announced by Valentin Ivarovich Orzel as Bearer of the Second Imperial Wayleave during the Summer Solstice 385YE.
Responsibilities
The Challenger in Waiting has a responsibility to scrutinise the Virtue of any potential challengers to the Monarch of Dawn. If the sinecure were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Challenger in Waiting to deal with those threats.
Powers
A Portion of Liao
The sinecure provides 11 doses of liao to the Challenger in Waiting each season, to be used as they see fit.
Mark of Virtue
The Silver Nightingales are a small group of troubadours from Hawthorn who have committed to supporting the Challenger for as long as the responsibilities of the title involve scrutinising the Virtue of any potential challengers to the Monarch of Dawn. The Challenger in Waiting receives an Icon of the Witness every year at the Spring Equinox from the Silver Nightingales so that they might mark the virtue of those they have judged.
Appointment
The Challenger in Waiting is a national position appointed by the Synod. It is elected by judgement of the National Assembly of Dawn each year during the Autumn Equinox. The expectation is that the appointment will follow a tourney in the same style as the seasonal grand tourneys that appoint the Knights-protector. There is however no legal requirement for the National Assembly of Dawn to arrange, or acknowledge, such a tournament.
There is an expectation that the title can only be held once in a lifetime but this is very much not a legal limit, as it is with the Conscience of the Senate, and is not enforceable in any way.
The title can be held by any citizen of Dawn. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Dawn National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.
| Summit | Elected | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Equinox 385YE | The Earl of Fools | 84 Votes |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by The Earl of Fools; it will be reelected at Autumn Equinox 386YE. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
Chapel of the Challenger in Waiting
The Chapel of the Challenger in Waiting is a tastefully austere villa that overlooks the wild heathland of Hawksmoor. There is a well-stocked gymnasium and tourney square in the grounds where the attendants and mistress-at-arms will put any Dawnish challenger or supplicant to the most exacting trials of their martial arts and virtue.
The attendants of the Chapel provide whatever aid they can to the Challenger in Waiting in preparing their tactics and strategy for providing the fiercest challenge to any potential claimant on the Throne of Dawn.
The feast hall of the Chapel is appointed with beautiful tapestries hung within carved marble alcoves illustrating the woven artistry of Lady Nineve Orzel and the Five Silver Needles of the Barrens. Within the shadowed arches are depictions of the heroes of Dawn’s martial past, their deeds, their victories and their glorious defeats: Empress Brannan bearing the Rod of the Sun overlooks countless knights marching war; soldiers fighting fiercely against the Druj; and townsfolk taking up arms against dread husks. The common theme throughout is Dawnish Pride despite adversity and Courage in the face of overwhelming odds.