The so-called Consecration Ceremony is actually the promotion ceremony for Paladins. All novice Paladins must be conferred a title in this ceremony in order to officially become members of the Order of the Silver Hand.
The Consecration Ceremony is not held at a fixed time; it is performed whenever a qualified apprentice Paladin appears.
However, the third Sunday of September each year is an exception, as it is the birthday of the Paladins, and a grand gathering of Holy Light is held every year at this time.
During Lordaeron's golden age, Priest from all over the Eastern Kingdoms would gather for this event, commemorating the glory of past heroes and bestowing the most sacred and sincere blessings upon newcomers.
"The Monastery hasn't held Consecration Ceremony in a long time, precisely to await this day. Next week, ten new brothers will officially join the Silver Hand. If the Council of Five approves Lord Tyrosus's nomination, you will be one of them."
After Erigor finished telling him the good news, Unas was so excited that he felt a surge of heat throughout his body. He could finally officially join the Party.
With this layer of protection, it's as if the Silver Hand has recognized his legitimacy, and there's no longer any fear of anyone using his identity to their advantage.
"The Council of Five only has two members left. With Lord Tyrosus here, the nomination should pass without much trouble, right?" Unas couldn't help but feel a little nervous, as his future was at stake.
"No, the other three lords who went on the expedition will return victorious in two days. They came back specifically to attend this anniversary celebration," Erigor paused, then reassured him, "You don't need to worry too much. This nomination is just a formality. Each lord has two nomination slots, and they generally won't make things difficult for each other."
It turned out to be just a formality. Unas breathed a sigh of relief. That made sense. If the lords wanted their nominees to be promoted, they would have to make concessions to others.
Simply because of differing political views, if you disagree with my nomination and I disagree with yours, and we end up pulling each other down, we'll only get into endless arguments. I think the members of the Council of Five understand this.
This is probably a kind of unspoken rule, and many things become mere formalities because of this, especially in Monasteries where factional struggles are intense.
Unas only stayed at the Monastery for a few days before discovering that the North Maple Legion and the Argent Dawn were not getting along. The two sides were clearly divided and ignored each other, and sometimes minor frictions would even occur on the training ground.
Although it was limited to individual brawls, the tension was palpable; if it weren't for a major enemy outside, a small-scale armed conflict would probably have broken out long ago.
The reason for this was the public conflict between their superiors, Tyrosus and Abbendis. Of course, a benevolent saint and a racist who prioritizes human beings could never get along.
If their conflict was merely a superficial ideological clash, then among the higher-ups lay a deeper and greater conflict: who should lead the entire army?
Uther the Lightbringer, Marshal Garithos, or some member of the royal family—all those qualified have perished in battle. The remnants of the army have gathered together; whose orders should they obey?
With no undisputed leader emerging, Council of Five was formed as a compromise. However, continuing to fight each other was not a solution. With a formidable enemy at hand and internal strife raging, the council was doomed to collapse sooner or later.
The previous week, during a training night, Unas was taken to a tavern by Erigor, where they not only drank but also heard a lot of gossip.
All sides are seeking to unify all the remaining forces of Lordaeron. It's not that the major figures are particularly keen on vying for power, but rather that due to various factors such as differences in political ideologies and policies, they are unwilling to bow down to each other.
General Abbendis's idea was to merge the Silver Hand into the North Maple Legion and establish a new army to gain power, but unfortunately he was not yet able to win over the masses and only managed to gather some scattered members of his own forces.
Within the Silver Hand, the competition between Alexandros Mograine and Saidan Dathrohan for the position of Grand Master was also a major topic of gossip in the taverns.
In the Battle of Andorhal, Grand Master Uther and Vice Grand Master Gavinrad were killed, and the Silver Hand headquarters suffered heavy losses, with its personnel decimated. However, the strength of the Three Banners was well preserved, and the three Grand Masters of the Three Banners, Mograine, Dathrohan, and Tyrosus, rose to prominence as a result.
With the position of Grand Master vacant, Uther having not designated a successor before his death, and with no king or Archbishop in Lordaeron to decide on a candidate, only the election system remains as an option.
In short, whoever has the highest support among the Paladins will be elected Grand Master.
In terms of seniority, Dathrohan the most senior. He is one of the five original Paladins and also served as the acting commander of Stratholme headquarters. He participated in two Orcs Wars, and is full of honors and has made great achievements. However, he is over sixty years old and tends to be conservative in his actions. In peacetime, he would be the best candidate for Grand Master.
In terms of ability, Ashbringer is undoubtedly the strongest. After returning with this holy sword, the legend of Alexandros Mograine's invincibility is widely circulated, and he has become the new god of war in people's hearts.
The two leaders are currently neck and neck, and many people are still wavering between conservative and radical.
However, it is foreseeable that if Mograine achieves a few more resounding victories, his prestige will completely surpass that of Dathrohan, making him the undisputed supreme leader of the Silver Hand.
Baron Tyrosus was far inferior to the two mentioned above and had no hope of winning the title, so he became a staunch supporter of Mograine.
The last seat in the council, held by Isillien, the Grand Inquisitor and the de facto ruler of Hearthglen, was much simpler. He only sought self-preservation and would support whoever could provide Hearthglen with more aid. Naturally, the North Maple Legion, with the largest number of troops, became his reliance.
Due to the conflict between Abbendis and Tyrosus, the Silver Hand and the North Maple Legion often clashed within the Council of Five. Dathrohan, in order to increase his influence, often remained neutral, but sometimes secretly sided with Abbendis and Isillien, which put Mograine and Tyrosus at a disadvantage.
"But this disadvantage won't last long. In the end, everything will be decided by battle achievements. Given more time, we will definitely achieve the greatest results!" Erigor was full of confidence in the future of his camp.
"More time..." Unas murmured, not wanting to dampen Erigor's spirits.
"You probably don't have much time left," Unas thought to himself. He had learned about the tragic story of the Mograine family while playing the game. The first Ashbringer, Alexander, had died in battle long ago, killed not by an enemy, but by his eldest son Renault Mograine, who was possessed by a demon.
An attack from behind on the battlefield is difficult to dodge, let alone an attack from one's own son.
Alexander and Ashbringer later fell into darkness and were transformed into Death Knights by the Lich Kel'Thuzad, becoming one of the Four Horsemen in Naxxramas.
How could he, or rather, could he, prevent this from happening and thus change history? Unas fell into deep thought.