Council Inauguration

The most important part of these inaugurations is the swearing of oaths witnessed by the gathered public. After an opening invocation, each candidate approaches the podium where the Codex (see Components & Tools) is situated. There, the outgoing leader to be replaced greets them and pricks the incoming leader's thumb. The inauguree then places their thumb on the presented chalk block (see Components & Tools) and, as their thumbprint is recorded, recites the ancient oath of office, wherein they swear to uphold the Code of Evermorn and to preserve its people.   In most cases, the outgoing leader bandages the incoming leader's thumb and congratulates them for their ascension. However, if the position to be filled is at the system governance or Grand Council level, then this task is instead handled by a member of the Kingkillers who then swears an oath upon their Cobalt Knights' commission to preserve the leader from then on until the lawful conclusion of their duties. That specific Cobalt Knight and their immediate subordinates are then directly responsible for the protection of the person and family of the leader they swore to, but are also responsible for making sure they leave office at the appointed time. By tradition rather than de jure regulation, this protection detail is the same that belonged to the leader being replaced as a gesture of 'passing the torch.'   Inaugurations are important public affairs and both social luminaries and the news media are invited to attend as witnesses. What was once an artifact of needing witnesses to provide provenance and prestige to the proceedings before the era of advanced recordkeeping has since become important because of the ease with which such records could be faked. It's much harder to trick the public into believing that someone else has been appointed, such as through falsified video and audio, to the high offices when numerous people witnessed the same event with their own eyes and share matching accounts of the event - though there have been a rare few attempts.

A copy of the Ancestral Codex is generally present at the inauguration ceremony to provide selected readings related to the foundation of the Protectorate and the moral duties expected of leaders by the various luminaries of Ancestral Patronism. While the ceremony is an evocation of civic religion rather than strictly Patronism, many of the Patrons were also important political figures in Protectorate history and, thus, are considered role models for modern leaders to emulate.   The hard upper cover of the Codex also serves to support the special chalk blocks used to take the thumbprints during the swearing-in process. These chalk blocks are cubes of specially prepared absorbent chalk with finger-shaped depressions worn into the upper surface. When the celebrant places his or her pricked thumb into this depression, the chalk draws in the moisture from the blood, clotting it and leaving a reddish-brown print at the top. After the inauguration ceremony, these blocks are sprayed with preservative resin and given to the new leader as a keepsake to remind them of their oath of office.