Overview[]
As a young house, there are not many established traditions among the members of House Pyxis however it was quickly established that unique wedding traditions would be a vital part of setting the house apart from House Vela. These traditions very rarely come up due to the small number of Pyxis nobles. So each time a Pyxis either marries another Pyxis or a fellow noble chooses to be married into House Pyxis it is a grand celebration. Some of these weddings take place at The Moot, but for those who are too impatient to wait there are other traditions to uphold. Rangers of House Pyxis notably have their own traditions with regards to marriage.
Material Components[]
First of all, the to-be-weds must decide on a unique sticker design to be distributed to the guests. These designs can be representations of heraldry, a memorial to an important place or time to the to-be-weds or it can be a unique piece of artwork. The design is not important so long as it holds importance to those being married. These stickers serve as reminders of the event and mark and important part in the journey of any Pyxis to receive one.
Another important factor to be decided is which kind of tea should predominantly be served at the event. When the union is between two or more Pyxis families, the discussion can get somewhat intense and most often is decided by adopting a new flavour of tea which goes on to become the family flavour for the newly created family. If there is only one Pyxis present in the union, their family tea is used in the majority of circumstances.
Verbal Components[]
When two or more members of House Pyxis cross paths it is customary for them to exchange stories and weddings are a prime time for such an event to occur. With such a large gather of the otherwise far-flung members of House Pyxis it becomes natural for the stories to be shared with all others present throughout the event. It has become poor practise however to fail to share a story about one of the to-be-weds so as not to forget them on their important day. If one cannot produce a tale about any of the parties to be married they are encouraged to seek one out from their closer friends before sharing any of their own stories.
An unspoken aspect of Pyxis marriage is the acceptance that there is a good chance that you will lose your loved one to the Void. A common sentiment shared between vows is the idea of not rushing behind the one you loved into The Void in the case of separation. House Pyxis firmly believes in life finding a way to carry on after pain. An example of such a vow could be “I promise to wait for you in the After if you promise not to rush through the Void to find me.”
Somatic Components[]
One of the most important parts of a Pyxis wedding is location. If the occasion is not to be saved for The Moot then a suitable site must be found. These places are often places of unique beauty in dead systems or on abandoned worlds. If a Pyxis has earned a Discovery Title then the place of their discovery is often used.
Once the locations is decided upon, it is Pyxis tradition to try and formulate a spike drill which when parsed by House Vela’s lines system produces a route that will take an excessively long period of time, but when parsed by PATHS will take a single simple jump from a populated location to reach. Sometimes this proves to be impossible, but when it does occur it ensures that only the most capable of House Pyxis’ navigators may attend. This formula is then encoded into the invitations sent out. If one is invited and not a Pyxis (such as when a family marries in) then the person who invited them is responsible for seeing to their arrival.
A final custom to be observed is the giving of gifts. When Pyxis get married, it is traditional for the family whose name is being taken to buy the to-be-weds a large gift. Depending on the wealth of the family this involves securing the couple a berth on someone else's ship or providing upgrades to the current ship owned by the to-be-weds. In exceptional circumstances where the family is very rich and well connected, a ship can be commissioned for the marriage. However the actual gift is not of great import as the act of giving is what is most important. In the case of Wardens, this can be supplemented with another substantial gift such as upgrades to their home on Lodestone or various goods from the Trilliant Ring.