Last week at the Bhakail fencing practice, a couple of Aethlmearc fencers stopped by. They hail from the the Barony of Endless Hills, up near Scranton, PA. Baron Gunnarr, Lord Po Silvertop, Gunnarr's son and one other were there.
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| Lord Po is unsuspecting. |
For some history, at my first Queen's Rapier Championship in Aethlemearc, Po was my first opponent. Since I had only been fencing...less then a year(?) at that point, I did of course lose, but not before getting a double-kill on the first pass. Ever since then, I make a point of fighting him whenever I get the chance. A couple of my local group, Hartshorn-Dale, also made it to the practice, which I was glad to see. The HD group is pretty small and doesn't get out much, so seeing them fence people other than each other and me was nice.
Anywho, my main two points for writing today are these; Awards, & Pennsic.
This past weekend in Aethlemearc was 12th Night. Most of my old group, Silva Vulcani went. My girlfriend, the current Seneschal of the group got inducted into the Order of the Keystone. You can read her story here. While I'm very happy for her, it got me wondering; as a founding member of that group, would I have gotten something similar by now if I hadn't moved home to eastern PA and the Kingdom of the East? I know my back-and-forth during school didn't help my fencing game, as people who started shortly after or about the same time as me advanced past me. Missing summer practices put a hurt on me as I couldn't track down the HD fencers at that time. Back in AE I'm fairly well known I think, between the huge amount of people at Silva Vulcani practices and the amount of events and traveling I did with them. Here in the East, only HD and Bhakail know anything about me. I hope to change that this weekend, at the Iron Bog Baronial Investiture. I'll be putting my best forward and making sure they all see the escarbuncle, Aethelmearc's symbol, on my drape. (Also, I've yet to make a drape for the East.)
Now for Pennsic. This year is Pennsic 41, and for the first time since Pennsic 1, the allies are getting mixed up. Traditionally it's East & Co. vs. Mid & Co. This year it's Aethelmearc & Antlantia vs East & Mid. This puts me in a hard place. Majority of friends will be fighting for AE, but I now have obligations to the East. Both sides have also promised to single me out on the field. This is of course assuming I can make it to Pennsic this year. It's not a cheap event. Have to take a week off of work as well as paying to get in, buying food, camp gear, etc. If I do go, I'll probably camp with Northern Cross, the household of both the current King and Queen & their successors. So if I choose to fight for the East, camp could get hysterically awkward.
Such are the woes of a trans-kingdom fencer in the SCA, now if you'll excuse me, I need to go work on point control with my left hand.
I love the 'Lord Po is unsuspecting' picture. I think, if you had stayed in one area more often, you would have made it every bit as far as you wanted to. I know you, you're a man of dedication, and fencing is clearly your passion. I've also seen you showcase some of your skills, which are quite impressive. Speaking of areas, which California were you referencing?
ReplyDelete~Shane
Referencing the state of CA.
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