Monday, August 13, 2007

I'm Back

So, I'm back from War with stories to tell and victories to report.

The unbelted tourney went very well. There were 7 or 8 teams (I don't really remember), and our team beat all but one of them during the tournament. We represented our Kingdom with prowess and other than that one other Kingdom, we were victorious. As to that one other Kingdom, well, they went undefeated. This didn't sit well with us so we hatched a plan. We politely asked them for a rematch. Something along the lines of:

"We know you won the tourney. We are not debating that, nor would we try to take that glory from you. However, we want another chance at you. We believe in our heart of hearts that we can do better!"

They agreed. Both teams lined up again to do battle. Guess what. We beat them! Then once we had beat them, we turned around, and there was another team waiting to face us. It seems that they weren't too happy at loosing to us, and they believed that they could do better against us. Well, it would be rude of us to ask for that opportunity from one Kingdom and then not grant it to another, so we agreed. Without any rest between the two bouts, we lined up and went after the second Kingdom. We beat them too. Although another Kingdom was the winner of the day in the tourney, we held our heads up high. I was and am proud of the fact that I was a member of that team.

Later on in the week, my Kingdom held its court. This is where the current King and Queen recognize people from the Kingdom for their service and skill. About halfway through the court, I was called in to receive a fairly high service award. I do not believe that I have earned the rite to carry this award, but I will not question the wisdom of The Crown. They felt that I deserve it, so I have to suck it up and take it. I have a small admission to make however. When they called my name, I was really hoping for the next level fighting award. There is a small part of me that was a little disappointed that I didn't receive that award, but I am still overjoyed at being recognized for my contributions to my local SCA group and the Kingdom at large. There are other potential problems with me receiving this service award, but they fall in the realm of society politics, and I won't go into the details with you now. I'll just have to let the chips fall where they may.

My daughter was a champ during the whole War experience. She became overheated a few times and was a little cranky at others (weren't we all), but for the most part, she was exceptional. I can not say enough about the love and support I received from my wife and child. They are truly my inspiration. Anything I am, I owe solely to them.

I also have to acknowledge my camp mates from this War. Over the past few years, we've been building a nice little group that camps together during the War. They are from wildly different backgrounds, and their only common bond is me. They all are friends of mine that I invited to camp with me. Not all of them have always liked each other so that can sometimes lead to problems in camp. They came together as a group and were as polite and friendly as long time friends. In times of difficulty (there were several weather related issues), they came together and served each other in times of need. When War was finally over, we all parted as more than just friends, but as a family. Most of us live in the same town, but we won't come together like that again until probably next year.

This post is getting rather long, so I'll just say that, once again, War was the cornerstone of my year. There are great changes on the horizon (both in the SCA and in my mundane life). I might post about those changes in the future, but for now I have to somehow re-acclimate to mundane life. It won't be easy.