| From the Baron and Baroness | ||
| Fewmet Accolades Vivant to the Fewmet staff for winning THREE times in the kingdom’s 2008 Sylvan Quill competition (for best electronic layout & design, best artwork – Caradawc’s September 2007 cover, and honorable mention for artwork – Mairghread’s July 2007 cover). Donal, Sorcha, and past chronicler Mairghread are now nominated for the Society-level William Blackfox awards. We wish them the best of luck, and are very proud of their excellent work! Mongol! Yesterday, we joined a horde (literally) of Thescorreans to see the film Mongol in Pittsford – an epic about the early years of Temudgin, the man who united the people of the Steppes and became their highest leader: Genghis Khan. We cheered the battle scenes with their fascinating strategy and weapons, debated whether the gorgeous armor, clothing, and jewelry were accurate for 1162, scanned every inside-a-yurt scene to check out the furniture and how the kana walls were used, questioned how much of the history was correct, and thoroughly enjoyed the haunting music. It’s definitely worth seeing! (http://www.mongolmovie.com/) Thescorre’s Army Last weekend at Pax, we once again asked all of our martial combatants – fighters, fencers, archers, and throwers – who will be representing Thescorre & Æthelmearc at Pennsic to muster on the battlefield at noon. We distributed new blue baronial martial baldrics to those gentles who did not have a previous one: Peter, Gregarious, Dan, Demetrius, Athos, Ye Jian, Maximus, Valora, and Padraig. Sir Wulfstan asked for one to hang on the Hartstone banner to show our solidarity. Please contact us if you did not receive a baldric and plan to fight/fence/shoot/throw for the kingdom. At that time, we again announced our alliance with our sister group, the Shire of Hartstone to combine our heavy weapons units at War, under the command of Sir Wulfstan. As part of this alliance we have committed not only our fighters but also the support of our noncombatants at Pennsic. Subsequently, we are seeking volunteers for the following:
One or both of us plan on participating in the following ceremonies & activities at Pennsic on behalf of Thescorre: Sunday 8/3 10 a.m. - Muster at Thescorre Camp (leave at 10:15 to muster at Æ Royal) 11 a.m. - Opening Ceremonies Monday 8/4 1 - 3 p.m. - Rapier Field Battle (war point) (no muster) 6 p.m. – Potluck dinner, Thescorre Camp 7 p.m. - Thescorre Court, Thescorre Camp Tuesday 8/5 9 – Noon – A&S Display, Barn 1 to 4 p.m. – Middle Eastern Dance Expo (attend with dancers & drummers) 3 to 5 p.m. - Rapier Champions Tourney (war point) (no muster) 5 p.m. – Muster at Thescorre Camp (leave at 5:30 to muster at Æ Royal) 6 to 8 p.m. – Æthelmearc Court, Barn Wednesday 8/6 9 a.m. - Muster at Hartstone Camp 10 a.m. to Noon - Town Battle (war point) 2 - 4 p.m. - Mountain Pass Battle (war point) 6 – 8 p.m. – 7 Pearls baronial dinner & bardic competition, Æ Royal Thursday 8/7 10 a.m. - Muster at Hartstone Camp 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Bridge Battle (war point) 2 to 6 p.m. – Known World Baronial Champions Tourney Friday 8/8 9 a.m. - Muster at Hartstone Camp 10 a.m. – Noon - Field Battle (war point) 3 to 5 p.m. - Rapier Woods Battle 5 p.m. – Muster at Thescorre, leave at 5:30 for muster in Æ Royal 6 p.m. – Closing Ceremonies, Barn In addition, Katja is currently trying to determine whether the throwers & archers would like to muster & compete as a group, and if so she will do so with them. For each of the battles, we will be mustering a half hour beforehand in Hartstone’s encampment in the B blocks. For the ceremonies, we will be mustering in Thescorre’s encampment. If any gentle is interested in:
Melee Madness Directly after winning the barony’s A&S championship at Baronial Champs, Fridrikr competed the following week in the 7 Pearls A&S tournament in the Endless Hills. His lovely poem, The White Raven & The Black Lion (http://fewmet.thescorre.org/online/2008/May/WhiteRaven_BlackLion.htm) won not only the interbaronial competition but also that barony’s open A&S competition that day! Vivat! Overall, it was a great day. Eric had great fun being “royally beaten” by Earl Yngvar, Duke Morghun, HRM Khalek, and HRH Darius of the East in the melees and pick-ups, while Katja enjoyed watching the first kingdom equestrian tournament and reviewing the A&S competition entries with HRH Alethea of the East (the latter in a 15-minute-long, sideways-pouring thunderstorm sheltered under two huge umbrellas held by very kind gentles). Katja also thoroughly enjoyed playing in the field kitchen in the morning, merrily making omelets for lunch while Sadira calmly tended chickens on the outdoor grill. It was just like playing in a Thescorre event kitchen!! We topped off the day with a wonderful dinner with Yasmina at one of Eric’s favorite restaurants in his hometown of Binghamton. We noted many Thescorreans and former Thescorreans who retained or attended to TRMs Khalek & Branwyn during the day -- Orianna, Fridrikr, Yasmina, Saleem, Sadira, Olivia, Rosalind, and Kelde -- while Matilda deftly coordinated the ceremonies and court that day, as always. Barony Wars After four events in a row (Crown, Æthelmearc War Practice, Baronial Champs, and Melee Madness), we opted to take a weekend off and rest at home. We heard from many Thescorreans who had fun at Brass Ring Thing in the Hael or Myrkfaelinn’s War Practice that weekend. We praise those who retained for the Khan & Khatun in Myrkfaelinn (Fridrikr, Orianna, Ingridr, Sadira, & Olivia), and thank those who participated in the Hael’s demo (Katrina, Carlo, Juliana, Phelan, Mairead, Emily, Richard, Suzanne, Nikki, Torsten, Phillipe, Gordon, and Padraig). We note that Mairghead and Fridrikr scribed scrolls for the court in Myrkfaellin. Barony Wars, the following weekend, was a terribly hot & sticky day. Still, the melees were fun, and buying out the merchant who was selling stuffed hawks was a hoot. We thoroughly enjoyed socializing in THL Georg’s typically quirky pelican vigil, where she considered wisdom while ensconced on a (brand new, never used) toilet seat. She thoroughly enjoyed the pelican cookies the Cauldron Bleu baked for her, complete with little frog hanging out of the mouths of some of them! Once again, several Thescorreans attended the Khan & Khatun (Orianna, Olivia, Ingridr, Fridrikr, Sadira, Yasmina, Roberta, and Saleem) while Yasmina, Padraig, and Phillipe fenced with Her Majesty. Phillipe spent much of the day handing out drinks and pickles at the Chirurgeon’s tent. During court that evening, Fridrikr was named the kingdom’s newest Sylvan Bard! Vivat! Mairghread once again scribed a scroll for the kingdom for this court. Vivat! Æthelmearc Academy The following weekend, Katja traveled with Katrina to Academy in Coppertree… and somehow they used a time/space warp bubble to beat all other Thescorreans also driving to the event, leaving Rochester at roughly the same time early in the morning! It was a gorgeous day. Katja watched His Lordship John Michael Thorpe smith a blade in his forge, retained for Their Majesties, petted kittens, attended excellent classes, shared tips on making Turkish garb, played in the kitchen a little, and led a great roundtable discussion on how to plan frugal feasts & lunches. She was utterly floored and honored to be named a fellow of the Academy during that evening’s court. That court, by the way, was one of the absolute funniest in years! (Note to self: never sit through an elevation next to Daniel del Cavallo or certain other laurels…) Teachers that day included Collette (2 classes), Sadira (1), Fridrikr (3 classes), Olivia (1), and former Thescorreans Gwendolyn (3), Rhiannon (1), Rosalind (1), and Solveig (3) -- thank you all for sharing your knowledge. Royal retainers that day included Ingrid, Fridrikr, Kelda, Myklos, Sadira, and Orianna – thank you all for helping Their Majesties and the kingdom. Katrina spent much of the morning helping Sadira in her dim sum making class in the kitchen. Vivant to all! Pax Interruptus Although muggy, Pax was another thoroughly fun & relaxing event. After handing out the baldrics to Thescorre’s warriors, we socialized with friends and then Eric ran a rapier marshal-in-training clinic for over a dozen gentles. Dinner was yummy, as always, and the songs, poetry, and impersonations during dinner added to the fun. We had great fun recognizing gentles in our Court, especially publicly thanking Houses Trillium and Argent Fighting Fish for their continual service to the barony and kingdom in many ways (officers, helping out at events, creating items for Thescorre and Æthelmearc, serving in the fighting unit, etc.), and also publicly thanking our past & present baronial officers (Peregrine, Eldjarn, Steffan, Athos, and Yasmina) for their service to keeping the barony running smoothly. We also inducted Dubheasa into the Broche and Richard into the Raven’s Feather, and recognized Sara & Tony’s repeated help to other gentles that weekend with Raven’s Eggs. We distributed nifty leather medallion holders which gentles may use to attach their Pennsic medallions to their belt or neck thong in a few weeks. These useful tokens were created by Vettius and members of his household, with some suggestions by Caradawc. Vivant! We were THRILLED to accolades rightfully awarded to several Thescorreans in the kingdom Court that followed ours: Athos on attaining the rank of Huntsman in thrown weapons, Phillipe for his Keystone, Bronwyn for her Sycamore, Vettius for his Golden Alce, and Yasmina for her Millrind. We were personally touched when Their Majesties called in the entire Cauldron Bleu Cooks Guild and recognized the guild with a group Keystone for its many years of cooking event feasts & lunches and baking peerage cookies for vigils around the kingdom. The absolute highlight of the day was watching Daedez’ face as Their Majesties talked to her… and seeing the moment when it dawned on her that they had not called her in to discuss whether Moritu would fight with the kingdom but to serve her a writ for elevation to the Order of the Laurel! We thank those scribes who contributed scrolls that day: Yasmina, Collette, Daedez, Ekaterina, and Nivah. We also thanks those wonderful gentles who helped us set up and/or take down our pavilion and thrones: Eldjarn, Fridrikr, Solveig, and Caradawc. Finally, we thank those retainers and guards who attended us in Court: Eilionora, Katrina, Decimus, Vettius, Athos, and Sigvaldi. In addition, we thank Marcus for kindly switching to retaining for Their Highnesses Christopher and Morgen, who were at the event with few attendants. In other news, we note that Alina, Dubheasa, and Phelan & Mairead each moved recently. We hope that you all enjoy your new homes for many years to come! Finally, we are very much looking forward to seeing Daedez elevated to the Laurel and former Thescorrean Ekaterina elevated to the Pelican at Pennsic. Eric & Katja |
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