Mixed Weapons War Court Report - Feb 12th 2012

Greetings, friends, from THL Jerusha, your Virtual Herald!

I decided to make my way to Mixed Weapons War at Bumblebee Ranch kind of at the last minute.  I had modern obligations and a busy weekend ahead of me.  But I am glad I went.  I got to see lots of wonderful arts and crafts and I was able to witness court, which turned out to be a momentous occasion indeed.  You can check out the pictures from the event by Lady Clarice and Mistress Gwendolen on their Facebook pages

Clarice

Gwendolen

Court began with the court heralds arguing about the weather.  Of course, Her Majesty had to calm them down, declaring the day beautiful.  They then recessed Their court so that Sundragon could hold theirs.

Viola and Wallace opened their court with words of thanks and welcome to the populace as well as their traditional toast to the health of the kingdom and Their Majesties.  They then proceeded to have the event stewards, THL Gepa and Lady Annabel, give out their general announcements.

Following this, M’lady Noor came forward and spoke of the Equestrian community and stated that bi weekly meetings are being held for anyone who is interested in this aspect of the society.  Their Excellences publically recognized and thanked her, Lady Saragrace and Lady Angelina for all of their efforts on the behalf of the Equestrian community

Wolf Schultz was then called forth by Their Excellencies and given a scroll signed by them commemorating his achievement of the Bowman rank in Archery.  They stressed how much they appreciated the Archery community in the Barony for all of their support and participation in the event and in the Barony overall.

After that, as the Herald read the charter for the Commander of the Honor of Sundragon, His Excellency walked the crowd, looking for someone.  To the general cheer of the crown, he placed his hand on Lady Lann-Valdis O’Davorreanne and escorted her to the front.  As the members of the order gathered around, Their Excellencies spoke of this woman’s talent, service and overall commitment to the Barony and inducted her as the Commander.  They then stated that as per the Charter of the award, they were allowed to give two Commanders a year, and with that, they pulled forward their herald, Lady Nastas’ia Volkovicha and added her to this order as well.  Looking back, this was to be a portent of suprises to come.

Master Robert the Silent was made to stay after the rest of the Order left.  As per Sundragon tradition, he returned the Baroness' Favor that he had been given last year so that it could be given out again.  He also was given some flowers as a thank you for continuing to inspire Her Excellency.  Once he departed, she called up the next bearer of the Baroness’ favor, Aulus Valerius. They then recessed their court and Kingdom Court was called to order.

Their Majesties spoke of the recent announcements made about modern matters and assured the populace that the Kingdom would be able to pay their fair share and continue to nurture the various groups and events that fall under this Kingdom.  They stressed the importance of attending events, paying site fees and continuing to show the best of the Society.  This announcement earned the heartfelt applause from the assembled populace.

They then began the business of calling forth worthy individuals  to recognize and award.  First up was Leila Noor of Atenveldt and her daughter, Roana Casmilie.  They are both relatively new to the Society, but have jumped in with both feet and have found themselves welcomed and appreciated for their efforts in the equestrian community.  Leila was given an Award of Arms and Roana was made a Hope of the Sun.

Next up, Annabel Chisolm, one of the stewards for today’s event, was called forth and made a Beacon of the Desert for her service to the Barony and Kingdom.

Lady Elsa Olavintytar, current Kingdom A&S Champion, came forth to announce the winners of the Display:

Populace Choice – Lady Clarice Alienor Neep

Laurel’s Choice – Lady Tatiana Verolini

Queen’s Choice – Lord Liam McCollum

Each gentle was given a small prize and thanked for their contributions to the beauty of this kingdom.

Next up, Lady Taburo no Koi was called forth and praised for her contributions to the Bardic Arts.  Thus, she was made a Flower of the Desert.  Her mother, Baroness Viola, beamed in happiness as her daughter was recognized.

Lady Saragrace Knauf was called forth and commended for her drive and commitment to the Equestrian Arts in this kingdom.  His Majesty stated emphatically that she is the “go-to” person for Equestrian.  Becausse of this, she was awarded the Silver Ribbon in the Order of the White Stirrup of Atenveldt. 

Jacob inn Rammi was called forth and lauded for his leadership skills on the field of battle and his prowess in combat.  Thus, he was made a Legionnaire in the Guardians of Atenveldt

Their Majesties called forth the participants in the Youth Fighting scenarios and recognized m’Lord Logan of Sundragon for his victory in the tournament and M’lord Theo of Mightrinwood for his most excellent deaths on the field.  They paid the fighters with coin from their reign and emphasiesed the importance of the Youth in this kingdom as the future of the society.

Their Majesties called forward all members of the Light of Atenveldt.  As the members of the order approached the thrones, Their Majesties spoke of how in the past, the orders were called forth whenever a new person was inducted.  This usually made for a long court and that is currently no longer the custom.  However, they felt it right to call forth the order today so that they could 

recognize a new member and let them know just how prestigious the order is.  

Her Majesty went out and once again, Lady Lann-Valdis O’Davorreanne was brought forth to the thrones and made a companion of the order.  Again, the whole room cheered as Her Majesty spoke of Lann’s service and commitment to both the Barony and the Kingdom.

Finally,  Their Majesties called forth their newest flower, Lady Taburo no Koi, to present a piece for the populace.  She explained that she had started playing SCA at the age of six and that the kind words of a knight started her on her journey as a Bard in this Society.  Because of this, she has always felt an affinity for the Chivalry and wanted to create a spoken piece on Knighthood.  She went around to the various Knights in this kingdom and asked them “What is a Knight?”  His Majesty called forth the Order of the Chivalry and they sat around the throne as Lady Koi read her beautiful piece that spoke of the “sparkle in the eye” of the various knights that she spoke to and how they had so much passion for their station and their craft.  There was a thunderous applause at the end of her tale.

His Majesty thanked Koi for the wonderful piece and stated that he supported her in her research.  He then stated that he was only sorry that there was one person that she could not interview due to him not being a knight.  As he said this, he turned to his Herald, Thegn Christopher FitzArthur, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him to the front of the thrones!  The noise in the room was deafening!  Choruses of cheers, screams of joy (that was me, by the way) and shouts of affirmation echoed throughout the pavilion as the populace realized that this man was being offered his knighthood!  Once the roar went down, His Majesty placed him on vigil, and asked that he answer the question posed to him at Estrella War.  For once, Christopher was speechless, to the joy of the crowd!

With that exciting highlight, court ended and the various parties dispersed, getting ready for the evening’s activities.  I myself headed home, happy in the heart and very thankful to have decided at the last minute to come out to this event.

Next up, I will be doing full coverage of Crown Tournament, which will be held at Schnepf Farms in a couple of weeks.  Until then, Atenveldt!