[Ravensfort] Defender of the Rose

kclement at verizon.net kclement at verizon.net
Thu Nov 10 21:50:50 PST 2005


Greetings to all of Raven's Fort.
Gregor here.  I attended the Defender of the Rose event last weekend, so I 
thought I'd let everyone know what happened.  

This report should be the next Quoth, but in case anyone wants it sooner, or 
doesn't get the Quoth, I'm posting it here as well.

This is my event report on the Defender of the Rose event that took place Nov 
4-6, put on by the shires of Shadowlands and Emerald Keep.
All in all, it was a wonderful event.  With everything else going on in the 
society and the world, (a brand new kingdom for one), there were some 
communications and scheduling problems.  An event done by committee can be a 
messy thing, even if that committee is composed of some of the brightest stars 
in Ansteorra.  Still, the Autocrat, Lord Thomas, did a fine job of herding all 
the right cats (his co-autocrat was called away on mundane business), so 
confusion was kept at a minimum.  Having arrived early on Friday, I did my 
best to help the volunteers play catch-up as well.
One of our problems was the wind.  While not as annoying as a nice, bone-
chilling rainfall, the huge gusts kept everyone on the lookout for falling 
Kansas farmhouses.  I had the interesting experience of holding on to a wind 
wall pole and being almost dragged into the woods (the wind wall was later 
abandoned as one would an underwater sand castle).  The weather otherwise was 
very agreeable, not nearly as cold as some feared.
While I was not at every event, I can comment on a few.  As far as I could 
tell, the entire weekend went on time from start to finish, mostly due to the 
efforts of the “Rose Enforcer”, namely Master Modius.  His look of displeasure 
was enough to keep everyone motivated. 
The rapier list went very well.  As one of the field heralds, I had a good 
view of some spectacular fighting.  Fighters from many baronies were there.  A 
clash of Dons by the dozen entertained nobles and good gentles alike.  I kept 
calling it “Lord of the Dons” until several of the fencers reminded me that 
they were armed.
Besides myself, there was another “Raven’s Forter” in attendance to make our 
barony’s presence felt.  Lord Plachoya Sobaka stormed the Archery competition, 
coming in a close second to Master Pug, in a large number of competitors.  In 
fact, one particularly difficult round entailed shooting a rabbit target, and 
Lord Plachoya excelled over all the rest, bagging the little furry rodent in 
the eye (to the tune of many in the crowd singing “Kill da Wabbit, Kill da 
Wabbit!!!”).  
My own competition, my beloved Bardic, was also as much fun to watch as to 
participate in.  I made the final round, but made a critical error that may 
have cost me the contest, although the winner, HL Katrina of Coventry was on 
fire with her performances.  Still, I can dream, can’t I?
There were other entertainments as well.  The Baron’s Men put on a exceptional 
performance for us, doing a play that seemed almost like a Shakespearean 
production performed by the cast of Napoleon Dynamite.  There was audience 
participation (everyone got their own vegetables to throw) and the play itself 
had the energy of improv with the skill of carefully honed rehearsal.  
The bardic circles were also an exciting staple of the weekend.  I attended 
the Saturday night circle and was regaled with wonderful songs and poems and 
heard a story that I’ve already decided to steal (the ending is a pun!  Whoo 
Hoo!).  We were all tired, so I decided to leave as soon as the circle got 
boring.  This was, of course, my mistake.  Many, many hours later, I was still 
enraptured by the tales of Lord Gerald, HL Katrina, and several other artists, 
whose names were unable to lodge successfully in my exhausted brain pan.  Then 
Duchess Willow de Wisp showed up.  Her Grace had been in fine form all 
weekend, but Duchess Willow was truly in her element as the fire burned and 
the stars shined.  
I regret not having first hand information about more of the events of that 
crazed weekend.  I was told that the Equestrian event went wonderfully 
(despite one horse making a break for it).  Also, the Heavy Fighting astounded 
the assembled crowd (the final bout went on for nearly fifteen minutes

no, 
really, I’m not kidding).  The A&S display was breathtaking as always, with 
scrolls, woodcuts, and many other fine achievements.  I was not able to 
partake of the feast due to dietary restrictions, but it was an impressive 
display and the moans of happiness from the diners spoke volumes.  
The Rose Courts were all very entertaining.  The assembled duchesses, 
countesses, and of course, Her Highness, were a veritable Greek chorus/ Peanut 
gallery of information and enjoyment.  In a daring move, the final court was 
on Sunday at noon.  Not surprisingly to most of us, though, there were still a 
large number of people there to hear the last words of the Ladies.  On a side 
note, the final court is where it was announced that there is a new Gulf War 
commander for Ansteorra.  Don Robert stepped aside to let Don Iago have a 
chance to suffer

that is, enjoy the position.
As I said, all in all, it was a fine event.  I’d vote for shower facilities 
for next year, but the flushable bathrooms were a fine thing.  The event was 
well run, most problems were fairly transparent to the populace, and the 
Ladies of the Rose were a cornucopia of praise, enthusiasm, largess, and 
inspiration to us all.  Everyone is to be commended.  
See you there next year.
Gregor 





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