[Ravensfort] Defender of the Rose

[L T]

Well done Gregor!

Sounds like it was fantastic! 

Lorraine

--- kclement at verizon.net wrote:

> 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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