Thoughts of the Lady in the Tower

2004-05-03 - 11:42 a.m.

Crown Tournament

A VERY full event. This gets long. I put headings so you can skip the boring parts.

Friday: a LONG car ride

I arrived at Jonathas and Amalia's house just before 1230 on Friday. We had packed Thursday, and Richard and Amalia did last minute errands that morning (gas, ice, etc). Left the house and stopped for KFC, so got on the road about 1:30pm.

Once we finished eating, Amalia gave me a small stuffed bear, a "girlfriends" gift book, and a thank you card. *Sniff* What a great way to start a weekend! She knew I've been stressed and feeling down about baronial politics, and it just made me feel a lot better.

The car ride was pretty uneventful. Amalia was still beading her dress for feast, and part of the way down I started to help. I now HATE beading. Don't be surprised if I never own beaded garb.

We arrived at 11 (for some reason I was thinking 9 for the whole weekend, and I'm not sure where THAT came from). Yeah, it was a 9.5 hour drive. We stopped for dinner at a buffet place, but STILL. Uck. That definately my record for an in-kingdom event. I think the furthest I've travelled before was from Central, SC to Raleigh, NC for a University. Somewhere between 5 and 6 hours.

Signed in, unloaded, and more beading while the guys set up the pavilion. Collapse into bed.

Saturday morning: breakfast, beading, and procession

Breakfast was included in the site fee; unusual for Atlantia, but a habit in Meridies I am HAPPY to see picked up. There was some time before the procession (2 hours?), so more beading; then off to the field.

It was raining, but it let off before the procession. First, Amalia had to sign in at the list field. I went with (Baroness isn't supposed to carry stuff). The MOL asked for her blue card and she said "My lady has it," and I handed it to her. Just a cool LiW moment for me.

We chatted while we waited for our turn. Kaolin gave me a few kind words about baronial drama, and made me feel better. She's fun and calming. Brought a smile to my face.

I'll say, we were the splashy-ist group out there. Most groups picked drab shades of their colors (forest green, navy blue). Only a few had bright colors, and Dun Carraig's red and white REALLY stood out.

The procession, itself was a bit nerve racking. Everyone's watching! Especially once Richard opened his mouth; he was EASILY the loudest herald of the day (and the only one really able to be heard by any except royalty, which sucks to the populace).

The procession: Richard heralded. Daireen, Kaolin, and I (as Ladies in Waiting) threw red and white roses. Then came Jonathas and Amalia (duh, the B&B). Brandy (Daireen's daughter, age 7) and Matthew (Kaolin's son, age 5) carried Amalia and Jonathas's cloak edges. Theron (as heavy champion) carried the barony's Sword of State and Jonathas's shield. Zack (a newly authorized fighter) carried Jonathas's helm. Tracy (Daireen's daughter, age 12) carried the box with soil from the yard of someone instrumental in founding the group (mind's blanking on that, too).

The tournament Jonathas was out in two rounds, but he did really well. His favorite weapons form is two sword, which is HARD to fight against sword and shield in a confined space.

It was amusing that he drew Sinclair in the first round, since he's from Falcon Cree and Richard used to fight him all the time. Richard tried to help, but Sinclair was looking Really Good on the field and made it to the semi-finals. Congrats to him!

Next round was Sir Corby. Jonathas managed to take his leg! Yay for him. Still was out, though. Richard introduced him to Duke Olaf, who's one of the few people who has been able to go out on the field with two sword and consistently win.

Richard and Ollie were good friends way back (Ollie knighted Richard, in fact). Ollie trained by running 5 miles, and then 5 miles BACKWARDS, throwing sword blows the whole way. Ouch. I'm tired thinking about it.

Met Apollonia and Generys! Definately must sew with generys, she looked lovely. Apollonia seems a sweetheart.

Post-Tourney We straightened up a bit, but there was still beading to do. Amalia and I beat it to the cabin, and the guys started to pack. Until Jonathas told Richard there was a chivalry meeting. Richard offered to skip it and help, but Jonathas told him to go.

I'm glad he did. For once thing, Dun Carraig got especially mentioned as having a great procession. Yay us! Having the B&Bs fight isn't a bad thing; they have so many more resources to pull on to spiff stuff up.

They also talked about chauvinistic attitudes towards women. NOT accepted in a chivalry candidate, according to the knights present.

Skipping Court, Feast, and Dancing FINISHED beading, but we were fried. There was showering, resting, chatting, and finally we wandered down to the feast hall. A&J went to see the end of court, but the rest of us chilled in the hall and rested our weary feet. Chatted with Sinclair, too.

Feast was decent. I'm with Dame Anne about the chicken livers. EWWWW. There wasn't anything spectacular, but I left pleasantly full. Not easy for such a picky eater, but we threw Atkins out the window so it was easier than it may have been.

Best and worst tomorrow.

Update: Forgot! I have pictures! (click on Crown Tourney).