The SCA is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. It has made me who I am today. It got me through college which I might not otherwise have ever finished, it moved me across the country and has traveled me further still. I was impressed upon as a young man that hard work and determination could get you anywhere you wanted so long as you were diligent and persevered. Before I even knew what half of Meridies was, its borders, its people, its culture, I knew that being King was something I wanted more dearly than anything else. I knew somehow that it was a matter of purpose that I accomplish this dream and prove not only to myself, but to anyone else that a 15 year old boy, son to a single middle class mother, who wanted nothing more than to be an elf and shoot bows and arrows, can grow and accomplish anything if he puts his mind to it and works hard enough. It would be years before I had trained hard enough to be ready, but I knew someday, it would happen. I also knew that winning Crown Tournament was not only a challenge of the physical, but the most extreme of mental challenges as well. I moved to the other side of the country for 9 months to do nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe SCA fighting and cross training. I was very fortunate lucky to learn from those that I did. I learned from Men and Women who were the bedrock of the Golden Era of the SCA. The first Pelican of Atenveldt, some of the original Super dukes from the 80s from East, Atlantia, West, Meridies, and all over. Many of these people had 4 digit SCA membership numbers and I had no idea until years later. I knew to be a good King I could not care for myself, but care for others at whatever cost. One thing was set in stone above all things if I were to be crown someday: The Crowns job first and foremost is to do what is best for the Kingdom as he/she sees fit. Secondly, and just as important, to inspire through action, appearance, and temperament. his was a major turning point in my SCA career, when I realized that the SCA is no longer about myself. Playing the game for others gives a whole new meaning to everything you do and sends a fresh wind into what can sometimes be a tepid sail. So I tell you now, I knew years before, and I know now through experience, that it is not all rainbows and pixie dust. But above the cloud of petty politics, rumors, assumptions, platitudes, character assassinations, and downright unpleasantness is a mysterious and magical world that reveals the very nature of humanity in its purest form. The magic of the SCA is the nebulous and intangible that we shall ever pursue. Some things are worth fighting for, others are worth dying for. The strength of a Kingdom lies in its people. Why is this? Because its people are the one day peers, the one day crowns, the always and future builders, keepers, and protectors of the society. If we do not treat each other the way the founders intended, as nobles all, then the dream is lost. The moment we separate us vs. them we have began sawing at life and limb of everything we hold dear. A hobby that is more than just a game: Its an expression of our inner 10 year old, playing with sticks and trash can lids in our back yards with our dearest friends. I tell you all, dearest friends all who read this: Keep it safe. Build, protect, and nourish the dream which grew a backyard cocktail costume party into the largest medieval re-enactment organization in the world. The SCA has grown, shaped, evolved, and it will continue to do so, and hopefully for the better. Choose rightly what winds we put into our sails and my older self, and my children someday will see the magical and mysterious place that brought us all together in the tightest bonds of friendship weve ever known. Tend well the rigging, mind the water, and for Gods sake let others help pull the sails in the right direction. And never forget that at the end of the day, what we do all of this hard work for, what we tie up so much emotion and personality into, is still just a costume cocktail party on the weekends and I pray it remain so till Kingdom come. I earned the opportunity to serve the populace whose respect and admiration I garnered with nothing but a stick and some good fortune in a tournament on an overcast day in October. It is amazing the way we select our leaders has worked as well this far. Always in service, Count Adhemar de Rouen
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:50:13 +0000