Frozen Warriors, 2018

A week ago, thanks to Sir Oroku, I had the privilege of attending my first event since I’ve returned to the society! We ventured to Idaho Falls for an indoor event hosted jointly by Ebonhold and Bethel (Idaho Falls and Rexburg). The frigid, icy weekend certainly lived up to the event’s name, but the elements are no match for Stygians!

The journey was filled with long chats and adventures, including petting lots of rescue greyhounds on the way to their forever homes, purchasing a new ritual dagger for my altar (did I mention I’m a witch?) at Shadow Domain, and petting lots of sea flap-flaps (manta rays) at the East Idaho Aquarium. As you might guess, there was also a lot of plotting and conversing along the way.

The event itself was a short four hours, held in a lovely gym outside of Idaho Falls. I donned my green belt for the first time and Sir Oroku and I volunteered to help with weapons checking (aided by our lovely new templates from Sir Glass, which I will review at a later date). It went very well, with few failed weapons, and I appreciated the opportunity to gain more weapons checking experience (minus missile weapons to avoid ugliness in the small space).

The fighting was clean, and we had a wonderful day filled with line fighting (so. much. line. fighting), realm battles (FOR STYGIA), and unit battles (another story for another time, but I’m pledged currently).

Unit battles: “Do you think that big shield will save him?” “Nope.”

I sparred with Sir Leaf and Squire Gaston, which was a delight. They taught me a fun new sparring game, first to 10 hits, which took the focus away from dying and more on throwing shots. It’s something I will definitely do more of in the future. Sir Leaf taught me some techniques for bowling over legged opponents that were very fun, as well as some tricks for being a short fighter.

I’m very grateful to our Idaho comrades for putting this event together and helping me shake the cobwebs loose after being away from the society and from events for so long. This was a great time and it was so good to meet new people and be welcomed back by some old familiar faces. Looking forward to many more to come!

What’s you’re favorite event? What are you most looking forward to this season? Drop a comment below and let me know! While you’re at it, follow my blog so you can keep up with all my reviews and updates!

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The 1st Tails Tunic

In a brash moment I knew I would eventually regret, I threw away all of my garb (and weapons), assuming I would never use them again. That is, all except for one. Just before my very long break, I made this tunic with the help of Sir Oroku and Master Anij (prior to reaching their full titles). I couldn’t stand to part with it, because of all the time and money I’d put into it.

I needed something warm for cool evening feasts, and I wasn’t satisfied with the selection of garb I could purchase. None of it really fit with my persona at the time (an Irish, landlubbing pirate half-fae). So, I decided to make something awesome. Thus, was born this black and green beauty.

It is constructed of an outer layer of canvas, an inner layer of stretchy cotton blend for warmth, and trimmed with double-fold bias tape. The materials rang up at about $100 from Walmart. It’s a pretty standard pattern seamed up the sides with tube sleeves. The fun comes in on the staggered, pointed tails, which are shorter in the front for unhindered legged fighting, and points in the tops of the sleeves.

The tails have since become my signature and I use them on all of my tunics. Since it was the only garb I had left, I had to fight in this for several outdoor practices this summer, and it was HOT. I’m glad that I have since made lighter garb and can relegate this tunic back to feast garb.

Nevertheless, I hope to get many more years of festive wear out of it. What do you think of the design? Do you have questions about it? What else do you think I should wear as an Irish raven fae? Have something you want me to review? Comment on this post, or send me a messenger raven! I would love to hear from you!

Guess Who’s Back?

That’s right! After 4 long years, I have emerged from the misty woods to rejoin the world of Belegarth.

A lot of people have asked me why I decided to come back after so many years. It was a suprise to me as well. Up until the week before I returned to practice in Stygia, I had no intent of returning. It took a summer visit to some yonger friends, a lot of wrestling, running around, and bumps and bruises to realize how much I missed getting my butt kicked. I’ve missed Belegarth may times over the years, but this time a switch flipped in my brain, and the second I decided to come back everything felt right with the world.

I’ve been through a lot in my absence: a couple of adult-y jobs, dancing, teaching, publishing my first novel, and all manner of life adventures. Of late, I’ve been dealing with chronic depression rather unsucessfully. I’d tried various activities, lifestyle changes, and therapy to no avail. Coming back to Bel has been better for my mental health than any of it.

I’m not saying quite your meds and your therapist and run out and beat people. For those of us with mental illnesses, our needs and coping mechanisms vary greatly. I am just grateful that I found a solution that keeps the depression monsters at bay and provides me with so much joy, exercise, and creative outlets all at once.

I hope to share my joy and  experiences on this blog, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. There will be garb and equipment reviews as often as I can manage them, as well as updates on my adventures, training tips, and whatever else comes along. Comment below, or send me a messenger raven if there’s anything you would like to see on this blog. Be sure to hit the “follow” button so you don’t miss out any updates.

Thank you for reading and happy adventuring!