Friday, November 14, 2008

The Lady of the Swan and Me

I like cheese. And good ale. And bread.
Perhaps it is the mystery of the symbiosis between microscopic and macroscopic in these foods that makes them so fascinating to me. Those of us who brew often claim that it is easy, but in reality it is not. It takes a lot of physical labor, even without growing or malting our own barley. And you can start with something that you believe to be a wonderful idea, and end up falling far short of the vision you held. You are at the mercy of the microscopic adjuncts, those invisible co-creators who begin to grow and multiply in the environment you have given them.

The SCA has guilds for brewing and cheesemaking, that encourage and instruct members to attempt to be as authentic as possible in their hospitable tasty endeavors. I joined the West Kingdom Cheesemakers' Guild when the Lady Aeschine Colquhoun revived it. So far, I've made cream cheese and neufchatel. I have the bacteria and molds and trays to make Brie, but I haven't tried it yet because it needs stricter temperature controls. And Lady Aeschine is also in the West Kingdom Brewers' Guild. We have never actually met in person, but we have exchanged email messages on the lists of both guilds, and obviously share a love of fermented foods.

Now, as you may recall, my consort Lord Miach of the Shire has been practicing his western martial arts prowess in the last few months. This has proven to be a real Godsend. It has encouraged him to do that male bonding thing that I really think most men need in order to be mentally and emotionally healthy. It has also encouraged him to be more pro-active in taking care of his physical well-being. He has developed muscles! And he has actually gone to see his doctor and gotten routine tests, which is kind of a miracle. For years, I've worried that he doesn't get out enough and that he doesn't have any social contacts beyond family. That worry is now a thing of the past, as he's become quite the social butterfly in the past year, since we became a part of the Shire of Mountain's Gate. As you may recall, we had been in the SCA for years prior to moving to the Shire, and we had mostly concentrated our interest in target archery and our household and close friends in the Kingdom of Caid. We had tried to fit in to a couple of other local groups, and it just didn't work out. As time has gone on, I have come to realize that the reason it didn't work out is because social events in the greater SCA all tend to revolve around Court, and Court revolves around tournament armed combat. As target archers, we were literally and figuratively on the far borders of any SCA events. Really gifted and dedicated craftspeople can get a toehold into the upper echelons, but that kind of skill and devotion is hard to develop. We tried. Miach continues to work on his Illumination skills, while I've really slacked off on my calligraphy. Miach actually won the Kingdom cooking award at the first Kingdom event we attended. And we've always been willing to volunteer for things. We probably got our Awards of Arms due to all the privies that I cleaned and meals that Miach cooked in Caid, not to mention his willingness to help out at all sorts of archery events and even to host one in Golden Rivers. But a true sense of community and friendship always eluded us until we landed in Mountain's Gate, and the smaller and more intimate group allowed us to feel that we belonged. Even at Kingdom level events, the Mountain's Gate sunshade and encampment gave us a base to hang out at and to welcome other folk into. Our contentment grew, and since there are two Knights and a Baron who are well-versed in armed combat in the Shire, and our Chatelaine is a gifted metal worker, Miach soon had a helm and shield and sword and was attending fighter practices regularly. I knew he was hooked the day I heard the epic heroic soundtrack from the "Conan" movie playing loudly, and found Miach on the exercise bike in the garage in full armor, swinging his sword.

Miach's first foray into competition was at the Golden River Pas D'arms, where he made a reasonably credible showing and exhibited a little flair for the dramatic as well. I got to carry his banner during the introductions. He had also fought as part of a group, and as a combat archer, in the Cynagua/Mists War. He had gotten some good critique and advice, and God knows he took it to heart and practiced. He also began attending fighter practice in Golden Rivers, where there were more fighters, and higher level fighters (including the current and many former Princes of Cynagua). So, at Fall Coronet he felt he was ready to actually enter "The List" (officially competing tournament fighters). He did really well, considering he's been at it for less than a year. One of the fighters he engaged and lost to was Lord Daniel de Blare, who fought like a crazed hypermonkey and just knocked the socks off everyone there, including one-shotting Sir Richard de Camville.
Lord Daniel de Blare thus won for his Lady, who is Aeschine Colquhoun (from the Cheesemakers' Guild), the title of Lady of the Swan and Crown Princess of Cynagua.
Now, this is awesome for many different reasons, but one of them is that the Lord and Lady of the Swan live in the Province of Silver Desert, which is on the far Eastern border of Cynagua. The Silver Desert folk are constantly trekking into the Central Valley of California from Nevada in order to participate in principality and Kingdom events. In Mountain's Gate, we're further away from most of the main sites for events than much of the Principality or the Kingdom, so we can relate. Miach and I were truly very pleased with the outcome. It would have been interesting if Sir Richard had won, but he's won before and he has squires and peers and all sorts of support. He used to live in The Mists, too, and that is pretty much the original SCA group. We would have offered our support, but he wouldn't have needed it, I think. (It should be noted that Sir Richard made a very impressive comeback from a bout of illness and just all-around horridness that would have likely thrown a lesser man. He nearly won the Coronet, surprising himself more than anyone else, it would seem.)

So with much goodwill I congratulated the Lady of the Swan, Her Excellency Aeschine, and revealed that Miach had enjoyed his bout with His Excellency, Lord Daniel, and offered any assistance in their endeavors.

Which is how I came to be invited to be a member of the Court of the Lady of the Swan. There is no running from the pointy hats any longer.