On the right is a Roundhouse, a housing design that has actually been used in many cultures and times (including currently in parts of Africa, I believe). This one is a Celtic one, on display in the U.K.
I've always been fascinated by these dwellings, largely because my persona and my true heart is early period and tribal. From the time I was a kid, I've been studying ways to survive in the wild or at least without modern conveniences. As I've gotten older, I really appreciate those conveniences, let me add! The Roundhouse is a great design. It uses wattle and daub for the low walls, and the roof is thatch. There is no smoke hole in the roof, because modern reconstructionists have proven by trial and extreme error, that this would tend to draw a strong enough draft to set the whole roof on fire. Instead, the extremely high pitch of the roof allows smoke to collect away from the lower living area, and to dissipate through the thatch. Neat, huh?
The roof is very heavy, so there are fairly thick posts incorporated into the wall structure to support it. There is no central beam, but there is an inner ring of heavy timbers to help support the roof.
Many of these would be clustered together and surrounded by a periphery stockade, and there was usually one gigantic roundhouse in the complex that might have been the Chieftain's house or a meeting area. These stockades were usually situated on hills or sometimes on either natural or man-made islands in lakes.
On the left is a modern canvas tent, a modified Sibley design. It is sold in the U.S. out of Austin, TX, but the mother company is a U.K. company. There are other companies selling this same model, but they're more expensive. However, they also offer more accessories .

A pavilion is probably one of the two most expensive things that you will aspire to obtain as a Scadian, the other being for some people or families, a set of armor and a helm. There are factors beyond cost in considering a pavilion, and a big one is ease of set-up. True reconstructionists, and there are many in the SCA, will not be happy with anything less than the most authentic pavilion that they can afford to purchase or to make themselves.
Miach and I were going to go the "make it ourselves" option to replace our current Regent tent from Panther Primitives because the main reason we're replacing it was to get more space, and when we looked at the cost of buying a pre-fab for the size we wanted, the value just wasn't there. Making it ourselves would bring the cost down to where we could afford it; and of course it then would add another massive project to a growing list of projects that we are already way behind on. Plus, in this case, it involved depending in some way on assistance from others with experience of making tents, and while we have people who say they will do this they are unable to meet our timeline in getting it done and frankly -- when you're doing something out of the goodness of your heart, why should timelines even be in the picture?? But we were really hoping to have more space sometime this tournament season, which is about half over now.

So, after having researched the whole thing, purchased the ultimate sourcebook on it, shopped for various canvas types and treatments, pondered the requirements for "ripping" poles from lumber, and obtaining an old metal geared sewing machine for the job............I found this gorgeous tent while messing around on the Web. And my first thought was "Bingo! Celtic Roundhouse!" and my second thought was "Holy crap, they are asking for less $$ than we were going to spend making the pavilion. And we don't have to do anything. And it will be here by June Crown." At which point, I was sure Miach wouldn't approve, so I didn't say anything and I researched the new tent for a couple of days, finding alternate sources and other companies that made Sibley-styles and comparing them. I even plotted out the groundspace of the tent, and tried to visualize if it would be large enough. One would think that two people and two small dogs and their assorted stuff would fit into the Regency 12 x 12 that we currently have, but we are very crowded. Part of this is that we have to set up a small pen inside for the dogs, and Miach's armor bag is the size of another whole person. I ended up showing my findings to Miach, who surprised me by being very enthusiastic. At which point, really, it was a done deal for us. I gave it an additional 24 hours and also asked for some advice from the SCA Tentmaking group on whether this would be acceptably SCA-ish. I can tell you that for strict reconstructionists, none of which evidently monitor the SCA Tentmaking group, it will not be. A Sibley tent is a mid-1800's tent. Plus, this one has an aluminum center pole and A-frame on the door and it has synthetic ropes. I suspect that the stakes will be hard plastic, and we'll probably contract with a blacksmith for some iron stakes. But for ease of set-up and our budget, I'm willing to go with a collapsable aluminum center pole and door frame, both of which are nearly entirely hidden from view. I may live to regret this decision if the tent is not as durable as I would expect it to be, or if it is a lot more difficult to erect than everyone who has reviewed it says it is.
I am also looking into camp cots. We currently sleep on an air mattress on the ground, but I have been inside several "period" tents that have cots, entirely hidden by bedclothes. The alternative is a relatively simple platform bed which can be broken down and transported, but it is still going to be heavier and require tools that we do not have to make one. We aren't woodworkers, thank God. And it looks like we're not tent-makers, either, again thank God. We don't have enough time currently, despite having a lot of time, to do the things we enjoy and to complete projects we have bought materials for.
We still have a box of combat arrow components that we've had for over 4 years. I have a bow that needs to be strung and have a grip and ledge applied. I have armor that needs to be rigged.
A wonderful tapestry that needs to be backed and tabs placed on it for hanging. Silk that needs to be made into banners. Cloth that needs to be made into clothing. Wax tablets that need styli.
And inside my noggin, a plan for a map to be drawn on a piece of leather. And the neck coolers that I promised Their Highnesses I'd have done 2 weeks ago.


Painting the tent will be much easier than making it from scratch, so hopefully we will get it together enough to paint it so that it really is impressive for June Crown and looks as close to being Medieval as possible. I will write an update and post some actual pictures of the actual tent when I can.

Miach is just beginning to feel normal after a virus that kicked his arse struck about 3 weeks ago. He decided to forego the Mists/Cynagua War , which was a wise decision which I am astonished that he made. I might be traveling to the War if needed to attend Their Highnessess. Messages might arrive late today. I'm hoping that they will have Saturday covered, which is the only day I can make the journey, since I worked today and Sunday is Mother's Day.
Pending projects: neck coolers for Cynagua, styli for the wax tablets that I've completed, tapestry wall hanging, silk banners, and replacement chair for the West Kingdom Heralds which I broke last year.
And the fitted dress, which I do have the pattern cut for (cotehardie). And the new Pavilion, which hopefully Medb will be working on soon.
I'm already thinking way ahead, 2 years out, when the Matrix (small modern car) will be paid off and we can afford another car payment. I'm thinking cargo van...

I drove up the mountain and picked up an ancient Sears Kenmore cabinet sewing machine. It was supposed to work, but when I got there the gentleman who had it confessed that only the light works and he's not sure why. I figured, what the heck, and threw it in the Matrix and twisted down the mountain. I might try taking it apart and seeing if it's gummed up, etc. These old machines are supposed to work well for sewing canvas tents, as their gears are metal and they're just very sturdy. However, my friend Miriam says that is not necessarily always true. But for $10, it's hard to go wrong. If nothing else, I have parts.

The Real Cmyst

The blog will be more SCA oriented, along with gaming stuff. To that end, the pictures I post will be either real SCA events that we've attended or screenshots from games. Towards the end of last year, I entered Second Life again. My avatar in Second Life is Cmyst Turbo, who lives in a castle in Inverness and also has a croft near Loch Ness. She mostly wanders around trying to find somewhat socially redeeming activities to engage in, which is not easy in Second Life, but IS possible. When bored, she pulls out the 'ol fiddle and busks at the side of the road.
I consider my mundane career a blessing, and a solemn responsibility, and often a joyful endeavor -- but it does not define me. It provides the financial support for my REAL life as a brewer, cheese-maker, silk painter, medieval hobbyist, archer, mother, grandmother, life partner, Shireling of Mountain's Gate, Hobbit Hunter and Warden, and Reaver of the Ettenmoors.

Settled

We got moved, but it was back-breaking and grueling. A lot of stuff piles up in three years. Most of it is now in our garage. We made one dump trip, and I've probably thrown out a few more boxes worth of stuff in our weekly garbage since the move. In general, the new place is a marked improvement over the old one. But we do miss the gardens. Our backyard here is a mess of dried up ceder/redwood "leaves" and weeds. It will require an entire weekend to fix it, and it's a low priority currently.
SCA stuff: The Court of Daniel and Aeschine is going pretty well. It's been an education for the likes of me. So much work to project a regal and bountiful principality! So little donated by the populace! Suffice it to say that I am making it my personal goal to try to contribute the tangible items that everyone takes for granted, the newcomer's gifts and largesse, from this point onwards to both Principality and Kingdom. I will pay my Brewer's Guild "taxes" with a much more generous heart, and will offer up quantities of small items for every Principality reign and twice yearly for Kingdom. I'm thinking, small painted cloth maps and either beaded necklaces or baubles of some sort. Maybe a "ring" made from the stretchy beading line, in appropriate colors. Maybe populace badges for the West, since they're pretty simple. I also need to replace the Herald's chair that I broke last year, which I keep forgetting to do. It is really awful the amount of money that our Royalty has to spend. My cheiftain, Morgan, was correct in his admonition to me all those years ago: the Royals really do spend a lot of time and money during Their reigns, which in itself is worthy of the respect of the populace aside from their feelings about individual Royalty or their persona's liklihood of cooperating with Royalty from a historical perspective. It has been an honor and privilege to serve on this Court, and to learn these lessons in a most personal way. I get so much from the SCA. The first and most basic level of SCA involvement for most of us is going to events, which are usually a mixture of mundane camping and SCA cultural camping. And at some time during that event, for most of us, there will be a moment of otherworldliness or a truly anachronistic experience. It is not, strictly speaking, historically accurate. But neither is it your average modern camping experience. My moments usually come after dark, when the drums and dancing begin, in a setting of firepits and twinkling lights.
There is just no way that any of us can experience that anywhere else but in the SCA, and even at a beginner's level this ambiance is truly a wonder. As one begins to settle in, one makes friends and probably begins to become interested in something. For many, it is heavy fighting. For some, it is archery. For others, it is garb or calligraphy or cooking or woodworking or brewing. For some of us, it is all of the above.
My Shire is the base of all of this, and my particular Shire is an excellent and supportive community. Having such a group is the glue that holds me fast to the SCA in general. Prior to finding ourselves in this Shire, it was our Household that kept us involved, but that didn't work as well since our Household is based out of Southern California. Finding a local community was the key to our happiness and involvement. Our Shire tries to at least have a presence and a meeting place at most Kingdom and Principality events, and that is important for newer members of the community who still feel a little out of place and lost. They can spend the entire event in the Shire Sunshade if they choose, and if they want to wander and explore they know they will have someplace to call home when they get hungry or thirsty or tired. Beyond that, they have friends who will introduce them to other people and encourage them to join in.
Believe me, it is hard to jump in to the SCA cold. Miach and I tried and tried and tried, because even though we were not finding it very welcoming beyond our Household, we realized that it was worth it to us to make the attempt due to our interests and eccentricities. We were "fringies" more from a lack of mentorship than anything else. We wanted to volunteer, and were told it wasn't needed. We wanted to belong, but we seemed to be forgotten from one event to the next. We didn't understand Court, or the process for the giving of awards. It was our interest in archery and geekery of a loosely Medieval nature that inspired us to keep trying, but it honestly felt for much of 4 years that we were banging our heads against a wall. Then we found ourselves in Mountain's Gate Shire, and it all rather quickly fell into place. We have a home. We belong. We have people to turn to in times of trouble, and to share in times of joy. We feast together, laugh together and sometimes cry together -- and that is what a community is about. And this is no closed group. When new people show up, they are welcomed in. Having been a part of many groups in my life, there are certain themes that I recognize as being common. For instance, in any group there are people who do most of the work, often because they can't say "no" and often because they truly like to stay busy. There are people who feel it is their role to set boundaries and limits to the behavior of others, which can be done in positive or negative ways. There are people who are very dramatic and flamboyant, and people who are shy and self-effacing. There are people with grand plans, and people with realistic expectations. Often, these different roles become unbalanced, and a group can become unhealthy -- usually this manifests as stronger personalities taking over more and more of a smaller and smaller community, and often wondering why they can't attract more members. Such has not been the case with Mountain's Gate since we arrived, and with luck and Grace it will continue so.
We have settled happily. Miach is now an authorized heavy combatant, an authorized missile range marshall, a Pursuivant Extroardinaire Herald, member of the Order of the Leaf of Merit, and the Order of the Friendly Castle. And I was given the Scutiferous Cynaguae recently, and intend to continue to merit it with my service.
Beyond that, we have tried to see to it that those members of our Shire that have shown their comitment and skill have been placed before the Royalty in consideration of whatever honors They feel are appropriate. Some of our Shire have gone far too many years without this recognition, and are so far beyond the honors that they are now receiving that I am humbled by their patience and continuing good will. Others have shown far more talent and generosity with their skills and time, with far less time spent in the SCA, than I had when I earned my AOA and are entirely deserving of being recognized for it. When I earned my AOA, I had really not internalized so much of what I "knew" about the SCA so the interwoven relationships between populace and Peers and contributions and enjoyment were not that clear to me. As time goes on, they are much more evident.

Turn the Page

Our landlord called in mid-December to tell us that our rental house is being foreclosed and that we'd need to be moved by the end of February. Shortly thereafter, Miach had to make the unexpected trip to Florida and he was gone for about 3 weeks dealing with his mother's funeral and his father's and sister's future plans, since they were financially dependant on his mother. To top things off, Miach was only home about a week before Winter Investiture, and since we are members of Court, that added to the stress. Amazingly enough, I did spend some calm and lovely evenings at home watching my Brother Cadfael mystery DVD's and sewing my court clothes. Everyone had left me at once: my daughter and baby grand-daughter moved back in with the baby's father, my college grand-daughter decided that since we were being foreclosed she should move back to her father's, and Miach needed to go back to his father's. I turned on classical music every night before going to bed, and lit candles every evening, and worked on my silk tunic and sideless surcoat, and watched Brother Cadfael. Miach would call once or twice a day, and we'd talk on the phone for hours like we used to do when we first met.
But soon enough, Investiture was behind us and we were staring at a forced change of residence.
The first item on our agenda after Miach came home was withdrawing the offer on the house up in Sly Park. We couldn't commit to staying her for five years any longer. Then we began looking for a rental.
It was about as difficult as it had been 3 years ago when we found this place. As much as the yard here thrashes us, we have also come to love it and to enjoy the park-like ambiance, not to mention the buffer zone it creates between us and our neighbors. It kind of spoiled us, and the typical suburban yard seems awful now. On the other hand, this house does have it's problems -- poor plumbing, poor ductwork, a funny smell in the garage and I suspect mold.
So, we compromised. We are renting a one-story house on a corner, with lovely heather in the front yard and no back yard to speak of. Just a huge, concrete wrap-around patio. It does have redwood trees. The property is on a hill, and the trees loom over the house on a fairly steep inclined side yard. There is a retaining wall. We can't see our next door neighbor at all, but the house to the rear is painfully visible over the back fence. There is another redwood behind the house, and that makes the view from the kitchen fairly pleasant. But the view from the family room and master bedroom is boring. The front room and front bedroom have nice views. Miach is going to make a den in the front bedroom, which is going to be great, because he can be as messy and cluttered in there as he wants and it won't make me anxious. And we have a guest bedroom with a pretty good view of the side redwoods and patio. There is a 3 car garage, and we have so far managed to get all the stuff we had in the shed into the third bay. Tomorrow we will be moving the garage detritus, though. It takes up half of our current 2 car garage, so we'll probably end up with one actual car in the garage, just like here. The van will live outside the third bay, near the heather. Despite my declarations otherwise over the years, we will be moving the horrid sectional couch with us. We'll trash Miach's broken computer desk, and the table I've been using will go into the brewery area of the third bay. We'll probably buy a kitchen island/butcher block storage thing on wheels from Ikea, along with whatever kind of desk Miach wants in his den. As for me, I'm setting up shop in a corner of the family room. The TV will go into the living room. We'll have to get some chairs for the dining room table, as the ones I've used for over 15 years are getting wobbly and one of them broke before Christmas. I'll probably get an actual table for a desk (vs. the heavy plastic utility table I have been using), and a new chair, and a couple of Papasan chairs or something for the family room. It won't be as bad as moving here -- we have a washer and dryer and fridge already, so we won't need those. And we got a new king size mattress when we moved here, and our older queen-sized became the guest bed, so we're set for large appliances and beds. My sons are supposed to come help tomorrow, my youngest daughter will try to come help me clean up this place afterwards later in the day/evening, and our friend Sean might help, too.
Tonight is our last night here. I remember our first night here. We actually spent it in the front/guest bedroom, because the new bed hadn't been delivered yet. I was so excited about the gardens and having so much space, but I didn't think we'd be staying much more than one year. We didn't even unpack most of our boxes, which has helped a bit now, but not much. We've bought brewing stuff and sewing stuff and garb that took up the slack. Three grandkids have been born since we moved here, and the grandkids will definately miss the gardens and pathways here. They could be very adventurous and yet still safe in a fenced in yard. We had a great Easter egg hunt last spring.
We never did buy the upstairs deck furniture I kept dreaming about, or the telescope. We never got the hot tub. In fact, the gazebo for the hot tub kind of fell apart this winter, giving the yard a forlorn look. I will really miss this place. I hope that it finds someone to buy it and fix it up again. I can't begin to remember all the places I've lived. Just in the time that Miach and I have been together, there have been 4 counting our new place. But this house is one of the more memorable. I will miss coming home to my Tudor Manor and gardens.

Rest in peace, Anne

No picture with this posting, likely the last of the year. There is no picture that can encompass the enormity of this year's losses, or the trepidation with which we face the coming year, which is likely to prove just as difficult if not more so.

My own personal security is viewed with less contentment when considering the insecurities of the world, filtering down into the lives of family and friends. Life is never static, and it is also finite. We have a limited amount of time with one another, and to accomplish our goals. Come what may, we'd damn well better soldier on AND remember to stop and smell the daisies.

Miach's mother, Anne, died suddenly yesterday evening in Florida. She had been complaining since Thanksgiving of feeling short of breath, and of having no energy. She was diagnosed with asthma and given some inhalers, but Miach felt that it was something more serious going on. Frankly, I did, too. There is nothing more stressful than a death in a family during the Holidays, especially a family like Miach's, that typically hosts several out-of-town guests (including, this year, one getting treated for cancer). Yesterday was one of the worst days I can remember, and all I did was pay for an unbelievably expensive airline ticket and offer some emotional support to a guilt-ridden and shocked Miach. Because for years, I've been enabling him to avoid doing what he knows is his lot in life: being the next grown-up. His parents worked hard all their lives to provide for their kids, and they were successful to a large degree. They were immigrants, but had both gotten higher education, and they believed strongly in the value of an education. Both their sons went to college. Miach went as far as you can go in college and got a doctorate. Their daughter followed in Anne's footsteps and became a nurse, and also presented them with a much adored grandson. And then something happened, and for each child it was a different "something". My own theory, based on my personal experience, is that for a certain personality type (of which I must be an example) so long as your parents are alive, you don't feel like an adult. Not really. Because you know that if worse comes to worst, your parents will take care of you. When my mom died over 25 years ago, I looked around me and suddenly realized that I was now the adult and 4 little kids were depending on me, and I could no longer afford to waste time.
My feelings in this matter are conflicted. I have roots and family here in California that I don't want to leave. Miach's epiphany would probably involve trying to get into a medical residency program close to his Dad, in Florida or at least along the Eastern seaboard. Having lost Anne so suddenly, he is now very anxious about Arnold. Arnold, aside from being older, also has prior cardiac problems. For years, Miach has announced that he only has another few months and then he has to 'get back to work". And I've made it as easy as I could for him to not do that, and there was certainly no financial imperative. And the longer you wait, the harder it is to explain that gap in career, not to mention that you're competing for openings with much younger people.
But now, with Anne gone, too much of a burden is falling on Arnold, and one of these grown children is going to have to step up. It really is long past time.
I will always remember Anne coming home from a 12 hour shift at the nursing home, and then cooking or cleaning for another 2 hours, until she finally sank exhausted onto the couch and promptly fell asleep. Night after night during the two holiday vacations that we took to New York, this was her pattern. Arnold worked an earlier shift, 6 days a week. Meanwhile, the rest of us shopped, or went to the movies or a Broadway show, or played video games. Anne's one vice was the casinos in Atlantic City, and this unfortunately also contributed to how hard she and Arnold had to work in order to retire. She told Miach once that she intended not to leave any money behind when she left this world, and she nearly accomplished it.
Now she can at last rest.

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.