Gulf Wars XVII (part 2)

Tuesday

Dance Class
For Tuesday’s class, I taught SCA-choreographed dances. On my list were Ivy Alman, Heralds in Love, and Duchess Rhondalynn’s Pavan. Now, I must here confess that I don’t actually know Duchess Rhondalynn’s Pavan well enough to teach it. Fortunately, Lady Ginevra Brembati came to the class to be my ringer and teach the dance for me.

6-Man Melee Tourney
Tuesday afternoon I grouped with Tormod, Corbin, Rhys, and a couple of other fencers we recruited at the field for a 6-Man Melee tournament. We came out of our initial pool with a 2-2 record; not enough to proceed further. At least one of the teams that beat us (a group of “Hellhounds” from the Kingdom of Northshield) ended up winning the entire tournament, so we can claim to at least have been beaten with class.

Rapier-Archery Battle
I believe this was the second year of running a rapier battle using combat archery. I’ve been in plenty of scenarios in which we simulated black powder handguns with rubber band guns before, but this was my first time being shot at with arrows and crossbow bolts while wearing fencing armor. We fought in the ravine, and each side only had a handful of archers, but they do affect the outcome of the fight. I was also really “on” for this battle; so much that I actually stopped a push where my line was thin and got three or four opponents without getting killed before my reinforcements arrived. I hope we do this every year.

Incidentally, a crossbow bolt feels like a fairly stiff thrust from a rapier. I got a couple of bruises from them, but nothing serious.

Meridies Ball
The Meridies Ball went pretty well. This was the last of my official host duties for the war; representatives from Trimaris, Ansteorra, and Gleann Abhan would run their dance nights, and Duchess Katrina was running the Gulf Wars Ball for me. I had only a few light refreshments: crackers and cookies basically; nothing like the elaborate spread we put out one year. Note to self: if you bring “chocolate schoolboy” cookies, bring a lot of them.

more to come...