Continuing my new adventure with the SCA, this past weekend I was able to participate in a pretty exciting thing – a friend of mine was crowned Queen of Ealdormere. She’s kind of a big deal now, and can do the whole “Off with his head!” thing if she’s so inclined. Mind you, she rocks a viking flavour, so she can pretty much remove whatever heads she chooses anyway. This was a pretty big deal for me, especially since it was the first event I was attending after registering with the SCA as Graham Day (Yes, no matter where I go, apparently I’m still G’day). Losties Natalie and MortymerXT also attended, along with pal Kat.

The empty thrones await the Morning Court, which would see King Trumbrand and Queen Kaylah stepping down so the Prince Steinnar and Princess Lidr could ascend. The red lighting was moody as heck, though made most of my photos of the Court look like they were taken by a potato.

Spearmaidens flanked the court.

King Trumbrand and Queen Kaylah, who reigned over my first SCA event, discuss the dismissal of their Champions and thanking those who served during their reign.

I’m afraid I still don’t know everyone, but I believe this gentleman was the Queen’s Champion.

As a photographer, it’s important to know how to make good use of light, such as holding up a candle so the Oracle can read the bone.

The Prince and Princess present themselves and await their new hats.

New Hat Day! Wassail!

Their Majesties consult the Herald, so that the various and sundry orders of the realm might approach and swear fealty.

Fealty oaths involve a dirty great sword, placing of hands, and a reciprocated promise.

We also witnessed the passing of the torch for some of the other offices of the kingdom.

The Oracle predicts a prosperous reign… and war…

When you’ve got a big, booming voice, you get to lead the court in singing one of Ealdormere’s anthems. I don’t know any of them yet. All in due time…

Percival and Christiana have adopted me as one of their own, and are super cool. Anyone who argues, I’ll glare at most intensely.

As I understand it there are essentially four martial categories in the SCA, of which fencing is the stabbiest.

Lostie Natalie came to the Coronation to get her stabby on. At every such event, all of your equipment has to be checked to ensure that it’s safe for both you and your opponent. Also so the wavy side of your dagger can be admired.

Lostie Natalie competed in the Champion’s tournament, facing off against some of Ealdormere’s finest…

And also in the “Bear Pit” where you keep fighting until you lose, and then you get back in line. It was a continuous string of stabbery!

She also had the honour of dueling the recently retired Queen Kaylah (now just Kaylah, I guess), who’s pretty frighteningly capable. I’m really glad I was able to set this up for Lostie Natalie.

When you get poked in the leg you drop down, because, well, the presumption is that you can’t stand/maneuvre, but it’s not over yet….

And then you stab the other guy in the leg, and suddenly you’re having a violent version of a Japanese tea ceremony!

Her Majesty Approacheth!

“I’ma throw these, orright? No one arguing? Good.”

The field is yielded to Their Majesties, for the flinging of axes.

Those wooden target butts didn’t know how honoured they were.

And then someone handed me an axe…

I freely admit I was pretty lame, but then, this was my first time throwing axes…

THUNK! Take that, pictures of spiders!

Lostie MortymerXT and pal Kat have matching blue garb! Pretty sure the glasses are period accurate too.

I didn’t make it out to the Archery field, but I did get to watch some of the Heavy Combat.

All the weapons are rattan, but they’re not limited to swords. Polearms are also represented.

The noise of combat was… very noisy.

Inside the hall waiting for the Afternoon Court is a great time for folks to catch up, share tales, discuss projects, and otherwise look pretty sweet in their garb.

The SCA’s time period covers about 1000 years of history, so there’s a lot of room for variety, and it makes for some awesome visuals.

King Steinnar and Queen Lidr named their new Champions and passed out awards recognizing the efforts of assorted members of the kingdom. It’s neat seeing someone being recognized for their service and their deeds.

Queen Lidr considers whether or not to have someone’s head removed. Or, she may be thinking of doing a Gilmore Girls marathon when she gets home. I really have no idea.

The Feast was awesome… but the only pic I took was of the Bread Pudding. I have no idea. I ate a bunch of it. It was yummy in my tummy.

With my hat I’m a Cowboy Viking! The lovely lady on the left there had an awesome hat she’s not wearing in this pic, but her gown has a bunch of Gallifreyan symbols embroidered on it, because awesome.

And while I didn’t win any tournaments (I didn’t compete in any) I did pick myself up a little something to join my collection of Ronan’s on my desk at work. Because nerd’s gotta nerd.

The Coronation was a lot of fun, with some great pageantry, new friends, good food, and apparently throwing axes. The SCA has been a grand experience for me so far, I look forward to my next adventure.