So a week ago Saturday was Crown Tourney. Most of you have heard the results, but let me say: that was a bloody exciting day. It was the deepest Crown list I have ever seen, with a bunch of heavyweight contenders trying quite seriously to win. It's a credit to everyone that they kept it clean despite the intense competition.
We started off the day by herding cats, as usual -- since Brigantia couldn't be there due to illness,
Like I said, the tourney was deep, with a remarkable array of royal peers and chivalry. Not everyone seemed to be serious about trying to take it (I was quietly amused at Brian fighting various esoteric weapons forms and *still* tending to win: he's scary-good), but it was clear that a bunch of the entrants were focused and determined. I honestly thought it was a preposterously uphill fight, but as the day went on, I started to realize that Edward was making his way up the tree quite steadily and confidently.
I got to herald Edward and Marguerite into the finals, and it was probably the scariest thing I've ever done in the SCA. I mean, I've heralded Royal Courts before, but there was something just plain higher-stakes about this: a sense that I mustn't screw up, lest I jinx the way Edward was shaping reality around him. (Worse, I was facing D. Sebastian, a far more flamboyant performer than I, who was heralding for Duke Lucan.) But I didn't trip over my feet, nor screw up *too* badly on the lines I'd quickly composed in my head, and I clearly didn't jinx things.
The rest of the day was a bit of a blur (moreso as it began to sink in that our plans for the next year had suddenly altered a *lot*), but there were a number of other notable points, especially the food. The dayboard, organized by
So overall, it was a fine day. The weather wasn't quite ideal, but for a fall Crown it was really pretty good (a bit drizzly, but unusually warm). It was a day of seeing my friends do great things, and there's surely little better than that...