Gentle Readers,

It's been a week since the elevation. I suppose I should probably write something down about it. In theory, I've been putting off writing because I've been processing. However, I haven't really been thinking about it to be honest.

One of my friends, and a ceremony junkie, did a lovely write up that in the Ealdormere Gazette. From the inside however it was not exactly the same kind of magic. The last few months have been spent making sure everything was in place, coordinating a ridiculous amount of support from friends.

Writing the ceremony was probably the hardest part. I didn't do the actual writing but I did have editorial control. Which is good as I caught a few things that were miscommunication between me and the main writer. We needed to find that sweet spot to make it clear that this was still an Ealdormerian peerage but was still something new and special. We also had to make sure that it was clear that it was a martial peerage but without cribbing from the Knights.

I believe we succeeded.

As mentioned in the article I spent my vigil going back and forth between quiet contemplation and swordplay: advice or adversary. I think I would have liked a bit more of the adversary.

The advice was fairly consistent. Many people were proud of me and pleased that I was being recognised. I was told that I was clearly doing the right things and I should keep doing them. I was reminded not to be a jerk. I was told that I now get to carry the weight of the peerage and my behaviour will be seen as typical. To be honest, a lot of it feels like being Baron. There were three pieces that stuck with me. Firstly, in your life there are very few opportunities to have a whole day filed with people telling you that you are doing good; so revel in it. Secondly, when it's your turn to provide advice at someone else's vigil, never take more that 2 min. Finally, and most important: Love more, be awesome.

There were other things, that I wish I could remember but I'll hold in to these.

After the vigil we had scheduled some time to decompress, but I think I really could have lived without it. While the day was filled with human interaction, it was mostly one on one so not as draining as it could have been.

After taking a few moments, I got my self into my new suit and it was time.

The ceremony was as we wrote it so there were no surprises except for the fact that the sword of the order got left in the car and there was a last minute substitution. Everyone had lovely words (which I will be asking them for) and it was clear to me that people carry moments of kindness with them and that, more than any words during the day drove home what this collar is really going to mean.

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur but it wss spent with friends and I couldn't have asked for more than that.

I'm very blessed by the generosity and kindness I have been shown and it's my job to pay that forward.

Gentle readers,

I'm still seeing some of the commentary about the SCA kerfuffle that's keeping me off of Facebook. There are still some good ideas floating about but they are mired in such ridiculousness that it's hard to take them seriously.

Take for example the essay I read today. His basic idea: firewall the Masters at Arms and the Chiv and open the masters up to other martial arts, is not bad. But the he started his essay off with such purple prose that it was really hard to take it seriously. The biggest one being the concept that his SCA title is outranked by his mundane one.

I find this ridiculous on so many fronts. For starters, I'm pretty sure he's not minor nobility in the real world, so there's that. Both titles are made up and assigned by an organization as a recognition of some actual accomplishment. But it's still like saying a PhD out ranks a Barony. It's just a nonsensical thing to say.

I don't mean to imply that this gentle is putting on airs or anything like that. He worked hard for all of his recognition. However, I just feel like this kind of florid, over the top prose undercuts what is not a horrible thesis.

That being said, I don't see his suggestion getting any traction as there are enough Masters at Arms who would likely see this as a degradation of their award, something that they worked just as hard for as the Chiv did. Again, as mentioned above, it's still all pretend, but some people take their pretend pretty seriously. I mean, look at how people feel about Mayors.