Now a few weeks removed from my second elevation, I am pondering where to go from here.
I have earned two peerages now in the SCA. Order of the Pelican first. Order of the Chivalry second. Both, quite suddenly I might add.
The road to the Order of Pelican was accidental. I did not purposefully seek recognition. I did things that I thought needed to be done. I did things I wanted to do. I supported folks around me doing things that they were doing. Add in a lot of time of repeating these actions and someone noticing. Viola! The Order took me in. I do feel like I earned it. I don’t feel like I trained for it… if that makes any sense. I was never a protégé. I never sought the attention of anyone in the Order. I just did ‘my thing’. Doing ‘my thing’ is the only thing I know how to do. I expect that won’t change. I’d have to deliberately turn off that mannerism, and I don’t think I know how. That part of my participation in our hobby, just doing things that need doing when I can do them, is the part I like and is the part that fulfills my SCA when nothing else has my attention.
Will I seek to train future Pelicans? Can’t say for sure. As I said, I never was a protégé. Im not sure I know how to help someone become a Pelican. Telling someone to just ‘do what I do’ isn’t very intuitive or informative. Training someone else on how to serve and be of service… well, Ill need to think on that.
Now, I am a Knight of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I am no longer a squire. I was a squire for about 34 years at the time of this writing. It was part of my identity in the SCA. That is gone. Finished. I ask myself, what kind of knight will I be? I honestly never delved into that question before. I expect I will be answering this question from now until the end of time. This achievement was a reward of pursuit. I am still the same person I was before. I am the same fighter as I was before. That idea best expressed in the movie ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ keeps coming to mind. Will I be a better fighter? Will I be a better person? I don’t think those are things I can answer for myself. Those are matters of franchise where perceptions of others set the tone. But none the less I am dubbed ‘knight’ and that means a lot of things to different people. I am not certain that I know what being a knight means to me yet. I feel the intangible weight of it. The Order accepted me for who I am now, but I feel like I need to be better somehow for those on the outside looking at me and for that matter, maybe myself. I feel this more now with the Chivalry than I did with the Pelican. I attribute that feeling to the difference in how I found these achievements. I’ll need to revisit these thoughts later to see is this perception I am feeling is true or just something ethereal in my mind.
Will I take on squires? I think I could after I have worn the mantle for a bit. I think I understand how to support and manage someone on the chivalric path. If someone comes along seeking that guidance and the relationship feels right, I will probably take them on. Time and circumstance will dictate where my path goes from here.
Am I in some sort of SCA limbo now? Where I sit now in my SCA journey is unexplored territory for me. There are plenty around me that have done the same. But this is a first for me. This is the start of a time where I choose the direction my path takes without the subtle nudges of others helping me decide. This will be an adventure of my making. Much like when I started in this hobby back in 1987, the whole of the SCA is laid before me to discover. I am in some small way, starting anew. I think I will be wandering a bit. A ‘walkabout’ is in order. I’ll get into some things I have been putting off for various reasons and maybe just enjoy not having the gentle pressure that wearing a red belt put on me. This hobby has so much to offer and my small participation in it barely scratches the surface. I look forward to whatever comes next.
I’ll see all you dreamers out there soon, there’s fun to be had.
Well met friends. Safe journey to thee!
Syr Eoin Mac Cana called 'Clyde', OP
Warden of the Northern Plateau
Shire of Easaraigh
Kingdom of Meridies
