WHO ARE YOU!

In retrospect, this should have been my first post, but I am more of a concrete person so I started with my armour.

So to fix this, please allow me to introduce myself...

Mundanely, I am a Pagan 30-year-old, a Daddy, and father of three. I was initially introduced to the SCA in 2007, and had the chance to dabble in it for a little bit, but realistically, I didn’t become heavily involved until I introduced my girlfriend into it last year, and it became a mutual passion. For me, finding the SCA was a homecoming. It was an incredible moment where I finally found a group of people that “fit” me. I was lucky enough to have been introduced to it by chance, and I haven’t looked back since.

I am primarily devoted to heavy combat within the SCA. I have always been into contact sports, and to me, fighting is the ultimate expression because it goes beyond being an analogue for war, and directly into being a fight. Everytime I step onto the field, it’s a little piece of Valhalla to me. The path I have taken so far has allowed me to compete in three tourneys: each experience taught me plenty. More important than any of the tourneys (at least to me) has been the practices. I try to get in armour at least once a week, and I have the habit of annoying my opponent with questions and requesting an analysis of my form between each match. I sincerely believe the best way to grow and improve is to understand what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong.

Off the field, my biggest interpretation of the Dream is working as a herald. I get the chance to sit with people that are trying to find themselves: not the person society has taught them they must be, but the person that they feel they should’ve been. And I get to help look for ways to achieve that! As a herald, you get to help them find and bring their personas to life. To me, the flying banners and painted shields are part of what makes the veil draw thin. They help transport you to the place beyond mundanity. If I am not on the field, you can almost always find me at Herald’s Point, looking for ways to help out.

Despite having two major interests within Society, I find that being well-rounded as a person is crucial for personal growth. Therefore, I’ve found amusement and learning in other skills as well. One of my most entertaining learning experiences focused on leatherworking: I thoroughly enjoyed making armour and belts, and it even became a bit of a profitable enterprise for a short length of time. I am now focusing on learning how to do more of the artistic things, such as tooling the leather. Next on my project list is a tooled leather scabbard for my seax, based on findings from York, and I’m currently trying my hand at writing poetry in alliterative verse, the style that would’ve been appropriate for my persona.

That is me in so many words. What I personally find much more interesting is my persona.

It is 944: the second siege of Constantinople by the Rus is happening, and the Rus control large swathes of the northlands. Rurik Ulfhamar, having fought ardently in the first siege, used his share of the spoils to purchase a ship, and with that his freedom.  During the first war, he found that he was Úlfhéðinn, a wolf skin-changer. On the field of battle, he fights with their fierceness; off the field, he gathers his friends and family around him. They form a pack, the crew of the ship, and a mercenary unit when other work is lean.

Ulfhamar is a small farmstead along the river between the Baltic Sea and Holmgård. It is here that the pack live and work during peaceful times, and spend their winter months waiting for the summer raids.

These are the basics of my persona and the blog, as it is my hope to further develop the first through the introspective discourse written in the latter.

This is a chronicle and a motivational tool to help me keep my path as far researching and bringing my persona to life. Event reports, research on aspects of Viking and Úlfhéðinn life & culture, armour that I am making, workouts & trainings, and any other thoughts that need working out. I have found that it’s harder to not to do something when in my mind I’ve formed a commitment to write about it.