I went to November Coronet Tournament a few weeks ago. The event was hosted by Myrgan Wood (Saskatoon). Dirk chose to stay home with the dogs so I drove there with Slava and shared a hotel room with her and Kataryna and Rosaline. I brought along some garb to sell, and some largesse for a competition, and a (finally finished!!) dress for Eyoddi, and new fighting clothes for Gunther.
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| Eyoddi's dress, with Laura's embroidery on the sleeve |
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| Gunther is pleased with his new fighting garb |
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| Back view -- obviously made for a winner! |
Garb sales were disappointing and the feast was…. forgettable, but the rest of the event was definitely exciting!
The King and Queen were in attendance because one of the heavy fighters would be knighted. (This was no surprise as he had been put on vigil.)
Right from the start, Gunther said he was planning to win the tournament. He did not fight for Eyoddi this time (she's rather busy with her own boys and the day home) but chose a friend named Amethyst to be his inspiration -- with Eyoddi's approval, of course). Amethyst was given her AoA (award of arms) on the spot because Royalty deemed it inappropriate that a potential princess might not be a "Lady".
Well, Gunther fought with determination and won the tournament. His opponent in the finals was knighted on the spot. Another knight was unexpectedly inducted into the Order of the Pelican. Apparently Their Majesties enjoy making Peers!
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| Victory lap! |
Court was long. Many awards were given out. I was one of the people called up to be recognized for contributions of largesse. That was fun; the Queen spoke very kindly to us.
Then I made my way to the back of the hall where the light was better so I could do some last-minute hemming on Eyoddi's dress. I was vaguely aware that the members of the Order of the Pelican ("the Pels" for short) were called up. And then I heard my name called out by the herald. The next few minutes were a bit of a daze…. and then I was put on vigil to be elevated as a Pel at Yule Feast.
Me? On vigil? As a Pelican?
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| There I am in front of King Styrkarr and Queen Stjarna, with Tanist (prince-to-be) Gunther and Tanista Amethyst looking on |
Court continued. I did not give as much attention to Erik's knighting as I had planned to.
Reality hit me when I stepped outside to load all my stuff into the van. Not only was it cold -- there must have been six inches of snow on top of everything! The ride back to the hotel was slow and tense because it was difficult to see where the road was.
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| That's what the van looked like when I parked it at the hotel. Brrr... |
Once we were back in the hotel my roommates helped me celebrate with a glass (or two) of wine. Funny how I always seem to take some wine along on these trips. I called Dirk to tell him my news but he had already been told about it that afternoon. I found out later that Jodi had known about it for over a month!
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| "Here's to the Bird!" Rosaline and Slava were already out of garb; I only got as far as removing hood and belt |
Three weeks to consider what this means and prepare for my elevation….
