swordmage | Estrella War 2006 (Reply)

So, as you lot know, I was out of town for the weekend at Estrella War. It was my first war, and completely and totallyn worth it all. I had much fun, and it was overall just totally "Woot!" crossed with "Squee!."

So, we left early Thursday morning. I drove up with Nicole, and all was good. When We got up there, we set up tents in our campsite, which was a bit of a way from merchants row and the fighting fields. But apparently the Baron of Tir Ysgithr (which is Tucson) had said our Barony would camp there, and as St. Felix (UA's group) camps with Celestial badger (headed by the current Seneschal of St. Felix), we were there.

Actually, it wasn't at all bad of a spot. And quite easy to find, as when you saw these, you knew you were nearby.

At night, there were little lights on the tops of the poles that blinked. We joked they were calling to the mother ship.

So we got there, set up tents, I changed into something more suitable, and then headed to Merchant's Row. More like Merchant's Sector, as there were multiple rows and lots of merchants.

This is what it looked like early in the morning (as in about 9 am). I took these on Friday or Saturday.

We got there, and I found the vendor I wanted to buy apron dress pins from. I ended up getting pins, a cloak pin, and a Hammer of Thor amulet from him.

Me and one of the pins. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy fooling aorund with self-portraits on dad's digital?

While walking around merchants, I saw a woman with a falcon, which of course meant I had to ask for a picture.

I saw two falcons and a hawk over the course of the weekend, as well as several birds. Below is a man with a cockatoo. I also had a picture of a young African Grey playing with a tassel on the dress of the lady he was on, but it accidentally got deleted.

And of course, any pugs I saw required pics.

These are the "Pugs of War." Seriously.

And this little guy was just plain cute.

All in all, Thursday was a great way to start out the War.

Then came Friday. Woke up relatively early, had oatmeal, and found out the Baron had been by asking if we'd be joing in the march to the field. Which we did. So we gathered at the Baronial Pavillion along with a number of others.

So all the fighters gather, and we start our way through the camps. In front of us (St. Felix) are most of the hardsuit fighters as well as bagpipes, drums, etc. We wind our way through a bit of the campsite, and end up at another camp. After getting some more fighters there, we continue through the area towards the rest of where Atenveldt (that's the Kindgom Tir Ysgithr is part of) was camping. And as we go, the procession gets longer. And longer. And longer. We also picked up some more bagpipers and drummers. By the time we got to the field, the group was massive. The King got up on some hay bales and made a speech. I lack pics of him (and the crowd), as I accidentally kept hitting the power instead of the shutter on the camera. But at any rate, I've got a sort of pic of the people.

And Sorcha (whose name spelling I think I just mangled), in the lower left is holding a Tir Ysgithr banner, if you want to see out crest.

Then the fighting started. This went on all weekend. The following pics are a selection from Friday and Saturday.

There was also a siege tower.

And a ballista.

I didn't get pics of the other siege weaponry, rapier fighting or archery. But it was all there.

There were a whole variety of time-periods represented, including Greco-Roman.

This is Delta.

And some I saw walking along King's Road.

Friday of course, involved more time spent on Merchants. I became addicted to Honey Root Beer and Birch Beer. Both made by these fabulous people who have created something too evilly addicting for words. Suffice to say that their refill policy completely rocks. I'd picked up a mug on Thursday, and got a drinking horn on Friday. the horn can't hold hot drinks (pity), but it's perfect for a viking. *grins* I was also cold during the morning, and so borrowed Domnall's cloak. Which was large, fur lined, and warm. Now I know what I shall do with those five yards of fur I bought when it was on sale at Joanne. (I'll need a larger/heavier clasp, but that's fine).

Saw this sign on Merchants, stuck in a hole. There're gophers on site, and so you need to keep an eye out for holes. Apparently they also have been known to pop up under tents and keep going, leaving a nice hole in your tent and, if you're using one, air mattress.

Also, the pump on the hand sanitizer stopped working. So, after my unsuccessful attempt to plead with it, Domnall admonished it.

Nights saw everyone around the fire. Conversation was quite amusing, ranging from SCA stories, to the story of Zizzy Huzzah-girl, to the mechanics of magical detection in the Harry Potter universe.

'Twas pretty.

Mornings tended to be the same.

Friday night was the Grand Ball, which I went to with Nicole. It was lots of fun (but none of my photos came out that great). Those who know me in RL know I don't dance much. But I did here, at least 3/4 of the dances (if it was beginner, I danced it, with I think one exception). Master Nikoli, the dance master, was very funny, and, while it took me a bit of time to get the hang of them, my partners were perfectly fine with it, and treated me as if I was a better dancer then I really am.

Part of the fun was walking around and seeing the other camps.

These two were right by us.

And these two were in the same general area as us.

I would have liked to go and visit camps other than ours at night, but to be honest, I was usually too tired. Next war, I intend to do just that. Nights were really nice. Apart from the cold, I usually fell asleep to drumming and sometimes bagpiping. And the occasional dogfight.

Saturday was a very nice day as well. I picked up an arctic fox pelt, who I intend on making into hat trim. That said, in the meantime, he (now dubbed Squooshy) will reside in my room and have fun.

With Fluffy the Celestial Badger, mascot of the Celestial Badger (who I camped with).

Because of the way the pelt is, I can stick my hand in it like a puppet.

And he's warm to boot.

Saturday also provided some interesting sights, like this puppet knight.

I should mention, Fluffy's got a following, called the Harem. Here're a few of them.

And I remembered to take a picture of this shield, which had been hanging out beside a tent most of the weekend. It's a squid, and I just thought it was rather cool.

There were also lots of kids, and the campsite had playgrounds, so you'd see them all gathered fighting.

Then came Sunday, which meant packing, a final stop at Merchants to refill up on Honey Root Beer (finished off already) and Birch Beer (which I'm drinking now), and we were off.

Verdict? Exceedingly fun. I'm glad I decided to finally get around to joining the SCA.