Thursday, March 12, 2015

Belts of the Eternal Flame

Angela "Dame Phoenix" Gray


Photo by Jesse Gifford



1. What year were you awarded your white belt?
            May 9, 2012

2. Who administered "the punch" and-- be honest!!--did it hurt?
            Callin/Dave Dolph and I don’t even remember because it was a surreal moment. All I can say is he didn’t hold back but I didn’t have bruises.

3. Whose belt did you wear until you got your own, and how was this significant for you?      
            Vawn/Dave Hayden who has been a long –time friend and influence both in and out of character.

4. Can you describe your own belt's heraldry?
            There is a Phoenix and a Folkestone Symbol.

5. Why did you chose that heraldry to represent you?
            My name is Phoenix and I’m in Folkestone, and I’m obviously oh so creative and original.

6.  Who did the artwork on your belt?
            Alex Sokolowski designed it and painted my original belt. That one had some durability issues so it needed to be replaced. Zach Senchuk painted the second using Alex’s design.

7. What do you remember most about your knighting?
            They knighted me immediately after they decided to because Jason (Malaki) had expressed that he wouldn’t be able to keep it secret if they waited and noted that most of the people most important to me were there. It happened at an odd time/space. It was after night quest at Green and Gold. 

            Callin called me up and kicked me out of being his squire first (which was sort of ironic since he never publicly took me as a squire). Then they had me sit down then they called me back up to get knighted. Callin gave it away instantly and there was very little talking about me (something that very much stressed Dave Hayden).  Jarrod picked me up and spun me around a lot. 

            Another funny story from after my knighting but related to it, was about my flaming shot. For those that don’t know, pretty much all the KoEF do flaming shots with Eldrich. He was trying to find me to partake of this tradition, but I already had drank quite a bit and was intent on avoiding him, running all over the event site to do so. I’d been talking earlier in the week with Kate from the Wenches Guild and knew she was bringing bread pudding to the event. I saw her at the top of the hill and she called to me that she had bread pudding. I raced up the hill to my beloved bread pudding. It was like a scene from a romance movie where everything slowed down. Then she stepped aside and revealed Eldrich waiting with a flaming shot. They did at least give me bread pudding after I did it.

8. What does being a KoEF mean to you?
            To me my KoEF belt is a physical reminder that my peers have acknowledged the value of my contributions to our community.  I also say all my belts are both an achievement and an obligation. I believe when I opt to wear it I am accepting an obligation to continue to try to better myself and others.  I extend this to my out of character life. 





Photo by Jesse Gifford