"I remember my first event very well. It was 1995, Memorial Day Weekend, at Andy Disbrow’s land. I was brought into the game by John King, whom had attended 2 events prior. A group of us (calling ourselves The Sons of the Phoenix) had gotten together with him for months to “train”. In our own little fight practices, I could beat everyone, sometime 3 on 1. I’d like to think it was because of my martial arts training, and that certainly helped, but it probably had more to do with my weapon having TREMENDOUS whip, and my ability to control that. (plus we had some pretty hideously made other weapons. IE: Nerf soccer balls on each end of a staff. Dubbed the Q-tip of death). I remember my event well, for 2 reasons.1) I remember being killed by Jeremiah Darksparkle (a day walking vampire played by Scott Rodlin) and staying dead for quite some time, since no one in the group had money to pay a healer. I remember being pissed, since I was the best fighter, but couldn’t kill the vampire (later found out you needed silver).
2) On night 2, the group went on the night quest. However, one person had to stay and watch the fire, so it didn’t get out of control. That person ended up being me. While moping around the fire, I was approached by a veteran. He asked why I was down, and I mentioned the fire, and the lack of IC money. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a handful of coins and gives them to me. This one simple act probably kept me in the game. (this person was later found out to be Matt Spakoski)
My character was an Asian samurai type from the land of Shambala. His background is fairly simple. His father, the Emperor, was loved by all. However, when Lysis found out he was involved in nefarious deeds, he went public. His father denounced him, saying that he was merely trying to gain the throne early. Lysis fled the assassins sent after him in hopes of becoming a better ruler than his father. That’s how I entered the game. For the next 5 years or so, I was very active, hitting 25-35 events per year.
In April of 1999, Stephen and Amy Johnson, whom had been running the View From Valehaven, a paper publication that came out monthly, asked me to take over after 88 issues. The publication was run by me for many years after, and was finally dropped as a paper publication when it became so easy to run it electronically.
In 2000, a prophet came to an event and announced that there would be a trial to determine the next Emperor of the Asian nation of Teng Hua, which had been rulerless for years. To become Emperor, one needed to gain 1 of the 8 items of Regalia and present it, with their army, at the time of the choosing for a battle. The winner would become the next Emperor. After a long and grueling weekend, Lysis was victorious, by 1 point. That weekend contained some of the best roleplaying I have seen in my life.
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May 2001, Feast of Chimeron 9. The event was to be the culmination of a long plot. The event staff contacted me prior to the event to see if I would help find a bagpiper or 2 to perform during the castle siege as well as light music during dinner. I brought two good friends, and after performing for dinner, we took a seat for court. The Knights of the Eternal Flame got up to Knight someone. As they started talking, I explained to my friends that this was a BIG deal. They didn’t Knight people often, and those that they do Knight, are some of the best players in the game (my words then). I was SHOCKED when I was asked to step forward and be Knighted. It is a day I will never forget.Ever since the beginning of my Realms career, I was involved with a bagpipe band, as a drummer. Around 2001, my activity level in the band began to grow. Parades and competitions on the weekends made it harder to hit events. Then in 2006, I moved to the far northern reaches of Vermont, and that made hitting events even more difficult. However, the move brought me to teaching drumming at a high school, which helped my personal career, but made my Realms career difficult. I did start a LARP group there, which has brought a handful of members to the Realms.
Now I’m married (almost 6 years) to a woman I met in the bagpipe band community, living in Chester, VT and VERY actively involved with the bagpipe band community. I’ve competed at the World Championships 3 times, the last time taking 4th place in our division. I will be competing again there this August as well as next year. I spent 3.5 months in Japan, representing some of the best pipers and drummers in North America. My wife and I bought our first just over a year ago, and I’m now self employed as a drumming instructor. I teach a number of pipe bands throughout New England and many of my private students are pipe band drummers that take lessons over Skype. I have students as far away as Alberta Canada, Mississippi, and New Jersey. I also teach drum set and marching percussion to a handful of local students.My other hobby I mentioned above, is martial arts. I’ve trained in MANY styles, and received my 3rd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate in 2010.
I’d LIKE to think of myself as a still active player, but the reality is the couple times a year I do head to an event, it is clear that almost no one knows who I am. This saddens me, in a way, but I take solace knowing that the Realms community is growing. I may not have helped build the game in the super early years, but I was a very active participant for a long time, and I am glad that it continues to bring in new players. These players will be needed to run the game, long after us veterans are gone."
