In 2002 the original inception of the Huntress Guild was created by Tanja "Katasha" Johnson. It was her goal at the time to give female fighters a forum to practice together and encourage one another. The following is the original email she sent to the Realms OOC mailing list, on February 6th of 2002.
From: *****@aol.com
Subject: [OOC Realms] For the female fighters of the Realms (future and present)
To: oocrealms@lists.the-realms.net
First of all, I would like to say that I do not intend the following as male-bashing or anything of that connotation...
It is a basic fact that there are very few active female fighters in the Realms. Period. I have already have spoken to a few of you about an idea that I have wanted to implement for quite awhile now, and so here I am, attempting to put it into gear...
There are many reasons why some women choose not to fight in the Realms, I won't pretend to know all of them. But what I do know is that often females are either uncomfortable by practicing/ learning from males (and vice versa), don't have the time to learn different weapon combos outside of events after becoming mages or they don't know where to go to get a little direction. Some may not understand this, but as a female fighter I know that women need to learn a little differently from men. The center of balance thing, the extra breastages thing, as well as a general lack of arm strength in comparison to men. I am not saying that we can not fight just as well, only that often it is easier to lose self confidence when my practice buddy Joe Shmo shows me that I need to swing a one hander with straight bicep and forearm muscle, rather than utilizing more wrist and loosened grip (ask me and I'll show you what I mean..). Time and time again I have ! ! observed during the One Woman at QoH that everyone takes time to stop and show one another some tricks of the trade for different weapon combos that at least one person has never come in contact with before. We always talk about how wonderful it would be to expand that interaction, but it never happens.
In regards to all of the above, I intend to offer the services of the Huntress Guild this season... the Huntress Guild will be a nonofficial OOC group that is comprised of those female fighters in the Realms that wish to make a concerted effort in the development of more female fighters. The idea behind this is to provide a period of pre-announced time during events (whether it be part of a dinner break, or the hour before the event officially starts, etc.) where a group of us will make ourselves available for fighter practice and interaction. The practice itself is OOC, so any females who would like to try new weapon combos or get some practice on old ones will have an option.
This concept is not based on saying who is horrible or who is better, it is based on a need for production and cultivation of those out there who would like a chance to do something different and have not had the initiative or an opprtunity. There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with fighting with a dagger all day long, but have you ever wanted to learn something different? Know what to do if you're an NPC or PC and have a polearm thrown your way to use? How 'bout a sword and shield? Florentine?
This is an option. Use it if you want, or don't. We'll still be practicing :)
If you are interested in participating, or have any questions, please email me ******@aol.com
Thanks for your time,
Tanja aka Katasha of Folkestone
Many years later, in 2011, Alysha "Kyntela" Metcalf relaunched the Huntress Guild for a new era of Realms female fighters. This was her email sent to the OOC Realms list on May 10, 2011.
From: *******@gmail.com
Subject: [OOC Realms] The Huntress Guild
To: oocrealms@lists.realmsnet.net
To the women of the Realms:
At the Knights of the Eternal Flame tournaments this past February I was excited to compete against several women in the One Woman tournament. Again this April, at the Coronation of King Cecil, the One Woman tournament consisted of more than just one round. It is rare that the list for this tournament exceeds a handful of sign-ups, yet the tournament season thus far has already shown promise. In my ideal world, the One Woman tournament would have just as many sign-ups as the One Man tournament, or the lines would be blurred altogether and all combatants would compete in a single One Person tournament.
To that end I am resurrecting the Huntress Guild. Tanja Johnson started the original Huntress Guild to encourage women in combat and foster a positive environment for women who wanted to learn to fight. My goal is the same. Myself and other like-minded women of the Realms want to promote combat among women. We recognize many factors that keep women from involving themselves in combat, and strive to overcome the many obstacles that face women who want to fight.
The Huntress Guild is open to all women, whether you’re a fighter or spell caster. Since the practices will be OOC, you can break your weapon restriction. The Huntress Guild will be about achieving personal goals. Whether you’re a fighter whose goal is to learn a new style, a caster who has always wanted to pick up a pike, or anything in between, our practices will provide the environment for you to do so. It will be a place to learn, as well as to teach, and it is my hope that any woman who joins us will take away something positive from every practice.
The Huntress Guild practices will be held during dinner breaks and other periods of downtime at events. We will be holding our first practice at Green and Gold XIII (May 21-22) during dinner break. I invite all women to join us for this inaugural practice. We will have further information and details available at that time, including a list of events we plan on holding a practice. In the mean time, please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Thank you,
Alysha/Squire Kyntela
Contact:
Alysha Metcalf *******@gmail.com
Jen DeNardis ******@gmail.com
One more glance back into history - this is the tri-fold pamphlet that Alysha created and distributed to announce the relaunch of the Huntress Guild. The artwork that appears on the cover of the pamphlet was created by Alysha's father, J.S. Metcalf.
This link will take you to a full sized PDF of the pamphlet
