By: Ed "Tuilli" Drummond
I was fortunate enough to be a part of the support staff for this event, so I got to see things form and coalesce into a fantastic time. The Knights of the Sable Dragon and the Wyvern College brought a great amount of experience together to enrich and improve our community. On top of that the generous folk of the Realms raised a good amount through the charity auction and bake sale that went to the Pushee family in memory of Janna.
Lets start with the FOOD.Throughout the day, we had a number of fantastic offerings that were served “tray-to-table” style to ensure our classes were able to get fed while they enjoyed the material. Min tacos, biscuit bites, chicken fajitas, and stuff croissants were all hits. The one I need to call out however for the “most fun” is the “Poutine” hash cups. Like many of the dishes, they were prepped as “cupcake tin” sized portions in wax paper. Not only were they really good, meaning that there was nearly a compulsion to eat multiple but…
There. Was. No. Polite. Way. To. Eat. Them.
No utensils, just face. You had to go “full send” on a little cupcake wrapper of taters’n’cheese, preferably making uninterrupted eye contact with the person across from you doing the same. They were glorious, delicious, and addictive.
Classes were wonderful throughout the day and despite how well packed we all were, I didn't need to flat anyone for getting unruly without a hall-pass, so that is a good indication that folk were there and ready to learn.
Combat Training sessions throughout the day, ranging from "true Florentine" with Aelias, "How to Structure your Fighting" with LukeJohn, "How to Handle Your Eight-Foot Harbinger of Death" AKA pike training with Makhta and Temorse.
There were also several trainings that were designed to help develop crucial event-holding, event-support, and community-support roles and skills. Phee ran a great class for newer adventurers on the many elements of joining or creating a nation or family in the Realms drawn on their significant experience as a fellow independent for much of their career (with color commentary from yours truly). Orion gave a class on mentorship to help folk learn how to lead and navigate some of the many challenges that come with that role. The "Feastocrat" class was offered by the Order of the Spoons own Aeston, Gwen, Mayumi to help EHs plan and execute the food elements of an event. A "Magic Marshaling" class taught by Kindrianna and Elwin to help dive into the weeds on prepping and problem solving from that aspect. Lastly, a "Combat Marshaling" class with Saegan was offered this year which I sadly missed, but have it as a personal challenge this year to work on those skills.
While on the topic of Challenges, we had sessions throughout the day with the Knights of the Realms Challenge sessions where folk can get guidance from some of the recognized top mentors in our community on how they can grow and build, both for themselves and the community.
On the practical and creative/crafting sides, we had some great garb and armor workshops, brought to us by Tarnisha and Hawthorne including inexpensive garb ideas, repair, and even a machine sewing class. There were also some great classes on both playing AND dealing poker taught by Tao that were well received and attended. Herschel taught a class on hand-spinning wool (which may have led to a personally entertaining after class discussion on the best songs to spin to). Rowan also brought in her Ranger-riffic skills to teach a pair of classes on applied herbology and how we might improve on our roleplay and immersion using the natural resources around us in the woods and fields we play in.
We also had a few performance-based classes available. From Alias teaching an "Intro to Ukulele" class, a "How to Bard Better" by Baron Diamond. We also had the ever-important classes on Etiquette, starting with Freesia's 101 level class, Phee's class on Heralding, and Kovaks teaching on “Court Manners for All Species”. No word on whether that last class included the important step of "Ensure you are sitting with the optimal folk to heckle alongside", which is a highly developed skill of several in my family.
Lore-and-magic-based skills training and information also were available, from Jean-Baptiste's "Magic of the Skyless Sea" class, to a trio of classes with Rosetta on the theory and problem-solving application of certain rune systems as well as an abridged (thankfully) history of Fae.
On a whole, we had a great turnout for this event, and I hope that folk were able to walk away from it inspired and motivated. Kelly and the event team put a lot of heart into this, and I was proud and glad to see not only it be so well received, but to see Kelly get a Fireball awarded in the wake of it all.
Thank you all for a great event, both attendees and staff, and I look forward to the next one!
Ed / Tuilli
