Mike "Sir Panther the Hand" Palumbo
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| Photo by Jesse Gifford |
1) What year were you awarded your
white belt?
1995. It was the 5th induction into the order. Two others
were knighted that year, Blade (Tom Johnson) and Lars/Barrett (Jesse Perry). It
occurred at Lone Tree Scout Camp during an event called Death Bunnies 2. Jarrod
Marshal was the Knight Commander at the time. Randal the Light (Randy Gordon)
had come back from the KoEF meeting in the early part of the year and flat out
lied to me. He didn't just maintain silence, he told me that they talked about
me, but that I was not voted in, maybe next year. Blade's knighting was in April of that year,
so I went the rest of the year thinking that was it, maybe next time. October
came and I was extremely surprised when they called me and Lars up to be
knighted. Randal had kept the secret all year long, always telling me I wasn't
good enough yet.
2) Who administered "the
punch" and-- be honest!!--did it hurt?
Randal did the Punch, it wasn't weak, but I'd been hit
worse before and you always compare to the worst. It was solid and what I
expected based on what I'd seen. There's a lot of symbolism in that punch
though, with the words that accompany it "Accept this blow and no
other." All at once, it's a rite of
passage, a delivery of the knightly power (ignore one blow or shot a year), a
figurative and literal statement that you're done taking punches from your
knight, and a marker that you've earned your belt and you should take no crap
from anyone else who might question your commitment.
3)
Whose belt did you wear until you
got your own, and how was this significant for you?
Randal's. I squired to him in those first few years. It
was significant because he mentored me from the onset. Often people are told
today not to join a group right away, check stuff out and shop around, but
sometimes that leaves a person on their own to figure it out, and they head
down the wrong path, they are doomed before they start. It helps to have
someone who gets you started on the right path, someone who's able to tell you,
"no, that's a stupid idea", or, "yes, you can suggest that but the it's been tried
many time before and failed", or simply clue you in to the fact that the
I'll-bite-your-legs-off-joke may seem novel to you on the first day, but
everyone else is tired of it. Randal was that for me, as well as Sir Rob
Scarlett (Rob Riley), and I've made it a point to continue that tradition when
I work with newbies at UCONN. My goal (along with the rest of the experienced
players there) is to help get them started on the right path. If someone messes
them up later, at least I did my part ;)
4) Please describe your own belt's heraldry.
The blue stripes are the standard KoEF markings, and
the rest is, well, it's a panther. That's my character name.
5) Why did you chose that heraldry to represent you?
When I started realms, most people weren't really all
that serious about the depth of the fantasy world. A lot of names were the same
as the players (Rob Scarlett, Randal the Light, Jarrod Marshal, etc.); others
were just nicknames (Quick, Blade, Striker, etc.). Add to that the fact that I
was 19 and thought, "Hey, black cats are cool!" Randal talked me out of "The Black
Panther" and we settled on just Panther, and then at some point, there's
no going back. So when it came time to do the belt, I had seen some tattoo
artwork of a panther clawing its way up the arm. They were very popular in the
90's. Do a google image search for "panther tattoo" and you'll see them.
6) Who did the artwork on your belt?
Jesse Perry made mine according to the image I provided.
Black and red are the Southern Wastes colors, so the panther was black. There
was red blood around the claws and in the mouth but that has since faded. Only
the black remains, which as it turns out, is appropriate for the character.
7) What do you remember most about your knighting?
Every moment of it. As already stated, the surprise was
significant, but also the honor. The KoEF is a collection of the best role models the realms has to offer. It's a diverse group of leaders and being made
one of them was a proud moment.
8) What does being a KoEF mean to you?
Given that the order is both an IC and OOC order, I take
the OOC part very seriously. IC I play a corrupt and morally bankrupt knight,
but OOC the belt reflects my commitment to the community. The recognition of
that has always meant a great deal to me, even if it ebbs and flows over time.
On some level it means they saw through the IC stuff and recognized what I was
trying to do. Playing a bad person can easily be misunderstood. And the
potential to abuse the role and become a bully is easily fallen into as well.
The goal was always to bring the element of Thief/Assassin Guilds to the realms
in much the same way other groups had already done with Magic Guilds,
Feastocrat Guilds, mercenary groups, nations of heroes, militants, Gypsies, and
others. There were individuals playing thieves and assassins, but as far as
guilds go, I hadn't seen it reach quite the level of organized crime.
Ultimately, we managed to bring a new richness to the world of the realms
through our PCs.
The KoEF was founded to be a collection of role models. All
other groups falls in line with their commonalities. EHs are game masters.
Nations are about a shtick, style, or philosophy. Guilds are about a school of
practice. Only the KoEF collects the best of them all and puts them in the same
room despite their differences. Hell, it celebrates their differences. Nowhere
else in the realms is there a more diverse and varied group of leaders, with a
simple common goal. Be the best role-model.
Keeping true to that one tenant, "to thine own self be true,"
we've amassed people who bring or had brought their A-game to the realms in
ways that are hard to quantify. I'm extremely proud that the KoEF saw fit to
recognize me when they did, and I'm extremely proud of all the other quality
role-models we've since added to the ranks.
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| Photo by Robyn Nielsen |