Last year, I was asked to be the Seneschal for what some might have considered a foolishly small team for Queen of Hearts. I was part of team Rawlin. First I would like to say that I was so proud of all the members of team Rawlin, but I'd like to specifically highlight a memory I have of my countrymen. Stonewood was represented by Widget, Vyx, myself and our petitioner at the time Sarabi. At the last minute, Widget was asked to take over the role of RAT as our first two were completely unable to do it. I did my best to fulfill my role as Seneschal (even with my limited understanding of what it entailed). Vyx and Sarabi arrived later on and did everything they could to watch my back (as there was a price on my head for the RAT tourney) and keep an eye on our heraldry (which I can assure you is one of the most boring jobs to have at QOH).
Working together we ensured that Widget was awarded the eight of hearts, winning the RAT tourney without assassinating one single member of the other teams. He was never found out before the RATs were revealed to one another. I was only assassinated once, but it was before Vyx arrived and never again thereafter, and no one stole our heraldry thanks to Sarabi. We learned that Widget was capable of being extremely sneaky and I was proud of him for that as well. I learned things about my countrymen which I feel made our team much stronger. At the end of the event, I felt a deep sense of camaraderie and I was so very proud of our team as a whole and the Stonewood members who could attend and did their best to help out with whatever they were capable of.
Prior to petitioning for Stonewood, I had been unaligned for quite a few years. I was sad and struggling to get my head together. I took losing my first nation, Draconia, very hard. I became very close to many of its members in the short time we spent together. Draconia was quietly dissolved and I found it devastating. It may have been less so if we had gone down fighting or up in flames, but we were just dropped and forgotten. I went about my business watching out for my former compatriots where I could. I followed a few into Achoria. I was enchanted by Sir Trent's storytelling prowess. I enjoyed many a night listening to the history of the Realms as remembered by Trent. Once again I found myself homeless very shortly after that. I have no idea what happened there.
After the second time I found myself even more distraught. Nobody knew how much I loved being part of these nations and I still love many of the members of my former nations. They were my family. I roamed the Realms solo until I was attracted to Stonewood by another former member of both nations. I was introduced and I fit in well personality wise. The members of Stonewood love one another, we all genuinely care about each other. I had been looking for a family and I definitely feel that I found one. I am home. I am a member of the nation of Stonewood and very proud to be. I will fight to the death to keep my Stonewood family.