David "Sir Oliver Quickfists" Martin
1. What year were you awarded your white belt?
I was knighted
in 2009 at Green and Gold at the END of Saturday night, after the koef meeting
and night quest.
2. Who administered "the punch" and-- be honest!!--did it hurt?
I was punched
twice, once by Veros and once by AEston. As for hurting, let’s just say
it turns out AEston has a pretty boney fist.
3. Whose belt did you wear until you got your own, and how was this significant
for you?
I had the
privilege of wearing two different knights’ belts. The night of my
knighting Sir Wil’s belt was used; later we would swap it for Sir Pyr’s.
Both are significant.
Sean (Sir Wil)
has been a friend of mine since I first started in ‘97. He was the
president of SMAS (WPI club that does The Realms) at the time and helped
facilitate a fair amount of my early Realms experiences…including pulling
together the first WPI Newbie Night Quest and being the Big Bad Guy for said
quest (and I think every year since). His belt heraldry is an NPC goblin
mask and it there because of his dedication to NPC/staffing/helping at
events. Something I also highly value and wish to promote. I can
only hope to give back to the game half as much as he does.
As I mentioned,
we swapped Sir Wil’s belt for Sir Pyr’s at a later date. On a practical
level, this was done because Pyr, as a KoR, had two white belts…so I could
return Wil’s to him. From a position of import though; Pyr was my direct
Liege Lord and King of Chimeron at the time. Chimeron, the nation I have
served in one capacity or another over my entire realms career.
Additionally besides that Steve (Pyr) was my friend and had been my
Knight until elevating me to the Avatars of Chimeron.
4. Please describe your own belt's heraldry.
On the surface
my belt’s heraldry is a Red Rowan Branch on a Black Field (pointed at the top
& bottom like a diamond), edged in Red….with an additional Red & Black
stripe offset above & below.
5. Why did you choose that heraldry to represent you?
My belt’s
heraldry is an amalgamation of a two IC creations of mine. Each holds
special significance to me and shaped and defined my role in the greater
community of the Realms.
Chronologically,
the first being the “Order of the Red Branch”; a Knighthood I was instrumental
in creating through years of questing and IC tasks. This was done by way
of a plot started by Kathy Journeay (Queen Meg) near the end of my Newbie
year. The purpose of the plot had been for the participants to create a
new Knighthood through in-game action. I then served as the Order’s
elected Knight Commander until finally stepping aside at the Black & White
Masquerade in 2013.
The second
creation being the banner of the “True Court of Fae”, which would become the
pinnacle of my Realms career. Through plot, my first character (Owen) was
revealed to be “Owen ap Cuchulain”, the True King of Fae. This heralded
in the “Rights of War” chapter of Fae Plot (followed by the final chapter “The
Bedlam War”).
I didn’t want
to use either heraldry directly; as by the time of my Knighting, Owen had been
retired to “NPC” status as the King of Fae. None of my other new
characters had claim to either of these symbols, nor had they yet existed long
enough to draw on for other options (all but one having been created to serve
in the wake of Owen’s retirement).
6. Who did the artwork on your belt?
Leanne (Lady
Faelin) did the heraldry for me as a personal gift between friends who had
shared many of the experiences of my journey to that point.
7. What do you remember most about your knighting?
Only two people
spoke.
AEston waxed eloquent for a good
long heartfelt while. Really told a bit of my history, both good and
bad. He tried to……
Then Jarrod Marshall spoke. He
was short and to the point, saying AESton pretty much stole all the thunder on
“this person” but that he still wanted to step forward. He expressed how
long this has been coming, that we’ve had some differences over the years but
that they were always for the better, and my deserving etc. (or something like
that…things get really foggy once your name gets called)
I remember this
the most, because of how AEston told his story (though I don’t remember exactly
what was said any more) and how Jarrod, whom I’ve always looked up to (though
oft from the opposite side of the field), stepped forward off the cuff and
offered his welcome. I don’t really know how to put it. I guess
what’s important is that it means something to me, and I know it…
8. What does being a KoEF mean to you?
Ahh the real
crux of these questions…being a Knight of the Eternal Flame…….
What BEING a
KoEF means to me is that of a great honor. It’s recognition for years of
toil, service, and a commitment to this community. It is something I take
great pride in every time I am able to dawn (sp???) the belt.
To me what it
takes to BECOME a KoEF is:
Across the
Realms Community, on the field and off, you need to….
Be a leader: be someone others look
to for advice, guidance, tutelage
Be a role model: be someone that
others look up to, take after, and strive to emulate
Serve: NPC often, marshal, staff
& throw events, teach. It’s easy to always play; however, this game
survives on the efforts of volunteers and the giving of their time.
“Command” respect, don’t “demand”
respect…and be sure to know the difference.
Remember, KoEF
or otherwise, you should be a knight long before you are ever acknowledged as
one. You should strive always to be a knight; getting knighted doesn’t
magically make you a knight. And if this doesn’t make sense… seek me out
to talk about it.
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| Photo by Angela Gray |