2004-01-28 - 3:09 p.m.
(warning, it's another internal soul searching entry...if that kinda stuff bugs ya, move on...now...you've been warned)
So....where am I?
Once upon a time, someone said to me 'Gorm, you're just on a different path to your Knighthood'. Of course, that was back when I fought more than a handful of times a year (hoping to get back on that track this coming year).
So, where *am* I now? If we buy into the "Roads to Peerage" metaphor (or is that a simile...I can never keep those straight...), what paths am I pursuing, where am I on those paths, and how do I get from here to my goal.
In the SCA there are three "Peerages", and a number of other ways to "Top Out" at other specific track (becoming a White Scarf in Rapier, for example). Generally, to get to that stage requires a fairly single-minded devotion to that path, or at least, a heavy devotion to a smaller number of paths.
Me, I'm a utility infielder,a Jack of all Trades, Master of None, or a dilletante, depending on how positively you view things. Utility infielders never make the Hall of Fame. Likewise, Jacks of All Trades rarely get peerages (unless they *excel* at everything, then they end up multipeers...and I don't even dream of that).
I fight heavy, but I will never be a Knight. I don't have the devotion to the craft to put in the thousands of hours of practice it takes to get there, nor do I posess the physical gifts that can compensate for lack of practice. That's fine...although the fighting got me into the SCA, and I still enjoy it, it isn't what keeps me here (although it is what keeps me going to Pennsic...)
I'm not squired to anybody, and have no significant prospects of entering into such a relationship anytime in the forseeable future. Not because I couldn't learn from someone, but because many Knights (rightly so, I think) reserve their consideration to those who *do* show the dedication to put in the thousands of hours.
So, basically, all I am here is a fair to middling quality cog in the huge machine that is the Atlantian army. Fit to carry a shield, large enough to be used for a press, and not so critically skilled that it matters if I die in the process. I can live with that.
I am a combat archer. That's a different thing than being a fighter. There is no Peerage for CA, and there never will be. There is, apparently, a newly reborn Atlantian Order (King's Missileers), which is essentially the Top of the Line for CA. It's too early to know what they are looking for for that.
Of course, there are also significant numbers of folks who'd be just as happy if all the CA's out there suddenly vanished from the face of the earth, so pinning my "What do I want to pursue?" hopes on that is probably not a good idea.
In the meantime, armed with my crossbow, I'm a reasonably valuable member of the archer corp. I believe I could accomplish more here, if I chose to.
I fight rapier. I do, actually, aspire to someday acheiving a White Scarf. It may not happen. It definetely won't happen unless I dedicate myself to rapier more than I have been. The waypoint along that path is a Yellow Scarf (Yes, I know, that's an Academie thing, not an official Kingdom thing, and there's a lot more to it than that). Again, I aspire to one someday, but I'm not there. Not enough ability with the tools, and my service *to the rapier community* is lacking as well, almost certainly.
These are things I can work on, and probably will. Look for me on the field more often this coming year, either as a MiT or as a fighter.
So, basically, summing up the "Those who fight" path of the triumvirate "Those who fight, those who create, those who serve", There is a goal out there that is acheiveable...I just need the dedication to pursue it. That's a good thing...having a goal makes it easier to achieve one.
Tomorrow...."Those who create"
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