The Guild Fanucci

Estrella, Long Ago
© 2005 George Reed

As I prepare to pack for Estrella XXI, I am reminded inescapably of the last Estrella to which I travelled, so many years ago. It is not that it was so tremendous a time of great deeds or accomplishments for me–though as a bard I made something of a breakthrough to a new level. It was a great adventure because for the first time Chateau Teafort {the Fort Irwin SCA Household and northern portion of Al-Sahid} was making the trek en masse and in large numbers. For the first time we were appearing on a major battlefield as a liveried unit. The ragtag bunch of scadians told there ‘was no sca north of the mountains in the desert’ had bloomed from 5 to 46 members, 41 of which were armored and authorized.

The trip out was with little incident, and we arrived in the waning hours of afternoon. All of us checked in with enthusiasm, set up our circle of period pavilions around the Great Teafort Pavise–a 40×40 x19 red/white/black circus pavilion. Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to that when Rislane and Lysandra moved to Atlantia and it went with them…but that is another tale.

We had nothing modern visible in the Pavise. all period chairs, tables, lamps, andles, hangings. Carpets strewn in moorish style. Guesting food and drink at the entrances. As the sun set, you could see the lights within like stained glass from the dark outside. Lysandra strummed her rosewood harp into the night and it was audible for miles.

In those days Estrella began thursday and ended monday morning. It was a long time ago to be true. The war was Caid versus Atenveldt. Caid had never won. This particular year was the first reign of Guy and Darla, whose roman reign was bordered on wild enthusiasm and iconoclastic ceremony. The War general was Duke Armand de Sevigny, who had been the first King of Caid. His lady Duchess Diana De Sevigny ran the Arts and Sciences war points.

We sat around the pavise singing the five or six songs we knew well. Nothing like the endless song books of today. I had a couple pieces I had written, but was terrified to ever let anyone see or hear them. In those days I memorised everyone else’s work. Someone in jeans and a t-shirt poked his head in and said”Wow, man, this is a totally cool encampment! What barony is this?”We alowed as we were not in fact a barony, but a small part of an incipient shire and no one important.

The visitor’s eyes did not miss the 41 sets of armor on armor stands, with red and white quarterly tabards and stars counterchanged {now the fanucci device}.”Who are you fighting for?”he asked.

” Caid. We fight for the new King of Caid, Guy. Haven’t met him though,”pipes up Rislane, my second in command.

I winced as the smiling man in coke bottle rim glasses said”You have now. Come see me on the battlefield.”

So we shoo everyone off to bed to get a good rest before the first day of fighting and awoke to the sun with everyone else. By 8:30 am we were armored up {we had not learned about sca war time vs real time}. In the US Army, 0830 means 0-goddamned -8-30. Not at Estrella V.

So there we are out on the battlefield, all lined up in our Alfred the Great Triangle Formation, back behind the Bukelari brigade. A man in nifty roman armor comes bounding up and introduces himself as Baron Joseph of Nordwache. Would we like to accompany him to see the king? So we lined up in double file and marched on over there, singing a version of a Rudyard Kipling piece I have redone in every kingdom I have lived in.

Guy greets us with”Dudes! You look great! How about guarding the center with me?”

It *seemed* like a good idea.

The battle starts, the bukelari brigade shoots out their hellhound mercenaries in a picket formation to trick the Aten army into collapsing on what they thought was a main attack. It worked. The Aten line zoomed in like pincers, the pickets ran like hell, and the army of Calafia crushed from the left and the army of Lyondemere and the Outlands crushed on the right. There were many heroics, but over half the Caidan army did not even get to move. Including us. The battle lasted six minutes.

King Guy was so pleased Caid won its first field battle ever against Atenveldt. He saw us all still in formation and promised us a more interesting round two.

it was indeed interesting. This time the pickets *were* an attack, they punched a hole in the middle, and Guy led us all through into the backfield. We pac-manned half the atenveldt army before they knew what was coming off. it was murder keeping up with Guy–no one that large should ever move that fast. its just wrong.

We ended with half the unit still alive and another resounding win.

I believe Caid won all but the broken field battle that Estrella. The celebrations, after years of losing were amazing.

Our friends from the neighbor shire of Naevejem invited us to supper and revel, so all of us trooped over there. I had been hit with an inspiration for a victory song and sang it for my friend Wulfhere the Dane. He later became the founding baron of Naevejhem, passing away in 1996. His is one of those absent faces I still see and voices I still hear. Yeah, I know, weird.

Wulfhere jumped up and said–during the revel–lets go bring a victory drink to our King! So all 70 of us jumped up and scrambled over to Caid Royal where a huge fire was burning and people were standing around watching belly dancers. In a break, Wulfhere steps forward and says in his amasing basso voice….Your Majesty…you may not know it but today we have with us a new bard who brings you a song of Victory!

King guy was delighted to have a victory song that fast and said,”Lets hear it!”

Wulfhere turns to me, and says,”Faheud, you’re on….”

16 years later I can still feel that adrenaline rush. I step forward and sang, having no where to hide and little hope of a lightning bolt on such a clear night…

The king made me sing it twice more, and then asked for verses for his allies, which were done shortly and he made me sing those as well. The next morning his man turned up with a schedule of events the Crown wanted the Kingdom bard at.

Thus began the magical mystery tour of thirty events in thirty two weekends, my good friend Bjarni Thorvarsson soon joining me as co-kingdom bard, and we improvised our way across the western kingdoms.

It feels strange all these years later to be packing for Estrella XXI. Going back to that place without my 45 housemates, knowing few if any of the old guard will be there, and knowing I will hear voices like Bjarni and Wulfhere in the crowd. hearing those voices and knowing they canot possibly be there.

Its kind of scary. Its kind of sad as well. I know there is no way it will have the magic of that first war….