Riken
Contents
Lady Riken Eclipse, of Valley of Smoke, Crystal Groves
A photo of Riken being proposed to by her husband, Kit Silvertail, at the 2015 Kingdom of Crystal Groves Yule event.
Biography
Lady Riken Eclipse, of the Valley of Smoke, Kingdom of Crystal Groves
Riken used to be an active player and roleplayer in the Kingdom of Crystal Groves. However, since being diagnosed with severe fibromyalgia and becoming dependent on a wheelchair, she rarely engages in such shenanigans, but rather spends her time watching and crafting.
Riken's one true love in Amtgard is crafting. She has won multiple park-level and kingdom level events. She participated heavily in the 2017 A&S season in her kingdom, winning overall dragonmaster at the winter and summer events, dragonmaster without highest score at the spring event, and highest scoring item at the fall event of the year, along with many judges' choice awards.
She is a fifth-generation artisan, trained in Appalachian styles of art. She has been crafting since she was four years old, and one of her earliest memories is of kneeling on a pile of phone books alongside her mother, aunt, and grandmother to hand-quilt a wedding quilt for a short-deadline order.
Severe fibromyalgia prevents Riken from crafting as much as she would like nowadays. Her hands cramp easily, leaving her mostly to crochet, cross stitch, embroider and write her books, which she one day hopes to publish.
She has skills in spinning yarn, calligraphy, illumination, weaving on a myriad of loom types, acrylic painting, knitting, basket weaving, applique, quilting, cooking, baking, paper making, silversmithing and needle felting. These are rarely used, and limited to "good fibro days", as she puts it.
Riken is often jokingly referred to as "the vampire" because one way that her fibromyalgia manifests itself is via polymorphic light eruption syndrome. For those not medically in-the-know, this translates loosely as "allergic to sunlight." She is often found behind dark glasses and covered head-to-toe to keep herself safe when outside.
In January, 2014, Riken met Kit Silvertail at a kingdom event. In January, 2015, Kit Silvertail proposed to Riken, in a mundane sense, in front of 150 people gathered at the same kingdom event they had met at the year before. The couple married on October 3, 2015. Their characters have not officially wed, although the couple hopes for said shenanigans at the fall 2018 kingdom event, which will coincide with their third wedding anniversary.
In the mundane world, Riken is known as Gretchen Meunier. She used to work as a newspaper reporter in her small West Virginian town until worsening fibromyalgia forced her to take an unplanned retirement in March, 2016.
Riken was awarded her Paragon Healer in October 2014 and her Lady title in April 2014.
Belted Family
Riken is squired to Arch Duchess Emer Rustytongue, Knight of the Serpent, Baroness of Dragonspine.
Additional Images
More Information
- Personal Website
- Company Website
