Crimson Sanctum

Kingdom of Dragonspine

A Shire of Westmarch under Dragonspine, located in La Cañada, California. The chapter meets twice a week in the Los Angeles area.

History

The story of Crimson Sanctum began in August 2004, when Lalailom Risteska and Anberon Nole (both college students at Azusa Pacific University; see right) took up residence in Azusa, California. Activity that first semester was low key, limited to small-scale sparring on the college’s Trinity Lawn by the new group’s scarce equipment.

Lalailom and Anberon, the founders of the chapter. Lalailom originally played in Cage Valley of Walla Walla, Washington; Anberon was a new player. In Lalailom’s own words, “Pretty much I was the one with the knowledge and he was the one with the motivation.”

In January 2005, the group managed to acquire a dozen loaner swords, which enabled them to start holding larger and regular Saturday sessions. Early members came mostly from two campus groups with which the founders were involved, marching band and Japanese class.

In April 2005, the group held its first althing. After much debate, both the group’s name and heraldry were chosen (see left). The in-game story was that Lalailom had founded the Sanctum as a place where the weary fighters of the world could come to escape their pasts and focus on bettering themselves for the future.

The chapter’s name and original heraldry. For the name, “crimson” denotes blood and “sanctum” denotes a safe place. For the heraldry, the red background symbolizes blood, as bloodshed was now safely in the past of its residents; and the white sword symbolizes purity, as its residents were cleansed of any evil they had committed before.

In May 2005, the group finally sought official Amtgard status, submitting a contract to the kingdom of The Burning Lands in Texas just before summer break. With most of its members gone for the summer, the group went on a several-month hiatus.

In August 2005, the group became an official Amtgard shire when the signed contract came back. That month also saw deeper changes, as the new shire’s growth and a stricter stance from campus security made it necessary to relocate. The shire chose Northside Park in Azusa as its new Saturday location.

In February 2006, a member of the Azusa group invited her brother Terrence Winters to play. He liked it enough to invite some friends from his high school in La Cañada. Over the next year several of these players joined, notably Thorin Njalsson in August.

In December 2006, in order to play closer to home, Thorin and Terrence (see right) founded an Amtgard club at the high school. The new club began holding a separate practice on Friday at Hahamongna Watershed Park in La Cañada/Pasadena. The club grew quickly, and in February 2007 was formally incorporated into the shire as the “La Cañada subshire.” Thorin was elected as the subshire’s first deputy.

Terrence and Thorin, the founders of the La Cañada subshire. Both were relatively new players, but highly motivated. In Thorin’s own words, “(short quote to come).”

In January 2007, Shadowraith Lykaios joined the subshire. He would later become an important part of the shire’s monarchy and a major contributor to its weapon construction technology.

In February 2008, wishing to gain the benefits of kingdom affiliation and become closer to other chapters in the area, the shire petitioned the closest kingdom, Dragonspine in New Mexico, for membership. Soon thereafter, it joined the Principality of Westmarch in California as a sponsored land.

In June 2008, the Azusa arm of the shire, which had lost many members to graduation and real life, finally closed down after four long years. This left the La Cañada arm as the main entity. To compensate for the loss of the Northside Park, the shire moved its Friday practice to Memorial Park in La Cañada.

In July 2008, Staccatto Toccata, one of the shire's long-time members, revised and updated its heraldry (see left) to include several new elements. Later that month, the shire's co-founders Lalailom and Abernon departed for another land.

The chapter’s revised heraldry. The red background and white sword kept their original meanings. The new dragons symbolize the affiliation with Dragonspine, and the new rooks symbolize the affiliation with Westmarch. The leaves on the bottom just look pretty.

In August 2008, Crimson Sanctum hosted their first major event, Northern Invasion. During this epic conflict, the shire -- with the aid of their southern allies Siar Geata -- fought and defeated the Westmarch core lands in a castle-style battle. Later that month, the subshire’s co-founder Terrence departed for another land.

In September 2008, the shire was graced by the addition of a squire from a foreign land: Morrzania Felbin Lacqueri from Dragonspine (New Mexico). Later that month, both the subshire’s co-founder Thorin and Staccatto departed for other lands.

The chapter’s current monarchy. From the left: Uranaga, Barspurk, Dread Pirate Wesley, The, and Shadowraith.

Between October and December 2008, the shire designed and rolled out a wave of new field equipment featuring its heraldy (belt favors) as well an expanded internet presence (revised website, wiki page, and discussion boards).

In March 2009, the shire held its most recent crown election, selecting Uranaga as Monarch, Barspurk as Regent, and The Dread Pirate Wesley Wentworth as Chancellor. Shadowraith won the Champion's tournament (see right). (For a list of previous monarchies, please refer here.)

As of today, the shire has ambitious plans to expand for the future.

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People

Crimson Sanctum has been blessed with a wide variety of talented and dedicated players over the years. The current active roster is as follows:

• Alleana
• Alkaris Ravenor
• Ardariel

The chapter’s current populace. We were joined on that December day by Thorin of WaveHaven, Randy of Siar Geata, 2.0 of WaveHaven, and Taly of Siar Geata (group in middle).

• Barspurk
• Beboman
• Cchard Robyn
• Daire
• Darkbladez
• Dread Pirate Wesley Wentworth, The:
• Gaku Fyreice
• Gemma
• Glarandir
• Gregor
• Hedric Lanscap: page to Shadowraith
• Hergar
• Illdeta
• Kain
• Lothar: "hero of the Sanctum"
• Mordechai
• Moregran Van Cleave
• Morrzania Felbin Lacqueri
• Palmley
• Roma
• Seiji
• Shadowraith Lykaios
• Swiftwind
• TBD (Sarah): page to come once game name chosen
• Thanderhall Lanscap
• Uranaga
• Valruin
• Victor Rovial
• Vidar

Note that this list does not include members with less than three credits in the past three months.

Additional honored members from the chapter's past can be found on the Azusa and La Cañada subpages.

Locations

Crimson Sanctum currently plays twice per week. The first session, on Fridays, is held at Hahamongna Watershed Park in La Cañada/Pasadena; start time is 2:45PM ("A"). The second session, on Saturdays, is held at Memorial Park in La Cañada; start time is 1:00PM ("B"). A map of these location is as follows:

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="34.202432" lon="-118.189716" type="map" zoom="13"> (A) 34.193169, -118.175324 Friday meeting place (B) 34.207561, -118.205437 Saturday meeting place </googlemap>

Additional information on both locations follows:

Hahamongna Watershed Park

The chapter’s third park, Hahamongna is where Friday meetings are currently held. The chapter has used it since 2006.

Description	Link
Address	None, as the park is *huge*; nearest structure is La Cañada High School at 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Cañada CA
Directions	Exit the 210 freeway at Berkshire Pl. (exit 22A) Turn Right (East) onto Berkshire Pl. Turn Left (North) onto Oak Grove Dr. Turn Right (East) into Hahamongna Watershed (Oak Grove) Park. Turn Left - deeper into the park. Turn Right at the stop sign. Turn Right into the parking lot. We will be across the field by the fire hydrant. Google maps coordinates: Unknown road @34.193000, -118.175260
Map	Link
Phone	(626) 744-7275

Memorial Park

The chapter’s fourth park, Memorial is where Saturday meetings are currently held. The chapter has used it since 2008.

Description	Link
Address	None; nearest structures are City Hall (1327 Foothill Boulevard) and See’s Candy (1133 Foothill Boulevard), both in La Cañada CA (the intersection of La Cañada Blvd. and Foothill Blvd)
Directions	Exit the 210 freeway at Angeles Crest Highway in La Cañada and turn South. Turn Right (West) onto Foothill. Go for about 2 blocks. Memorial Park is on the right with a gazebo. There is ample parking along both La Cañada Blvd. and Foothill. Google Maps coordinates 34.20666,-118.204957
Map	Link
Phone	(818) 790-4353

The four parks where the chapter has held its sessions: Trinity Lawn in Azusa (A), Northside Park in Azusa (B), Hahamongna Watershed Park in La Cañada/Pasadena (C), and Memorial Park in La Cañada (D).

In addition to its currently active parks, the chapter has used two other parks in the past.

Northside Park

The chapter’s second park, Northside is where the Azusa arm of the chapter held meetings during most of its four-year existence. The chapter used it from 2005-2008, before transferring over to Memorial Park. Please note that Northside Park is no longer in use; it is included here merely for historical purposes.

Trinity Lawn

The park where it all began, Trinity is located in center of the East Campus of Azusa Pacific University, in between Trinity Hall and Engstrom Hall. The chapter used it from 2004-2005, before transferring over to Northside Park. Please note that Trinity Lawn is no longer in use; it is included here merely for historical purposes.

Multimedia

In September 2007, these short videos (Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3) were shot by a passerby at the old Northside Park location.

In August 2008, these photographs (Album 1) were shot by Rangor's Wench at the Crimson Sanctum-run Northern Invasion event.

More Information

Crimson Sanctum website

Crimson Sanctum forum on CAAmtgard.com, the Westmarch website

For more information, please contact Shadowraith by e-mail or phone (818) 577-5842, or Uranaga by e-mail or phone (818) 675-8538

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