Wanderer
Contents
- 1 Baron Sir Michael Winternight called by most the Wanderer, of Nocturnis.
- 2 High Points
- 3 Favored Classes
- 4 Some Fairly Well Known Facts
- 5 Affiliated Groups
- 6 Belted Family
- 7 Notable Accomplishments
Baron Sir Michael Winternight called by most the Wanderer, of Nocturnis.
“We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.” --Willy Wonka
"I am not dangerous. My rolodex, however, is." --Wanderer
Biography
What follows are my thoughts on Wanderer. I figure they can stand until he gets around to writing something himself -- Randalf Falconbridge.
Wanderer is inactive at the moment but like so many other members he goes through phases of participation. His last significant period of active was during the formation of Avalon's Gate but he dates back to old Barad Duin. I remember him best as Duke of Tori-Mar. In fact my first day on the field was the occasion of his war with Zephram MacLaran. We have been friends ever since. I know that many people consider him to be a figure of derision but he has done a great deal for Austin Amtgard. In fact, I cannot imagine how things would have turned out with out him.
Wanderer's personal notes on the remarks above
Stunned and shocked. I have always tried to do what was right, not necessarily politically correct, but right. The very idea that I have influenced anyone or been a role model never really occurred to me.
Maybe it should have.
Auto Biography
I joined Barad-Duin in middle 1990 and adopted the lifestyle within the year. I.E. Crashing on my fellow HFSers couches and being a bum.
It wasn't until Rufus took me under his wing that I really understood any of this mess. He put me to work in both real life and in Amtgard. I was made a Page to a then Squire Rufus to Sir M'Deth.
I learned the ins and outs of many things, and not the least of them was that "working" at a real job equalled money. It is sad, but yes, true. I won't bore you with the details, but to say that Rufus was my mentor would be exactly what he was.
I have been both Baron and Duke of Tori-Mar, indeed helped form the group many years back; in 1991, I believe. The years tend to blend together after this long, please forgive an old man.
I have been blessed to meet many important individuals people that have done much for the game over the years. I don't believe I am one of those people, although from the remarks above - others do.
I am very goal oriented, which is both a blessing and a curse. In 1993, Rufus was knighted and in turn was expected to hand down a red belt to me. I should have known I was in trouble when he came to me smiling. He wanted a reason list from me as to why I should be his squire.
Yeah, I was pissed.
So I handed over a 200 item list and basically told him he could choke on it. Many years later, he would present this list to the knight's circle as proof that I was ready for my belt. The things we learn later in life.
After many years, a few death defying acts <one of which involving a tornado at an event> I had the honor of being knighted by my peers and the Knight's Circle of the Celestial Kingdom. I still remember the cheers and the standing ovation I got from the 300+ in attendance at Spring War III. King Zephram and his champion, my own knight, had this planned out. I was knighted by Zephram's own World War II katana that I had mentioned in passing when I had helped him move that last year.
This is where being goal oriented was a problem and how Rand noted my "ins and outs" after this point. Once I was knighted, I had no where to go. I didn't have much interest in politics or Empire-building. As the King noted, my security clearance went up, I was made aware of all kinds of ill dealings in the Kingdom at large. So I ran. It wasn't fun anymore and it made sense at the time.
I have returned over time and the years. Playing in Tori-mar, even returning and forming Avalon's Gate in order to help give my friends with families somewhere they could go to due to the more Stickjock-friendly modes of Tori-Mar.
Will this latest return stick? Dunno, but I am hopeful.
Being one of Rufus' Red Belts, even the first, there is a certain responsibility to the game that has been ingrained into all of us. So I will support the Kingdom and Nocturnis, my new home, to the best that I can. Hopefully, the years and the experience that I have gained over the years in and out of the game will help other generations and my own squires.
High Points
My introduction to all of this
Enter Barad Duin
I went to a small sci-fi fantasy convention down in San Marcos, Texas called, Sanmarcon <apparently they weren't too imaginative on the name.>. They were having a demo for the SCA and I wanted to see what that was all about.
Apparently, the SCA had either cancelled or the High Fantasy Society was misunderstood - either way it was Barad-Duin who put on the show. I watch them storm all over the cobblestones like forty or fifty strong. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
I walked over to a pretty girl in a dress, yeah - i know, I'm predictable. Her name was Robin, her persona name escapes me, but she was nice to the high schooler that I was at the time and gave me the rundown. I asked to borrow a weapon and have a sparring match. She called over a handsome college age guy and asked him to have a go with me.
If I had known then what I know now, I'd have sworn she was going to enjoy watching me get my ass kicked. The guy she called over was Arthon of the Golden City, mundanely known as Harry Plumbley. I set up and tried to mimic his footwork and tapped his sword like I had seen in the movies.
Harry made a face and quickly dispatched me. Now, to be fair, I've seen Harry dispatch a battalion of people and not break a stride - still, I do enjoy fighting him to this day. Maybe one day he will slow down and get too old, hopefully before I do!
Freaks and Geeks
To put you in my frame of mind at the time, I was raised pretty sheltered. The big town of Buda, Texas is where I was at the time, all one thousand of a population. So, when I ended up at the south end of Pease Park, this was a first. I was a battle game going on and knew that there was no way I was giving these guys my real name till I knew some of them better. Cute girls or Not!
I remember people that were playing that haven't done this in a decade. Sinjin, Kelvis, Koronada, Exile, Terwin, Tiberius, DOA, Terris Ember (whew, had a crush on her for years too - god, I loved Lisa).
I really didn't have a character or persona name in mind, I just played and enjoyed myself. Kind of the point, wasn't it?
Forming Tori Mar
What started the explosion that was Tori Mar
Back when the world of Amtgard was a whole lot freaking smaller than it is now, there was a single Kingdom - The Burning Lands. Now, Sir Nevron left his home in El Paso and started a group that because the Emerald Hills. Around the same time, Sir Nithanalorn left El Paso to come to the artist-friendly and liberal city of Austin. He started Barad-Duin, Tolkien elfish for City by the River, and formed the Grand Duchy, same thing as a Kingdom -just sounds cooler.
Now somewhere along the line, the member's of Barad-Duin got tired of Burning Lands ruling from far away in El Paso and started to want to do their own thing. So they formed the High Fantasy Society. I think I missed this whole formation by a few years, never was quite sure. Either way, it was still going strong when I showed up.
A guy named Theo Blackflame, meanwhile, had moved to Kerrville, Texas a little later. He started Bifost and later Turris Lunae started up in San Antonio. He got them to form the Celestial Kingdom, which is still obviously around today.
Somehow, Rufus found out about it and started talking to them. This is before the days of email, so we are talking a lot of phone time. He was invited to go up to the Emerald Hills and participate in a war the CK was having with them. He invited some of us to go, I figured it would be cool. So we all piled into Rufus's battered on brown Ford and went up to Dallas.
If I was impressed by Barad Duin, my first war was simply amazing to me. I saw people everywhere!
We had a blast, and Rufus saw a lot of people that he hadn't seen in a while.
Jingles
I really hate this name, and it has been tied to me for longer than most of the Amtgardians I have met recently have been living. But, it seems to have become it's own entity and I feel it needs to be explained.
Origins
In the first year of my playing, 1990-ish, I was a player in a Dungeons and Dragons game at a player named Booga's home. Booga, portrayed by Keith Land - an original founder of Tori-Mar as well, was known for his charity and in general, allowing everyone and God to crash on his floor. As you can imagine, this resulted in some huge parties and games. In a truly epic gaming group twenty-five people strong, we played under the GM, Onyx Grimwulf. I played a paladin, ironically a class I wouldn't touch with a ten foot caddle prod today, and wore the heaviest armor you could get: Plate Mail and Chain. I remember trying to sneak up a long winding staircase and at the very top step, Onyx, portrayed by John McNeil, asked for a simple dexterity check. Of which I rolled a "1". Never has a simple roll affected an entire lifetime. I fell down the stairs all the way to the bottom, as John put it, Jingling and Jangling all the way. The girl I was sitting next to, one I fancied at the time, turned and said, "Way to go, Jingles". Every one laughed and we moved on with the game.
Amtgard's integration and inability to let a simple joke die
We had played that DND game on Saturday night, so the next morning, we went around the block to Pease Park and did our thing. Keith was held highly in those days, and decided to call me Jingles on the field. Before you knew it, everyone was. I'd be introduced for the next decade to new incoming members as "jingles" over and over again. Before you knew it, EVERYONE thought it was a name that I had created for myself. Oh, I tried to kill it. I growled, I corrected, I threatened, I pretty much tried everything. So for years, and I do mean Years, it's followed me through Amtgard. Ironically, it became something I could tweak to an advantage. I couldn't get rid of it, I sure as hell was going to use it!
Jingles vs. Wanderer
Since I signed in and was known throughout the kingdom as Wanderer, people didn't realize that I wasn't properly known as Jingles. So, when I am at a campfire - I'd hear about "F*cking Jingles this and that" because that was Wanderer over there. Pretty soon, Jingles had his own history and was known to be quite the hellion. Wanderer, on the other hand, was a respected, and eccentric, member of the kingdom. Over the years, anything bad was associated with Jingles while anything good was associated with Wanderer. After generations of members, who just repeat the same battle stories over and over again (while adding their own tweaks to them) tell these stories - it's surprising how things change over time. So yes, Jingles was nothing more than a nickname - and like anything that won't ever go away, it started with a girl.
Dirk and the Wanderer
At some point in your life, you encounter someone that you can raise hell with. No matter what gets in your way, if you are with this partner - then that barrier vanishes into a cloud of debris. To be honest, Dirk isn't remembered by other's that knew him with much fondness. If any, to be frank. He was known to powerslide across the field, bowl people over and in general - be himself. He was as good a friend as an outsider could have though, we raided baronies up and down the kingdom. If it wasn't bolted down, we stole it. If she wasn't tied down? Well, you get the idea. We raged like that for about five years, him with his huge vinyl covered axe, known as Destiny, and me with whatever variety of katana I could get my hands on. We were roommates for a while too, as Amtgard seems to always bring people of our unique calibre together. I do look back on those days with fondness, but don't really try to find that kind of connection with other's these days. I think like everyone, I go through phases. I seem to have outgrown that one.
The Brigands
The Brigands were a group of the more experienced fighters in Tori-Mar, and my good friends. I think it was sometime around 1995, I wasn't a knight yet - that much I remember. You have to realize, that when Rufus was king, and I was squire to the king, I could get away with anything. and Gods, did I push that limit. Zephram MacLaren and his wife, Melinda <known as Curtis and Donna Wade> had joined Tori-Mar at the height of our population growth. We were fielding 70+. How could you NOT want to be out there? When Melinda won her run for Duchess, we decided to really role play it up. So we had Melinda, substituted for an evil witch <which Donna loved playing the villainess> and formed a group of Merry Men to fight against her. For the duration of the reign, we ran a series of battles that really couldn't be considered organized or even fair given the odds against the group. But we had fun and that is what mattered.
Members (updated as I remember them)
- Wanderer
- Dirk Thunderblade
- Roo
- Zephram MacLaren (under an assumed name that escapes me now)
- Jade Grimwulff
- Fnord Farthing
Forming Avalon's Gate
Favored Classes
Anti Paladin
I've really been exploring this class for only a little while. This is mostly due to the fact that I have largely been inactive once I got my white belt. I intend to really have a blast with this one.
I've been designing garb and having it done up with a "Team Evil" motif. Standard surcoat at first, with other variants to follow. The black phoenix above is what I started with, I can hardly wait to see what comes out of it.
I tend to go heavy while playing this class. 8 foot naginata is the order of the day with a short sword at my hip and a long dagger in the back on my belt. The secondary variant is shield and short sword.
Court garb is still in the design and concept stages, but it is safe to say that I will hard to miss in it. I'm thinking something in late Sith Lord...
Archer
This was my real official first class to play all the way to sixth level and get a masterhood in.
I am of the belief that if you are going to play Archer, you need the best gear and bring a long bow or go home.
I am in the design stages for my equipment and shopping for a bow at present. The really hard thing about being an Archer isn't the bow, its the quiver. You would be surprised how difficult it is to take care of carrying a sheaf full of long sticks with two inch heads on them. That is without looking like an idiot!
So naturally, this gets approached with care because I want to do it right. When you have been around as long as I have, there is a certain standard you hold yourself to. That and I hate to waste hard earned money on junk. :)
The search for the "just right" bow continues, I have quite a few choices and hope to get all of it handled soon. The quiver, on the other hand, is just going to take money; one of the simple facts of life. Arrows simply need to get built, I am hoping to experiment with their design, having witnessed the Great Technology Boom during Tori Mar's distant past.
Assassin
I never really got a chance to really cut loose on this potentially evil class. A fact I intend to change.
I tend to favor tradition in my garb designs whenever possible, but for Assassin - you gotta go with practicality. This means choices. Throwing daggers are great for random madness and chaos, but god are they hard to carry any reasonable amount of without looking dumb. Which is really not an option, if you look dumb as an Assassin - it really takes away from the coolness factor of doing it at all.
Florentine, short sword and long dagger, will be the order of the day. Likely some form of pole within the class limits. Throwing daggers, once I figure all of the ins and outs of an effective storage method. Very likely, going with numerous options as they are explored and integrated in.
Court garb as this class will be interesting. I would prefer to wear as much live steel as possible while going with a masked Middle Eastern style. This is presently in the early concept stages as well.
Monk
Once I played Archer to it's full potential that I could at the time, I realized that the Monk is it's natural predator. That and I encountered enough of them in my time with a bow on the field to want to give it a try.
I love this class and will favor it when I can't play Anti Paladin. Being immune to stuff is tremendously fun, especially when you growl "Immune" at some poor hapless sap that doesn't know better.
I can use the same weapons combination as my Assassin uses, which does make it an economically friendly class to opt back into. I would wear different garb though. Because I have played this class for as long as I have, I don't even have concept ideas for it yet, but time will tell.
Some Fairly Well Known Facts
- Wanderer's full persona name is <currently> Michael Winternight.
- Wanderer once went to war with Zephram. <as a fund raiser>
- Wanderer is infamous for posing out while fighting.
- Wanderer was a flurb before flurbs were "cool".
Affiliated Groups
- Member of House Grimwulff
- Former House Lord of House Twin Rose
- Formerly of the Golden Lions
- Councilor of the Ministers of Grace
- Initiate in the Saracens, hopefully to join Tribe Latrocene
- Member of Rufus' Red Belts <Squire #1>
- Helped form Tori Mar
- Helped form Avalon's Gate
- The Brigands, under the rule of the Despotic Duchess Melinda of Tori-Mar
Belted Family
Formerly Squired to Sir Rufus Grimwulf and knighted by King Zephram MacLaren.
Being a Page
As you read above, I was a page to Squire Rufus. This was a long two year process helping where I could and basically learning the ins and outs. I never wore the yellow belt of a page - just never bothered, I suppose. I didn't mind it too much at the time, and knew that Rufus would be knighted soon enough. I met our knight, Sir M'Deth of the Burning Lands, at Clan IX. I really liked M'Deth, portrayed by a man named Brian, though he really was a hand's off knight. Just went out and did his thing. It seemed effective. Being a page means that you get handed the dirty jobs by your squire. You do it and take it on faith that they are going to watch out for you. This puts a lot of pressure on the squire of course to actually do what he says he is going to for both the knight and the pages below him. This is probably why I don't bother having pages under me as a knight, if I like them enough, I'll just give them a red belt.
Being a Squire
If you thought being a page was tough, try being a squire. Four years of that! I had accomplished up to four roses by the time I got my red belt. Those last six are a bitch. Then you have to top it off with a cherry for the masterhood!
To say I did some insane things as a squire would not be stretching the truth. I recall one event at Burnet County Fairgrounds that we were under a tornado warning. This means that the twister is in your local area. It was night and other campers were trying to pack up their belongings into their cars and hope that no one got sucked up and vanished to parts unknown.
Rufus stripped off his furs and went with pants and tunic. I didn't even get a look of request from the old fuzzy one. He knew that I was going out with him, no questions asked. People needed help, we were gone.
I remember the lightning flashing, rain was pouring down in literal sheets. We were both drenched within seconds in seemed. I recall half lit faces of people that were hopelessly bogged down either with frightened children or a tent that threatened to carry them off. We helped where we could. It didn't matter if I liked them or not. To be honest, when you are in that kind of mode, it doesn't come up. They need help. You help them. That's how you have to think when you are out in that kind of mess. If you didn't want to help, you sure as hell wouldn't be out in it to begin with. You'd be inside flirting with some hottie in a corsetted gown.
God knows, I wished I was doing just that when I was in that rain.
I made smart ass comments all the way through it, Rufus replied with whatever came to mind. He knew that what we were doing was crazy, but that's just the kind of guy he was. He wouldn't have thought any less if I hadn't have followed him into the torrential downpour, but my place was at his side - a place I haven't left really to do this day.
I remember coming back into the barn, my ponytail bedraggled. We were soaked and looking like drowned rats. Smiling like madmen though. We were doing our jobs, and people could only stare at us as if we were insane.
But, that was the point. It takes a special person to really kick it when the chips are down. You don't do the easy clean up and then make noises about where is your rose from the King. You get in and mix it up, you make sure that others are having fun, that they are fed, that the event happens, and if there is something you see that needs doing. That's where getting the Flame belt makes it worth it.
Not everyone is going to see everything you do. To be honest, it will go unnoticed by the King until someone walks up to him and tells him. But, you have to have faith that what you are doing is worth it in the Big Picture and someone will take notice and make sure that the Monarch knows. You would be surprised how often that one random person that you didn't even know was watching will follow suit and help out next time.
Squires
Wanderer has two squires at present Carratos and Reaper Forsaken. Carratos is currently considered Senior Squire in the belt line. Reaper Forsaken is on deployment in Iraq in the Army.
Off Duty Squires
Shiva is presently at college in Colorado and out of contact. Her place is reserved at present.
Past Squires
Iiridian Despawna passed away in May of 2007 in an auto accident.
Squeers
Lady Roo Grimwulff is currently wearing a pink belt under this belt line and referred to as a "Squeer".
Notable Accomplishments
Titles:
- Knight of the Flame in 1997, by King Zephram MacLaren
- Baron for reigning as Duke of Tori Mar
- Baronet for reigning as Baron of Tori Mar
- Lord for service to the kingdom, by King Pebyr Ap Cucorin
