Hello, Altavia!

October has brought exciting news for the Kingdom of Caid! Crown Tournament has given us our new Prince and Princess, Adam Makandro and Adelheit Schwarzenkatze. Congratulations to them both! We look forward to seeing what Their Highnesses’ upcoming reign will bring.

Within our own borders, I would like to thank the people running special classes and gatherings.

Many thanks to Petrusha and Jobanna for spearheading our new encampment fences! At our recent A&S night, we cut donated canvas, finished the edges, and transferred the fret knot pattern onto the panels. We’ll gather again before Great Western War to paint them. Once hung around our encampment, these panels will display our heraldry and give our space a more polished look.

and thank you as well to Giacchino for leading special classes at rapier practice! He set up a day to work on melee tactics to prepare for war and taught a primer exploring historical fencing techniques through an introduction to I.33.

Next month, we look forward to two exciting events! First, we’ll host Agincourt, our Baronial archery tournament, the week before Great Western War. We hope to see many of you there!

Then it’s on to Great Western War! Please sign up for volunteer shifts, both individually and with the group. Altavia already has a Baronial gate shift, but there are plenty of other opportunities to help. The Kingdom is also seeking deputies to help run the war next year.

On Saturday after Grand Court, join us for a celebration within the Altavia Baronial encapment following Merlin and Ronan’s elevation to the Order of the Mark during Caid Court. We hope you’ll come celebrate with us!

Privy Council Updates and Reminders

The following announcements and reminders came from Privy Council.

Kingdom Event Bids for 2028: Bid forms are available for Kingdom events in the first and second quarters of 2028, including Arts events such as Crescent Artisan and Collegium. If we would like to host one of these kingdom arts events, they reminded us that these events will need to be coordinated with the Kingdom Arts Minister. All Bids are due November 3. If no bids are submitted, Altavia will not host a Kingdom event during those periods. Let’s discuss which events we’d like to bring to our Barony!

Event Scheduling: Before rescheduling an event, speak with any baronages whose events might conflict. Once the baronies agree, contact Mistress Mary to coordinate the change.

Reports, Warrants, and Exchequer: Please submit reports on time. Ongoing late reports may lead the Kingdom to remove future events from a territory, especially when exchequer reports are overdue. Warrants, waivers, and agreements to serve can generally be submitted online, with the exception of exchequer paperwork.

Urgent Exchequer Reminder: Territorial exchequers should check their email frequently. The SCA is undergoing an audit, and requests may have deadlines as short as 48 hours. Delayed responses can and have resulted in the SCA being billed for the delay. In addition, Third-quarter reports are already due, and many remain outstanding, and they have reinded all teritories to double check and confirm yours have been submitted.

Kingdom Fundraising: The Kingdom is currently operating at a loss and is looking for more fundraising opportunities to support Kingdom funds.

Social Media Officers: Please check your email and respond to the Kingdom Social Media Officer’s request. All territorial officers need to respond. If you’re having trouble accessing your email, we’re happy to help.

Alternate Crown Tournament Format: The initial survey is complete, with 324 responses, representing approximately 27% of Kingdom membership. Of respondents, 90% were paid members; 77.8% supported an alternate Crown format, and 8% were undecided.

There is still much discussion ahead, and no change is guaranteed. Panda plans to lead discussions at events over the next six to eight months, followed by a final Kingdom survey before a proposal is submitted. The earliest the Board of Directors could accept a proposal is April 27, 2027. An alternate Crown as early as fall 2027 is possible, but Panda considers it very unlikely. Crown number 100 will not use the alternate format. Our current heirs, Adam and Adelheit, are Crown number 97. A roadmap and timeline are expected soon.

Thank you all for everything you do for Altavia. We look forward to seeing you at Agincourt and Great Western War, and to continuing to build a welcoming, active Barony together.

In service to the Dream,
Baroness Amabel

Hello Altavia!

This past month was a very Arts and Sciences heavy month, which is a wonderful way to spend an especially hot summer!

We had not one, but two Arts Nights, hosted by Petrusha and Jobanna. Their open craft night was very well attended, with crafting ranging from research into historical garb to leatherworking, chainmail, and much more. They also hosted part three of their mead-making series, where they covered back-sweetening the mead they started at the beginning of the series. It has been wonderful to see so many people gathering to learn, make, and share their skills with one another.

Festival of the Rose was a lovely celebration of the work being done throughout the Kingdom, with artists showing off their skills for Her Majesty. Altavia had two artists displaying their work, with many more Altavians participating in the bardic portion of the showcase. It was wonderful to see our Barony so well represented.

We also had two specialty arts events this month in the Kingdom, Perfectly Period Feast and Muses Masque. Both were first-time events, and both looked absolutely gorgeous and were very well received. It is wonderful to see more historical arts events happening throughout the Kingdom, and I am excited to see where these events go in the future.

For outreach, the SCA Worldcon demo took place this past month down in Anaheim. It was four busy days of demonstrations, conversations, and interacting with the public. A big thank you to the event coordinators and to all of the Altavians who donated their time and energy to making the event such a success. Outreach takes a lot of work, and it is always wonderful to see our community coming together to share what we do with others.

We wrapped up the month with a double-header weekend featuring Highland War and the Officer Skill Symposium. Altavia had representatives at both events, fighting on the armored field and shooting on the archery range at Highland, as well as teaching and learning about the many skills that help us run things within the SCA and that can also carry over into our lives and careers outside of the Society.

Next month looks like a fun, busy, and very martial-heavy month, with Angels Anniversary, the CAID Rapier Open, and Crown Tournament all on the calendar. An additional highlight will be at Angels Anniversary, where Altavia’s own Merlin Wynn will be holding his sit-down vigil. He would love to talk with anyone who would like to offer advice, congratulations, or simply share in the excitement of his upcoming elevation to the Order of the Mark.

Thank you all. You are what makes this Barony great.

In service,

Baroness Amabel Radleigh

Hello, Altavia!

This month, we had the honor of running Consorts’ Champion Ranged, and I am absolutely thrilled with how the event went. A huge thank you to our stewards, Karen, Doug, Joe, and Ingram, and to our Marshal-in-Charge, Merlin. The event ran smoothly, the competition was exciting, and most importantly, it was a wonderful time.

We had some particularly exciting news during the event. At the break, after the main shooting and before the single-elimination rounds, our very own Merlin was offered entry into the Order of the Mark. He said yes and immediately asked to be placed on Vigil!

In the open handbow finals, one of our archers, Joseph went head-to-head with Tomaso of the Barony of Angels. Tomaso is a familiar face at our Altavia archery practices, so it was especially fun to see two archers from our nearby archery community competing against each other. Joseph won the finals, making him the handbow winner of the day, and Tomaso was chosen by Her Majesty as her Handbow Champion. Congratulations to both of them!

In the crossbow finals, I had the pleasure of shooting against Ronan, who was victorious. In closing court, Ronan was also offered entry into the Order of the Mark. He said yes, giving the archery community two new vigilants.

We also had not one, but two Arts & Sciences classes this month! The Brewers’ Guild hosted a class on fermented-food judging, and Petrusha continued his mead-making series with Part Two. It is wonderful to see Altavians sharing their knowledge and creating opportunities for one another to learn and grow.

The other big event this month for people in our little Barony happened thousands of miles away at Pennsic, in Pennsylvania.

Three Altavian archers made the journey, including Achillious, Merlin, and me. We spent a lot of time on the archery field practicing, competing, and helping to run the ranges.

Achillious, Merlin, and Paganus tried out for the Heroic Team as allies to the Midrealm. They got to shoot head-to-head against the Eastern Heroic Team on an extremely challenging course of eight targets, with the first archer to hit all eight taking the point for their team. Afterward, I had the opportunity to shoot the course against one of the other team’s crossbow archers. It was fantastic, difficult, nerve-wracking, and absolutely amazing. I’m hoping to get plenty of practice in and try again next time, because I would love to compete in that tournament!

All four of us Caidan archers also made the Midrealm Allies Champions Team, where we got to shoot the roving range, Friend and Foe, and clout against the Eastern Allies Champions Team. It was an incredible experience to represent our Barony and Kingdom alongside such talented archers.

Merlin and I also competed in the Known World Baronial Champions Tournament, which was specifically for people who had already won Baronial championships in their home Kingdoms. Merlin won, representing the Barony of Lyondemere as their current Crossbow Champion. Congratulations, Merlin!

Immediately afterward, I had the opportunity to compete in the Ladies’ Shoot, where I was delighted to shoot alongside a bunch of lovely women. I ended up with the overall highest score, which was a fantastic way to cap off an already extraordinary day on the range.

Thank you, Altavia, for continuing to make our Barony such a wonderful place to be. Whether you are competing, teaching, learning, volunteering, creating, or simply showing up and cheering on your friends, you are what makes this community special. I am so proud of everything our populace has accomplished this month, and I can’t wait to see what adventures the coming month brings!

In service to the Dream,

Baroness Amabel

Hello Altavia!

We started off the month with a blustery Leondomere anniversary. It was a wonderful day of comradary, arts and martial activities. Unfortunately, our Baronial dragon wing took damage in the wind, with a significant tear. However, her Magesty Lorrissa reached out to help and gifted us with the supplies needed to repair the tear, and it is already repaired and back up in service!

Coronation is always one of the big momentous event of the year. It was wonderful to see the Knighthood and Pelican elevations, and the many acknowledgements and awards given out. Our new King and Queen, Liam and Fara stepped up and we are very excited for their reign. A big thank you to Cecilia, who donated an enormous amount of Largesse for the crown to help support their goals of encouraging the youth in the kingdom during this reign, with toys, activity bags and goodies for them to distribute.

A shout out as well, to Sadhbh, who won Bard of CAID, alongside Mistress Mary, in a tie too close to call. Both of their performances throughout the competition were wonderful, and both are highly deserving of the title.

Consorts champion martial happened the next day, where there was an abundance of great fighting in armored, rapier and but and thrust. Congrats to her Magesty Fara’s new martial champions.

Consorts Champion Ranged is this upcoming weekend, which we are hosting. I know our event stewards and Marshall in charge have a great day planned for everyone, and I look forward to seeing what they have in store for us, and shooting for her Magesty ‘s honor.

In service to the Dream,

Baroness Amabel Radleigh