Chpt 2: A Brit of a Background Tale

During the ’07 or ‘08 season of the Holly, Michigan Renaissance Festival, the idea of Britannia Faire was conceived between the interactions of two individuals: Mistress Heron Barefooten and Ranger Reddwycke du Foret. Heron will tell the tale better than I, because well, she was actually there at the start of it all, but it sums up with the desire to recreate the medieval atmosphere the Renaissance Faire provides, and fully immerse an individual into the world for an extended period of time. The desire to live as a character in the time era, not to just be surrounded by its setting and diverse shops. There is already a society known as the SCA (Society of Creative Anachronism) that allows individuals to experience this atmosphere for 17 days during the single largest annual American medieval camping event titled Pennsic War, that hosts on the ups of 12,000 participants. 

A look over the Pennsic Battle Field and Marketplace

For those who don’t know, Pennsic is held at the same place Dagorhir’s week-long event, Ragnarok is hosted, at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, PA. Cooper’s Lake has a fantastic layout, especially when transformed into a 17th century town with an estimated 7500 canvas pavilions assembled and a marketplace that takes up all of the Dagorhir parking lot, merchants row, and all additional space in between. However, there is still the intrusion of Highway 79’s road noise, the hum of the ice trailer near the camp store staffed with "naked" (mundane) employees who don’t want to be there, modern day electric wires, and the blaze of a convenient lighting system. In addition, the glow of McDonald’s arches tower in the distance, like the blaze of Sauron’s eye, reminding you that mundania lies less than a mile away, just beyond the trees, to suck your soul away. Britannia Faire was to be akin to this event but of a different backdrop.

An areal view of Cooper's Lake during Pennsic. Mind you are only viewing about half of the area congregated by the Pennsic crowd.

The Faire was conceived to be a primitive fantasy world without the reminder of today’s monotonous, commonplace, “convenient” lifestyle. The ideal land would deliberately be remote, cut off from society, far from the highway, where there were no power lines in sight. These things were required for a true, complete immersion. During late Fall of ’09 or early ’10, Heron received a random phone call from Reddwycke saying that he had found the perfect land to craft their fantasy into a reality. And thus the magical world of Britannia Faire was born.

-The Faire as the lands were first found by Ranger Reddwycke du Foret. Photo courtesy of David Laime

Reddwycke’s mundane boss, Shane, would help him out with Tavern blueprints, assist with purchasing heavy equipment (a bobcat, bulldozer, and saw mill), and even suggested a contracting crew to hire for Tavern construction. Through the efforts of these initial few, the wildlands would be combated, earth would be moved, and the structure known as the Broken Spoke Tavern would rise into the air as the first landmark of this whimsical world. 

One of the two original Tavern Blueprints as it was originally designed.

During October of 2010, Britannia Faire would go on to host its first event: Novus Festivus. This event would go onto spin the LARPing Center’s tale of the Blue and Gold Kingsmen, the Green and White Elves, and Red and Black Bandits. Check out the following promotional video. It shows some really good footage of the territory’s condition during Fall of 2010.

Somewhere during Summer of 2010-Spring 2011, Red would go on to acquire his first full time helper/groundskeeper known as Rafin. As Fate would have it, Rafin would be Theowyn’s Portal of entry into the fantasy world. Theowyn did not know Rafin personally at this time, but happened to know his college best friend and classmate: Jael. She convinced me to make the five hour trip with her down from our home realm of Tartarus Invictus (Buffalo, NY) to see and assist him during the July 2011 event known as Sindri Boltar.

-The tavern before the extension, back staircase, and the tool shed. Photo courtesy of David Laime.

The first trip down Britannia Faire’s pathway would be made during the dark of night. The winding of the back-road had my counterpart a bit nervous as the car seemed to skirt the edge of the cliff-side as if on a widened sheep herding trail. The following morning when we were wakened by the sounds of bird thirty after drawing ourselves up out of our tent we were able to fully perceive the breathtakingly beautiful portal we had just fallen into for the first time. We. Immediately. Fell. In. LOVE. as do most the first time they see her. The Faire is located at the bottom of a long open valley; it's walls towering on either side of the Tavern gives one a since of solitude and scale. Running water along the property line, towering valley walls with rock outcrops as battlements, a variety of flora and fauna, and a never-ending supply of firewood; what more could one ask for in a sanctuary? Rafin was incredibly fortunate to be living at this magical place. But more about my infatuation with BF’s Geology, Ecology, and the medieval immersion setting later; for this is a history lesson.

Jael posing at the Tavern Bar our second night at the Faire. This "lived in" state of the Tavern was the normal setting back then.

We would arrive late in the evening two days prior to the event so Jael could get some personal catch up time with Rafin. From the moment we portaled into the land, all Theowyn wanted to do was assist in the creation of its immersive setting. I am the type of person that cannot stand/sit by while another is doing work around me; relaxing does not feel right unless everybody is doing it. Therefore, I remember offering my hands to set up tents and tables, do some last minute yard care, and even serve at the Tavern Bar.

The Stone Circle as I first saw her before the last round of pre-event yard care. At this time the Stone Circle was already an established feature and the second landmark that would be constructed at the Faire.

The back half of the battle field before the entire piece of land was maintained as a putting green.

This event had a shoulder high maze mowed into the back half of the field. This enabled some fun battle scenarios, but ultimately the populace would go onto to complain that the possibilities of ticks was not worth the fun had venturing in the tall grass.

A capture of the happenings during Sindri Boltar.

 **Unrelated side story** So this is Maka, Furyan's feline counterpart, sportin' this BA period vest; because even the animals at Britannia Faire have garb on. Fury would bring her with him to the Pentwyvern Harvest Feast of 2011. There just so happened to be a garb contest at this event and at the last minute Fury decided to enter his cat. So when his turn came up he went the front of the dining hall, which was the impromptu stage at this time, and lifted his cat high into the air. The crowd went wild. By the final round of judging almost all of the men in the audience were shouting, "Cat. Cat. Cat. Cat!" Clearly, Maka would be the crowd favorite, but given that the cat had no use of the first place prize, a decorative blade, she was unable to win the contest.

Maka the Midnight Rogue. Taken at Sindri Boltar.

Maka had no objection when it was suggested she be used as a thrown weapon with recurring slashing claw damage to the face.

Great Hoopak ammo choice Kender. Taken at Sindri Boltar.

  
I have some incredibly fond memories and rare footage of my first event at the Faire. At this time the Tavern did not have an extension and the main fire pit was a 5-6 foot wide hole in the ground, located in front of the Broken Spoke.

The main fire pit during the early years.

Firewood consisted of the 8-10 foot raw wooden tree slats the logging company left in the back 40, most are familiar with. For those that are not familiar with the Faire lands, there will be more background revealed further down the blog path. The slats were not cut up, nor split; but rather placed over the center of the hole to be burned in half and re-stacked into the blazing flames. 

"So. No shite, no shite. There I was..." (<-- Typical way of starting a true Dagorhir related tale, has become an inside joke to most of the game)  It is 2:30am the first night of the event. At this time only 6 people are awake around the Tavern fire while everyone else had gone to sleep not too far off down into the valley. There were these two men that were heavily intoxicated and beginning to get on each others nerves, having similar but conflicting personalities; neither wanted to give the other talking room on the fire stage to an audience of 4 people. This conflict would turn into one man yelling at the other at the top of his shout, saying things like, “You! Hey! Nobody is listening to you! You are annoying. Shut up. Shut the hell up! Are you not hearing me? Shut the Eff up! Shut Up!” To be fair, no one was paying attention to the other man talking, and the claims were more or less accurate.  Meanwhile the other man is continuing to tell his story without paying any mind to the shorter man shouting in his face, nor his uninterested 4 man audience, just trying to talk/yell over him. At some point the taller man would realize that his audience was false and shift gears to a direct shouting match with the shorter man. Honestly, I remember laughing hysterically at these two grown men shouting obscenities at each other at what would now be 2:50 in the morning. I could only imagine what those already sleeping were thinking if the shouting match broke into their sleep cycle. Somehow at 3am, I know this because of the time stamp, they had put aside their differences and decided to test their manliness by walking over the massive fire in the fire pit. By the end of the fire walking ordeal, both men had bonded and gave each other a botherbear hug, completely forgetting how not a half hour earlier they were about to throw punches. Enjoy some raw Britannia Faire footage from my first event.  

Now all whom are curious as to why it is necessary for Britannia Faire to always have insurance: it is because of Shenanigans like this. 

The Sisters walking down the path towards Bandit Camp as dressed for the first Battle of Five Armies in August 2011.

My next portal jump to the Faire was for its first hosted Battle of Five Armies (BOFA) scheduled during August 2011. Two additional individuals that became known as “The Sisters” decided to travel with me and the three of us volunteered to tend Tavern shifts to earn our keep of a canvas pavilion to crash in and free meals. Two days of early arrival would also find me setting up tents, cleaning and organize the Tavern bar, mowing sections of the lawn, weed eating, and brier removal, in addition to building a few bridges. The footbridge built near Troll, pictured below, no longer exists due to some heavy pockets of rain that fell during Peloponnesian War the following year. Someone slipped of the path during their exit and their dragon (period name for vehicle) got stuck in the mud trap adjacent to it. What resulted was footbridge destruction, but so it goes. It was at this event that I was first approached by Reddwycke to stay on the grounds permanently as an extra hand. I was finishing up my first degree in Geology at this time and even though every ounce of my being wanted to take him up on the offer, I had to decline.

The nonexistent bridge that ferried those from Troll bridge to the Road without tripping in the drainage ditch soon to be mud pit.

As it turns out BOFA would be Rafin’s last event as he would go on to leave the Faire later that summer to be replaced by Mac, Furyan, Roake, and the local Woodsfield native Drakus. I have very good things to say about Drakus. As long as he has instruction, Drakus has an excellent work ethic. He was a pleasure to have as an extra hand along during my stay. But I digress. Although! If anyone has interest, Drakus has some incredibly humorous tales to spin about the Faire during this rein. Something about drunkin’ 4wheeling, failed work attempts, cave exploring adventures, and many others; completely worth the conversation. Additionally, somewhere during this history recap, at an undocumented date, Tempest and Rap would also join in on the crew.

Fighters for Britannia Faire during August 2011 BOFA

As history was told to me by Red himself, somewhere during Sept of 2011 there was to be another event held at the Faire. However, due to low interest at the time and the fact that another nearby realm was hosting a bigger event 34miles away, the pending BF event was canceled last minute and the core group left the site to attend the day battle. There were a few individuals who did not receive the message that the event was abandoned. Turns out, Lockhart would be one of the few that would show up to the Faire during this time. He spent the day sparring with others who were in the same boat as he and they formed their own mini training session. During the session’s close, Reddwycke would return to the Faire to be met and challenged by an in character Lockhart, claiming that he had conquered the land of Britannia and that he intended to rule as King. Much to Lockhart’s surprise, Red did not fight, but rather fell to his knees replying something along the lines of, ‘My Liege, you may have her. I, a humble ranger, am growing tired of her upkeep.’ And with that the in-character title stuck and Britannia Faire obtained a King. Lockhart would go on to co-host a few events and manage the Tavern Eatery for the populous of Britannia Faire during the 2013 season.

Evening's light. BOFA 2011

During late October of that same year, Bounty’s Keeps was erected and receives its castle paint job. I am under the impression that later that same year, one of the castle walls fell over and is deemed unsafe to fight in. However, during the events to follow, the keep would be used as a pimp spot to camp in. That didn’t stop us from fighting in it during the September 2013 event: The Royal Wedding, but it might have had a few more repairs and anchoring brackets by that time.

Roake and Drakus working diligently on Bounty's Keep before the paint job. Photo courtesy of David Laime.

The following year would open with a warm March event Phoenix Rising and flow into another successful Masque Ball held during the beginning of May. During April of that year Mac Aaron would go onto become a Master Woodcutter and mill all the lumber for the Tavern roof extension with the help of a few other hands on the TimberKing from all on site wood. On April 30th of 2012, the roof would literally be raised and the skeleton for the extension would be constructed.

Stage one of roof complete. Photo captured by Aurora.

After Masque Ball- July of 2012, more than a few undocumented things happened at the Faire. With Reddwycke running out of steam and practically bleeding money, a new management crew came into play for all of a hot minute. The new management (Conon and Niben) did not fit the crews liking. They disagreed on everything almost instantly and by the beginning of July, maybe even as early as mid June, everyone had quit and left the Faire. This is where Timmourne steps into the game on a more serious level. He and his son Rainen along with the Natives Drakus and Jericho make some major progress on the road before the next scheduled event Peloponnesian War. 

A very common look to this section of BF's road. The issue here is that the entire of the hillside's water catchment drains to this spot and the the road lacks ditches and culverts that would properly pitch the drainage. Even after all the work put in on the dozer, the Bobcat, by shovel, by bucket, and by hand, in combination with sweat and blood sacrifices, the road still ends up looking like this. Taken April 14th 2014.

There were massive rains before and during the last evening of this event. Timmourne would donate his vehicle to play chariot, carting people’s stuff into the campground and all around play a Ranger in oiled leathers this event. (Play on Knight is shinning armor, for those who missed the reference) Reddwycke would find Reshia and Drakus to govern the Tavern while enlisting the volunteer efforts of others to make up for the deficit of having an onsite staff this event. Also during this event the Fight Pit would become a thing, located across the way form Uruk Hai camp. It is perceived that Uruk Hai is credited with the creation of this landmark, but the truth will out that a majority of the efforts needed for this task actually came from the members of Wargar while the higher up of Uruk Hai stood around and criticized like a true construction Foreman. I know this because I was also there working on the fight pit constructing more contained barriers to walk on with all the extra dirt and facing the exterior of the wall in wooden deadfall. If anyone should get credit for this project, it should be the boys of Wargar steppin’ it up again. They would also go around collecting and delivering wood to the main fires and additional wood to those who required a personal stash. During this event, Reddwycke would once again approach me, asking me to stay on site as the groundskeeper for shares in the future profit of the Britannia Faire business. At this time I was finishing up my second degree in Ecology and Environmental Geosciences and once again had to decline. 

Initially, the deadfall was placed on the exterior wall of the fight pit. But as the grass grew up over the dirt mounds, the wood made it impossible to maintain. And with that the pieces were moved to make an exterior ring around the area.

The following month of August would find both Timmourne and Lockhart donating their time and efforts to better the road, something a majority of visitors were starting to complain heavily about. August 15th, 2012 would find me back again at the Faire. At this time I convinced my current roommate to come check out the Faire and we would arrive two days earlier for another round of pre-setup before BOFA(Battle of Five Armies). This event would find Dead, Mateo (my roommate), and myself randomly constructing a set of stairs out of flat rocks next to the battlefield so fighters could go for a quick dip right off the battle field. I am happy to report that these stairs have already withstood two floods and are still laying strong. In addition some memorable moments for this event would be Elon and his massive fireworks display. Through his work with exploding fire, his well known dealings with Michigan mead, and the up-in-coming Brit Faire Coin, he would gain the name Dragon overlord of the Faire and go onto become Britannia Faire’s number one donator. If something needed a quick repair, and the heads lacked the money to purchase it, Elon would donate his for the Faire to press on.  This is also the event where Amos the Homeless War Veteran would show up on site to be “groundskeeper” for a bit. This matter was blown out of proportion and a lot of excess drama was caused but resolved fairly quickly by the new management staff. By October, Amos would be off site. 

The stairs as they lay, less than 24hrs from conception. Photo captured by Aurora during BOFA 2012.

Officially on August 24th of 2012 Lockhard, Elon, and Timmourne would join forces and resources and become the new management staff for the Faire.  September would be the last month of documented roadwork at Britannia Faire by Timmourne while Red closed the down the site for the season. Early April would find a work weekend in the schedule. Timmourne, Rainen, Reddwycke, Lockhart, Shawn Foster, and all three of the Feather’s were back out at the Faire shaking winter from her set. The road required more smoothing, potholes were filled, gravel was harvested and dumped in the road, and additional stumps were removed from Bandit Camp. Furthermore, the improperly winterized plumbing would be repaired by Shawn, and the first round of lawn mowing, mold killing, and Tavern sanitation would be complete.  

A glimpse of the swimming hole before the massive alterations attempted by a water dwelling Viking. Nature be nature. Water does what it wants. It creates a new every time it rains. Photo capture courtesy of Timmourne Darkwater.

The next time all interested management parties would meet up again would be at the Gates of Fire event, held in April. The management staff were looking for volunteers to help the Faire along this season. I had mentioned to Elon about Reddwycke already pursing me in the years past and my ever growing desire to live out at Britannia Faire. I had finished my two degrees that focused on the natural process of the earth, and all that dwell within it (Geology and Ecology), I had a huge desire to constantly be outside, and I wanted to shift my life into as little of a “no impact” lifestyle as I was able. I also had a plethora of experience dealing with landscaping, chainsaw operation, home renovation, even some of a mechanic skill set. Additionally, I had worked as a stage manager for a traveling illusionist and even had worked as a set designer for a downtown Buffalo theater; I understood how to create a scene in which to play in. With all this knowledge and skills combined, Elon would see it worth his money to sponsor me as the up incoming seasonal groundskeeper. 

There are many evenings when the air gets heavy and the fog rolls in covering the Faire in an eerie yet comforting blanket of mist. Captured Sept 29th 2013

And with that the 2013 season would find Lockhart as the cook-king: providing food for the people prepared offsite and served from the Tavern, Timmourne as the Land Marshall: drawing up a lease with me to live in the apartment above the Tavern, taking out an insurance policy for the lands under his property management company, and funding all the lawn maintenance and repair parts cost from his pocket, while Elon donates additional funds, fireworks, mead, and tokens for the Faire to play with. 

Mornings at the Faire created beautiful sky settings. The following is of the sky while looking outward from the Broken Spoke towards Bandit Camp. Captured July 15th 2013 at 625am. Mind you, bird thirty has been happening for the past two hours.

Elon, Anvil, and I would be heading to the Faire right after Gates to prep for the 3rd annual Masque Ball for an entire week as a test run as to how it would work out living at the Faire, before a final decision was made. By the end of the event it turns out the system would work and I would be due back at the Faire May 30th to start my year living, working, breathing, and documenting the happenings of the Britannia Faire portal both in and out of character.