Settling in

We have arrived to our new home a few weeks ago. This province is beautiful. I thought British Colombia was nice, but there's just something about Alberta that's extra special. Although I miss the ocean, the landscape here is hard to beat. I like learning about our new home. I know very little about the history and culture of this province and I'm quite ashamed of that, but that's how it goes when you're raised in a xenophobic, cry baby province. But it's also my fault for not taking the time to educate myself about this part of my country.

Even if I was given the thumbs up to fight from my doctor in Victoria, it looks like my shoulder wasn't really healed. But that's ok, I won't let that get to me, I'll work around the injury and I might even take the plunge and go under the knife. Scares the living shit out of me, but nothing gets between me and my fighting. If all fails, I'll be a shieldless shield maiden and find a different fighting style.

I went to Quad war. Met some pretty amazing people and reconnected with a couple of old friends. It very quickly felt like home. The culture is different here in Avacal. I like it.
The war itself was epic. There was a war scenario that I've never experienced with before and I found it pretty interesting. A boat battle where you have the invaders coming in and the settlers defending. A very period and realistic scenario. I started researching tactics about amphibious assaults and what could have been done differently and what would have been the period tactics. I remember briefly going through that in university so I'm hoping to find my books while emptying boxes.
Fighting in and around a castle was epic. It really adds to the experience.

Last weekend was the crown tournament. I wasn't able to fight due to my shoulder. I inspired. It was very strange to be on the other side of the ropes. The only other time I didn't fight crown, I marshalled. I felt restless and useless but I still very much enjoyed myself and I especially loved watching my fighter, Donnan, fight. His first fight was epic and he did great. He was aggressive and didn't backed down. His two other fights were also pretty good. He had very strong opponents who also fought amazingly. I'm proud of him and of how he fought, he did great. I was extremely honoured that Their Majesties gave me permission to inspire in the tournament. Rule says one must be part of the population for a minimum of 6 months to participate in a crown tournament. I'm honoured and thankful for the privilege and was touched by His words during procession.
I finally met my sister! And we had some fun playing Helga ball and making each other fall with tent poles and marshalling staves. We might have hit each other in the head too. I know my head hurt like a bitch on Sunday morning and it wasn't just the stargazer... I think we will give our Knight some grey hair.

I will go to my first practice this coming Sunday. I will take it easy for the sake of my shoulder. I will be mostly working on footwork and precision I think. A good thing about not fighting this past weekend is that I was able to watch a lot of fighting. There's a couple of things that I've seen that I want to try. This will also greatly help me in my A&S project. Some people in Avacal have a different stance from what I'm used to see and I think it helps balance the offensive/defensive factor very well. I'll need to experiment a bit but I think I may have found what was missing in my stance. It also helps that I have some pretty amazing and experienced fighters to talk stick with.

I also need a major tuneup on my armour.

I think the future will be pretty exciting and interesting.