Celebrating Quiet Achievements in the SCA

This past weekend was Calontir’s Coronation.
It was in Mag Mor, the closest Barony to mine.

And I wasn’t there.

Life intervened in the way it sometimes does—suddenly and without negotiation. On Thursday, my stepdaughter was unexpectedly hospitalized and needed emergency surgery. She and her sister usually watch my dog, Inka, and, more importantly, I didn’t know how her recovery would unfold. So I stayed home where I was needed.

That was the right choice. However, there was still a little ache. I had fully expected to attend the event I missed.

What I missed most, though—what truly stung—was what I learned afterward. I found out that Nikolai, one of my dear SCA friends, would be welcomed into the Order of the Pelican.

The Pelican is one of the Society’s highest honors. It stands alongside Knighthood and the Laurel. Those honors recognize prowess and artistry; the Pelican acknowledges a quieter achievement. It often involves something harder to see: decades of service. The kind that doesn’t seek applause. The kind that simply shows up, again and again, because the work matters.

His recognition was for many decades of service as a herald. And if you’ve ever worked closely with heralds, you know exactly what that means. It means late nights fixing paperwork so someone else’s name is right. At times, it means standing in the wind or heat so the words are spoken clearly and correctly.
It means caring deeply about tradition, language, and ceremony. It means being part of the structure that holds the Dream upright.

But here’s the thing I’ve learned, after many years in this Society:
Joy is not diminished because it arrives secondhand.

I am so deeply proud of Nikolai. Proud of the work he has done, the constancy he has shown, and the way he has shaped the SCA.

For now, I hold two truths at once. Sometimes we stay home because we must. And sometimes, even when we miss the moment, the meaning still reaches us.

Congratulations, my friend. The Society is better because you chose to serve.