Is black the new white?

With the closing of the White Scarves and the birth of the Papillon in Artemisia, there's discussion about whether Papillon are the same rank as White Scarves. As I see it, the answer is yes, sort of.

Both orders are grant-level awards for fencing, but the purpose of the two are different. The White Scarf was seen by many (and given out as) the ultimate fencing award. As a result, members of the order were viewed as the personification of fencing within the kingdom.

The Papillon, however, is seen as a stepping stone towards the Master of Defense. It's that last, final step to weed out the merely great fencers from the true peers of the fencing community.

Looking around at my fellow first Papillons, I see a group who has the prowess or the teaching ability or even those graces that define a peer. In fact, odds are that they possess two of the traits, but not all three. At least not yet.

And it's that potential for growth - that acknowledgement of imperfection - that is the difference between the White Scarves and the Papillions.

We are not White Scarves. We will never be. We are a new order. Still young. Still finding ourselves. And, like our order, still growing.

It's been a while

So it's been a while since I posted anything here and, to be quite honest, I don't know if I'll ever really become an active blogger again, but we'll see.

In the (several) years since I last posted anything, life has gone on, as it is want. Here, in Artemisia, the Order of the White Scarves was officially closed this last spring. This was done to recognize that the White Scarf was viewed by most people as the terminal award for fencing and with the new peerage, this would no longer be the case.

In it's place, the kingdom created a new grant-level award called Defenseurs de l'Ordre du Papillon (Defenders of the Papillon), of which I have the honor of being the third fourth recipient.

In fact, this past year I've received more official recognition than I did my previous 25 years in the Society. I was awarded my Golden Pillar of Artemisia at Talon and Crescent War last February, and then this October I received both my Order of Vigiance and my Papillon.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: I'm a ship now!

And, in even funner news, my eldest boy was authorized at last Uprising and is showing pretty good progress for as little practice as we're able to get in.

But I think this is going to do it for right now. I've got some ideas of things to talk about and we'll see if any of them happen.

In Service,