From The Heirs of The East, Middle, Atlantia, and Æthelmearc with regard to Pennsic 52:

Unto the Known World do the Heirs of the East, the Middle, Atlantia, and Æthelmearc send greetings as we herald a New Year filled with promise, glory, and fellowship!

We turn our eyes to the jewel of our Society’s calendar, the illustrious Pennsic War. Each year, Pennsic combines the clash of arms, the harmony of song, and a vibrant array of cultures to forge our collective medieval dream. It is with great joy and anticipation that we extend our heartfelt welcome to all who would partake in this grand adventure. The preparations for this year’s Pennsic are well underway, and our hearts are set on a singular mission: to craft an experience so unforgettable that every participant will carry it forward, yearning for the return of next summer’s gathering. This year, the principles of the East and Middle Kingdoms have forged a bond of unity with each other and our noble cousins, the mighty Atlantia and our glorious host Æthelmearc. We have pledged to shape the Pennsic War’s structure, rules and events with the virtues of inclusivity and fairness in the spirit of noble competition. Our goal is to weave a tapestry of shared adventures and traditions that will stand as a testament to the enduring legacy of Pennsic.

To those who join us for the first time, we offer our welcome to a world where history and imagination merge into a living, breathing experience. May your journey into the heart of Pennsic be one of awe and inspiration, and a place where dreams of chivalry, artistry, and camaraderie come alive. For those who return, bearing the memories of past Pennsics, we eagerly await the tales you will add to this ever-growing saga. We strive to ensure that every person finds their place within this living dream, and we call upon you, the populace, to lend your voices, your ideas, and your hearts to help us shape this year’s war into the most inclusive and joyous Pennsic yet.

Prepare yourselves for days of splendor and nights of revelry. Whether you march into battle, partake in the arts, or simply bask in the ambiance of this wondrous event, know that you are part of a community that thrives together. Let us gather as one, bound by our love for history and imagination and the life we breathe into it.

Raise your banners, don your armor, and prepare your hearts, for the Pennsic War beckons. Let us step forward into this New Year courageous and united, ready to create memories that will endure for generations to come.

We call upon you to lend your voices, your ideas and your hearts.

In service and anticipation,
The Heirs of The East, The Middle, Atlantia, and Æthelmearc

Sunsetting of Kingdom Zoom Accounts and Google Meet Replacement:

Greetings unto Æthelmearc!

His Majesty Bjarki, Barun Padraig, Master Tigernach, Sir Rhys, and I met to discuss the future of online meeting spaces within our Kingdom.

Although there were some issues with Google Meet that we experienced as we neared Curia, we have come up with workarounds for many of these issues in order to move forward. Hence, we have decided to close our Zoom account, effective March 21, 2025, and use Google Meet in its place.

We also will be purchasing one paid license for Google, in the case we need a room that holds more than 100 individuals for a meeting. This room will need to be reserved. We will have instructions forthcoming for this as well.

Please note: You *can* use Google Meet at this time, if desired. However, after March 21, it will be the only option using Kingdom resources. Any meetings scheduled on Zoom for after March 21 will not be available through the Kingdom Zoom accounts and will need to be created by the Kingdom Officer or the Officer of the Local Group, Polling Order, or Guild in Google Meet.

In the coming weeks we will be providing documentation on how to create/schedule a Google Meet off our Kingdom’s Google resources, as well as how to do [and save] screen recordings using a third-party app, what to do for online events that need more than one ‘classroom’, and a best practice for hosting if you are not the one to do the ‘Zoomerating’.

Anyone in the Kingdom with a Google account (which includes all Group Seneschals, Kingdom Officers, Guild Heads, and Polling Order Clerks), as well as any officer emails we have received from local groups, and any @members.aethelmearc.org accounts, are able to create and/or schedule a Google Meet on their own on their provided account. This means you will no longer need to ask for access to an online meeting room. If you need a reminder of your account login information or password reset, please email us at helpdesk@aethelmearc.org.

To join a Google Meet, you will not need to have a Google account. You will only need a Kingdom Google account to create/schedule/open the meeting.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at helpdesk@aethelmearc.org.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding,

Amalie
Æ KWeb

Information from the Earl Marshal Regarding Marshal Authorizations and Marshal Warrants:

Greetings most Noble populace of the Sylvan Kingdom of Aethelmearc.

As the Summer winds down and we look forward to the cooler months, there are some changes in the works. I know ,”Oh no not changes!” These are good changes and will ease stress in the future. These changes are coming about due to continued issues with marshallet renewals and or updating authorization information. Typically, the Authorizations office and the Marshallet office are hunting for the same people from different platforms. This causes to much time looking for information, getting responses from people, and even lost cards cause time and frustration. So Mistress Amalie Reinhardt, Baroness Aemilia Soteria THL Deirdre Scot and myself got together and discussed options and processes to help everyone out.

I am happy to announce some exciting news from our Authorization Office. Our Authorization team in conjunction with our Kingdom Webminister have created and implemented an Authorization & Marshal card Portal.

What is this you say?

This portal will allow you to retrieve, print and save your authorization card to your phone or any device at any time. Any combatant and/or marshal will be able to pull this information.

Over the course of the next few weeks, all fighters and marshals will receive notification from either Baroness Aemelia Soteria or THL Deirdre Scot and receive their “fighter number”. The fighter number is a unique number assigned to each person. This number is what you will use to pull your information from the coming online database portal.

This enhancement to our Kingdom Authorization Process has resulted in some necessary changes.

1. Authorization expires on the same date as your membership expires. This means there is only one date to remember. When your membership expires so does your marshal warrant and your authorization. If you are not a paid member, your authorization expires every year on your birthday.
2. Your first physical card will be issued at the cost of the office, any requested duplicates can be requested for a small donation.
3. There will still be a slight lag time between the time you enter the online authorization form and the amount of time it becomes available on the portal. The lag time should not be any longer than 5 days. Remember when this could be a month?
4. The link to the portal will be found both on the Authorization Clerk Webpage and Kingdom Webpage no sooner than September 1, 2024. After September 1, the yellow cards will no longer be accepted by the MOL table after September 30th.. All cards should look like the below picture. (New cards have all auth forms, weapons and also all marshal forms your in)

So to sum up the pros- Auth and marshal info on one card.

• print your own cards,
• everything is tied to duration of membership to renew whether your membership is 1,2, or three years.
• you will receive a personal fighter number.
• All information will be on one database not 2.

We realize that there will be a small group of people that may need alternate assistance in obtaining the email of information. reach out to the Authorizations office for assistance.

If you have any questions please contact the authorization office directly, if you notice there are errors that need to be corrected ask politely.
Direct all complaints to me.

In Service,
Sir Ardan Scot of Clann Scot
Kingdom Earl Marshal