Aislinn's Word-Hoard: Bróccín MacIvyr

What skills make up the COMPOSITE of an ARCHER?
DRAWING on experiences RANGE-ing from competitions, creation, and coaching.

TARGET-ing his goals to become a marshal.

NOCK-ing down challenges to host practices.

We Ryouko'jin Demon King of the Three Heavens and Rani Indrakshi FLETCHING Rulers of the East Kingdom

Will not OVERDRAW this tale any longer. BUTT, We trust, there will not be any QUARREL with this decision:

Bróccín MacIvyr, a MARKSMEN with CLOUT, now, member of the Order of Apollo's Arrow.

SHOT on September 3rd As 57.

In the Year of the Blue Tyger

In the Crown Province of Ostgardr at John Barleycorn Welcomes the New Heirs

107 words

Illumination by Eleanore MacCarthaigh

Calligraphy was by Aleksei Dimitriev

Science the BLOG out of this scroll

In mid-July, less than three days after I had written a scroll for an Apollo's Arrow LINK, I received notification about another one - for Bróccín MacIvyr, my husband.
I immediately put in a request through the signet to write his scroll ... and after putting it on the back burner for a month, sat down and was completely stumped. It needed to be good!
I started by looking into Henry VIII's flagship, The Mary Rose. Years ago, Broch had begun a research project on the arrows found on the ship, which were pivotal for archery research of this time period.
As it turned out, the Mary Rose was a fruitless place to begin. I couldn't find the charter or its manifest. (I also had to resist filking Stan Rogers' "The Mary Ellen Carter" - which, while amusing, wouldn't have been what Broch wanted.)
Switching tactics, I looked into Norse writing styles - something Broch would appreciate even though it's not his persona. I gathered several kennings for arrows, including "the powerful pole of the thin linen cord," "wound-reeds," and "battle-blizzard" ... but this just didn't feel right for a scroll for Broch.
In the end, I decided - as I so often do - that you can't go wrong with archery puns. With my trusty Glossary of Archery Terms thus in my quiver, I took careful aim and let fly:

What skills make up the COMPOSITE of an ARCHER?
Pun Number One: a composite bow is a laminated bow used probably for thousands of years BCE.
DRAWING on experiences RANGE-ing from competitions, creation, and coaching.
In this one line I wanted to sum up the work Broch has been doing for the past several years:
In the past year and a half he won two out of the three competitions he entered
He became a member of the Pennsic archery champions team, which swept all categories this year
He has made arrows from feathers and sticks and is exceedingly knowledgeable in the upkeep and repair of equipment
He has learned all aspects of marshaling
TARGET-ing his goals to become a marshal.
Broch has wanted to be an archery marshal for ages, but has had to put that goal aside for a few years for mundane reasons ... until recently when he achieved it!
NOCK-ing down challenges to host practices.
Broch has overcome many challenges in getting a regular shire archery practice running again. Now that he's a marshal, it will be that much easier.
We Ryouko'jin Demon King of the Three Heavens and Rani Indrakshi FLETCHING Rulers of the East Kingdom.
This is meant to be a pun on "fetching" - something I would discuss with the voice herald before this scroll is read.
(Speaking after the event here, the doubletake His Majesty gave the herald when this was read out made it 100% worth it!)
Will not OVERDRAW this tale any longer. BUTT, We trust, there will not be any QUARREL with this decision:
I almost sent this to the C&I artist with a repeat pun! It sounds dramatic when I write it down, but there is a lot of craft that goes into one of these punny scrolls.
Bróccín MacIvyr, a MARKSMEN with CLOUT, now, member of the Order of Apollo's Arrow.
This is true as of August, according to the Royal Round Rankings.
SHOT on September 3rd As 57.
In the Year of the Blue Tyger
In the Crown Province of Ostgardr at John Barleycorn Welcomes the New Heirs
I even managed a parting shot in the last sentences of the scroll - a love letter to my husband. I'm so proud of how much he's accomplished.

East Kingdom Gazette: Court Report for John Barleycorn – Ostgardr Investiture & Fight for a Cause Tournament