Real Name: Mary Wachter
SCA Name: Aíbinn Mhór Inghean Ríoghbhárdáin
SCA title: Lady
Years in the SCA: 27
Where did you start, what was your first event? Birth… seriously, my first event was Atlantian 10-year Anniversary Event. I was three weeks old, and that was the culmination of a whirlwind tour of extended family.
What is your persona? My persona is an early-period Irish/Celtic Filí and daughter of a royal bard.
Why did you pick this persona?
I picked this persona because I got a lot of satisfaction delving into my Irish/Scottish heritage and was exploring druidic spiritualism when I began my persona research. My persona is the ultimate self “insert original character”, consisting of all my favorite traits, whether I have them or not.
Do you have any group or household affiliations?
I am a member of Clan Lurkr
Tell us a little bit about your life outside the SCA.
Outside of the SCA I am a mother and homemaker, as well as event planner for most of my friends. I write fantasy and science fiction, as well as fan-fiction and second-person narrative role-play.
What SCA activities do you or have you participated in?
I participate mostly just by attending events, but am pretty quick to perform tasks when asked. I tend to gravitate toward kitchen duties and clean up or set up, depending on who is in charge. I have also done some security shifts and retaining for the royals. I do like singing and storytelling very much, and have competed in bardic several times.
Tell us a little bit about your SCA experience (jobs, offices, duties, etc.).
I have never held an official office, but in my youth I did fill in as the storyteller for children’s activities once at Lilies War.
When you started in the SCA what goals did you have?
When I started in the SCA my goals were to learn how to speak a language and how to use a spoon. The bar was pretty low back then (I was three weeks old, after all.)
What are your goals now?
Now, my main goal is to not lose touch with it, even as events become more difficult to attend because of scheduling and available funds. Eventually, I hope to find a niche craft that speaks so totally to my soul I never want to give it up, and become at least good enough to be asked for advice.
If you could accomplish only one thing in the SCA in the next year, what would it be?
Next year I would like to accomplish attending an event totally self-sufficient… where I planned on everything from my shelter and food to my aesthetics and protections like an umbrella and sunscreen. All while remembering everything I need for the baby.
What advice would you give to a new person in the SCA, or if new yourself what question would you ask and who would you ask it of?
I tell all my new recruits: ask questions. More often than not, you’re either approaching an introvert who needs to be drawn out of their shell a little, or stroking the ego of an excitably knowledgeable enthusiast. You are infiltrating a pocket-society full of people who literally only hang out because they like to play make-believe together, which means your best chance is to just insert yourself, act a little bit like you’ve been there all along, and say thank you as often as you can.
If you magically woke up with an SCA talent you do not already have, what would it be?
SCA talent is so broad OMG I think given a magic option I would love to be really good at carving. Three-dimensional artwork has always been intensely impressive to me and if I could fathom space that well I think it would change a lot about my perception and physical awareness.
Don’t be modest, what award or honor would you like to receive above all else and why?
Until I find my niche skill, I’m unable to even imagine something as high as a peerage. There is a part of me that would love to be a royal but that’s a fever dream until my finances allowed me to make the reign as good as I could hope. Short-term, I would love to impress the Queen well enough to earn a favor from her. Winning any bardic competition that I actually manage to enter feels immensely successful.
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