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Even without his armor, shield and sword, Wayne Remes looks more like a Viking than a computer systems analyst for DuPont in Charlotte.
When he’s fighting for the kingdom of Atlantia on the field, Remes has a more glamorous name: “Viscount Sir Axel of Tavastia.”
The setting is a Sunday afternoon in Salisbury’s Town Creek Park. But from a distance — fraught with dueling squires and knights — it might appear like the edge of an English pasture 12 centuries ago as the Society for Creative Anachronism takes to the stage.
“I guess it’s about escape,” says Remes, strapping on leather armor in the shade of a picnic shelter. “We all need it.”
His purple T-shirt gives a stern but humorous warning: “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.”
Founded by a bunch of college students in Berkeley, Calif., in 1967, the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA, now has groups all over the United States that travel to great battles and festivals to recreate life in Medieval Europe.
For Remes and others trying to start a chapter for Rowan County, the group offers a complete escape after putting in hours at offices and plants.
“This is what keeps me out of bars,” remarks William “Beetle”Call, who loads trucks for Silver Eagle Distributors. “I don’t go out gallivanting. I spend all my money on leather and plastic.”
The “stick jock,” who has been in the local group or “canton” nearly a year, fell in love with Medieval combat so much that he erected a padded post in his back yard to practice his aim and control of weapons. A friend who makes gas tanks for tractor trailers had an idea. So Call bolted a handle on the round, metal end of one and now uses it as a shield.
Though some go to great lengths to find the most authentic gear possible, many make their own using garden hoses, plastic scales, leather straps and duct tape.
But the weapons themselves aren’t sharp. They’re actually soft, and for a good reason: safety is a big concern for enthusiasts.
“We’re really concerned about safety and all the things that could possibly happen,” Call said.
Pole arms and swords are made of rattan wood, which — like bamboo — is flexible, sturdy and doesn’t break sharply. Tips of weapons used for thrusting in combat are topped with an inch of foam. Weapons are usually covered with a healthy dose of duct tape as well, just because they’re beaten up so much in battle.
Most wounds are self-inflicted, such as when knuckles rub the back of a shield or an armor plate chafes the inside of an elbow.
Monday nights at Ellis Park, members practice fencing. It’s a more graceful style of combat that involves thrusting with a very thin sword, rather than slashing with a heavy one.
David Steelman works with Call and studies electronics engineering at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Steelman said battling has replaced his lack of involvement in sports since he gave up wrestling that he’d done in middle and high school and at Appalachian State University.
“To me, it’s a replacement of the sports I’ve been missing,” he said. “Plus you have the convenience of whacking your friends with swords.”
But the SCA offers much more than the chance to beat and jab people. In fact, members recreate just about everything but the lice and the Black Plague.
Every other Wednesday night, local members meet at Remes’ house west of Salisbury to explore the culture and art of Medieval times. SCA enthusiasts around the country study calligraphy, microbrewing and Medieval poetry, dance and music.
“We’re studying the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, and part of the way we do that is to take on personas for ourselves,” he said. “The interesting thing about the SCA is that it’s about teaching,” Remes said.
Recognized as an “incipient canton” because it is less than a year old, the group of Rowan County residents has called itself “Serum Henge.” It is part of the Barony of the Sacred Stone, which covers western North Carolina. The barony falls in the Kingdom of Atlantia, which spans the Carolinas, Maryland and parts of Georgia and Virginia.
With all of the materials and travel, participating in the SCA can become a major investment for members.
Some larger events look like scenes from the movie Gladiator. Hundreds — sometimes thousands — of people from across whole kingdoms battle each other at annual events. About 2,000 attend the Pensic War, which is held for two weeks each August in Cooper’s Lake, Pa .
Marshals inspect gear and — just like at other kinds of war re-enactments — some even peddle supplies and food.
Today novice fighters participate in a tournament in King’s Mountain and a public demonstration takes place in Greensboro. “Any weekend of the year, if you’re willing to travel, there is an event happening,” Remes said.
Sharon Moujahed — code name “Kellia” — brings her dog and two children in a van for gatherings.
“I am not aggressive,” said Moujahed, an assistant manager at Bookland in the Salisbury Mall. “It’s hard for women to fight at first because we’re taught all our life to be sweet and gentle. But I like providing a positive role model for my children...
“As you can tell, we’ve all been hit in the head one too many times,” Moujahed said, grinning as her daughter tugged and begged her to fence with her in the grass. “Shots to the head make equals of us all.”
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The local chapter of the Society of Creative Anachronism meets 2 p.m. Sundays at Town Creek Park near the Salisbury Civic Center. It won’t meet this Sunday because of other nearby events.
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