I've only been in Dagorhir for a very short period, perhaps three months or less. The thought of Ragnarok was something that I was both looking forward to and dreading in many ways. It was a chance to improve upon my ever-growing skills, but also an opportunity to see if the rest of Dagorhir was as generally welcoming and open as those in my home realm are.
I arrived at the gates of Ragnarok on Saturday afternoon, for I was selected and volunteered to pull security throughout the week. From the moment I arrived, the second part of my hopes were indeed granted for I found near everyone to be of good cheer and happy to be there. All were welcoming and accepting of this grunt who had made an appearance at the Gates of Fire event for but a day and decided to stick around.
As Sunday rolled around into midmorning and afternoon, this did not change; by the end of the evening, almost everyone who I had escorted to their respective campsites had invited me back to share a drink or just to relax at some point in the week. I came to quickly realize that it is simply impossible to experience all that Dagorhir has to offer in the way of simply awesome individuals in just one week.
I would dearly love to say that there is one battle I enjoyed above all others, but this would be a bold-faced and blatant lie. Every time I took the field to fight along side my brothers and sisters within Angaron, I had more simple fun than I have had at any event I had been a part of in the last ten years. The honor and fairness with which everyone fought, enemy and ally alike, was both refreshing and shocking. If, however I were forced to choose one battle above the rest, it would have to be the Three Bridges Battle.
I remember that day well; as the left bridge was coming under siege, we defenders became outnumbered by a swarm of the enemy. I cannot name all who stood beside me to my left and to my right, only a few and for that I do apologize. As I took the field with my brother Mac of Blackguard and my comrades Alexandros of Sparta and Cole of the Army of Angaron I heard a chant go up. It was a chant to march.
I took up the beat in a voice that was strained raw into gravel from hours of roaring relayed commands and organizing defenses and marched forward to the sound of 30 men either grunting or chanting three simple words.
"One.. Two.. Push! One... Two... Push!"
We thirty defenders drove back a number that was easily twice our own, and renewed the left side that was near collapsing. It was our moment, and in that moment we were all one, gods of the field. It did not matter if we were raw recruits or hardened veterans that had been beat down by the sun a dozen years prior. For close to twenty minutes, we held that bridge anew before an enemy who fought with honor took it from us.
For those who did not manage to make it to the fields of Ragnarok, or have just recently joined the game, I give only this piece of advice: to take the field with 400 to 600 other fighters is an experience that you will not be able to find anywhere else. It is exhilarating and awe-inspiring to look across the field and know that you are about to be part of a push that weighs in excess of three tons...that the push you will be involved in will hammer you into another line of men that weighs as much as that...and that you will stand up after the push just to do it again.
In the evenings as the battles die down and the fires of merriment begin to blaze, from the top of Angaron Hill, it looks as if a thousand fireflies have taken control of the camp. The torches of Merchant Row and the campfires of all are but a beacon calling out for people to join. It is an invitation to those of a meek spirit to come and meet new people, or join the revelry of what not hours before was possibly an enemy, and now is but a friendly hand.
The nights of partying were highlighted perhaps most specifically by Sin Night and Mardi Gras, two of the largest parties of the week, and two parties that had so much work put into them by both Mordor and Mirkwood; parties which to me, even though I worked security through both, held more merriment than any simple get-together that you will find outside such a collective of great individuals. To those who organized and orchestrated them, we all owe a debt of gratitude; a debt spawned from their hard work and dedication to everyone having a safe and enjoyable time.
In my years I have been involved in, participated in or been a spectator in close to 300 events, be they Celtic festivals, jousting tournaments or Renaissance Faires, and of all those events I have never felt so welcomed, so part of the collective masses. The question posed was in essence "What did you find enjoyable about Ragnarok?" as such, my response must be, 'everything'.