So here I am in Columbia MO. At the end of the semester last year I had no job, no money and no place to go. A buddy of mine offered to let me stay with him over the summer, and it's only been by the grace of God that I got a job and saved up enough money to get an apartment. So here I am, working my way through college, trying to make ends meet and get an education at the same time. It's rough.

At the beginning of the school year in 2008 some college buds turned me on to a game called Dagorhir. Now bear with me as I try to explain it in a way that doesn't make it sound like a total nerd fest (cuz we're all total nerds)

Dagorhir is at its core, a combat game. There are rules and objectives, just like in any other combat game, say like paintball, only, instead of using paint and guns to "kill" each other without actually killing each other, we use weapons made of various types of foam. The aim is to hit certain body parts on the opponent so that he either loses that body part (in the case of hitting an arm or leg) or he dies (in the case of a torso shot). So essentially we're practicing sword combat styles with swords that won't kill us. It's an absolute blast to step onto a field of about 500 dudes and participate in a battle that lasts for an hour. Absolutely thrilling. Here's the Manual of arms if anyone is interested: [link]

The other side of dag that I absolutely fell in love with is weapon making. See in the rule book of Dag, there are regulations on the weapons, so they are safe to use, playable on the field, and at least somewhat realistic. There's no weapon store to buy all these weapons, aside from online vendors that charge an arm and a leg. And since its much more cost effective and a hell of a lot more rewarding to make your own weapons, I decided to get involved. To me, making things with my hands is a joy, and even more so when I can use that creation to pommel someone into the dirt! _Edit: You can't actually pommel someone in Dagorhir, its an illegal move! )

So thought I'd resurrect this old deviant account, see if I can't post some weapon work or maybe write a few short stories every now and then. Yeah I still write when I'm inspired and have the time.

In any case I'll be lurking about here from time to time, keep your eyes peeled for future posts.

-Stephen