[MR] Atlantian Trading Company Update

[Cynwrig ap Rhys]

Greetings onto the Populace of Atlantia!

A new season of rapier combat is soon to start, so here is an update on the Atlantian Trading Company's (ATC) activities over the holidays.

First, planning is well underway for the April event, 'Night on Board', which is run by the Barony of Lochmere. This will be the first large ATC event of the season, and will include a 5-man melee tournament as well as several battles. Each ship that participates will receive battle honors, and awards and prizes will be given to the top ships. I hope as many of Atlantia's ships as possible make the voyage.

Second, I'd like to welcome Lord Gunther von Drachenburg aboard as a stakeholder of the ATC. His Majesty Galmr, well aware of the important contribution Lord Gunthar has made to the rapier community since his arrival in Atlantia felt him an excellent addition, and I certainly echo those sentiments.

Also, I'd like to welcome the Havoc and Mary Virginia, ships representing the Barony of Caer Mear. In addition to Caer Mear, I'd also like to recognize the Barony of Black Diamond and Stronghold of Raven's Cove, as groups within Atlantia that have registered ships with the ATC.

Finally, find below a FAQ answering some of the harder questions that I have been asked recently about the ATC. I hope this answers some of the questions that you may have about the ATC. Please email me at scacynwrig at yahoo.com if you have other questions.

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ATC FAQ (SPECIAL E-MAIL EDITION)

"Why does the Captain have to be a member of the Academie d'Espee?"

The ATC was chartered as a Kingdom entity. As such we looked at other Kingdom rapier entities. We didn't want to create something separate, but instead wanted to create something that was consistent with the 'story line' that the rapier community has with the Kingdom. Members of the Academie swear oaths to the Academie and the Kingdom of Atlantia, and we felt that that was an excellent foundation for a Captain to stand on.

"Some ships don't want to join the ATC because they don't want the ATC interfering with the structure of their ships."

To put it as blunt as I can...The ATC doesn't really care what their structures are...we have no interest in mandating how they organize their ships. All I need is a tactical point of contact (The Captain) and a crew. Everything else about the ship is outside of my concern. To put it into historical context, I hire the ship, but the Captain runs it.

"What do existing ships gain out of joining? They are already organized and self supportive, fight together in melee, and already serve their Crowns faithfully? What incentive is there for them to come under the umbrella of the ATC?"

They may not gain much, if anything from joining, but Atlantia would improve by them joining. We are looking for ships to lead the way in development of rapier tactics, and for ships that inspire others to become ships. The ship is just "a rapier melee team", and many people don't fight in a team. The ATC's mandate is to better rapier melee fighting. The first step of this is to get people fighting consistently in a team. What I would like is to have teams of people rolling over disorganized bands of other people. I want people saying "Why did they just kick our butts?" and the answer should be "They fight together, and they know what each part of the team is responsible for...they work together as one, where you work as 5 individuals". They may not gain a lot by joining, but Atlantia will be served by their experience and by showing others what a team can do.

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Lord Cynwrig ap Rhys

Stakeholder, Atlantian Trading Company



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