You are going to want to check out the Dagorhir web pages to learn more about Live Action Role Playing (LARP-ing). But in general, it's similar to medieval reenactment,, such as in the SCA, but it's more fantasy like in Lord of the Rings rather than historically correct reenactment. Way more fun for us with imagination. Some of us in this unit are here for the fun and fantasy of LARPing.... some of us are warriors and archers for which we practice for fighting in mock wars at Dagorhir events, such as Ragnarok.
Although Dagorhir Realms/Chapters/Units are predominately in the theme of Lord ofThe Rings and everything related; the personae of each group and individual is allowed is totally at everyone's choice. Xanadu is a mystical and other-worldly place which works best for our imaginations, and yet we see no problems fitting into anything other groups portray themselves.
Xanadu?
While we were contemplating the name of our group, we wanted something mystical and magical.
Names have their own magic, as we have already seen; and names like Camelot, Shangri-la, and Xanadu mark out the frontiers of the territory of man’s imagination. They are landmarks on the road from the harsh landscapes of our everyday reality to that destination we are all seeking, somewhere beyond the horizon, where life is brighter, braver, and more fulfilling than in the here and now of this industrialised, polluted, vandalized and troubled society we are forced to live in, here in the beginning of the twenty-first century..
In Xanadu today, nothing is left of Kublai Khan’s ‘stately pleasure-dome’, including the name. The great buildings have crumbled to dust. The green meadowlands have returned to the desert. Nature has wiped her fingers over the face of the capital of one of the greatest civilisations in the history of mankind, reducing it to a few splintered stones extruding through a skin of muddy soil.
It is our joy to keep that magic alive in our hearts, minds, and imaginations of what has been ... might have been ....
In the beautiful poetry named Kublai Khan, we get the vision that Xanadu is not of the Earth. and other tales paint a picture of this "pleasure dome" as a magical kingdon floating in the sky above the clouds, amidst the mountains, perhaps. Those who are fortunate enough to make it there will live a most peaceful life. You never grow old, and never 'go without'. Yet, if you leave, you rapidly age until you are dust. No one has left to pass on the knowledge of what Xanadu really holds.
there have been times where it has needed defended.
We wouldn't want to be discovered and invaded, upset the balance in our Paradise, now would we?
So, we have volunteers who train as warriors. Some have previous experience, some enjoy it as a great way to stay in shape and alert.
In Dagorhir, there are mostly warriors who follow the lines of J.R.R. Tolkein's writings. ( which are awesome) But there are otherworldly types among them, as what we are. Everyone fits in at Dagorhir; it is their goal to allow everyone a place in the games.
