Appledore

(Appledore includes the South Okanagan, Similkameen, Boundary, and the West Kootenays in BC) Located in the Principality of Tir Righ.

The Shire of Appledore was founded in September of A.S. XV, when the first Appledore Open Tourney was held. Its petition for recognition was received by Their Magesties of the West, Frederick and Nicorlyn at Twelfth Night of A.S.XV in Lions Gate, where the Shire's roots lie.

Royals visiting Appledore are entitled to receive a tribute of a red apple and a golden one. This compact was entered into with the Monarchs of the West; Steingrim and Lenora, on their visit in A.S. XVI.

The laws of Appledore are few and far between. Not only are puns proscribed, they are prescribed as a prerequsite for the prerequsites of high office in Appledore. There is, however, a mundanity tax, also known as the "none-such-name" tax, of one copper levied for each occasion on which someone is called by a mundane rather than a personna name at an event. Appledore is a Dragon Preserve with hunting forbidden, in deference to a former resident, Zoran Dolmar of Dragonhead.

The Land

The environs of Appledore encompass the South Okanagan, the Boundary region, and the West Kootenays, with picturesque mountains dotted with pine, vast orchards and vineyards, and Tir Righ’s only desert. As one enters the shire from the north, the well traveled highroad passes through ranchlands and down to the southern end of Skaha Lake and the village of Okanagan Falls. There, one can stop at Tickleberry’s for a well-deserved treat and discover just what a “tickleberry” is.

Further south one enters the “Golden Mile” with its numerous and excellent wineries including local favourites such as Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, and Silver Sage Winery.

The town of Oliver is the Western centre of Appledore, surrounded by orchards and farms and nurturing a burgeoning Arts community. It is in Oliver that one would once have found Skunk Hollow, the estate of the Honourable Lord Malcolm of Lamont, who yearly played host to the Tournament of the Golden Swan and Midsummer in the Hollow among other events, plus weekly meetings and fight practices. Skunk Hollow was sold in AS 43, it's last event being that year's Tournament of the Golden Swan.

Traveling south one eventually comes to the town of Osoyoos which sits astride the warmest lake in Canada. Up Anarchist Mountain to the east one can travel to Bridesville, Rock Creek, Midway, Grand Forks, and on into Castlegar and Nelson, the lands formerly held by the defunct shire of Frozen Mountain. To the west one will come to Keremeos with its abundance of fruit and vegetable merchants, and Princeton, the gateway to the west.

The lands of Appledore with its long days of sunshine and warm summer nights offer visitors and our populace a rich harvest of fruits, berries, and vegetables with vendors offering an abundance of local produce from the first warm days of May through to the first frost in the autumn. Even in October, though the nights are crisp, visitors to the Tournament of the Golden Swan enjoy warm days and ripe apples fresh off the tree.

Champions

Appledore seeks a well rounded Champion, one who scores highest in a series of competitions, including but not limited to; Archery; Armoured Combat; Arts; Bardic; Rapier Combat, and; Sciences. Each year the shire chooses a theme for the Championship such as recent themes of "Seige", "Fellowship", "The Hunt", and "Pilgrimage".

Current Appledore Champion;: Lord Hallbjorn Skjalda-Hrafnsson A.S. LVII (2022)

Past Appledore Champions;: Lady Naccarajin Khatun, AS XLV (2010); Johannes Arbalaster, AS XLIV (2009); Lord Bart Archer, AS XLIII (2008); Sayyid Abd'al Hakim al-bahr ibn Da'ud al-Ghazis, AS XLII (2007); Lady Molly Modine, (resigned) AS XLI (2006); Lord Oric of the Black Forest, AS XL (2005); HL Sevrin Lord de Savage, AS XXXIX (2004); HL Bruz of the Black Hand, AS XXXIIX (2003); Don Andrew Williams, AS XXXVII (2002)

The Tournament of the Golden Swan holds two Championship Tournaments each year. For Armoured combat, entrants compete for the title of Harvest Champion and for Rapier combatants, the Cob Championship. Both Champions are honour bound to come to the aid of any of the Ladies of the Golden Swan should they be called upon.

Current Tournament of the Golden Swan Champions;: Heavy Defender - Lord Hallbjorn Skjalda-Hrafnsson A.S. LVII (2022); Rapier Defender -
Past Tournament of the Golden Swan Champions;: Rapier Defender - Lord Tobias von Rosenheim A.S. LVII (2022); Harvest Champion - HL Russell Cam-beul O'Danescombe AS LIV (2019-2022); Cob Champion - HL Murdoch Sinclair AS LIV (2019-2022); Harvest Champion - HL Hraði inn Rakki; Cob Champion - HL Andrew Williams; Harvest Champion - HL Ulf Ingbrandsson, AS XLIII (2008); Cob Champion - Don Kieran Gunn, AS XLIII (2008)