A Short Account of what happened in the Summer Festival, or rather, The Story of the Lithuanian Invasion to Estonia

There is no single reason why we actually went to the Summer Festival of the Estonian Tolkien Society. Personally, I was keen on seeing how tolkienists in another country live, what they look like and what they do. Moreover, it was one of those summer adventures: going who knows where to visit people you hardly know and many of whom, whatever they say before you meet them, may not speak a language you understand... Finally, of course, I was itching to see what would happen when tolkienists from the three Baltic states gather in one place, probably for the first time ever: for the Latvians decided to come after all. Now when I am writing this three days after the event ended (later edition: this hasn’t changed after two months, now that I’m editing the text), I feel like I have dreamt something strange and unlike anything else – and for this I definitely have to thank each and every person whom I – we – have met and talked to and who made those days unforgettable!

On the face of it, we were not completely unaware of where we were going: Mart of the Estonian Tolkien Society Keskmaa Ordu had told us about tolkienism in Estonia before, and we knew more or less what we would be doing when we reached the venue, we had even seen photos of previous events in Estonia, and, for my part, I had been talking to some of the Estonians via the Internet. However, „real“ is always different from „virtual“, and we weren‘t sure of what we would see. Mart invited us to the festival in March. By the end of July we had figured out that there would be four of us going: me, Exon, Woodberry and Laiqua. We decided to attend the festival from the beginning to the end, though the initial idea was to go to the LARP game only.

So we left on 17th August, at 10 PM, and reached Tallinn at 8 AM next morning. We were met by my tolkienist friend who showed us around the capital of Estonia, and then we caught the Tartu train to Jõgeva. Unexpectedly, while we were looking for a place to sit, a passenger rose and asked me in English: ‚Are you going to Kassinurme?‘ ‚Yea, we are!‘ – I replied. We learned that this guy – now I know that his nickname is Docsf – was also heading the same way. I guess he recognized us because of the photo, a link to which I had posted on the Keskmaa messageboard. In Jõgeva, Mart was waiting for us, and Mati was also there. We reached Kassinurme safe and sound, even though a bit tired (going by bus through the night is a bit uncomfortable, you know...).

The festival venue truly impressed us. Neat and tidy, it fascinated us by its atmosphere and calmness as well as its remarkable suitability for a tolkienian event. The fortress, which we had seen in the photos before, was more than any LARPer would wish, not to talk about us, who are more tolkienists than gamers... No sooner had we managed to put up our tent (somehow…), than we were led to the opening seminar of the festival. Our interpreter Die did her best to convey the essence of the speeches to us. One of the things that we will remember for the rest of our lives is that in Estonian folklore diseases and plagues come from where Latvia and Lithuania is. Well, we can reassure you: this time we didn‘t bring anything infectious with us! The second speaker, Mati, spoke about Middle-earth re-enactment. I was especially interested in what he had to say about Keskmaa Ordu and it being a small Middle-earth in itself. Afterwards I found myself wondering to what extent re-enactment was part of the usual activities of the Estonian Society and, in general, where re-enactment ends and escapism in negative sense starts... something in connection with our previous discussions in the Lithuanian forums, actually, not very relevant here, but still.

We all agreed that the atmosphere of the festival was enhanced because of the people who wore costumes all the time, not only during the game. We did not expect this to be so, and we were pleasantly surprised. Also, even though finding dishes to suit the Middle-earthish style, as Mati had warned us beforehand, posed some problems and we brought only what we could find, this very idea is quite a remarkable one, if one takes into consideration that, due to this, not only do you look part of something medievalish / fantasy-like, but you also feel like part of it. And the feeling is overwhelming... As for the overall impression of the seminar, I thought that everyone was listening attentively (even though it was clear that not everybody was actually interested in the topic). Funny, but this could be a good example for some of our younger tolkienists who imagine that lectures et cetera can only be interesting to snobish purists like me!

After the seminar we were instructed in the art of making Estonian LARP weapons. Yes, we have to admit that we were quite amused at the lightness of the swords, not to mention that they were poorly balanced (I tried to balance mine properly yesterday, though I see now that it will require bigger weight than I had thought). The fighting style is of course also different from that of Latvia and Lithuania. The Estonians surely are not afraid to hit hard, whereas if one did this with a Lithuanian or a Latvian LARPing weapon, it would result in serious injuries. In this respect, the Estonian weapons are better. However, one sometimes longs for the closer-to-the-truth weight that wooden weapons have.

Dinner time came. We hurried to put on our costumes, for by then we had understood this would help us to become part of what was going around us. The tea was superb that evening! Afterwards, the disco started – joking, of course, for we were dancing Estonian dances (as far as I understood). Not that they would be much different from what we have in Lithuania... It was fun trying to catch the steps when everything was being explained in Estonian! Not to speak about the lyrics, which we, of course, were highly unlikely to memorize.

While we girls were dancing, Laiqua was leading serious conversations with the Estonian tolkienists. He got acquainted with Bernard, who happened to have heard about BBRI – the Bolshaya Baltiiskaja Rolevaja Igra, about which I had some questions to the Estonians. Why? Well, personally I have never been to BBRI, though I am planning to go to the BBRI 4 next year, if I am able to, and if it is going to take place. But I know that even though this is supposed to be the game of all three Baltic States, so far only Latvians and Lithuanians have been participating. Lithuanians said that they had sent an invitation to Estonia before BBRI 1 but there was no serious response. On Thursday evening Bernard said he remembered that invitation. Well, not delving too deep into detail, we got the impression that for larger clubs of Estonia, such as the one Bernard told us about, BBRI is of minor importance. However, it would be nice if at least once Estonia also had someone participating in this game – we‘ll see what future brings us...

Next day we dressed up in our role-playing costumes, or at least in parts of them, and shooted off to the courses. Laiqua and Woodberry accidentally switched places with Exon and went to her Guerilla course, so Exon had to go on a Ranger course instead. I, meanwhile, went to learn some First Aid. It was both useful and fun! We learned how to do a CPR, how to turn over and wrap a wounded person (oh dear, poor is the one who had to act the wounded...). And for all this I, of course, have to thank our remarkable instructor!

After lunch, I went to another course. Laiqua and Wood stayed somewhere in the woods (poor creatures, missed the lunch!), Exon continued with the Rangers after eating. My second course was „Herbs and how to use them“. I have to confess I chose it because I am interested in herbs but I know almost nothing and I never get down to learning more. So this course was a great opportunity for me to pick up some useful knowledge. Indeed, the fact that even now I remember some of the useful (or poisonous!) herbs we‘ve been shown, is enough to prove that something has remained in my head! Thanks to the course leader for the material that she gave us, I have it now on my shelf and look up a herb or two from time to time.

The third course was not so much of a course, rather a couple of hours of playing music in a way it is rarely played nowadays. I‘ve been playing flute for some 11 years and I‘ve been connected with music ever since I was a toddler, but playing for your own pleasure, like in the old good times when whole families used to gather together merely for playing, is a rare joy. The songs offerd by the wonderful lady who led the course were great! By the way, talking about songs, we Lithuanians were joking after the festival that Estonians must have learned our Lithuanian folk song repertoire by heart. In fact, we sing many of those songs in our tolkienian gatherings, and they always liven up the atmosphere. In the roleplaying game they stood for Rhûnic folk songs.

We put on the rest of our costumes after the dinner and prepared for the game. A little bit about our a priori impressions of the game - there were several things which seemed a bit weird. First of all, all we knew for a long time was the setting of the game. It was clear that this would be a more social game, with less action than in most Lithuanian games. But there were no rules... at least no rules in English. Those were posted only like 24 hours before we had to depart, so I printed them out and we read them on our way to Kassinurme. Luckily, they were not too diffcult to understand. Another strange thing was that our roles were assigned to us. I had only participated in 4 LARPs before this game in Estonia, but from what I know about LARPG in Lithuania, here it is the players who chose their characters and write legends for them, not the game masters. Of course there may be general guidelines, such as „we need one inn-keeper, two city guards etc.“, but the players decide on the name, biography and all the other relevant things. Therefore this was a kind of a game we had not tried before. We were supposed to be travelling actors from Rhûn (I had told Mart that something of that sort would suit us). It was really convenient for us because we could speak our own language and use English as Westron. Also, we could employ Lithuanian folk songs as Rhûnic songs! And, we could act a bit weird – we were artists after all!

As actors, we had to have a play or two, of course. Exon had had one Japanese comic play in mind, and that‘s the one we showed on Saturday afternoon. It was about a naïve warrior and his tricksy beloved lady. This lady pretends to be crying because the warrior has come to say farewell to her, but she actually wets her face with water when he‘s not looking. The warrior‘s servant notices this and swaps the bowl of water to a bowl full of mud. So the lady puts the dirt over her face and the warrior is convinced that she does not really love him. But then the lady secretely puts dirt on his face, too, and accuses the servant of giving an evil mud-showing mirror. We also prepared a play about Elendil – this one was a serious one, and yes, we crammed our lines properly ?! Our aim, as given in the role assigned to Exon, was to perform for the King. We had already had the things arranged, but then there came an attack from Rhudaur and Annuminas and someone else, and everybody had to hide in the fortress. It was getting dark... I was weaponless, for I had agreed to lend my freshly-made sword to another player. We sang songs – hey, the Estonian bard was The Bard indeed! But then I actually got a weapon and when the battle began I fought, as well as I could (considering my almost non-existant fighting skills ?). And I died, just as everyone else. End of story, end of game. But let the out-of-game party begin! The music on Saturday evening was more than anyone could wish...

We packed our things on Sunday and got ready to leave. We went to Jõgeva on foot and caught a bus to Tallinn. Then we spent several hours in Tallinn again and returned to Vilnius in the early morning on Monday. We were tired, sleepy, dirty and so on and so forth, but happy! And, of course, we were sharing our experiences all the way home. I miss everyone already, and I now know that it was one the most adventurous things that happened to me this summer. Therefore I thank everyone who made this possible, thanks for inviting and accepting us warmly! If my Latvian has improved at least a bit during the last few months, I guess that this phrase is suitable for the ending of my article: Lai dzīva draudzība! So be it – and nothing more needs to be said.

By Starlin Elvëa

Some photos:

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