We Rangers, that is, reenactors of the Middle Earth Dúnedain Rangers, are scattered all over the place...internationally. Some belong to a variety of groups and to be honest, where once we were just Rangers we now have Dalesmen, Shirefolk, Breelanders, and Rohirrim among us. The group has grown since Andy's original pages inspired some of us so strongly.
Various groups coalesce...one lot has a Wood Elf gathering now and then. There are other gatherings now and again. My own group, the Forandiri, the Northern Rangers, is very small...generally my family with the occasional addition...yet interest has been growing in some quarters, slowly, quietly, but there nonetheless.
Does that make me a Chieftainess? Not really....except in my own immediate grouping. I am decidedly wary of ranks...they nearly always lead to class divisions on some folk strutting around and placing arbitrary 'marks' for others to meet to become equals...and as more people do more 'marks' are added. This sort of behavior is not that of Dúnedain in my opinion. Not really..although obviously from Master Tolkien's writings there were those who fell pray to it...look at Black Númenorians.
Aside from that, we do our thing quietly; learning the lay of the lands hereabouts as we ought and practicing the necessary skills as often as possible. I have taken pains to find the old fords across the Anduin here..and to see if indeed they are still usable. Some of them are not due to ending up in some business or private owners yard...some are washed away. A few...a tiny few...are still usable. I have taken great pains to learn all the various trails. In a place as thickly settled as Western Massachusetts one could be forgiven for wondering about this but in fact we have a proportionately huge amount of protected and public lands here...and there are trails and old logging roads running all over the place. Further to the West lies the Appalachian Trail and we have also the Robert Frost Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and a variety of others. Many of them interconnect. All of them require, at some point, the crossing of roads naturally.
We call these 'danger areas'. That is what we called them in the Marines. I use the same hand and arm signals I used therein...with a few added for particular purposes. The idea of course is to be able to move and work in silence. Crossing 'danger areas' or entering them provides excellent opportunities to practice these as well as observation and situational awareness. We use formations that are mostly single file, but line movements are possible and drills for setting ambushes as well as breaking contact are also in the mix. Sign communication is extremely useful...I call it Ranger Sign or Battle Sign as much of it is only used when doing a proper 'scout'.
To do these things requires one to be comfortable...at the least...with one's kit and clothing. Yes, I said clothing. To a Ranger, the clothing isn't just a costume or garb....it is part and parcel of the being. It has to be. What you wear affects how you operate and how well you can focus your mind. Just as your gear does. This explains my constant experimentation and near-obsession with the matters I think. 'What you do in training is what you do in war' is a truth, an axiom. Humans are animals of habit...and if your habits are right for one thing and not another you will be completely unprepared when that other thing happens...as Murphy's Law says it must at some point. People tend to wave this idea aside but it is in fact, true.
As a result, I often wear my Rangering kit and things even when just puttering about the apartment. Why? Because I become used to them and proficient with them..comfortable. I do not have to think about what I am wearing, how it is all laid out..it just is and I am part of it. If that makes sense. Some could say I take this stuff too far, but I would disagree. Folk are entitled to their opinions, and that includes me so there we are.
I am about to procur two more bows for my son and lass....they will be stronger than they can now comfortably draw but be well within established legal hunting power requirements. They will work up to them. That bow-fit exerciser for archers works a charm; I use it myself all the time. It is much harder to teach weapons use...in part because Massachusetts has such strict and ridiculous laws concerning almost everything that could be a weapon. Yet...there are foam and polypropylene alternatives. Not as good as working with the real things but useful for establishing basics.
Studying wild edibles...here's something to do all the time. People are generally shocked at what is edible...most varieties of plants can be eaten with care, and nearly all animals on the North American continent can be eaten. Preparation is essential...but even more important is the knowledge that lets you identify them and know when to harvest them. Some have to be eaten during a specific time else they become terribly poisonous. Parts of plants are sometimes inedible. Alkaloids are a specialty of plants and highly toxic.
Reading sign..another thing that can be done anytime one is out and about. Not just animal sign, but human too...although humans are ridiculously easy to track...just follow the junk trail for the most part. When you see an animal, go look at where it was....note the time. Check the spoor periodically to see how it ages. Make sketches, take notes, or even take pics if that helps set things. A game can be made of it.
Get healthy. I can say this because I allowed myself to get horridly out of condition. The fat broad is not far off the mark with me...but I am working hard at improving that. I am not terribly unhealthy, but I am not where I should be either...and if I stay this way much longer I will become dangerously unhealthy. Aside from injuries sustained in the fight against the dragon, nothing that is wrong with me cannot be fixed by proper exercise and eating habits. I have adopted far healthier eating habits...moving more in the direction of simple foods..and natural.
Times are tough. You never know when you might need your Ranger skills to survive for real. The time to have them down is not when you need them..but when you do not.
These are some of the activities that we Forandiri indulge in. There are many more. I cannot speak for other clans but ours works at being active, at learning, at doing. Not a bad thing really...a kind of exercise we actually like...as opposed to tolerate.
Wish I had some horses to work on the mounted aspects. Can't have everything.
Some things we can though, if we want them.
Siani
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