On a recent hot day, a diverse group of people in hand-fashioned costumes chant spells and dance on their toes while attacking each other with foam-covered weapons at East Brainerd’s Heritage Park.
Dressed in green and black, the eldest man on the field lunges forward with his weapon, yielding a solid thud on his opponent’s back and winning him the match.
Jason Parker, known in the Amtgard world as “Deryk MacCoill,” retires into the shade of a tree to cool down as sweat begins to discolor his intricate leather holster.
“Amtgard is what we call ourselves. It’s not an acronym, it’s just a made-up name for a made-up game,” the 47-year-old Parker explained. “When I first joined six years ago I thought this was going to be a freaks and geeks club, but we have doctors, lawyers, students and bankers here.”
The Amtgard website says the nonprofit, nonsectarian organization is “dedicated to the recreation of the Sword and Sorcery genre as well as educational aspects of both Medieval and Ancient cultures.”