Warriors of Ash

To our Warriors of Ash community and friends,

On September 28 Hurricane Helene stopped over the Carolinas and Tennessee, dumping trillions of gallons of rain and gusting winds up to 80 mph. In the course of an afternoon, our lives were changed forever. There was no way we could have prepared for the devastation that we all witnessed when it was safe to venture forth from our homes that afternoon. The floods and landslides were so powerful they destroyed entire towns and altered the topography of the region.

Sadly, one of the casualties claimed by Helene was our beloved War Room. We finally found a home again in February 2023 after battling through COVID shutdowns, a catastrophe that took our first War Room. The Warriors of Ash persevered through years of holding classes in public parks, without a place to call home. War Room 2.0 in Biltmore Village was a new beginning for WoA, a place where we could gather as a community, train in our art, find camaraderie and fellowship, learn from each other, seek solace in troubled times, and rebuild our strength. This War Room saw our membership explode to a horde we did not believe was even possible. We all celebrated many triumphs there and suffered many defeats, and we were able to finally do it together. The War Room was our home, and the rising waters obliterated it.

The Warriors of Ash are once again finding ourselves without a home. Our facility is wiped out along with much of our club gear, washed somewhere downstream. We praise in announcing that each of our members has been accounted for as safe. Our people cannot be replaced, but there is a lot of work ahead of us.

We are asking for your help. We will need to not only find a new War Room, but will need gear so our students can continue to train. We are asking for cash donations, gear donations, guest spots in your own events, room in your classes for our members, anything that will help us get back in the battle.

Many of you have already reached out to offer your support. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and to belong to such a loving community. In the end, that’s why so many of us find belonging in HEMA–it’s the only sport I know where you can hit your best friends with a sword and then hug and laugh about it. There’s always someone there to learn from and lean on. Thank you all for your kind words so far, and the Warriors of Ash are looking forward to splitting more skulls at a tourney near you soon. Skål!

Warriors of Ash Council & Members