Dueling maintained a foothold in the American South until the end of the War Between the States but saw its most extreme popularity in the years following the Era of Good Feelings. The most famed Southern duelist is President Andrew Jackson, who is said to have fought in well over one-hundred duels.

The culture of honor in the American South has always lent itself to provide the perfect foundation for a thriving dueling culture, and a great many disagreements were resolved by duel. Contrary to popular opinion, dueling was rarely a brash and impulsive action, and was usually scheduled time in advance, often over a week before.

The procedure was simple. The parties would arrive at the agreed upon location alongside their second. Their seconds, men employed under them, would ensure fairness and referee the duel. Pistols were draw, aimed, and only fired when command was given. Unlike the West, dueling in the South was a matter of accuracy and precision — not speed.

But why duel?

In the South, your reputation and reliability heavily hinged on your sense of honor, and allowing insults to slide severely harmed your reputation. It was entirely possible that by refusing to duel, your reputation would be so hindered that you would be forced into economic bankruptcy as no one would wish to do business with you.

Credit was not scored in the American South and moneylending was considerably less usurous. Instead, lenders would figure a man's honor determined his likelihood to pay his debts. As your chances of being given a loan were dependent on your adherence to the popular sense of chivalry, failing to respond to challenges could be disasterous.

One would figure such a system would cripple the economy, as all the capable businessmen and aristocrats lie dead, but this is not necessarily the case. Dueling was far less fatal than one would imagine.

Duels often didn't end in the fatality or injury of either partner. Between each round of firing, an opportunity was presented to announce satisfaction and both parties would leave with their honor intact. A tradition rose from this in which both men would fire their pistols into the air instead of at each other. Purposefully missing a fire in a duel is obviously an immense sign of trust and goes a long way towards repairing a hurt relationship.

It was just as often that dueling ended in death or injury, particularly among those who were involved without care for economic interest. This was a difficult decision as the victor of the duel was expected to take on the dead man's debts and sometimes even pay a hefty advance to the family.

This is the spiritual successor to the Anglo-Saxon "wergild" in which a murderer had to pay the man's value to their family to make up for their loss.

The trend of resolving disputes by duel also had another function that was clearly seen in its effects on the Southern people: Great care was taken to avoid personal offence as dueling served as a social corrective force. When the penalty for insulting a man is potentially death, one chooses their words very carefully.

The legacy of dueling demonstrates itself in Southern manners. The South as a culture prides itself on good manners and hospitality, particularly among the Gentry and Aristocracy, if not also the Yeomanry. This rings true today, though not many would likely name the old passtime of dueling as the root of this culture of hospitality.

WE ARE AT WAR

You better be getting stronger, getting faster, getting smarter, perfecting your tradecraft, excelling in class, excelling in your career, becoming exceedingly wealthy. You need to be giving your support to friends as much as you can. You need to be forming mafias of close friend groups in mutually supporting brotherhoods. You need to be doing more everyday. You need to be the best. Its all riding on YOU.

Brotherhoods can form in the most unlikely ways, but you need to believe and you need to strive.

If you put the time and effort into developing yourself, it doesn't matter how down and out things appear on the surface - things have a way of materializing for those that make themselves worthy of it.

There is no reason to be alone in this conflict. However, you can only expect to find genuine comrades if you yourself are a genuine comrade.

Be authentic. Hone your body and strengthen your will. Develop your worldview and refine your thought. Make yourself an asset to your people.

You never know what kind of doors may open when you become the type of person that men of value want to let in.

After all, we are everywhere.

^ the goals

Every man should go at least once in his lifetime into the wilderness to purify his soul.

May those who hear the calling find the strength and wisdom to answer it.

The opportunity to awaken a dormant seer capability will be presented to the one who is ready.

His mission/purpose on earth will be revealed and he shall return to the realm of the living-dead with spiritual sight.

That gift can only be given to those who are willing to kill their old self, for the gods do not reveal their secrets to the unworthy or the fool or the coward.

Odin himself had to sacrifice his eye for Knowledge and hung himself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nights until the secret of the runes was revealed to him.

Out from the heart of the wilderness the Eternal Wanderer, the Allfather calls out. For the time has come once again to gather his army.