The Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club prides itself on the dedication of its members, and we have decided to recognize those members that work the hardest to put their best foot forward each month. This month the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club would like to recognize the members of Talon Clan as Clan of the Month for June! These members make up one, out of many, of the MMCC’s amazing clans but that did not stop them from being a shining example to all during these trying times.
Talon Clan makes up the states of North and South Carolina within the South Eastern Region of the USA. Talon Clan was the first clan, and the oldest, to be founded back in 2007 by the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club’s very first two members, Mandalore the Uniter and his wife Xian Talon. The name “Talon” originally came from the Mandalores Star Wars: Galaxies character “Novall Talon.” Interestingly enough the clan’s sigil is composed of talon-like shapes in the form of a “T.” The clan itself used to cover North and South Carolina, including Virginia until Firestorm Clan was founded in 2007. Talon Clans first troop was held in the early summer of 2007, called “Charlotte Eats,” alongside the 501st Legion to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Talon Clan continues to support their communities through their hard work and dedication, who also continue to carry the name from the beginning of the creation of the clan.
The clan was given the name through the power of books from writers like Karen Traviss and Abel G. Pena, that depicted Mandalorian culture that we carry with us today. Karen Traviss gave us a look into the formation of clans as well as culture; Mandalore looked into that opportunity to create a local clan using “Talon” as the name. After the name was founded and the path was clear, the first clan was born. During that time the clan has gone through a few Alor’ade, but for this article we talked to the current Alor’ad about the clan, Tycho Villaz. Tycho has served as Alor’ad for about 4 and a half years, as a successor to past Alor’ade who mentored him. These past and present officers still give advice to Tycho, but we know he is doing a fantastic job as it is! If all else fails, he says he has Mandalore who is just down the road a little bit to help guide him.
The clan managed to keep busy with their events throughout the years, but they have also managed to stay active during these trying times. In this point in time, the clan continues to stay in contact via email or Facebook and have pages for both official and unofficial members to pass along information from the club. However, with the current state of the world, the clan always held events to bring everyone together despite being in two different states. The clan holds yearly camping trips on Tycho’s property for a weekend of relaxation but would also hold photo shoots for members that are ready for approval. In the past these events were held by Mandalore; Tycho hopes to hold this event in both states in the future. These events, among many others, bring the clan together through the motivation of the love of Star Wars and the family setting they create.
Talon Clan is motivated through their love of Star Wars and the ability to dress up as their beloved characters to raise money for charity. They do this as one big family, but they also share the love of raising money with the other local costuming clubs. They love to visit the local community events, the schools, and hospitals to ensure everyone is brought joy. The joy of trooping and charity hasn’t been the only motivation for them but the motivation of being together as a family has also taken root. Talon Clan members have come together closely in their lives through all sorts of social gatherings. As one could say they have come together through life, and in some cases death. They share in weddings and parties as well as births and deaths, and they have always come to remain as a family through the good times and the bad. They all take care of each other, just as the MMCC family is always there for its own members, and through that their family continues to grow.
Talon Clan has seen its family grow steadily through the past years, and in the past 4 years Tycho has been an Alor’ad, the clan has seen growth of almost 300%. Their growth can be credited by the exposure of movies, T.V. shows, and even the increase of participation in various events. The clan has also created a good relationship with the other costuming clubs and has built upon that relationship through the years. They came together through meeting and talking as well as sharing resources and ideas to come together. They share events to troop together and being one big Star Wars family has brought more members into the fold. With the growth of membership in the clan, the number of officers has grown as well. At the current moment, the clan has 2 Ruus’alors in North Carolina and 2 Ruus’alors in South Carolina. This has helped the clan cover more ground and support everyone nearby as much as possible to assist in the process. But as Alor’ad, Tycho has 25 plus years of experience as a mental health counselor and so he has been able to help his clan in a deeper way. He is able to identify any issues and help fix them to the best of his ability, which allows him to be a very effective leader for the clan in this trying time and before.
The current situation has put everyone on edge and Tycho is happy to report everyone is doing ok. Like everyone out there, they are itching to get out to troop and do good for their communities. But during this time, they have stayed connected through messaging, video chats, or even video armor parties. To keep themselves hopeful for the future, they have several big conventions they are looking forward to. Still recognizing social distancing, they are trying to plan their annual campout as something to look forward to. But while hoping to soon be together, the clan still has goals for the rest of the year and beyond. As one of their Ruus’alore joked, their primary goal is to survive, but their focus has turned to ensuring that each other are taken care of and healthy; they are also focused on keeping everyone in good spirits. They are hopeful though as they continue to see an increase in positive cases of COVID-19 being reported daily, despite the phase 2 lockdown of both Carolinas. Their goal is to soon be together to troop or to just spend time with one another, but they want, more than anything, to continue to cherish the important friendships together they have made through the MMCC.
We all wish to be back together some day soon and we can all hold onto that hope, together, with Talon Clan. We are all in this together and Talon Clan is one of the many clans we can count on to keep a light shining in the dark days we reside in. Congratulations to Talon Clan! We know we will see amazing things from all of you its members! Good luck!
You can find Talon Clan here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talonclan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talonclanmmcc/
Forum: https://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?board=20.0