'Oddballs are the majority': EastWind Castle offers medieval fun in Aiken County

More than 10 years ago in a land not too far away, an Aiken County man fulfilled his childhood dream of building his own castle. That grew into a small kingdom training modern day knights and serving as a community hub for fantasy fanatics from far and wide.

Sherman Gills is the "Copper King" of the EastWind Castle and Village in Trenton, S.C. Those who make the nearly 30-mile journey from Augusta will find a secluded, medieval-inspired village tucked into the woods featuring a sword fighting ring, two halls for eating and hanging out, ranges for archery and blade throwing, and a white, two-story high castle.

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Gills' title carries a badge of humility as copper coins were historically a very common form of currency. Most of the village, including the castle, was built by his hands after leaving the U.S. Army. It was during his service in Germany that he immersed himself in stories of knights and their kingdoms.

"I started using my off time. Instead of hitting the clubs and the pubs, I would start working with different groups doing restorations on old manors and castles," Gills said. "That just got me really wrapped up into ancient history."

Gills' right-hand warrior Gwen Schuckert, who also answers to Governess Luna Rose Wolfwalker, explained that they weave that history and the corresponding mythology into their various events.

"Like with our Wyvern Egg Hunt, we pull the lore of what was going on at that time," she said. "We had our fairies out, our goblins out and our gremlins; all the lore we play into."

This is a pillar in the unique education model EastWind offers. Volunteers teach guests how to make leather accessories, shoot an arrow, throw an axe and many more special knightly skills. It's opened up a lot of possibilities for scouts, homeschoolers, and other children like Thomas Bailey, 12.

"I like coming out here. There's a lot of things to do," he said. "I've learned to do archery, throwing stars. I'm terrible at throwing axes, but my friends and I like to go out exploring everything and it's quite interesting."

Back when he was in the service, Gills was often teased for his archaic ambitions. But he did not let that deter him.

After leaving the service, he purchased 25 acres in Trenton, built his castle, completing it in 2006. It was meant to be much bigger with the idea of opening a kind of medieval bed and breakfast. Nevertheless, it would soon become the centerpiece to something much greater.

"We found more and more people that were drawn to the subcultures of life. They watched the world go by them on whatever's popular, and they felt kind of left out," Gills said. "Well at EastWind, the subcultures and odd balls are the majority. So now they have power and a voice that they don't have to hide."

That gave birth to the larger EastWind Village, which drew in many regular guests like Tiphenie Bryan, also called Lyra.

"My favorite genre is fantasy, medieval stuff. When I was in school and we would do "The Canterbury Tales" and things like that, those were my favorite," Bryan said. "Now I get to come and live it sometimes."

Gills and his team continue to build and develop the village. Two of their biggest projects slated for the future is to build some infrastructure for jousting and an indoor archery range.

EastWinds' events vary in size and type. Their next big one is the Dragon Faire to be held June 3-4. All of their events offer free admission and are open to the public, though there may be an entry fee to any competitions.

For more information, follow the Facebook pages for EastWind Castle and EastWind Village.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Aiken County's EastWind Castle offers medieval teaching, entertainment