The 20th day of January started like any other day in the city of Regalia. Unionists went to Sunday Mass and heard sermons and liturgy from the High Reverend and Synod, while Old Gods followers went to their mountainside temple to make offerings to their Unions. Even the Faith of Estel practitioners made their weekend journey to their Temple to worship their Pantheon. The recent traveler to the holy city would view such comings and going without much afterthought. It was a seemingly normal day.
However, activity to the southeast of the city was not the usual run of the mill. The Knight's Complex, housing the military offices of the Admiralty and Viridian Order, had an anticipated surprise this afternoon. The odd knight or officer (and even a Ravenstad or two) walking through the corridor would take notice of the spectator stands being set up by the city event guild, and remember reading that the House of Drachenburg would be hosting a small tournament to shake of the winter thaw.
However, activity to the southeast of the city was not the usual run of the mill. The Knight's Complex, housing the military offices of the Admiralty and Viridian Order, had an anticipated surprise this afternoon. The odd knight or officer (and even a Ravenstad or two) walking through the corridor would take notice of the spectator stands being set up by the city event guild, and remember reading that the House of Drachenburg would be hosting a small tournament to shake of the winter thaw.
Indeed, that was the event that transpired this afternoon. About an hour before the festivities began, contestants and spectators alike make their way to the stands and warm up rooms to be ready for the fight. After a few brief martial displays from the Viridian Order as a warm up, the Baron of Drachenwald, dressed in his typical military fashion, began his short speech to welcome everyone to the tournament. Concluding quickly after he started, the nobleman called the first contestants to the center, and with that the tourney began.
But the fight was far from over, as Harric was not so keen to accept defeat. Similar to the initial confrontation, Rodrigo followed up the sword clash with another overhead strike, which in turn was parried by the Longsae and transitioned into an attack of his own. Another block, and another clash, this time leading to more cries from the audience. Harric would take this short victory by breaking the clash, only to have his follow up attack blocked by the Peirgarten once more, who in turn made an attack that was once more countered. Each time the two men clashed swords, the crowd grew into a frenzy. That was, until the decisive attack.
The two men once again were locked blade to blade, eye to eye. The spectators at this point were each shouting the others name in support. All the while the Drachenwald Baron inched ever further out of his seat, as he watched expectantly at who would come out on top. In a final show of proficiency, Harric would break the clash and deliver a hit to Rodrigo's shoulder. Taking a step back, the Sovereign Prince would raise his blade to defend the next incoming strike, visually weary like his opponent from the back and forth trading of blows. However, with a quick feint attack, the Longsae would strike a second blow to the Peirgarten, and seizing victory of the match. However, with both side thoroughly pleasing the crowd, it was hard to be disappointed. Even Rodrigo was met with congratulations from his Viridian Peers and family, as he went to sit down with them contently. After all, he managed to last longer than most in his capacity, and knew that Harric would be quite worn out for the finals.
Thalion would be the one to initiate the fight, going to thrust one end of his stave towards Joasaie, who successfully blocked the attack and proceeded to counter with her own thrust. However, in what would come to be a surprise to the Yanar Guard, Thalion would counter the blow with his weapon, before countering with a side punch to Joasaie's side. With little time spend to pause, the Silven would quickly land the decisive blow of his stave to the Yanar's front, sending her down to the ground as he backed away, only starting to work up a sweat from the fight.
Silence came over the crowd. After the match between Rodrigo and Harric, may felt cheated out by this quick result of a fight. Some of the more paranoid members of the crowd would claim Thalion used some sort of witchcraft on Joasaie to win the fight quickly. Others claimed simply that the Yanar was more effeminate than not, and lost the match based on the standing belief that men were the only ones fit for combat. Though the less biased spectator suggested that Thalion ended the match early in order to save stamina for the final match, which would surely come earlier than usual. True to the latter's hunch, the Baron of Drachenwald took little time to recall Harric from his rest and begin the final match.
The two men stood opposing one another: sword to stave, Ailor to Half Elf, mundane to Silven. Harric had only a moment to regain his stamina from the previous match as Thalion delivered an opening strike to his side, in the same location where Rodrigo once delivered his opening blow. Following up with a punch aimed to the gut, the Silven would be stopped by the Longsae's arm, which would be followed up by a side swipe of his sword. Reacting quickly, Thalion would use his stave to block the blow, before rotating his weapon to hit Harric on the shin. The Anglian knew what his opponent was doing, and wiping the sweat beading from his forehead would catch the next attack from the stave by holding his blade parallel to the ground. Following up with a counter move, he would be parried by the Silven yet again who would attempt to deliver yet another blow towards Harric's shins. However, the Anglian caught on to the Half Elf's strategy, and would take a step back as the stave whacked thee ground. Capitalizing on the now vulnerable Thalion, Harric would quickly swing his sword to make contact with the Silven's right shoulder, before quickly following up with a hit to the left, ending the match in an impressive double hit.
The two men stood opposing one another: sword to stave, Ailor to Half Elf, mundane to Silven. Harric had only a moment to regain his stamina from the previous match as Thalion delivered an opening strike to his side, in the same location where Rodrigo once delivered his opening blow. Following up with a punch aimed to the gut, the Silven would be stopped by the Longsae's arm, which would be followed up by a side swipe of his sword. Reacting quickly, Thalion would use his stave to block the blow, before rotating his weapon to hit Harric on the shin. The Anglian knew what his opponent was doing, and wiping the sweat beading from his forehead would catch the next attack from the stave by holding his blade parallel to the ground. Following up with a counter move, he would be parried by the Silven yet again who would attempt to deliver yet another blow towards Harric's shins. However, the Anglian caught on to the Half Elf's strategy, and would take a step back as the stave whacked thee ground. Capitalizing on the now vulnerable Thalion, Harric would quickly swing his sword to make contact with the Silven's right shoulder, before quickly following up with a hit to the left, ending the match in an impressive double hit.
The final two blows delivered by the now exhausted Anglian was all it required for the crowd to stand and applaud the champion. At the grandstand, the Drachenwald baron gave his own round of applause and a satisfied nod to Harric. This afternoon, House Longsae represented the tenacity that many Regalians face when up against challenges, only to overcome them. Having bested both a Viridian Knight and a Half Elf twice his senior in age and prowess, Harric Longsae would exit the grounds with a feather under his hat. Surely this would be a day to revel in for many days and weeks to come.
@Yigit @TheSilverSpectre @CorrosGaming @JokerLupus
((Anyone is able to view the roll results here. As this post was done through RNG and not in game, players are free to dictate which injuries their characters sustained during the tournament, if any. Despite this being a Lore story, players should be able to provide IC and OOC remarks. However, I personally think this event should be reacted to in-game and provide a roleplay session for the four characters to share with their friends and family. This event is fully known IC to everyone after 3:00 EST on January 20th.))
