By THLaird Colyne Stewart
On the 28th day of May, a grand tournament was
held in the lands of Septentria, within the canton of Caer Draeth. There, the
following good gentles did cross swords to determine who would be the new
Prince and Princess of Ealdormere:
Mistress Aelfwyn of Longwood for THL Hereward the Far
Dweller
THL Baldric Leeman of Newcastle Emlyn for Lady Brayla la
Vienette
THL Corrig McKail for THL Emer nic Aidan
Lord Derfel Malory for Lady Melisande du Rocher
Viscount Edward the Red for Viscountess Rylyn Buchanan
Sir Evander MacLachlan for THL Melusine de la Rose
THL Kayla the Cheerful for Sir Trumbrand the Wanderer
Lord Lothar the Gregarious for Lady Katherine of
Renfrewshire
Baron Phaidrig McNeil for Baroness Etaoin O'Fearghail
Count Sarnac Ba'adur for Countess Joleicia of Litchfield
Lord Tarquin Bjornsson for Lady Caitlin inghean Tomais ui
Dhuibihir
Master Trumbrand the Wanderer for THL Kayla the Cheerful
Baron Tynne Duair ap Beul for Baroness Tabitha Dearval
Lord Wat of Sarum for Lady Oksana z Moravy
Herr Wulfgang Donnerfaust for Lady Jean-Margaret Donnerfaust
There I did accompany my lord knight, Sir Evander
MacLachlan, and proclaim him before the king and queen. In my hands I bore his
mighty helm, while THL Anne Tinker did bear his shield. It was for me a busy
day, as I was the only MacLachlan squire in attendance who could wait on my
lord knight. For one of my brothers is living now in the Kingdom of the East,
one has gone on a quest and never returned, and the third—my eldest brother—was
busy that day. For Lord Tiberius of Warwickshire was acting in the capacity of
Kingdom Earl Marshal, as Edward the Red was participating in the tourney. From
comments I overheard it seems my brother did an excellent job, giving me even
more reason to respect him.
And so I heralded for my knight, carried his helm, ushered
him about for spontaneous illuminations, watched from the sidelines while he
fought and helped him with his equipment as required.
The tournament was a best of five round robin, which lasted
for over five hours. This was, in this squire’s most humble of opinions, likely
the cleanest crown tournament in the past few years. Many were the points of
honour granted that day, and the combatants all seemed to be smiling and
enjoying themselves on and off the field. One tale of valour and honour was
later related in court, concerning THL Baldric. Baldric had given his squire
chain to his friend Count Sir Aaron Preslee Worgansson, with instructions to
not return it if he did not acquit himself with dignity on the field. Aaron
related in court how Baldric, upon taking both of an opponent’s arms said, “My
lord, I cannot defeat you in such a manner,” and asked the marshals to restart
the fight. To applause Aaron gave the chain to His Majesty, who placed it back
around Baldric’s worthy neck.
But I ramble and get ahead of myself. For before court the
tournament of course had to come to an end. And in the end, Viscount Edward the
Red (who was undefeated) and Count Sarnac Ba’adur (who had only lost to Edward)
faced each other in the finals. The finals were to be three best of five
rounds. The first round was polearm, which was won by Edward. The second was
sword and shield, which was won by Sarnac. The final round was in great sword.
Both Edward and Sarnac won two fights in the third round, leaving the balance
of the tournament in one final clash of arms. Edward was to emerge victorious,
and he and Rylyn were recognized as Ealdormere’s new heirs.
While the tournament waged on for many hours, good gentles
from across the kingdom partook in many pleasant pastimes. For there was
merchanting, archery, thrown weapons and other such activities spread across
the grounds. In one corner youth combat was held, with some very energetic
resurrection melee battles.
In the evening a brief court was held after a sumptuous
feast. At this court, Tarquin (who was caught napping) was awarded a Scarlet
Banner. Also, Baron Eric of Longacres retired from the position of Trillium
Herald, with Lord Percival deLaroque being sworn in as his successor.
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