1230 A.D. - Court and Tourney
(September 24th 2004)

This evening was to be a tourney, by proclamation of the Baroness Cynuise. The Cainites of the Barony of York would test their skill and their mettle in armed combat, and the victor would be awarded praise, glory...and the position of Warmaster, as well as some of the former fiefs of previous Warmaster Katla Thrandsdotter. Word was now spreading that the Warmaster and her Childe, Sigurd, had tried to destroy Keeper Morwyn and were in turn defeated, and that Katla Thrandsdotter had been sentenced to Final Death by purifying light shortly afterwards.

This was also the night that an enemy of the Barony became one of its newest supporters. Before her disgrace and death, Warmaster Katla had led the forces of York in battle against a band of rebels from Lincoln who had been seizing territory in the East Riding. Katla, along with Sir Kendrick, Sigurd, and others, had engaged the rebels in battle and defeated them decisively. It was learned then that the leader of the opposing forces was the Ventrue Sir Peter de Brox. Now de Brox had returned to Yorkshire, along with some of his band(including his love, Estrild), but this time as the vassal of Morwyn of Whitby. He intended, of course, to participate in the tournament, a factor that made the outcome of the contest less than certain. The roster of combatants was also not to include Sigurd Aolfsson, whom Baroness Cynuise had forbidden from participating in the tourney to ensure that he would not be distracted by his duties as Scourge.

Certainly, the stakes for the tournament were high. The importance of the event was emphasized by the presence of several visitors from after. Pierre de Vichiers and Genevieve de Craon, two High Clan Cainites from the Courts of Love in France, had come to witness the tournament so that they may spread tales of the valor and possibly villainy of the combatants to other domains. The presence of such courtly and interested visitors added a little bit of spice to the evening. Even more remarkable, however, was the arrival of two crusaders who wished to fight for God's honour in the tournament - Sir Everard des Barres, and Knight Brother Robert de Sable of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon(otherwise knight as the Knights Templar). The two seemed to have come in hopes of winning noble knights to the cause in Outremer, but were not received as well as they may have wished. The night was also unusual in that Keeper Morwyn saw fit to bring one of his Athanatoi - much more disturbing than his usual corpse servants, the corpse knight's murderous impulses seemed to be just barely restrained.

The first contest was between Sighard of Leeds and Guy le Fringant. The battle was close, but the Brujah Neonate prevailed against the much older Toreador. Next, two Neonates new to the Barony were to battle - Estrild(de Brox's vassal and lady-love), and Leena(the Childe Katla Thrandsdotter created the previous year). The fight was long, but ended when Leena used her significant supernatural powers of persuasion to frighten Estrild into fleeing the hall.

This was to be a trick echoed in the next battle. Sigurd Aolfsson and Knight Brother Robert de Sable engaged in a religious discussion during which some disagreements cropped up between them. Both men being ones of martial mindset, they asked the Baroness for permission to let their discussion be settled by combat - not as part of the tourney(which Sigurd was barred from participating in), but simply as a continuation of their philosophical discussion. Cynuise assented, and the two men entered the circle - the Knight Brother exiting it very quickly afterwards when Sigurd used his own power of presence upon the Templar and forced him to flee. This apparently was taken very poorly by the crusader knights, as in the next fight(between Sir Everard des Barres and Guy le Fringant), the fight spilled close to Cynuise and Sir Evarard's sword came at the Baroness. A short bit of chaos followed, involving the Templar and Sigurd as well, but it ended with the crusader knights making a hasty retreat from York.

The next contest was one much anticipated - the fight between Sir Kendrick de Bruce, and Sir Peter de Brox. The two had met in the field of battle earlier as enemies, but had felt the tide of battle had interrupted their duel without either knowing who was the true victor. Now, meeting in tourney as friendly rivals, they intended on settling the question of who was the better warrior. The fight was watched by almost all, and it was long and impressive - Sir Kendrick's keen sword hacking with supernatural speed into de Brox, but de Brox's inhuman resistance to punishment allowing him to largely ignore many of de Bruce's blows. After a long and worthy combat, Sir Kendrick won the day, and the two left the arena of combat together as friends and rivals.

(Witness the finish of the fight between Kendric de Bruce and Peter de Brox as an AVI- right click and "Save As" in order to save bandwidth, please).

Some of the event's levity was restored in the next contest, this one between the troubadour Pierre de Vichiers and Leena, who had also been having a philosophical discussion that was thought best settled on the field of battle. The fight was mildly comical, to say the least, with neither opponent being able to score a substantial blow on the other, and then both combatants apparently trying and failing to dread gaze the other. After that, Pierre de Vichiers turned his back on his opponent to turn to give the Baroness a questioning look - which Leena took as the perfect opportunity to quite literally stab him in the back. She scored a solid hit, but the shock of it shook loose Pierre's control of his Beast, and he frenzied ineffectually on Leena until Guy and Sir Kendrick pounced upon the Troubadour and physically subdued him, dragging the frenzing Cainite bodily from the hall.

Only a few more contests were left before a victor could be declared. The next to fight were Sir Kendrick de Bruce and Leena. To everyone's surprise, the Ventrue Neonate won against the Elder Sheriff - again, by employing the powers of her dread gaze to force Sir Kendrick to flee(to Sir Kendrick's credit, he did demolish one of the sturdy oak doors guarding the entrance to the hall in his flight). This left the court in quite the buzz, as it meant that Guy le Fringant and Leena were now the only combatants who had not yet lost - two relatively untested Neonates competing for the position of Warmaster. Next Leena faced Guy le Fringant in battle - she tried her same trick on him, and almost drove him off, but his iron will allowed him to stay long enough to force Leena to yield before he too fled the field of battle. Upon seeing this, Baroness Cynuise and Keeper Morwyn retreated for a short private discussion. Upon their return, the Baroness announced that although Guy le Fringant had won the tourney, it would be irresponsible to make him Warmaster without a further trial - he would have to also prove himself against his elder, Sir Kendrick de Bruce, even though Sir Kendrick had previously lost to Leena.

The battle between Sir Kendrick de Bruce and Guy le Fringant was short, but brutal. The neonate acquitted himself surprisingly well, but in the end simply could not withstand the onslaught of the ancilla. He yielded to de Bruce, and with that Baroness Cynuise was willing to conclude the evening's court with the appointment of offices. Sir Kendrick de Bruce was to be made Warmaster for the time being, but was to be assisted in her duties by Guy le Fringant until such a time as he would be ready to take the office as his skill in the tourney had earned him. Until such a point, Sir Peter de Brox would take Kendrick's former office of Sheriff, performing those duties while Sir Kendrick was occupied with the duties of Warmaster. Sir Kendrick gave a rousing speech about his devotion to the defense of York, and swore his sword once again to the task. The evening had only one last unpleasant bit of business before it could be concluded - Baroness Cynuise let it be known that as of sunset the next day Sir Everard des Barres and Knight Brother Robert de Sable were Blood Hunted in the Barony of York.

(See the final fight - Sir Kendrick de Bruce versus Guy le Fringant- right click and "Save As" in order to save bandwidth, please).

The evening was concluded, but rumours of discontent were heard. Was it truly wise of the Baroness to allow the use of the power of presence in the contest for Warmaster? And what will become of the two crusader knights who seemed to leave with such malice for the Baroness? Were the motives of the other visitors to the Barony truly as innocent as they had claimed? And for that matter, can Sir Peter de Brox, an enemy of Yorkshire not that long ago, be trusted with such a powerful position?
 

Quotes

"Put your ass up there and yield!"

"I know you enjoy playing Kendrick, but quit being pompous and get your ass over here."

The Toreador And Ventrue Sissy Fight.

"Mortals die only once. I have died twice. But that one has died three times...it is strongest."

(after the Warmaster is Dread Gazed, and the player clumsily flees into a door)"I guess the door is warmaster now..."

"Remember, you hate everyone and are just waiting for a moment's lapse of control to kill everyone here..."
"I know - it's just like playing Solange."