Kingdom Warlord was a Blast

Roy A. Heath royheath at flash.net
Mon May 5 00:26:30 PDT 1997


Fellow Ansteorrans, if you missed this event, you really missed a
special one.  This was one of the most fun events that I have attended
in a very long time.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Lots of sun, a cool breeze all day,
no rain, a dry field, and mild temperatures made for great fighting
conditions.  There were a good number of support folks so the fighters
could concentrate on fighting; I particularly remember two lovely young
ladies who carried water the whole day (Jennifer and Tatiana, thank you)
and Baroness Kayleigh Drake and Larkin O'Kane who marshalled all day
long.

There were 27 or 28 fighters in the list, and one of them was a knight. 
HRM Mahdi chose to run the list in a different way than we have seen
previously.  He believes that the Kindom Warlord should be someone who
can teach people how to fight singly and in groups; and he wanted to see
group fighting demonstrated as well as familiarity with different weapon
styles. Consequently, the fighting was divided into three segments
designed to test the fighters mettle in several capacities.

The first segment of the combat was individual fighting.  HRM told
everyone to fight with everyone else and switch weapon styles often,
this was not a sword and board only activity.  I saw great sword against
glaive, great sword against florentine, spear against single sword,
dagger and small buckler against glaive (the dagger won), and many other
combinations which you would not expect to see in a traditional
tourney.  This portion of the combat lasted for about an hour and was
greatly enjoyed by all.

The second segment of the fighting was based on small units. Everyone
gathered themselves into 3 person teams (I think that there was an odd
man out by choice, but I'm not sure); and every team got to face every
other team.  The teams were set up on the triad concept of two shields
and one long weapon.  This was great fun and produced some very
interesting results.  In the early fighting, some of the teams tended to
split up and match singly with their opponents; but as the round
progressed, all of the teams were staying together pretty tightly.  They
learned.  This round took a couple of hours and was greatly enjoyed by
all.

The third segment of the fighting was based on large units.  The
fighters were divided into two teams which were closeley balanced in
skill.  Each team switched commanders regularly and fought either open
field, wide bridge, or narrow bridge scenarios.  This was great fun for
the fighters, and for anyone who knew enough about the fighting to
understand the tactics involved in the matches.  Some of the units tried
to stay together and wear down the other side slowly, while others
rolled the dice on a quick, overwhelming strike.  Both strategies seemed
to work if the attacking side executed properly, and both seemed to fail
if that side made a mistake.  I need to make it clear that this is my
observation and not a statement of fact.  This round took a couple of
hours, and by it's end, almost all of the fighters were more than glad
to rest for the day; and a good time was had by almost all.

An observant reader will have noticed that this was not a straight
snowball tournament; and that the format did not lend itself to
indicating a clear "winner".  This was by design, and His Majesty did
not make any announcement about His Warlord until court was held.

Court was held in the cool of the evening on the listfield.  Many
matters of local concern were addressed; Their Excellencies Bonwicke
thanked all those who had helped to run the tourney, a gentleman from
the Steppes announced that there will be melee activities held at
Steppes Warlord in three weeks, and a fighter did a very honorable thing
indeed.  The fighter had lost his temper in one of the last fights when
all were tired and he spoke out of turn.  This fighter stood in court
before all and apologized offering satisfaction to all who would request
it of him.  I was greatly impressed.  I was also impressed with what I
saw in the faces of those who received awards at the court.  They were
genuinely pleased, and in most cases very surprised, to receive the
recognition.  They were very humble folk who do what they do not for the
title it may bring them, but for the joy of it, and in your chroniclers'
eye, they are the more deserving for that.

I can honestly say that this will be one of the events which I never
will forget.  If you missed it, I pity your loss. Oh, by the way, the
new Warlord was announced in court.  I apologize in advance, I do not
know the full names of some of these folk; no slight is intended.

Mahdi has made a change to the structure of the Warlord.  He announced
that there would be four regional Warlords and a Kingdom Warlord (to
rule them and in the darkness bind them?).  The Coastal region Warlord
is Wilhelm (huge guy with a black beard, wears blue and yellow).  The
Central region Warlord is Robin of Gilwell.  The Western region Warlord
is Aaron MacGregor.  The Northern Region Warlord is Talen Gustav von
Marienburg.  The Kingdom Warlord is to remain in the hand of Dieter von
Eltz.  HRM was very pleased with the work that Dieter has done and
wanted him to continue his efforts for the kingdom.

This was a great event and the folks out west put on a really good
show.  I am glad that I went, and I wish that more folks from other
parts of the kingdom could have attended as well.

Looking forward to next time,
Erc fitzMungo
Barony of the Steppes



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