ANST - Gulf War IX--Your King's Thoughts

[CraigCC at aol.com]

Unto the Populace of Ansteorra do Alaric and Kayleigh send Warmest Greetings!!

    To paraphrase Shakespeare, those that were unfortunate enough not to be 
able to attend War this year will, I believe, forever curse the ill fortunes 
that kept them from  the fields of Meridies at Gulf War IX.

    Ansteorra, read these words and be certain of the veracity:
YOU ARE A NATION OF HEROES!!  WE SALUTE AND LOVE ALL OF OUR NOBLE SUBJECTS!!

    Please find included below a (relatively) quick synopsis of the events of 
this, the War in which Ansteorra reclaimed here rightful place among the 
warrior Kingdoms of the Knowne World:

1.  Weather--   It rained twice, during the evening Wednesday and Saturday 
night.  Neither, it turned out, was at all debilitating or lengthy.  It 
remained pleasantly warm day and night.

2.  The results of the war: an OVERWHELMING tie...

3.  The Chivalric battles-- Directly before the beginning of "hostilities" it 
was discovered that Ansteorra alliances with the Kingdoms of Atlantia, the 
East, the Midrealm, the West, Calontir, Caid, the Outlands, Atenveldt and 
Drachenwald had netted us (along with Our own warriors) roughly 400 
combatants.  Unfortunately,  Trimaris' Allies include only the Prince of the 
Middle and Aethelmearc.  This yielded only about 180 fighters for our foes.  
To compensate, We went to the King of Meridies, and asked him to give ALL of 
his 200+ fighters to Trimaris.  He agreed, and the War was made numerically 
even.

    a)  The Resurrection Battle-    A hour-long battle that went back and 
forth for the first 45 minutes.  In the end, a strong push by our forces 
captured and held the middle flag and won the day.  The incredible outpouring 
of jubilation was astonishing and counts among the most meaningful events I 
have ever witnessed.

    b)  The Open Field Battle-      A best 2 out of 3 battle that, 
well...only went to 2 battles.  The first battle was decided when the two 
large flanking units the foe sent forth were stopped or destroyed by our own 
flanking units.  This allowed Calontir to sweep up the remnants at achieve 
victory.  The second battle was very close, and ended up virtually down to 
our last few fighters vs. their last few fighters.  Once again, We were 
victorious.

    c)  The Castle Battles-         We began inside, but immediately sallied 
out and engaged the foe (especially the archers and siege engines).  Keeping 
Calontir and the Royal Guard in reserve, we were able to keep attriting the 
remaining foe until we once again sallied out and destroyed their remaining 
forces.  As most of you know, this is the first time in MANY years that we 
were able to withstand Trimaris and retain the castle.  After the last foeman 
was slain, We witnessed the single most emotional celebration We have ever 
seen in our time in the Society.  God, it is great to be an Ansteorran.

    The second battle proved more difficult and, as has been previously 
reported, We were again unable to take the castle.  I guess we had to leave 
SOMETHING for next year, didn't we...?

    d)  The Champions Battle-   Although closer than usual, we were 
eventually victorious in this tournament of champions.  Of particular note 
was now-Sir Romanius' display of great chivalry upon the field.  
Congratulations my friend, thanks for reaffirming Our decision.

4.  The Rapier Melees-      I will attempt to keep this brief, because Her 
Majesty will kill me if I reveal too many juicy details before she gets home. 
 For now, lets just say that the foe didn't stand a chance.  The skill of our 
rapierists is legendary throughout the Knowne World.  The combat at Gulf War 
showed that this reputation is quite justified.  We are both extremely proud 
of Our entire rapier community.

5.  A+S-    Once again, the skill of out artisans was victorious and we won 
both war points in this category.  The A+S champions battle was handily won 
and we even had 3 artisans given perfect scores!  I would ask that our 
Laurels who actually judged
this competition give a more detailed report.
    In addition, although Trimaris was victorious (by one point) in the 
performing arts competition, when the scores for the champions and the 
performers was tallied, Ansteorra took the day.  I would like to commend all 
of Our performers for their fine and inspirational  performances!
    Finally, in the open A+S melees, we easily proved victorious and took 
that war point as well.

6.  Volunteers-     I know for a fact that a cadre of our subjects spent 
virtually the entire war volunteering their time and services to Our cause 
and the War.  Although we actually lost this point (hey, Meridies does get a 
LOT of points for running the darn thing ;) ) this does NOT reflect any lack 
of hard work and effort on the part of ourselves or Our allies.  

7.  Equestrian-     I have heard numerous differing opinions regarding the 
outcome of this war point.  Suffice it to say that our riders skillfully ran 
their courses and challenges with great flair and panache.  Also, I LOVED the 
charging lancers on the field Friday morning.


8.  Archery and Live Weapons-   As of the time of my departure, I STILL had 
not received a reliable tally of who this point went to.  If someone 
eventually found out, could they please post this?

    In conclusion, I know that many other happenings went on at this grand 
War.  We look forward to hearing about even more heroic exploits of Our 
subjects.  Also, Congratulations to the Arthurian Guard of Elfsea who, 
through bravery and skill, was awarded the King's Battle Ribbon.  

FOR THE PEOPLE OF ANSTEORRA...  VIVAT, VIVAT, VIVAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alaric and  Kayleigh
King   and  Queen
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