ARCH - Elfsea Defender

[baron at elfsea.ansteorra.org]

Galen here!

Baron Rumil asked:
> His Excellency Galen mentioned some time ago that there > would be something special for archers at Elfsea 
> Defender.  Was this is?  Or is there something another > archery tournament at Elfsea that we should be thinking
> about?
> 
> Rumil 
> 
> At 2:06 PM -0500 7/24/00, Duke, Wes wrote:
> >Archers of Ansteorra,
> >Plans have changed. Instead of the Royal Huntsman 
> >Tourney being at Elfsea Defender, it has been moved to > >Raven's Fort Defender of the Fort. This is

While Royal Huntsman is a neat and special thing, it's 
not _my_ neat and special thing.  The Archery Defender of 
Elfsea will be chosen in a formal Tournament of Archery.  
The shooting format will be a Royal Round, but that's the 
least of it.  Archers will hire heralds to announce them 
and brag on their achievements and ambitions.  Prizes 
will be awarded to archers whose appearance and conduct 
on the range adds the most to the competition.  Here's a 
excerpt from a post I made to the Elfsea list:

   As to what we are picturing and proposing for Elfsea 
   Defender, and what we've been discussing since it was 
   announced that Allessandra & I would be baron &
   baroness, let me try to paint a picture ...

   It's early in the morning.  Too early.  It seems the
   sun is barely up, but the wake-up heralds, those
   heroes without whom little would get done, are crying
   the site.  The heavy fighters groan, roll over and go
   back to sleep; armor inspection isn't til noon, and
   they've been partying.  The rapier fighters rise
   slowly, dress leisurely and begin their morning
   routines.  There's time for breakfast, because their
   armor inspection isn't till 9:30.  The archers are up,
   dressed and armed in a trice.  There's coffee waiting
   at the archery range and the greatest prize in
   Ansteorra that can be won with a bow is waiting there
   too.  The competition starts at 9:00.

   The baron and baroness are there, and a sizable crowd
   has gathered as well, and the range is designed to
   accomdate them.  The finest archers from all over
   Ansteorra have come, and the field is festooned with
   banners, pennants atop each target, and the heralds
   are ready.  Kerrick is determined to keep the collar
   and banner of the Defender of Elfsea, his 
   home barony, but Lord Fearghus, the Royal Huntsman, 
   Archery Champion of the Steppes and Guardian of the
   Tor, is set on adding to his titles today the
   championship of what is also his home barony.  And
   former Defenders of Elfsea are returning, too,
   including Don Sebastion, and Lady Innes, as well as
   other great names of the firing line like HL Gilli,
   Lord Aldwin, Lord Plachoya, and up-and-coming archers
   like Master Pug, Laird Sean, and many more.  There is
   a golden arrow as a prize, as well as the traditional
   collar and banner, but the big prize is that 
   the airline ticket donated by Lord Tarkus this year
   is going to the new Archery Defender.  Nobles and
   spectators are cheering for and wagering on their
   favorites.  By the time the archers have gotten down 
   to the timed shoot round, though, the crowd is quiet
   and watching intently.

   By 11:00, or 11:30 at the latest, the new archery 
   defender is known and it's time for the rapier list...

- Galen
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