(In the form of a letter to the members of the White Bear
Fian.)
Unto the stalwart fianna, defenders of the lands of
Septentria, from their brother-in-arms, THLaird Colyne Stewart, greetings in
good faith.
I hope this missive finds you well as you train your bodies
and minds the better to protect our barony from any evils that may be so base
as to threaten it. May your swords stay sharp, and your eyes vigilant.
This letter is to convey to you the events that occurred not
yet a week past, within the Canton of Petrea Thule on the seventeenth
anniversary of my marriage. The people of the Thule once again hosted the Pikeman’s
Pleasure, where there was much fighting, archery, game playing, shopping and
enjoyment of the arts and sciences to be had. As I spent the whole day at the
list fields, it is only of those events upon which I can report.
The lists were run by one of our own, THL Tiberius of
Warwickshire, who had organized a tournament in which fighters were to pair up
and fight three bouts consisting of three passes, with each bout featuring a
different set of matched weapons. This meant that each fight consisted of nine
passes total. Each win counted as one point, and in subsequent rounds, fighters
were to be matched by their point totals, meaning that fighters who were doing
well would face each other, while fighters who were not favoured by Ares that
day would face each other. As there were over twenty fighters taking part in
the tourney, including Her Highness Kaylah, the tourney took a very long time
and only two rounds were held. In the end it was declared that Mistress AElfwyn
was the overall victor, having accumulated the most points.
With this tourney done, the Fian took to the field to answer
the challenge of THL Hans Thorvaldsson, who wished to enter our order. To
answer this challenge we elected THL Rattanicus. Hans and Rattanicus were to
fight three bouts of three passes, each bout featuring a different weapon form.
Hans needed to emerge triumphant in two out of the three passes in two of the
bouts to claim membership in the Fian.
For their first bout they chose sword and shield (as I
recall). THL Hans fought fiercely, winning the first two passes, rendering the
final pass moot. He had won the bout and only needed to win one more.
For their second bout they chose to use two single-handed
weapons (which, according to Duchess Adrielle, who was in attendance, “made the
bear cry”). Once again, Hans won the first two passes, winning the bout. As he
had won the first two bouts, the third was unnecessary, and I was able to
announce his success to all those assembled to watch, which included many
members of the populace, as well as His Majesty and Their Highnesses.
Later at court, THL Hans was officially welcomed into the
Fian by Their Excellencies Grom and Anneke and given the gift of warmth (in the
form of sleeping trews emblazoned with white bears).
I know the event featured many other stories, from the
stellar feast, to the games table, from the archery field to the hall, but
those are tales for others to relate.
Now, I beseech you, as noble and loyal fianna, to come to
the War of the Trillium as THL Rorik will at this event fight his own challenge
for membership among our ranks. If successful, this would make him the
thirtieth of our number. Also, I have heard rumours of another who would
challenge us, and I will relay more of this once I know more of it.
I have said all I meant to say, and leave you with blessings
of the northlands. Written at Colynesburg, on Friday, the 13th day
of June, on the occasion of the full moon, in the sixteenth year of our kingdom
and the forty-ninth year of our Society.
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