Forum Games

Fresaron arrives at the yard a short while before Zuko, ready to display the might of Ice Flight to all that care to watch. Which is a lot more than before, as a large number of dragons have turned up to see whether or not Zuko will finally restore his honour. The stakes are high for this battle. Some Fire Flighters cannot help but cheer for Zuko, but they soon realise their mistake.

The “curse” doesn’t fall upon him immediately, but he does lose the round to Fresaron. The crowd should know better by now, but since it’s only the beginning of the first day, i’m sure it can be overlooked. Fresaron knows it had nothing to do with some silly superstition anyway, but none other than his own superior combat skills.

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Staff become incredibly confused when a healer appears in the yard, insisting that they had no need of one and that the interruption was messing with their hectic schedule. Let it be a reminder to us all not to judge one another on looks alone, as Bud is here to represent the Arcanist and doesn’t really appreciate their harsh tone. If the crowd enjoys the staffs’ annoyance a little too much it doesn’t matter. At least the “curse” wont fall upon them, and hopefully everything will run smoothly in the future. Tanvir takes this opportunity to size up his opponent, but really wishes that the fight would start soon. He has something to prove.

And he does a wonderful job of proving it, although Bud did not make it an easy victory. He has clearly not forgotten the ways of battle, and the staff should be ashamed for his poor treatment at the beginning of the round.

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TheShambler enters the yard adorned with the bones of… other dragons? No one in the stands envies Rivet the task of fighting her, but Rivet is a far braver dragon than any of them can boast. There’s a high chance that it’s just an intimidation tactic and so she does a commendable job of staying calm.

Onlookers are delighted to find that the battle is not as one sided as they predicted, and Rivet does a wonderful job of holding her own. However her copper lance becomes very hot during the third pass, causing her to drop it, and the victory goes to TheShambler.

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The crowd can hear one of the next contestants long before they can see him. Purrsqueak meets their expectations almost perfectly. Until he accidentally trips over one of the staff, and apologises so profusely that his illusion of menace shatters instantly. Perhaps if the crowd liked the staff more, they’d be more impressed by his manners.

Bryza soon finds out that his body is just as strong as his voice, and loses the round. Onlookers are invited to stay the rest of the week to find out if Purrsqueak loses his voice. Smoke is bad for your lungs, apologies in advance from Fire Flight.

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The third Champion of Fire enters the yard, hoping to follow in the footsteps of his peers. An impassioned speech about the Order of the Magmaborne is a welcome respite for the crowd. Some of whom have grown tired of the constant battle, and others that use this as an opportunity to grab snacks. If Hyperion would pay more attention to his opponent, he would notice that Wildfire appears to be possessed.

Hyperion came here to battle a dragon, not deal with the Beastclans, and therefore came unprepared. He reassures himself that there is no shame in losing to such a fiery beast, and wonders if the Flamecaller will take this into account. She is not a forgiving deity.

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Is it wise for two such hot headed dragons to do battle with each other? Tengiz is quiet and focused upon entering the yard, but Retena sweeps in dramatically, clearly on edge. Like many of the dragons at the Joust today, she has much to prove. The fact that the staff are so hesitant to approach her only fuels her ire.

Tengiz’ furor is a sight to behold, and combined with Retena’s poor mood the battle becomes incredibly violent very quickly. The staff are adamant that they should remain courteous to one another and act with honour, but neither is inclined to care. Neither are too badly injured, but Tengiz emerges as victor. Retena would like to wipe that smile off his face, but that is a matter for another time.

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If the crowd was riled up about cheating before, then it was nothing compared to the cacophony now. The sounds of the festival were almost completely drowned out by the calls for justice. Bahamut’s Iron lance pierced straight through Brume’s wing, hitting enough muscle to seriously injure the coatl. But upon inspection, the lance is to the same standard as all the others, and Bahamut is allowed to continue in the Joust. Officials urge participants to try not to maim their opponents.

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Very few people are paying attention to the next round, much to the annoyance of the competitors. But Sif hasn’t spent his whole life fighting to be ignored on the cusp of his great victory. His cries for attention draw more amusement from the stands than respect, and in doing so allows Hanochi to scope out his weaknesses.
If people would pay less attention to their opponents and not to the stands I’m sure they would fare better, but Sif will not get the chance to learn from this lesson. Hanochi bests him in the fight and eliminates him from the Joust

As fate would have it, the next two competitors turn out to be a trainer and a trainee, and it shows clearly in their battle. Noticing that Caius was nervous, Vincent greeted him before the fight in order to try and calm him. Although the gesture was kind, Caius was utterly decimated, as Vincent aims to teach through example. Experience may prove to be the best teacher for Caius. Perhaps the crowd was moved to root for the underdog, and turned the curse on him. They really need to stop doing that.

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With Elleana and Viridia being from Plague and Nature, the friendly comraderie between them is a relief after the vitriol and drama from earlier on in the day. They delay the fight for some time discussing Dominance, as Elleana can’t help but be proud of her sister Flight’s success. The crowd didn’t come to the Joust for this though, and after a while begin to get antsy. After all well wishes and congratulations are exchanged, the two dragon get to battle, and Viridia lands some very powerful blows to her foe, and wins the round.

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It becomes increasingly apparent that NightCry would rather not fight a Fire Champion in the first tier of the Joust, but staff remind her that she really has no choice, and she acquiesces. It would bring shame to her clan and to her Flight to refuse to fight such a great warrior. Although she notes that Bloodstrength seems relatively new to combat, and she may be lucky enough to take her down.
Her hope is outlived, however, when her foe proves to be just as good as, if not better than, her. But there is no shame in losing to a Champion during their festival, and NightCry feels that she adequately represented the Stormcatcher.

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Once again the stands are discontent with the proceedings, as they have trouble being able to locate the small wildclaw that arrives to represent Lightning. Aura plans to use this to her advantage during the joust, and some begin to question how she’s able to hold a lance so much bigger than herself. Staff make a rule that any spectators that accuse her of cheating will be escorted from the premises. On the grounds that it would be the third time today and they don’t have the time to deal with such allegations. Hostility between the staff and the stands continues to grow. Aura would tell you that it’s not cheating anyway, that it’s just innovation. Fire Flight celebrates innovation, and the Joust celebrates Fire Flight, so there should be no problem!
If only Aura’s clever words could win her the Joust. She’s no match for Hak’s size or strength, and nobody really even notices when she leaves. Not because she’s a bad fighter or anything, just because she’s small.

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