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| Tournament Grounds, Landing |
| Jutting out into the sea is a prominence crowned by the bulbous shape of the Landing Stadium. Built to hold 80,000 screaming fans, and boasting the latest in holo-screens high above the tournament grounds themselves, there is never-the-less plenty of room for nobles and extremely rich Citizens down at field level, nearly close enough to feel the breeze of the destriers passing one another, and certainly close enough to be surrounded by the clangor of a melee on foot.
The field itself is set up to suit whatever event is being held, allowing for tilts, the grand melee on foot, single combat on a raised platform, singing competitions on stage, shooting at archery butts, soccer games, and much more. |
| May 23, 3013 |
The first day of the May Tournament has been one of splendor, as if to offset the stress and tensions that are slowly seeping into Haven as the Third System War looms on the horizon. There has not been a single cloud in the sky all day, the Haven sun shining down on the glittering city of Landing. It is warm, but a cool ocean breeze helps keep the temperature comfortable. The stands of the Tournament Grounds have already started to fill with spectators while music is pumped through the speakers of the stadium. The competitors for the archery event are gathering on the green lawn below, and friends and family are allowed to join them to offer support and pep-talks before the event begins.
Dressed in a long, flowing gown made up of a blend of turquoise and bright cyan hues, the colors of House Larent, Lady Ariana Larent is here accompanying her mother to view the archery tournament in this first day of festivities. Ariana's pale, blonde hair is done up in a fashionable updo while a scattering of flowers are entertwined within her long lock. Despite her own excitement for the festival, the tall and slender noblewoman carries herself with an air of calm, allowing only a tiniest hint of a smile to form upon her lips. As she and the Larent entourage get settled down in time for the archery tournament, her cold blue eyes flicker about the vicinity, taking in the sights of noble fashion as they wait for the contest to begin.
Cedric should be off on his ship, but the it's not often that he can actually put his archery skills to a test. And he had military related meeting at the Citadel, so conveinence also helped. Or use. Even less so for this sword, but whoever expects a Captain to be allowed to get busy like that. Though he seems to be rather off by himself, as the random odd Orelle at a tourney, that doesn't really seem to bother him, tucked away at his own little spot, and tinkering wit his his crossbow sidearm.
This is the day, the moment… At least Tristan's made his way out to participate in this archery event. Looking over at Cedric, he offers the man a grin. "Going to give us a show of your skill, Lord Captain?" Spoken a bit lightly, as he studies the man and the crossbow sidearm for a few moments.
The Sauveur Knight is already on the lawn, stretching her arms out, rolling her shoulders, and giving her feet a shake in various patterns. She glances over toward Cedric as he enters the field, and she flashes him a wink and wave. "Captain." She casts a glance toward Tristan. "Watch it now… he isn't half bad with that crossbow of his."
"CONTESTANTS!" A voice cuts through the music, and a cheer starts to travel through the crowds with excitement. "WE WILL BEGIN SOON. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES!"
Escorting Brienne in, Cambric is grinning towards his fellow Knight. "I still think you should enter, my dear." he offers as he walks with her, her hand settled on his arm as they chatter. "Anyone could have a very good day, and who knows, maybe a proper favor from your beloved will be just the thing to carry you over the top." Okay, he may just want an excuse to kiss Bri's cheek, but still.
Nikomachos has been chatting with a Citizen archer from the Vale, a tall, slender woman with a mantle of feathers draped across her shoulders and a compound bow apparently permanently glued to her side. Nikomachos offers up a clasp of hands, a nod, and his well-wishes, then starts to filter his way out of the contestants' area. He spots a trio of familiar face, blinking once in surprise, then chuckling, and trailing his departing steps in their direction to offer nods, "Captain, Sir Tristan, Sir Ellinor. Good luck to you all." A faint smile touches his lips as he centers his attention on the Sauveur, "You never mentioned you were joining this contest, Ellie…"
"A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE RULES," the booming announcer voice continues. "EACH ARCHER WILL FIRE THREE ARROWS, ONE AT A TIME. POINTS WILL BE REWARDED BASED ON ACCURACY TO THE CENTER MARK. THERE WILL BE A FINAL MATCH SHOULD ANY TIES OCCUR." There is a brief pause. "ARCHERS, YOU MAY APPROACH THE LINE."
Eilara is running a bit behind. But that's par for the course with her! With flushed cheeks and now mildly mussed hair, she jogs the rest of the way into the grounds and deftly winds her way through those gathered in the crowd. With her bow in hand, she finally skids to a halt and pauses, rising up on her toes to look out for those she might recognize. On cue, she lines up with the other competitors.
Moving over to the line of competitors, Tristan grins a little as he studies the rest of them now. A chuckle as he sees Eilara running in. "How nice of you to drop in, dear sister," he remarks, a bit lightly, as he readies his own bow now.
Ellinor flashes a grin toward Nikomachos as he speaks her way, and she rolls her shoulders. "Lord Yolan goaded me into it. You best hope I win," she casts him a sly wink. "Or I have to have drinks with the man." Then she steps away, grasping her compound bow as she approaches the line. She comes up beside Eilara, giving her a nod and flashing her a grin.
The rest of the archers begin to line up. There is a Citizen archer from the Vale — the one Nikomachos had been speaking to — and a rather enormous Khourni that makes his bow look awfully small in comparison to his giant hands.
Cedric clips off a naval salute to his sister-in-law(at least one member of his extended family showed up)before approaching the line, making sure his crossbow is charged and ready to go, safety kept in place place until he's given the order to fire.
Long distance to Cedric: Venus tries to spur everyone along to at least get in your first roll.
<FS3> Brienne rolls Archery: Success.
<FS3> Eilara rolls Archery: Success.
<FS3> Ellinor rolls Archery: Amazing Success.
<FS3> Tristan rolls Archery: Great Success.
<FS3> Cedric rolls Archery: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 7: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 9: Success.
Nikomachos shrugs helplessly at Ellinor's words, laughing them off, "Well, do enjoy your drinks then…" One eye closes in a brief wink, "I'm sure you can handle any alcohol-induced roaming hands." And then he offers Ellinor a clap on the shoulder as she moves toward the line, before walking away toward the stands.
While she does hit the target, it's not anywhere near where she intended. Eilara looks frustrated to say the least. "Mmm, apparently I shouoldn't even have bothered," she murmurs dryly to Tristan over her shoulder after the first round of arrows are shot. Still, she offers him a quick smile despite her disappointment.
The announcer goes through the motions: PULL, RELEASE! Arrows go firing toward the targets, slamming into the holographic concentric circles. The Khourni manages well, his arrow sticking rather far into the third circle. The Valen also shows rather well, though his arrow is out the outer circle despite his earlier confidence.
Taking a few moments to aim carefully, Tristan releases that arrow, looking a bit more satisfied with how it hit now. "Ah, come on," he offers to Eilara, along with a grin. "It's good that you participated. Makes me look good at this, you know." It's offered quite lightly now.
Ellinor must have been given a momentary blessing from the Gods as she pulls her shoulders back, breathes in deeply through her nose, and then brings up the bow. She looks down the length of the arrow, narrowing her eyes at the target before she breathes out slowly and releases. The arrow goes flying, striking the dead center of the target. She actually lowers the bow… and blinks. "Well, fuck me," she announces more or less to herself.
When it had come time for the tournament, Brie had spoken quietly to Cambric and after receiving a soft kiss to her cheek, she had joined the others. At the call for the first shoot, she nocks her arrow, drawing the string back as she tilts her head marginally.. releasing when she is fairly confident of her shot. When it strikes, she is not as pleased about where it hits on the target, but she looks towards the stands, towards Cam and offers him a smile. Maybe the next one. Seeing the other arrow dead center, she nods towards her. "Very nice."
"ARCHERS, PREPARE FOR SHOT TWO," the announce informs them.
Nikomachos settles into the stands, sprawling out on one of the benches and watching the first volley, "Well shot, The Eagle!" That's for the feather-mantled Valen woman, "Onward the Vale!" And then he looks over to see the other shots, and gapes at Ellinor's, laughter bubbling up into his throat, "Well fuck me." The words are murmured, an unintended mirror of the Sauveur's own words. Looking over to his fellow noble observers, he notes in a more normal voice, "She must really want to avoid drinks with Lord Yolen."
<FS3> Ellinor rolls Archery: Failure.
<FS3> Brienne rolles Archery: Failure.
<FS3> Eilara rolls Archery: Great Success.
<FS3> Tristan rolls Archery: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 11: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 7: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 9: Good Success.
Cambric takes his seat up in the stands to watch the archery. As Brienne shoots, he gives a grin at the first shot. "Well, at least she hit the targ—" and then there's that second shot. "Damn…" the knight mumbless under his breath. "Knew I should have slipped her some tongue for luck."
While that first shot might have been incredible, it was also one-of-the-kind for the Sauveur. She pulls back her arrow once more, and despite lining up the shot, it goes incredibly wide and soars over the target entirely only to be caught by the barriers separating the field from the seating. She winces a bit, casting a glance toward Eilara. "Nice shot," she tells her, giving her hand a bit of a shake.
The Khourni once more fires at the target, and once more his arrow's shaft disappears a good series of inches into the holographic surface. He is still in the same circle as his first shot, earning him the same amount of points. The Valen finally earns his own shot in the center circles, though he still looks displeased.
"Finally," Eilara breathes a sigh of relief as her arrow flies true this time. She does not appear surprised as much as content. Peering over her shoulder at Ellinor, she offers a friendly grin in return. "Thanks. Not nearly as good as your first, though," the redhead winks.
Nikomachos glances over to Cambric, chuckling softly, "It always feels odd to be up in the stands for contests, does it not?" And then he spots the sparkle of arrows hitting hard light shields, and he covers his mouth with one hand to keep from laughing aloud. A moment later, he frees his mouth, adding, "Well, suppose that not everything can go quite that well." Clearing his throat, he notes, "Still, the Eagle is shooting well." That would be the Valen, of course.
Taking aim again, Tristan fires off another shot at the target. This time it's not as good at the first, but still a good one. Glancing between the others for a few moments now, before he readies the next arrow, inspecting it carefully for now.
"My Brienne is still learning the bow." Cambric gives Nikomachos a slight nudge with his elbow and a smirk. "I suppose because of where she is from, she should be better, but she did train with us." Reminding of that, he grins. "It's my fault anyway, I talked her into this with the hope of drinks and a quiet stroll as a prize - but it seems her brother is doing quite well."
<FS3> Eilara rolls Archery: Success.
<FS3> Brienne rolls Archery: Success.
<FS3> Ellinor rolls Archery: Good Success.
<FS3> Tristan rolls Archery: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 9: Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 7: Good Success.
<FS3> Venus rolls 11: Good Success.
Nikomachos 'aaaah's at Cambric's explanation, then chuckles, "Is everyone out there wagering drinks on the outcome of this?" As the third flight launches, he looks quickly to the archery butts, then up to the holographic scoreboard as cheers erupt through the stadium. "Well now that's a surprise. Although I suppose it shouldn't be. She seems to be good at just about everything, so far as I can tell."
"Looks like we're going to have a shoot-off between Ellinor and Tristan.." Cambric says casually and then grins. "Maybe they should make them do trick shots."
When it's all over, Eilara stands staring at her target, head tilted off to one side in a rather birdlike manner. Rubbing her cheek with one hand, she squints in mild disbelief and disappointment. "Well damn," she sighs a little, head hanging as she takes a few steps backward to fall back in with the crowd. "Good luck," she calls out to both Tristan and Ellinor.
When her second arrow.. falls very short of the target, heat flares into her cheeks, but she glances into the stands and sees Cam and just laughs at herself. Here she was, an Arboren.. and failing at archery. When she looses the third arrow and comes nearer again, she sighs in relief, but since she is out, she wishes those remaining the best of luck. "Good luck both of you.." offering her younger brother a wink though before joining Cam.
Ellinor steadies another shot as the announcer commands, and she steadies her breath a bit more before she narrows her sights down the targets. She fires, this time landing in one of the center circles. She looks up with a blink, shaking her head. "Stupid Lord Yolan," she mutters to herself before she looks up at the scoreboard and casts a smirk toward Tristan. "Is this when we shoot arrows at one another?" She jests.
"LORD SIR TRISTAN ARBOREN AND LADY SIR ELLINOR SAUVEUR, READY YOUR TIE-BREAKING SHOT!" so sayeth the announcer.
Firing off that last shot, Tristan nods a little as he sees how well it went. Glancing to the others, he offers both his sisters a grin, before he looks to Ellinor. "Now that would be quite interesting. Good luck," he offers, before he readies the arrow, muttering something under his breath.
Nikomachos nods at Cambric, "Shooting from horseback, or at targets thrown up in the air. Something entertaining like that." He clears his throat, quieting for the announcement, then adds, "Not that this isn't interesting, and a neat demonstration of skill." Oh, he had to say that just now, didn't he?
<FS3> Ellinor rolls Archery: Failure.
<FS3> Tristan rolls Archery: Success.
When Brienne comes up to join them, Cambric rises and gives the Arboren knight a polite kiss on the cheek. "You remember Sir Nikomachos, right?" he asks as he moves to settle down once Bri has taken her seat. "You did really well for a first try. You only can get better." he winks at her as he settles down and chuckles at Nikomachos. "Or shooting at terribly small moving targets."
"AND THE WINNER: SIR LORD TRISTAN ARBOREN WITH A SCORE OF 8 POINTS!"
There is a very loud cheer from a segment of green and silver supporters on the northwest quadrant of the stadium, archs of stars emerging from the crowd through holographic emitters.
After her shot is fired, Ellinor lowers her bow to see where the arrow had gone. It isn't in the target… which only means. She glances up to the overhead vidscreen and sees the recap footage where her arrow goes wide once more and ends up bouncing off the shielding once more. She shakes her head a bit, offering a bit of a laugh. She then steps up toward Tristan, offering out a hand. "Sir Tristan…"
As soon as she joins the others, Brie offers a smile to Cam when he kisses her cheek. "It was fun, attempting." Lifting her gaze to Niko, she dips into a curtsy. "Sir, a pleasure seeing you again." Settling into her seat at Cam's side, her attention turns to the finals and when her younger brother wins, she applauds, beaming happily.
Nikomachos manages to get his digital camera out in time to get a shot of Ellinor studying the overhead screen and its recap footage, grinning just a little as he snaps several pictures in a row. Looking back over, he rises to his feet as Brienne approaches, stopping to tuck his camera under his arm and clap for the winner. Once the applause dies down to a level at which conversation is possible, he nods his head, "The pleasure is mine, Sir Brienne."
Deep breaths… That seems to be what Tristan is focusing on as he takes his aim. Releasing the arrow, he sees that it's the worst hit of all the four he shot, but looks over to see where Ellinor's arrow went. Wait, it's not in the target, is it? That means… He smiles a little as he lowers his bow, letting out another deep breath. Taking the offered hand, and shaking it. "Sir Ellinor. Well shot there."
"Tris!" Despite Eilara's disappointment with her own performance, her face lights up when she sees her brother succeed. "Way to go!" She calls out with a huge grin, waving excitedly.
"Surprising…" Ellinor says with a laugh as she exchanges grips with the Arborenin. "But, I'm glad you beat the Khourni. Did you see that guy's arms?" She looks over toward Eilara as she calls, and she releases Tristan's hand with a grin. "Well done, Lord Sir Tristan." And she bows her head gently.
With Tristan's victory, Ariana, like many others who have gathered to watch the event, begins to clap for the victor and all of the competitors as a whole. The Larent lady's own clapping comes off lightly, though many of the audience around her have erupted into cheers and all sorts of loud raucous in regards to the results. She seems pleased by the archery event as a whole. "This is certainly a good way to start off the rest of the festivities to come."