The fayre fight

"Is this some kind of... joke? You want to invite the knights-protector into the stocks? I'm pretty sure they won't go for that..."

The Reeve look genuinely hurt. "My Lady Griffonsbane, I can assure you that people will positively queue up to pay five rings to throw a wet sponge at a knight-protector. They'll be fighting each other for the chance!"

"I'm sure they will," the Lady responded in a droll voice, "but I'm rather more worried that Rhydian de Rondell will not feel quite the same enthusiasm for your idea."

"Not just them!" replied Trystan, his enthusiasm undiminished. "The others too, and we could invite any guiser that wanted to dress up as an eternal to take part too! We could even do it as an unofficial contest - see which of the realms can raise the most money for Dawn? If we can convince enough folks to do Winter, we'll have enough to muster a new army!

Lady Griffonsbane raised an eyebrow and peered at the Reeve in obvious disapproval. "None of this sounds very glorious..."

The Reeve just laughed in response, his eyes twinkling with mirth and mischief.

"My Lady, trust me. You arrange the tourney... and leave the rest to me. Not only will it be glorious, but it will be glorious fun - something I think we could all do with right now."

Lady Griffonsbane did not look entirely convinced, but the Reeve's excitement was infectious and with a slight sigh she nodded her agreement.

"Wonderful!" the Reeve exclaimed, clapping his hands together purposefully. "Now all I need to do is find a gang of sticky-fingered children to sell toffee apples, and maybe some jugglers, and we will have a fayre such as hasn't been seen at Anvil in absolute years!"

The only thing that remains when you depart this life is the memory of how you lived it. Death is nothing compared to great deeds.

Overview

The coming summit at Anvil will see a medley of tourneys held in Dawn to find the most glorious. Lady Griffonsbane the Knight of Roses has invited all those who have completed the Grand Tour to take part in a special tourney to be held at Anvil, in the heart of the Empire. All are invited to witness the event, but entry will be reserved for those who have participated in all four stages of the tour - who have fought in the many tourneys held in each of the four Dawnish territories. The Lady's plan is to crown the Tourney Champion and present them with a fine magical prize, created specifically for the occasion.

To ensure every part of Dawnish life is celebrated, the Reeve, Trystan Tanner, has suggested that the yeofolk of Dawn could take this opportunity to join the celebrations and enhance the prestige of the tourneys by arranging an impromptu fayre around the Glory Square. He is arranging the festivities, providing everyone a chance to socialise, enjoy the revelries and entertainment, and take part in any competitions that have been arranged. To help ensure the Fayre is successful, the Reeve asks all the worthies of Dawn who are able to do so to take part - to bring their music and songs, their wares for sale, their tales of glory and love, their challenges of wit and skill.

In addition to the fayre, and the final challenge of the Grand Tour, there is also the regular tourney to decide who will become the new Knight-protector of Autumn. This year the battle may be even more hotly contested, thanks to an additional prize awarded by agents of the Hidden Prince.

If that were not enough, there is also a contest of arms to help the Dawnish Assembly pick the Challenger in Waiting. The contest proved controversial last Autumn, so the Civil Service have presented some proposals for the good people of Dawn to consider. The decisions are more timely than ever, since if the Throne is likely to challenge for monarch of Dawn then many expect that challenge to come soon.

Lady Griffinsbain sponsors the final tourney of the Grand Tour

The Fayre

• A fayre is an opportunity to trade, socialise and enjoy a variety of entertainments
• The best are marked with glorious pageantry and engaging diversions
• Nobles, yeofolk, and citizens of other nations are all welcome at the fayre

To celebrate the culmination of the Grand Tour, and Dawn's triumph in the Barrens, Trystan Tanner has planned a fayre, to take place once Lady Griffonsbane's contest begins and running on for an hour or more until all have had had their fill of the revelries. He has spoken to fellow reeves in a number of noble houses across Dawn to spread word of the plans in the hope that the yeofolk of the various house will be free to help with the festivities. More than a few have already replied, indicating that they will provide something for the fayre, including the Reeve of House de Casillon who hail from Spiral Castle.

Fayres are places to trade, socialise and enjoy the entertainments. Most of those present will likely be Dawnish, but they are open to everyone at Anvil who wishes to attend. The Reeve has extended an invitation to the Academy to encourage those young students who are interested in making a ring or two to attend the fayre with their wares.

The Reeve hopes that there will be stalls selling items of interest, as well as stalls offering traditional fayre games for those who wish to partake, with prizes for winners. Of course the more noble houses support the fayre, either by creating their own stall if they can, or simply by gracing the fayre with their presence if not, the more impressive the entire celebration will be. The Reeve hopes that if the fayre is a triumph, it might even become a regular occurrence each Autumn.

The End of the Line

• Sixteen glorious Dawnish citizens, and an Urizen sentinel, have completed the Grand Tour, taking part in every tourney held across Dawn
• Lady Griffonsbane invites these sixteen dedicated knights-errant of glory to compete one final time in a grand contest to identify to whom the ultimate glory should fall
• She plans to host the contest in the Glory Square after the Grand Tourney and the senatorial election are complete

Grand Tour Participants

Aneira Cadwalon

Arus Glowmain

Dame Aurum De Castellan

Guillaume

Jarrigk Orzel

Lady Ione Castellan

Leon de Carsenere

Lord Bedevir Castellan

Lord Edmund the Enchanter of House Torawyr

Matthias the Returned

Rhydian de Rondell

Ser Archibald Ward

Solene d'Alba

Tancred de Coeurdefer

Vincent Larmallevés

Viridian

A year has passed since Dawn completed their conquest of the Barrens. During that time there have been impressive tourneys held all across Dawn, with groups of knights, witches and troubadors touring from one grand celebration to the next in search of glory. With this Grand Tour now coming to an end, Lady Griffonsbane has invited the most dedicated of those involved, those who managed to take part in every stage of the tour, to participate in battle one final time, but this time at Anvil. Her plan is to crown the Tourney Champion and present them with a fine magical weapon, constructed by the Moon Weavers, a cabal of artisans who dwell near the Semmerstones.

In all, just sixteen citizens had the dedication and commitment to compete in every stage of the Grand Tour. Almost all of them are Dawnish of course, several questing knights and witches as well as a knight errant, an earl, a troubadour, an enchanter. Besides these ardent seekers of glory are two unlikely figures, a retainer from House Vexille and a sentinel from Morrow in Urizen. Whatever their status, noble or yeofolk, all sixteen are invited to compete together in the final stage of the Grand Tour.

Reeve Trystan Tanner calls on the yeofolk of Dawn to help stage a grand fayre in the heart of Anvil

Provided the Glory Square is available, Lady Griffonsbane will host this final contest in the Square, immediately after the Grand Tourney to elect the Knight-protector and the senatorial voting is concluded (expected to be shortly after 2:30 on Saturday). Rather than a grand melee, Lady Griffonsbane the contest will be a sequence of one-on-one fights, with the winner of each bout proceeding to the next round. The only thing that is not allowed is the use of potions during a bout, though the competitors are allowed to refresh themselves with a potion while waiting to face their next opponent.

There will be four rounds in all, the losers in each round will be eliminated, the winner, will be the victor in the final contest! To celebrate the victor's triumph, the egregore has employed a cabal of artisans, the Moon Weavers of the Semmerstones, to create a beautiful magical weapon for the winner to bear for the coming year.

The Weavers of Culwich

• There is a competition to find the troubadour who has created the greatest piece of new music or art end this season

The weavers of Culwich were inspired by the creation of the Grand Tour to announce that they would present one of their extraordinary instruments to whichever troubadour or bard produced the finest original composition - ideally something that celebrates the triumph in the Barrens. They have asked the Dawnish Assembly to chose the winner, and use a statement of principle to name the artist and state which instrument would serve them best. If the judgement gets a greater majority, indicating wide support for their choice, then the weavers will fashion the named musical instrument, so that it can be presented to glorious victor.

If the Assembly doesn't pass any judgement on the matter, then the opportunity will lapse.

The Grand Fayre
After the official business of the Knight-Protector tourney and the vote for Semmerholm are complete, the Reeve will open the Grand Fayre. Our plan is to set up the Fayre in the Glory Square for the hour or so after the politics and the tourneys are complete. We hope to have a handful of stalls manned by NPCs from the various noble houses that the Reeve has asked to help with the fayre. Our team are hard at work on a bucket full of crazy ideas from tombola to troubadour puppet shows, from jewellery stalls to coconut shys. We'll do what we can to try and make the fayre come to life.

There will of course be some plot planned for the fayre, but our main focus is trying to bring this important part of the Dawnish brief to life. Like any activity of this kind, the fayre will only take off if players want to get involved and create entertainments of their own. We hope the fayre will be good fun for those who just want to browse the stalls, but it would be wonderful if players feel enthused to create their own entertainments. We'll help where we can, to support and facilitate that if a group wants to create their own stand or stall.

According to the wiki, A fayre is where Dawnishfolk "come together to trade, socialise, and enjoy a variety of entertainments" so anything that fits that bill is very welcome. Entertainment by troubadours, poetry, juggling, contests of skill, anything! It's better to take part than to worry how well an idea fits, that way there will be lots happening. There is precious little actual detail about the fayre on the wiki, so this is a chance for players to fill in that picture.

The first fayre is likely to be a haphazard affair, but that may be part of the charm. Our egregore the Reeve will be nominally organising the fayre, but will be gratefully accepting aid from any troubadours, seneschals or similar who can help bring order from the chaos.

A Knight In Autumn

• There will be a tourney to decide the new Knight-Protector of Autumn
• The Prince of Scales has offered a boon to the winner; a metal torc, provides a single season of prosperity and affluence for a territory when it is used
• The current Knight-Protector is Torag Meliora

Each season, the Dawnish elect one of the four knight-protectors by tourney. This summit is the turn of the Knight-protector of Autumn, currently held by Torag Meliora, the earl of House Meliora of Astolat. The earl has held the title before so they will be one of the favourites to win, should they re-enter.

The tourney takes the form of a grand melee, the winner being the last participant standing when all others are defeated or have yielded. All Dawnish nobility are eligible to participate in the tourney, which is then followed by the election of the senator of Semmerholm. Each knight-protector is expected to help Dawn deal with the realm they represent, and in particular to be first to stand against any threat that might issue forth from the realm. In practice, incursions from the realm of Autumn are often less likely to pose a martial threat, at least compared with Summer, Winter or Spring.

House Meliora of Astolat: Virtute et valare luceo non uro

Perhaps for this reason, the Hidden Prince, the Sovereign Lady of the City of Gold and Lead, has taken an interest in this year's contest. The Invisible Hand is offering a prize for the winner, a boon from the Autumn realm, a torc made of twisted threads of brass, copper and black iron. According to the herald, Ataraxis, the Twisted Torc was fashioned on the Street of Coils in the City of Lead and Gold, using strands of copper and brass drawn from every city in the realm, and twisted around a thread of metal dug from the black iron mountains at Sunfall.

The Twisted Torc can be invoked just once, to invoke the aid of the High Merchant, bringing Prosperity and affluence to a single territory chosen by the knight-protector (or whoever they give the torc to) for the coming season. The eternal's herald has given the torc to Lady Griffonsbane with instructions to present it to the new Knight-protector of Autumn once the tourney is decided.

A Challenger in Waiting

• The Challenger in Waiting is due to be appointed at the Autumn Equinox
• The position is not a martial title
• The current Challenger in Waiting is the Earl of Fools

The position of Challenger in Waiting was announced by Valentin Ivarovich Orzel using a Wayleave during the Summer Solstice 385YE. It was elected the following season, but the election proved contentious and the results marred by open disagreement.

House Orzel have always been a very martial house, and it seems that the new position was intended to follow that tradition. The announcement stated that the position be appointed following a tourney in the same style as the seasonal grand tourneys that appoint the Knights-protector. However there is no legal requirement for the National Assembly of Dawn to follow this convention and after the first contest concluded the National Assembly chose the Earl of Fools.

The Challenger in Waiting has a responsibility to scrutinise the Virtue of any potential challengers to the Monarch of Dawn. In practice it is not completely clear what this actually means. One suggestion is that it is the challenger's job to organise the martial forces of Dawn to oppose those who line up in support of the Throne should they challenge for the position of Monarch of Dawn - thus allowing them to "scrutinise the Virtue" of the challenger. But other's believe the title's responsibilities imply that the position is intended to verify the Virtue of those who put themselves forward to oppose the Monarch of Dawn, perhaps by challenging them to combat.

This confusion alone would be enough to prevent the Civil Service from designating the position as a martial title. The title could only be decided by a tourney if the responsibilities substantially encompass the need to partake in battle. To make the situation clearer, Bedegrayne, the self-appointed leader of the Silver Nightingales has a proposal for the senators of Dawn.

To amend the position of Challenger-in-Waiting to grant the bounty of the Chapel to the Silver Nightingales in return for their committed support for the position and to set the responsibilities be to take the field against the Throne when they challenge for monarch of Dawn to ensure their Virtue is sufficiently tested. The Challenger in Waiting to be a martial title appointed by tourney.

Potential Senate Motion

If that Senate motion is passed, then the position would become a martial title appointed by tourney. It would no longer receive any liao, instead that would go to the Silver Nightingales, who would use it to continue their work. In return they would provide the Challenger in Waiting with Knightly Redoubt, a Triumphant Blade, and Oakheart Shield once each year. In addition they would provide the Challenger with a single dose of Elixir Vitae and one dose of Ossean Solution each season.

The alternative might be to amend the title to make the responsibilities of the position crystal clear. Bedegrayne suggests that the role could have responsibilities similar to those of a troubadour - to measure the Virtue of the Throne, should they challenge for monarch of Dawn, and to spread word of what they find, encouraging nobles to stand for or against the Throne on the tourney field. Of course any clarification is possible, but in that case Bedegrayne suggests that the Senate motion drop the suggestion of a tourney. It is perfectly fitting for the Dawnish Assembly to appoint such a position - but they argue it is unbecoming of Dawn to host a tourney for the title, if the contest does not then decide the matter.

In a nutshell, Bedegrayne's argument is that the Senate should modify the title so that either it is an appointment by the Dawnish Assembly with responsibility for the Virtue of those who challenge or do the opposite and make it a martial title, appointed by tourney, with responsibility to fight against (or for, if the Senate prefer) the Throne. Either option is acceptable to the Nightingales, their desire is to see the situation clarified and the matter settled.

It would be unusual, but given the tourney is being arranged, the complications with the title could be settled one way or another, and the position still elected at this summit, provided the matter passed the Senate before the tourney for Challenger in Waiting is due to begin on the Saturday afternoon (currently scheduled for after the election of the senator for Semmerholm).

Further Reading

• Dog Days are over - 385YE Autumn Wind of Fortune laying out the Grand Tour, and the year's celebrations of Dawnish glory
• Knight-protector
• Challenger in Waiting