etween the past 8th and 11th of January, Lake Everstill was filled with life, fun, music, drinks and above all, competition. The Tournament was a huge success, as pictures can prove, and a lot of people seemed to have fun, either participating, watching the competitions, or having a break at the inn and tavern managed by House Dayton who offered a special menu for the occasion. The Tournament was opened with the following speech:
Llywarch ap Lleron: Friends! Be welcomed now and warmed for all the galliard deeds that have us forgathered to make merry and share in the bond of our Alliance that we built through accords struck in the darkest and gastfullest days ever known to our Eastern Kingdoms when these realms all were hemmed in war, and dole, and death. When we trudge through this new year in our King’s Calendar, remember the heroes in the valley and the Burning Steppes; bold Lothar who gave his life, and the many who braved the Dark Portal into worlds hitherto unknown. Rejoice for them who show courage and courtesy in the face of even the most insurmountable odds, and so be dight to witness here your friends; your heroes vie by right and valour to win our cordial contests. We are here to eat and drink well, and to see our paragons assay each in bouts of arms and wit that shall see those worthiest shining the brightest before you, and in great spectacle may such be bright indeed, my friends, to earn all your blessing. I, Llywarch ap Lleron, hereby declare open the Tourney of Lake Everstill!
But before we dig into the different competitions, during my time there I asked people why they went to the event, and if they had any favourite competition. Sir Andrew Cadwell: Most of the members of the Most Royal Order of the Crown are participating in the jousting tournament, so I've come to support them. Sir Cailen Cadogan, Sir Darius Agrovane, Dame Mildred Fairbanks. And my wife to be, Eleonora, is from here, so it's a nice time to come here. Baldermar Sweet-Stonebridge: My wife is here. Trinity Livingstone: I came to cheer on a friend. She was competing in the Melee. Came fifth, not bad. Kinda wanna kick her butt for losin' but what can ya do? As for how it's goin' or how I'm findin' it, i's no' bad. More fun then I expected. Race was pretty dull and boring though, but then again what race ain't? You see the contestants like twice every five minutes. An' the last question... What was it, what event was my favourite? I dunno. I enjoyed the Melee, no' just because my friend was in it, but I enjoy seeing people beat lumps out of each other. The ambience was great during most days with people cheering, screaming, and supporting friends in all kinds of manners. Even if sometimes it got a little rowdy and rude.

Competitions

The tournament was opened with the archery competition.
Llywarch ap Lleron: Now we commence the Archer’s Contest. To all our folk in the Eastern Kingdoms who hunt and wage war, the bow beside the brachet has been important, and many are there who are famous in the realms for their skills with it. We honour the spirit of this ancient art and pledge to bestow unto the winner; whoso aims the keenest, a longbow of holyoak from the Northshire Valley, that is worthy of a Hero.
Four groups of archers competed in a eliminatory round in which only one from each group was selected: Lady Marisol, Jack Grimsdale, Myriia Barrett and Fiona Wren. These four competed in pairs, giving us a final between Lady Marisol and Fiona Wren, in the end Fiona got the victory. On the same day we had the riflery competition:
Llywarch ap Lleron: Next, the Riflery, for when our foes set upon us with truncheons and iron tools in darker days, was it not first our Dwarven friends who fought them back with the marvel of gunpowder and the stoutest of blunderbusses! Riflemen, step forth ere we speak your names for all the crowd to know, three each time, for the first round, and you shall be honored when keenest to the mark!
In a similar way the competition started with four eliminatory rounds, were Ortellus Falheim, Mylcia Garson, Anthony Halsonn and Caesar Colby advanced to the next round. In the end Anthony Halsonn got the second place and Mylcia Garson was the winner. The next day the riddles and melee competition were held, at the riddle competition four people were named Wise in our land, Landric Viscarde, Burt of Westfall, Sir Davech Winters the Knight, the Dame Juniper Stites. At the melee Sir Stuart Evans, Knight of the Broken Tower, was the winner, after defeating Sir Desartin Greymantle of the Silver Hand.

Horse races

The third day hosted the horse race:
Llywarch ap Lleron: Good people, we bear witness to the quickening horse race, for just as we celebrate the valour of the boldest who fight, so must the fastest who ride also find their acclaim here in the Everstill Tourney, for who is worthy if not those who will risk limb and neck in the delivery of our war-time messages? In honour of all couriers and the good beasts who carry them, I make the affiance to bestow a gilded saddle made with a beast leather so comfortable and peregrine that you will scarce believe it is not all a fairy tale, to the fastest rider.
As some people have pointed, most of the race wasn’t visible to people, yet it was exciting to see who will cross the finish line first. In the end Lady Ygerne Osfrith crossed first, quickly followed by Lady Faelenn Silverhawk. After the wizardry contest started at the bridge that crosses over the river:
Llywarch ap Lleron: My friends, to celebrate the unity of our realms, let us think back to where it all began; that long ago were fiery magicks taught, and it was the first accord ever struck between High Elves and Men. I raise this challenge, in honour of King Anasterian’s great gift to the Arathi Tribe, that here our mages will dazzle you with bright spells as they duel each other with wands of the Arcane, and whoso dazzles best, will receive a gift from the High Elves just like in days of yore, courtesy of the Silver Covenant!
Since here only eight people were allowed to participate and given the characteristics of the competition duels were held for people to advance to the next round. Most people took their defeats with grace and the spirit one expects in a competition, sadly others, like Marilyn von Sterren refused to return the bow to the other mage after being defeated and did not even stay to see the rest of the competition, something that was commented among the public that did not appreciate such a display of bad sportsmanship. Personally, this was for me the most exciting competition, the ability of some mages was great to see, and some duels were just breath-taking, with the tension and expectation of who will be hit first, like the semi-final duel between Master Runebraid and Mister Vossler that lasted for quite a while. Watching the duels was a bit dangerous as some shots passed close to the public but no incident happened. The final was between Miss Voidsharp and Mister Vossler who, after another intense match, won the competition. On the last day, the competition that for many is the jewel of the tournament finally took place, the jousting competition with twenty knights duelling each other. First few duels went fast with people getting knocked off their horses. This is clearly the most dangerous competition, even if most just got some pain due to the hit and fall, there were some more worrying instances and even medics and healers were needed, and we wish a quick recovery to all those injured. After many duels, some almost touched the victory, like Dame Juniper, Sir Emmeric or Sir Cailen, but we got to the final between Sir Desartin and Sir Gavin, it was a quick duel, since Sir Desartin got removed from his horse, making Sir Gavin champion of the competition. The tournament was closed with the following speech by Lord Llywarch:
Llywarch ap Lleron: All good things must come to an end. There must be a dawn and a dusk, and now our contests have been won, our challenges have been conquered, and the worthy have aptly distinguished themselves, but we must never forget that these are all just friendly games in the spirit of good etiquette! I applaud each brave soul that has stepped to these challenges, and I applaud you all for that you were made glad throughout them. All of us have come here for a good time, but we have also come to honour our bond; the great fellowship between all folk in this glorious Alliance that we love and defend, together. Now! Celebrate our champions! Wine and dine to hearts’ disport and see the cheer dure all through the dark night, and for thee, good people who have cheered so dearly, one last spectacle you shall have at, to carouse as well as any Anroth! Behold!
I had the chance to speak with Lord Llywarch ap Lleron after the tournament to ask some questions about how it went and the idea of organising it. Gaedryel Ravenshade: If I may ask, how did the idea of organising this tournament happen? Llywarch ap Lleron: We understand the knightly hastiludes that honor the Grand Alliance, as a tradition, were become the most popular in Lakeshire, but none have thought to uphold the tradition in some years. We, of all people, have great cause to be most appreciative of the Alliance. I find there is no better way to express it. Gaedryel Ravenshade: So, can we expect more tournaments in the future? Llywarch ap Lleron: It is certainly expected, now. I couldn't possibly comment! Gaedryel Ravenshade: I haven't seen many events with so many attendees, did you expect so many people coming? Llywarch ap Lleron: On every and all account, sweet lady. All folk love to celebrate, and all who love the King and the Kingdom will therefore come here, to celebrate the Kingdom's champions. It is also ever the desire of young knights to prove themselves in any way possible. In lieu of war, tourneys are a grand opportunity. Gaedryel Ravenshade: And was there any competition you especially enjoyed, Lord Llywarch? Llywarch ap Lleron: Why, every each one was our pleasure to witness and to host! Yet if one must choose which treasure be troved amongst the many, the Joust is the prize contest. Hoping people had fun, and that this tournament also served to remember people there is life beyond Stormwind, we will see you on the next one.