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The quest for the divine sapphire was held on Saturday 2nd May 2015, beginning 10PM by the Avalon clock with Elmaethor, god of the stars as presiding deity. The quest heralded the start of Ordination XII and played out across six bouts in a seven hour battleisle sands-quest marathon.
Four teams were required and four teams were chosen: Agarwain leading the red team of Candur, Joely, Cid, Doren and Piccolo, Xion leading the blue team of Lleu, Illyism, Aruko, Xyla and Beorn, Arund leading the silver team of Laramyn, Phaith, Skippie, Orielle and Nexty and Zio captaining the gold team of Elweth, Jimrey, Zand, Charlamane and Satsuki.
Round One: Disorganised chaos
The first round began chaotically; a mad dash at the start as competitors - not yet used to their team mates, strategies yet to form and gel - raced for the four sands. The first to reach them were Doren, a young mystic, scooping up one, and Beorn, an even younger ranger scooping up the remaining three before being cut down where he stood by Laramyn, - Parrian warrior - his sands seized by Illyism in the chaos. In his rush to escape, Illyism spurred his winged horse toward the skies, where the sands cannot be taken, and to the corners of the battlefield were they scattered.
Phaith and Laramyn of the silver team reacted instantly: three sands wrested into their grasp while Agarwain seized the fourth. Silver - led ably by Arund - prepared to weather the storm at their Viking base but before a plan could form, Phaith was cut down by Xion, Princess of Parrius. Once more the blue team found themselves holding two of the four sands of time before - in her haste - Xion called upon the power of her lorerobes to take to the skies and once again the sands were scattered throughout the land, with Agarwain first to react, taking the two fallen sands for himself and his red team. Red and Silver held two sands apiece while pitch battles erupted throughout the battleisle as assaults were planned against the two leading teams. Illyism, disguised, ran headlong into the silver base, using the power of the Voice to force Arund to surrender his sands and for a third time, the blue team held two of the sands but for a moment as - in his panic - Illyism took a wrong turn indoors.
For a third time the sands vanished, reappearing in the centre of the battlefield itself with Agarwain and Beorn first to react; the red-captain seizing his third sand and Beorn the unexpected ranger laying his hands on the fourth. The red team retreated to their base in the northern Celtic village and prepared to dig in as Illyism and Xion began their advance. Using the powers of the bardic jig, Illyism was able to cause Agarwain to flee and -in the grips of fear - he ran indoors, his three sands scattered through the battleground and in play once again. Silver were quickest to react, quickly snapping up two with Doren of the reds managing to preserve a sand for his team. As the round entered the final minutes, Agarwain had one sand, Xion had one sand and the remaining two were held by the silver team until a combination of Xion's lightarcs, Zio's traps and Agarwain's rituals forced them indoors.
Two sands were again free as Agarwain and Zio reacted; each reaching a sand first and claiming it for themselves, and, as the sands drained away, the first round ended with Agarwain of the red team holding two sands, with Xion and Zio of the blue and gold teams holding one. Red had claimed a narrow victory.
Round Two: Alarius joins gold and teams begin to gel
After the chaotic first round, the second saw the teams begin to gel and strategies tighten. Jimrey, Doren, Zio and Agarwain were first to the sands; each scooping up one beginning the round with the red team holding two, and the gold team holding two. Before the red team could retreat to their base, Agarwain was muscled indoors allowing Jimrey and Satsuki to claim the third and fourth sands: Gold had all four. Satsuki & Jimrey fled to the Westron base but in their mayhem strayed too far indoors; casting the sands into the isle. Xion and Skippie took hold of a sand each for their blue and silver teams.
Blood was being spilled all over the battleground as teammates and supporters fought for their sands holders. Zio, clutching two sands, dodged and danced around the battlefield hoping to avoid a clash. His failure: not watching his mana and the spirits of Candur tore his soul from his body. The sands fell free and Agarwain took them into his hands and fled to his fortified base where he began to rain death upon his foes. Illyism - under the masque of Helga - crept into the Celt base and, surrounded by runestaves set by Lleu, once more struck fear into Agarwain, running him through the staves and to his death, allowing Illyism to pick up his two dropped sands, immediately losing one to theft by Zio who raced away directly through the runestaves, falling to his death and it was Aruko to pick up the sands. Laramyn of the silver team pursued before Aruko could retreat, cutting him down and claiming his sand for her silver team.
Blue had two. Silver had two, yet through the efforts of Zio slaying Skippie, the sand changed hands to the gold and Laramyn was slain by Alarius with Aruko once more grabbing the sands he had lost only moments before only to have them stolen by Zio. Gold two. Blue two. Laramyn dove into the fray anew: striking Zio with the weakening vaxvarna poison and reclaiming her lost sands as Zio for a third time fell prey to runic staves, dropping dead, surrendering his sand to Arund. Silver had two. Gold two. In the final minute, Alarius was able to slay Laramyn whose sand fell free and - while off balance - Zio swept in and claimed it, fleeing before Alarius could give chase. Death came in droves and as the time drained away, the round was finished with blue holding two, silver holding one and gold holding one.
Round Three: The first team departs
Round three would see the lowest scoring team eliminated from the quest. The round began with gold in first place, blue in second, silver in third and red trailing in fourth position. The third round saw yet another frantic changing of hands for the sands of time. Arund began as the first to pick up two of the four, with Zio reaching the third and Aruko snatching the fourth before surrendering it to Alarius.
Zio was quick to react, stealing the sand from Alarius and making his escape - to the skies! The sands fell anew and it was Laramyn and Nexty of the silver and gold teams first to respond: Silver had three, gold had one. Laramyn quickly lost her sand to a theft by Zio - now holding two sands after Nexty handed them over for safekeeping but was quickly set upon by Illyism, using the powers of the Voice to cause Zio to drop them. Alarius of the alchemists managed to quickly take one for the reds, Illyism taking the second for the blues. As silver began to dig in at their Viking base, the power of Loremastery came to the fore as the runestaves of Skippie caused dozens of fatal blows to their advancing enemy. Agarwain and his red team - falling behind rapidly - began an assault on the Viking base.
Red and silver were fighting for their place in the contest; each tied for last place in points and whichever placed last in this round would be eliminated from the quest. Agarwain's rituals scattered the silver team's base as the Enchanter scrambled to defeat Arund, while elsewhere the blue team converged on Doren and Alarius of the reds, slaying both and seizing their sand for themselves. Silver two. Blue two. Illyism in his overconfidence failed to spot a series of runic staves and once more fell to his death; his sand seized by Arund who now held three sands for his silver team. Agarwain's long-prepared assault finally gained ground and Arund was forced indoors, scattering his three sands to the corners of the Battleisle.
Zio, Lleu and Illyism were first to spot the shifting sands and thus we saw blue holding three, gold holding but one as time began to drain away. Red were in fourth place, silver in third as the round entered its final minutes. Red - finally gaining some ground - began to bring their muscle to bear; scoring numerous kills on the blue and gold team members and bolstering their points scores while silver struggled frantically to survive the fatal trip through runestaves that ensured a steady stream of death. Zio, flitting around near the blue team's Visigoth base was able to steal one of Illyism's sands, bringing gold and blue to two sands each before falling to a fatal stab by the sudden entry of Doren from the red team, dropping both. Alarius and Agarwain of the reds were first to react, claiming both and once again attempting to fortify their defences and dig in for the remaining few minutes. The final minute saw the red team clutching two sands and the blue team clutching two sands. Battles continued to be fought as the silver team launched a last desperate offensive against the reds but it was not to be: time expired and red had won through by the skin of their teeth; eliminating the silver team by an advantage of just EIGHTY points.
Round Four: Gold and Red neck and neck, desperately clinging to their place in the contest
Round four would once again see the bottom team by points depart the quest - eliminated. Before the start of this round, all points accumulated thus far in the quest were wiped clean with everyone starting anew with a fresh score. Some team rearrangements saw Agarwain's red team comprising Alarius, Joely, Charlamane and Candur, Zio's gold team consisting of Jimrey, Zand, Elweth and Kalvin and Xion captaining Illyism, Lleu, Xyla and Beorn.
The sands began to fall with Alarius, Xion, Agarwain and Illyism each scooping one and battle began in earnest. Zio of the gold team bravely pursued Agarwain as he headed for the Celtic village and his rituals, stealing a sand and departing before the mage had even noticed. The remaining teams - now familiar with each other - began to fight more closely as the sands changed hands far fewer times than in previous rounds. Blue began to establish a steady lead over the red and gold teams by dint of their two held sands and their hounding of their enemies. It was clear half way into this bout that the battle would be for second place with either red or gold being eliminated by round's end. With fifteen minutes remaining, the combination of Joely and Alarius was enough to overcome Zio, who, fallen, surrendered his sand to the red team leaving both blue and red holding two sands each.
Agarwain, seeing the blue competitors huddled around their base and without the crucial protections of a pyramid rune, used his magics to render the blue base peaceful. The sands of time cannot exist in peaceful surroundings and so the two sands held by the blues were free yet again and it was Zio quickest to notice, seizing them in his grip as he began to run for his life. Clutching his sands with dear life, Zio raced around the battle arena; dodging and avoiding his foes as his gold team's score gradually increased as his six pursuers failed to pin him down. The final minute was upon us and it looked as though gold - barely above the reds on the league table - would scrape through to the semi final as Zio continued to evade his attackers.
Over forty fatal clashes erupted during this final minute as ALL competitors scrambled desperately to stay in the quest. Zio dared to breathe. Candur, a young and inexperienced necromancer, came across Zio saw his opportunity: unleashing his assault of demon hordes and black spirits. Too slow to react, Zio fell to the necromancer's black hand and his sands fell free. Xion - close enough to react - was first to reach them. Alarius still clutched a single sand for the red team and in the final seconds of the quest, the gold team fell to third place as time was about to expire. Zio flew after Xion in desperation, stealing one of her sands and taking to the skies. It was a fatal mistake: his sand vanished TWO SECONDS before the clock ran out with the blue team winning round four and cementing their place in the semi final along with the red team who placed a mere two hundred and forty points ahead of the gold. Agarwain and his reds had prevailed by a hair's width, and gold were out of the quest.
Round Five: Nine must become four as teams are re-chosen
Nine competitors entered the fifth round as we closed in on the final. Teams were chosen anew and the red team saw Agarwain captaining Joely, Lleu, Candur and Charlamane with Xion captaining the blue team of Illyism, Alarius and Xyla. The fifth round would see just FOUR win through the the final round of what was a very back and forth contest.
As the sands fell, Agarwain was quick off the mark, quickly grabbing two while Joely - his team mate - seized a third with Lleu grasping at the fourth. Just a few minutes in, though, Agarwain was slain by the Illyism / Xion axis and his sands went into the hands of the blue team. Scrambling together an assault, the red team went bravely into the blue's Visigoths base but the rune staves of Xion, the arcing lights of Alarius and the songs of Illyism were too much and as blue laid waste to their enemies, the time ran out with all FOUR sands in the hands of Xion, Alarius and Illyism. The red team were eliminated with Agarwain in particular - long pegged as favourite for the gem quest - tasting the bitter pain of defeat.
Round Six: The final
The final round was an every man for himself affair. The four remaining competitors, Xion, Illyism, Xyla and Alarius were to fight alone for possession of the same four sands. Each sand was worth equivalent points for holding as they would score if held at the end of the round; ensuring that a last minute strategy could prevail if one was mustered. Tensions ran high as the competitors prepared their plans and, as the clock begun, Xion was fastest out of the gate seizing ALL four sands. Making her escape, she began to dart around the battleisle, hoping to evade the quickly-pursuing Illyism who was hot on her heels. Thinking to flee to a village and set up a fatal trap of runestaves, Xion ran to the village of Westrons, reaching the village square as Illyism gallop along storm street.
As she laid the making of her trap, Illyism used the wind of the spheres to restore Xion's hearing and - before she could react - wove a song of fear to force Xion indoors. All four sands returned to play. Illyism raced across the battleground, sweeping up the quartet of sands and for twenty minutes did the Alarius / Xion axis give chase, throwing everything they had at the bard whose defence, navigation and use of the bardic skills to disable and harry, never surrendered his advantage. Time begun to drain away, desperation mounted and the two Loremasters, exhausted, gave a last hurrah, swords and arclights clashing as the bard wove and dodged his way around the isle. Blows were struck and - inches from death - the sands of time ran out, ending the final round of this sapphire gem quest with Illyism victoriously clutching the four sands of time and scoring over ten times the points of Xion in second place.
Perhaps another minute or two would have changed the outcome. Perhaps Alarius and Xion would have broken through the bard's defence and claimed the sands of time for themselves. It was not to be. Illyism proudly cast the divine sapphire into the Rock Pinnacle - revelling in the thought of eternal double-speed equilibrium - and rose as the first contender in Avalon's TWELFTH ordination.
Initial Teams
Red: Agarwain, Candur, Joely, Cid, Doren, Piccolo
Gold: Zio, Elweth, Zand, Jimrey, Charlamane, Satsuki
Silver: Arund, Laramyn, Phaith, Skippie, Orielle, Nexty, Unver
Blue: Xion, Lleu, Illyism, Aruko, Xyla, Beorn
Late arrivals: Alarius, Kalvin, Letholdus.
Top 4: Illyism, Xion, Alarius, Xyla
Top 9: Illyism, Xion, Alarius, Xyla, Joely, Agarwain, Candur, Charlamane, Lleu
Prize Winners:
Winner of the quest and wielder of the divine sapphire: Illyism
Second place: Xion
Most kills: Lleu
Most improved & best senior: Zio
Most influential & best junior: Candur
Best midlevel: Xyla
Most influential: Candur
Best attitude in adversity: Joely
