We had a field of 6 entrants in the 49th Diamond Quest folks!
Chris Graziano was there and seeded number one because he showed up first and yes all you ladies out there he did take off his shirt when I put him in the POOL! Anyone that had been wanting to beat up on Jake Thrash, owner of the Red Orc Brewery (That makes that very tasty Badsider beer.), well ya missed out and yes his beautiful spokes model PJ Ramirez was there too! Kheldar Drasinia arrived in good time to be part of this grand and glorious evening and do you know that the very last move of the night he made was a tribute to his missing friend?
Bran Bale was there in his first ever Diamond Quest and do you know that he made it all the way to the FINAL Match with his scaly fists! Dizzy Flores was there and oh how she did shine as the only female in this Quest! Cory Havoick was there, having ran in at the very last second just as we were getting ready to start round one, and survived ice, water, and muck, mire, mud, and weevils all the way to round 5 out of six rounds of matches last night and yes he lovely wife Anjolie, the holder of the Opal Pathfinder, was there cheering him on!
I think it is pretty telling that none of them nasty Opals let their holders come and fight for the position of Diamond but that is just my opinion because them Opals are dangerous I tell ya!!! Everybody wants them and they are right handy in a fix for sure but they got them a dark side just ask those that are willing to speak up about 'em!
Anyhow about this here Diamond Quest that we had going on it was right fun and VERY exciting. I got to set off the lights and sirens all over the place. There were so many SUDDEN DEATH matches it was grand and it was glorious! The first two were in the very first round even!!! Bran and Dizzy were tied at 4-All in FERN then 5-All and then Bran got himself a point to win 6-5. Jake and Kheld were on the BRIDGE and tied up at 4-All then Kheld managed a point to bring the match home. Chris and Cory their first round match up ended up with Cory taking it at a score of 5-2 up in STYX.
In the second round Dizzy gave us the first elimination of the night in the CAN which was Jake at a score of 5-2. And Cory had his first loss handed him by Bran on the RINK at a score of 6-5 in our 3rd
SUDDEN DEATH of the night that started out 4-All then went to 5-All before it ended. Chris and Kheld our top seeded loser and winner respectively had byes.
In the 3rd round Cory had the bye and I gave everyone still fighting a break and put them in Rask generic rings for this round. Chris managed to sit our only female in the Quest down, Dizzy, for the night in HAVEN in yup you guess it a SUDDEN DEATH match that ended 5-4. Kheld and Bran were facing off and this match appeared to flat out belong to Kheld folks as he won it 5-2 in BRANDED.
We came to round 4 with Bran having a bye and this is when I got Chris and Cory to take their shirts off ladies. A shame if ya missed it because I put them in the POOL for their duel! Water was going everywhere and I am quite certain that some lifeguard somewhere was just spinning in their grave at what was going on but eventually after all the splashing died down it was Cory that emerged victorious with a score of 5-3 and Chris got to relax the rest of the night.
Anyone who knows me is going to tell you it is just a matter of time before Des hits that button and those panels slide open. And so it was last night that I picked round 5 to open up the most vile and nastiest ring in the place, the PIT. The muck, mire, mud, weevils and smell is just, I don't know, just something about it that does a body good and helps ya too to see folks fighting in it! This one came out in Bran's favor by a score of 5-2 which meant that Cory got to watch the rest with his lovely lady.
Now it all came down to Bran in his first ever Diamond Quest with one loss and the veteran fighter Kheldar with no losses who had already faced off against Bran and given him that one loss this evening. I decided there was no better place to hold this last match than in the Outback itself so I told them boys to commence fighting and by golly they sure enough did!
This here match was about as back and forth as you can get. First Kheld scored then Bran tied it up. Then they both scored then Bran was ahead and Kheld tied it up. I swear it was a nail bitter deluxe and in the end came down among the broken tables, chairs, and mugs to SUDDEN DEATH no less!!! Now how it turned out though was Kheld pulled off a perfect imitation of Matt's signature move against Bran for the winning point to become the new Diamond of the Duel of Fists folks!
Bran Wins Panther's Claw Tournament
By TERA STARFARE
I had the honor of officiating for anyone that was interested in coming to fight with fists and feet that were below the rank of Emerald in this Quarterly Tournament for the right to hold the Panther's Claw. Named in honor of Panther, the founder of the Duel of Fists.
Nine hopefuls decided to try their skills in the rings this night ranging in rank from Sapphire to Glass. The seeding was random according to the order in which they raised their hands. Since we had this number I decided on a single elimination format this go around.
Sadly we had two that had signed up that couldn't make it Hochi Banto and Val Demure so I am hoping to see them next Quarter! But we had 4 that came last minute to join in the fun. Those that stepped into the rings were Felix Pride (who got the first bye) Captain Sam Wells (who got the second bye) Bran Bale (who got the third bye) Andi Scott, Gabrereil Ashlock, Corlanthis Wystansayr, Wyheree Ravenlock-Black, Tetronus, and Myria Graziano.
The first round match ups were Sam vs. Myria with Sam winning 5-3 in 7 rounds to advance. Bran vs. Tetronus with Tet sitting down for the night at a score of 5-3 after 9 rounds in Bran's favor. Wyheree came out on top against Andi 5-3 in 8 rounds and Gabe defeated Cor 5-3 in 9.
The second round Felix got in the mix and Sam sat out. Felix faced Wyheree and
took the win 5-4 in 8 rounds but not before Wyh had battled back from quite the deficit in points. Bran and Gabe, just like Wyh, hadn't got to rest from the first round and they were slugging it out but in the end it was Bran that brought this one home and sat Gabe down for the evening with a score of 5-2 in 9 rounds.
The third round Bran had the bye as well as a guaranteed spot in the top three. Sam and Felix faced off for what would turn out to be a back and forth, inside out, fight that ended up in our first SUDDEN DEATH match of the tournament! But it was Sam that would advance to the finals and Felix that would take third place and the cash prize of 1,000 silver tonight!
Then it was on to the final match which I had to put in the PIT! Can't miss the opportunity to use it at least once a night as anyone who knows me will tell you. I am not sure what happened except perhaps lizard folk really love the muck, mire, and weevils because Bran took off and Sam scored one point during this match giving her second place in the tournament as the final score was 5-1 in favor of Bran. Sam gained herself 1,500 silver for her efforts tonight! Bran Bale is the new Panther's Claw for the next quarter!!!
Everyone fought honorably and well! I want to personally thank all the fans that came out and cheered or just watched this tournament as even though I was in a calling trance most all evening I did notice that there was a huge crowd gathered and that does mean a lot that y'all came out to cheer and watch!!!
Tower Of Fire Challenge
By TERA STARFARE
This one comes from Gnimish folks!
So as planned Brannie and Esper met on friday night to decide who'd be holding the key to the tower of fire! Was a nice, quiet night overall, all the better for letting the two concentrate fully on their match.
Brannie took a small, early lead in the first round of the first duel but quickly fell behind afterwards, giving Esper a substantial lead. Bran fought back though, evening the score and even taking the lead back for a short time before Esper finished him off, taking the first match.
In a reversal of the way the first duel went, Esper took the first round and then watched Brannie go on to take the large lead and finish out the second match in eight short rounds.
The third duel saw Bran take the first round and true to the form of the previous duels this wasn't a good sign for him as Esper rallied back to quickly take the final duel in another short eight-rounder.
Harris Defeats Anjolie For Overlord Mantle
By TERA STARFARE
Cicero put this very nicely I thought so here it is in his own words folks!
On Thursday, April 12 in the year marked 2007 by our calender, I officiated a challenge for the Overlordship. The 71st Overlady of the Duel of Swords, Anjolie Cynthia Quinn… did accept the challenge of the Warlord Harris D'Artanian, a man renowned for his accomplishments in the Outback and his being shaped like a potato. The challenger had in tow two former Barons, Nova Grey Shadow and Var Medici-Giovanni, the latter serving as
his Second. His Lady of Honor was Sheyleigh. He dueled with a falcata and under the sponsorship of Snickers and Nike. The Overlady dueled with two silver sais. Her husband, former Overlord Johnathan Ecorian Havoick, stood as her Second but not her Lord of Honor.
The Overlady chose a Best of Three series, and over the course of the night, the entire series was played out before a large, boisterous crowd. The challenger took the first duel despite an initial misstep, reading the Overlady's movements well. The first duel's score was 5-3 in 9 rounds.
The Overlady had ground to make up… and she ended up doing so when she took the second duel, overcoming the challenger's early lead to win 5-4 in 9 rounds. Fatigued and wishing for closure, the duo traded furiously in the first two rounds. From there, Harris took control, scoring in the next three rounds without answer to become the 72nd Overlord of the Duel of Swords.
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Duelers With Des
By TERA STARFARE
Koyliak VanDuran
Preferred Dueling Areas: Duel of Fists
This month I sat down with the current holder of the Opal, Moonberyl, and a founding member of the Daughters of Decadence, Koyliak "BobCrusher" VanDuran. Koy is well known in The Outback as being one if the most brutal of all the fighters there. If you are planning on a "friendly" duel you don't want to get into the ring with this brawler as looks can often be deceiving is definitely true when you see the beautiful Koy looking at you asking for a fight. And trust me when I say she will not thank you if you in turn pull your punches. In fact she just might shove one of her stiletto heels in a place you'd rather she hadn't before it is all over!
While she did mention that she doesn't mind a round or two in Swords she had this to say when I asked her about going to the Isle to duel. Koyliak: "Not iffn I can 'void it. Nothin' 'gainst the Isle but I've never thought magic made much of a good plaything iffn ye catch my drift."
That got to me wondering if she had a bad experience with magic at one point but I quickly changed the subject after she had this to say with a snicker. Koyliak: "Aye, ye could say tha."
One thing I thought everyone might be wondering that doesn't already know is how she got her nickname of 'BobCrusher'. Koliak: "Let's jest say iffn I come 'cross somethin' tha gets in my way, I crush it like I did Bob."
I did ask if she meant a person but she had this to say to that which brought me to another change of subject. Koyliak: "Perhaps it's better we don't talk 'bout 'em either. Next question."
I decided it might be a good time to ask her about her hobbies. Koyliak: "Collectin' new bruises fer one. I guess I shouldn't count my work as a hobby but I do love makin' people look good. I'm happy ta fill in as RhyDin's sorely-needed Fashion Police force in my free time. And then 'course there's spendin' time with my fellow Daughters of Decadence."
I asked Koy to tell us more about her business. Koyliak: "I run The Heavenly Boutique over on Benson Boulevard, the only place ta find yer high-end stuff. I make women's clothin' and I've been lucky 'nough ta partner up with Millie & Mallie's Department Store fer my swim wear and lingerie lines. I've also got a new women's active wear line in the works called 'The Rulin' Body" tha I've been testin out durin' the Madness Tournament on a few lovely participants."
I also asked how the DoD or Daughters of Decadence came about. Koyliak: "PJ, Charlie, Rena and I were fond of our social activities in the rings and at the bars and it jest evolved inta a real sisterhood. I would do anythin' fer those girls, screwy as we all are."
I really wanted to know if the Opal Moonberyl was as troublesome as I have known other Opals to be and since I had the opportunity I did of course just have to ask. Koyliak: "MoonBeryl does not bring the kinda trouble tha ShadoWeaver does. I'll keep sayin' it, the Opals are prisoners, not playthings. They're not meant fer us ta be keepin' as prizes."
On to her advice for new duelers. Koyliak: "Enjoy it. Ye're not gonna be able ta get tha type of free therapy anywhere else in RhyDin. Where ye rank, yer titles, all tha isn't wha it's ultimately 'bout. Jest love wha ye're doin and never, ever pull yer punches."
The other thing that she wanted to make sure I put in the paper was this. Koyliak: "I'd like ta attribute any skills I have ta Matt. He was my first fight ever at the Outback, years before we were even friendly outside of the rings. People should come on out ta the Garden fer the upcomin' IFL season."
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