Rings of Honor

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On June 16th, 2005, the Baronial rings of the Duel of Swords were renamed due to the decreased number which resulted from the rift in the Ward of Gondar. Each ring became associated with one of the sevens of RhyDin and, thus, the Baron of the Thirteenth became known as The Baron of New Haven.

Reign Summaries

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Sir Leo Caius Cassius Pride (5/26/98 - 8/6/98)
As second-place winner of the Second-Quarter Warlord Tourney, Sir Cassius had his choice of the four new Baron's rings being offered or the abandoned Fourth ring, first-place winner Skyler J. Chamberland having chosen the challenge to the Overlord. Unable to remain himself while the places below him were decided, he requested Overlord Dalamar Ar'Daumon to claim the Thirteenth Ring on his behalf and declare his alignment as Loyal.

Cassius held the ring without challenge for more than two months, finally retiring it to return to his homeland and complete his training as a priest. For the second time the ring was placed as a prize in a Warlord Tourney.

Magnus Eques (8/25/98 - 3/25/99)
Sir Magnus Eques, third place winner of the Third-Quarter Tourney, chose as his prize the Thirteenth ring. His acceptance was brief and to the point, a respectful declaration of his alignment as Renegade to Overlord Dalamar.

The Renegade went over a month before his first challenge, from Warlord Unagi Miyamoto. The challenge was close to start, with the Warlord wavering a narrow lead, but several swift maneuvers showed how Sir Magnus had ranked so high in the Tourney and gave him the victory, 5 - 2 in nine rounds.

Next to step forth against the Renegade was Warlord Jesse Troyan, sometimes called the "Two-Minute Baron" for how long he held his last ring before retiring it. Jesse was to have no chance to do the same with this ring, however. After a bloody start on both duelers' parts and ten hard-fought rounds, Magnus successfully defended his ring with a 5 - 3 win.

The Baron's next challenge, from Lord Eros Hunrai Marzanhe DeBurgo, was neither so long nor so painful, at least on Magnus's side. After only 6 rounds he had defended his title for the third time with a 5 - 0 victory.

Not long after, Warlord Morn'lythe shena Jor'ethan came forward to test the Baron's skills. Though no longer than Baron Magnus's last defense, this fight was by far closer and bloodier. Blow upon blow was struck by both men, until a sudden recourse to an advanced defense maneuver saved the Baron from a low cut and retained for him the Thirteenth Ring.

Warlord Avery Shiv Blade was next to challenge the reign of Magnus Eques, and the match proved to test both men's skills, endurance, and nerves to the limit. Blows and points were traded between the two throughout, neither able to maintain even the most subtle of leads for long. After twelve rounds, the duel came to the matter of a single blow, a thrust by the Baron which caught the ducking Warlord unprepared and secured his title with a 5 - 4 win.

Sixth to challenge the Baron's reign was Warlady Goldie. Like many of Magnus's earlier defense, a hard lead was taken from the first, but this time not by the Baron, but by his challenger. After five rounds he trailed by a full four points. But the Baron was not to be defeated so blatantly, and began an incredible series of strikes that quickly closed the gap. As the duel stretched to twelve rounds, though, the Warlady's endurance proved the greater, and a quick thrust at the end took the victory and the Thirteenth with a 5.5 - 4 score.

Goldie (3/25/99 - 6/4/99)
Just over two months later, Baroness Goldie took to the ring to defend her title against the man from whom she'd taken it. Warlord Magnus desired to reclaim the ring he had defended so long and prove himself against the woman who had defeated him, and he proved himself in style. In the six short rounds, he struck the Baroness only once, the rest of the time depending on adroit defense to take point after point, ending with a 5 - 0 victory, and Magnus as Baron once more.

Magnus Eques (6/4/99 - 8/27/99)
Warlord Cassius Gaius Maximius was first to bring challenge to the Baron, a match that proved high in excitement, with solid leads upset twice through. In the sudden turnovers from one to the other, it was difficult or impossible to name who had the decisive advantage. In the end, though, the greater skill lay with Magnus, whose 5 - 4 victory in thirteen rounds retained him as Baron of the Thirteenth.

Over two months later challenge came, not to Magnus but from him to Overlord Gunthar O'dwyer. The first match in the Best-of-Three belonged completely to the Baron, a swift 5 - 1 victory in seven rounds. The second match was a harder fight, with the Overlord leading for the first half. But the Baron was able to make a comeback in the second part, and his 5 - 3 win in fourteen rounds made him Overlord.

Gunthar O'dwyer (8/27/99 - 8/27/99)
The Thirteenth went to the dethroned Gunthar, but he declined the title, and the Ring became a prize in the next Warlord Tourney.

Cletus Ganderfald (9/14/99 - 11/2/99)
Twenty seven year-old Cletus Ganderfald, Guardian of Polaris, and former Baron of the 12th ring, placed as the third runner up in the Warlord's Tourney. He claimed the Thirteenth ring for legacy's sake and honored his brother, Magnus, who was holding position as Overlord. Undoubtedly, he declared himself Loyal as well.

When Magnus was defeated by Long Wang Lo, Cletus aligned himself Renegade. Approximately ten days later, Avery Shiv Blade assumed the Overlord position wherein Cletus remained Renegade. It wasn't long after that the Fairy Warlady Topaz issued challenge to the Baron, reasoning that Avery had sworn loyalty to her house and she had reciprocated in kind. She felt the opportunity had presented itself to show her friend just how much worth was contained in her given word. It was her wish to turn the alignment of the Thirteenth ring to that of Loyal. On the evening of the challenge, Topaz defeated Cletus with a score of 5 - 2 in an eight round match. The event was described as an excellent display of dueling skill. Topaz followed through with her plans and declared the alignment Loyal to Overlord Avery.

Topaz Eludes (11/2/99 - 12/17/99)
Challenge came to Topaz nearly two months later, when Warlord Magnus Eques set himself to regain the ring he'd held twice before. In the eight rounds the two fought, Magnus was able to land several blows from which the Baroness was not able to sufficiently recover. A final score of 5 - 4 resulted in Magnus holding the Thirteenth Ring for the third time.

Magnus Eques (12/17/99 - 1/4/00)
Unseating a popular Baron always risks retaliation, and Topaz was undeniably popular. Warlady Taylara Locklorn Tyree issued challenge to restore the Thirteenth to a Loyal alignment. First blood in that challenge went to Magnus, but it is the last strike that determines the winner. Fourteen rounds later, that blow was given by Taylara, who won 5 - 2.

Taylara Locklorn Tyree (1/4/00 - 4/13/00)
The Baroness went a full three months without challenge, a fact which, in part, finally set Warlord Drey Starke's sights on her. Perhaps that time without testing had laxed her skill, or perhaps the Warlord was simply that much better. Either way, Taylara was shut out in six rounds, an impressive achievement for the new Baron of the Thirteenth, and a fine way to start a reign.

Derek (Drey) D'erest Sanchez Starke (4/13/00 - 11/26/00)
Drey himself went without challenge nearly as long before thrice-Baron of this ring, Warlord Magnus Eques, set out to reclaim what he had held so oft before. Three, however, was to be the limit of Magnus's claims to the Thirteenth. Despite an early lead, he was unable to bring down the Baron, and Drey's reign continued.

The next challenger, Warlord Verceterix Favre, did not wait nearly so long to make a try at removing the Baron. Baron and Warlord were close-matched throughout the nine rounds. But Rix allowed Drey two points unanswered in the end match, and those points retained for Drey the Thirteenth Ring.

When it was reported that Drey had been slain by the same blade of the man he had bested in his previous challenge, the status of the Thirteenth ring was investigated by the sport's officials. They concluded that the ring was left vacant and should be offered as a prize in the upcoming Warlord Tournament. The man who claimed the ring in that tournament was no stranger to the Thirteenth. The Thirteenth ring was once again worn by a Polarian, this time it was Cletus Ganderfald.

Cletus Ganderfald (12/15/00 - 4/17/01)
After receiving no challenges for nearly five months, Cletus pressed a challenge of his own, to the Overlady Jaycynda Asheleana. Cletus was victorious over Jaycy, but not before an interesting turn of events. As was her right, Jaycy issued a Test of Worthiness, asking the Warlord Jesse Troyan to defend her reign. Not to be outdone, Cletus asked friend and Warlord Evan Rush Rynth to dispose of the Test and defend his right to challenge. Evan did just that, defeating Jesse by a score of 5-2 in six rounds. Following Cletus' victory, Evan was awarded the Thirteenth ring for his services. This marked the first time a Barony had been exchanged in such a manner. Evan, not surprisingly, declared himself loyal.

Evan Rush Rynth (4/17/01 - 8/7/01)
Evan had a history for tumultuous reigns while holding Baronies, and this one was no different. It was rumored, and later confirmed, that Evan had entered a match with another Baron, and the two had wagered that the loser of the match would retire his ring. Evan lost the match, yet it was unclear as to whether or not he retired the Thirteenth. Evan disapeared from the realm shortly after the match, thus leaving the question unanswered.

The White Duke, Percival Marchand de Clermont soon issued a challenge to Evan to finally determine the status of the Thirteenth. The deadline to respond to a challenge was only days away from passing before Evan responded to Percival and the officials. Evan said that he would not be defending the ring and that the matter should go before the Baron's Council, which it did when his deadline had officially been reached. The Council quite quickly stripped Evan of the Thirteenth and appointed six time defender of the ring, Baron of the 2nd, Magnus Eques to champion the ring he held on three seperate occasions.

When the two met, Magnus once again proved why he had held the Thirteenth for so long. After building up a 4-0 lead, Magnus held off a late rally from Percival to send the Thirteenth to yet another Warlord Tournament. With a final score of 5-2 in eight rounds, Magnus had again defended the Ring.

Taree Fae (9/4/01 - 1/9/02)
Magnus' victory ultimately allowed Taree Fae to claim the Thirteenth after placing second in the third quarter's Warlord Tournament of '01. A dark horse at the onset of the Tournament, Taree surprised most with her high placement, especially since the Tournament was the first of her career.

The first challenge of the New Year came from a low key Warlord who went by multiple names. Drachen (or Ace) did not publicly state he had challenged Taree, and since Taree also did not publicly mention the challenge, the community did not know about it until the results were posted on the ancient cork. Those results were in favor of the Warlord and showed that he defeated Taree, 5-2 in nine rounds. Drachen did not declare an alignment to Overlord Sartan after the match.

Drachen (1/9/02 - 3/10/05)
Arithon, and as a loyal baron, requested the Overlord intercede on his behalf against the challenger. The Overlord declined, admitting that he was breaking an oath as an overlord not to step in for the challenged loyal. In light of the situation, Arithon offered to banish Drachen to renegade after the challenge, should he still be Baron.

The challenge itself saw only one duel, which saw eleven rounds and ending with Drachen standing as the victor, 5-3. Keeping to his suggestion, Arithon banished Drachen to Renegade. As per the rules permitting, Drachen issued immediate challenge to the Overlord. The challenge Drachen issued came after Cassius issued challenge, but the rules and precedent give Drachen the first shot.

After all the chaos, however, Drachen was quiet with his withdrawl. He stayed in the Renegade status, and the road was free for Cassius to press his challenge to Overlord Arithon.

More than one year after his first defense, Drachen was called to defend the ring a second time. Recently returned, former Diarchlord, Avery Shiv Blade, cited a lack of challenges for the Senior Baron as the direct reason.

When the two met, it was Overlord Shakira who first dueled Avery. In a drawn-out, thirteen round match, Avery was able to eliminate her from his path with a 5-3 win. However, the Thirteenth ring proved unlucky once again for Avery as he was unable to defeat Drachen. In a close eleven round match, Drachen was able to score three unanswered points at the end to retain his title with a 5-3 victory.

When Drachen's next challenger emerged, the Senior Baron on the council once more allowed an Overlord to step in on his behalf. This time the Overlord was Anubis Karos, and his luck fared better than Shakira's did. Warlord Farek met the Overlord in an attempt to force Drachen into the ring, however Anubis had the upper hand in the duel. In ten rounds, Anubis defended Drachen's hold on the Thirteenth with a 5-3 victory.

Drachen was no longer loyal to an Overlord as his next challenger came forward and was required to defend his ring without intercession. In a challenge that almost completely lacked fanfare, the Warlord Gork issued challenge to the Baron. The pair met in the ring for a single match. Gork took an early lead but midway through the match, Drachen began showing signs of a comeback. After Drachen connected high and Gork low in the tenth round, the Baron and Warlord were tied at 5 a piece. They both went defensive in the following round but it was Gork's defense that found him on a path to the win. The new Baron declared himself renegade to the Overlord.

At the end of Drachen's reign, he remarkably stood second only to Unagi Miyamoto as the two longest reigning Barons in Duel of Swords history. They were also the only two to eclipse the three year mark at the time.

Gork (3/10/05 - 6/3/05)
Shortly before the Spring Warlord's Tournament, Gork retired the Thirteenth claiming to the community upon the cork board that he was not worthy of holding the ring. Without further explanation, the Thirteenth was offered as a prize in the upcoming tournament.

Cassius Maximus (6/8/05 - 6/16/05)
In a rare fast-paced tournament, the former Baron Cassius Maximus emerged from the winner's bracket to face the winner of the loser's bracket - a former holder of the Thirteenth, Drachen. In a single match, Cassius Maximus denied Drachen the honor of winning the tournament and chose the Thirteenth as his prize, choosing to stand renegade to Overlord Damien Mortis.