Rings of Honor

- A FreeForm Roleplaying Community  

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. After June 16th, the Baron of the Third was known as The Baron of Dockside.

Reign Summaries

Click to expand.

Grandel du Lieth Zephyrus (2/7/95 - 4/3/95)
This ring was first held by Grandel du Lieth Zephyrus, otherwise know as Lord Zephyr. Zephyr had an uneventful reign of near to two months. He lost the ring in his first defense to Feadur Feamegil.

Feadur Feamegil (4/3/95 - 8/30/95)
Feadur has one of the more colorful histories among barons. As the Swordhand of House Redwin, it was his pleasure to declare himself loyal when Siera Redwin became Overlord three weeks after he had claimed the ring. It was not too long after that when he was to first defend his station. The challenge was from MadMadMax, ex-Overlord and resident psychotic. The dark elf kept his ring.

Feadur's second challenge came from Prince Stefano de Fortenza. Stephen challenged Feadur based on the dark elf's protection of the Overlord. Feadur had defended Siera Redwin's title already and Stephen swore to stop him from doing so again. This was Feadur's second defense against an ex-Overlord and again he was victorious. He kept his ring and maintained his position of loyalty to the Overlord.

The third challenge to Feadur came from Daegarth Mithmellon. For the third straight time, Feadur defended his ring. In actuality, he never lost his ring to a challenge. Nearly five months after becoming a baron he made challenge to the Overlord. At the time the Overlord was Percival, who had taken the title from Siera. Feadur was to avenge his house and he did just that.

Percival (8/30/95 - 10/2/96)
A loss to Feadur made Percival the third to wear this ring. This Baron made up for a relatively short tenure at Overlord by wearing the ring of his new station for more than a year. During his reign he defended his title only once, that being against Lyon ThrakHath, whom he deafeted soundly.

The fourth holder of this ring was Devion SilverBlade. Devion challenged Percival shortly after the first Baron's Council. During the council there was some argument between Percival and Devion's lover, Kaprielle d'Argent. Devion challenged in the name of Kaprielle's honor and defeated Percival who, being a man of honor, offered his apologies for the incident.

Devion SilverBlade (10/2/96 - 4/25/97)
Devion had been challenged by both Arithon and Elijah Basia-Uhr, but they rescinded their challenges before the time of the match. His first challenge to go through was from Alec Damron. Despite Devion's continued absence from the rings his skill had not diminished. History will reflect the talley as: Romans 2, Christians 0. Two knights fell to this ex-gladiator's blade.

Devion was not to reign past another defense, however. The second was against Rand al'Tan.

Rand al'Tan (4/25/97 - 8/24/97)
Rand was the fourth consecutive holder of this ring to defend it. The challenge came from Tarl Cabot. Not only was the challenge a match between friends, but it was an exceptional display of skill by both men. The lead switched hands four times as the duel played out a grueling twelve rounds. Spectators of the match were captivated up through the very last round where Rand took the victory by cutting low beneath the lateral parry of Tarl.

On Rand's second defense, Overlord Dalamar Ar'Daumon stepped in to defend the Loyal Baron. The challenger was one Steven Lynn Glowacki, who became one of very few Barons to gain the title by winning past an Overlord intercession. The match against Dalamar was a long and bloody one, ending in the eleventh round as Steven thrust under the Overlord's high cut.

Rand's final match as Baron was somewhat less impressive. Hardly winded from the prior match, Steven scored in each of the first three rounds, after another three rounds the match was over. Tired and perhaps enthralled by his victory, Steven left the Arena as a Baron, yet forgot to collect the ring. This was a point of contention for Steven during his reign.

Steven Lynn Glowacki (8/24/97 - 9/6/97)
Steven broke the streak of consecutive Barons to defended the ring, when he lost to Heath Duncan Connor MacCormack, the first challenger. To Steven's credit, it was a close match, going twelve rounds before Heath's 5-4 victory.

Heath Duncan Connor MacCormack (9/6/97 - 10/7/97)
The Baron Heath, seventh holder of this ring, met his first challenge for his ring within the month in the person of Ulath Fici, twice a baron himself. The challenge was initiated partly due to Heath's record dropping below the requisites of a warlord shortly after his obtaining the Third Ring. Heath's reign as the Third baron would be short as Ulath did prevail, and place the Third ring on a finger that had previous held both the Seventh and Eighth. Most noted in the aftermath of this duel was Heath's outcry at the actions of the Overlord Dalamar Ar'Daumon's, contending the Overlord supported the challenger to one of his Loyal Barons.

Ulath Fici (10/7/97 - 2/1/98)
When it rains, it pours. Ulath went without challenge for nearly three months as a Loyal Baron. However, when his alignment changed to stand with his House members as Renegade so did his luck. He immediately gained a challenge que of two.

Ulath took on both challengers in the same evening, first up a newer Warlord Quan Zhange Fei. The Baron got to prove his skills by defeating the would-be 5-2.5 in eleven rounds. His second defense against, Sir Cassius, another newer Warlord, simply re-enforced his show of skill by ending 5-3 in eight rounds.

The Warlord by the name Darkness was the next to challenge Ulath. Taking some heat over challenging with peer wins only hours old, this new Warlord persisted in his challenge and in seven bloody rounds took the ring from Ulath 5-3, making him the ninth holder of the ring.

Darkness (2/1/98 - 3/11/98)
Darkness's first attempted defense was one of the most controversial in Duel of Swords history. The Warlord Sartan was the one to challenge the Loyal Baron. Failing to officially respond to the challenge within the first week, Darkness was forced to wait as the matter was turned over to the Council of Barons for a final decision. Thinking that the Council would decide for the two to duel the match anyway, Darkness met Sartan in the ring before the Barons had made their final decision, a match that Darkness won. The Duel of Swords Coordinator, Lady Helix Girvin, was quick to void the bout and give the Council more time to make a final decision. The Barons were deadlocked in their decision, three voting for stripping the ring from Darkness, three voting for a rematch, and two others abstaining. The tiebreaker came from Overlord Ar'Daumon, who chose to let the two fight a rematch. In their second contest, Sartan was able to overcome the Baron and take the ring in a 5 - 3 contest that lasted eight rounds. Sartan was quick to announce his allegiance and keep the Third Baron's Ring Loyal to the Overlord.

Sartan (3/11/98 - 7/14/98)
Sartan's reign was without challenge nearly four months before a former holder of the First Ring, Evan Rush Rynth, stepped forward. Perhaps the Warlord had learned something of discretion since the vehemently argued decision which had eventually cost him his ring prior, for he kept this challenge low-key and neutral.

The challenge match itself was not. Opposing strikes opened the match, and not a round went without score after. Baron Sartan took the early lead, and only in the last two rounds did Evan break that lead to win, 5 - 4 in eight rounds.

Evan Rush Rynth (7/14/98 - 10/9/98)
His alignment, as his challenge, was Neutral. That was until he stepped forward to intercede on a challenge to the Overlord - on the side of the challenger. Once again Baron Evan was the center of controversy as Dalamar immediately aligned him Renegade.

Not long after, the Baron received his first challenge from long-standing Warlord Verceterix Gavin Favre. For a long time the respected Warlord had been missing from the rings, and stayed low-key even after his return. His dueling for the challenge was anything but low-key as he took an early offensive, only to find the Baron's defenses waiting. Though he managed to close the three point deficit made early, he never took the lead. Evan's defense was sealed with a 5 - 4 victory in eight rounds.

The Baron himself initiated the next change in the status of the Third ring by petitioning the Overlord to bring him to a Loyal alignment. At first he was refused, but after close conversation with Dalamar and helping him and his love when they were injured, the Overlord allowed the re-allignment and welcomed the Baron to Loyal.

It seemed nothing could happen around the Baron Evan without some sort of controversy, not even a challenge to him. Warlord Jaycynda Ashleana issued challenge, the validity of which was called into question because of unposted peer wins. Though the Warlord had cleared it in advance with the Duel of Swords Coordinator, the Standings Keeper had never been informed of it, and originally invalidated the challenge. Once the full situation had been discussed, however, the challenge was allowed.

Evan faced Jaycy only days after the Overlord had accepted his alignment change. For most of the eleven rounds he held the lead by a close margin, but two swift strikes at the very end gave Jaycy the lead and the 5-4 win. The Third ring was Renegade once more. Not long after, however, the new Baroness reconsidered and requested the Overlord accept her as Loyal, which Dalamar did gladly.

Jaycynda Ashleana (10/9/98 - 9/9/99)
Jaycynda's first challenge came within the month, and would have been fought within the month as well, but for the two-week closing of the Duel of Swords following the retirement of the Supervisor of the sport. Her defense against the Warlord Lucian was rescheduled for the first night the duels reopened, bringing the sport back with all the pageantry and style of a Baronial Challenge Match. The duel itself was in no way a disappointment, a hard-fought eleven rounds resulting in a 5 - 3.5 victory and successful defense for the Baroness.

The new year had come before the Baroness again faced challenge, this from Warlord K'yorl. The Overlord Dalamar chose to intercede on behalf of his Loyal Baroness, and the Warlord quickly took a large lead in the match. Though Dal was able to make up much of the lost ground in the second half of the duel, K'yorl successfully defended his right to challenge with a 5 - 3 victory in eight rounds.

Jaycynda then took to the ring. As the Warlord had done against the Overlord, so the Baroness did now, taking a substantial lead in the early rounds. K'yorl was able to close the gap, as had Dal against him, but in ten rounds Jaycy finished her second defense of her title, winning 5 - 3.

More long months passed, and Jaycynda eventually challenged the Overlord, Dexter Montoya, for his seat. In this challenge, Jaycy lost, and after placed a public invitation for an unnamed person with whom she was apparently at odds to offer a promised challenge to her. This person, apparently, was the Warlord Topaz. The tiny fairy issued the asked-for challenge, and matters were quickly arranged.

The match itself was anything but quick. Thirteen long and pain-filled rounds the two women fought, the lead wavering between the two until ended by a skillful evasion of Topaz's high cut by the Baroness. For the third time, Jaycy had successfully defended her title.

One month before the Baroness's year anniversary as Bearer of the Third, she stepped into the challenge ring a fourth time against former Overlord Unagi Miyamoto. The match drew out to a full fifteen rounds, defense taking most of the points and only three hits actually landing the entire time. In the end, a 5 - 4 score gave the Barony to Unagi, who declared the Third as Renegade to the Crown.

Unagi Miyamoto (9/9/99 - 3/25/03)
For nine months the Baron sat unchallenged, and Warlord Cory Havoick finally opted to change that trend. Though the Baron took first blood, Cory worked hard to keep the score close or tied. But his efforts could not hold through the entire match, and after eleven hard-fought rounds, Unagi remained Baron with a 5 - 2 score.

Citing Unagi's lack of challenges as unacceptable, Cletus Ganderfald was the next to bring challenge to the Samurai's door. The challenge, however, would be never completed inside a ring. After the thirteenth round, Cletus suddenly disappeared from view. Since he named no second prior to the match, the official on duty ruled that Cletus was in forfeit, and the match would be declared in Unagi's favor. It was later learned that Cletus' disappearance was the direct result of injuries suffered during the match, and that he was transported back to his home to avoid more serious injuries.

Unagi's next challenge would be fought in its entirety, however it would still only span the same amount of rounds as his previous challenge. In two extremely fast and well-fought matches, the Baron showed his dominance over the challenger, Arithon Falessan. The only lead Arithon had was after the first round of the first match. After that, Unagi never looked back and left the ring with the Third still on his finger. Unagi defeated Arithon, 5-1 in six rounds, and 5-2 in seven rounds.

Slightly less than three months after his defeat of Lord Arithon, Unagi was challenged by Sarya Snake. The challenger claimed no enmity towards the baron, only that she desired to do something about the low number of challenges Unagi had received in almost three years as wearer of the third ring. Mayhap Saryna should have talked with Arithon first. Like Arithon, Saryna took the lead in the first round of the first match. Like Arithon, Saryna was never to lead again. Announcing that snake, like eel, was a delicacy in his home islands, the samurai proceeded to fillet Saryna with vigor. In the seven rounds that followed, Saryna was only able to strike once more, leaving Unagi with the 5-2 victory in eight rounds. Perhaps it was the irritation caused by the venom from Saryna's two successful strikes in the first match that spurred Unagi to fight even harder. After two scoreless rounds, the samurai went on a rampage, scoring in every remaining round while evading every strike of the serpent. Cutting high with his shirasaya over a final defensive maneuver, Unagi carved out a 5-0 victory in 7 rounds to remain baron of the Third ring.

After his challenge to Sartan led to the Baron's retirement, Chris Graziano turned his sights upon Unagi. As the norm, Unagi chose a best-of-three contest to settle the challenge. The challenger dominated the first match, handing Unagi his first loss ever when defending the Third. In seven short rounds, Chris stood on top 5-1. That would be the extent of his rise however. In the next fourteen rounds, Chris only held the lead once, and Unagi was clearly on his way to another defense. Both matches lasted an even seven rounds with Unagi the victor in both by scores of 5-3 and 5-1.

Shortly after his defense against Graziano, Unagi was once more challenged. Kateri Pulchra brought challenge to the Samurai due to an admiration of his skill in the ring. The Warlord would push this skill to the limit. In a marathon challenge that lasted close to three hours, Warlord and Baron dueled a combined thirty rounds. A single blow at the end determined all three matches. And those blows once more proved why Unagi was the longest reigning Baron of all time. Kateri was victorious in the second match, 5-4 in ten rounds. However, Unagi retained his control of the Third ring by winning the first and third matches, 5-4, in nine and eleven rounds, respectively.

It's often said that all good things must come to an end. The Duel of Swords is no exception. After an incredible reign of three years, six months and sixteen days, the Samurai finally lost a challenge match. His demise came at the hands of Ticallion Carter. It was not often that Unagi was outmatched, but in this instance, the younger Ticallion was too much for him to handle. In two short matches, Ticallion defeated Unagi, 5-2 in seven rounds, and 5-3 in nine rounds.

Ticallion handled his victory with all the respect that Unagi deserved. Unagi handled is defeat as gracefully as he had handled his victories. Even in defeat, Unagi was a man to admire and the ending of his reign left everyone with slight feelings of regret that it could not have gone on longer.

Ticallion Carter (3/25/03 - 2/25/04)
The first challenge brought to Ticallion was from Kateri Pulchra, to whom Unagi had given his shirasaya at the end of her hard-fought challenge to him. Unagi had done so in expectation that she would use the sword against him in a future challenge, but since Ticallion had prematurely ended his reign, Kateri felt it was only suiting to challenge Ticallion instead.

In the same vein as Unagi, Ticallion opted for a best-of-three format. Kateri's convictions led her through a tough first match, winning 6-4.5 in thirteen rounds, but Ticallion swiftly evened the playing field by taking the second 5-2 in nine. In the final match, Ticallion opened up to a four point lead after four rounds, but Kateri rallied in the next four rounds to cut the deficit to just half a point. After a bloody exchange of cuts, Ticallion expertly outmaneuvered Kateri's round parry in the tenth round to hold onto his ring, the final score being 6-4.5.

As recipient of the first ever Overlord Grant, Anubis Karos was bestowed the right to challenge a Baron of his choosing by Overlord Shakira. Anubis used his new right to challenge Ticallion. Ticallion once more opted for the best of three; however only two duels would be needed this time.

Anubis was clearly in better form, dispatching of Tical 5.5-2.5 in ten rounds and thirteen rounds. The victory gave yet another loyal alignment to Overlord Shakira.

Anubis Karos (2/25/04 - 8/12/04)
Anubis' first challenge came from a loyal member of the Wrecking Crew, Warlord Kheldar Drasinia. Ironically, it was a member of the Wrecking Crew Anubis defeated to claim the Third. Despite most of the public favoring the challenger, the Baron was quick to provide a painful lesson and exploited Kheldar's inexperience in the challenge ring (this having been Kheldar's first challenge). In a pair of nine round matches, Anubis put an end to Kheldar's run, 5-4 and 5-3.

To pay a tribute to the fallen Shakira, Anubis challenged Overlord Cory Havoick for the crown. With a strong showing, Anubis was able to claim the title in two straight matches.

Johnathan Ecorian Havoick (8/12/04 - 11/15/04)
Prior to Cory Havoick's reign, the Third Ring was the only ring that had not been passed on due to forfeit or retirement. The streak ended when Max Quinlan Blue was given back his peer wins after challenging Var Medici-Giovanni for the Tenth and failing to get a response. The Baron Havoick failed to respond to the challenge in the allotted time and the matter was turned over to the Baron's Council while the Supervisor allowed the Warlord to be returned his peer wins yet again. The Council voted to strip the Baron of the ring. Therefore, the coming Warlord's Tournament would be the first since the original nine rings were handed out that the Third Ring would be a prize at the tournament.

Jeff Oakenshield (11/30/04 - 3/12/05)
The legendary battle axe-wielding dwarf, Jeff Oakenshield, returned to the sport and fought his way through the Warlord's Tournament to claim the Third Ring as his prize. He failed to complete any defenses in this reign, however. Cletus Ganderfald challenged as part of three Warlords challenging at the same time, calling themselves the "Triumvirate". Jeff failed to respond and the Council quickly acted to strip him of his ring. Max Quinlan Blue, another member of the Triumvirate, offered himself up to test the challenger. Enough members of the Council agreed which outraged parts of the community who called for the Supervisor's office to intervene. The Supervisor's office allowed the Baron's Council decision to stand, declaring that they would not involve themselves in baronial politics. The outrage was not needed. Baron Max Blue did not throw the match. Instead, he defeated the challenger. Therefore, the Third Ring would once again be in the pot as a prize for the Warlord Tournament after nearly a decade of being passed on through challenges.

Alais d Nitesong (4/27/05 - 5/10/05)
After the First and Third rings were vacated very early into the spring cycle, the Duel of Swords staff decided they did not wish to wait an entire cycle for the Warlord's tournament while two rings lay vacant. Therefore, the Duel of Swords held a special, mid-cycle tag team tournament that was open to all ranks. In a very exciting nine team tournament, Tassleholf Momus and Alais d Nitesong proved to be the best team of the night. With their victory, each earned a Baronial ring, and Alais was gifted with the Third.

Almost immediately after winning the ring, Alais was challenged by Warlord Farek. In a very quick and decisive match, Farek disposed of the new Baroness in eight short rounds. With a dominating final score of five to one, Farek claimed the Third and declared himself Renegade to Overlord Mortis.

Farek (5/10/05 - 6/16/05)
After challenging for Overlord Damien Mortis' crown, Farek inexplicably rescinded his challenge and announced his retirement as Baron of Dockside.

As a final note on the Third Baron's Ring, this was the last ring to be passed on due to forfeit or retirement.