Rings of Honor

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When the 38th Overlord Avery Shiv Blade was called in forfeit for not appearing to face a challenge, the Duel of Swords was left with a vacant Crown. Despite an amusing attempt by Ian MacKenzie to declare himself Overlord, it was decided by the Barons Council that a Tourney of Barons would be held. Only five of the thirteen Barons participated, and the best dueler of the night proved to be Daelin Dragonsblade.

Daelin took the Crown with some regrets, for Avery had been a good friend, and as a Baron, Daelin had voted only reluctantly, after almost a month without word from the Overlord, to remove him from the title. The new Overlord also voiced the hope that, should Avery return, he might be able to give back to his friend the title he'd defended so well. An unlikely scenario at best, however, and for the moment Daelin had other concerns to face.

Specifically, he faced the challenge from Taylara Tyree, who had placed fourth in the recent Warlords Tourney and waited patiently with her hard-won right to challenge for there to be an Overlord to challenge. Taylara actually waited almost the full week past Daelin's crowning before issuing her challenge, and issued because she disagreed strongly with Daelin's stated views on how he continued to be Loyal to Avery and yet now held the Crown himself. Stung by her vehemence but unsurprised, Daelin accepted the challenge and offered the Warlady a best-of-three match.

The match proved a harsh test of both duelers' skills, beginning with blows rained hard upon each other. The first match belonged to Taylara by 5-3 in seven rounds, but apparently the victory cost her much of her endurance. In the same number of rounds, Daelin took the second match with a 5-1 score. In the final match Daelin took first blood, but Taylara recovered herself and the small distance lost quickly. With skill belying her performance in the second match, the Warlady continued to gain ground, passing Daelin's score and closing the final match with a 5-3 victory in six short rounds. Only nineteen days after taking the crown, Daelin Dragonsblade relinquished it again.