Athlstan: Lupton est Dracoern(5) vs. Baphe(12)

[Cassius Gaius Maximius]

Lupton est Dracoern

Gender: Male

Race: Human, with a caveat: Lupton is a confirmed immortal. This was discovered by the dueling community at large at some point during the Age of Dalamar, as the unintended result of a rather underhanded attack by the Warlords Dem Cyrax and Adonai Uziel. According to witnesses, it began with Dem Cyrax stopping Lupton to engage him in conversation as the latter was leaving for home after a night of dueling. Adonai ambushed the distracted Dracoern, decapitating him with a single blow of his falchion. However, Lupton managed to survive, with his head reattached to his body by unknown means. Despite the fact that Lupton did not die, one has to think that Dem Cyrax and Adonai Uziel were punished for attempted murder outside the rings..but as far as I've heard, no punishment was levied.

Point of Origin: The Dracoern Empire. Based on Lupton's speech patterns(a lot of "ye"s and "tis", and other general examples of archaic Common), mode of dress, and technological preferences, there seems to be some evidence that Dracoern is at a societal and technological level that roughly equates to that of Europe between 1450 and 1650. On the other hand, fellow Dracoern Verceterix Gavin Favre shows little evidence of this in himself...more than likely though, this probably only means that Rix has fully assimilated to Rhydinian culture. Militarily, the Dracoern Empire is said to be extraordinarily powerful.

Occupation: Reigning emperor of the Dracoern Empire. Reports and comments by Lupton both indicate that this is a crown much akin to the Holy Roman Empire of European history, where an electoral clique of hereditary nobles elects one of their own for life, whereupon the elected noble assumes the crown and powers and perogatives of a monarch. The "neutral" complexity of Lupton's character is very evident in his attitude towards this title: A regal, aloof arrogance permeated his bearing in the Arena and he candidly admitted his opinion of his own superiority..but on the other hand, reports from Dracoern have stated that Lupton has introduced democratic reforms as Emperor. Regardless, it is likely his imperial duties that effectively ended his DoS career, although he has been known to make occasional appearances.

Preferred Weapon: A broadsword with an ornate, filigreed hilt. Lupton never named this weapon(amongst duelists of his generation, he was almost alone in not doing so), but was loyal to it for the entirety of his career. As a result, it became one of the most recongizable non-named weapons in the Arena amongst competitors and insiders.

TDL History: Lupton has a career .500 record of 18-18, over 4 seasons. He dueled for DHL in the opening season of 514, and then took a hiatus before signing with Crimson Fury for Seasons 516-518. Best season was 83 in Season 517; Lupton had two winning seasons and two losing seasons, the epitome of an average career performance. To be fair, a look as his "strength of schedule" shows that his Arena reputation may have come back to haunt him: His captains had a tendency to pit him against very tough opponents.

DoS Titles Held: 2 time Former Baron of the 4th(2nd reign, 3 defenses), former Baron of the 6th, former Baron of the 9th(2 defenses).

Challenge Victories: Shade 9(Baronial Challenge-4th, forfeit), G'nort Dragoon Talanador(Baronial Challenge-4th), Cassius Maximius(Baronial Challenge-6th), Topaz(Baronial Challenge-9th), Zaradda Eltorch(Baronial Defense-4th), Huma Dragonbane(Baronial Defense-4th), James Dandy(Baronial Defense-4th), Baphelocutis est Lathodascia(Baronial Defense-9th), Gloria Blaze(Baronial Defense-9th), Jeff Oakenshield(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion). Baphe and Gloria were consecutively defeated in a challenge que of two. Ironically, this means that it is very possible that Lupton could end up having to run the same que again in the All-Time Madness!!

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: N/A. Lupton's weakness in the duels tended to be the tournament format: He even publically admitted that he couldn't "win in a tournament to save his life".

DoS Madness History: N/A.


vs.


Baphelocutis est Lathodascia

Gender: Male

Race: Draconian. I'm not quite sure how a draconian differs from a dragon...I believe that Baphe was capable of flying, but I don't think that he could breathe fire. Anyone with more information..the floor is yours. At any rate, Baphe is quite possibly the largest and physically strongest competitor in the All-Time Madness, an immense advantage that should not be underestimated. On the other hand...it also means that he has much less room to dodge attacks than anyone else.

Point of Origin: Unknown. I do know that he resides in a lair in a mountain range on the outskirts of Rhydin.

Occupation: Nobility. Baphe is a creature that is used to wielding power with an iron fist...a tendency which directly resulted in one of the greatest setbacks of his career. Baphe once led one of the most notorious dueling factions in the history of the Arena, House Llewys-Lathodascia. Lupton was his lieutenant in the house, and while Baphe was on a brief hiatus in early 1998, Lupton pulled a coup and disbanded House L-L. Lupton's defense was Baphe's tyranny: Regularly eating human servants and even threatening to flay House L-L member Sidartha Elgarette(Lupton's wife at the time) with a cigarette lighter. Regardless, the draconian saw Lupton as a traitor, beginning an intense hatred which makes this matchup rather interesting indeed.

In more recent years, Baphe has continued to show his preference for being part of a dueling faction: He aligned himself with the "Polaris crowd" on a regular basis, and also currently is part of a small faction known as RED, which operated in the mid-late 2000s.

Preferred Weapon: More than anything else, Baphe may be most famous in the duels for wielding what is almost inarguably the most inhumane and controversial weapon to be swung at a duelist: The Spectre of Baphelocutis, a.k.a. the SOB. Nothing has tested the Ward of Gondar quite like the SOB, a metallic polearm which is taller than a dueling ring would be if it was stood on it's end, most likely weighs 500-800 pounds, and possesses "spikes" on the pointed upper end that are each roughly as long as a shortsword. Wether or not the SOB should be banned has often been a much-discussed topic(particularly during periods when Baphe has been very active in the duels), but it remains a legal dueling weapon to this day.

TDL History: 10-16 over five nonconsecutive seasons, with various teams, including the Unemployed, the Disengaged, and the Innkeepers. Former TDL Champion, with the Unemployed in Season 524. Although he signed to the ailing(to say the very least) Disengaged franchise in Season 518 to great fanfare due to his DoS reputation, Baphe very much continued a trend of established Arena combatants failing to equal their DoS performance in TDL. Best full season was a .500 season of 5-5 in Season 525: He never had a winning TDL season.

DoS Titles Held: Former Baron of the 1st, former Baron of the 11th/Old Market(1 defense).

Challenge Victories: Artemus Kurgen(Baronial Defense-Old Market), Cassius Maximius(Right of Challenge in ToW vs. Challenger's Champion), Adeena Maeax(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion), Jeff Oakenshield(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion), G'nort Dragoon Talanador(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion)*. Like Billy Ray Karnafexx, Baphe shined best in the Test of Worthiness.

*--Baphe was awarded the 11th/Old Market Ring as a result of this victory, from previous Baron Cletus Ganderfald, whom he had championed in the Test.

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: Fall 1997 WLT Winner(def. Ulath ni'Fici in the finals, won the vacant 1st Ring as a prize). See Ulath's section for the controversy behind this.

DoS Madness History: 2008: Seeded 15th in the Athlstan Division; lost to Bran Bale in the first round. If you're wondering why Baphe's seed was so low...it turned out that his entry into the 2008 Madness was belatedly discovered, and a Commoner named Alisa Katz, who was seeded 15th, withdrew so Baphe could have a spot.



Head to Head: Simply put, there is no more historical animosity in any first round matchup--possibly in any possible matchup in the entire Tournament--than here. Lupton did score a challenge win over Baphe, but that was ten years ago, and Baphe has been active in the duels for most of that time. It's also worth noting in Baphe's favor that Lupton tended to not to do well in a tournament format.

As an aside, Lupton achieved 200 WoL in the Arena.