Winter Talon of Redwin Tournament

[DUEL Rory Laurent]

The Winter Talon of Redwin Tournament will be held Sunday, March 6, beginning promptly at 9 pm (est). All duelists, ranked below Warlord on the final standings before the tournament, are invited to compete in this single-elimination style tournament in honor of former overlord, Siera Redwin. More information on the tournament can be found in the Duel of Swords History (http://duelingzone.com/talon/index.html).

Please send all entries to Rory Laurent (DuelRoryLaurent at ringsofhonor.org). Entries are seeded in the order in which they are received. Therefore, entering early increases the dueler's chances to get a bye.

Will the fifth time be the charm for the men? Or will the women of the dueling community continue to dominate this tournament?

[Rory Laurent]

Remember! The Winter Talon of Redwin Tournament will be held this Sunday in the Annex starting at 9 pm! All commoners, swordsmen, masters at arms, and grandmasters are invited to come out and participate!

Prizes include the title of Talon of Redwin for the cycle and the use of a dirk that once belonged to former Overlord, Siera Redwin. ((As well as an extra fancy.))

No man has yet won the title! So, men, sign up to try to be the first and, women, sign up to keep it a female title!

Participants as of now (this list will be updated in the coming week):
PJ Ramirez
Cyan Bloodbane
Sami Zayne
Tony Graziano
Bobo
Joku
Sly Guy
Illusia
Rhiannon
Seraphina
Cheyenne
Lothar
Vanion

[Lothar Blacklance]

((Tried to send email to sign up for this, but it doesn't seem to be getting through.

I'd like to take part if there is room.))

[Vanion Shadowcast]

(Me also, please.)

[DUEL Rory Laurent]

On the evening of Sunday, March 6, a crowd of eleven duelists gathered in the Arena for the Winter Talon of Redwin Tournament -- a lower ranked, single-elimination tournament. The tournament honors the legacy of Siera Redwin, a legendary warrior, Overlord, and Baron. The winner recieves a dirk carrying Siera Redwin's crest that had been awarded by Siera to the men under her command in a similar tournament as well as the title of the Duel of Swords' Talon of Redwin for the following cycle. The tournament has been held four times and in each a female emerged as its winner. For the Fall Talon of Redwin Tournament, only three women showed with hopes of keeping this title in a woman's hands and eight men attempted to break the stronghold that women have held over the title.

The competitors were seated according to the order in which their entries were received. The sole Crew entry, Tony Graziano, was the first entry received so he sat out the first round with the bye. Rhiannon Brock, typically a strong Talon competitor, was knocked out early after losing a close match to Vanion Shadowcast. Bobo's shopping cart of tricks could not help him withstand the branches of Aenlyn Hollow who moved on to the second round after defeating Bobo in seven rounds. The elf, Joku, faced off against another Talon regular, Richard "Joker" Harker. This was not a night for the Talon regulars as Joker also found himself sent to the bar only able to secure one point against the TDL All-Star. Sylus "Sly Guy" Kurgen and Vince Smith battled it out with Stick officiating. They kept it close and aggressive with a final score of 6-5 in Sly Guy's favor. New comer, Cheyenne Fordyce, also tried her hand in the tournament but fell victim to Lothar Blacklance.

The second round found Vanion Shadowcast and Joku in one of Stick's rings where they were chewed out for their wary, defensive dueling that slowed the pace down at times. In the end, though, it was an aggressive trade of thrusts that knocked Joku out of the tournament and moved Shadowcast into the semi-finals. Tony Graziano saw his first opponent in Aenlyn Hollow and didn't have the same trouble escaping her leafy grasp that Bobo did. Tony Graziano defeated her soundly with a final score of 5-0 in seven rounds. With Aenlyn Hollow's loss, the final woman was eliminated from the tournament, ensuring that this cycle's title holder would be the first to be male.

As the earliest entry left in the competition that hadn't recieved a bye yet, Sylus Kurgen automatically advanced to the finals. Tony Graziano was not as lucky. He fell back early as Vanion Shadowcast began to build a lead. In the end, the lead got the best of Graziano, he lashed into a well-timed defense for the 5-2.5 loss in ten long rounds.

As the final match began, it did not appear the rest gave Sylus Kurgen an advantage. Both duelists mirrored each other in their choice of offense or defense and the score remained neck-in-neck. It was not until the eleventh round that the tie was broken. Shadowcast lunged for Kurgen but Kurgen got out of the way in time to avoid the blade. He followed up by sweeping in low for the final point past Vanion’s defense. The 6.5-5 win in twelve rounds went to Sylus Kurgen.

Therefore, it is my privilege to announce that Sylus "Sly Guy" Kurgen is the Duel of Swords' Fifth Talon of Redwin and the first man to claim the honor.

As witnessed by:
Lorelai Laurent

With officiating help from Stick Allian

((
http://duelingzone.com/talon/index.html will be updated in the coming days to reflect the results.

OOC Breakdown by Round:

First Round
TonyGraziano13 has bye.
Aenyln Hollow .def. Bobothhobo, 5-2 in 7 rounds.
Sylus Kurgen .def. Vincent VM Smith, 6-5 in 8 rounds.
Daimyo Joku .def. Richard D Harker, 5-1 in 9 rounds.
InsertProfoundSN .def. Rhiannon D Brock, 5.5-4 in 8 rounds.
Lothar Blacklance .def. Cheyenne Fordyce, 5-3 in 11 rounds.

Second Round
TonyGraziano13 .def. AenlynHollow, 5-0 in 7 rounds.
InsertProfoundSN .def. Daimyo Joku, 5-1 in 9 rounds.
Sylus Kurgen .def. Lothar Blacklance, 5-3 in 11 rounds.

Third Round
Sylus Kurgen has bye.
InsertProfoundSN .def. TonyGraziano13, 5-2.5 in 10 rounds.

Fourth Round
Sylus Kurgen .def. InsertProfoundSN, 6.5-5 in 12 rounds.
))