Athlstan Division: Athlstan(6) vs. Ellisa Morgan(11)

[Cassius Gaius Maximius]

Athlstan


Gender: Male

Race: Human; quite possibly deceased. Athlstan made a very brief return to the duels in the summer of 2007, claiming that he was dying and that he had come to see the Arena that he loved one final time. Within a few weeks, he had disappeared and has not been seen since then, leading to an obvious--and tragic--conclusion. Athlstan has been without one arm for over ten years, when it was severed by Luthien Tinuviel during his second reign as Overlord in order to frustrate the plans of the demon Val de Morta(See "Occupation" for more details). While Damien Mortis has certainly proven that missing one arm does not inevitably lead to an inability to duel successfully, this does seem to have effectively ended Athlstan's career.

Point of Origin: Unknown

Occupation: Cleric. While on Earth, a cleric was simply a generic member of an organized priesthood, matters were different in Athlstan's homeland. There, a cleric was a specific martial order of priests, trained to defend the flock at times when something more earthly and definite than prayer was needed to do so. Accordingly, Athlstan was trained in armed combat by the best swordsmen in his community...possibly in his entire homeland. Upon arrival in Rhydin, he augmented this by being trained in the specific styles of the Duel of Swords by Siera Redwin: The Redwin family style was very influential in Athlstan's dueling. However..as Siera would not take just anybody, her acceptance of Athlstan as a pupil can almost be taken as circumstantial evidence of extensive martial training at an earlier date.

In the summer of 1997, Athlstan became the Guardian of the Ward of Gondar. During his second reign as Overlord, a powerful demon named Val de Morta threatened to rend the ethereal fabric of the Ward into nothingness: The demon demanded a death duel between the Overlord and longstanding Arena community member Luthien Tinuviel as appeasement. Before the duel, Luthien severed Athlstan's arm with her elven-made sword, thereby forcing a forfeit and thwarting Val de Morta..soon afterwards, the demon was defeated in a terrible battle and has not been seen since. Not long after Val de Morta's defeat, Athlstan lost the mantle to Dalamar Ar'Daumon(who dueled blindfolded as a way of "evening the playing field" for the one-armed cleric) and Athlstan became the Ward's Guardian. He held this position for much of the "Age of Dalamar" before retiring upon marriage in late 1998, relinquishing the Guardianship to a duelist named Auritan the Meek. Unfortunately, Auritan left the duels himself around 2001, and the Guardianship has been vacant since. It has been said that had there been a Guardian at the time, the Blindfold Proxy would not have been able to manipulate the Ward during his reign as Overlord in 2002, and the Rift may not have opened in 2004.

Preferred Weapon: Chundrick, a sword gifted to him by Siera Redwin. Designed in the style of the Southeast Asian island of Java, Chundrick appears to have had mystical properties: Athlstan once used it to hammer down the brick wall of a burning convent!

TDL History: 9-12 over three seasons, all with Team Loincloth. Best season was a .500 2-2 season in Season 514. While there's no denying that Athlstan's TDL career was mediocre at best, voters should remember that this was in the twilight of his dueling career, and after the severing of his arm.

DoS Titles Held: 2-time former Overlord(1st reign, 4 defenses; 2nd reign, 1 defense), former Baron of the 7th

Challenge Victories: Daegarth Mithmellon(OL Challenge), Lyon ThrakHath(Challenger in ToW), Kalamere Ar'Din(OL Challenge), Dirk Random(Baronial Challenge-7th; forfeit), Rennor(OL Defense), WickedDeth(OL Defense-test), Elijah Basia Uhr(OL Defense), Raiyko Hideo(OL Defense), Sascha Sau Bau(OL Defense-test), Valmion(Intercession). During his first reign as Overlord, Athlstan faced the potential challenge of Jo Kicklen Elbinknyght, who had won the Test of Worthiness-free Overlord Challenge in the Fall 1996 Warlord's Tournament. However, while Elbinknyght made public his intent to challenge, he forgot to actually issue it! After a month passed, the Arena management rules that the challenge right had lapsed.

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: Summer 1997 WLT finalist.

DoS Madness History: N/A, although he does have a division named after him.


vs.


Ellisa Morgan


Gender: Female

Race: Human. Like her All-Time Madness first round opponent, Morgan lacked a primary limb: In her case, a leg(possibly both, I can't remember). Like the archetypal buccaneer that she was, Ellisa replaced this leg with a crude wooden peg. It is possible that by the time she started dueling, she had been using the peg for centuries: It did not affect her mobility in the least.

Point of Origin: Somewhere in England, probably the southerly portion of the country. Morgan was born at some point in the early 16th century, making her a rough contemporary of the Irishwoman Colleen MacLeod. Like MacLeod, it isn't quite certain how Morgan came from this time period to 20th/21st century Rhydin: She may be an immortal, but a wormhole may also be involved. Most likely spent some time on the planet of Oerth: At one point, she employed G'nort Dragoon Talanador as a shipmate. This became the framework for their later friendship in Rhydin, with Morgan affectionately calling G "mon cabin boy".

Occupation: Pirate; while Ellisa has been fairly circumspect about this, it is common knowledge. Possibly started her career of piracy within the span of a mortal lifetime, which would have meant terrorizing Flemish and French shipping in the English Channel and the western approaches of the North Sea(British pirates would not become oceanic in their reach until the next generation). Continued her piracy in Rhydinian waters, and probably did so on Oerth as well. As with G'nort and Var Medici-Giovanni, the travails of a buccaneer would have been excellent schooling in the art of sword-fighting in an enclosed space.

Preferred Weapon: Morgan preferred a two-bladed tandem: In one hand, a garden-variety shortsword, and in the other hand, a main gauche, a Spanish dueling weapon from around her time which was already mentioned in Ian MacKenzie's writeup. Like Ian, Ellisa was very protective of her personal honor, making the main gauche a very appropriate weapon for her.

TDL History: Ellisa had a .500 career of 13-13, over three full seasons and one apeparance as a Free Agent in Season 520. Dueled in Seasons 514 and 515 with the Femme Fatales, skipping Season 516 before signing with Misfits and Rogues for Season 517. Former TDL Champion with the Femme Fatales, Season 514. Best season was 5-3 in Season 514, with FFT.

DoS Titles Held: 2-time former Baroness of the 7th(2nd reign, 2 defenses), former Baroness of the 12th. Much of Ellisa's DoS challenge history centered around her epic rivalry with Jeff Oakenshield...this rivalry began as a political matter(Ellisa was a member of House L-L, while Jeff was a member of their rivals, the Kingdom of Covington) but evolved into an affectionate but intense personal competition. Ellisa held the 12th Ring for over two years, or roughly 1/3rd of the ring's lifespan as an active titled rank.

Challenge Victories: Jeff Oakenshield--three times(2 Baronial Challenges-7th, Baronial Defense-7th), Cassius Maximius(Baronial Challenge-12th), Slider*(Baronial Defense-7th; intercession), Draven(Test of Worthiness), Unagi Miyamoto(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion)

*--not the Pslyder who is currently active in RoH.

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: N/A

DoS Madness History: N/A


Head to Head: This is a matchup which screams old-school...not only has neither combatant been a full-time duelist for several years, but their ethics and outlook exemplified "old-school". My pick is Ellisa, but I think that in a case of a ten duel series, one would win six duels and the other would win four...if not an even five and five split.