Athlstan Division: Cassius Maximius(2) vs. MadMadMax(15)

[Cassius Gaius Maximius]

Gaius Cassius Maximius*

*--the actual Roman arrangement of the name

Gender: Male

Race: Human, and an immortal; however, there have been rumors amongst dueling insiders as to whether or not Cass really is fully human, and whether or not he knows this: In addition to his immortality, he possesses an innate basic proficiency in spellcasting despite having virtually no interest in the art. Cassius's immortality has allowed him to harvest years of experience in the rings without having to worry about the decay in his physical capabilities that most veterans have to concern themselves with. This is a vast advantage, especially against others of his "generation" of duelists: G'nort Dragoon Talanador and Cletus Ganderfald may not physically be what they were in 1999, but Cass is. Adding to this advantage is the fact that he has been more or less active for the entire timespan of his career. Is also known to be immune to virtually all diseases; It isn't known what violent means, if any, could kill him.

Point of Origin: Born in Liguria(an ancient region of the Italian peninsula which roughly corresponds to medieval and modern Genoa and the surrounding hinterland) in 44 BCE, the son of a former military legate to Gaius Julius Caesar who had retired and been granted a generous amount of imperial land in northern Italy. Among dueling insiders who know this, this has only fueled speculation that Cassius may not be 100 percent human: He has openly admitted to not knowing who his mother is. Over the centuries, Cass extensively traveled via wormhole, periodically returning to Earth but also living in other realms: His current stint of residence in Rhydin may not be his first. Last returned to Earth in the early 1990s, just before coming to Rhydin.

Occupation: Initially a professional soldier in the Roman legions, rising to the rank of "Primus Pilus"(First Spear) centurion in Legio VI Victrix in his mid-20s(Roman legionaries were very proud of and loyal to their home legions, and the fact that Cassius first targeted the Sixth Ring upon reaching the rank of Warlord may be no accident). The iron discipline and grueling training of the imperial legions remain proverbial to this very day, and Cassius would have received superlative training for a setting such as the Duel of Swords even if his tour of duty had occurred entirely in peacetime...but he was also a veteran of the brutal Cantabrian Wars in northern Spain. After realizing his immortality, the Roman served as a mercenary in multiple armies and fought in multiple wars: In terms of combat experience, there may be no duelist who is more experienced, period. However, he was also a businessman during various periods, and has generally taken on that role since arriving in Rhydin: The duels have become his outlet for martial energies. Presently resides in a Roman-style villa to the southeast of Rhydin proper, where he operates a major wine-growing concern: He is known for mainly employing gnomes and dwarves, and the standards of safety and employee treatment on his latifundium have been questioned. Has also been involved in multiple business ventures with longtime friend G'nort Dragoon Talanador.

Preferred Weapon: A gladius named Imperator. The gladius was invented during the Punic Wars, heavily inspired by the shortswords which the ancient Romans encountered--much to their chagrin--being wielded by Iberian mercenaries fighting for Carthage. Indeed, the influence was so prominent that the earliest version of the gladius was called "the gladius hispanesis"--Spanish sword. In general, the gladius is two feet long, and almost exclusively designed for thrusting. When delivered by a man with the strength of the average Roman legionary, a thrust from a gladius carried around thirty foot-pounds of energy with it..enough to tear through any sort of muscle(Cass is considerably larger than the "average Roman legionary"; the cognomen "Maximius" refers to his physical size). Imperator has become one of the most easily recongized swords in the Arena, it is a slightly longer, later version of the traditional gladius, specifically designed for greater facilitation of cuts, slashes, and parries.

TDL History: 48-53 over nine full seasons. Cass is one of those duelists whose names are synonymous with a TDL franchise....in his case, Mercenarii. Joined the Jade Gryphons, the team captained by his friend Drakewyn Silvertree, in Season 516. Due to internal politics on the team, he managed to become Assistant Captain late in the season, a decision by Drake which would ultimately prove instrumental to his dueling career and economic status in Rhydin. After Drakewyn left TDL after Season 517, she attempted to disband the franchise...however, Cassius took it over, remodelling it into Mercenarii. He served as captain until after Season 522, when he took a break and simply dueled as a Free Agent. In Season 524, he revived MRC, captaining the team once again until TDL's closure after Season 525. Best season was 7-3 in Season 520 for Mercenarii; Cassius is the quintessential example of an accomplished combatant of the Arena failing to duel up to measure in TDL. One aspect of his record is conspicuous: An unusual number of .500 seasons.

DoS Titles Held:3-time Baron of the 8th/Dragon's Gate...in addition to two former reigns, he is the currently reigning Baron of this ring and district. As of this writing, he has defended the ring twice in his third reign, and is under challenge by Teagan Rielea. Former Overlord, former Baron of the 2nd(1 defense), former Baron of the 6th(2 defenses), former Baron of the 9th(2 defenses), former Baron of the 10th(1 defense), former Baron of the 12th, 2-time former Baron of the 13th/New Haven(1st reign, 1 defense). It was during Cassius's first reign as Baron of the Thirteenth that the Barony became associated with the district of New Haven, at his choosing. As of this writing, Cass has held the second greatest number of Arena titles in DoS history; only Cletus Ganderfald has held more. In addition, the Roman is the third duelist in the history of the bloodsports to achieve the Triple Crown: Overlord in DoS, Diamond in DoF, and Archmage in DoM. He has also achieved 100 WoL in the Arena and is racing his friend G'nort Dragoon Talanador for 200 WoL; however, it now appears highly likely that G'nort will win this race.

Challenge Victories: Goon(OL Challenge), Bubbles(Challenger in ToW), Magnus Eques--twice(Baronial Challenge-2nd, Baronial Challenge-9th), Sartan(Baronial Challenge-6th), Xeric Mues--three times(Baronial Challenge-8th, 2-0 B03*, Baronial Challenge-12th, Test of Worthiness), Var Medici-Giovanni(Baronial Challenge-10th), Rakeesh Sah Tarna(Baronial Challenge-New Haven, 2-0 B03), Lorance Sneggle--three times(Baronial Defense-2nd; intercession, Baronial Defense-9th; 2-0 B03(one fall a shutout), Baronial Defense-10th, 2-0 B03), Gunthar O'Dwyer(Baronial Defense-6th, intercession), Aphazel Luietus(Baronial Defense-6th), Guillermius Iulius Fortis(Baronial Defense-Dragon's Gate, 2-1 B03), Evan Rush Rynth(Baronial Defense-Dragon's Gate, intercession), Drey Starke--twice(Baronial Challenge-Dragon's Gate, Baronial Defense-9th, 2-1 B03), Max Quinlan Blue--twice(Baronial Defense-New Haven, vs. Council's Champion**, Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. OL's Champion), G'nort Dragoon Talanador(Right of Challenge in ToW, vs. Challenger's Champion), Jacob Dandy(Baronial Defense-6th, Council's Champion)

*--Mues disappeared from the ring in the midst of the first duel of this Best of Three series, already losing heavily. He was replaced by Face Loran, his second, who lost the remainder of the first duel and the entirety of the second duel.

**--Cassius was challenged by Chase MacLaren, but on the night of the challenge...a rather unfortunate precedent was set, when both combatants failed to show. MacLaren's right of challenge was voided by vote of the Baronial Council, who also elected Max Quinlan Blue as a champion to face Maximius.

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: Summer 2005 WLT Winner; def. Drachen in the finals, and won the vacant 13th Ring as a prize. Winter 1999 WLT finalist, split a two duel final with undef. bracket champion Dexter Montoya*. Fall 1999 WLT 3rd place, won the vacant 8th Ring as a prize. Summer 2004 WLT 3rd place.

*--Cassius won the Test of Worthiness-free Overlord Challenge as a prize, but declined to do so out of political and personal loyalty to the Overlord at the time, Avery Shiv Blade. This was only the second instance in the history of the Duel of Swords that a Warlord's Tournament prizewinner voluntarily declined the prize.

DoS Madness History: 2007: Seeded 2nd in the Gondar Division; lost to Kaylin Rumblegutter in the first round. 2008: Seeded 6th in the Dalamar Division; def. Gork in the first round, lost to Jay Capistrano in the second round. 2009: Seeded 2nd in the Gondar Division; def. Maranya Valkonan in the first round(shutout), lost to Vince Smith in the div.semis.


vs.


MadMadMax


Gender: Male

Race: Human. May have been clinically insane; was almost certainly at least a sociopath. Max was virtually unintelligible in speech, which may have been his accent, or may have been a manifestation of his insanity--probably, it was a little of both. Curiously enough, this extended to the writing in his missives, suggesting that the cause was mental.

Point of Origin: Australia, in what is either an alternate universe, or a dystopian future.

Occupation: Unknown; seems to have been something a nomad, and was most likely unemployable. Despite this, he appears to actually have had a generous amount of wealth: At the Tournament of the Original Nine Baronies, Max offered to provide a free Cadillac to every new Baron who aligned Loyal..meaning that he was prepared to provide up to 9 free Cadillacs!

Preferred Weapon: A sawed-off shotgun. He may have utilized it as a form of short club: I've never seen him duel before, but I'm skeptical that the Arena staff(generally more strict in his day than now) would have allowed him to use it as a firearm at point-blank range on a regular basis.

TDL History: N/A. MadMadMax's dueling career effectively ended before TDL's foundation.

DoS Titles Held: Former Overlord; no defenses as far as I know, but the Histories provide little in the way of information. Anyone who knows more..please speak up. MadMadMax was probably most famous in the Arena for being the reigning Overlord at the time of the Tournament of the Original Nine Baronies, and thus being the first Overlord to have Barons align Loyal or Renegade to him. While I can offer little in the way of concrete evidence for his skill, it should be noted that Siera Redwin respected him enough to align Loyal.

Challenge Victories: Valmion(OL Challenge). This challenge was highly controversial, perhaps the most controversial challenge duel from the early period of the Duel of Swords. MadMadMax abducted Valmion's young son Arlingond, demanding that Valmion throw the challenge in return for Arlingond's safe return. It is widely believed that the King of Questrion reluctantly agreed. ((OOC Note: I seriously, seriously, seriously doubt that it was actually thrown.))

Notable Tournament Wins/Placings: N/A

DoS Madness History: N/A


Head to Head: I'd like to apologize for the paucity of information on MadMadMax: I simply don't know that much about him; he's one of the few duelists in the All-Time Madness that I've never met. Please provide additional information if you know some.

Beyond that, I'm keeping to my policy of refraining from commentary when one of my characters is involved for reasons of conflict of interest.