You discretely request that Sister Daisy, the best craftswoman of the three Chrono-Sirens avaible to you craft an engagement trinket out of monster ivory. You then get in touch with Brother Karl and start planning the tournament. The event will take place in a large gymnasium that serves as a recreation center for the Trumpet of Revelation's lower ranked staff. To give the frustrated populous of Silence IX something to do, the duels will be televised. Silver Anchors and Tank Crews on the ground will be put on high alert, as it is likely that many colonists who are not lucky enough to own their own monitors will try to group up to watch the broadcast with friends.
A few solar weeks pass in an uneventful fashion, and the day of the event is upon you. Sister Daisy presents with a gold trimmed Ivory ring, a traditional engagement gift across most human cultures, and a single hoop earing made from the same material, which is the standard gift given by men of your own Sparrowite faith. Daisy is coy when you ask if the items are enchanted, but you trust her not to have done anything that goes against your interests.
You arrive at the gym, and assess the competitors. The tournament starts with a group stage, with each group of five advancing two competitors to a single elimination bracket. Although the tournament at large should be fair and competitive, your group has been designed to ensure that both you and Lady Mercury advance to the bracket with no losses except to each other. The winner of your first match against her will likely be one of the top seeds in the bracket, and could have a relatively easy path to advance deep into the tournament.
Considering the competitors not in your group, you don't have much to go off of; The Solo is still out of the system, so none of your own underlings and regular sparring partners are competing. Still, several fighters stand out amongst the throng of mainly Trumpet bridge guards.
Congresscleric Jasper Reich is competing personally. You have no idea what his qualifacations with a blade might be, but if the clerics of the Church of the Blue Sorrow are anything like the Sparrowite divine casters your mother used to tell you stories about, he might be inclined, if not morally obligated, to use his divine magic to cheat. You wonder if his skills are enough to deceive the Chrono-Sirens and Golden Elk judging the affair.
Autumn's associate Juan has entered to compitition as well. He is a shorter man with a wrinkled face, sliver hair, and an expensive looking set of blades. He looks to be about six or seven decades old, but the idle rich can afford treatments to extend their lives by centuries before they must inevitibly face transhumanism or death, so in reality it is likely he has lifetimes of experience to fall back on. You know your date likely holds this man in high regard; She put him in charge of breaching locked doors and the basement during the temple raid, and his name was one of several that she mentioned Brother Karl thinks she might be in love with. You assume he must be the heavy favorite to win, or would were it not for the final competitor.
A massive man, so large and muscular you thought him a stunted Silver Anchor at first stands alone, far from the other competitors. On his belt is the largest two-handed sword you've ever seen a mortal wield. On his face is a look of utter contempt. Inquiring about him, you are told his name is Ersahd Westone. He claims to have been bred by a transhuman soldier, but was denied the proper rites of modifacation and ascension due to minor genetic defects, leaving him mortal - albeit a large mortal. He was accused of being responsible for a string of dismembered and violated corpses that were turning up aboard the space station where he lived, and was hurriedly given a transportation sentence with minimal evidence against him, as is the Judgement Department's way.
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Your first two matches are against green and unqualified opponents, and victory comes so easy that you consider declining your Rapid Muscle Recovery Injection after the second fight. You take your drugs, however, when your third opponent is announced: Lady Autumn Mercury.
The rules of HTMA permit almost any bladed primary, and any shield, melee weapon, or human powered missile in the off hand. Most competitors simply use the largest blade they can comfortably wield with one or one and a half hands, but Autumn seems to be getting creative. She wields a smaller blade, the sort that straddles the line between short sword and long knife, in each hand. Each blade has a very prominent cross guard for its size. Her armor has an expensive anti-friction coating around the waist and joints. Judging by her gear, you can tell Lady Mercury's plan is to get past your guard and work you inside. The Anti-friction armor tells you that she anticipates the possibility of the duel becoming a grappling contest, a situation that would put you at an extreme disadvantage should it occur.
As much as you'd like to focus on beating your date, your mind can't help but wander to the specifics of proposing to her. You intend to do so after the match, but there is a real chance the two of you meet again in the tournament quarter or semi finals. Do you gamble that the second fight will happen, and wait for a more epic proposal deeper into the tournament? Or do you ask her to marry you here? Do you give her the ring? The earring? Both? You glance at Autumn; if she is feeling the same pressure you do, she is doing a good job of hiding it as she begins to casually juggle her two blades while waiting for the duel to begin?
How do you fight Lady Mercury? And what do you do after the duel?
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Topic: (SG) Penal Governor (Read 8794 times)