Sea Raids V is over, and to keep up the tradition I have started, I wish to give you my impressions of the event, whether you want them or not. If you haven't already heard, we won the war!!!!!!! (Well maybe it doesn't deserve that many exclamations.). By the way, where is Atlantia anyway.
The war this year, a war between Trimaris (us) and Atlantia (them), was held within the boundaries of Trimaris, near Oldenfeld (What a Tale of Hassles that was). I had decided that I would travel alone on the long trek to the mustering site (Last time I did this I said I would never do it again. . . . . . . I lied.). By the time the sun was beginning to set, I had reached Oldenfeld and pulled out the map of the area provided by the Kingdom Crier. After much searching (Through the heart of Tallahassee, . . . . . twice! ), I managed to find the site at which it was rumored the Atlantians would land their forces.
Let me take a moment here to mention that, as you may recall, in part 1 of this series I had forgotten the most important part of my armor ( My cup! ). Well, this time I had taken special care to remember every thing. I had brought ALL my armor, my boots, my socks, my Knight's tabord, my squires chain and belt, and even my tent. My feast gear was packed as were my toiletries. What was left? I seemed to have gotten lucky and remembered everything. . . . . . . . . . MY GARB!!!! ( Sh_t! ). Oh well, I guess I need a check list ( And I hope I don't lose it. ). Fortunately, I was able to scrounge enough garb for the occasion. ( Blue Jeans look period in the dark. )
But to get back to the war, I set up camp ( in the dark ) and then discovered that my squire sister, Megan Blackheart, was on site and that her tent was on the far side of the camp grounds. After long consideration ( about 3 seconds ), I decided to leave my tent where it was. ( I was closer to the showers. ) Eventually, the rest of my friends arrived and we settled in for the night. Nobody had sighted the enemy as of yet. (Where the h_ll is Atlantia anyway?)
The day of the war dawned, the call to arms went out. Then it went out again as the Trimarians were still asleep. When I finally got up, ( Allright, I didn't settle in as early as I should have the night before. ) armor inspection was nearly upon us. In a daze, I quickly armored up and went to get checked out. No sign of the enemy had been seen, but we new they were around somewhere. It was only a matter of time before we would spot them. Once we Trimarians had mustered, we waited for word of the Atlantians. ( And waited...)
A last, word came that the enemy had been spotted in the woods. It was said that they had captured the Queen, our beloved Elena, so the Trimarian forces broke down into the major households to go in search of the enemy and recover our queen. The battle was fierce, and many casualties were taken on all sides before we realized that we had been fooled. The Atlantians were nowhere to be seen (...and waited...), we had been fighting our fellow Trimarians all along. With our injured in tow, we withdrew from the woods to await the Atlantians. House Goldstar proudly escorted Queen Elena out of the woods. Throughout the Trimarian army I could hear the same question asked over and over, "Where are the Atlantians anyway?".
We Trimarians were restless (Well, maybe not. I mean, I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.), having come for war and not finding the enemy. In an effort to relieve some of this restlessness, a competition was arranged in which the champions of the major households were pitted against each other. (Oh how glad I am that I am but a junior squire, I needed the extra sleep.) In this battle, Dun Tir came out on top, proving to be the most aggressive team on the field. But still we wondered where the Atlantians were.
Then word came that the enemy was approaching, so once again we broke down into major Households and moved to protect the river crossings. After another fierce battle, one in which I and my war shield ( You remember my war shield. ), was thrown back two feet by the enemy (I humbly appologize to the unfortunate person whom I landed upon.), but our line held. Then we discovered that the bridge we were protecting was not the target of the Atlantians and that we had once again triumphed over other Trimarians. In an effort to redeem ourselves, we rushed to the third and final bridge in hopes that it was this bridge which the Atlantians had decided to take. Alas it was not to be, for when we picked ourselves up off the bridge, after being walked over ( literally ) by the enemy, we discovered that again we had faced Trimarians. Blacksword was the last house standing this time. Where were the Atlantians?
The day was nearly over by now, and there had still been no sign of the evil Atlantians, but we were all confident that the Atlantians were just beyond the next rise (...and waited...). We would finally come face to face with our ancient foe. The call to arms went up for the last time, and all warriors who were able answered that call. Unfortunately, I was among the injured, having been tortured by lack of sleep and food as well as being trampled upon (You should have seen my shield. Someone suggested that I use it to deflect arrows back at the archers.). The Trimarian army entered the field for combat, splitting once again into the different households. The cry went up and the battle was begun. Guess what.... Thats right, no Atlantians. Dun Tir was the last house on the field. Where are those Atlantians anyway?
As part of the war effort, there was an Arts and Sciences competition. Again the Atlantians made no showing, so House Goldstar was declared the victor for this point. (How did that happen?) The war was over but there was a tie, Dun Tir and Goldstar had two points each. The household champions were chosen, and the tie was broken, best two out of three. Count Hagan defeated his most honerable opponent, Sir Darian. The war was truly over, with not a single Atlantian appearing.
Thus ended the first Trimarian Wargames, with House Goldstar being named the Guardians of Trimaris. Llewelyn and Elena told of how the Atlantian King, seeing the might of the Kingdom of Trimaris, and the long hard road into the Swamplands, decided to stay at home where he could safely play by himself. Safe from Trimarian swords and arrows. Now all he needs to beware is the Trimarian tongue. The last bit in court that evening was a request from the crown of Trimaris that each Trimarian go home and, taking a single white feather, send an envelope with this feather to the King of Atlantia.
Despite the fact that this was to be a war between Trimaris and Atlantia, and that the Atlantians did not show up, a good time was had by all (What would happen if we threw a war and nobody showed up...). I am a firm believer that the most honorable and chivalrous fighters in the known world can be found in Trimaris. I did miss the fun of meeting people that I would not normally see at a Trimarian event, but the fighting and the reveling afterwards made the first Trimarian Wargames (and last?) a big success.
The trip home was rather uneventful (But just as long as the trip up). Everyone was full of stories and impressions about the wargames. Wars are fun, but if you throw a war and the enemy doesn't show up, then I'd much rather fight friends.
By the way, WHERE IS ATLANTIS ANYWAY?