As the Empire desperately rode through their territories to purge the Greenskin filth from their lands, the Knights of Bretonnia were busy doing what really mattered…..setting up a jousting tournament!

The Duke of Quenelles, Tancred the 2nd, had sent out invitations far and wide to lords and damsels of the realm to come and watch as his chosen knights fought it out to be proclaimed the most chivalrous knight in all of Quenelles. Among the guests were not only Bretonnians though, such nobility also included nobles of Southern Realms and even Sultans of Araby.

The joust proceeded as expected at first, lords cheered as the fighters they had bet on to win knocked down their opponents and their wives flinched at every hit. This changed when a very special guest arrived in the stands to watch the tournament. Lucrezzia Belladonna, Noblewoman of Pavona in Tilea and 8-time widower following the death of her latest husband Borgio The Besieger who was devoured after crossing paths with the Ogre lord Ghark Ironskin in suspicious circumstances (#LoreFight 24), sat down in the stands above to audible gasps from the crowd around her. Word had spread far and wide of her beauty which while certainly believable, no such claim even came close to describing this beauty’s real life visage. In absolute awe Leitpold the Black, the Bloody Coin-Bought Prince of one of the many Border Principalities, spoke up and said “By the Gods, it matters not how often I cast my gaze upon Madame Belladonna, for the undeniable truth that she must be the most exquisite and beautiful woman in all of the Old World remains evident to me… if only I were 30 years younger.”

However, the mood changed drastically when Tancred, who heard Leitpold’s claim, addressed the Border Prince angrily “How dare you say such a thing in my tourney, good sir? By all means your mercenaries and merchants may laud over earthly beauties to your heart’s content but this is Bretonnia, where we hold a certain higher degree of standards and insight in regards to beauty. None on land, sea or heavens is more beautiful than the Lady and on this mortal realm, her representative in the form of the Enchantress of the Fay. Madamme Belladonna may be delightful by many means but I take great offence at absolute statements such as yours.”

Leitpold looked around, amazed that Tancred would take this so seriously only to notice that many other Bretonnians around him appeared equally unimpressed. Leitpold responded “My lord, Duke Tancred 2nd of his name, I beseech you, no offence was meant by my statement.”

“Enough, you have besmirched the honour of this land, the Lady and our divine enchantress and so in light of her absence, it falls to me as organiser of this tourney to reclaim this honour. *Tancred threw his right gauntlet to the ground* I challenge you to a trial by joust. We shall meet again tomorrow at sunrise where justice will be dealt.”

Laugh React – Leitpold is too old for this s**t and decides to abandon the tournament grounds and return to his kingdom over the course of the night. When Tancred finds him missing at morning, he decreed that Leitpold would be formally banished from entering Quenelles under the punishment of death.

Wow React – Leitpold attended the joust in the morning. Lucrezzia was in the stands to watch Leitpold fight for her. Before he went into battle, Leitpold raised his lance to the stands in respect to his newfound lady who surprisingly decided to kiss the tip of his lance. Leitpold moved into position and the two knights charged at each other. The first time they hit, Leitpold’s lance scraped against Tancred’s shield whereas Tancred aimed low and hit Leitpold’s thigh. Both circled around to charge once more. On the second charge, Leitpold’s lance brushed against Tancred’s shoulder but neither lord was dismounted. However, before the third charge could take place, Tancred became visibly ill and fell off his saddle. A physician ran over to investigate but it was too late, Tancred was dead and the physician believed this was due to poisoning. A group of Foot Squires arrested Leitpold and as she watched him being hauled away, Lucrezzia could be overheard asking a servant “But how could it be poisoned; I have kissed it and I don’t feel unwell….”

Sad React – Leitpold attended the joust in the morning. Lucrezzia was in the stands to watch Leitpold fight for her. Before he went into battle, Leitpold raised his lance to the stands in respect to his newfound lady who surprisingly decided to kiss the tip of his lance. Leitpold moved into position and the two knights charged at each other. On the very first charge, Leitpold knocked Tancred off his horse, conveniently hitting Tancred’s shield with enough force to simply push the Bretonnian off his saddle. He may be getting old, certainly too old for Madamme Belladonna, but jousting simply came naturally to Leitpold no matter what age he reached. Leitpold walked over and extended a hand to help Tancred up and though Tancred still felt insulted, he accepted his defeat.

Love React – The first charge resulted in the two knights simply brushing against each other but on the second charge, Tancred knocked Leitpold from his horse. Tancred walked over and extended a hand to help Leitpold up on the proviso he verbally took back his previous statement and recognised the Enchantress as the most beautiful lady in all the Old World. Leitpold accept this concession, frankly he would have been willing to take his words back before the fight if Tancred had given him a chance.

Angry React – On the first charge, the two knights collided with each other’s shields. On the second, Leitpold hit Tancred’s shield again but a more furious Tancred hit Leitpold in the gut. After a quick checkup from the tourney physician, Leitpold got back on his horse for the third charge. Now significantly more enraged due to how loing this was going on for, Tancred knocked Leitpoldoff his horse with ease. However, this still wasn’t enough to satisfy Tancred who dismounted his horse and unsheathed a two-handed greatsword to finish his enemy off. Leitpold could be heard saying “No, wait…” just before the Duke plunged his sword into the Border Prince’s chest.

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