Flyting

"Witch, please." - Gunther Bishops.

"My barrel is hummin, the chamber is pumpin', the trigger is drummin' and I'm lookin' stunning. Uh, wait... I was not supposed to shoot the axe off?" -The Cursewalker.

"Hear ye, hear ye, ya louse ridden fool. I, Skald Gunnald shall teach your wheelchair to move. Got the rhymes of a dragon, style of a stalion, sober you up with words colder than iron"
"You calling me drunk? I'll make you debunked, as the biggest lying braggard to get dunked by a crippled old drunk. Now run back to your clan with your piss smelling pants. Tell them I'll flyte them all 'till nobody stands." -Gunnald versus Fredwald.

History

Once uppon a time, in a land far, far away there was a man. There was nothing special with him at all, but he probably realized that killing people for the slightest offense or quarrel turned out to be rather... problematic, in the long run.
To compensate for this lack of pointless violence with the birth of society, the act of flyting was created as a way to cleave a persons pride in two, without laying as much as a finger on them.

Execution

Flyting requires at least a pair of people that uses wit, rhyme and as few and powerful words as possible to counter the opponents insults, while sending verbal blows back to ridicule their looks, mother or poetic skill, just for a few examples.
On later days, flyting has become more of a cultural party trick, or even a form of training for poets and bards so that they're encouraged and trained to argue with people while keeping a level head.
It's original practice of a honorable word duel is still present to this date, and can resolve many conflicts without an axe.

Participants

For the more modern types flyting, at parties, events or even clan/family meetings, a third party unbiased to the two duelists is required to watch. This individual, often a skald, bard or wordsmith plays the role of a judge. This expert closely studies both the words, and the attitude of the parties to decide a winner. A crowd though can tip the scales, depending on their reactions to the lines.

Observance

The act of flyting is mostly observed in Scarnza as they use the art most regularely, and have lore describing battles of tongue since before the rise of most current civilizations. It's perfectly plausible though, that the art of flyting has had different origins within different cultures, and mayhaps even ones that go back further than the Northerners. Nowadays flyting exists all over the world in different forms and styles. Bards of high class even travel out to the northern clans to refine their art of quick wit and sharp words.

Primary Related Location

Scarnza