Pairings Posted in the Spring Tournament
DATELINE: Khazigur City Green, 17 Bretranel's Month, 12090: The final pairings of the various divisions of competition were posted today for the Imperial Spring Tournament, one of the largest wagering events of the year in the capitol city, and a global diplomatic and sporting event.
Siren Carruthers, winner of the 12067 tournament and the highest paid athlete to date in the Great Colosseum's gladiatorial combats, will be opening the festivities with a spectator match against Red Owlbear, the Centaur warrior who reigns as the current champion. Competitive bouts will follow immediately after, with legal betting through the Khazigur Gaming Commission (KCG).
Over four thousand participants are expected at the Commons level, divided up into districts and further subdivided by color. An additional 144 participants are expected in the Foreign Dignitary level, reserved for titled nobility from sovereign states outside the borders of the Empire; this year will see a majority of Minoneuse with a large contingent from Toz, Amossa, and Pantanh as well as the top gladiatorial athletes from the venues in Maro Di Desi, in Dregagt. The top four winners of the Commons level and the top 16 in the Foreign Dignitary level will compete in the first tier of the Lord's level, reserved for 236 members of the titled Imperial nobility from across the Empire.
As in past seasons, these pairings are based on a draw of county-to-county competition, where the honor and dignity of one's home are on the line to raise the stakes and keep competition brisk despite its non-lethal nature. Cash awards, letters of marque, real estate holdings, works of art, magical items, and units of bonded military are also prizes for winners in the upper tiers.
In addition to the competitors themselves, the event and its surrounding two-week-long festival celebrating the end of the traditional planting season grips the capitol city from the end of Bretranel's Month through the first week of Mdnothiel's month, taking up the entire City Green and filling most inns and lodging houses to capacity. Well over a million spectators are expected, and the Great Colosseum has already nearly sold out of its 123,000 seats for the final round between the two supreme combatants on 9 Mdnothiel's Month.
With entry fees between 200 and 600 gold per entry, a wagering tax of 20% on winnings, and a gate fee of 2 silver per person, the event is expected to generate close to 4 million gold this spring for the Imperial treasury, much of it in turn used to finance the prize awards as well as the increased security costs of the event. Security will be high throughout the festival and particularly heightened across the empire in the wake of the attacks in Coldhorn last fall, timed to coincide with the tournament there and the relatively lower presence of Imperial guard throughout the nation at that time. Copycat style attacks are unlikely for obvious reasons but citizens are advised to be especially wary of pickpockets and con artists in the crowds.
[A lengthy schedule in fine print follows the article. The relevant matchups]:
- Baronet Romulus of Volsin, Ranger (m), vs. Baron Cyprian Machach of Coldhorn, Fighter (m)
- Sir Albrecht of Elkur, Knight of the Order of the Platinum Dragon (m), vs. Lady Edwina Zareslich of Coldhorn's Proxy, The Bronze Battler, Knight of the Order of the Platinum Dragon (f)
- Baronet Grims Angel of Volsin, Paladin (m), vs Baron Orgosh Pracy of Coldhorn, Paladin (m)
- Baronet Zurian of Volsin, Druid (m),vs Savora Ferecit of Coldhorn, Druid (f)
- Baronet La'Thena of Volsin, Rogue (f) vs Vistus Dans of Coldhorn, Bard (m)
- Lady Maphistal of Volsin, Druid (f) vs Valdos the Mage of Coldhorn, Sorcerer (m)
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