My day at ToC- praise where praise is due.

[Vitus von Atzinger]

I was to represent the virtue Courage- it was my job to find that unbelt who best embodied this virtue. I also added my own challenge, asking through this website if anyone could guess which virtue I was representing. This was not an easy thing to figure out, because the nature of my efforts could lead to numerous excellent guesses.

The unbelt who personified Courage was the only squire or man-at-arms who realized that when you are standing on the field with a greatsword, and there are 20 unbelts with shields waiting with drooling mouths to beat you senseless, that it takes great courage. Not only did this man realize this, but he was the only unbelt to offer to fight me with matched weapons, giving up his own best style to risk loss against me in order to give me a fair fight. This gentleman was Thomas Pennington.

Edmund Wolfe is also due public praise for figuring out which virtue I was representing. I salute him. My shield was a little on the small size, but he was the only man who figured out that a ToC that this is a painful test of one's courage.

I would give praise to Dante della Luna, squire to Sir Dagonet of Atlantia, who after traveling many leagues to be at the tourney stood against me beyond the time where he was winded, to prove his steadfastness. When I hit him in the cup, and I commanded him to ignore the pain, he did so and went back to focusing on hitting me instead. His deportment was one of great strength and courtesy. I praise him, his knight and his Kingdom.

The unbelt of the greatest prowess I faced was Robert ap Llewelly, who with all the inner qualities of a knight fought with me as a knight should. His every command of the virtues was a great inspiration to me, and thus he earned all my golden links.

Many other wonderful unbelts I did face whose names have escaped me- but I know their faces.