A message from the Overlord

[Anubis Karos]

Greetings,

In my last two reigns as Overlord, I was absent and silent.

You're going to wish I remained that way.

I have taken free souls and made them mine. I have incited wars. I have watched men bleed and die while I never ceased to smile.

To the younger duelists: I am not a nice person. I am not a good person. I reserve my feelings for those who I love and like, and no one more. And that company is very selective indeed, and if you are not on that select list, you are an animal to me. I do not tolerate stupidity. I have no time for foolish japes.

I am also the Overlord of the Duel of Swords. I am the best dueler in the Arena in modern times, and perhaps ever. I am the summit of the mountain. I am the scion of terrible Set. And I am going to remake the Baron's Council to my liking.

We're gonna have some fun!

~Anubis Karos

[Anubis Karos]

Also, on the subject of those I love and hold dear...if any juvenile malcontent trying to establish themselves as a "villain" is to harm a hair on my daughters, I'll remove your head and bury it in the middle of the rings, so that the Ward of Gondar will forever bar you from the bittersweet release of death.

Just so there is no confusion as to what will happen,

~Anubis Karos

[Reign]

That's a lotta words to say you're a dweeb.


-Reign

[Myria Graziano]

Best dueler in modern times? Nah, that ain't you.

Best dueler ever? Nope. Try again.

Dueler with the biggest Napoleon complex? You got that on lock.

As the kids these days might say... #overcompensatemuch?

Myria G.
Crew

[Ebon Ilnaren]

Let's look at the numbers... historical records, WoL, last updated at the start of the current cycle, 19 Jan.

Best ever? Not even close.

Very well, how about duelists active within the last three months?

Rachael Blackthorne -90
Myria Graziano - 88
Matthew Simon - 76
Salvador Delahada - 66
Ebon Ilnaren & Anubis Karos - 61

So, based on actual data, Overlord, you're tied for 5th best Swords duelist currently active, and with me no less.

Ebon Ilnaren

[Anubis Karos]

No Ebon, I just have more important duties than the meaningless weekend duels. As evidenced by how long it took me to find this worthless sheaf of paper.


~Anubis Karos

[Myria Graziano]

Way to be on top of things, Mr. Mountain-Summit-Who-Promised-Not-To-Be-Absent-And-Silent.

You're really making some impressive headway with that 2+ month response time.

Myria G.
Crew

[Ebon Ilnaren]

Anubis,

You boast of your supposed greatness, yet you consider the duels meaningless? So what of those who fight in those duels and support you?


Myria,

He was probably just busy dealing with some heavy traffic. Traffic is important business, after all.

Ebon

[Lost Valkyrie]

Lord Karos,

I find your denigration of regulation dueling both confusing and vexing. Regulation dueling is the backbone of this sport; it is the reason all title-holders have acquired the skills to hold the stations they currently do. Your loyal and renegade barons alike, as well as you, yourself. Though you have long since acquired the rank to prove that you are worthy to contend for title, there was a time where you had to prove yourself as well. So I am inclined to wonder if there is a reason you hold regulation in low regard, or if you are simply attempting to be provocative.

I have watched your duels, and noticed the intentional application of brutality to weather away the willpower of your opponents. I don't have anything against this at all; fighting is fighting, and any duelist who steps into a ring should be prepared for the possibility of harm. But many duelists in regulation do not apply brutality in any fashion, and indeed, the duelist who most recently passed one of your tests defeated you without inflicting any harm upon you. So if you think that the lack of brutality makes regulation lesser, it is an opinion that does not align with evidence.

So maybe you're just being provocative. You did say yourself that you are not nice and good, and that we would wish you were absent and silent. So I would like to offer you a proposal to invite your presence, and to speak through your skills.

I am the current Warden of Overlook, a title I have won twice consecutively, with cycles of 11 wins to 2 losses and 13 wins to 4 losses, respectively. This cycle title gives me a boon called the King's Decree, and one of its functions is as a challenge grant.

My proposal is this: win three duels against three unique duelists within a single week, any time within the next seven weeks. If you can do that, I will use the King's Decree to challenge a Renegade Baron of your choosing, will give it earnest effort, and align Loyal if I win. If you refuse this proposal, or fail to win three duels in any one week, I will use the King's Decree to challenge you, and I will see for myself the haughty skills of someone who thinks himself too good for the regulation dueling that sustains this sport. We will see whose steel is stronger: the steel sharpened in regularity with peers and friends, or the steel that simply waits for a challenge that is worthy. Of course, if you refuse immediately, I will await the resolution of your impending challenge from Madness winner Matt Simon.

You wanted to have some fun? Well, let's have some fun.

-- Trinity Siempre, current Warden of Overlook

[Anubis Karos]

Little girl,

I am sorely tempted to refuse you, because of your temerity in thinking that the idea of someone like you challenging me is a threat.

Regardless, I accept. You may be useful.

[Anubis Karos]

On second thought? Nevermind. Challenge rejected.

I don't like being threatened.

[Lost Valkyrie]

Darn. I'm actually kind of disappointed. I thought you'd salivate at the chance to force a goody-two-shoes like me into loyalty by way of adherence to my own word, and I thought it would actually get you out and about, rather than waiting in the shadows. Okay, fine.

Before I continue, my prior post had an error. Herne won Madness, not Matt. (I saw it in person, so it is admittedly rather embarrassing to make that error; my apologies!) But Matt got the Overlord grant for second place. And I just realized that he can actually hold on to that grant for a whole cycle, so I have no idea when or if he will actually render challenge to you. I'll wait a maximum of two weeks for him, and then I will challenge you. And then he can challenge whoever wins between us.

-- Trinity Siempre, Warden of Overlook

[Seirichi]

All of you need to stop picking on Anubis. Be adults.

Really disappointed.

[Calamity Wings]

It appears we are using this thread for casual chats with each other and the Overlord, so I will simply join the conversation.

My name is Vacía Siempre. I am the duelist formerly known as Christa Chasm. I am the rogue valkyrie who obliterated my entire society, including my own family--except for one pernicious little cousin--because I am what is known as an Avatar of Conquest. I exist to spread destruction, strife, and conquest, and so doing gives me more power to continue to do so. It is a rather lovely feedback loop. I am now the ruler of my world, and there was only one person who could possibly come back to it and defeat me: the pernicious little cousin who escaped.

I attempted the assassination I came here for, and I failed. I was killed and subsequently resurrected, per the deal I had made with the Overlord. I am alive and now a part of this universe, for real. No more complications from controlling an avatar across an inconceivable spacetime distance. However, I am not exactly free; the deal included terms that I violated, so as a consequence, I am only able to manifest in specific places for limited amounts of time, thanks to my power as an Avatar of Conquest. I do not begrudge the Overlord for imposing this consequence on me, because I knowingly violated the terms due to feeling confident that I would successfully kill my target. A miscalculation. As such, I am perfectly content to remain Loyal; despite being in this state, I now exist in two universes at the same time, and this opportunity is still incredibly valuable to me.

The more I win in the rings, the stronger I will grow. I am very much looking forward to getting started.

-- Vacía Siempre