An unexpected reunion in the Arena

I hurried down the stairs of my castle in long strides. 2 more floors, I'm late again today. It is Sunday and my comrades were already waiting impatiently for me. We wanted to go into the Arena of Honor one more time and we only had 10 minutes left. I ran down the long hallway, the torches on the walls already lit. Then finally I reached the yard. “Jul, hurry up, we still have a spot available,” Lord Lhorian greeted me. I quickly looked around, Lord Tongafco was there too. “Sorry, Lho, but one place is not enough”. Unfortunately you could go into battle with a maximum of 5 teammates and I had already agreed to Lord Tongafco. “No problem, we will meet after the battle. Have fun guys!” With these words Lord Lhorian took his leave. Nobody suspected that we would see each other again soon...

Still slightly out of breath, I jumped onto my warhorse. Lord Tongafco had already gathered all the soldiers so we could set off without any further delays. Lord Tongafco was my closest ally. We fought side by side for many years and he showed his loyalty again and again. Together we had been in three alliances and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses inside out. But today a very special challenge awaited us.

We were assigned to the Stark Faction. In front of us stretched a wide field full of buildings waiting to be conquered. As always, I tried to get an idea of ​​the other factions and when my eyes wandered to the Targaryen Faction, my breath caught. No, that couldn't be true. Lord Tonga came next to me and, still silent, I pointed in the direction. “Oh, well this will be hard.” And with that he disappeared again. That was typical of Lord Tonga. A sober look at the situation and then back to duty. But I was still transfixed. Because there was no enemy on the other side. Well not really. And then somehow. There stood Lord Finrahil on the team with Lord Lhorian and Lady Zafila. Lady Zafila, my closest friend for many years here in Westeros. Lord Lhorian, a warrior just as loyal as Lord Tongafco, except that he always put his subjects in the service of TgL while he himself remained in PHR. And Lord Finrahil. Yes, what was he? Enemy? Friend? That probably depends a lot on who you ask. I need to digress a bit here so you can really understand why this reunion upset me so much.

A few years ago we found ourselves in a pretty tricky situation with our alliance  WTw. Why doesn't matter here and would go beyond the scope, but in any case we got to the point that we decided that it was better to dissolve the alliance. We, that were amongst others, Lord Lhorian, Lady Zafila, Lord Tongafco and me. It was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make and we didn't make it easy by any stretch of imagination. But in the end, after endless discussions, it was Lord Finrahil who, with his great patience, convinced us that we would find a good new home in PHR. And that's how it was, we had a really good time together. But as well as WTw had arrived in the new kingdom, TgL had a harder time. As time went on it became increasingly clear that the lions couldn't stay here. But instead of acting, I waited until that one day when Fin made a decision for the kingdom and against the lions. I know that he didn't make this easy and that this is exactly what separates a good king from an outstanding one. Because only a few are able to put the well-being of many above the well-being of one individual in a crisis. But at the time I was beside myself. I yelled, I raged and I threw around a lot of words that I now deeply regret. I left PHR and the Kingdom headlooose. Without a plan, but with the lions at my side. Lord Tongafco didn't hesitate for a moment and left PHR as well. Soon after, other warriors followed, but Lady Zafila and several other very close friends remained. This was the final break and I will never forgive myself for causing it. Lord Fin has never forgiven me, all attempts to talk us out have failed. But I was happy that my comrades still had a good home. Lord Lho reports regularly and especially seeing Lady Zafila again, stronger than ever before in this group of warriors, made me very happy. And at the same time it made me realize how much I am missing her. I never really spoke to her either and contact was lost.

And while I'm reminiscing, the fight begins. From the side I hear Lord Tonga: “Jul, go! Take the Stronghold!” I had to concentrate, this was the battlefield and not the first time Westeros had presented us with the challenge of competing against friends. So Jul, pull yourself together. No sooner said than done and dutifully I took the Stronghold late and then the altar first. I managed to block out the rest of the battlefield in my thoughts and concentrate entirely on our faction. Until the moment we conquered the Dragon City. We had done well so far and the Dragon City would give us a significant points advantage. We immediately sent all available soldiers to reinforce us. With almost 4M troops, no one should be able to drive us away easily! At least that's what we thought. 

We manned the walls and watched the other factions gather their warriors. All but one: Targaryen. He stood at the edge of the camp. Lord Fin. Our eyes met. His face was stone and showed no reaction, but I could still see the deep disappointment in his eyes. The question of how I could just leave. I left my comrades and friends behind. Why I just didn't want to understand why he made that decision. 

Then he looked away and only then did I see that his army was behind him. Surely he wouldn't? But at that moment he started moving. He alone. No rally. 1M archers, equipped with the best bows in all of Westeros, arrowheads made of Valyrian steel, led by a perfectly coordinated team of 5 female commanders. I was just about to raise the alarm when the first arrows hit the soldiers on the wall. They fell headfirst, their armor clattering as they hit the ground. None of our armor could stand against the Valyrian steel and our men were dropping like flies. Another wave of arrows rained down on us. The whirring drowned out the commanders' orders and the walls that were supposed to protect us now became our trap. Then I heard a deafening crash. The gate had fallen, Lord Fin had single-handedly conquered the Dragon City from us.

I was petrified. I saw every soldier who did not put down his sword be pierced by another arrow. I heard the voices of my comrades telling me to retreat. But I just stood there and looked at Lord Fin. This was the worst possible moment for a debate, but what if it was our last chance?

And suddenly everything happened very quickly. Completely unconsciously, I had drawn my sword and was still standing on the wall with my sword raised. One of Fin's soldiers was just about to shoot when our eyes met again. Like a rumble of thunder, a loud STOP sounded through the castle and immediately all soldiers, both his and ours, lowered their weapons. The authority of a king made him even greater than he already was. We looked at each other for an endless moment and I searched for the right words. All the unsaid things flashed through my mind. 1000 apologies, 1000 sentences to tell him that I finally understand, 1000 sentences to tell him that he still has my utmost respect... But not a single word came out. And what felt like hours to me was actually just a fraction of a second. Lord Fin said only one word, not as a commander with all the force as before, but barely audible: Go.

And with that he turned away, ordered his soldiers to take up positions on the walls and was once again fully in his role as combat leader. The moment was over, I had to retreat and finally turn my full attention to my faction:

We fought until the bitter end. Again and again we drove Greyjoy and Baratheon away from our altars, but also from theirs. The paths were already well-trodden and it was now so dark that only the torches on the buildings served as orientation. In the middle stood the Dragon City but I didn't take another look. I allowed myself to be distracted far too much this round. With all our might we managed to maintain our fourth position and thus go into the next round without any points being deducted. When the fight was over, I looked towards the Targaryen Faction again. Fin was celebrated as he deserved it. Lady Zaf was smiling all over her face and excitedly chatting. Only Lord Lhorian looked our way. But with a shrug of his shoulders, he also turned around and went to celebrate the victory with his comrades.

In silence, Lord Tongafco and I rode back to our castles. Lord Tonga also seemed preoccupied in thoughts too. But as I knew him, he went through every single fight again and meticulously considered where he could improve.