One to rule them all

The midday sun shines over the landscape. It should actually be warm, but an icy wind makes it clear that winter is still not over. But the warriors of TgL do not let this bother them. There was a battle to be won and worrying about factors that you couldn't control anyway just took up time and concentration. And so a small group of 10 warriors set out to the battlefield of the Arena of Honor. Their base was in the far south, in the desert of House Tyrell. Before them there stretched the battlefield in all its splendor and in the center the Dragon City, with its silver splendor and the overlooking dragon, overshadowing everything else. For Lord JungleJuan it was the first time that he was able to take part in this very special competition and he was glad that he had such experienced warriors as Lord Miv, Lord Tongafco and Lady Jul at his side. These three were at home on the battlefield and had won many great victories for the Lions. And above all, they had already competed in this competition several times, so he could learn well from them. Lord JJ, as his comrades affectionately called him, was impressed by the size and number of buildings in front of him. Only 10 warriors to take and hold all of this? How would that work? But Lord Tonga came to his side. “Don’t worry, the other factions feel the same way, we don’t have to reinforce every building, above all we have to be quick when we notice attacks or opponents are already occupying our buildings”

At that moment a cloud of dust rolled in. The scouts were back. They had gone out to assess the strength of the other houses. They all gathered to hear the report. Purely in terms of numbers, they were clearly the strongest faction. Lady Jul didn't hesitate for long: “We go for victory and full risk. Let’s take the Dragon City and at least one more Clan Castle!” Everyone agreed with a loud cheer.

And so they took their positions. Lord JJ repeated his instructions over and over again in his head. Take one or two Strongholds, wait until the timer runs out and in the meantime one march into the Clan Castle. His gaze was directed forward, the tent walls of the Strongholds fluttered in the wind, the clan castle bore the green banners of House Tyrell, behind it the second row of Strongholds and then countless altars and the Mercenary and the Dragon Pit. Everything surrounded by the first green of spring and still leafless trees. But no bird could be heard or any other animal seen. Was this due to the ongoing winter or had they sought safety from the approaching battle?

And then it started, the lords and ladies sent their first soldiers into the Strongholds, hardly any resistance and no danger that they could be taken over by another faction. Warm-up phase and a first introduction to the battlefield for Lord JJ. The desert sand was a problem for his soldiers; their progress was slow, which could become a problem later, because Lord Tonga had said that speed was important. He hoped that his inexperience would not be a burden to his comrades. After all, they had made considerable development in the last few months and have become extremely strong over time. Their soldiers are perfectly trained and fight as a unit. He had the feeling that he couldn't move from the spot, even though all knowledge was shared in TgL. However, he often felt weak compared to the others. He was afraid that at some point after all these years he would be discarded. TgL has always been his home since he was in Westeros, they have endured many ups and downs together, seen warriors come and go, but always move forward. But for JJ, it feels like he hasn't for a few months. No matter how hard he trained with his soldiers, no matter how many books on techniques he studied, his performance remained the same. And while Lord JJ was thinking like that, he suddenly heard a loud curse: “@&#$?&! “ 

Lady Jul's maesters ran nervously through the camp. There were injured soldiers everywhere, covered in blood, in completely dented armor, many with burns. There was hardly a horse left with them. The moans and screams drowned out every other sound. JJ saw Lady Jul desperately discussing with Lord Miv and the wind carried snatches of the conversation to him. “There..wrong. Never ... against Inf, ... Valyrian steel, he must …” It seemed as if Lady Jul had suffered a significant loss, completely unexpected. He had rarely seen her so upset. She called all the warriors together: “We have a problem. I misjudged the situation, House Lannister has an extremely strong warrior. We have to adjust our strategy.” Her voice was shaking, the blood of her soldiers was on her hands and armor. Lord JJ knew she was even more torn inside than she appeared on the outside. He stood with her on the battlefield for years. She was fully capable of forgiving others, but not herself. Every defeat today, every wounded soldier, every loss of points and therefore fewer wins for the team, she would blame herself. But her comrades stood behind her. Lord Miv prepared to take the Mercenary, she herself focused on the dragon pit.

The rallies started, soldiers ran through the camp, their unison made the earth shake. The horns were blown, the sun reflected off the armor. Then the first signal, Lady Jul left the camp first. The desert sand was kicked up behind their soldiers, but was immediately carried away by the wind. Clear view of the target. The dragon pit was extremely heavily guarded and it was not certain that Lady Jul would emerge victorious from this fight. But would she be able to cope with another defeat in this battle? Didn't she really need success? Important points for herself and her comrades? Lord JJ held his breath, the rally reached the Dragon Pit. Sounds of battle wafted across, swords clashed, orders were shouted, dragons roared, and then the green banner of House Tyrell was raised. Cheers erupted in camp, this was an important step and would bring the team back into the match.

But in House Lannister the enemy was already preparing for the counterattack. Lord Total Wreck heard House Tyrell's cheers. “Just cheer,” he thought. With calm and matter-of-factness he called his commanders and soldiers together. He had often gone into battle and so many times had he been underestimated. No one expected the best commanders from Westeros to be with warrior of his power. But they were all in his service and made the enemy's soldiers look like straw puppets. The faces of the other lords and ladies gave him a pleasant satisfaction. He was ridiculed so often when he came to Westeros. So many times, he was told he would never amount to anything, so many times, they wanted to put him down as a stable hand because he just wasn't growing up to the standard. But he knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't waste a moment on unnecessary lessons, what did he care about farming or resource extraction. He only knew one goal, to be number one on the battlefield. He trained hour after hour, recruited soldiers and recruited more and more commanders into his service. And yet he never made a big public appearance, preferring the company of smaller alliances, so the element of surprise was much greater as soon as he entered the battlefield.

And so it was today, the sheer horror on Lady Jul's face as her warhorses bounced off his soldiers' shields showed him that she was by no means used to losing. And in a few seconds he would teach her another lesson. He had deliberately given her priority in the Dragon Pit. He was able to defeat them much more easily than the original crew. She had now completed this part and he was sure that her rally had suffered heavy losses. The remaining soldiers were certainly weakened and certainly didn't expect him to come alone. He turned around. His soldiers stood in front of him, led by 5 commanders and above them the dragon circled menacingly. They proudly carried their shields with the golden lion in front of them. These soldiers knew no fear, they didn't care about superior numbers. They would get the Dragon pit.

It was time, he didn't want to take too much risk that Tyrell would still manage to put up a protective shield. And so he raised his sword in the air, drums were beaten and the soldiers marched off in unison. Yes, drums, he hated those horns, you never knew who was giving which signal. Drums were unique and so much more effective. Along with the stomping of Valyrian steel boots, he knew that this march would be heard across the battlefield and draw everyone's attention. It was time for the other factions to understand who would win here today. He saw Lady Jul standing at the edge of the pit. Disbelief on his face. “Yes, little lady, I am coming for you and I am coming alone!” And with a loud war cry he gave the signal to attack. With an elegance and speed, the army suddenly moved towards its opponent. The drums had fallen silent, but the roar of war was all the louder. Shields clashed with hooves again. But only a few splintered. The horses fell to the ground, burying their riders beneath them. Bones broke on both sides, blood soaked the earth, dragon fire made it almost impossible to breathe. Lady Jul tried to bring order into her ranks and almost succeeded, but Lord Total Wreck had another surprise for her. He had brought with him a small but sizable squad of spearmen. They then pounced on every horse that was still standing and made short work of it. Yes, he wanted the total destruction of this enemy. She had underestimated him and now she was paying the price, she deserved it no other way!

When Lady Jul returned to camp from that fight, she didn't say a word. Lord JJ knew better than to approach her at a time like this. He knew that in a few minutes she would rise again, fight on, and lead her comrades. But not now, not after this defeat, this disaster, this utter annihilation. She wouldn't expect any warrior to face this monster again. But she would find other ways. And until then, Lord JJ also sent his soldiers to the altars, tried to secure as many points as possible and do his part to ensure that the team could perhaps still reach 4th place today. But it's best to look for yourself:

After the battle was over, the warriors returned home together. An oppressive silence lay over their group and didn't match the bright sunshine at all. Now you could hear the birds chirping and the wind had died down so much that it actually became warm inside the dented armor. For Lord JJ, the defeat wasn't a problem, he had to get used to this new competition anyway and it was always more important to him to do his best alongside his comrades than the result that came out at the end.

It was a disaster for Lady Jul. Another defeat. She had already competed in 10 rounds and was only able to score points in 4 of them. What in the name of the Seven was she doing wrong? She had spent hours studying all the available writings, exchanging ideas with friends from all over Westeros about possible strategies and the best setups, and yet there was no success. But what was worse for her was the fact that her comrades who followed her onto the battlefield week after week also received no points and therefore did not receive valuable rewards. But they needed this so urgently in order to further train their soldiers and commanders and to be stronger in the next battles. It was clear that things couldn't go on like this. Either she finds a solution to lead her team to victory or she has to leave her team. What will she choose?