ARENA OF HONOR | SEASON 2 ROUND 8 | DIVINE INTERVENTION.

The doors of Arena of Honor are once again welcoming the warriors of Westeros, each looking for power and glory to reach the coveted Glory King rank. The eighth-round of competition is set to be one for the ages as most teams are well tuned for the event. However, a team led by NO REAL were looking for two members at the last minute as they were missing their usual teammates and Moshow3 with emje were more than happy to join the team. Now with all ten members rearing to go, will the two upset the balance that they once had or could Moshow3 and emje inject the team with a fresh dynamic, bringing something that was previously missing? The Arena of Honor has a way of bringing out the potential of warriors, whether the team rises or falls, the eighth-round promises to deliver a spectacle.

NO REAL wanted to ignore the Watch Towers and capture Altars of the Maiden with a Trading post build, “whenever we take the enemies Altars of the Maiden, I want everyone to immediately reinforce, so we can capture it,” NO REAL had used this tactic before and it had served him well in the past. Everyone but Moshow3 agreed with the tactic, “the Watch Towers and catapults are important we can’t just ignore them,” Moshow3 was worried, he had seen what happens when multiple teams go for Trading post build and one team sneaks all the Watch Towers and ends up placing high in the event. “Don’t worry, trust in the plan, I promise you I know what I’m doing,” NO REAL somewhat convinced Moshow3 with his confidence and bravado.

ChAoS a trusted member of the squad tried to quell Moshow3s doubts, “we have won many games this way, not having the catapults could be a problem but we will deal with that through consistent reinforcements.” Arena of Honor starts with six teams who fight for objectives on the map, each objective provides a first capture amount and then points over time, the team with the most points at the end of the match wins. Moshow3 knew how strong the first capture points could be, especially with Watch Towers and this was playing on his mind, could this lead to a misstep as the team prepared themselves to enter the Arena of Honor.

The teams finally enter the arena and quickly asses their surroundings, “only two teams worry me, the rest will be pushovers,” NO REAL was convinced they had the win in the bag. “We will need someone strong in our clan castle, if we go Trading posts,” Beyond volunteered to take the role as clan castle defender. As the rest of House Baratheon were debating their roles, Moshow3 couldn’t shake the thought of a team slipping under the radar. Would Moshow3s instincts about the Watch Towers be proven right or would NO REAL’s confidence lead them to glory?

House Lannister led by SHIMSHON seemed like a strong threat for House Baratheon, if they could come up with a strategy to counter NO REALs Altar of the Maiden tactic, they could certainly throw a spanner in the works and take the win themselves, “ we can win this round, if we concentrate on defending our altars and prepare ourselves for the Glory City, anything is possible.” Sasae another strong member of House Lannister also pointed out the spawning locations, “we are next to the strongest team on the map,” referring to House Baratheon, “best to ignore their altars and look elsewhere, “ sasae wanted to keep his team in the fight for as long as possible and not waste resources on lost causes.

Another team in contention would be House Targaryen led by the ever present Pzycho, who could see each team had a rally leader that could beat the other, “Glory City will be a tough win condition this time around, best to stick with Trading posts,” Pzycho could see a future where none of the teams could take the Glory City and the possible points elsewhere would be the key to victory. “We won’t give up on the Glory City but I agree with your premise,” ODiN saw the same path as Pzycho, this round would come down to altars, Dragonpits and Mine Shafts.

Finally, we come to House Greyjoy, another team that can easily win the round with Lord Gitter leading this well-oiled machine. “You don’t need me telling you what to do, we have done it so many times,” Lord Gitter was a straight to the point kind of guy and didn’t like to dilly dally around with his explanations. “We have played for so long together, I think it should be second nature by now, just do as you have done in the past and things should go smoothly,” DemonQ would usually do the talking as Lord Gitter wasn’t much of a conversationalist. As the first ten minutes went by, most teams could scout the others and see their plans, Moshow3s heart skipped a beat as he saw all but one team go with Trading posts, “House Tyrell are making offensive buildings, they could be a threat for the rest of the match,” Moshow3 was sure House Baratheon was making a mistake. “ChAoS once again tried to ease Moshow3 and asked him an effective question, “do you see us panicking? No, you don’t why is that?” The question was meant to show Moshow3 team-work would win the day, NO REAL, confident as ever, hadn’t wavered in his plan. The rest of House Baratheon followed suit, showing no signs of concern.

Following NO REALs plan of taking Altars of the Maiden from each squad, it was up to House Baratheon to make sure each altar had enough reinforcements to capture them, “I’m being attacked at House Lannister’s Altar of the Maiden, make sure we don’t lose it,” Mac II was well versed in these sorts of tactics and was only making sure the newer members knew what to do. NO REAL could sense Moshow3’s panic, “we will lose the Watch Towers but in the end, they will be of no consequence as the Trading posts with the altars will win us this round,” NO REAL really wanted to squash the notion of House Tyrell being a threat.

Indeed, it was House Tyrell that took the first Watch Tower but incredibly enough only landed them in second place, “we have already accumulated enough points to mitigate the Watch Towers, the gap will only grow as we get more Altars of the Maiden,” ChAoS could feel the weight of Moshow3s earlier doubts lift as they still remained in first place with a quite sizable gap growing in their favor. 

As things stand, House Baratheon is in first place with House Tyrell in a close second but that was only down to the first capture points from the Watch Towers, “you will see House Tyrell slowly fall down the rankings they can’t protect their altars, the main threat is House Greyjoy,” NO REAL had already figured out which team to focus and the threat of Lord Gitter. “The Dragonpits are open but not necessary, continue defending our Altars of the Maiden, let the rest fight for the Dragonpits,” ChAoS was lazor-focused and he made sure to reinforce this point to his teammates whenever the opportunity arose.

With the looming threat of Glory City becoming available soon it was essential that House Baratheon accumulated enough of a lead to guarantee second place if Glory City were to be captured. “Magnificent job on protecting our altars but we can’t forget the Glory City, we must be prepared to rally it, so it may be weakened for others to reset the capture timer. All we need to do is make sure its reset and no one is capable of fully capturing it, that is our win condition,” NO REAL had set the goal and it was up to the team to execute rallies on the Glory City, defense of their altars and a constant scanning of the battlefield to ensure nothing could get in the way of their goals. The tension was rising but NO REAL’s calm and clear vision had set them on a path to victory, provided they could stick to the plan.

There was an electric current flowing through the air, all the teams knew the Glory City would be the make or break for most teams, with House Baratheon in a clear lead it would only take one good rally with some reinforcements to undo all that hard work. The main attraction of the arena has always won or lost most rounds but this time it was different, there was a gravitational pull almost willing each team to rally and take the prize, perhaps the Old Gods were playing their part this time. “Get ready with the rallies, I see every team setting one up, I’ve never seen this before, they all believe they can win, “ChAoS was now the one with doubt in his mind and funnily enough it was Moshow3 who calmed him down. “The plan has worked so far, I have never seen a team with so much synergy before let’s not lose to ourselves now,” Moshow3 was growing in confidence, maybe even imitating NO REALs bravado in a way. 

The battle had reached its boiling point, with half the match already in the books, the Glory City had become a revolving door, changing hands between teams as they threw everything, they had at it. The stakes were higher than ever and each rally felt like it could tip the balance of the entire round, “emje continue your rallies on the Glory City, while I defend our altars,” NO REAL was saving himself for altar control, not focusing on the Glory City but in the back of his mind he could sense something calling him. It was only a matter of time before NO REAL would need to decide whether to stay the course or accept the irresistible call of the Glory City.

Meanwhile the Mine Shafts had opened up and House Lannister took it upon themselves to take a break from the Glory City and take as many Mine Shafts as possible, “we can win this but I want to secure third place first, lets take House Baratheon’s Mine Shaft, they have their strongest rallying the Glory City,” SHIMSHON didn’t want to fall further behind and the Mine Shafts would provide a gateway to a win condition. The battlefield had expanded once more and the final outcome of the round grew more uncertain by the minute.

Ever the opportunist, Mac II took it upon himself to shift from the Mine Shafts to the Dragonpits but House Tyrell weren’t going to give up so easily. “Take our Dragonpit back, I will focus on the Glory City,” SHER hadn’t given up on a win for House Tyrell even though his team stood in fifth place, he still believed in himself and his team, perhaps there was something in the air. 

As the curtain came down on this round, the final five minutes were sure to be one for the ages, as SHER had taken the Glory City, “we only need to reset it one more time and there won’t be enough time to capture the city anymore,” ChAoS was scared victory would be snatched at the final moment. The first rally from House Baratheon came in and bounced back off with the second a further two minutes behind, “we didn’t time our rallies together,” panic had started to set in the House Baratheon camp. “We can win this, reinforce me with all you have, now is the time, “SHER could sense victory and see the dread in Moshow3’s eyes, now was the time to go all in for the Glory City. The second rally from House Baratheon hit and also bounced off the walls of the Glory City, NO REAL looked into the air as he swore an oath to the Old Gods, “weaken their walls and let us take this win and I will forever be your servant.” NO REAL quickly made his rally and sped it in hoping to reset the Glory City one last time, everything rode on this last rally. The rally smacked against the City of Glory, dust in the air, as everything settled down back to the ground, the heads of House Baratheon dropped they had failed to reset the Glory City and with only five seconds left until it was captured, all was lost.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, NO REAL sensed something, one last rally was making its way to the Glory City, it was House Targaryen with the impressive Pzycho leading the charge as he sped into the already weakened gates of the Glory City and defeated House Tyrell in the final moments, “I didn’t think we would take the Glory City but something just urged me to try this last time, “ Pzycho had reset the Glory City, securing House Baratheon’s victory and pulling off one of the most dramatic finishes in Arena of Honor history.

As the final minutes ticked away, House Baratheon started to celebrate their hard-fought win, “I can’t believe how close we were to losing in the final minutes, something was looking out for us,” ChAoS looked into the young eyes of Moshow3, pumping his fist in the air.

House Greyjoy were satisfied with their second place, “we did well in the end, House Tyrell were unlucky to lose the Glory City the way they did, “DemonQ could sense Lord Gitter wasn’t happy with the result but tried to put things into perspective, things could have been a lot worse.

NO REAL with a new found purpose looked once again into the air, “thank you, I know that was you. “With the Arena of Honor round finally over, House Baratheon could reflect on what had been a truly unforgettable battle, they faced everything that was put in front of them, some like NO REAL believing divine intervention was at play but in the end, this match will be remembered as one of the greatest and nail-biting ends to any round of Arena of Honor.