ARENA OF HONOR HIGHLIGHTS - It could have been better

It was a cold and gloomy morning in the western lands when I woke up early to fight in the third slot of the Arena of Honor. Uncertainty reigned in Lady Brisssy's group: three fewer players left us vulnerable, with no clear plan to follow. It was I who decided and suggested she register, letting luck dictate, as she didn't know how to choose warriors according to the level of battle we were handling.

It wasn't long before three fighters from well-known alliances appeared, names that commanded respect and foreshadowed bloodshed: BDR, RoD, and RRH. Sir Coppard, ArT, and Andir were their living standards, and from the marks they bore, we knew that what awaited us was not a simple duel, but a fight to the death. We had to present ourselves strategically from the very beginning, prepared not only to conquer new buildings, but also to defend with steel and nails the ones we managed to seize in the war.

The strategy was decided in the construction phase. Take a risk? “Not this time,” Lady Brisssy said. “Let’s trade.” I thought about it for a moment, but saw that two rival factions had set up offensive camps. So yes, setting up outposts was the right thing to do. “Let’s set up positions,” I told the group, “but let’s support ourselves with the three warriors fate had bestowed upon us. We only had to prevent Problemka from attacking; even though she was pure brute force, she was still a danger. Be careful… be careful… I repeated that over and over again, like a spell against the approaching storm.

Sir Coppard marched to occupy one of the first buildings, and I immediately gave the order to reinforce it.

"We're reinforcing the trading posts," they said in unison.

"Fine, do it," I replied, "but release some infantry troops. The other factions are coming to attack. Don't forget Problemka... let her come."

"Okay," the boys in the group replied.

Then a series of attacks fell on the Altar occupied by Sir Coppard. None were successful. We held. The building was ours.

"Remember, let's lean on him," I reiterated again and again, as if those words could forge the invisible wall that held us against the storm.

The same thing happened with the Altar of the Crown, we decided to reinforce ArT, to keep it safe, the factions knew we were one of the strongest, so they kept us at bay, where if we let them dominate us the defeat would be certain, the pressure was still on us, they had studied the strategy, so they also began to copy it, we had thought of a counter strategy, use rally to recover buildings, it was a necessary evil, although it took time it was profitable, so we decided to use Uriel's cavalry to counter Lokros's infantry in one of his Maiden altars, and we decided to keep it until taking possession, and so it was ... we were very close to winning ..

The City of Glory is a hotly contested building and also the one that decides the final outcome of a match; so we decided to fully reinforce Sir Coppard, but unfortunately it was inevitable to avoid Problemka, his infantry was far superior to Sir Coppard's, so it was a never-ending battle, he was in last place but wanted the building to move up in rank and not be forgotten... of all of them, he was the only one who started to annoy by sending rally to restart the city occupation period, so we decided to send a few infantry and keep only our buildings, especially the Maiden Altars, which are important when it comes to a tight duel, I always mentioned this to the boys... they knew their position.

Swapping Sir Coppard for Andir didn't work either, because we were still getting attacked several times, and Problemka had those times mapped, and always hunted us down without giving us time to renew our soldiers, the duel was frustrating, because we had already drained even the Mineshaft... nobody occupied the city of glory, because Problemka and many factions wanted the same things.... until the battle ended, with our faction finishing in third place, because we didn't take the risk of playing camp for fear of finishing last like Problemka and his faction, who despite having lost, their constant reset didn't let us go up any higher.

Epilogue

Thus ended that cold dawn in the western lands. There was no eternal glory or absolute victory, only the bitter lesson of a war that denied us first place, but not the dignity to resist. We finished third, yes, but we did not fall like Problemka and his faction, who chose the path of attrition, condemning themselves to last place.

Our names were not written atop the Arena of Honor, but neither were they erased in ignominy. We stood firm against giants, resisted their onslaught, and protected what we had conquered until the very end. That day we understood that greatness is not always measured in victory, but in the will to fight when all seems lost.

And although the chroniclers do not sing our deeds with the same voice as those of the victors, those of us who were there know the truth: we faced the storm and survived. In the fields stained with iron and ash, where Problemka still haunts like a specter of defeat, the echo of our voices will remain, repeating over and over again: resist, support each other, fight.

Because in the Arena of Honor, even defeat can bear the face of greatness.