When an Old Rival Appears Again

When an Old Rival Appears Again – Arena of Honor Chronicle

By Lord Gitter

If you ask people who know me, they will probably describe me in different ways. Some will say I'm friendly and easy to talk to. Others will say I'm always looking for a fight. Both are true.

I have never been the kind of player who enjoys sitting behind a shield for weeks. For me, Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is a war game. Wars are meant to be fought, not watched. That's why I spend a lot of my time hunting merits on different kingdoms. I jump in, fight hard for a couple of days, have some fun, and then move on.

Some players don't like Merit Hunters. I understand why. But I have one rule that I always follow: I don't attack just because someone is weak. I want a real fight. That's where the fun is.

Because of that, I have collected quite a few rivals over the years.

One of them is Marco Inaros. When the Arena of Honor matchmaking finished and I looked at the enemy roster, his name immediately caught my attention. I smiled.

"Looks like we're doing this again."

Marco is one of those players you simply respect. He is strong, experienced and knows exactly what he is doing. Every time we meet, I know I will have to give everything I have.

The battle hadn't even started, but I was already looking forward to finding him somewhere on the battlеfield.

As soon as the gates opened, everyone rushed toward their objectives. Like every Arena of Honor match, the first minutes were full of movement. Towers changed hands, rallies started, and Discord became much louder than usual.

Everyone had their own assignments.

Hold this tower. Watch the enemy rotation. Prepare another rally. Don't overextend. Everything was happening at the same time.

Our team stayed calm. That is one thing I really like about playing with this group. Nobody panics. Even when something goes wrong, someone always has a solution. The fighting around the middle became heavier with every minute. Every capture mattered. Every mistake could cost valuable points. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, I finally found Marco. I won't pretend I wasn't looking for him. Whenever I saw his marches moving across the map, I wanted to test myself again. Not because I dislike him, but because every player enjoys measuring himself against someone strong. We traded attacks more than once during the match. Sometimes he came out ahead. Sometimes I did. That's exactly how good battles should feel.

At one point I checked the elimination rankings.

Marco was sitting comfortably in first place. I was close behind, fighting for every point. That didn't surprise me at all. He has always been one of the strongest players I have faced. Still, I wasn't worried about individual rankings. Arena of Honor isn't won by one player.

It's won by a team.

While everyone sees elimination points after the match, they don't always see the small moments that decide everything. A perfectly timed rally. Someone reinforcing at the last second. A player sacrificing his own march so another objective can stay alive for thirty more seconds.

Those moments never appear on the ranking screen. But they win matches.

Our communication stayed strong from start to finish. Every player knew where they were needed. Every rotation had a purpose.

That was probably our biggest advantage.

Even when the enemy pushed hard, nobody gave up. Everyone kept fighting. Everyone kept listening. Everyone kept believing we could finish strong. When the battle finally ended, I looked at the rankings one more time. Marco had claimed first place overall with an incredible number of elimination points. I finished fourth overall and first on my team. Of course, every competitive player wants to finish higher.

That's normal.

But honestly, the ranking wasn't the best part of the match. The best part was meeting an old rival again after so many battles on different kingdoms. Games like this remind me why I still enjoy playing after all this time.

Rewards disappear. Events end. Kingdoms change.

But the players you meet along the way are the reason you remember certain battles years later. Marco Inaros is one of those players. Every time we meet, I know the battle will be interesting. Every time we fight, both of us push a little harder. And I think that's good for both sides.

We finished second, but, Arena of Honor is one of the few events where players from completely different kingdoms can meet on equal ground. Old enemies become today's opponents again, and new friendships are created in the middle of the fighting.

That's something I have always loved about this event. When people ask me why I keep playing a war game after all these years, my answer is simple. Not because I want bigger numbers. Not because I want another title. Not even because I want another victory.

I play because every now and then the matchmaking gives you one more chance to fight someone you respect. And when that someone is an old rival like Marco Inaros, you know you're about to have a great battle.

I hope we meet again in another Arena of Honor.

Next time, maybe I'll take first place, maybe my team will win, or maybe Marco will. Either way, I'll be there, looking for the next good fight.