Written by: Anna "Hedda" Hewitt, Maria "Liselle" Carr, & Sarah "Evie" Fournier
"The Tournaments of Artemis is a tournament designed to let the women and non-binary people of the realms take the lead on the field of battle with a variety of tournaments. On this day, four Huntresses took up the challenge; Hedda and Evitta led team Vater and Rowan and I led team Nature Related. Throughout the day, the huntresses got to show off their strategy and prowess both on and off the field from noncom trivia about women and non-binary people in the realms to combat tournaments like Huntressassin, Kill the Huntress, Danger Dice and Queen of the Tiny Hill. It was a long grueling day and all the huntresses fought valiantly throughout. I am proud to have fought with the huntresses both by their side and against! It was an amazing experience! Thank you to everyone who came out and fought with the huntresses! You were all amazing! I also want to thank everyone who marshaled and Huntresses Kiira, Shader, Elizah and Irri for putting this all together."
- Liselle
"Arriving in style and banding forces two set of huntresses too charge of the teams to create an epic battle.
There were many challenges throughout the day. Team Vaten lead by Squire Hedda and Archdruid Evie.
Team Nature Related, lead by Liselle and Squire Rowan put up a amazing fight throughout the tournaments.
In the bridge battle, team Nature Related took down our team even after a ritual to flood the bridge succeeded and we had pushed to their end of the bridge!
There was tough competition through other tournaments such as the big O.
The main endeavor through the event was the tournaments of valor.
Where between each war maneuver, the huntresses and team had to challenge knights and squires on site to what 2 of 3 in the challenged chosen style. I can say that the huntresses took near no rest throughout the day as I saw each on take on challenges and show their metal! Odd took charge of making a banner and won!
The effort by our team was steadfast as everyone had great energy and teamwork throughout even our losses. Bogan took a large task of tracking all fights for the tournament of valor, quite a feat, and did not miss one challenge. All while stepping up and always being prepared for battle when needed.
I can say many of our team had quite the fights going against friends on team Nature Related. Creathornes Ash and Astrid regularly had the pleasure of slaying their nation members. I know that Prince Sir Saegan and Ser Vesper had clashed on many occasions being the fast and heavy hitters. Definitely was a challenge getting Sir Avendar to put down the large weapons so Archdruid Evie could get a challenge or two in!
Also, Bless Squire Griffin for swapping to our team to save the day!
The casualties of the day were Squire Eamon and Shield Bearer Grar who managed to sustain battle injuries after their support to the huntresses. Both took their skills to the battlefield till they dropped and showed true strength throughout the day!
During our danger dice and castle siege we were able to call on an assist from other huntresses to support us in battle. Irri and Warmage Sir Kirra came to our aid giving us tactics and battle support!
I'm the end team Nature Related took the win of the day and beat Vaten by 5 points!
It was a good day of clean battles and sportsmanship. Plus a little recreation of classical art, just hold that position for another few minutes with your hand in the air. Yes, you are the art, beautiful. Keep an eye out for the huntresses belt favors.
Though I was very busy through the day I can say Sir Gwen and her kitchen team put out a great array of food. The fresh fruit was the perfect break away from the fight without being to filling and the chickpea curry had just the right spice!! Sir Elizah finished off the night with decadent strawberry short cake and chocolate mousse! The perfect rewards or food after a long day of battle."
-Squire Whan-Hedda of Blackwood
"You missed a really good time at Tournaments of Artemis XI!
For those who do not know, Tournaments of Artemis was designed to give women and nonbinary individuals in our community the opportunity to “take the lead in combat and tournaments, helping to give them the skills, confidence, and experience to go into other events feeling powerful.” This event absolutely did that for me.
When I arrived on site, I was asked to join Squire Hedda as a Huntress. She was decked out in some awesome armor; she looked super cool! I was excited because with her as a fighter for the day, and with me as my typical support build, I knew we’d make a great team. On the opposite team were Handmaiden Liselle and Squire Rowan. We selected our teammates, picked team names, then we were off to the races.
The day consisted of various combat and non-combat tournaments. In the team war-maneuvers, Liselle and Rowan’s team, “Nature Related”, were dominant. Their team had some very powerful forces in battle, including soon to be King Saegan, Sir Avendar, and Squire Luke John. Our team consisted of greener players, with more casters and versatile builds. With this being said, we really tried to put our best foot forward in the other tournaments.
Squire Odd took the lead on creating our team banner for the banner tournament, and did a beautiful job. It consisted of a wave, with our team name “Vaten” written underneath. Vaten means water in Swedish, and Hedda and I both connect with that element. It was also a fun word to yell on the battlefield!
Hedda really shined in the 1v1 combat tournaments. She earned over 150 points for our team by challenging nearly every Squire and Knight on site to a best 2 out of 3 duel! I was so impressed by her determination to complete her goal. She was a force to be reckoned with on and off the battlefield. Shout out to Bogen for keeping track of those fights and keeping us organized!
There were a few trivia challenges, with questions pertaining to different prominent women in the Realms. We nailed the match the Knight to the Knighthood challenge, and match the fighter to their combat style, but struggled on some questions about strong female fighters of the past. Like I mentioned, our team was very green, so we had to make some educated guesses.
We took the win for the Picture Perfect tournament, where we were given a picture with bodies posed in various silly ways, and we had to tell our blindfolded teammates how to pose to match with it.
Some of my favorite fights from the event were the danger dice, castle defense, and “Kiira’s Tarnisha’s challenge” tournaments. Danger Dice and Kiira’s Tarnisha’s challenge were both small group combat tourneys, and they gave us the opportunity to strategize and choose who to put on the field and in which roles. The castle defense tourney was a lot of fun because while we were on offense, we got to be orcs, trolls, goblins and more! On the defense, we got to stage massive blocks to form a castle or walls. Our strategy of hiding Aiden Penclaw with his mystic forge inside the tiny castle didn’t lead to victory, but it was a funny bit.
All of these combat tournaments made us hungry, and we all loved the display of food presented by Gwen and her kitchen staff. There was plenty of fruit, veggies, cheese, and crackers to snack on throughout the day.
When the tournaments came to an end, we were treated to a wonderful meal. There was an orange chicken dish, and a vegetarian chickpea curry dish, both served with rice. I chose the curry option and it was reeeeally good. It was great to relax with a hot meal and hang out with my teammates and combatants before the awards ceremony. For dessert, there was a chocolate oreo mousse, and a strawberry cheesecake mousse. I’m sure that nobody left hungry; the food at this event was so delicious, especially considering it was a tournament event!
Finally, after a long day of fighting and strategizing, we witnessed a short court by the Huntress Guild. We were offered belt favors to signify ourselves as Huntresses, and Shader explained the purpose of the guild. This is their mission statement: "The Huntress Guild is an organization of women and nonbinary people with a passion for combat and a drive to improve our individual skills, as well as a desire to help other women and enbies reach their personal goals. Our aim is to provide a positive learning environment in which to encourage and develop combat skills for female fighters and casters alike. The Huntress Guild is open to ALL women and nonbinary people in the Realms."
The awards ceremony followed, with Team Nature Related taking the win by 5 points! Congratulations to Rowan and Liselle, and their teammates! Each of the Huntresses got to bring home a gorgeous prize. I chose a stunning 3’8 sword, with a gold and copper ombre on the blade, made by Sir Shader, Sir Eldritch, and with a cool hilt laser cut by Lord Sir Aeston. I cannot wait to practice with it! Hedda was acknowledged for her determination throughout the day to complete as many 1v1 duels as possible to earn our team points and prove herself. I was super proud of how our team performed. Morale was high throughout the day, and I truly had a fantastic time.
The Huntress Guild put on a great event. It was clear that they were extremely prepared. The event progressed smoothly, and the timing between events was perfect. As a Huntress, I felt very supported by the staff. It was great to get the opportunity to lead a team in a role I would usually never be in. On the battlefield, I learned a lot about strategizing, and in 1v1s, I received some great combat tips with different weapon combinations. I’m really looking forward to taking what I’ve learned into my next tournament.
This was my first time attending Tournaments of Artemis, and I had an absolute blast. I will definitely be attending next year, and I hope to see you there!"
-Evie