Tournament: Joust - Part 2

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-Late Afternoon, 276 AC-

The list field's stadiums were filled to the brim; everyone was bouncing in their seats in anticipation of what would come next; the Northern Knight versus the Greatest Swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms. Arthur Dayne wore the classic Kingsuard armor with added protection since the lances may pierce the armor; it shined in the late afternoon sun and bore the Targaryen crest in its center. On the other hand, Justus's armor was the 'Tedeus' armor from 'For Honor,' it was entirely made of bronze but, unlike Arthur Dayne, was dirty and damaged from Justus' previous engagements. The two stared at each other for a moment before they were given their lances by two squires.

'He is the biggest damn obstacle in this tournament.' Justus acknowledged. 'Hopefully, Arthur isn't as good with a lance as with a sword.'

This was it; they had taken their stations, received their lances, and a horn began the match. Arthur was the first to take off from his position, nudging his horse to rush towards Justus at lightning speed; Justus left his position barely a second before Arthur initiated his horse's sprint. Kelemen stood by a fence and watched closely at Justus to see what would happen to him; his lance was as straight as his sword on the battlefield and aimed right at Arthur Dayne's upper chest. However, when the two competitors met in the middle, neither of them managed to strike the other; their horsemanship told them to instinctively dodge. Instead, they turned their horses around at the ends of the list field and took a moment to get into position before charging each other again.

'He's good, but I'm sure he's as experienced with a lance as I am.' Justus thought. 'Which means... I got a good chance at winning this.'

'Lord Daubeny is well-versed in terms of jousting... I wonder where he got his training from?' Arthur pondered. 'Never mind that now; he's going to be a real challenge for me to beat during this competition.'

The two keep charging and meet in the middle once again. However, this second engagement led to Justus and Arthur being struck with lances. The armored knights destroyed the polearms on impact, but the pain remained for the contestants inside them. The two knights lurched forward a bit before regaining their postures; it took some effort for both of them. The match would go on like this, a combination of dodging and striking between the two, but that was until 20 minutes had passed...

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-20 Minutes Later-

'He just won't go down... this isn't good.' Arthur concluded this after realizing he had hit Justus with his lance seven times in a row, yet the man didn't look like he was affected by it.

Justus and Arthur turned around their horses once again at opposites of the list field since they had just finished another engagement; Justus looked at Arthur, who seemed stunned that the Northerner was still on his horse after being hit so many times with a lance; in retrospect, any average knight would've just fell off their horse and lost, but Justus stood there, unfazed by the strikes.

'FUUUUUU-! WHY DID I MISS SEVEN TIMES IN A ROW?!' Justus screamed internally for missing so many times, among other things. 'I FEEL LIKE I'M DYING! I HAVE BEEN HIT SEVEN GODDAMN TIMES IN A ROW- MY FUCKING CHEST IS ON FIRE!'

"Ugh... thank the gods that they aren't scoring this from the best hits or whatever; it's just whoever falls off their horse first..." Justus talks to himself quietly.

The crowd was ballistic, cheering and watching as the match continued. It was a true spectacle as any knight who went up against Ser Arthur Dayne would've just fallen off their horse and lost in the first round, but this newcomer was unshaken by the hits and still stood up on his horse. Arthur was definitely getting a bit worried; Justus could see from his posture that the Kingsguard would fall over from exhaustion if he had failed to hit him off in the subsequent engagements. Justus knew what needed to be done but was worried since it was a gamble.

"Fuck, might as well put on a show; I don't want to keep doing this shit over and over again," Justus says to himself before preparing to charge at Ser Arthur Dayne.

Arthur followed Justus' action and rushed towards him; his lance was perfectly aligned with Justus' chest. 'This should be enough to take him down; there isn't any way to dodge this!'

Yet this time, once they met at the center, Justus wasn't sitting on his horse anymore, he was standing on it, and his lance was pointed downwards toward Arthur. (Pease refers to 'Real-life Aquaman catches 2 fishes with Trident'). "BIIITTTCCCH!" Justus roared; it sounded indiscernible.

Arthur realized at the last moment but was too late; Justus dismounted him and dropped to the ground; he was followed by Justus, who landed nearby. The crowd was amazed to see this performance by Justus; it would've been absurd to even think of doing something like that, but it worked; Arthur was knocked off his horse and was eliminated. The rules were that you hit the man off his horse, but there weren't any rules about how it was achieved; additionally, no fatal or mortal injuries are to be brought upon the list field. Justus slowly got up from the ground and was covered in mud; Arthur also got up but looked at Justus the whole time.

"That was a good match, Ser." Justus complimented.

Arthur looked at him for a few moments before breaking out in laughter. "Never have I seen someone jump at their opponent from their horse in a joust; you are a remarkable fellow, my lord."

"Probably going to be a while before you see another do such undertakings," Justus says while wiping off some of the mud from his armor. "I better rest for a minute before the next joust; my friend has... well, let's just say he has a 'mysterious motivation' that makes me concerned for my chances of success in this competition."

"'Mysterious motivation'? What could he possibly be motivated by?" Arthur asked curiously.

"You'll see if he wins; I saw him already make baby steps towards his goal," Justus revealed.

"I see; well, good luck, my lord," Arthur then nodded before returning to his friend, Rhaegar Targaryen.

'Now to deal with Kelemen... crap, how am I gonna go above and beyond when his newfound resolve is a woman?'

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-5 minutes later-

"EVERYONE! THE FINAL JOUST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!" The announcer shouted into his bullhorn. "COMPETITORS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS ON YOUR ENDS OF THE LIST FIELD!"

Kelemen stood on the other side of the list field, wearing his 'Lawbringer's' 'High Executioner' armor, bronze and damaged - the same as Justus. Kelemen received his lance, and Justus did as well from the squires on the list field. For a moment, Justus could see the determination in Kelemen when the man saw the flower-patterned crown that proclaimed the 'Queen of Love and Beauty.' In his speech, the announcer again disclosed the rules before counting the tournament prizes.

"THE WINNER, OF COURSE, WOULD RECEIVE ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLDEN DRAGONS FROM THE TOURNAMENT! SECOND PLACE AND SO ON WOULD RECEIVE HALF OF THE SAID AMOUNT; THIS WOULD CONTINUE UNTIL FIFTH PLACE!" The announcer continued. "ADDITIONALLY, THE WINNER WOULD RECEIVE THE CROWN TO PROCLAIM THE 'QUEEN OF LOVE AND BEAUTY!'"

"Good gods, hurry it up already," Justus muttered.

"NOW, FOR OUR CONTESTANTS!" He gestured to Kelemen before speaking. "IN THIS SIDE OF THE FIELD, WE HAVE KELEMEN DAUBENY, LORD OF DEEPDOWN!"

(I forgot that I had made them lords of the regions in Skagos, so keep that in mind.)

The announcer then gestures to Justus. "AND IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE JUSTUS DAUBENY! LORD OF KINGSHOUSE AND DRIFTWOODHALL!"

The crowds of ordinary folk and nobles alike cheered for the contestants; it could be presumed this was indeed an irregular occurrence as the two were brothers. However, unbeknownst to them, it was merely a lie made by the two, so they could receive noble status by Lord Rickard Stark. Justus and Kelemen prepared themselves and waited for the horn or whatever was heard to indicate that the final match had begun.

'Gotta win; that money will be beneficial in developing the island.' Justus thought.

'Gotta win; that crown will be very helpful in... something.' Kelemen thought.

Then, the horn that initiated the matches went off. This led to the two immediately rushing toward each other with different goals. Kelemen and Justus reached the middle, and the two immediately felt the pain of the lances piercing their armors.

'Goddamn it, I forgot he wore a stronger armor than mine.' Justus realized. 'Not good at all; if I don't win, who knows what he'll do with that money once he gets it?'

'Ho ho... Justus, you fool; YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?' Kelemen ridiculed Justus internally while fighting the pain in his chest.

The two reach the opposite ends, receive new lances, and charge at each other once more...

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-15 minutes later-

"AAAAAAHH!" Kelemen cried out while charging at Justus again.

"YYOOOUU!" Justus yelled at Kelemen while also charging. "JUST FALL, FOOL!"

"NEVER!" Kelemen replied.

After many piercings, strikes, and such, Justus was knocked off his horse by Kelemen on their fourth onset against each other. Justus posed like Yamcha when he died from that suicide alien bomb on the ground before grunting and getting up from his spot. "Ugh... damn it all, now nobody can stop him."

"YES!" Kelemen yelled before fist-pumping the air, then threw his lance on the ground as it was broken into a million pieces. "You alright, Justus?"

"Swear to god, man, don't give any of that money to who I think you will give it to," Justus demands. "We worked way too hard to get here, so help me, gods, if you give all of it to-."

"Don't worry, that crown is all I need, my friend," Kelemen reassures.

Justus sighs loudly before walking to the tavern for a drink. "Ugh, how troublesome you are, Kelemen."

The announcer then speaks up once again. "TO ANNOUNCE THE VICTOR OF THE JOUST, KELEMEN OF HOUSE DAUBENY, LORD OF DEEPDOWN!" The crowd cheered, but there were also disappointed sighs as some people had betted on Justus to win - poor bastards. "HE HAS ALSO ACHIEVED THE RIGHT TO GIVE HIS CROWN OF FLOWERS TO THE 'QUEEN OF LOVE AND BEAUTY!'"

Kelemen rides up to the announcer, who hands him a box with a crown of flowers; he picks it up and immediately gallops his horse towards the Mormont's seats. Kelemen appears before Dacey Mormont, sitting in her seat - her height was enough to think she was standing. Kelemen bowed his head to Dacey before handing her the crown of flowers; she was blushing profusely when she quickly grabbed it out of his hand. Jorah smiled slyly as if he figured out why Kelemen handed his cousin that bag of golden dragons. Meanwhile, Justus was exhausted from the tournament and lay beside a barrel of wine.

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