Legendary Knight

Next up is Harito's favorite knight, The Legendary Sir Gale. He's not Harito's favorite for a no reason…not only is he considered one of the best swordsmen in the realm, he has the love of the people, as well; he often donates his winnings to the poor or uses it in outrageous ways. Harito fondly remembers one tournament when Sir Robert tossed a bag of Gold up onto the stage, causing a near riot to break out. He hasn't done that since.

He also employs Harito's father, which might be an even bigger factor in why he's Harito's favorite. His father works as a stablehand for Sir Gale, taking care of his prized horse, Midnight. His father grew up as a farmhand and has always taken to horses well. It's said that Midnight is the fastest horse in the realm, but also one of the wildest. Other horse trainers and stable hands refuse to work with Midnight, saying she could never be broken in, but that didn't stop Harito's father. He's able to get the horse under control and take care of her like no one else. Sir Robert Gale took notice and hired him immediately.

The Sir Gale is going to fight Mighty Thrall, a noble warrior from the far east. Many people are shocked at Thrall's size. He's huge. His hand is bigger than some people's faces, and he also stands around seven feet tall. People's initial reaction when they see him is to feel sorry for his horse. He seems uncomfortable on his mount; for him, the joust is more of a formality. The two knights line up across the arena as the flags and rope are set up to distinguish the sides. Harito sees his father feeding a carrot to Midnight, which seems to make her forget about the crowd and calm her down. Sir Robert Gale is wearing light armor, while Thrall is in heavy plate mail. When the jousting area is fully prepared, Aldric, who has been the tournament announcer for as long as Harito and Varys can remember, takes the stage and raises his arms for the crowd to be silent.

He introduces Sir Robert Gale, who hails from the Northlands, and the crowd cheers. He then introduces Thrall, and the crowd also cheers, but with a little less enthusiasm than before. He reminds the competitors of the rules of the competition, which are very few. The joust will consist of three passes, if it even lasts that long.

"You receive one point for making contact with your opponent. You receive two points if you hit your opponent and break your lance. Finally, if you knock your opponent off his horse, you'll receive three points. Most knights who are knocked off their horses don't continue the joust and are allowed to withdraw with honor. There's also a rule that if any knight doesn't agree with the ruling of the tournament judge, they can settle the competition with hand-to-hand combat!"

Then Aldric examines each of the knights' three lances to make sure they're fully wooden, then waves his hand to signal that the tournament can begin. Each knight stands on either side of the arena, looking at the other and ready to charge any moment.