A cold morning welcomed the fourth and final day of the Ostland Open Tournament. The tent city had shrunken as many of the defeated competitors had already left, but it was still large and colourful, the banners of many a knight fluttering in the crisp breeze. The assembled crowd ignored the cold and began to grow restless as they watched the Elector Count arrive and take his box seat.

A short fanfare was played before the cryer stepped forward, "this tournament has seen many a great warrior pass through, and now that we have reached the end, the pinnacle of these warriors, eight of the most skilled knights remain. Today they shall do battle before your eyes to determine who among them is the greatest."

The Elector Count reached into a bag placed at his feet and withdrew two pieces of parchment. Standing, he read aloud, "Aravar Galdean of Ulthuan versus Finduril of Bretonnia."

Slowly, a golden haired elf appeared, leading his magnificent steed forward. His yellow and blue robes fluttering in the wind, enough to reveal the shining armour underneath for but a second. The elf led the horse to one end of the rail and mounted in one fluid motion, looking now to his kneeling opponent.

Finduril stood as he finished his prayer, walking to the opposite end of the rail where his steed and squire already awaited him. He mounted the amber green barded steed quickly and motioned for his shield and a lance. He brushed is brown hair back and strapped the shield emblazoned with a great tree to his arm before rearing his steed back for the benefit of the hushed crowd, who looked on in anticipation.

A squire handed Aravar one of the tournament lances and backed off as the signal was given. Both knights spurred their steeds into a full on charge, leveling their lances as they neared each other. Both landed their hits squarely in their opponents shield, coming to the end of the rail and turning to go again. On the second pass, their lances deflected off the other's shiel, Aravar's turned harmlessly aside while Finduril's went into the elf's armoured chest and shattered on the strange angle. When Finduril reached the end of the rail, his squire helf aloft a new lance, which the knight grabbed and leveled as if it were an extension of his arm. The two came at each other again, Finduril tried to dart inside, but Aravar read it and brought his shield around to break the lance, while still landing a solid hit of his own. Both knighst grabbed a new lance for this pass, spurring to almost a blinding speed, the crowd grew completely silent as the two drew together again. Finduril spun his arm as they connected, an old trick for causing a stronger hit, and both lances shattered upon the other's shield. Aravar fell back in his saddle, but managed to hold one unlike Finduril, who fell to his side as the powerful hit twisted him, he landed hard in the dirt, but pulled himself up quickly after but a few seconds.

The crowd exploded as Aravar reared his elven steed up and held high the broken lance with a flourish and a grin. Looking over, he watched the Breton draw his sword and offer the knight's salute before turning and walking toward his squire and steed. The Asur revelled in the crowd's excitement a moment longer before riding off of the field to recuperate, the next match was soon to come.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scoring Legend: H-hit M-miss *-special used S-strong W-weak X-miss LB-lance break Written as: H/M-S/W/X-Damage

Aravar vs. Finduril
H-S-4.5:::::H-W-2
M-X-0:::::::M-LBX-2
*H-W-3:::::H-LBS-0
H-LBS-6::::*H-LBW-3.5

The crowd was still cheering for the elven warrior as the Elector Count stood again, two pieces of parchment in hand. Raising one hand to command silence he read the next pair of names, "Daketh De'Tranion of Naggaroth versus Kael of Norsca."

The crowd stopped cheering as the black armoured warrior rode his monstruously large steed forward. A few of the braver spectators even booing the chaos knight. Kael showed no signs of caring what they thought, grabbing a lance from an assigned squire, who took one look at the glowing sword on the knight's back and got as far away as possible. At this fear, Kael smiled, though not one there could see it through the cage of metal he wore.

The crowd then turned their gazes upon the Druchii warrior and his cold one. The creature roared, causing some of the weaker hearted viewers to pass out cold. Daketh grabbed one of the tournament lances and deftly mounted the monster.

"Come Malshion, this fool thinks he can beat us," the elf whispered to the creature as he was handed the cavalry shield used only by his kind. The signal was given and the two dark knights charged. As they neared, Daketh studied his opponenet and saw how he held the lance, with a smirk he turned his shield outward slightly and deflected the swift moving warrior's attack, while landing his own easily. The two rounded and again Daketh saw the same flaw in Kael's attack, defelecting it easily.

"Damn," Kael swore as he rounded for the third pass, spurring his chaotic mount to a breakneck pace. Daketh tried to deflect the attack in the same way, but couldn't get the right angle in time, his opponent shattering his lance on the strange angle and jarring the Druchii in the saddle.Daketh's rage boiled as he came about for another pass, forgetting to turn his shield against Kael's strike. The knight of chaos landed a solid hit full on the elf's shield, causing the Druchii to miss simply from the brute force of the strike.

The crowd roared as the already heated match became tenser, Daketh was obviously favouring his shield arm now, one more hit could spell his demise. The two knights rounded, but Daketh had regained himself, easily deflecting the strike of his opponent, and another on the next pass. It was obvious who of the two was more skilled, despite any injuries. Kael grabbed a new lance for this pass when it suddenly hit him. As the two closed in again he watched the dark elf's shield carefully. When he saw it turn slightly he yelled, "there!!" and angled his lance inside, much to Daketh's surprise. The hit took him square in his gold plated chest, sending him backward over his saddle into the dirt.

The crowd exploded again, forgetting their earlier hatred of the two dark knights. Kael threw his lance aside and gesticulated for the crowd to cheer louder. Daketh picked himself up with a smirk on his face, throwing back his black cape and dusting himself off. "Lucky b***ard", the elf crused as he walked away with his lizard mount in tow.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kael vs. Daketh
M-X-0:::::H-W-1
M-X-0:::::H-W-1
M-LBX-3::H-W-1
H-S-4.5:::M-X-0
M-X-0:::::H-W-1
M-X-0:::::H-W-1
H-S-4.5:::H-W-1

It took quite some time to calm the crowd down enough for the Elector Count's announcement of the third match to be heard, "Ekiz Languille of Bretonnia versus Tayanna of Kislev."

The aforementioned Bretonnian rode forward in shining splendour, the midmorning sun glinting off his silver armour. He adjusted the white shield with black castle blazon as he reached the end of the rail, offering a gauntleted wave to the crowd. As his squire handed him his lance he offered a short prayer before dropping his visor and preparing for the match.

Tayanna's red painted horse trotted forward slowly, the black feather's of the Gryphon Legion banner fluttering lightly in the still present breeze. She brushed a few strands of black hair back and looked at her opponent as she approached the rail. A squire handed her the legionnaire shield and a lance before backing away from the gold armoured Kislevite. The crowd was still excited from the last match, and this looked like it should be a good one as well.

The signal was given and the two knights came at one another. As the legionnaire reached full speed, he backbanner shrieked, distracting the Bretonnian enough for his strike to be easily deflected. Ekiz looked back as he rounded, he had already heard these banners in action in the earlier rounds, but they are much more daunting when they are coming at you. It was several more passes before Ekiz could regain full composure, as the came at each other he remembered the trick Finduril had showed him in a practice match. His lance splintered on the legionnaire's shield, nearly unhorsing the woman of Kislev. She righted herself quickly though, grabbing a new lance to replace the one that had fallen from her grasp. The rearmed knights came at each other again, the banner's noise breaking the inexperienced Ekiz's concentration. They rounded again, coming at full speed, their lances shattering upon their connection with shield. Both needed a second to regain their balance before they could rearm and come again. Again Tayanna landed a solid hit on Ekiz's shield, while still deflecting his. As they rounded once more, Tayanna saw that his shield was held more loosely, a sure sign the repeated hits had weakened his responsiveness. As they neared the banner shrieked even louder as Tayanna darted her lance inside the shield, breaking it upon the silver cuirass of the Bretonnian and sending him off of his horse to the ground.

The crowd was really going now, three great matches finished, and the midday bells had not yet rung. Tayanna leaned forward and whispered to her horse with a smile on her face, stroking its mane as she led it to the defeated Breton. Ekiz looked at her almost in disbelied, offering the knight's salute grudgingly before walking to his waiting charger. Mounting he rode off to his tent, leaving Tayanna to absorb the crowd's praise.

Three great matches had been witnessed thus far, and the crowd has ecstatic, the Elefctor Count withdrew the last set of names, and read them aloud for those who did not know or remember who the other two competitors were. "Shivven of Naggaroth versus Gurglush of the Blue Face Tribe."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ekiz vs. Tayanna
H-W-0:::::H-S-1
M-X-0:::::H-S-1
H-W-0:::::H-S-1
*H-LBS-5::M-X-0
M-X-0:::::H-S-1
H-LBW-2::H-LBS-3
H-W-0:::::H-S-1
M-X-0:::::H-LBS-3

The sun was directly overhead as the red robed elf stepped forward, and from the quickness of his movements, it was obvious to all he wore no armour. His red cape flowed behind him as he mounted his black steed, sitting confidently in the saddle as he awaited the arrival of his opponent.

The crowd had been in awe of the masterful Druchii in the earlier rounds, he had proven to be more than a match for his opponenets. Their eyes quickly shifted from Shivven to the source of a wagh cry. A massive armoured orc was yelling to the sky, his face covered in a giant blue hand print. He grabbed his boar by the scruff of it's neck before he straddled it, grinding his teeth as he looked at the elf at the rail's other end. A squire timidly handed it one of the lances, which Gurglush grabbed and held backwards, the flat end was more fun.

The signal was given and the brown boar surged forward with it's heavy rider, by comparison, Shivven appeared to be flying. The crowd watched anxiously as the closed on each other. Gurglsuh decided to forgo the use of his lance, instead choosing to brush aside his opponents and deliver a punch to Shivven's shield. Shivven fumed at such insolnce, turning he charged at full speed with his lance leveled. But Gurglush would have none of this fair fighting at all. As he rounded he broke his lance in half, putting one piece in each hand. As they closed , he swung the pair of stciks sideways across Shivven's chest. The red clothed Druchii landed his lance square in the armoured orc's chest, shattering it with all of his strength behind it, but was himself sent flying by the the pair of shots from the orc.

The elf flew from his steed and the crowd gasped, but he deftly flipped over and landed as if it were nothing at all. Gurglush pumped his arms and proclaimed, "I am da BEST!"

The crowd erupted in a chorus of boos for the orc. SHivven already welt the stinging bruises from the double strike forming across his chest, turning he went to his approaching horse, which seemed just as furious as the crowd at the orc. But the elf simply mounted the dark steed, riding off in a flash of red cloth and black hair.

The Elector Count needed quite some time to calm the aggravated people, nothing like this had ever happened before, hence no rule had been set against such a move. "It seems the final four have been decided", he proclaimed, "Congratulations to the victors for making it this far and to the defeated for their valiant efforts"

"There will now be a short break as we prepare the competitors for the next round, the matches will be as follows, Aravar versus Kael, and Tayanna versus Gurglush."

There was more booing at the mention of the orcs name, and Gurglsuh couldn't understand why. He had beaten one of the dark ones at this stupid 'uumie, why is he the hated one. The orc led his boar back toward his tent, "da grots had better have da food ready."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shivven vs. Gurglush
M-X-0::::::::H-W-5
H-LBS-8:::::*HH-W-10

The Elector Count returned and took his seat as the bells of the church of Sigmar rang for midday. He looked at the reassembling crowd and smiled, his coffers will be quite full this year.

Aravar arrived on the scene soon after, swinging around the exotic weapon of his family. He showed off for the crowd an excellent display of speed and skill with his glaive before bowing and handing it to his quire. The crowd was ready again for a great match, the golden haired elf their obvious favourite.

The dark armoured knight rode in more quietly, but there were still some cheers as he took his place. He grabbed a lance from the trembling squire with a grin on his face, "another weakling elf, too easy."

The signal was given, the elven steed and his monstrous opponent charged at one another. As they closed, Kael remembered how smart the last elf had been and decided to try and surprise this one, clutching his shield tighter. Their lances connected with metal and the elf's shattered on Kael's black shield. But this was not the doing of the elf, rather a result of Kael's push back with his shield, a dangerous but effective ploy. As they rounded, Aravar grabbed a new lance and came back at his opponent. He saw the chosen of slaanesh try to angle inside and brought his shield across to break the attack, though in doing so, he forgot to pay attention to his lance and missed completely.

Kael rearmed as they rounded again, nearly running over his squire in the process. They closed quickly, and Aravar saw the same thing that Daketh had seen earlier. The Asur, turned his shield to Kael's attack, causing it to scrape off harmlessly while landing a solid hit against the black knight.

Kael cursed as he rounded, 'how can I be losing to this frail elf, I am a Norscan, I am invincible." He spurred his steed to an unearthly speed, coming at Aravar with everything he had. The elf remained stoic though, concentrating not on his opponent’s lance, but his own.

The two crashed into each other and the crowd roared approval. The force of the attacks sent both competitors sprawling from their saddles, but the more nimble Aravar found a way to hold on and pull himself back up before he hit the ground. Kael on the other hand fell like a stone, his heavy armour clanging on the hard ground as he landed.

The crowd went wild, cheering for the elven warrior as he reared his steed yet again in victory. Kael slowly picked himself up, hearing a voice pulling at the edges of his mind, 'kill the impudent Asur, spill his blood for all of his adoring fans.' Kael shook his head to clear his thoughts, "quiet, where is the honour in such a killing, let him have his day, I will have revenge though, I know it." Kale then left the tournament grounds with his steed following closely, leaving the yellow and blue robed elf to celebrate.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aravar vs. Kael
H-LBS-0::::*H-W-4
*M-X-0:::::M-LBX-0
H-S-4.5::::M-X-0
H-W-3::::::H-S-5.5

Another chorus of booing greeted the arrival of the massive greenskin and his boar. Gurglush made some rude gestures back to the already angry crowd as he got on the boar and waited for his puny human opponenet to show up.

And so she did, leading her wild looking painted horse to the rail. Tayanna pressed her forehead to her steed's and whispered to it. The horse shook its head, seemingly in agreementand the legionnaire mounted. The crowd cheered for the female knight as she was handed her shield and lance. Looking at the massive orc she took a deep breath and waited for the signal.

It was given and the two charged forward, as the closed the shrieking of her banner did nothing to distract the small minded orc, who still hadn't figured out how to use the lance properly. Gurglush attempted to thrust it at the Kislevite, but Tayanna deflected it over her shoulder and pointed her lance straight into the massive armoured chest of the orc. The lance shattered on impact and jarred the orc slightly, but it was not enough to beat him, only make him angry. As they rounded, Gurglush tossed his lance aside and windmilled his left arm a bit to get it ready. As they closed he swung high, but Tayanna knew better than to let the orc hit her, ducking underneath and hitting the orc with her lance again. Again they cam e at each other and the orc swung for her mid-section, forcing her to lean completely out of the saddle to avoid it. On this pass, the cheers of support for Tayanna became louder than the shrieking emitted by her feathered banner, further angering the orc.

As they closed, he watched her lance approach, twisting a bit and grabbing it as it went by him. Her own lance twisted back, Tayanna is flattened backward by the hit. As she pulled herself upright she realized he hap snapped the back banner clean from the saddle, oh well, it hadn't worked well anyway against the orc. Grabbing a new lance , she tried to calm herself as they came at each other. Gurlush tossed aside the stolen lance and swung his fist for her face again, but again she ducked and hit the orc in return.

As Gurglush approached his assigned squire, he grabbed the wooden shield he had instructed the whelp to have ready. Rather than strap it on though, he held it with both hands. He swung the large shield at the Kislevite, who in turn aimed her lance for the center of the great maw sculpted on it. When her lance landed, the shield split in half, which the orc smashed into the armour of the legionnaire. Tayanna nearly fell from her saddle from the strike, but found a way to hold on and recover herself despite the weight of her armour.

The pair grabbed new lances as they rounded once more, charging forward as the crowd cheered for her and jeered at him. They closed and Tayanna could only watch in amazement as the orc darted inside her shield at the last second. As the lance shattered against her armour she felt herself being launched from the saddle. The crowd gasped as she landed hard on the ground and bounced. Gurglsuh picked himself off the ground after the human's strike had unseated him and immediately threw his arms in the air, "I am da champ." But no booes greeted the orcs decleration this time, their eyes all focused on the unmoving Kislevite.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gurglush vs. Tayanna
H-W-0:::::::::H-LBS-4
H-W-0:::::::::H-W-1
H-W-0:::::::::H-W-1
H-S-3::::::::::M-X-0
M-X-0:::::::::H-W-1
H-LBS-6:::::::H-W-1
M-LBX-0::::::H-W-1
H-S-0.5:::::::*M-X-0
*HH-LBS-12:::H-W-1

Note: Although technically it was a tie, I currently have no tie breaking method rather than redoing everything, so I decided to award Gurglush the victory based on the fact that his last attack defeated Tayanna twice over.

The healer and his helpers had removed Tayanna to one of the nearby tents and Gurglush was leaning against the rail picking his nose, as all awaited the return of the Elector Count. It was several minutes before he did return, going to the edge of his raised platform and commanding silence from the chattering crowd.

"The Lieutenant is fine and will recover, but her current condition is such that she cannot participate in a tie-breaker and hence must forfeit the match, making Gurglush the winner and finalist."

More boos came for the orc, who now ignored them but muttered, "stupid umies" under his breath.

"The final match between Aravar and Gurglush will take place in one hours time, until then, some of the prvious combatants have returned for your entertainment", the Elector Count then sat and watched the handful of early tournament knights come out.

Gurglush grabbed his boar and led it to the tent city, "I'll win da next match and den dos stupid umies will ave no choice but to see I is da best."

Elsewhere, a squire came to the tent of the high elven finalist to deliver the result of the last match. Aravar smiled, "an orc, this should be quick enough." Running a hand back through his golden hair, "make ready Maevanis, it is time I gave the crowd the champion they have been waiting for."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had reached a point where the shadow of the church fell across the field, as the appointed time was reached. Gurglush arrived first once again to a chorus of booing and insults, and a few rotten vegetables. His boar made a snack of it as the orc grabbed a lance and got onto his beastial mount.

The crowd burst into cheers as the yellow and blue robed elf rode forward. The wind had died since the morning, but the swiftness of his steed still caused his hair to fly out behind him. Rearing in at his position at the opposite end of the rail, he took the lance handed to him and adjusted his shield. The signal was soon given and the final match began.

As they closed, Gurglush brought forth all the skill that could be mustered from his orcish mind, aiming inside the elf. But Aravar had countered this same move from better opponents and it was no big feat for him to bring his shield across and snap the lance of his competitor while still landing his own solidly in the orc's shoulder.

They both rounded quickly, Gurglush garbbed a new lance but immediately broke it in half and held it in both hands, like he had done to Shivven. They came at each other as full speed, Aravar aimed for the center of Gurglush's massive armoured chest while the orc swung the broken lance pieces at him.The crowd was deathly silent as the collided, the snap of wood and punch of metal audible to all. Aravar was flattened in his saddle by the double stroke, but the broken lance in his hand and the cheering of the crowd told him he had succeeded. Gurglsuh tried to hang on after the lance shattered on him and threw him off balance, but his massive bulk only brought the boar down with him to the dust. The crowd went wild as the elf reared his steed up in his final victory.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gurglush vs. Aravar
H-LBW-0::::*H-W-4
*HH-W-6:::::H-LBS-7

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Elector Count came forward as the winner rode toward the raised platform, Gurglush had slunk off into the shadows shamed at his loss to a puny pointy ear. Aravar smiled as the Elector Count handed him the trophy and the bag filled with gold pieces that were his prize. The crowd continued to show its support for the champion elf, he had defeated the hated orc and won their admiration in all of his matches.

"I trust you will return next year to defend your title?", the Elector Count asked of him over the noise.

"Of course", the elf said, "but for now, we celebrate!"