Arrows and clay

The Queen sat, regal on her throne, frozen in place. Her gold and crimson robes fell in perfect folds around her while she bore the bejewelled sceptre aloft. "Is this going to take much longer" she hissed between her clenched lips.

"I'm painting as fast as I can your majesty," Rill replied, "but your magnificent splendour far outshines the sun. Incomparable beauty defies easy capture by your humble servant's brush. But if you could just keep still for a little while longer, then I have reason to hope that this simple rendition of your glorious demeanour might yet please you."

Before the Queen of the Brightening Sky could respond, a messenger was announced. A sure-footed owl of a man, bringing word from the Reeve of the Summer Lands. An almost-imperceptible nod was sufficient to instruct the herald to deliver the message. Not that the Queen really cared what Iron-staff had to say, but decorum demanded it. And it was something to do while Rill worked on her portrait.

"To her regal majesty, Queen of the Forests of Glory, undisputed regent of the Forest of Arden, I bring word from..."

The messenger droned on in this way for some time. Bored already, the Queen found it difficult to follow, but it finished with a request for her aid which piqued her. "Does your master imagine that I am a hound that can be called to his side? If he requires my aid, why does he not come in person to petition it?" she demanded, her voice dangerously strained.

"Ah" said the messenger, wringing his hands with obvious nervousness. "Perhaps, I misspoke my lord's intent... It was your renowned servant Rill whose service my lord desires..."

Barien exemplifies meeting, setting, and overcoming challenges.

Overview

Each season, the heralds of the Iron Duke come to Anvil to issue new challenges to the mortals of the Empire. The Lord of the Crossroads is eternally eager to test the skills and the wits of those brave enough to step forward, aiming to challenge the Courageous heroes of the Empire.

Every person who has Challenge the Iron Duke cast upon them will be guaranteed entry to a challenge. Depending on the challenge, they may be able to bring a certain number of attendants with them to assist. The exact number will depend on the nature of the challenge and the number of challengers. The civil service will publish exact numbers in the Hub on Saturday morning for all to see.

Challengers will need to choose a reward from one of the items found in the Dragonforge. Challengers who have been victorious in the past year may not take part in another challenge until a year has passed.

Challenging the Duke

Last Season's Covens
Coven of Endless Summer	Dawn
The Cabal of Nevezamzer	Dawn
The Coven of Golden Wings	Dawn
The Eternal Family	Navarr
The Glass Mantle	The Brass Coast
The Glorious Rays of the Sun	Dawn
The Golden Grove	Dawn
The Prosperous Pigs	The Marches
The Tempest Flame	The Brass Coast
Voices of the Unbound Storm	Wintermark

• To formally enter, a challenger must be the recipient of the Challenge the Iron Duke ritual
• A challenger can only enter a single challenge each summit; if they win, they may not enter again for a year

To formally enter one of the Iron Duke's contests, a citizen must be the target of the Summer ritual Challenge the Iron Duke. The ritual is magnitude 30, and only a handful of covens have it mastered. It is possible to cast the ritual without mastery, but it is harder and more expensive, so anyone who is interested in entering a challenge would be best advised to seek out a coven known to be able to cast the ritual. According to the heralds of the Traveller, ten covens successfully performed the ritual last season. The heralds advise those interested in taking part to seek out these covens first.

Even for those covens who have the ritual mastered, it is expensive. Champions who seek to prove themselves will need to find some way to convince a coven to put them forward. Just being able to pay the ritual's cost might not be enough, though it is likely the minimum price that will be asked.

Challenge of the Arrow's Flight

• Barien challenges citizens of the Empire to a test of speed, wits and shooting skill
• Each challenger will have two minutes to navigate a course of barriers and collect up to seven tokens while being shot at by heralds of Jaheris
• Challengers may not use melee weapons, but may retaliate with bows, crossbows or thrown weapons if they are able to use them, or defend themselves with a buckler
• Challengers score a point for each token they retrieve and each herald they incapacitate, for a maximum of ten possible points
• Each challengers run is over when either they are shot by a herald, time runs out or they score the maximum
• A run is ended when a challenger is hit by an arrow, even if they are physically able to continue
• Challengers will make their runs one at a time until everyone has gone
• The top half of challengers by points (rounded up) will be considered victorious
• Challengers who score the full ten will always win, and challengers who score zero will not be considered victors
• This challenge will take place at 4:30pm on the Saturday in Fletcher's Flight, Anozeseri, Segura
• Spectators are welcome, and up to 100 people may pass through the gate.

The Iron Duke and his heralds enjoy tests of skills of all kind. Twice so far this year he has put on tourneys of martial prowess in the great new arena that has sprung up in Anvil, but tourneys of melee skill are not the only thing Barien has a taste for. The Forest of Arden provides a superb venue for shooting and hunting of many sorts, and the heralds of Jaheris spend a great many hours atop their spider mounts riding down all manner of summer beast in those dark woods. Now, the Iron Duke has decided to give the heroes of the Empire the chance to be hunt and be hunted against the Unicorn Prince's heralds in a high stakes game at the next summit.

A course will be assembled of barriers and barricades in a glade Barien's heralds have selected in Freeborn land. Three of Jaheris' heralds, armed with bows, will guard it. Placed within will be seven tokens dotted around the arena. Each challenger will be given one attempt to gather as many of the tokens as they can in a strict time limit of two minutes, while avoiding the arrows of Jaheris' archers. The archers will be limited to certain areas of the arena in order to make things more sporting. Challengers are not defenceless though; those running the course may use their own bow, crossbow or throwing weapons to retaliate against the heralds. Landing a hit on a herald will remove that herald from the run and earn a point. Challengers may also defend themselves from arrow fire with a buckler, if they so choose. Fighting in melee is against the spirit of the challenge and not allowed; this is a test of speed, wits and shooting skill, not brute force.

If a challenger is hit by an arrow from a herald their run is over, even if they could recover from it by any means. Otherwise, the run will be over when the two minutes are up, or if they challenger gets all seven tokens and takes out all three heralds for the maximum score of ten. Note that challengers who are not armed with bows or throwing weapons can only score a maximum of seven.

Once every challenger has made their run the challengers will be ranked. The top half of challengers (rounded up) by score will be considered victorious; the bottom half will receive a consolation prize. Any challenger scoring ten will be considered victorious automatically, any challenger who fails to score a point cannot be a victor regardless of what other score.

For those who want to compete or witness, the gate will open to Fletcher's Flight, Anozeseri, Segura at 4:30pm on the Saturday of the upcoming summit. Spectators are welcome; the gate can accommodate up to 100 people.

Challenge of the Painted Gallery

• Barien has laid a challenge to the artists of the Empire to create a piece of art with him as the subject
• A chamber will open at 10:30am on Saturday morning, where Barien will pose for challengers
• Challengers will have thirty minutes to make any sketches or notes they need about Barien and the scene
• Barien and his heralds may provide other requirements at the time as well
• Challengers will need to make a piece of art based on this
• Barien is not prescriptive about what constitutes "art" - drawing, painting, song, dance, or poetry or other art forms are all permissible
• Any performance based piece should last no more than 5 minutes maximum
• Challengers may have assistance from others both in creating and performing their piece, though the challenger should be central when displaying to the judges
• The final display will take place in the Sodality Chamber in Anvil Centre at 8:00pm on the Saturday until 9:00pm
• The final products will be judged by selected invitees from Anvil and heralds of Barien
• Any piece which meets the criteria laid down by Barien will be considered successful
• A grand prize will be given to the creator of the judges favourite piece
• Barien formally requests the Maestro of the Cat's Graces, Ralphine, be present to help judge the contest

Last year at the autumn equinox, the Iron Duke laid out a challenge to all the chefs of Anvil; make me dishes using my secret ingredient, and prove your worth as cooks and creatives. By all accounts, the challenge was a smashing success, and now the Lord of the Dragonforge wants to set his sights on a new set of challengers.

Barien is a lover of all things made and crafted. While his preference is for superlative pieces of forged equipment, he has a keen eye for anything made by mortal hands. The creation of the Cat's Graces sodality has piqued his interest as a font of creativity and potential challenge. As such, the Iron Duke invites the artists of the Empire to compete against each other in a test of their skill at the coming summit.

For those who wish to take part, a chamber will open via the Hall of Worlds portal at 10:30am on the Saturday of the summit to a chamber of Barien's design. Here, the Iron Duke himself will be present in order to pose for a piece of artwork. Attendants will have thirty minutes to gather as much information as they need or want in order to produce a piece of creative artwork based on the subject matter. Barien should be the centrepiece of any produced artwork, but careful attention should be paid to all of the details surrounding the Iron Duke, as the pieces will be judged on quality and adherence to the theme of Barien and the scene. If the challenger is unable to journey to the Hall of Worlds, they may send someone in their stead to make any necessary notes. The heralds of Barien will check who is presenting themselves before proceeding through the portal.

After this, challengers will have until 8:00pm to produce a piece of artwork in the style of their choosing, to be presented to the judges. The Lord of the Crossroads sets no limits on what form the art can take; it could be a painting, drawing, poem, song, dance, or anything that could conceivably be called art. Challengers may have assistance from others, but it should be clear to the judges that the challenger was the primary producer. At 8:00pm in the Sodality Chamber in central Anvil a viewing will be arranged. The Iron Duke has formally requested the Maestro of the Cat's Graces, Ralphine, be present to help judge the contest alongside heralds of the Keeper of the Revels.

Physical artwork will be put on display and pored over. Any performance pieces should last at most five minutes, preferably shorter. Once the judges have viewed all the submissions, they will deliberate and decide which pieces meet the criteria for victory, and which piece is considered the best overall and worthy of a grand prize. Participants are free to retain any physical artwork after the challenge is over.