Post by Astrid Hall on Apr 30, 2017 21:35:20 GMT
"A Tag-Team Match?"
It was another weekend at another Renaissance Faire, with the sun shining through the late-April leaves to form mottled patterns of light and shadow on the ground around them. Astrid was in full armor, save her helm which rested on the ground next to her feet as she sat on a stump. A long sword lay in her lap, a sword that was being polished to a nearly mirror-shine. Astrid was grateful that Emma was making an effort to spend more time with her at these festivals of a bygone time - a time where Astrid felt more at home than she ever would in the world of glass and light that was the 21st century. Steel and fire would always be her home, and it brought warmth and pride that her most trusted friend was willing to share that world with her, even if just for a short while. Emma, for her part, was looking somewhat more comfortable now than she had the first time she had visited one of these events - comfortably leaning against a nearby tree with a massive turkey leg in her hand. No matter where you went in the United States, as long as there was a Renaissance Festival there would be giant turkey legs - and they appealed to Emma enough that it could be used as a lure.
Maybe one of these days Astrid could convince her manager to come in period appropriate costume. She wondered idly as she worked on the blade which she would more appreciate - a set of armor of her own, or the flowing gowns of a highborn lady?
Astrid smiled at the thought before Emma's reply pulled her back into reality.
"Is that a problem?" she asked with a worried tone. "I thought you approved of Shae?"
Astrid laughed. "It's not that, not at all!" she replied. "The chance to take Shae O'Hara as a shield sister and fight beside her in the ring will be the highest of honors. I cannot think of anyone in the Diamonds Division who I would rather have standing at my side in such an event. I witnessed and tasted her strength in the Iron Maiden - she is a worthy ally and a woman of honor."
"So why the hesitation?"
Astrid shrugged. "Well... I've never been in a tag team match before. It's not something that I'm... used to. That's all."
Emma tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow as she took another bite of turkey. "Seriously? Never? I knew you hadn't been in one down in developmental, but I thought maybe before then..."
Astrid shook her head. "People have liked having me on my own. The giant woman standing alone against the odds? It appeals to the crowd. I just hope that I don't let Shae down, that's all."
Emma smiled warmly. "You won't. If there's one thing I know you can do, it's protect those whom you have accepted as your sworn allies."
She turned her head back to the field across the dirt path, grinning a little wider as she observed all the frustrated men banging dents out of their armor - dents that Astrid had left in the grand melee that had ended just a few minutes ago. Two teams of eight armored warriors with blunted blades, where being disarmed or knocked on one's back resulted in elimination. Astrid had fought tirelessly and valiantly, as she always did - charging into the fray and fighting alongside her allies with determined vigor. She had been the only woman on the field, and had eliminated half of the enemy team personally. Emma's cheers had helped drive Astrid forward to such a performance, and had wondered if the results of the Iron Maiden would have been different if they had been permitted the use of weapons.
Losing the Iron Maiden had been a disappointment, of course - but at least she was comfortable with the knowledge that the defeat hadn't come as a result of her own failures. She hadn't been the one pinned, and Alicia had not emerged the victor. Best still, Pandora had won the match overall - a far better option in Astrid's mind than any of the women of questionable morals who had entered the fray.
Astrid laughed again. "Thank you," she replied warmly. "With your vote of confidence, I am heartened towards a future victory. What's the purpose of the match, if I may? Is it just for spectacle, or something more?"
Emma's eyes sparkled almost mischievously as she met Astrid's gaze with a grin. "The winning team will face one another next week... and the winner of that match gets a shot at the Shieldmaiden title at Night of the Immortals."
Astrid froze as though struck in the heart with a lance. The Shieldmaiden title? A chance to enter the ring with Eternity - lauded as the most dangerous woman in the IWF - battling on the greatest stage of them all? Fighting over the Shieldmaiden title, the title that she had been craving, longing after for her entire career? The title that was named for the thing that gave her her strength, the word from which she derived so much of who she was?
Two matches... a tag team match, and a match against her shield-sister Shae O'Hara was all that stood between her... and that. She felt her blood light in her veins with the all-too familiar fire of an impending battle. The chance for the Diamonds Championship was gone from her... but the Shieldmaiden was now so tantalizingly within reach.
"I see..." she mused, feeling oddly breathless with exhilaration. "In that case, I must do everything in my power to see us through to victory. Because then... either Shae will have her chance to avenge the injury she has spent so long trying to recover from... or I will have my chance to prove that I am the Shieldmaiden of the IWF in both name AND title."
She grinned wolfishly at her manager. "This is going to be a battle to remember."
"How glorious is this?!
Could this match be any more fitting of the first sacrifice after Motor City Mayhem? What better way to begin the countdown to the Shieldmaiden match at Night of the Immortals? Two sisters, bound by training and warriors' heart, taking up blades and standing together against the Diamond in the Rough and the Wolf of the Abyss? A clash between light and darkness, personified as the first battle to determine who will stand against madness and cruelty personified in the form of Eternity, defending the Shieldmaiden title at Night of the Immortals? A tale that the skalds will sing for years to come, I have no doubt. I hope that, after winning her own battle at Night of the Immortals for the Diamonds Championship, the Skald and Iron Maiden Pandora Freeman will have time to write the song herself! None other could do the tale such honor!
Shae O'Hara is one of few women in this world who I believe in my heart is cut from the same cloth as I. Though we may see the world and interact with it in very different ways, there is no doubt in my heart that we are both warriors of honor and conviction. It was an honor and a pleasure to stand with her in the Iron Maiden, it will be a greater honor to stand beside her at Sacrifice...
And it will be a greater one still to stand against her, hearts beating with the fire of war, one week from now to decide which of us is most worthy to challenge Eternity for the Shieldmaiden title.
Because make no mistake - Shae and I will drive Rowan MacDonnough and Charity Crowne back into the gilded hells from whence they came. Charity Crowne is a prideful coward more concerned with vanity than valiance, and Rowan MacDonnough is the clearest personification of evil that the IWF knows today.
They will turn upon one another while Shae and I stand united. They will use the tactics of cravens and madwomen while we fight as warriors. They cannot match our strength, our courage, or our honor. Alone, Shae O'Hara and I stand among the finest warriors in the Diamonds Division, with strength, ferocity, and courage in fiery abundance. Together? Together we shall bring the fire and steel to these creatures, and show them and the whole world what it truly means to be a Shieldmaiden.
Shae - I look forward to toasting in our victory. SKÃ…L!"
It was another weekend at another Renaissance Faire, with the sun shining through the late-April leaves to form mottled patterns of light and shadow on the ground around them. Astrid was in full armor, save her helm which rested on the ground next to her feet as she sat on a stump. A long sword lay in her lap, a sword that was being polished to a nearly mirror-shine. Astrid was grateful that Emma was making an effort to spend more time with her at these festivals of a bygone time - a time where Astrid felt more at home than she ever would in the world of glass and light that was the 21st century. Steel and fire would always be her home, and it brought warmth and pride that her most trusted friend was willing to share that world with her, even if just for a short while. Emma, for her part, was looking somewhat more comfortable now than she had the first time she had visited one of these events - comfortably leaning against a nearby tree with a massive turkey leg in her hand. No matter where you went in the United States, as long as there was a Renaissance Festival there would be giant turkey legs - and they appealed to Emma enough that it could be used as a lure.
Maybe one of these days Astrid could convince her manager to come in period appropriate costume. She wondered idly as she worked on the blade which she would more appreciate - a set of armor of her own, or the flowing gowns of a highborn lady?
Astrid smiled at the thought before Emma's reply pulled her back into reality.
"Is that a problem?" she asked with a worried tone. "I thought you approved of Shae?"
Astrid laughed. "It's not that, not at all!" she replied. "The chance to take Shae O'Hara as a shield sister and fight beside her in the ring will be the highest of honors. I cannot think of anyone in the Diamonds Division who I would rather have standing at my side in such an event. I witnessed and tasted her strength in the Iron Maiden - she is a worthy ally and a woman of honor."
"So why the hesitation?"
Astrid shrugged. "Well... I've never been in a tag team match before. It's not something that I'm... used to. That's all."
Emma tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow as she took another bite of turkey. "Seriously? Never? I knew you hadn't been in one down in developmental, but I thought maybe before then..."
Astrid shook her head. "People have liked having me on my own. The giant woman standing alone against the odds? It appeals to the crowd. I just hope that I don't let Shae down, that's all."
Emma smiled warmly. "You won't. If there's one thing I know you can do, it's protect those whom you have accepted as your sworn allies."
She turned her head back to the field across the dirt path, grinning a little wider as she observed all the frustrated men banging dents out of their armor - dents that Astrid had left in the grand melee that had ended just a few minutes ago. Two teams of eight armored warriors with blunted blades, where being disarmed or knocked on one's back resulted in elimination. Astrid had fought tirelessly and valiantly, as she always did - charging into the fray and fighting alongside her allies with determined vigor. She had been the only woman on the field, and had eliminated half of the enemy team personally. Emma's cheers had helped drive Astrid forward to such a performance, and had wondered if the results of the Iron Maiden would have been different if they had been permitted the use of weapons.
Losing the Iron Maiden had been a disappointment, of course - but at least she was comfortable with the knowledge that the defeat hadn't come as a result of her own failures. She hadn't been the one pinned, and Alicia had not emerged the victor. Best still, Pandora had won the match overall - a far better option in Astrid's mind than any of the women of questionable morals who had entered the fray.
Astrid laughed again. "Thank you," she replied warmly. "With your vote of confidence, I am heartened towards a future victory. What's the purpose of the match, if I may? Is it just for spectacle, or something more?"
Emma's eyes sparkled almost mischievously as she met Astrid's gaze with a grin. "The winning team will face one another next week... and the winner of that match gets a shot at the Shieldmaiden title at Night of the Immortals."
Astrid froze as though struck in the heart with a lance. The Shieldmaiden title? A chance to enter the ring with Eternity - lauded as the most dangerous woman in the IWF - battling on the greatest stage of them all? Fighting over the Shieldmaiden title, the title that she had been craving, longing after for her entire career? The title that was named for the thing that gave her her strength, the word from which she derived so much of who she was?
Two matches... a tag team match, and a match against her shield-sister Shae O'Hara was all that stood between her... and that. She felt her blood light in her veins with the all-too familiar fire of an impending battle. The chance for the Diamonds Championship was gone from her... but the Shieldmaiden was now so tantalizingly within reach.
"I see..." she mused, feeling oddly breathless with exhilaration. "In that case, I must do everything in my power to see us through to victory. Because then... either Shae will have her chance to avenge the injury she has spent so long trying to recover from... or I will have my chance to prove that I am the Shieldmaiden of the IWF in both name AND title."
She grinned wolfishly at her manager. "This is going to be a battle to remember."
"How glorious is this?!
Could this match be any more fitting of the first sacrifice after Motor City Mayhem? What better way to begin the countdown to the Shieldmaiden match at Night of the Immortals? Two sisters, bound by training and warriors' heart, taking up blades and standing together against the Diamond in the Rough and the Wolf of the Abyss? A clash between light and darkness, personified as the first battle to determine who will stand against madness and cruelty personified in the form of Eternity, defending the Shieldmaiden title at Night of the Immortals? A tale that the skalds will sing for years to come, I have no doubt. I hope that, after winning her own battle at Night of the Immortals for the Diamonds Championship, the Skald and Iron Maiden Pandora Freeman will have time to write the song herself! None other could do the tale such honor!
Shae O'Hara is one of few women in this world who I believe in my heart is cut from the same cloth as I. Though we may see the world and interact with it in very different ways, there is no doubt in my heart that we are both warriors of honor and conviction. It was an honor and a pleasure to stand with her in the Iron Maiden, it will be a greater honor to stand beside her at Sacrifice...
And it will be a greater one still to stand against her, hearts beating with the fire of war, one week from now to decide which of us is most worthy to challenge Eternity for the Shieldmaiden title.
Because make no mistake - Shae and I will drive Rowan MacDonnough and Charity Crowne back into the gilded hells from whence they came. Charity Crowne is a prideful coward more concerned with vanity than valiance, and Rowan MacDonnough is the clearest personification of evil that the IWF knows today.
They will turn upon one another while Shae and I stand united. They will use the tactics of cravens and madwomen while we fight as warriors. They cannot match our strength, our courage, or our honor. Alone, Shae O'Hara and I stand among the finest warriors in the Diamonds Division, with strength, ferocity, and courage in fiery abundance. Together? Together we shall bring the fire and steel to these creatures, and show them and the whole world what it truly means to be a Shieldmaiden.
Shae - I look forward to toasting in our victory. SKÃ…L!"
Well howdy there pardner.