[Ponte Alto] Ponte Alto once again proves itself a gem of a Barony at Sapphire Joust

[Max Nelson]

Speaking solely as the Warlord of the fighting, Ponte Alto (and its  
friends) have once again proven itself a true jewel of Atlantia at  
this weekend's Sapphire Joust!

Our novices were literally outstanding in the Novice Tourney, with  
Matthew Dredge and Sian progressing quite far in the tournament and  
with our very own Ru making it through the tournament to stand  
undefeated in glorious victory.  Ru went on to further prove his  
prowess on the field in the Order of the Kraken's off-weapon  
tournament, where many observing the fighting made mention of his skill.

Sian's progress and capabilities on the field were also noted -- by  
none other than the King, who stated that he was glad to see her  
continue the excellence he had rewarded at Blackstone with a Shark's  
Tooth (and that he had noticed).

Our folks were also in-command and a strong component of the force  
that continuously beat the assembled Order of the Kraken when they  
chose to hold the field against an equal-numbered "rest-of-the-world"  
force after their tourney.  Duke Bedouin was quite impressed how we  
have been coming together as a unit and an Army since prior war  
musters as demonstrated in those (and later) engagements.  Ponte Alto  
fighters proved quite pivotal.

Not only did one of our own win the Novice Tourney, but our Baronial  
Assemblage proved victorious in the Company of St. Aiden's Heraldry  
Team Melee Tourney, where our combination of heraldic display, quick  
thinking (thanks Sir Thomas!), slapstick silliness, heraldic bombast  
(thanks Katherine!), cheering section (thanks ladies!), and our melee  
team (thanks Sir Tascius and Jantos!) combined to soundly defeat all  
other teams both heraldically and martially.  Go Team!  Our unit  
(myself, Sir Thomas, Sir Tascius, Matthew, Baron Jurgen, Sian, Ru, and  
Jantos) stuck together, fought with honor and chivalry, hit hard,  
listened to commands, and proved victorious!  We've got a great  
start... but there's a *whole* lot of work ahead of us to turn all of  
us Pontoons (and friends) into a fighting force of extra-ordinary  
magnitude, so we need to take this victory (like our victories at  
Blackstone Raid) as a sign that we've been moving in the right  
direction and continue our momentum forward -- hopefully with renewed  
vigor!

The Expeditionary Corps (thanks Kat and Sophia!) again did a fantastic  
job coordinating travel and meals, making sure everyone who needed  
rides, crash space, or who wanted to caravan was able to get to the  
event and get settled -- and putting together a great Sunday evening  
Dinner for about thirty of us by reserving an entire restaurant!  They  
did such a great job planning, we were joined by many -- including  
their Majesties, Duke Ragnarr Blackhammer, etc...

The Logistics Corps (thanks your Excellencies, Wulfwyn, et al) made  
sure we had fantastic shade, water, snacks, helping hands and other on- 
field necessities and really helped enable the victories mentioned  
above.  To everyone who helped out (including the Expeditionary Corps,  
of course), we all thank you immensely.  You quite literally help make  
the glory and victory possible and we quite literally could not do it  
without you.  Any and all glories and victories are directly shared  
with you.  Thanks!

While the cats were away, the mice weren't just playing, however...  
Sir Strykar and Aethilgar still held our Sunday Scholum class and our  
weekly fighter practice still went on as usual (thanks to folks  
Duncan, Cosimo, Mistress Cunian, and Gunnar).  Many of the fighters  
and newcomers in the Scholum class who were unable to attend Sapphire  
Joust still attended the class session, including some new fighters  
(traveling from far-away Baronies in search of training)!  Way to go  
Ponte Alto!

While we can all be quite proud of our performance this weekend, we  
must remember that are just at the beginning of our journey, and that  
we have much to do, much to learn, and much still to accomplish --  
both as individual fighters, as a unit, and as an army!  Keep coming  
out to practices on Sundays and Thursdays, and don't forget we have a  
regional War Muster this Saturday (5/31) in Bright Hills (see  
information below).  I hope to see *anyone* and *everyone* who can  
make it out there!

If I have forgotten anything or failed to particularly name anyone for  
their assistance or contribution, I apologize and ask you to let me  
know so I can remedy the situation and give credit where credit is due  
(any oversight is due to fatigue and drain-bamage... not intention).

In service,

Baron Maximilian Von Halstern