The Second Annual Grand Tournament

As part of Empress Naoki ’s series of public works projects, The Oculus Solis Arena was built just outside Isra. In the spirit of “We have an arena now, let’s put it to use,” and also seeing as how it would be unlikely that Medan would be hosting another Grand Tournament, it was decided that another Grand Tournament would be held in Isra.

Hence, The Second Annual Grand Tournament was announced. Open to any competitors who might care to participate, standard Isranian laws regarding entry into the country will be temporarily suspended for competitors, in favor of special ‘Competitor Visas’ being issued to each combatant. (Standard laws still apply to spectators.)

However, all attendees must fit into the arena, and be willing to abide by the arena’s rules, which are as follows.

There will be two brackets. One allowing magic and magical effects, and another disallowing all magic in the hands of the competitors. These will henceforth be referred to as the ‘Magic’ and ‘Warrior’ brackets, respectively. Each bracket will function independently, and have their own champion.
All matches will be one competitor against one other competitor. 1 vs. 1, as it were.

All competitors will be limited to three pieces of equipment, which must be chosen prior to the tournament's start and be used for all matches. These pieces of equipment include all weapons, shields, and individual pieces of armor. Armor pieces, if chosen, are provided for both sides of the body. For example, a pair of boots counts as one piece. Equipment will be provided by the arena, and competitors will be allowed to keep the provided equipment after the tournament’s conclusion, regardless of their performance.

Competitors may choose to bring their own equipment, but all equipment will be subject to a series of inspections to ensure that no unfair advantages are at play. No enchantments may be present on the equipment used, other than in the magic bracket, where enchantments may be placed on equipment by its user just prior to the match.

Competitors may not kill their opponent.
Competitors may not damage the arena in a major way.
Competitors may not bring harm to the spectators or any of the match officials.
Competitors may not leave the arena's designated competition area during the match.
Spectators may not interfere with the matches.
Spectators may not bring harm to other spectators, or cause an unreasonable ruckus.

There will be magics in place to make doing all of the above all but impossible, but any competitor who does manage to break one of the above rules will be immediately disqualified, and any spectator who breaks a rule will be immediately ejected from the arena.

Identical protective magics will be cast on each combatant prior to each match that will prevent lasting damage to their bodies and crippling pain. These magics will register hits made with approved equipment as bright red lines, and display the intensity of the hit. (What would usually be a glancing strike will appear as a faint reddish line, and what would usually be a deep gash would manifest as a brightly glowing streak across the body part in question.)

These displays will be used to judge when a combatant has been incapacitated, and their opponent will be declared to have won the match.

Additionally, rumor has it that officials from The Sun Marshals will be watching this event closely, presumably to locate new operatives to fill out their ranks. Competitors who do well may be approached and offered the opportunity to join The Sun Marshals.

Any characters who would like to participate should both post a response to this quest thread, stating which bracket(s) the character will be participating in, and turn up to the The Oculus Solis Arena before the 27th of May, which is when the tournament will begin. Additionally, you should be prepared to respond to private messages regarding your character’s capabilities and chosen equipment. Participating in both brackets with the same or two characters played by the same player is allowed, (And as such, it is possible for a single character to win both brackets) but any singular player may only have one character in each bracket.

(The arena topic will be posted and linked here Soon™)