Message from the Overlord

[DoS Archive]

From: silentcris@aol.com (SilentCris)
Date: 25 Mar 1999 21:11:22 EST

Rising from his desk, Cristian de Oro pulled the paper from his typewriter and set it upon the ancient rolltop desk within his office. Lifting a pen, he signed his name across the bottom quickly and proceeded to fold the missive before he placed it within his inside coat pocket.
As he left his office that night, he turned off the lights and closed the door behind him, not bothering to lock the door. Close to an hour's walk later, he arrived at the alleyway entrance to the Arena and made his way inside. It was quiet, practically empty. His footfalls echoed as he crossed the room, coming upon the corkboard with a quiet smile on his face. Without a moment's hesitation, he removed the paper from his coat pocket and unfolded
it, tacking it to the 'board.
Without a second glance, the smile having faded from his features, he moved back to the exit and out into the night. The letter read:


"From the desk of Cristian de Oro
Director of Archaeology; Black Friday, Inc.


To the Duel of Swords Community,

I have thought long and hard about the words I would put to paper here. I apologize for the length of this missive in advance.
I will begin by saying this: I am only a man. I have failings, I have beliefs, I have suffered the greatest heartaches, and I have felt the elation of great achievements. I have attained the title of Overlord by right of combat. One day, I will lose.
Chances are, I will not be the one to hold the title the longest, nor will I ever be the best to have taken the crown. Two or three months after I have lost the crown, odds are that few will remember me holding it. However, the memory will remain with me for a lifetime, and that is all that matters to me.
Some will have their issues with me; a few may even look up to me as I stand atop the sport. Regardless of their stances or their personal feelings toward me or even their feelings toward each other, there is one true thing linking each of them together: the Duels. Each of you have entered the rings and, no matter who you are, you have lost. Some may have gone for weeks without losing. Some may have gone for weeks without winning. But, no
matter win or lose, you have fought.
I am here to fight. I am not here to win, nor to lose. A win or a loss ... they are facts of life. I have spent some time knowing what it is like to win and I have spent just as much time knowing what it is like to lose. Neither feeling is new to me, nor was it new to me the day I first set foot within the rings of the Arena. To put it simply: I fight here because I enjoy it, and I will continue to enjoy it long after the title of Overlord has
been taken from me. The winning and the losing come with the fight, and I accept each of them gladly.
It is for this sole reason that I make the following statements. Perhaps a few of you were waiting for these statements ... in all likelihood, many of you do not care. But for those of you that wish to know my stance on the varied subjects of the Arena, here they are:
I will never, in good conscience, be able to fight for another who is perfectly capable of fighting for themselves. I learned long ago that I cannot fight another person's battles for them ... the fight, win or lose, belongs to that person and that person alone. For this reason, there will be no intercessions on behalf of any Loyal Barons for as long as I reign.
Along similar lines, there will be no "Test of Worthiness" during any challenge for the title I now hold. Should there be any testing to be done, it would be of myself as I reach the limits of what endurance is left within this middle-aged body. Every challenge brought to the title I now hold will be Best of Three ... a true challenge in and of itself.
Also, there have been a few words regarding my record and I have only this to say: I will not actively seek to keep my record above fifteen wins over losses. I will duel, but I will not duel for a win ... I do not believe a stat should be the measure of a man or woman. When any look at me, I would hope they see the man before the title or ability or record.
As I will not actively seek to keep my wins over losses above a certain level, as long as they remain below fifteen, I am open to challenge by all Barons, no matter the alignment. As of this writing, I have already been challenged by Warlord Condextint Montoya ... should, God willing, I remain with the title, I would encourage all thirteen Barons to issue challenge should they wish to hold the title. Likewise, I would encourage any Warlords with
the available peer wins to do so as well. I make no claims to being supreme among you ... and I welcome any and all with the desire to meet with me in the rings with the title on the line.
Long ago, a man from my world said: "The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena ... who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly ... so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat*". I have long held this as a personal creedo and I state it here to be
interpreted as it may. In the case of my stance as Overlord, my great enthusiasm, my great devotion ... is to the duel. Some will agree with me and some will not. Opinions shall always differ.
As long as I remain Overlord, whether it be for the next week, the next month or the next six months, I will do my best to serve each of you, from Commoner to Baron, as best as I can within the bounds of my ethics. Should any of you have any questions or comments, my door is always open. Beyond my reign as Overlord, the same offer will still hold true.
Thank you for your time and attention. Godspeed.

Sincerely,
Cristian de Oro"

((* Quote accredited to Theodore Roosevelt))

[DoS Archive]

From: poltreidun@aol.com (PolTreidun)
Date: 27 Mar 1999 16:43:11 EST

::sniffs a couple of times:: That was beutiful, man.



Pol Treidun
Master of the Universe and all he surveys... which just happens to be the universe.

[DoS Archive]

From: swordsbabe@aol.com (SwordsBabe)
Date: 27 Mar 1999 17:52:48 EST

Giggling, she skimmers up to the cork.
"Goody!! A message from the Overlord!" She reads and reads. And reads and Reads. And reads.....

Practically staggering from eyestrain, she falls in a heap below the cork.

"Hmm...what's this stud's angle?" she ponders.

"No Intercessions, not even for the Barons?
Hmm...a death wish? A caller in his pocket? Political survival? A massive supply of Testosterone?" She thinks of each possiblity, dismissing each one as being unlikely.

"I know what it is! You are a stud!"

She reaches into her blouse, and pulls out her picture of Cris. Licking it several times, she swoons and falls into fit of ecstasy.

"Cris.... I think I love you. So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for."

[DoS Archive]

From: lordgunthr@aol.com (LordGunthr)
Date: 27 Mar 1999 19:54:02 EST

::mumbles after he reads the post::
What this is, is a overlord who has seen the flaws in the sport, and is taking the chance to try and set them strait.

[DoS Archive]

From: xenograg@aol.com (Xenograg)
Date: 27 Mar 1999 22:03:26 EST

:: reads the proclamation of the new Overlord ::

:: likes what he reads ::


Xenograg kathu-Darelir,
Fourth Overlord of DoS.

[DoS Archive]

From: khrystawlf@aol.com (KhrystaWlf)
Date: 28 Mar 1999 18:33:29 EST

I think I love you. So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for.

::Smiles just a bit, hearing the young woman... Not quite sure why, but she's reminded of Partridges..................::