Winners of BAARC II

[Skantarios]

Winners of BAARC II

In the second titanic contest of battles that stretched across the continents of Asia and Europe and from times ancient to medieval, we have (at last) determined the winners of the second edition of the Battle After Action Review Contest (aka BAARC II).

In First Place, we have Radzeer and his tale of three wandering brothers from Russia caught up in the war between the Turkish Sultanate and the Eastern Roman Empire. In his tale titled, The Battle of Trebizond, we follow the three brothers as they attempt to flee from a city under a Turkish assault. Far from home and in danger of being innocent casualties in a war that is not their own, how can these three brothers hold true to each other and survive this battle? You will have to read the story and find out for yourself.

In Second Place, we have wowbanger and his retelling of The Lonesome Charge. He takes us to the Scottish Highlands and gives us a story (over a few wee pints of ale, mind ye) of a civil war between two rival factions of the same clan. As you may know, nothing gets the ire of the Scottish up like another Scotsman out to usurp a Scotsman's Scottish throne. Seriously, this is the story of a betrayed and exiled noble named Aongas from...well, Scotland, who has journeyed abroad to find support so that he can come back home and put things to rights. Gathering support from, of all places, Ireland, our hero comes back home and takes a brutal revenge against those who wronged him - be they kin or nae.

In Third Place, we have Maltacus and his tale of Zhidislav's Battle. Taking us to the far north of Russia, Maltacus gives us the story of Zhidislav and his battle to save the city of Visby. This Russian nobleman tries to drive off a horde of rebels with nothing but his bodyguard and a few bands of wild Kiptjaks against a foe nearly five times his own size. Hopelessly outnumbered and trapped, the Russians and Kiptjaks fight not only for honor and survival but also for the love of a fetching lady.

These were three great and worthy tales, all deserving of their places in our new contest. I hope the success of the first two BAARCs leads to many more iterations of this contest so that we can all read more of our talented authors as they battle across the world to bring us tales of battle, honor, and glory.

You can see the first round of voting here.

You can see the run-off rounds of voting here and here.

[Radzeer]

Thank you very much to all who supported Alexios, Rurik and Oleg during the siege of Trebizond! This was a tale I liked a lot too, partly because its somewhat different perspective which was an experiment at that time. I got plenty of positive feedback on it ever since, so I'm glad that people enjoyed reading it.

Kudos and congratulations to all who participated in BAARC by writing excellent tales, not least wowbanger, my noble competitor in the second round. All BAARC entries will be reviewed in the next Critic's Quill, so that will be some additional publicity for the writers. The BAARC is on its way to find its place among the WS competitions, and I also encourage everybody to try it out.

Thank you again, and hope to see many of you in future competitions!

[Boustrophedon]

'Twas an epic clash this second BAARC! Until the next one, worthy adversaries, and congratulations to the winners!

[wowbanger]

Congratulations Radzeer. It was a good fight but you proved once again what a great storyteller you are. Also congratulations to the rest of the competitors, all the entries were brilliant. Also may I thank all those who voted for me to win 2nd place.

And finally, can I have my Bronze Medal now please

[Maltacus]

I didn't see this until now. This is quite an honour

Congratulations, skilled writers of the first and second place.

Skantarios, you should change your description of Zhidislavs Battle a little. He actually came to conquer Visby, not save it. Although he did perhaps "save" it from rebel rule but that is another story.

[Tim1988]

Congratulations to the three winners. All the stories were great reads. +rep