By Arklan Uth Oslin of the Guilder
Gates of Summer, hosted by the fine folk of Dominion, was the first event I personally attended, and thus my first experience with all that comes with it. The fighting was epic, the rain was heavy, and the mud was thick. I personally learned the valuable "wear good boots" lesson, having spent much of the fighting performing as though I were ice skating.
Gates of Summer, hosted by the fine folk of Dominion, was the first event I personally attended, and thus my first experience with all that comes with it. The fighting was epic, the rain was heavy, and the mud was thick. I personally learned the valuable "wear good boots" lesson, having spent much of the fighting performing as though I were ice skating.
We arrived Friday and set up camp, then spent the night saying hello to various old friends while making new ones. I found my way to Mordor's camp and the apparently well known Poisoners Guild, which was very entertaining.
Saturday was greeted with rain, and lots of it. Before the fighting had even begun, people were soaked, and the ground was quickly becoming saturated. Thankfully, the battlefield looked solid, being covered in grass. This proved misleading. In short order the 300+ fighters turned that grassy field into a giant mud pit that varied from mere inches to well over ankle deep. This made the event and its various battles a near endless challenge to both fight and keep your footing at the same time.
The highlights in my mind were the Thermopylae battle, with forty veteran fighters facing off against the rest of those in attendance. This was held in honor of the fallen comrade, Jim the Barbarian. It was very impressive, seeing more than 200 people make little to no headway against merely 40.
In addition to that fight, the King battle was an excellent round for the first while. 4 armies, all vying for an advantage, trying to kill each other's kings... quite epic. Then the first king fell while attempting a rescue mission, which was followed shortly by the second king's death. This left half the field unable to return to battle after death, while the remaining two armies fought it out. That... took a long time. Many good fighters, including those of Guilder, called it a day at that point.
We then decided to head out before the weather got nasty, so packed up our camp and made our way back to the road. All in all, the fighting was excellent, but the weather made for a rather messy event.