Fight to the last man

It happens all too often - your team is overrun by the enemy causing you to flee the chaotic scene of slaughter. When you turn around to regroup and face your attackers you realize, too late, that there is no one left to aid you. It is just you against the world. What do you do?

For some, they simply cut their losses, calling themselves dead or pushing for a quick mercy killing. They give up in the face of uneven combat and resign themselves to their fate. They would rather die quickly and start over again than drag out the inevitable.

Others might try to game the system as best they can, demanding honor battles left and right to even the odds. If they are skilled one-on-one, the fight will drag on as they churn their way through the enemy on more level ground. It is a slow process, but it gives them the best chance to win the day.

There is a third type of fighter, though, and they are unabashedly my favorite. As a spectator, Belegarth is entertainment, and nothing is quite as entertaining as watching a lone fighter make a final stand against impossible odds. They will fight tooth and nail to survive as they are being overwhelmed from every angle, becoming a viscous whirlwind of foam and death. On rare occasion, they might even defeat the opposing team through a combination of skill, speed, and a huge helping of luck.

He wasn't quite that lucky. 

This is one of the reasons I've always loved watching my husband, Matthias, fight, even though I make fun of him quite a bit, too. In all my years, even though I've never known him to game the system for a victory, I've never seen him give up in the face of an overwhelming enemy either. If he's the last one standing, you can bet he'll face you down and fight you with all he has. He may not win the battle, but he'll have a blast tackling the challenge.

My favorite example of this was at a little event not too long ago. Matthias had picked up a bow during a bridge battle, and when his team fell on the bridge he found himself alone, surrounded by enemy archers. It would have been easy to give up at that point (he honestly had no chance of winning) but instead he dropped his bow, drew his sidearm, and started to run. It may have been a while since he had taken off like that, but he still knew how to turn it up to overdrive when he had to. Dodging arrows every few yards, he tore across the field, trying to gain enough space to formulate some sort of attack plan.

It was then the enemy realized he wasn't an archer anymore because he dropped his bow. "We can grapple him!" one of them shouted as he rushed to tackle Matthias to the ground. But the sprinter was determined not to go down that easy and sidestepped the charge, killing his attacker with a firm strike to the back. Unfortunately, that momentary distraction gave one of the archers a chance to peg him in the leg, putting an end to his running.

Do you think that stopped him? Not a chance. Even stuck on his knees, he continued to dodge arrows. It took more effort now, violent lunges and drastic bends, but he refused to just let them kill him from a distance.  It was only when the other melee fighters finally caught up that he fell, unable to avoid the arrows and their blades at the same time.

Obviously, the battle was an memorable, exciting, and even hilarious display of tenacity. Matthias choosing to give his all in those last moments not only provided entertainment for me, but many others who happened to see it as well. Even some of the opposing team came up to him after the fight, impressed by his arrow-dodging skills, and shared a laugh.

It's those moments that make me love Belegarth. The unexpected warrior bursting forth brilliantly in a series of otherwise unremarkable battles. So thank you to all who put yourselves out there to overcome adversity in impressive and amusing ways. You are the reason people like me keep coming back to Belegarth. May your numerous exploits spawn many a war story worth telling.