This week at Castle Saenctum is all about the swords. They practiced, they battled, and they smashed skulls, but one paladin swung theirs for the last time.
The action stepped up a bit as the paladins faced off against each other to try and win the Mark of Strategy. Who came out on top? Check out our recap to find out.
We’re under attack!
As the paladins were helping out around the courtyard, they were quickly told to suit up for battle as a loud noise sounded. It turned out to be a readiness drill, and when they didn’t perform as they were expected to Ansgar blamed himself for their unpreparedness. He thanks them for saving the Queen’s life, has the winners of the first three rounds each pick a team of two players, and sends them to bed.
The next morning, the paladins are hard at work learning how to handle a sword. We see them paired off and practicing, and its more than a little impressive how well some of them do. They are then instructed to watch a pair of knights in full armor fight at full force. After they watch a round, Ansgar addresses each group of three, and asks each of the paladins to name their fellow paladins’ weaknesses.
He makes everything a little more real for the paladins when he calls Crio out on his cowardice in battle. He tells them all that in order to win in battle, you must first know your own weaknesses and those of the person next to you.
He then tells them that they will be battling against the other two people in their squad in the Battledome, rather than with them like they originally thought.
Time for battle
After picking up a sword and helmet, the paladins suit up and enter the Battledome to face off against each other in a sword battle. Each group of three will take a turn fighting while balancing on a narrow plinth. The first to fall will face the fates, and the last man standing will make it to the final round.
Christian, Andrew, and Lina face off first. While the boys charge toward the middle, Lina quickly moves to the outer ring and tightly grasps the wall. She holds on despite Christian’s repeated attempts to throw her off, and eventually, he succeeds in pulling her off. Lina will face the Fates. Andrew and Christian then face off, and Christian goes down quickly.
Next up is Bonnie, Leticia, and Adria. Bonnie goes to the outer wall and gets leverage, while Adria attacks Leticia from the inside. Adria falls on her own power, and will face the Fates. Bonnie disarms Leticia, knocking her sword into the hay, but Leticia uses her shield to knock Bonnie off balance and win their round.
Shondo, Patrick, and Jasmine are the last trio to battle. All three fighters slowly stride to the middle. Jasmine then tries to use her speed against the boys, and while she almost knocks Shondo down, he gets ahold of the wall and she falls off first. Jasmine will be the third to face the Fates. Shondo then knocks Patrick off, and he will advance to the final round.
Who will come out on top?
Shondo, Leticia, and Andrew must now face off and the winner will receive commendation from Ansgar. Andrew quickly takes out Shondo by wrapping around behind him and catching him off balance, but in the process gives Leticia the upper hand. When he grabs for the wall, Leticia forces him into the hay, giving her the win in the final battle at the Battledome.
Ansgar presents her with the Mark of Strategy for her win, and she grins widely as he pins the medal to her leather smock.
Jasmine, Lina, and Adria will face the Fates, but the paladins will return to their chambers before heading off to the Hall of Fates.
Hall of Fates
The paladins arrive at the Hall of Fates, and Lina, Adria, and Jasmine step forward to find out what the Fates challenge will be to save themselves from banishment.
Each paladin will enter a circle and smash as many skulls as possible as they are thrown at them. Jasmine starts out strong, but struggles soon after, resulting in five skulls being smashed. Adria follows her and hits seven skulls. Lina is the last to go, and ends with a total of five skulls.
Adria is safe from banishment, but now the other paladins must decide between Jasmine and Lina. As the paladins debate, it seems that the tide is flowing in Jasmine’s direction. The paladins enter the hall and one by one, they stand behind the paladin they believe deserves to continue on in the quest to become the one true hero. Shondo and Leticia choose Jasmine, but everyone else chooses Lina, and Jasmine is officially banished from Everrealm.
8 paladins remain…
Lina is incredibly grateful to her fellow paladins for keeping her in the competition. The following morning Crio asks the paladins to help out again, and the Queen arrives to greet the paladins. The Queen is looking much better than the last time they saw her. Soon after the Queen rides off to continue her recovery, a man comes running at full speed yelling Ansgar’s name. He tells him that an ogre has broken through the outer walls, and the paladins all look, unsurprisingly, terrified.