The First Decade

Heralded by trumpet, the King and his court arrived. After he welcomed everyone to the faire, King Bertram declared that a tournament would be held to find a suitable husband for his eldest daughter Pamela. After the King finished introducing the members of his court, the Duke and Duchess of Eiville made an unexpected appearance. Apparently the Duke (brother of the late Queen) made the trip to witness the marriage of his niece, much to the displeasure of the King.

Before the first tournament began, Princess Pamela believed that her minstrel was missing. Aren the Astrologer checked her star charts and found the minstrel in a precarious situation. Princess Genevra confronted Prince Zack and informed him that she knew that he traded the minstrel to the bandits. The first tournament found Sir Sean victorious over Sir Liam.

The ladies of the court gathered to discuss the qualities of a good husband. Princess Pamela confided that she was secretly in love with Sir Sean and desperately hoped that he would win the tournament. The other women discussed the merits of arranged marriages and how the heart cannot be trusted. Princess Genevra stated that she would only marry when and if she decided. The discussion stopped abruptly when Queen Charlotte entered. Pamela, Genevra and Dana (the lady in waiting) felt much animosity towards the new queen, as they believed she was an opportunist. The Queen tried to engage in some small talk but was politely ignored. The astrologer felt compassion for the new queen and made some drastic predictions for the other women who all left in a frightened huff.

Meanwhile King Bertram, Prince Zack, Sir Sean and Sir Liam were discussing the qualities of a good wife. They held a contest amongst themselves to come up with the world's worst/best pick up lines. Lady Elane and her mother interrupted the men with the idea of a contest to find brides for the knights. The Duke and Duchess of Eiville approached with their daughter Sara and expressed their interest in the contest. The Duke secretly wanted his daughter to marry the King's champion (Sir Liam) so that the Eiville's could infiltrate the kingdom.

The witch, wizard, healer and astrologer gathered to discuss the merits of their individual beliefs. The astrologer stated that she consults her star charts for every couple she encounters. The healer believed that couples should not marry unless they have similar interests and backgrounds. The wizard felt that attractions are a special kind of magic that should not be interfered with. The witch told the others that she supplies love potions to those in need and claimed they always work. The wizard and witch began to argue when the Eiville's approached and asked to see the witch alone. The Duchess asked the witch for a love potion for her daughter. While the Duke kept the witch occupied, the Duchess gave Sara some of the potion and poured poison back into the bottle before she gave it back to the witch.

Princess Pamela grew more upset about the absence of her minstrel and not knowing whom her husband would be. The King, Queen and Dana tried their best to comfort Pamela. Princess Genevra confronted Zack and told him that she knew that he traded the minstrel to the bandits for free passage into the woods. Genevra told him to get the minstrel back. Prince Zack demanded to know how his sister knew this as the two of them left together.

Before the second tournament began, the minstrel returned to the court with Zack. The King inquired about her absence. She told him that the bandits took her, leaving out Zack's involvement because of her feelings towards him. The King declared a zero tolerance policy for the bandits and ordered his guards to capture them. Genevra defended the bandits and claimed they keep the town clear of thieves as she left in a huff. The battle between Sir Randall and Sir Sean ended with Sir Randall as the victor.

Before the third tournament began, Princess Pamela was very concerned over her sister's absence so Prince Zack took off in search of her. The wizard and healer diplomatically tried to match up the knights with brides however Elane was left out. The witch, who saw this, went to Elane with a love potion (the same one given back by the Duchess of Eiville). The third tournament found Sir Liam victorious over Sir Randall. As King Bertram declared Sir Liam the winner, Sir Randall in a fit of rage charged toward his adversary and struck him from the side. The two knights continued to fight each other again.

During the fight, Elane collapsed to the ground from the poison as Liam went to her aid. Unconcerned about the health of Elane, the dark knight was about to strike Sir Liam from behind when Sir Sean intervened and saved Liam's life. After a grueling battle, Sir Sean was able to disarm his opponent and the guards took Sir Randall away, much to the protest of the Eiville's.

The bandits entered the court with their leader. Prince Zack revealed that the bandit leader was none other than his sister Genevra! The bandits donated stolen money as a wedding present and the Queen decided to give it to the needy townsfolk. After attending to Elane, the Healer deducted that Elane was poisoned and accused the witch. In her defense, the witch stated that all she gave Elane was a love potion, the same one that Sara Eiville had taken. She then realized that it must have been the Eiville's who tampered with her potion. Enraged, the King threw the Eiville's out of his kingdom. The day ended with the marriage of Sir Sean to Princess Pamela.

A year after the great tournament which brought Sir Sean of Guildford together with the Princess Pamela in marriage, the kingdom of Mearth was plagued by terrible fires and missing livestock. Rumor quickly spread about a hideous dragon, said to be wreaking havoc in the countryside. His Majesty King Bertram ordered a tournament to determine which, among all his knights, was strong enough to deliver the kingdom from such a scourge.

Even the Duke of Eiville and his family offered their assistance in the form of a magical chain. The wizard protested the use of dark forces to bind any living creature. The debate continued until the Duke of Eiville drew his sword against the wizard who retaliated with a magical blast from his staff. The Duke and Duchess of Eiville forced the King to punish the Wizard, as it is unlawful to use magic against a nobleman. The Queen tried to reason with the King but to no avail as the Wizard was arrested and escorted out of the kingdom.

The first round of the tournament started with Sir Liam of Mearth defeating Sir Sean of Guildford. The next battle was scheduled between Sir Randall of Eiville and Sir Thomas of Wellington. Before the fight started, the Duke of Eiville declared that he was not pleased with Sir Randall and dismissed him to make way for his new champion Sir Morden of Blackmoore. The stranger, all clad in black, quickly defeated Sir Thomas of Wellington.

As the second round was about to commence, Sir Randall stepped forward and declared his lot in the tournament. The Duke of Eiville protested that Sir Randall was dismissed by him and has no sponsor. Just then, the Wizard entered and declared Sir Randall as his chosen knight. The Duke of Eiville was enraged and reminded the King that the Wizard has been banished and is not even a landowner and therefore cannot sponsor a knight. The Wizard informed the court that he is in fact a landowner, the Earl of Waterford.

The Wizard declared that when Sir Randall wins the tournament, the dragon would be captured in a humane fashion. The King turned to his wife to discuss the matter, while the Duke and Duchess of Eiville tried to discredit and humiliate Sir Randall. Apparently, the Queen rewarded the Wizard with some of her family's land when he saved the life of her son Alexander. Finally, the King declared everything in order and allowed Sir Randall to participate in the tournament. In the first match, Sir Thomas of Wellington defeated the King's champion Sir Liam of Mearth. Sir Randall of Waterford lost to Sir Sean of Guildford but was victorious in the next match against Sir Thomas of Wellington.

As the knights made their way to the tournament area for the third round, Sir Morden stole a kiss from Lady Elane, the wife of Sir Liam. Enraged, Sir Liam rushed to attack Sir Morden but the other knights broke up the scuffle. Sir Morden defeated Sir Sean in the first match while Sir Randall eliminated Sir Liam from the tournament. As the royal court left the tournament area, Reginald the Scholar frantically ran through the crowd in search of some very important letters that were stolen from his person.

In the final tournament, Sir Morden of Blackmoore defeated Sir Randall of Waterford. Princess Genevra ran to Sir Randall's side while the Duke of Eiville sent Sir Morden off to capture the dragon with the magical chain. The Queen requested that the ladies of the court should have a meeting to resolve this conflict peacefully.

During the meeting, each woman realized that they had been delivered a letter. The letters were stolen from the Scholar by the fairies and distributed to the wrong people. Soon fighting broke out between the ladies over the contents of the letters. The Wizard arrived during this commotion in search of the Queen who accidentally kneed him in the groin. As he lay on the ground in pain, the Wizard called for the Scholar who took a letter from him (that was given to him by the fairies) and delivered it to the Queen.

Tribal drumming was heard throughout the kingdom as Sir Morden brought the bound dragon before the King. People were astonished at the sight of the dragon, as it was not the menacing beast that the rumors described, but a baby dragon incapable of flight, let alone breathing fire. The Duke of Eiville ordered Sir Morden to slay the dragon who was only too eager to comply. The Wizard protested and asked the King to hear him out. The Duke of Eiville responded that the people were tired of being tormented by the dragon and indecisiveness of such a weak King, which divided the villagers into two camps. The Wizard declared that he would fight to the death to defend the dragon, Sir Liam and Sir Sean stepped up to support the Wizard. Sir Thomas decided to join Sir Morden as all eyes turned towards Sir Randall. Loursa Eiville held a knife to the throat of Princess Genevra forcing Sir Randall to take Sir Morden's side.

A skirmish ensued between the men. Sir Morden took on Sir Sean; Sir Randall fought Sir Liam while Sir Thomas went after the Wizard. During the fight, Princess Pamela and the Healer freed Genevra from Loursa, which allowed Sir Randall to change sides. The fighting stopped as Sir Morden and Sir Thomas were outnumbered. Sir Randall freed the dragon from its magical chains and burned his hand in the process. Not to be defeated, Sir Morden charged toward the dragon in order to slay it. The Wizard stepped in front of the dragon to protect it and was stabbed instead. Sir Liam confronted Morden and the two began to fight while the Healer attended to the Wizard. Sir Liam disarmed Sir Morden, placing his sword against the dark knight's throat. After pondering the fate of his opponent, Sir Liam decided to let Morden live the rest of his life as a coward.

The Wizard got up from his injury and informed everyone that the dragon was innocent and that bandits were hired by the Eivilles to start fires and steal livestock. The Eivilles denied the accusations while the Wizard dragged the leader of the bandits before the King who confessed to everything. The King declared the dragon a free and noble creature as the day ended in celebration.

A peaceful year has passed since the Eivilles were banished from the Kingdom. King Bertram, in good spirits, called for a tournament and offered a generous bag of gold as a prize. Queen Charlotte and Princess Pamela wanted the land of the Eivilles to be given away in addition to the gold purse but the King was in a forgiving mood. The Princess informed her father about the rumours that the scoundrels had been spotted in Mearth. This news caused the King to re-evaluate his position and agreed that the lands of the Eivilles would be given away if the banishment agreement were breached. As if on cue, a messenger arrived with news that the Eivilles had been captured which caused quite a stirring amongst the court.

The Eivilles were brought unceremoniously to the tournament area where they were locked in a cage. The knights participating in the tournament were then introduced and sworn in: Sir Sean of Guildford, Sir Liam of Mearth, Sir Malcolm of Gordon and Sir Tobias of Smallton. As it has been tradition over the past few years, the first battle was fought between the Kings son-in-law Sir Sean and the Kings champion Sir Liam. The end of the battle saw Sir Sean victorious over his good friend, although one might question this as Sir Sean had to be restrained by the fight master. The next battle saw newcomer Sir Tobias victorious over an exhausted Sir Sean.

In the second round, Sir Liam redeemed himself by defeating Sir Tobias. Sir Malcolm surprised the crowd as he defeated Sir Liam who sustained an injury and was escorted from the tournament area by Princess Genevra and the healer. Just then, a stranger clad in a dark cloak entered the tournament ring and slowly began to clap. As he removed his hood, the stranger informed the King that his knights fight like small children but without the courage. Bartaloman the wizard was taken by surprise and informed the King that the stranger was none other than his twin brother Darmokk!

The estranged sibling insisted that he was cheated out of his rightful inheritance as he was the eldest child and challenged his brother to a battle of honour. Bartaloman claimed that he was the eldest child and received the inheritance because their mother liked him best. The King, not knowing what to do, called upon his royal advisor. Since no official birth records existed for either man, the advisor concluded that a battle of honour would be the only fair way to settle such a dispute. The King took the advice from his trusted servant and ordered Bartaloman to face his brother. Blasts of magic flew through the air as the wizards squared off. In the end, Darmokk was victorious and announced that he would take the Eivilles as his prize.

The King protested but the evil wizard used magic to force open the cage, freeing the Eivilles. To make matters worse, Darmokk cast a spell on the entire court and imprisoned them inside the cage instead. The evil wizard then sent his brother away in search of the Mearth dragon or else bad things would happen to those locked up inside the cage.

From out of nowhere, an injured Sir Liam entered the ring and began to fight with Sir Simon of Eiville. This caused enough distraction for Princess Genevra and the healer to unlock the cage and set the royals free. After Sir Simon defeated Sir Liam, Darmokk stated that he was fully aware of the pathetic escape attempt and forced the members of the court back into the cage.

Since the matter of the Eiville lands were still at stake, Darmokk entered his own knight into the tournament.  Sir Morden of Blackmoore! The Eivilles protested as Sir Simon was forced to fight the vile Sir Morden. After a quick battle, Darmokk declared Sir Morden the winner of the Eiville lands and himself the winner of the Kingdom. The Eivilles protested loudly who were then put under a spell and locked inside the cage with the others.

The messenger appeared and informed Darmokk that that Bartaloman would soon return with the dragon. King Bertram and the Duke of Eiville started to loudly insult one another inside the cage. Darmokk stated that he was bored and released them from the cage, as he wanted to see another fight. The King and the Duke protested but Darmokk forced them to fight or else harm would come to the daughters of both men. Neither combatant had picked up a sword in years and soon they resorted to throwing insults rather than punches. "You fight like a fairy", stated the Duke of Eiville. "Well, you fight like a pack of fairies", countered the King. Darmokk had a strong reaction to this and forced both men back inside the cage where they began to work on a plan.

The mood was interrupted when Bartaloman returned with the dragon. Darmokk was gleeful and stroked the dragons skin in anticipation of his new cloak and unstoppable power. He decided to spare the life of his brother if he left immediately and promised never to return. Bartaloman offered a wizard's oath: his freedom in exchange for the safety of his friends. Darmokk agreed to the offer and imprisoned his brother and set the royals free, who left the ring to set their plan into action.

The court members soon returned hiding a bunch of fairies in their midst. Darmokk ordered Sir Morden to slay the dragon but Bartaloman protested, stating that the dragon is one of his friends and that Darmokk promised not to hurt any of them. The evil wizard's hand was burned as he dropped the staff of Bartaloman who freed himself from the cage. Darmokk looked confused for a moment but collected his thoughts and convinced his brother to continue with the tournament as it was the honourable thing to do. Bartaloman agreed and chose Sir Sean to defend the Kingdom against Sir Morden. After a long and gruelling battle, Sir Sean was victorious over the black knight. An angered Darmokk stepped forward and stated that he had his fingers crossed when making the oath. At the same time, the fairies were released who surrounded Darmokk and his minion. Both men were imprisoned as King Bertram and the Duke of Eiville shook hands. The King returned the lands back to the Duke and the day ended in celebration.

It was a wonderful fall day as King Bertram of Mearth was delighted that his niece Gwen could make the journey all the way from Ticklesby. Just then, King Davius and his entourage arrived from the neighboring Kingdom of Dearth. It seemed as though King Davius was interested in forming an alliance with Mearth, in order to create a mega-kingdom. King Bertram was receptive to the idea but first wanted to test the strength of the Dearth knights and decided to hold a competition.

The knights of Mearth were introduced: king's champion Sir Liam of Mearth, king's son-in-law Sir Sean of Guildford and Sir Tobias of Smallton. An excited Gwen ran over to her uncle and asked to participate in the tournament. The King scoffed at the idea of women participating in combat and told his niece to sit down much to her disappointment. The knights of Dearth were then introduced: king's champion Sir Morgan of Irksome, Sir Lara of Drat and Sir Wallace of Sye. Much to King Bertram's surprise two of the knights from Dearth were women and ordered his knights to be gentle with them. The King of Mearth received a second surprised as Sir Lara defeated his champion and Sir Morgan was victorious over his son-in-law.

Before the second round of competition, Sir Morgan expressed her concerns to King Davius that her feminine wiles may not be enough as Sir Liam was one of her teachers. The royal court entered the arena and were stunned to see the wizard Darmokk, who only a year ago nearly obtained unimaginable power. It seemed that a year in the fairy kingdom had left him a tabula rasa, neither good nor evil. King Bertram permitted Darmokk to stay in order to keep an eye on him in hopes to steer him to the path of good. The wizard reacquainted himself with Princess Ginevra who seemed disappointed that he was no longer evil.

While King Bertram discussed matters with Darmokk, King Davius showered Queen Charlotte with many compliments and gave her a pigeon bone necklace. This did not sit well with the King of Mearth, nor did the fact that his wife and Davius were old acquaintances. The King's daughter was also upset as she got a closer look at Sir Lara, who was an old acquaintance of her husband Sir Sean! The next round of battles did not go well for the Mearth knights as Sir Wallace defeated Sir Tobias and Sir Lara managed to score a victory over Sir Sean. Princess Pamela was upset that her husband had let Sir Lara win. Sir Sean tried to defend himself and stated that he was only following the King's orders but to no avail.

Not impressed with the standings in the tournament and not pleased with how attentive King Davius was toward his wife, King Bertram ordered his knights to win. Able to fight full strength, Sir Liam proved victorious over Sir Morgan while Sir Sean redeemed himself by defeating Sir Wallace. During the fights, Sir Lara flirted with Sir Sean, which angered Princess Pamela who had a few things to say to the knight from Dearth.

After the royal family left the tournament ring, King Davius gathered his entourage together along with Darmokk and convinced the wizard that Princess Ginevra could be his with the help of a love potion. Darmokk was sure that the King of Dearth was up to something but his love for the Princess was so strong, he ran off to make the potion. King Davius then explained that with a love potion administered to the Mearths, Sir Morgan would have Sir Liam all to herself, Sir Lara could rekindle what she once had with Sir Sean and of course he would take Queen Charlotte in addition to the entire Kingdom of Mearth!

Princess Pamela upset that her husband was being too friendly toward Sir Lara, ordered her servants to pack her belongings and decided to leave the Kingdom. Gwen ran after the princess in order to talk some sense into her. Meanwhile, Sir Tobias and Sir Wallace battled it out in a rematch but this time the knight from Mearth prevailed. However, during their fight, Sir Liam constantly criticized Sir Tobias for his unorthodox fighting style, which angered the knight from Smallton to the point of challenging the king's champion to a dual! Sir Liam was quick to make an example out of Sir Tobias, who suffered an injury to his leg. After King Bertram declared another victory for Mearth, King Davius proposed a toast to the royal family. Darmokk poured wine for the Dearths and then infused it with a love potion before he poured wine for the Mearths. The Healer insisted on tasting the wine before King Bertram drank and left him with an empty goblet for the toast.

It did not take long for the potion to take affect and soon love filled the air. Sir Sean could not bear to fight his newfound love Sir Lara and happily lost to her. Likewise, Sir Morgan had an easy victory over the love struck Sir Liam. Watching his knights as they stumbled around the ring, King Bertram realized that something was afoot and asked Darmokk for an explanation. The wizard informed the king that his court was under the influence of a love potion but refused to reverse the spell since that would mean losing Princess Ginevra.

With Queen Charlotte at his side, King Davius removed the crown from King Bertrams head and sat in his throne. The King of Mearth asked his knights to overtake King Davius but Sir Tobias was injured and the other knights were too besotted with love. Suddenly, Princess Pamela arrived with Gwen, who entered the tournament with the blessing of her uncle. It was a long battle but eventually Gwen was able to defeat Sir Morgan, however, King Davius declared that Gwen must fight all three of his knights. Just as the Dearth knights were about to attack Gwen, Darmokk entered professing that he wanted Princess Ginevra to love him without the influence of magic and broke the spell! Sir Liam and Sir Sean quickly join Gwen making it a 3 on 3 fight and were able to overpower the Dearth knights who retreated from the arena. Princess Pamela settled her differences with Sir Sean and Queen Charlotte made up with her husband. King Bertram then bid farewell to his subjects as the court proceeded to the ceili.

The sun parted the clouds to make way for the Faire's fifth season. In honor of this event, King Bertram declared a tournament to be held and offered a chalice (which had been in his family for nearly a generation) as the prize. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte was being detained by her lady in waiting in order that King Bertram could summon his messenger. It was disclosed that the King was looking for a special anniversary gift for his wife. The knights were then introduced. Fighting for Mearth, King Bertram's champion Sir Liam, Sir Tobias and newcomer Sir Charles. Fighting for Dearth, King Davius' champion Sir Morgan, Sir Lara and Sir Wallace. The competition was about to begin when Darmokk the Wizard entered with Myla the Genie. Rather than competing for a hunk of metal, Darmokk offered that the Genie could grant a wish to the winner of each battle.

The first battle saw Sir Liam defeat Sir Morgan. For his wish, Sir Liam wished for the world to be round instead of flat. The Genie mumbled some words, waved her arms and with a puff of smoke the wish was granted, although everything looked pretty much the same. Sir Tobias claimed victory over Sir Wallace who wished for a feast that was fit for a king. The Genie worked her magic and in ran the messenger with a platter full of wonderful food that was presented to King Bertram instead. Perhaps Tobias should have worded his wish better.

Before the second round of competition, the King gathered his knights to ask if they had any suitable ideas for an anniversary gift. Naturally they didn't and the Queen who was occupied by her lady in waiting began to grow quite suspicious of all the secrecy. The next rounds of battle did not go well for Mearth as Sir Tobias lost to Sir Lara, who wished to be rich. Rather than receiving wealth beyond her imagination, the knight was dubbed Sir Rich. Sir Wallace was victorious over his battle with Sir Liam and wished to fly like a bird. By not specifying the type of bird, the sly Genie gave him the flight abilities of a chicken.

The King invited suitors from across the Kingdom to step forward, much to the dismay of Princess Genevra. Darmokk expressed quite an interest much to the dismay of the King. Bertram then invited the Kingdom to bring gifts for his... "cousin". The jester brought in a dragon, the messenger brought in a fairy and a potential defender of the kingdom brought in his dad. The Queen said that they were all lovely gifts but if it were up to her, she would have picked a unicorn. The tournament continued as Sir Morgan defeated Sir Liam. The female knight wished for a man to do her bidding but what she got instead was a man who auctioned her off in front of the court. After defeating Sir Lara, Sir Charles wished to be more heavily armed and with that his arms became so heavy that he could no longer stand straight.

Sir Charles with his heavy arms stood no chance against Sir Morgan, who fought half the battle blindfolded for a slight challenge. Morgan was bored with the tournament and wished that the stakes were higher. The Genie was all too eager to accommodate and declared that the losing kingdom would disappear for a thousand years! Sir Tobias handed Dearth another defeat by besting Sir Wallace. To better protect the kingdom, Tobias wished to be stronger. The cleaver Genie did not make Tobias physically stronger as he had hoped but made him smell stronger, much to the displeasure of the entire kingdom.

Prior to the next round of competition, King Bertram was disappointed that people have found cats and bats and elephants but no unicorn. His messenger stated that only a woman with a pure heart could find and tame a unicorn. With this, the King consulted his knights, however they could not think of a single innocent young woman in the entire kingdom. King Bertram announced that he was looking for a sweet young maiden just when the Queen entered the arena. She was quite upset but Bertram tried to convince her that the maiden was for his cousin.

The tournament continued as Sir Liam fought against Sir Lara. At one point in the battle, Sir Lara unknowingly backed into the area where Sir Tobias stood. The foul stench overcame her, which gave the win to Sir Liam who carried her away from the tournament arena. The next battle was fought between Sir Tobias and Sir Morgan who wrapped a scarf around her face to tolerate the smell. Sir Morgan won the bout but was upset that she had no choice but to wish that Tobias smelled like a rose.

As the tournament grew to a close, both Kings realized that one of their kingdoms would disappear for a thousand years. In order to prevent this from happening, both kings agreed that the final and deciding battle should result in a draw. The match between Sir Liam and Sir Wallace was very close. At one point both knights disarmed each other and it looked like a draw, until Master of Arms Gareth threw a dagger to Sir Wallace, who grabbed Sir Liam from behind and held him a knifepoint. The knights from Mearth ran into the ring to help Sir Liam while the knights from Dearth ran into the ring to even out the odds.

What followed was shear and utter chaos. It was difficult to follow who was fighting one another. In the end, the Mearth knights were able to surround the knights from Dearth. However, the Genie informed everyone that the skirmish was all for not, as the battle was over when Sir Liam conceded defeat. The Dearthians erupted in celebration as the Genie was preparing to make Mearth disappear. Sir Liam interrupted by claiming that he was still owed a wish from his battle with Sir Lara. The Genie, bound by her code, agreed to grant one wish to Sir Liam before expelling Mearth. The King's champion wished that the Genie was no longer a Genie but a mortal woman.

With Myla no longer able to grant wishes, both Kindoms were saved. Just then, Princess Ginevra entered the arena with a unicorn and delivered it to her father under one condition: that she herself would choose if, when and to whom she will marry. The King reluctantly agreed and presented the unicorn to his wife. Queen Charlotte was ecstatic and now understood the King's strange behavior. And with that, King Bertram drew the tournament to a close and everyone headed down to the ceili.

A year has passed since citizens of Dearth settled into the nearby and prosperous Kingdom of Mearth. King Bertram announced that he would be raising taxes as the need for dragons has increased. Davius, King of the former Dearth, protested that his people moved to Mearth to seek better opportunities and not to be further taxed. Sandokk the Wizard (Darmokk's triplet) stated that magical creatures should not be taxed as they are beneficial to the kingdom. The King dismissed both arguments as he unveiled the heirloom that would serve as the prize for this year's tournament. The almost-traditional first battle saw Sir Sean retaining his honor over arch-rival Sir Liam while Sir Godric was victorious over Sir Morgan.

Before the next round of competition, Sandokk announced that he had organized the magical creatures to go on strike, during which time they would not perform any magic, until they were exempt from the taxation. The Queen urged her husband to listen to Sandokk's demands but the King in turn accused his wife of siding against him. Myla the Genie interjected by claiming that Sandokk had no real magical power but relied on slight of hand and intimidation.

Instead of the 'stunning' heirloom, Davius proposed an alternate prize. He suggested that his former Dearth knights (Morgan, Wallace, Lara) compete against the knights from Mearth (Liam, Sean, Tobias, Godric), with the losing side paying the taxes for the winner. King Bertram agreed to the condition fully confident with the ability of his knights. In the next round, Sir Lara defeated Sir Tobias while Sir Liam got the win over Sir Wallace.

The King was late getting to the arena, only to find that the Queen had started the tournament without him. Bertram was upset with his wife for taking over his job but apologized for his temper due to a sudden illness. Sandokk stepped forward and announced that he put a spell on the King, who would continue to get sick, unless he exempted all magical creatures from taxation. The Genie dismissed the idea of a spell and stated that the King likely had FANS (Frequent, Abundant, Nasty, Sneezes), a mysterious syndrome plaguing the area. Before the battle, Davius ordered his knights to apply lotion made from the waters of the river Avon, as per Sandokk's advice. Sir Tobias almost fell to Sir Wallace and Sir Morgan won over a sneezing Sir Sean.

The King was carted to the tournament area as his health had deteriorated. It even appeared that his knights were feeling ill. Sandokk took this opportunity to state that he has also put a spell on the Mearth knights and asked the King to reconsider his position. The Genie became aware that the Dearth knights were using lotion and asked that it be removed in the interest of fairness. The knights complied and soon after were being bitten by flies. The tournament continued as Sir Liam claimed victory over Sir Lara while Sir Wallace defeated Sir Godric.

Queen Charlotte took over the tournament, as the King was too sick to continue. The sickness had spread to the Dearth knights leaving no one fit enough to fight in the tournament. King Bertam reluctantly agreed to lift the tax for magical creatures if Sandokk would lift the spell. The wizard, now on the spot, would not (or could not) come up with an antidote. The Genie was not surprised, suspicious of Sandokk all along. Myla informed the court that FANS was spread by the Mitzy fly, which like to migrate near standing water. She concluded that the outbreak occurred because there were not enough dragons to consume the standing water. The Genie then proceeded to cure those who were ill.

The knights regained their strength and a large brawl ensued in the tournament ring. Sandokk raised his staff, which caused the knights to fall to the ground. The wizard reminded King Bertam that he held up his end of the bargain by delivering the antidote. Davius stood behind the wizard insisting that the King live up to the agreement. Queen Charlotte reminded everyone that it was the Genie and not Sandokk that cured the people. Finally realizing that they were betrayed, the Dearth knights ran Davius and Sandokk out of the arena. King Bertram recognized the valuable service provided by the magical creatures and excluded them from taxation. With that, another Faire drew to a close as everyone headed down to the Ceili.

The royal court entered the tournament ring as King Bertram announced that the knights would fight each other for a bag of gold and the title of King's Champion. This of course, displeased the current champion Sir Liam, who has bravely protected the Kingdom for the past several years.

Before the fighting began, the Queen excused herself from the proceedings, stating that she had more important things to do such as look after the sick and the needy. King Bertram, while appreciative of his wife's good intentions, admitted that sometimes he felt neglected. Just then, a mysterious wizard appeared and claimed that Queen Charlotte had quite the wild side as a young woman. The King wished that his wife would show that side once in a while. The Wizard introduced himself as Scradyn and stated that he could arrange this for a price. The King agreed and promised the wizard a magical orb in return. In the first series of battles, Sir Goderick defeated Sir Wallace and Sir Lara won a surprise victory over Sir Liam.

Scradyn followed the royal court into the tournament arena and told King Bertram he had the solution to his "little problem". The King denied any such affliction and then realized what the wizard was talking about. Davius, Lady Gwendolyn and Samuel brought in a mirror and presented it to Queen Charlotte. The mirror transformed the Queen who began to flirt with the King, who was very impressed and awarded the orb to Scradyn. King Bertram then addressed why his former nemesis was in the arena. Davius claimed that he was a changed man and that he no longer carried the title of "King", as such hierarchical systems demean the individual value of all living creatures. Queen Charlotte declared that she felt more powerful as she picked up a sword and swung it around with one hand. The tournament continued as Sir Morgan defeated Sir Lara and Sir Liam redeemed himself against Sir Goderick.

The royal court entered the arena with the oddly behaving former King Davius, who was giving food to the townsfolk. Davius gave Scradyn a big hug and thanked him for changing his life, as the Wizard tried to downplay the relationship. The King reminded the knights that he was looking for a new champion and wanted to see something different. Before his match, Sir Tobias entertained the court with song, who was later defeated by Sir Liam. Sir Morgan also tried her hand at song who was defeated by Sir Wallace. The King declared the battles a draw as he was equally impressed by both voice and blade. Not wanting to be outdone, an angst ridden Sir Liam sang and danced for the court. This impressed the King who left with Sir Liam in order to learn some new moves. Queen Charlotte and Scradyn forged a plan to take over the Kingdom and rule it together. The now evil Queen convinced the knights of upper Mearth to join her in exchange for a fiefdom. She then made the same arrangement with the knights of lower Mearth.

The knights from upper and lower Mearth taunted one another before the next round of battle. A wounded beggar stumbled into the tournament ring and Davius attended to his wounds. Queen Charlotte kicked the beggar out of the way in order to take center stage. She presented some bandits who put on a demonstration fight since the King wanted to "see something different". The Wizard approached the Queen with concerns about their plan to subtly take over the kingdom. Queen Charlotte replied that her plan was more direct and therefore better. She then told her husband that his reign was in shambles and that she could take over the Kingdom with the snap of her fingers. The Wizard tried to convince the King that the Queen was merely kidding but she told the Wizard to mind his own business as she marched out of the arena. Realizing that the Queen was beyond his control, Scradyn proposed a plan to help the King restore order. King Bertram was skeptical but agreed to listen.

The Wizard announced that he would enter his own knight into the tournament, thereby giving the knights of upper & lower Mearth a common foe. To everyone's surprise, Scradyn summoned Sir Morden of Blackmoore, who defeated Sir Goderick with ease. Sir Liam protested that it wasn't fair to enter a new knight this late into the tournament and that Sir Morden should have to fight more than one knight. Confident of his skills, the dark knight agreed to fight both Sir Liam and Sir Tobias at the same time. Once again, the knights from Mearth were easily defeated as they left the arena in shame. Queen Charlotte convinced Sir Morden to join her cause and the two of them left the tournament arena arm in arm. This latest turn of events left both King Bertam and Scradyn demoralized and perplexed. Princess Ginevra and the Healer formulated a plan to get the old Queen back.

The King and the Wizard confronted Queen Charlotte about her madness. The Queen dismissed them and demonstrated her power by starting a battle between the knights of upper and lower Mearth. During the battle, King Bertram and Scradyn tried to convince the knights that the Queen was playing them against one another. The knights eventually came around which forced Queen Charlotte to confront them with the aid of the bandits. Just then, Princess Ginevra and the Healer arrived with the mirror. Sir Liam and the rest of the knights forced the Queen to look at her own reflection, which reversed the spell. The magic mirror had the ability to change a person from good to evil as in the case of Queen Charlotte or from evil to good as in the case of King Davius. The troublesome mirror was destroyed by Sir Liam who was awarded the title of Kings Champion. Happy to have regained his position, the noble knight gave the tournament winnings to the Healer. With that, another Faire drew to a close as everyone headed down to celebrate at the Ceili.

King Bertram welcomed everyone to the tenth annual Faire. He took the opportunity to declare his reign as one of the most successful in the history of Mearth. Not wanting to break from tradition, he announced that a bag of gold would be given to the victor of the tournament.

The Master of Arms informed the King that the Knights did not want to fight for a bag of gold. They believed that peace had finally come to the Kingdom and did not feel the need to sharpen their fighting skills. King Bertram dismissed the notion and ordered the start of the tournament. The Knights placated the King by having a playful skirmish.

When only two Knights remained, Sir Liam continued with the mock battle while Sir Sean soundly defeated him. Annoyed by the lackadaisical Knights and their desire to defend the Kingdom, Sir Sean left the arena in disgust.

A murmur erupted from the crowd as two strangers approached the throne. They introduced themselves as Simon and Miriam, the rightful Monarchs of Mearth. King Bertram scoffed at the notion and demanded proof of such a preposterous claim.

The couple unveiled a painting which portrayed a mother and two babies. Simon stated that the baby on the left was Bertram while the baby with the mole on the right was Theodore, his brother. Bertram was shocked to learn that he had a twin brother and at the same time saddened to learn that his father was deceased. Simon stated that it was tradition for the oldest child to sit on the right and since his father had passed away, he was now the rightful heir to the throne. King Bertram dismissed the claim and ordered the tournament to resume.

The next round of competition saw Sir Goderick defeat Sir Lara while Sir Isabella lost to Sir Tobias. The Magistrate asked the court if there were any grievances in the Kingdom. Simon stepped forward and made his plea for the throne.

After some deliberation, the Magistrate decided that the Knights would be divided into two teams. Fighting for King Bertram was Sir Liam, Sir Tobias and Sir Shorla; while Sir Goderick, Sir Lara and Sir Isabella fought to put Simon on the throne. In the next round of competition, Sir Shorla defeated Sir Goderick while Sir Isabella upset Sir Liam.

Fearing for the current state of the Kingdom, Sir Goderick threw the next fight to Sir Liam. Simon protested that all of the Knights were loyal to King Bertram and ordered his own Knights to come forth (Sir Morden, Sir Wallace, Sir Malcolm and Sir Polly). The Magistrate allowed Simon's Knights to fight on his behalf, as Sir Wallace bested Sir Tobias. Simon stated that magical creatures were great judges of character and brought forth the Fairy Queen with Grendl the dragon. It is well known that dragons can sniff out royalty and Grendl appeared to be more pleased with Simon than King Bertram.

This new evidence swayed Sir Shorla to join Simon in his crusade but she failed to defeat Sir Lara. Sir Malcolm won his battle against Sir Goderick, while Sir Isabella tied things up with a win over Sir Polly. Sir Liam and Sir Morden were chosen to break the tie by their respective leaders. During the match, Sir Wallace and Sir Malcolm held Princess Pamela at sword point, which forced Sir Liam to hold back his advance. Suddenly, Sir Sean appeared from the crowd and began to thump Sir Morden while Sir Liam proceeded to rescue the Princess. Sir Sean fought bravely for King and country and defeated the mighty Sir Morden.

The Magistrate declared Bertram to be the rightful King of Mearth. Simon and Miriam rejected his decision and claimed that the proof was in the painting. Upon closer examination, the Magistrate determined that the mole was not part of the original painting. It was also revealed that Simon had cinnamon buns tucked in his jerkin in order to attract the dragon. The pretenders to the thrown were run out of Mearth as the Royal court made their way to the Ceili to celebrate.