Norlangarth North Area Swordsmanship Competition



The Zakkaria Sword Arts Tournament (officially known as Norlangarth North Area Swordsmanship competition) is a sword competition which is held every year on the 28th Day of the 8th Month in the town of Zakkaria. Any guard from the more than 50 surrounding villages as well as the apprentice guards of Zakkaria itself have the right to participate in the tournament. The only way for a non-guard to take part in the tournament would be to complete their previous Sacred Task and choose their new Task of being guards.

The tournament consists of two blocks: west and east. All contestants have to draw a ball from a box to decide which block the contestant will be assigned to: if a blue ball is drawn, the contestant is assigned to the west block, if a red ball is drawn - the east block.

The tournament is held in two parts. In the first part, the contestants must execute ten predetermined movements in order which are then evaluated by judges, who will select the 8 best from each group. The second round consists of elimination battles until only one contestant from each group remains.

The winners from each block will be selected to become guards of Zakkaria and, if they prove their worth as guards, they may be given a recommendation letter from the Zakkarian guard chief that would allow them to take part in the entrance exam of the Master Sword Academy.

Originally, the two winners would fight, but since those fights became so heated that there was a risk of harming others the finals were no longer held.