I, Crush-Your-Enemies-See-Them-Driven-Before-You-And-Hear-The-Lamentation-Of-Their-Women Johnson, born of The-Tribe-Which-Razes-All-In-Its-Path-And-Tramples-The-Unworthy, Thane of Trailsend, Slayer of Beholders and Ally of Giants[1], challenge you, Ivan Darkflame, Pactmaker with the Dread Gods, Trampler of Armies, son of dragons and tribesman of a clan lost to time[2]. I challenge you for all that you have conquered in a year and a day [3]. I challenge you by the wind of the plains and by the honor and glory we both have earned[4]. I challenge you to honorable combat, a test of strength and cunning decided by physical dominance[5]. Should I win, the spoils you have won are mine by right. Should I lose, I forfeit my life to your mercy[6]. I stand before you now in challenge and defiance, in the name of my honor and my home. Do you accept?
1.Traditional challenges begin with the full names and clan allegiances of both parties as well as a listing of their honors and accomplishments. Listing your opponent’s glories is honorable to both their legacy and yours, since if you win it makes you even more hot shit and if you lose it’s clear that it’s because they were hot shit too. This part can go on for a while if the person issuing the challenge really wants to hype up how important both they and their opponent are, or if they’re flirting REALLY hard.
2.This is a huge diss, since oral history and tribal legacy is hugely important to every barbarian tribe and something being lost to time implies that it was not important enough to be passed down.
3.Enna is here issuing a traditional challenge usually made by members of a conquered tribe to their conqueror. With this construction, the challenger is not attempting to claim everything the conqueror owns, which they likely would not be able to manage. They are only trying to claim what has been taken recently, be that their own tribe or their own tribe plus whoever got conquered recently. These challenges are usually more prudent because they show that the challenger is only trying to claim as much as they can manage and more respectable because they show that the challenger is fighting for honor rather than sheer conquest. However, in context this respectability fails because Ivan just conquered all these tribes recently and Enna would be getting plenty of conquest and the prudence fails because she’s challenging a godsdamned Doomlord.
4.An important part of the challenge is invoking a common cause for reverence. Within clans, this is usually the honor of the clan or a shared god. If there is not a shared cultural touchpoint, invoking the plains themselves is traditional.
5.The next part of the format is the form of the challenge itself. Since a challenge can be anything from a duel to a board game, establishing the form before asking for acceptance is important.
6.Establishing the stakes is perhaps the most important part of the challenge. The stakes have to be of about equal importance to the challenger and challengee. If the forfeit is of low importance, like offering a dagger against a prized war-horse, it is an insult grave enough to justify the challengee rejecting the offer completely. Enna is again falling back onto tradition- barbarian legends are full of heroes offering their lives as collateral against truly grave odds.
Author's Notes:
Written 8/18/19. Enna challenges Ivan to a duel. It doesn't go well for her! For the very first time in her life she experiences what it's like to get Thoroughly Owned. But she goes into it with a lot of confidence, which is important.