Eliane Dufresne

The final day of the Grand Tournament of the Fury concluded with perhaps its most exciting event yet: the joust! Brave lancers from across Eorzea gathered to tilt one-one-one in a relentless contest of strength and birdsmanship. Fortune did not hold back on any of the contestants, and many riders went home de-birded! After many rounds of unseating their opponents, the Bellworks’ own Olivie Heuloix of Limsa Lominsa emerged as Champion of the Lance, with Alabaster Requiem, also of Limsa, as the runner up! Olivie takes home a portrait by Lord Evariste, a Highland Barding, an Orthodox Barding, a Topiary Chocobo, an Oriental Striking Dummy, a Painted Foothills orchestrion roll, and 250,000 gil, while Alabaster takes home 100,000 gil! With this, our four champions have been named and this year’s Grand Tournament of the Fury has come to a close. The Bellworks would like to extend a special thank-you to: The Ashen Clinic ( @ashen-clinic ) for expertly healing all four events, and for dealing with unexpected surprises (like arrows in knees!). Hana O’hana ( @hana-ohana ) for their delightful vending services during the melee and magic tournaments. Sin’dell Shirazi ( @alluringjewel ) and Perne Archevauliere ( @porcelain-and-blood ) for their dazzling halftime performances. The Crystal Chronicle for their outstanding reporting coverage of the whole tournament. Evariste Baudhuin ( @aethericseafarer ) for donating amazing artwork to our four champions. Rosaire Ledigne ( @eggplant-squire ) and Perrine Pepin ( @halonic ) for crafting all of our outstanding prizes. Brave Horizon ( @brave-horizon ) and Xanadu Mol ( @tonberryslantern ) for being the announcers everyone loved to hate. Kail Gerrad ( @erstwhile25 ) for taking everyone’s money--err, running the betting tables and for assisting in commentary. Our arbiters: Martiallais Heuloix ( @mythrilreflections ), Gwenneth Gilrouis ( @rose-in-the-stone ), Valroit Faucheux ( @hasty-touch ), Arcian Martell ( @arcianmartell ), Aedos Valleritignon ( @bourgeoisfury ), Perrine Pepin ( @halonic ), Haru Qwey ( @haru-qwey ), and Marcelloix Dariustel (@korlynn ) for keeping everything running so smoothly. And you – yes YOU! – all of Balmung, for your generosity, support, and attendance. The crowd and the competitors were easily the best part of these events, and it was a blast simply watching everyone’s RP and reactions, and getting to interact with you all. We hope you had as much fun as we did – we couldn’t have done it without you! We hope you’ll join us all on Friday, June 9th, at 7 PM EST in the Pillars for our Charity Ball, to help us celebrate our four champions and to bid a proper farewell to Ishgard before Stormblood hits. Stay tuned for more info!

It was a day of hot chocolate, beautiful bardery, and rock-bottom puns! The Tournament of the Wand kicked off in earnest with Eorzea’s greatest magicians going head-to-head, and as the day went on, the fireworks only grew bigger! After many close and explosive showdowns, our victors at last emerged: Champion of the Wand Tsuki Amaranth of Gridania, and runner up Ajisai Ito of Doma! Tsuki takes home a portrait by Lord Evariste, a Great Gubal Lamp, an Orchestrion, a Revenge of the Horde music scroll, and 250,000 gil, while Ajisai takes home 100,000 gil. Well fought, ladies! As always, we’d like to thank @ashen-clinic for their healing services, as well as @hana-ohana for the flowers and hot chocolate, and the stunning miss Sin’dell Shirazi ( @alluringjewel ) for her musical performance this eve! With this, we’re down to just one final event, and we’ve been saving the best for last: jousting! Join us for our exciting conclusion this Sunday, May 28th at 7 PM EST, and come cheer your favorite champions on! See you there!

The second day of the Grand Tournament of the Fury has finally wrapped up, and what a day it was! This was easily our biggest turnout yet! The best warriors from around the realm gathered in a fierce competition for fortune and the Fury’s favor. Many of the bouts were brutal and nail-bitingly close! But after a long and hard-fought day, the victors emerged: Champion of the Blade Kiera Hawkeye of Ala Mhigo, and runner up Claire Nyhmidu of Ishgard! Claire takes home 100,000 gil, while Kiera takes home a portrait drawn by Lord Evariste, a Sword and Shield of the Round, a Heroes Orchestrion Roll, and 250,000 gil! Well done, ladies! We’d also like to thank The Ashen Clinic once again for their outstanding healing services, and Hana O’hana for their lovely flower and hot chocolate vending! Thank you guys for joining us! The Tournament continues next weekend with the Tournament of the Wand this Friday, May 26th! We hope to see you there!

Gotta admit though, it made you the star of the show! *grins* I felt so awful for Rinh ICly though. Poor Rinh.

The Grand Tournament of the Fury kicked off with a literal bang with the Tournament of the Range! Tonight, the realm’s best marksmen and markswomen gathered to square off in a sharpshooting contest, and after a close competition, the winners emerged: Champion of the Range, Ser Vilette Laurent of Ishgard, and runner up, Leanne Delphium of Gridania! Vilette takes home a portrait by Lord Evariste, a hunting hawk, an Eternal Wind orchestrion scroll, and 250k gil! Leanne takes home 100k gil! Congratulations and well done, ladies! Ishgard has now claimed victory in one event. Can the other city-states refuse her further titles, or will the republic reign supreme? Find out this Sunday, the 21st, as we kick off a gigantic melee with the Tournament of the Blade! See you there!

Hey everyone! There's only one more day to sign up! If you'd like to compete in any or all of the events, simply PM me here with your character name, which city state (if any) you'd like to represent, and which events you'd like to compete in. If you're not on the list, we may not be able to get you in to compete on the day of the tournament! This year's turnout may very well wind up being bigger than last year's! Thank you so much for the interest and enthusiasm. We're just a few days out from the first event. We hope you're all as excited as we are! See you there!

Hey everyone! The Tournament is just around the corner, so I'd like to take this time to remind everyone that if you want to compete in any or all of the events, that you need to register by Wednesday, May 17th! Just send a PM to any of us here, on tumblr, or in game and we'll add you to the brackets. All we need to know is your character's name, what city state they're representing (or if they'd prefer to be independent), and what events you'd like to compete in. You can compete in multiple events if you'd like. Everyone is welcome! <3

[align=center]The Grand Tournament [/align] Once more we call upon the champions of Eorzea! Take arms and raise your city-state’s banner high – it’s time for the Grand Tournament of the Fury! To be held for two weeks during the Third Astral Moon, beginning at the 7th bell at Camp Dragonhead: Tournament of the Mark (Ranged) – 19th Sun (Friday, May 19th, 7 pm EST) Tournament of the Blade (Melee) – 21st Sun (Sunday, May 21st, 7 pm EST) Tournament of the Wand (Magic) – 26th Sun (Friday, May 26th 7 pm EST) Tournament of the Lance (Joust) – 28th Sun (Sunday, May 28th 7 pm EST) A celebratory ball in honor of the four champions shall follow in the Pillars, beginning the 7th bell on the 9th sun of the Third Umbral Moon. (Friday, June 9th at 7pm EST). Entry is open to all citizens of the Eorzean Alliance, Doma, and Ala Mhigo. Come compete for your city-state to see who is truly worthy of the Fury’s favor! Vendors, bookmakers, and live performers shall be in attendance. Proceeds from the tournament will go towards charitable efforts for all city states involved. Please send all notes of registry, interest, and inquiry to Lady Eliane Dufresne or to Lady Gwenneth Gilrouis, in the service of House Durendaire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- OOC: It’s back, folks, and better than ever! Come help us say farewell to beautiful Ishgard right before Stormblood hits! The Dufresne Bellworks will be hosting a good old-fashioned medieval-style tournament once again. There will be four events and four champions, with herald announcers to keep you hyped!: Ranged Tournament/Champion of the Mark Melee Tournament/Champion of the Blade Magic Tournament/Champion of the Wand Chocobo Jousting/Champion of the Lance This year, the Tournament will be split over 4 days across the span of two weeks, in order to ensure everyone can attend all four events. There will be no grand champion competition this year; instead, we want to celebrate the four individual champions during the ball! As always, winning a championship also means winning fabulous prizes! (Prize list TBA!) This year, we’ll have a Professional Bookmaker with whom you can place (RPed, no actual gil, please) bets. Whoever wagers successfully on the outcome of the tournament can also win a fun prize! Additionally, we’re looking to have a fairgrounds area where spectators can buy food and merchandise and listen to live performances between the bouts. If you are a part of a bard, merchant, or culinary FC and would like to set up a stall, let’s talk! Please send a PM on tumblr or the RPC, or an in-game /tell to Eliane Dufresne, Gwenneth Gilrouis, Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn, or Martiallais Heuloix. For full information on the tournament, as well as tournament rules, please click here. Event attendance and participation is open to everybody who isn’t an Imperial! (Though we encourage our Imperial friends to sneak in anyway. ) ***PLEASE NOTE!***: IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON COMPETING THIS YEAR, PLEASE REGISTER WITH US BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 17TH. Contact us via PM on Tumblr or the RPC, or send an in-game /tell to either Eliane Dufresne or Gwenneth Gilrouis, and let us know the following: -Your character name -What City-State your character will be representing -What events your character will be competing in If for whatever reason you are unable to make the tournament after all, please let us know ASAP so we can update the brackets accordingly. Additionally, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP DONATE TO THE PRIZE POOL, either for the tournament or the ball, please contact Eliane Dufresne or Gwenneth Gilrouis to transfer your items BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 17th. For the sake of keeping the event running smoothly, we will not accept any item or gil donations after this date. Donors will be credited. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Eliane Dufresne, Gwenneth Gilrouis, Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn, or Martiallais Heuloix for more details. We hope you’re all as excited as we are. See you there, Balmung!

Hello! I'd like to toss Bell's name into the ring if we could! The Dufresne Bellworks In Game Theme(s): Ishgardian-based manufactory/charity FC Tag: Website: http://bellworks.enjin.com Contacts: Eliane Dufresne, Martiallais Heuloix, Gwenneth Gilrouis, Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn Housing: Ul'dah Branch Office -- Goblet Ward 8, Plot 51, Southeastern Subdivision

[align=center]Recruitment is once again OPEN![/align] It's an exciting time for Eorzea. Now on the cusp of industrialization, the city-states have the potential to prosper as never before; to meet Garlemald and Sharlayan as equals; to no longer need fear the lost horrors of Mhach and Allag. But in order to reach our potential, we need to work together -- no matter who we are and where we're from. No effort is too small. Join us and we can help forge a brighter path for the entirety of the Eorzean Alliance. Welcome to the Dufresne Bellworks, a charitable business based in Ishgard and operating throughout Eorzea to ring in a brighter tomorrow. If you're new here and wish to know more, here is a detailed description of who and what were are both IC and OOC. If you're interested in applying to the Bellworks, please consider reading about the application process, and then feel free to submit an application by clicking that "Recruitment" menu button, or by following this link!

Garlemald is huge and most legions are actually busy with their own duties stationned in all its regions as far as I know. But they sure probably can afford to send more than the first time. That's what this specific line seemed to hint at to my eyes. IIRC there's something to this. I think it was suggested in the MSQ around about the time Yugiri showed up that Garlemald had been pretty over-extended, similar to late Rome, and that they were starting to have difficulty maintaining control within their own borders when the war of succession hit. That's in part why Doma tried to revolt -- it didn't last long, but apparently there was enough of a gap that they made the attempt anyway. I'm pretty sure Gaius' legion really was all they could spare. (But he was doing his own thing anyway, right?)

The sense I got was that Papalymo was "dead" the way Louisoix was "dead"...and that maybe he'll now be a shade-thing wandering around in the new moon, that we'll eventually have to fight for tears and sads. I think it was Yda who said, "he knows what that spell entails"...so I kind of got the sense it was more/worse than death. Still, I was pretty impressed with the storyline so far. I'm REALLY interested to see how Garlemald reacts to all this. I felt they communicated the empire's power really well with the spider scene...it helped remind us that they're terrifying, and they're huge for a reason (Garlemald, I mean, but also spiders). On the topic of hamfistedness... >.< I'm still facepalming that Ishgard both a: apparently feels bad for being isolationist, and B: hasn't even recovered from the Dragonsong War but is now loyally marching off to defend their new best friends. I expected it, and I'm sure they have to do it for gameplay reasons, but oy.

Eliane had spent the better portion of the day bustling between the kitchen and the tent. Sometimes she helped with the cooking; sometimes she fussed with the decorating; and sometimes she had to be gently reminded that micro-managing was a bad thing. Running a tight ship was habitual for her, but she had to admit they were right. This wasn't just her ship, after all, and she had no right to plow over everything now. But it was more than just that. Starlight was her favorite holiday, and she believed wholeheartedly in the spirit of it. Last cycle, she had walked down to the Knight determined to feed the Brume with just herself and a few knights. Instead, she found more willing hands than she ever could have hoped for. But this cycle...this cycle was beyond her wildest dreams. Now everyone could be treated as nobles for a day, or at least close to it. She wanted to make it as close as possible. Martiallais' words still echoed in her head, and she'd been unable to shake the guilt from a few nights prior, when he pointed out how much food went to waste at the holiday feasts of nobles. That was normal for her, or normal enough she'd never once given it a second thought. And now...well, now she had to make up for it all the more. Of course, that meant somehow having to one up THIS banquet even more next cycle... Still, the lady took a step back and grinned, hoping she hadn't gotten in the huntress' way too much. She took one last look over the grounds and gave a satisfied nod. It was going to be a perfect night. She couldn't wait to see who all showed up.

Please note that due to a recent influx of applicants, we've had to temporarily close recruitment so that all the new members have time to settle in. Thank you everyone for your overwhelming interest! We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to be able to re-open soon. Stay tuned!

We recently redecorated our FC house, and now we're appropriately fancy! A huge thanks to our stunning designer, Edda Eglantine, and to everyone who's donated their private rooms to help make our house a little bigger! Here's just a few of the lovely places we have to RP in now: