Gwenneth

Our deepest thanks to those of you who came out to support the Tournament this year, whether you were spectating or participating directly! You are the reason we do this, and it’s for you that we’ll continue striving for an improved experience each and every year: For Eorzea, for the Fury, and for our community. Thank you, everyone, sincerely. <3

Teadrinker, The ball is going to be moved back a week to the 9th, in order to give everyone a chance to recover after the excitement of the tournament! Date aside, it will be running until about 11:00 pm EST. Further official details will be released very soon! ~Gwen

Xaela are very much welcome to compete! While we've listed some major locations under which to compete, that bit is entirely optional, and we certainly shan't discourage your character from competing in the name of a home of which they're very fond!

Keiji, Thank you for the great questions! I'll take a look for the specifics on that Jousting ruling, and one of us will get back to you as soon as possible! As for your second question: You can compete in all four events if you choose to, since this year they're all on different days!

A reminder that registration for this year's Tournament is now open! Instructions on how to register for an event -- or events! -- can be found here.

This Sunday~

It's time, everyone! We're incredibly excited for this year's Tournament after how, well, grand things were last year! We hope to see you on the fields and in the lists!

((Very much looking forward to the next! For those who weren't able to make the first, it really was wonderful, and the participation from those in attendance made it that much more so.))

So very, very excited for this~!

(( In an effort to make sure we reach a broader portion of our RP community, I'm copying the original announcement for the Fourth Ishgardian Colloquy over from Tumblr! )) [align=center] [/align] [align=center][/align] [align=center]Distributed alongside the Third Colloquy notes in the Crozier, the Forgotten Knights, and other areas of high traffic… a very minimalist flyer, with naught beneath the woodcut illustration but the time and place for those who yet wish to debate Ishgard’s future to attend. [align=left](( The Fourth Colloquy will not be late after all! Please join us Saturday, September 3, at 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (6:00 PM PDT) for in-character debate on the political, religious, and social future of Ishgard, open to all who are interested! We will once again be using the basement of the house at Lavender Beds, Ward 10, Plot 27 to represent a rented conference room in the Pillars. The event will at last be set after all the cutscenes and associated governmental reforms of Patch 3.3. Therefore we will naturally be discussing all the spoilers that entails! If you would like your character to give a short speech, please contact me before the event, at @eggplant-squire / @hasty-touch, through @ardently-faithful, or in-game on Rosaire Ledigne. Please feel free to make use of the IC summary of the Third Colloquy to help your character prepare. We’ll be trying to enforce loose time limits a little better than last time. Please aim to keep speeches <= 15 minutes, and please trying to avoid standing up to address the assembly more than once if others are waiting for their first turn. I will look to be moving things towards a close around 11:00 PM EDT (or earlier if people have no more comments to make) but you may linger and speak further if you wish. This will most likely be the last Colloquy of Ishgard hosted, in-character, by Rosaire Ledigne. However, if someone would like to take the reins and continue the event series, I will of course be overjoyed to provide OOC support! And finally, please don’t forget that you may still submit feedback and suggestions via Tumblr or this Google form. Thank you so much for your support and interest, and see you soon!! ))[/align] [/align]

[align=center](( In an effort to make sure we reach a broader portion of our RP community, I'm copying the original announcement for the Third Ishgardian Colloquy over from Tumblr! )) [/align] [align=center]Distributed alongside the Second Colloquy notes in the Crozier, the Forgotten Knight, and other areas of high traffic:[/align] [align=center]Children of Ishgard, and her dear friends: the moons turn, and our city stands on the threshhold of an unborn age, full of hope and yet contention;[/align] [align=center]and so I pray you will heed the calls for empathy and understanding and once more join us in discussion of the form we wish this age to take.[/align] [align=center]And may it pass that, through examination of our plaints and disagreements, our common goals may be unearthed, for love for country does not divide us.[/align] [align=center]------------------------------------------------------[/align] (( A date and time for the Third Colloquy has been selected! Please join us Saturday, August 13, at 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (2:00 PM PDT) for in-character debate on the political, religious, and social future of Ishgard, open to all who are interested! In accordance with feedback received, we will once more be using the basement of Lavender Beds, Ward 10, Plot 27 to represent a rented conference room in the Pillars, and the event will be set, in terms of IC timeline, after the Final Steps of Faith but before the full implementation of the reforms shown in the final 3.3 cutscenes. Major spoilers will necessarily be discussed! If you would like your character to give a short speech, please contact me before the event, at @eggplant-squire / @hasty-touch, through @ardently-faithful, or in-game on Rosaire Ledigne. This time around, there is an in-character summary of the Second Colloquy available for you to use as inspiration if you wish to pre-write some words for your character to say. Although we will not yet enforcing strict time limits, in the interest of giving more people a chance to be heard, I will try this time to ask you to keep your prewritten speeches <= about 15 minutes, and then I’ll plan to follow each speech with an open discussion of about the same span of time. After all (any?) prewritten speeches are given, we’ll have loosely-moderated open discussion until 7:00 PM EDT or until people have no more comments to make! Please do note that it is not too late to submit your feedback and thoughts regarding this Colloquy of Ishgard event series, either through the usual channels or this little Google Form I made. I am always eager for input and criticism, so please don’t be shy!! And once more, thank you so much for your continued and kind interest! ))

Goodness, things have been busy for the Bellworks! A little over a week ago, we had the honor of hosting a Grand Charity Ball as a follow-up to our tournament series, and we couldn't have been happier to see so many people present and enjoying themselves! [align=center]http://66.media.tumblr.com/6ce3069b007abcf0442efcc9a9e679a4/tumblr_oaf4qxX1Sc1ti4i0uo1_1280.jpg[/img][/align] I wish I had time to take more screenshots myself, but special thanks to Jancis for getting some excellent shots! They can be seen here! We would also like to welcome our newest members: Malliri Veinwright, Percevains Valeroyant, and Wu'rexa Norh! While we've two larger events behind us, our cogs won't stop turning anytime soon. Be on the lookout for our employees as we begin an earnest relief effort in Ishgard, continued supply runs out of our Coerthan and Ul'dahn offices, and at assorted public functions!

Ladies and gentlemen, Tomorrow evening, at 7:00 PM EST on the 9th of July, House Dufresne and its Bellworks, and House Pepin with its beauteous greenhouses and warm hospitality open the doors for the Grand Tournament of the Fury Charity Ball, that we might celebrate our championed unity and a brighter future for Ishgard and Eorzea! As a reminder, this will be ICly hosted at the House Pepin Greenhouses, though we will be using the Sanctum of the Twelve as its in-game representation. We ask that you please ignore any standing water and rain! Raffle Prizes and Programme The Charity Ball Master Post has been updated with a list of our prize-sets for raffle, as well as a rough timeline for the evening’s proceedings! We highly suggest that you acquaint yourself with the rules of the raffle in the Master Post beforehand, to make things easier for both our guests and staff tomorrow evening. Dancers’ Pool Pre-Registration As is also detailed in the Master Post, there are periods of the evening where we will happily pair you with a random partner for a dance, so as to help you meet someone new, or simply to add some flavour to your evening! Pre-registration for the Dancer’s Pool is now open! If you will be present for the first arranged dance at 7:30 and wish to be randomly paired with a partner, please send a message to Reima with your character’s name. Please do not pre-register if you cannot commit to attending! This is to ensure no one is left without a partner, and we thank you for the consideration! Remember: In order to keep our guests comfortable, if there is a person or persons you would not like to be paired with for any reason, and you feel they may be in the Pool, please be sure to let us know privately. While the dance is for socialization, we understand that there may be certain individuals whom you have an OOC or IC grievance with and wish to avoid in order for you both to enjoy yourselves. If you are leaving the ball, please inform one of the Floor Managers so that we can remove you from the Dancers’ Pool! This is to keep things running smoothly for both the guests and staff, and ensure no one is left without a partner! Your floor mananagers for the evening will be: Gwenneth Gilrouis Eliane Dufresne Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn Brave Horizon Martiallais Heuloix Once again, we hope to see you in attendance for a night of merriment, for it is our greatest pleasure to have you as our guests!

For anyone who feels they may be a little shy or anxious on the evening of the Ball, or needs help breaking the ice at the event, I highly recommend checking out this post: http://oschon-scholar.tumblr.com/post/146958537458/grand-tournament-ball-buddy-system Cyril is sweet, funny, and easy to talk to, so if you find yourself needing good company or a little extra support that night, you should definitely get in touch!