Heroic Jousting Steeds

"All of the best games I watched as a kid were the jousting matches. The big, dreamy warriors all wielding lances. Do love a good lance. Hell, its where I figured out how I wanted to fight. Cavalry, all day. Just, not on a horse. I prefer griffins. Much more fun,"

- Vivien Grace, during the Lyonese Jousting Championship

Lyonese is known for their celebrations and festivals. Their culture is built upon revelry and having fun. Naturally, sporting is a great aspect of their livelihood. With the advancements of Graceswift's armour, so too came the sense of combat in sports, especially involving standard weapons. The 'impenetrable' plate armour found from the region's capital is rarely damaged by thrusting weapons. Spears, javelins, as well as lances, are considered useless in fights against these sets of armour. It cannot pierce the metal on the chest-plate of the armour, making it great for sparring and light-hearted duels.

With the growth of cavalry in Graceswift, thanks to more trading routes being formed between the four courts, so too did sports taking place on horseback within Lyonese. Horseracing was the first of these sports, but was often considered boring. With the thought of duelling, the high-pace actions of a horse were able to parallel with the adrenaline given with a duel. Thus, the idea of jousting had been formed in Graceswift. Using the heavy armour, and a training lance, opposing forces would meet to clash their weapons in what was known as a joust.

As a single opposition sport, jousting had become very popular across Celibrig, being renowned as a perfect sport for the commonfolk and the nobles. Lyonese is known for being very fluid with their entertainment, between the classes. Theatres are in open fields, often taking the environment and weather into consideration for the performances. The same can be said about jousting, to many's dismay, especially from Colmar, a place known for having great differences in quality of life. Jousting should not be much of an important aspect to life in Colmar, thanks to the dreary swamps, making it near impossible to have proper contests involving horseback riding. Strangely enough though, they find the concept of shared entertainment as strange and bizarre.

Originally, unicorns were able to be used as steeds during these events, but after a royal knight had been flung from their horse, and impaled by the magic horn of the unicorn, they have been banned from all games, both organised by the Courts, the Kingdom, or by private owners. The horn of a unicorn can pierce through any sort of armour. This was already a rare occurence, for a unicorn to be involved with jousting - due to being exceptionally rare creatures.

Nicknamed as Heroic Jousting Steeds, named after the steed of Syr Herous. Herous was an old member of the Syrs of Graceswift, known for being a cavalry soldier who came from Terio, before it's takeover by Pirates. During one of the first games of jousting, Herous' armour shattered, and a fragment of metal had been lodged in his chest. His steed, Honourable Steed Hirkes, had charged the wounded man far away, to his nearby home, in order to treat his wound with . This action saw acclaim to jousting as an honourable sport, thanks to the bond between the steed and the rider. 
 
Despite it's relevance in the current day of Graceswift, often found at all festivals and parties, none of the Seven Princesses of the Grace family tree have shown any relative interest in the sport. Vivien Grace is an exception. She finds the idea of jousting interesting, but has a lack of interest with horses. Using the Ashen Griffin, a great beast, Vivien would be more inclined towards aerial duels. 
 
Much like unicorns, Ashen Griffins are considered as foul play to being used in jousting events due to their wings, as well as having horns themselves. Whilst they are not as dangerously sharp as a unicorn's, the horns have been able to pierce through stone and metal before. Regardless on boasting the mutation of a horn, the Griffin's physical strength is not to be considered anything short of extremely dangerous. 

Horses are often bred under the hope of raising a potential jousting horse. The main goals are speed and endurance. In order to participate, a horse must wear the same colour of armour that their rider's court symbolises. 

Traditionally, jousting is done in a friendly manner, involving only lances. However, on the battlefield, lone cavalry units have been recorded to engage in duels, due to the shared history. A form of honour can be found, even upon the battlefield. Much dirtier tactics are often used here, such as targeting the horses, which is now seen as an act of cowardice. Also, other weapons may be used, outside of the tradition's roots. Lances are the only legal weapon for horseback use in jousting, whereas any weapon is acceptable on the battlefield.