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Hellooo, everybody! Yesterday was the release of The Savior's Champion, and holy shit!
You guys were so amazing and supportive. I—I can't even wrap my head around it. Thank you to everyone
who pre-ordered. Thank you to everyone who ordered on the release date itself. And of course,
thank you to everyone who attended my live stream. I am both extremely grateful and very,
very tired. And if you haven't heard, I am now hosting another giveaway. The presale giveaway
was so popular, I decided to create the release week giveaway. It started yesterday, and ends on
Sunday, April 29. If you order The Savior's Champion in any format and on any platform,
be sure to fill out the giveaway application listed below. One lucky winner is going to walk
away with a bonus grand prize package. Anywho, onto today's topic. The Savior's Champion follows
a thirty day gladiatorial style tournament called The Sovereign's Tournament, and you guys wanted
to hear more about it. Can’t say I blame you! I'm breaking down the top five things you wanna know
about The Sovereign's Tournament. Some of this is explained in TSC. Some of this is alluded to. And
some of this is brand new information. Number One (1): History. How did The Sovereign’s Tournament
begin? The very first tournament was created for Ceres, the first Savior of Thessen. Centuries ago,
Thessen was in a state of turmoil. The realm was polluted, the earth was dying, and the people were
sick with a plague. On top of that they were at war with neighboring realms, and basically
everything had gone to shit. Then Ceres was born, a magical baby who glowed in the sunlight,
and according to legend, her birth purified and cleansed the land of decay and disease. Because
of this, the people began to worship her as a gift from their god. They made her both their
queen as well as a holy deity. But when she came of age, the people realized there wasn't
really anyone on her level for her to marry. Shit was still contentious with neighboring realms,
so marriage alliances were not on the table. And seeing as The Savior was this nonhuman,
magical child of god, simply marrying her off to nobility didn't really make sense. So they decided
to create a tournament where men killed each other to prove their worthiness to her. Logic. But back
in these days, it actually made sense. Violence was the norm in Thessen, so being a formidable
warrior meant you were the man. The tournament was super simple. The twenty finest warriors
in the realm competed in an arena, gladiator style. The last man standing married Ceres,
he was crowned Sovereign of Thessen, and thus The Sovereign’s Tournament was born. Number Two (2):
Evolution. How did the tournament change over time? The Savior’s lineage has been in power
for centuries, so shit has changed a lot since the first tournament. The tournament became
an expectation. People got excited for it, which turned it into a spectator sport. Because of this,
several pretty drastic changes were made over time. First off, the tournament is no longer a
one day arena battle. Instead, it takes place over an entire month. This allows the palace to prolong
the theatrics to create a huge spectacle over the proceedings. In turn, the economy flourishes.
People from all over travel to experience the tournament, which means money pouring into lodges,
shops, inns, watering holes. The second big change is that the men are no longer tasked with simply
killing each other. They're tasked with surviving obstacles. We all know how fun it is to watch men
beat the shit out of each other, but people crave variety. Thus, the labyrinth was created,
an underground obstacle course that pits men against magic. The point is no longer to kill each
other. Instead, the men are tasked with executing specific challenges. Some of these challenges do
pit the men against each other, but most are about strength, and strategy, and surviving
outside influences. Like fighting against beasts, or racing against time. This ups the intrigue.
It makes each tournament unique, because each one presents new deadly challenges. It also increases
loyalty to the crown because it's a lot harder to win The Sovereign's Tournament, making the
champion seem like a god among men. The third big change is the competitors. At the beginning,
only warriors could enter the tournament. Now the tournament takes in a variety of men,
regardless of their fighting prowess. It might sound like this change was for the better,
that they realized a warrior wasn't necessarily the best fit for power. But you're giving Thessen
too much credit. This, like the other changes, was part of the spectacle. The variety of men matches
the variety of challenges, which makes for a much more entertaining experience. And ultimately, it
doesn't completely matter who wins the tournament because The Savior is supposed to be in charge
of Thessen, not The Sovereign. On a similar note, the fourth big change is how the competitors
are presented. The men are divided into four categories. The Savants, The Stalwarts, The Lords
and The Beasts. And each man is given a laurel, which is a nickname of sorts, like The Artist or
The Shepherd. This change makes the tournament a lot easier for the people to follow because
it's easier to remember typecasts, as opposed to actual people. It also dehumanizes the men,
making their inevitable deaths more entertaining and less saddening. Gotta love Thessen. The last
big change is the most controversial, and that's that now only some tournament events are open to
spectators. You might think that this is an odd change, and a lot of people agree since
the tournament is a spectator sport. But the palace wanted more control over the tournament.
The ability to guide the proceedings as they see fit. Thus, some of the events are open for
public viewing and some are exclusively for a royal audience. For the latter events, all the
happenings are announced to the public each day, sometimes reenacted by actors. So the people are
at least aware of what's going on, or whatever version is being told to them. Number Three (3):
Setup. How does The Sovereign's Tournament currently work? After all those changes, this
is where the tournament is at today. First, a pool is held, where eligible bachelors from Thessen and
afar are free to apply for the tournament. The men are assessed based on their physicality,
appearance, strength, intelligence and a whole bunch of other stuff. And the twenty best are
chosen to compete for a variety of reasons. These twenty men are divided into categories. They're
given their laurels, and they're released into the labyrinth, an underground obstacle course
where the men are expected to brave the dangers presented. At the halfway point of the tournament,
the men are released from the labyrinth into the palace of Thessen. Here they are treated
like royalty. They attend parties as the guests of honor, but between the feasting and dancing, there
are more challenges. These are the challenges that often pit the men against each other, that
encourage them to kill or be killed. The final day of the tournament is called The Commencement. It's
the biggest challenge of them all, and the last man standing is the champion. Number Four (4):
Controversy. What the hell is wrong with The Sovereign's Tournament? Aside from the fact
that men are dying for a woman they don't know? A whole lot, actually. For starters, the tournament
eliminates The Savior's ability to choose her own husband. This might have been cool with Ceres, but
centuries have passed, and society has evolved. What if The Savior doesn't want a tournament? What
if she doesn't want to get married? What if she doesn't even like men? The Sovereign’s Tournament
is the only government practice that is completely out of her domain, and it's for these reasons in
particular. Legend states that The Savior needs to have a baby in order to pass down her magic and
keep the land fruitful. So ultimately, it doesn't matter if she'd rather be single or if she's a
lesbian, Thessen requires sperm. Additionally, as we already covered, a good chunk of the tournament
proceedings are not public, which means the palace can manipulate the events as they please.
If a competitor breaks some of the rules–like, I don't know, killing men at random when they're not
tasked to do so–the spectators will call him out on it. But if there are no spectators, the palace
can just sweep it under the rug if they want to. No one has to know. Needless to say, this makes
things a lot sketchier than they already were. And Number Five (5): Tradition. Why do people love
the tournament? Why do people love anything of entertainment value that has existed for
hundreds of years, despite controversy, scandal and negative implications? Because it's tradition.
Sociologically speaking, people love traditions. They grow up with them, and they become attached
to them. When flaws or problematic traits in a beloved tradition are pointed out, a lot of people
get offended. It's like you're hating on their friend or family. It's hard to destroy a tradition
once it's embedded into a society, especially if they see it as pivotal to their history and
culture. So that's all I got for you today! If you haven't ordered The Savior's Champion yet,
you totally should. It's super awesome, and the person who wrote it is a delight. Also, don't
forget I've got a giveaway going on! If you order TSC during this week and enter my release week
giveaway, you could be walking away with a big old prize package. Don't forget to subscribe to
my channel! I post new videos every day this week. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
the bell’s right there. Ring-a-ding-ding. My book, The Savior's Champion is available for purchase in
ebook and hardback, get it now! All the links are listed below. And be sure to follow me on
social media. I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!