The Scrimmage is the process by which the next Underlord or Underqueen is chosen by the London syndicate upon the death of the current ruler and their mollisher supreme.
Description[]
The scrimmage is based on the medieval art of mêlée. Mime-lords, mime-queens, and their mollishers fight in close combat in a "Rose Ring," which is an enduring symbol of clairvoyance. Each of the combatants fights for his- or herself, but a mollisher may work with his or her mime-lord or mime-queen at any time during the battle. The scrimmage allows for unlimited use of an individual's clairvoyance. The last candidate standing is declared the winner and is presented with the ceremonial crown.
When there are only two combatants left in the Rose Ring, and they are not a mime-lord or mime-queen and mollisher duo, they must do battle to the death in order for a final victor to be declared. Only by using the a specific invocation can a combatant end the last fight without bloodshed. They must say, "In the name of the æther, I [name or alias], yield." Once this invocation is spoken, the other party is automatically declared the victor. This rule was introduced by the Golden Baroness, the first Underqueen.
Custom dictates that each participant in the scrimmage choose three flowers to send to Grub Street with their application for the scrimmage. They still use the language of flowers as a tribute to the first Underlord's mollisher, the anthomancer Madge Blevins. Most include begonia, which means "a warning." It is also traditional for participants to display the colors of their auras, with the mollishers adopting their mime-lord's hue. The same psychopomp has been present at every scrimmage since the first one. After the final round it escorts the vanquished candidate's spirit to the last light. It's a final kindness from the syndicate.
Using amaurotic tactics to end any of the battles is called a "rotten ploy." At one point it was forbidden, but nowadays it's perfectly acceptable so long as it's done with enough flair. No firearms are permitted. The rules state that the aim is to stun, but there are always deaths during a scrimmage. Axinomancers, macharomancers, and aichmomancers are particularly brutal due to their numa.[1]
The History of the Great Syndicate of London: Volumes 1-3 tells the history of the syndicate and the scrimmage. The first scrimmage occurred in 1976 when the first Underlord, Tom Merritt, and his mollisher were both killed in a freak accident. The Golden Baroness won that first scrimmage and became the first Underqueen. There have since been two other scrimmages. The fourth scrimmage is held on November 1, 2059.
The Mime Order[]
After the death of Haymarket Hector and his gang the Underbodies, the fourth ever scrimmage is held. Minty Wolfson is the Mistress of Ceremonies. Twenty-four combatants battle for control of the London syndicate. One of those combatants is Paige Mahoney. There are many people conspiring against her, all under the leadership of the Rag and Bone Man and the Abbess.
Paige ends up facing off against her mentor and mime-lord Jaxon Hall. In order to beat him, she throws herself into his dreamscape and fights her way through his specters to get to his sunlit zone. She manages to take possession of his body and make it speak the words of surrender, with his spirit fighting her for every inch, furiously howling about how ungrateful she is for betraying him and how she would be nothing without him. Paige suffers multiple injuries during the scrimmage, but manages to hold on long enough to win.
After beating Jaxon, Paige is crowned as the youngest Underqueen in the history of London. Her coronation is even more sensational when she follows this up by exposing the Rag and Bone Man's betrayal and the gray market. She also introduces the Ranthen to the syndicate and declares war on Scion.
Combatants[]
- Redcap
- Jack Hickathrift
- The Glym Lord
- The Wicked Lady
- The White Binder
- The Pale Dreamer
- Black Moth
- The Hare
- The Greene Manne
- Jenny Greenteeth
- The May Fool
- The Wretched Sylph
- Bramble Briar
- The Faerie Queene
- Faceless
- The Swan Knight
- The Bully-Rook
- The London Particular
- Bloody Knuckles
- Halfpenny
- The Highwayman
- Ark Ruffian
- The Knife-Grinder
- The Maverick Medium
- The Bleeding Heart
Trivia[]
- The History of the Great Syndicate of London: Volume 3 was published in 2045.
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