Rite I
Choose Your Foil
Select from seven heraldic disciplines: wit, rhyme, chess, charades, riddle, sketch, or bluff. Each wields a different edge.
01
Crossed Swords
Chess Knight
Shield Crest
BBATTL
An Old-World Dueling Society
Est. MDCCLXIV
Duelling Quill
Crown
Laurel Wreath
Descend into the hive
The Gauntlet Is Cast
Within our dimly lit parlour, disputes of whimsy are settled not by brute force but by artful duel. Choose thy weapon, thy pseudonym, thy rousing battle-cry. The society awaits another foolhardy sparring guest.
Rite II
Summon A Rival
Cast a gauntlet toward a friend, a stranger, or the society's wandering phantom. Replies arrive within the quarter-hour.
02
Rite III
Enter The Parlour
The curtain rises upon a velvet room. Spectators hush. The master of ceremonies lights the brass sconces.
03
Rite IV
Volley & Riposte
Three exchanges decide the round. Each volley is weighed by the silver-tongued adjudicators, ancient and fond of drama.
04
Rite V
Claim Thy Spoil
Victors receive honey — literal and figurative. Trophies, sonnets, and the singular right to nickname their opponent.
05
Rite VI
Retire In Pomp
Bow deeply. Accept applause. The parlour remembers every clever flourish — for future legends are stitched from these nights.
06
Rite VII
Return Again
The hive hums louder each visit. Regulars gain a petal in the nav rosette and whisper-access to the secret salons.
07
Interlude
“A duel of wits is the highest form of affection, and the hive knows this better than anyone.”
— Madame Orelia, Master of CeremoniesInside the Honeyed Arena
Peer into the cells and catch our contestants mid-flourish. Hover to strip the duotone and see them in true color, as they truly appear under the chandelier's swaying glow.
Duel 37
Sabre in Starlight
Duel 41
Knight's Conundrum
Duel 44
Inked Ripostes
Duel 48
Riddle of the Hive
Duel 52
Masque of Whispers
Duel 56
Lantern Vigil
Duel 61
The Sealed Accord
Voices from the Velvet Room
“ I arrived a quiet librarian. Seven duels later, I am known throughout the hive as The Indexer of Witticisms. My marginalia has admirers. ”
“ My rival called me a fraud — in iambic pentameter, no less. I replied in a villanelle. The adjudicator wept. We are now betrothed. ”
“ I popped eighteen bubbles before I noticed the clock had turned past dawn. An evening at BBATTL is not measured in hours but in flourishes. ”
Raise the Gauntlet
The hive opens its cells at dusk on Thursdays. Claim a seat at the velvet table, choose a rival, and commit to a single night of exquisitely theatrical mischief.