Two armies, resplendent in medieval plate-like armour, size up each other on the outskirts of a NSW state forest, waiting for the order to charge.
The tension is broken momentarily by the ding of a 14th century knight's smartphone, which he had neglected to put on silent.
The charge begins, and the resulting melee of 300 armoured fighters would look like chaos to the untrained eye, but re-enactors from the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) never lose sight of their team members.
Each side wears unique heraldry — the medieval use of art on armour and clothing to distinguish individuals or armies from each other.
And creating modern heraldry is a big deal for those who take part in re-enacting medieval battles — but that does not mean it is taken very seriously.
All puns intended
Bart Beswick, or Ysambart Courtain to give him his full medieval name, is the Baron of Politarchopolis, the SCA's Canberra branch, and said their heraldry created the kind of infamy dads all over the world sought.
"The point of heraldry is to be remembered and be distinct, and jokes are a great way to do that because people have that little pun-sparked groan which is a type of fame that we enjoy," he said.
His group's heraldry features a burly griffin, as in Walter Burley Griffin, on a field of red tape, their home city's main export.
University of Sydney historian John Gagne said medieval European heraldry used jokes, puns and references to bring joy, just like the pun-heavy Politarchopolis heraldry.
"I think it's really charming, it's very much in the spirit about keeping this pursuit alive," Dr Gagne said.
"That's very much respecting the idea of what heraldry has always tried to do and if it makes people smile and it brings a bit of brightness to people's lives, I think that's terrific."
Dr Gagne said modern pun-inspired heraldry followed a rich tradition of what is known as canting arms, which is a practice where a noble family's heraldry features imagery that sounds like the family's literal name.
For example, a noble family named Cockburn might have a picture of a rooster, or a family whose name sounds like "pig" might have a boar on its heraldry.
But there's one northern Italian family that Dr Gagne said takes the cake for distinctive heraldry.
"My favourite that I tell my students about is the Colleoni family, which is similar to the Italian word for testicles," he said.
"So, the emblem for that family is a bunch of scrotums that look like inverted commas.
"You can see them all over the town of Bergamo where that family was very powerful in the 14th and 15th centuries."
Other Australian city-based groups have clues and references to their homes in their heraldry.
The Barony of Mordenvale, also known as Newcastle, has ships on its heraldry, while the Barony of Aneala is in Perth, so its heraldry features black swans, and because the Barony of Stormhold is in Melbourne, its heraldry and name reflect Melbourne's famous weather.
Wagga Wagga SCA president Paul Willis, also known as Master James Douglas, puts his personal heraldry on everything, which is both decorative and practical at tournaments.
"It goes on everything, I've got pewter badges I've made that reflect my heraldry," he said.
"When I'm at a tournament and I'm fighting, I can go, 'My heraldry is on my box, go over there and grab it for me'.
"If someone is helping me, they can go over and grab it, and if they ask, 'What does your heraldry look like?' I can say, 'Look at my shield'."
Mr Beswick said his heraldry hobby was ultimately about having a good lark.
"You can be serious, or you can have fun with heraldry," he said.
"Why not have fun?"