Summer Games ( II )

Rhea, Year 817 of Avia, Day 226; 19:30

Two thousand seven hundred and sixty-three competitors stood in the valley, awaiting the game to start. Electric spotlights turned on as the sky grew darker, illuminating the stadium.

“Our first game will be a race, but with a twist.”

Icarum smiled. It looked like Khal and Connor were right. Running and flying wasn’t his strong suit, but after exercising for years in an environment with cold, thin air, he was sure that he’d built up his endurance pretty well.

Besides, there was no way that they’d eliminate more than ninety percent of the competition right off the bat. A few days ago, Khal had mentioned that there were many different games, so as long as Icarum stayed in the top fifty percent of the group, he figured he’d be fine.

Drakos, the announcer, pointed at a small entrance to a cave on the eastern side of the stadium. It was located between two tall structures that seated thousands of spectators each. It couldn’t have been more than ten meters wide.

“All of you competitors will make it through an obstacle course inside that cave designed by our captains.”

He chuckled. “But here’s the catch: after finishing the course, you’ll have to do it again and again until there are only one thousand of you left.”

“Which begs the question, how do you get eliminated? If another competitor passes you while being one lap ahead, your jumpsuit will glow red, and your Summer Games will be over.”

“Oh, and one more thing- you are not permitted to use magic directly against other competitors. If you do, our game overseers will disqualify you.”

Drakos turned to the audience. “Each jumpsuit is equipped with a gadget that our engineers have recently developed. It’s called a camera. We will project every competitor’s video onto glass screens in the air so you can watch the action from your seats.”

The crowd erupted into noise, clamoring with excitement. Drakos looked back down at the competitors. “What are you waiting for?”

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19:40

It took Noah less than a second to realize that the race had already started. While the first-years were listening to the rules, dozens of second-years had already pounced forward, making their way to the caves as fast as they could.

He smiled. This was his game; as a Robin with a wind affinity, he clearly had the advantage. Which unfortunately also meant that he should expect handicaps in that cave.

Many competitors leaped into the air, but Noah immediately deduced that this was a mistake. When he had first reached the surface of the valley, the first thing he noticed was the wind. It blew to the west, in the opposite direction of the cave. The wind also seemed to be stronger the farther up in the air you went.

Noah bolted forward, using his fast-moving legs to catch up to the second-years. Without a second thought, he leaped into the dark cave and extended his wings to slow down his fall.

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Khal groaned. He’d slimmed down recently to prepare for the games, but he hated tests of endurance. He squinted ahead. It looked like the cave was around one hundred meters away. If he ran there, it’d probably take around twenty seconds. If he fell behind here, he’d probably have a hard time catching up later. He didn’t want to get caught up in the huge crowd behind him, especially since the entrance to the cave was so narrow.

Khal mustered up his energy and sprinted as fast as he could. He managed to stay ahead of most of the competition, panting heavily when he reached the cave.

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19:42

The cave was pitch black, and it was nearly impossible to determine which way to go. Carla tried to feel out her surroundings, but the cold rocks gave her no clues. She could hear the shouts of competitors behind her, trying to make their way through the narrow cavern.

Damn it, Carla thought. I really didn’t want to use it this early.

She emitted heat from her hands, creating a glowing dim red light. Carla was hesitant on using it because it’d help her competitors just as much as it helped her, but she had no choice. Without a light source, she wasn’t getting anywhere. The cavern went deeper and deeper, with frequent potholes and sharp stalagmites ready to impale anyone who wasn’t careful.

It was impossible to speed through this part of the obstacle course without sustaining some sort of injury. She decided to take it slow, rationalizing that if she got hurt here, she wouldn’t be able to finish the race anyway.

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19:43

Icarum smirked. The dark cave was the ideal condition for him: it was full of Shadow Aviales, which made his power stronger, and it was hard for anyone to see exactly what his power was.

Icarum kept a couple of glowing purple feathers under his sleeve. He pulled one out and felt its texture to determine exactly which feather it was. He threw it at a nearby rock, summoning a bird with purple eyes out of the shadows. If there was enough light, someone would notice something strikingly unpleasant about the bird’s appearance. Its head was covered in dried-up blood, with a tiny hole above its eyebrow.

Show me the way, Icarum commanded. Holding the bird’s foot with his pinky, Icarum jogged forward in the darkness, avoiding any traps that came his way.

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19:45

Mia shivered in the cold as she descended into the cavern, slowly taking a step at a time. She was one of the last competitors to make it down, so she knew she needed to hurry up, but the screams of others in pain scared her. She took a deep breath and stretched out her wings, hovering slightly above the ground. They emitted a faint pink light, which Mia used to scout out her surroundings.

She could see a bright yellow light in the distance and began to approach it, finally realizing the direction she was supposed to move in.

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19:51

Ilina opened her eyes and glanced around. She was standing on top of a cliff in a blue cavern, with a large lake below her. It seemed as if she had completed the first stage of the obstacle course.

She eyed the ceiling, but it looked too dangerous to fly close to. There were obvious poisonous dart traps stationed on the walls, and huge gusts of winds made it difficult to navigate in the air. Still, she noticed one competitor choosing to fly nonetheless as if he was challenging the captains themselves.

He had huge, strong wings, and answered every brush of wind with a force of his own. With one flap, he could send any darts flying his way into a different direction.

Ilina smiled. Undoubtedly, it was the Eagle. To her disappointment, she didn’t have the time to admire another competitor’s extravagant attempt at breaking the system. She dived into the water, swimming as fast as she could to the other side.

It looked like she was at the very front of the competition; she could only see around six other competitors in the water, with a couple more about to enter. She decided not to expend too much energy on the first round. There wasn’t any point in exhausting oneself and being the one to eliminate other competitors.

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19:52

Before diving into the water, Noah carefully examined what the other competitors were doing. Some were trying to hover above the water with their wings, but the occasional breeze blew them backward. The swimmers definitely had the advantage here, but Noah knew he couldn’t swim a kilometer quickly enough. Even if he made it to the end in good time, he’d be too tired to keep going.

He closed his eyes and muttered a few words.

Wind, grant me your power. Grant me your speed.

A white mist began to appear in front of Noah’s eyes, and the gusts of wind knocking other competitors around seemed to materialize. He could see tiny specks of wind aviales across the cavern, and he waited for the perfect chance to jump forward.

Now. The gusts of wind ceased to blow for one second, and Noah seized the opportunity. With a flap of his wings, Noah generated enough wind to propel him forward dozens of meters, dodging darts from side to side. The wind returned, but Noah could predict it with ease. He was already familiar with the patterns that the wind blew.

From their sharp changes in direction, he deduced that the huge gusts of wind were not natural, but magically developed by the creators of the obstacle course. As a result, they only moved in certain ways, and as long as Noah kept his eyes peeled, he’d be able to fly through with no problem.

Up, Down, Down, Up, Left, Left, Right. He soared through the air using a flight path that only he could see. He was so focused on dodging that he didn’t even notice that he’d passed the Eagle, who trudged forward by deflecting any attack that came his way.

Before any of the swimmers could reach the end of the pond, Noah had already left the blue cavern, making his way to the next stage of the course.

Noah slid down a slippery rock and landed on a mix of gravel and sand. Although he was wearing shoes, he could feel heat radiating from the ground, threatening to burn his body if he stayed too long. The cavern he found himself in was brightly lit by molten magma dripping from the walls. He was careful not to touch anything and retracted his flammable wings.

After only a few seconds, Noah was sweating buckets. He took a deep breath and forced one foot in front of the other. At first, Noah thought this test would come down to speed, but he quickly realized that it came down to endurance. One step in here was much more difficult than the hundred-meter sprint from the stadium to the cavern.

He could hear the heavy pants of other competitors behind him. It sounded like they were also having trouble adjusting to the excruciatingly high temperature here. Noah gritted his teeth. Thousands of people were watching him at this very moment, curious to see how he’d make it through this challenge. His sister was probably staring intently at the screens in the stadium, believing in him. He couldn’t let her down.

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20:05

Mia reached the bright yellow light at the end of the dark cavern, curious to discover the source. It seemed to come directly from someone’s heart. She tapped them on the shoulder.

An exasperated Asterum turned around and looked at Mia without saying a word. Although working with others in this race was technically allowed, there was rarely a reason to do so. Nobody wanted to reveal their power in detail, and having a teammate in a contest of speed and endurance was more of a liability than a benefit.

Without any other options, Mia decided to stay next to Asterum as they trudged together towards the blue cavern up ahead.

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20:11

Icarum swam across the pond with much difficulty. He never really trained in the water, and he had to rely largely on his brother’s swimming lessons from six years ago. He was tempted to summon some other animal with a feather, but there were too many people nearby.

Icarum figured that he was still in the top fifty percent of the pack, so there wasn’t a point in revealing his power so early on in the Games. With a soaking wet jumpsuit, he made his way to the next stage of the obstacle course.

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20:20

He could see the end. Noah squinted upwards. He was standing at the bottom of a hole, one that presumably reached the surface. One final push and he would be the first to complete the obstacle course. He flew up with all his strength, his mind clouded by the heat of the previous stage.

Suddenly, a sharp pain sprouted out from Noah’s leg, and he returned to his senses. A dart had embedded himself deep into his skin, and Noah could feel his body become numb. He dropped back to the floor with a thud, his hand outstretched towards the light above him.

The next five minutes passed by with a blur. He saw a couple of competitors pass him by, not paying any attention to him lying motionless on the floor. He could no longer move his arms or legs, but his mind was still active.

Stupid, he thought. I’m such an idiot.

Noah couldn’t believe that he’d fallen for such a predictable trap. Of course flying up towards the surface wouldn’t be so easy. Going straight up without expecting anything was a recipe for failure.

As Noah started to give up and succumbed to his fate, a burning sensation started to build up where his leg was hit by the dart. Soon enough, he could feel the rest of his body, although not as well as before. It seemed that the dart that hit him included some poison for paralysis, but thankfully, it didn’t last that long.

Noah was given a second chance. He flapped his wings and jumped up with caution, glancing left and right before flying upwards.

There.

The dart traps were well camouflaged but still visible. Unlike the brownish-grey hue of most stones, the dart traps were much darker with a hint of purple on their sides. Noah carefully flew around the traps, keeping his hands on the wall so that he could pounce to the other side at any moment if necessary.

The moment Noah reached the top, he was greeted with loud cheers from every direction. He crawled to his feet and wobbled across the stadium.

“Our sixth finish, Noah!” Drakos hollered. “Now that you’ve finished your lap, it’s time for another!”

Noah’s entire body ached, but he knew the race wasn’t over yet. He raised a hand to wave and smiled, knowing that his sister was watching from afar. With a renewed spirit filled with determination, Noah quickly jogged back into the dark cavern, looking to stay at the front of the pack.

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21:12

Every remaining competitor received a telepathic notice marking the end of the first game.

“If you are still inside the obstacle course, please return to the surface. All traps have been disabled.”

Many breathed sighs of relief. Noah stopped himself from descending into the dark cavern for the sixth time. He walked back towards the center of the stadium and collapsed down onto his knees. He laid down, unable to move his legs due to exhaustion. The adrenaline rush that had kept him going for so long had finally run out.

One by one, Icarum, Khal, Carla, and Mia made their way to Noah and sat down next to him. They were all out of breath, unable to start a conversation.

Khal threw off his mask and said the first word. “We all made it?”

Everyone nodded and followed his lead. “Any longer and I wouldn’t have,” Mia whispered, losing her voice. “While swimming in that pond, I could see the Eagle flying in the air. The competitors behind me all got eliminated, and then the game ended.”

“I seriously think I got nine hundredth ninety-ninth place or something,” she added.

Icarum laughed softly. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t that much more in front of you. I barely reached that hot volcanic area when the game ended.”

The group looked over at Carla, curious to find out where she ended up, but she was already passed out on the ground.

“Congratulations to all of the thousand competitors who made it to the next round!” Drakos shouted in a loud, booming voice. “The Summer Games will resume tomorrow night. I’ll see you then!”

He swiftly flew across the stadium after finishing his job. The spectators gave one final cheer in support of the competitors and prepared to leave as well.

Icarum and the rest of his group were left laying on the ground, trying to recover from their exhaustion. After what seemed like thirty minutes, they lifted themselves onto their feet and made their way to the cafeteria, hoping to retain the little energy and motivation they had left.