Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 56: Frail Illusions of Harmony - Part 1

The drums begin pounding again, shifting their focus to a wide, open area free of palm trees. Following the crowd, some people assist Aurea by carrying the torches for her cold, and they make their way to a sandy field.

The court is bordered with stones to mark the boundaries, divided by a 15-foot-tall basalt wall with holes carved into it. Along the width and height of the wall, about 20 evenly spaced holes are cut, each holding an unlit torch. There is a platform with stairs at each corner of the rectangular court, and a fifth platform at one end of the wall of torches.

Encompassing the entire area are wide, stair-like seating structures, covered with awnings made from the same dyed fabrics as their clothing, where citizens gather to watch. At the far end of the seating wall is a raised, ornate pavilion, likely meant for Adelina to watch when she is present, although she is nowhere in sight.

As they search for a place to sit, especially with the torches for Aurea, an Urushian comes up to them. "Her Brilliance insists her honored guests watch from her deck, if you'd follow me."

Aurea raises her hands and gently shakes her head in decline. "Oh no, we couldn't. We appreciate the offer, but we won't impose on her perch. We can find a seat."

"Her Brilliance had a feeling you'd say that. She usually sits to watch with His Mightiness during the Grateful Flame tournament, so that leaves her pavilion free for you for the best viewing." Gesturing toward the volcano, the trio can barely make out a balcony near the peak. "Unless any of you were wanting to play?"

"Play?" Tessa appears curious about the idea.

"How could we even play? I've never even heard of it, let alone play," Mordecai retorts.

"Once the preliminaries are over, then there might be a team willing to teach you?" the usher suggests.

"I'd love to try! I used to watch these games as a kid," Tessa chimes in eagerly.

Mordecai isn't very enthusiastic, mostly because he doesn't know much about the game and wants to keep a low profile. But it would help take Tessa's mind off Elek. "Alright, I guess, as long as I get a chance to learn the rules."

Aurea is also hesitant. "I suppose I can try."

The usher smiles and then guides them to the pavilion. With plenty of space, Aurea can sit comfortably with the torches around her. Mordecai sits on the steps, probably to get a better view of the game, while Tessa takes a cushion to sit with him on the steps.

As the drums sound again and the crowd cheers, two groups of four people walk toward the court in matching uniforms: short, baggy pants tightened just above the knees, with women wearing sleeveless, cropped tops secured around the neck and waist. The teams consist of men and women, mostly bearing Fire markings, while those with markings of other elements wear hand and foot guards made from Adelina's feathers. Each team takes one side of the court, and they start stretching before the game begins.

"Alright, so the goal of Pyrecrosse is to light the most out of the 20 torches with the shuttlecock in three 10-minute rounds, best 2 out of 3 wins the game. If you let the shuttlecock hit the ground, the team that fumbles has their last lit torch extinguished." Tessa begins to explain.

"That seems simple enough," Aurea comments.

"As a whole, yes, it's just the wall that makes things tricky. The only gaps from which to see the other team are where the torches are, and even then, it becomes harder once they're lit. With the wall, players only have a moment to react to the shuttlecock coming toward their side and plan their next move."

More people ascended to the platforms, proctors of the game with horns made of boar tusks. Each one in the four corners carries a long staff extending well past their own height and the platform's, with what appears to be a bell hanging from the tip. At the fifth platform, a man carries what appears to be a small plume of Adelina's feathers in a medal cup and an hourglass.

An extended hook extends from the cup, which the man quickly grabs and pulls, causing the feathers' plume to spin and rise. The bulb at the bottom sparks and ignites, and the heated air lifts the shuttle higher. Right after, the hourglass is flipped to time the round.

The players watch the shuttle intensely as it begins to descend, ready to jump into action. A breeze catches it and pushes it toward one side of the court. One player leaps, twists, and lifts his leg to kick with the top of his foot, sending it through one of the mid-level gaps, immediately igniting the torch as it passes. The kick has just enough momentum to complete a backflip, with his knees digging into the sand, and he quickly gets back on his feet to face the wall and wait.

"There is no way I can do that. That would be my back, my spine would snap in two!" Mordecai quietly comments with a groan in his tone, imagining what would happen if that were to happen, and Tessa lets out a chuckle.

A player from the opposing team, positioned further away and using feather guards, blocks the shuttle with the back of her hand, causing it to fall. She then starts to juggle it with her feet. With each kick to regain momentum, she sends the shuttle toward a waiting teammate, who swings a wide and fast kick, sending it through another mid-height torch.

"Using just their feet? But she used her hand earlier..." Mordecai mutters to himself.

"Hands are for defense, feet for offense, swapping gets you a foul, which is a free kick for the opposite team. That's why they have so many eyes watching."

Another block and repositioning, a torch from the lowest row is lit, the opposite front player dives with his hand to save it; the shuttle sinks into the sand and extinguishes just past a stone line a couple of feet from the wall's base.

The center observer raises his horn to signal a pause in the game. One of the Fire players, the still-hot shuttle insignificant to them, picks up the shuttle by the feathers and brushes off the bulb before tossing it to the center proctor.

"What's the purpose of the line?" Aurea asks.

"If you want to light the bottom torches, the shuttle has to be able to pass the line. Anywhere before it, the kickers lose a torch. It went past, so it's a torch from the receiving team."

"What about the outer lines?" Mordecai points to the border stones.

"It's the receiving team's job to keep the shuttle within bounds, so it would be their penalty."

As the penalized team steps aside, one of the pole bearers tilts their staff forward to reach, and the bell extinguishes the team's last earned torch.

The shuttle is reignited and launched back into the air, and the game resumes. For the rest of the round, several volleys are played, each lasting at least five volleys before a penalty or foul occurs.

From their perspective, it's hard to tell which team lit what torch. But for the watchful proctors, they unanimously agree the score is 9 to 6.

Mordecai is impressed that they were able to keep track of the score, but also how well-aimed the shots are, with some pretty small gaps to aim for.

"The twins would love this game, Neterion especially."

"Definitely, he'd be a great kicker player." Aurea agrees.

In the next round, the first only looked like a warm-up. The players appear to be taking shots more quickly and holding onto the shuttle for less time than in the previous round.

"Looks like they're finding a rhythm?" Aurea asks.

"In the first round, the entire team has a maximum of five contacts, hands and feet, with the shuttlecock to get it to the other team. Each round, that count goes down by one. If they go over, it's a foul."

"Geez, doesn't give you a lot of time to think," Mordecai grumbles.

"That's the challenge of it, Fire folk aren't afraid of a little pressure." Tessa chuckles.

Volley after volley, with the common signal of a horn indicating a penalty, the round ends 7 to 4, concluding the game after two rounds due to the losing team taking one too many risky low shots and failing to clear the line.