The Inferno Slayer: Book Two- Charm

FOUR: Magykball

Sam recovered three hours later, and he was in the middle of free period. He took the chance to roam the grounds.

As Cormac had explained- he had an older brother- there was only one purely magical sport played at the school. It was called Magykball, a sport played with long, slender sticks, rubbed with sandpaper and customized for each player. It was a free-for-all, the only teams being the Branches. Sometimes they would play it between themselves, but the sport was played everywhere in the magical world, a common sport like hunting or fishing. More for enjoyment, mostly, but Sam got the idea.

The game was played by hitting a round, aerodynamic ball with the flat sticks called Flatters, smacking it in a choice of three places. A hoop at the end of the playing field, at an opponent player, or to a teammate. If you made it into the hoop, it was a point for your team. If you hit an opponent on a certain spot on his back, they had to freeze in place for three whole minutes if not officially unfrozen. If they moved, the other team would be awarded a free shot at the hoop from only ten yards away. This was called a Flagshot. The actual game lasted an hour, with a ten minute break after the first thirty minutes.
If you hit it at a teammate, they could receive it and hit it to another, or take a shot at the goal. If you hit it at an opponent, but missed the Backspot, they were open to steal the Magykball from you. If you hit a frozen teammate's Backspot, you unfroze them automatically.

There were three main positions on each team. The Flyer, who went after the ball and tried to score in the hoop, the Blocker, who deflected and stopped the ball from entering the hoop, and the Hitter, who passed the ball to other teammates and hit opponents' Backspots. They all tried to defend the Blocker's Hoop whenever possible, but naturally leaned towards their position jobs.

All four Branches played together, in a circular field. The Hoops were spread out at regular intervals, almost like a compass, with the Hoops marking the cardinal points. Each was close to the others at the about same distance.

There were, in total, forty players on the field. On each team, ten. Games were played only between one Year. So Sam would not be playing a team of Kaine Third Years. Four Hitters, one Blocker, and five Flyers.
At the school, there were about twenty in a Year per Branch, so eighty per Year in all the Branches. Then there were six Years, so four hundred and eighty total students. There were eighty students in the Missions Year currently, but they did not have time to play Magykball at the school.

The players rode on flying circular boards powered by magical energy. They were called Energizers. They were designed specifically for each player, not for the team, like the Flatters. The players' feet were shackled to the Energizers, and the Energizers were controlled by many ways. To accelerate, the player needed to lean forward, and to stop, to bend their knees. To go backwards, they needed to lean backwards, and to go higher or lower, they needed to pull their feet in that direction. So, to descend, they needed to stomp their weight downwards, and lessen the weight to rise.

The hoops were twenty yards in the air, supported by metal poles. The Circle, as the field was called, was five hundred feet in diameter. In the center of the field, a referee would launch the Magykball into the air, and the game would begin.

The rules were simple: you could not openly use a show of force on any opponent or referee, or you could possibly be ejected from the game with no substitution. Only "using your bodily space" was appropriate, meaning shoulder on shoulder or blocking their path with your body was all right.
The uniforms were intricate. For Romulan, a deep royal blue cloak, with silver writing. You had a number on the back, with your name. ROMULAN was spelled out on the front, with the Romulan symbol etched underneath: a streaking arrow, plunging through a silver moon in a royal blue sky, with no stars.
The numbers were not lucky numbers- they were according to your position. If you were the Blocker, you would be one. Left side Hitter was two. Left Flyer was five. So the right side Flyer was the number ten, being the last player on the team.
The captain of the team was awarded a band with the Crest of their Branch engraved on it, and in this case, it was blue and silver. The band went on their left arm, just under the shoulder.
All four captains met in the middle of the playing field and swore the Magykball Oath, to never cheat under any circumstances. Ambrose could just as easily bind them by magic, but preferred to trust the students, and if they did break the oath, to punish them afterwards. So far, it was the only non-magical part of the school and its students.