The Venerate Order

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Strafe

It was time for Brave Ball. We had to pull one of the dishwashers from the tent to fill in for Zon. From what they told me about Brave-Ball, it was a very fast-moving game. Each team needed at least two people to play a position, in case of injury or the starting player needing a break.

I sloshed through the muddy field toward Captain Cali. It was overcast, but not bad enough to cloud our vision or so slippery we'd lose our balance. The field was pretty torn up from the many practices that had been held throughout the week. It was shared by all the visiting teams. The King's Royal team had a private practice field.

Captain Cali was standing next to a woman, who was also dressed in pirate attire. They walked back and forth in front of us, sizing us up.

"Alright ye dogs, listen up. Due to a few scallywags getting in trouble with the lovely law enforcement in the city, we picked up a few other players to help stop us from totally getting our arses kicked. This is Roya and Strafe! Welcome them like they be ye new family or I'll be cuttin' ye balls and tits off! Hahaha!" Captain Cali instructed.

"HO HUM!" the team chanted in unison.

"WOO HOO!!" I cheered back.

The team was a mix of men and women. Brave-Ball at one time had been just a gentleman's game but as of ten years ago, they allowed intramural play. We had an 11:7, men-to-women ratio on the team, one of the highest in the tournament.

Brave-Ball was played on an amazing field very similar to American Football, but with a twist. It was one hundred yards long and fifty yards wide, like Football, and had an Endzone which they called the "BraveDown." The ball was either run in or a player could catch the Brave-Ball and land in the BraveDown. There were also three Floating Goals above the BraveDown that any player could kick the ball into to score three points. Apparently the Goals were designed after Violet pedals, taking after the Royal family's lineage. The Goals were fairly big and lined up in a trio next to each other floating about twenty feet in the air.

There was a risk-reward associated with each Rose Goal or BraveDown as the ball was turned over to the defending team regardless of a score or a miss while in the "BraveDown Zone," as it was called. That way the defending team had a chance to recover. If a Goal was scored, the offensive team could kick an extra-point kick for one point into the middle Goal or go for two points. The two-point play ended the second an incompletion occurred or the ball was intercepted. Extra-point kicks had a higher percentage of success but the two-point play was there in case a team needed to catch up. The fans would sit in the stands that surrounded the field, with the most expensive seats near the Goals as they were closest to the action.

In Brave-Ball, the positions were called Masterback, Forwards, and Guards. The Masterback was the captain of the team and the most important position on the field as only the Masterback could throw the ball forward. Everyone could pass the ball backward and laterally. The Masterback called all the plays as well. Unlike American Football, the game of Brave-Ball didn't stop until someone scored. So whenever the ball was recovered the Guards and Forwards would try to get the ball back to the Masterback as soon as possible.

The Guards were the players who caught the ball. There were four of them on the field and had specific lengths of the field to cover. There were three Guard players who were called "Wings" and had a specific part of the field to run depending on how quick they were. The last Guard was called the "Dodger" and they were second in command. Most of the time they would stay near the Masterback to protect them but could also be used in short-yardage situations. Whenever the ball was turned over or when the opponent had the ball the Guards would all play defensively against the same position they played offensively.