The time was midnight. The place was the chroma dome, in Wonambi, City of Darkness, City of Magic. A few thousand mages were perched on the edges of their seats, arrayed in tiered rings around the transparent dome. Brilliant aether-powered lights shone down from the ceiling of the cavernous space, illuminating the hexagonal field with minimal shadows. The audience was loud, wild, and ready to see thall's preferred contenders demolish the competition.
"And now!" the voice of the lead commentator boomed from all corners. "We introduce today's players! Coming in first is the Shadow Runners! Chain, give us a rundown on the Shadow Runners' current lineup." The chroma dome's lead commentator for the current season was Junok Sa, a recently retired player and a very popular personality both on the field and off.
Chain was a seer with an eye for detail and a head for statistics. "In the lead we have Mendy She, a solid tactician and great fielder. She's followed by Byter He, Vines Jur, Patch Ra, Dmeer Dro and powerhouse kicker Ruins Sa. A solid team, but without the sheer wildness of some. Patch was new to the team in this second half of the season, but appears to be doing an admirable job of holding everyone together so far."
"Much better than old Meryl did. Big shame how jur went out," Junok put in. As sa spoke, the six Shadow Runners took up positions in their sector of the field. Each differed from the others in size and shape, but thall were united in their sleek uniforms, which were patterned matte black and grey. A small beast with a long snout trundled behind Byter He, bristling with spines and antennae. It was augmented with a heavy metal frame, and parts of its innards glowed with their own aetherial light.
"I'm not so sure of the usefulness of their dark outfits on the brown field," put in the third member of the commentary crew, Hornn Ra. "But the player to really watch out for tonight is Byter, and he's quill-pug. It's sure to wreak havok on the other mascots and could seriously affect the field state."
"That's right, Hornn," Junok said. "And now, the second team are appearing! Put your hands together for Baking Time!"
The crowd cheered as Baking Time ran onto the field, but not as loudly as for the Shadow Runners.
"Here you see Dalan She, formerly of Fallen Brick, with Loopy He right on she's heels. What can you tell us about Loopy, Chain?"
"Well, Junok, Loopy is known for hex work of very high precision. Watch out for some remarkably effective kicks and throws, not just from the team's octoling mascot, but from all the players, thanks to the magically enhanced gear of Dalan's design, all hexed by Loopy. Supporting thall is Leefi Jur, Oscar Ra and Crimp Dro, and here's the team's bright gem: Loafr Sa!"
Loafr had waited a few extra seconds before jogging onto the field, but sa's long stride quickly put sa in front of the pack. Sa waved an armour-clad arm at the crowd to much applause. The armour was so heavy that magical assistance was required to move it effectively.
"Everyone likes Loafr, not just for sa's winning smile, but also sa's winning throws, which have contributed to no less than four upsets in past seasons," Chain said as Baking Time took up thall's positions. "But that may not be enough to slow down this next team."
"That's right, now we're seeing an old favourite: Utter Chaos!" Junok announced as seven dazzlingly coloured figures burst onto the field. "What can you tell us, Chain?"
"Not a lot, and that's by design. Utter Chaos make themselves extremely difficult to tell apart. I'm not even sure which one's the mascot! But somewhere in that mess of spots and stripes is Neato She, Onlif He, Dainy Jur, Tight Ra, Rokkk Dro and Jumps Sa."
"Plus the mascot, Flail," Chain added. "For a creature which mostly serves as a distraction, it has blocked a surprisingly high number of otherwise-scoring points. Rokkk is a solid kicker and Jumps is one of best evasive movers. But don't waste your time trying to track who is who! Thall are great at mimicking one another and can easily switch places in the chaos thall generate."
"But I'm sure the audience knows all this," Hornn added. "The next team is another solid contender who are less widely known. Glorious Feint had some surprising wins last season, but thall weren't so well known before then."
"Absolutely, Hornn," Junok said. "Here we've got Leada She, Matrik He, Ibolt Jur, Blood Ra, Shove Dro, and Uturn Sa. What stands out about this team, Chain?"
"On the field, Uturn and Shove are reasonably impressive in thall's own right, though neither is a game-changing standout. No, the critical member of Glorious Feint is the carer, Blood. Ra is responsible for raising the athleticism of each team member on all counts, through some quite impressive concoctions."
"It's great to see carers getting the recognition rall deserve," Hornn Ra put in.
"And none of it would be possible without Uturn's mastery of ball control and Leada's often surprising schemes," Junok quickly countered. "Matrik is no slouch at hexing either. That hovering demon mascot puts in a lot of work. Now, the fifth team is coming out. Chain, tell us who we have here."
"Sure, Junok, this is the Mighty Honks!" Chain announced as the white-feathered team waddled into view. She paused for a few seconds to let the crowd finish a raucous honking chant. "In the lead we have the crafty Oseen She, followed by Ginnn He, Peeps Jur, Meeps Ra, Fling Dro, and Ttttt Sa!"
"Thall may look silly, but this team has bite," Junok said, chuckling.
"And big guns," said Hornn.
"Big honking guns, capable of launching a ball at speeds which were exhaustively proven to not be capable of damaging the dome. There was some controversy last year, particulary after the Pure Terror incident. Now, thall are back as wacky and quacky as ever!"
"That's ducks. The Mighty Honks' theme is geese. Not ducks," Hornn said rather impatiently.
"Do you hear that in the stands? No quacking!" Junok said rather loudly, earning sa a loud quacking chant from the section of the audience who were not Mighty Honks fans. It was met with significant honking in response.
Five out of six segments of the field now contained players. Some were exchanging quiet words, others were checking over gear. Many were posturing for thall's fans in the stands, and the rest were silently staring down their opponents.
"And there's one more team left to introduce before kickoff!" Junok said before the audience could lose any of their energy. "Hornn, want to take this one?"
"Certainly," Hornn said with utmost professionalism. "Here's a darling team that was not expected to have lasted so long with so many unknowns and newcomers. Give it up for Cheesy Goodness!"
Intense cheers flooded out of the crowd like water from a breached dam.
"The lineup, Chain?" Junok prompted when there was next a chance of anyone hearing.
"Pulling together this amazing team is one old hand, Swipe She! On the opposite end of the experience spectrum is newcomer Drift He, who's put in some mystifying work. Scaff Jur is a former small-timer who's done far better with this new crew. Broth Ra is a relative newcomer who's as good at tending goal as ra is to tending to the team's injures. Punnt Dro actually left the sport three years ago, and is making a far better showing after being coaxed back!"
The five players strode onto the field in their rudimentary yellow-painted armour. A small winged creature hung from one's left arm. Swipe looked proud to be there, while the others seemed to be stuck in expressions of disbelief at their own presence.
"That's right!" Junok cut in. "And finally, I present to you the new big name in chroma, the startingly effective newcomer, the one and only Railer: Skids Sa!"