Relay Ruckus - Part 1

As the moons rose high in the sky, Lunerestians poured into the coliseum, practically filling the grandstands to maximum capacity. They'd witnessed so many thrilling tournament matches thus far - and were hungry for more! Eagerly, more and more eyes set upon the arena, as a clear, silvery voice rang out across the loudspeakers:

“Welcome back, everyxyn, to our very first… Moonsoath Tournament!”

The crowd buzzed with energy. No matter how many events had taken place so far, the announcer maintained their infectious enthusiasm. What would they see next? A show of strength? A battle of wits?

“Did you all enjoy a nice break? Is everyone settled? Remember, if you need to hold any emergency meetings, I hope you've finished by now, or you'll be missing out!” A handful of xyns and xynlets scrambled off, their vacant seats quickly taken by their fellow audience members.

“This is your last chance before we begin!” the announcer called again, and began mentally counting down from ten.

But not even three seconds in, they changed their mind. “Alright!”

Right on cue, spotlights shone down upon the playing field, revealing an expansive race track etched into the ground with shimmering, magical chalk. There were two wide lanes, perfect for accommodating even the biggest vexyn.

“Let’s kick off this part of the Tournament with a good ol’ fashioned relay race! Introducing our competitors…”

The torches by the north entrance tunnel roared to life, their light revealing two silhouettes - one tall and spiky, the other small and fluffy.

“From the Diva Team, we have the strong and silent type, Lance from Moonreach!”

The Vexyn stood tall, looking slowly around before giving a light bow. Their unusual appearance would surely spook some xyns; keeping that in mind, they’d try not to make any sudden movements. (At least until the race began - then it was fair game.)

“From the Aces Team, we've got the ever cheerful, Crowe! …Also from Moonreach!”

Crowe padded out of the tunnel and smiled brightly at the crowd. There was a spring in his step - Maybe it’d be his lucky day! When the cheering eased up, he looked up at Lance, who glanced down with a considerable tilt of their head. Unable to contain their excitement, Crowe pawed at the ground a few times in anticipation.

“Hi! Let's have a fun match out there!” Crowe chirped.

“Mmhmm.” Lance nodded simply. “Let's do our best.”

The two opponents headed over to their starting positions, Lance on the inner lane and Crowe on the outer lane. When they arrived, the spotlights on them smoothly faded out.

“These two will be starting us off, racing from here to our next set of opponents! Let's go meet them!”

The south entrance tunnel lit up like its counterpart, revealing a sleek black and blue moxyn, and a stocky orange and green moxyn.

“From the Heartsong Isles, representing Team Divas, is the one, the only, breaker of hearts and records alike…”

A grin illuminated the darkness, as the shadowy figure emerged from the tunnel to thunderous applause.

“LIIIIIIRRR!!!”

Lir took a deep breath, flipped his hair and cast a lazy glance at the crowd, grinning at the resounding cheers and wolf-whistles. That's right - this was his stage. Some of the xyns in the audience were so charmed that they even dropped their popcorn! Behind him, Lir's opponent patiently awaited his turn to be introduced. After quite some time, the cheering calmed down enough for the announcer to continue.

“Also from the Heartsong Isles, competing for Team Aces, is the fiery star in the night, whose every move commands awe!”

The moxyn strode out into the arena with powerful, purposeful steps. The light danced across the metal sashes on his chest, and the jade gemstones embedded in his body.

“KIIIIRRRAAA!!”

The audience erupted in applause, with plenty of cheers and shouts from xyns who knew the Fighter Knight well. Others were stunned. Hadn't Kira competed in two other events already? How was he still standing?!

Lir and Kira headed to their starting positions, perfectly in sync. To any and all onlookers, it only served to ramp up their excitement. It was a treat to see them so determined!

Lir playfully nudged Kira. “I'm not gonna hold back, even if we all know how this ends.”

Kira grinned. “That's what I'm talking about. Bring it on!”

“Lance and Crowe will be tagging Lir and Kira to continue the second leg of the relay race! And now, last but not least, our third and final set of competitors…”

Two figures appeared on either side of the arena, one an ethereal pearl white, and the other a passionate coral red.

“Hailing from Valorise, honouring a long line of vexyn knights, is an upcoming scout who has equal brains and beauty! The final member of Team Divas!”

She wore an ambiguous expression, before smiling demurely to tremendous applause.

“DAAAAPHNE!”

On the other side of the arena, her opponent, the much-smaller moxyn blinked in disbelief. She'd known Daphne was popular, but… this was almost ridiculous. Maybe all that boasting actually had some merit to it, after all.

“Competing against the ice queen is a fellow knight hopeful, the child of minor nobility from Pixiehome! The trump card of Team Aces!”

They stood still for a moment. So they know about me?

With a soft sigh, she entered the arena.

“ROOOSALIA!”

The crowd continued cheering and clapping even after Rosalia arrived at her starting position. Was it really such a big deal to everyone? Then looking to her right, she realised why. Towering beside her, almost entirely blocking her from the view of half the audience, was Daphne.

“Of these two, the ice queen and the starry princess, who will reign supreme?!”

The vexyn cast a sweetly smug smirk at Rosalia, who returned it with a steely gaze. It was clear the two of them thought the same thing:

I will.