The 261st National Trianarö Spearfighting Contest

7th of Xenimatö, 0 BBT, hour 15
The Aldran Stadium on Pastö

Penma sat in a small platform overlooking a massive crowd of 300,000, people who had paid a premium to be one of the people physically there- Some were so high up that they would be watching the match on screens anyways. Penma hadn’t understood this when she was younger, but as her brother had once assured her, "It’s about being there. Now, 10 years later, she was there. And it was stunning.

She did not have to be there- She didn’t go her first year as Imperö. But she was here now, and she knew she’d be there again in another two years. The atmosphere was one of sheer, utter excitement, as the large crowd prepared for the matches to begin.

But first, Penma was to make an announcement. She signaled to her guard on the platform to get started. He told the control center that it was time, and the screens around the stadium began to tell people to quiet down. After she could hear nobody, she began to speak into a microphone, which amplified her voice across the stadium with speakers.

"Trianarö! Welcome to the 261st Biannual Spearfighting contest! This tradition was started around 500 years after the formation of our nation, to celebrate our victories against demons during the Xanstal War. Some may wonder- why spears? Why not a sword or another type of weapon- and it’s for a simple reason- spears were the first weapon. Before archers, swordsmen, musketeers and atomic era infantry, there was the humble spear. A simple weapon- but one that fell great beasts, propelled nearly every army in early history, and still survives today in the form of the bayonet. The spear is a weapon I can assure you, every species watching this- even those outside of our nation- one of your ancestors held it. And so we continue that tradition today, to honor our ancestors who lived by the spear. However… we do not plan on killing anybody today. This sport, as the Trianarö watching will know, has some basic rules. "

On all of the screens, including home screens, popups with a humanoid set of armor with glowing points on it. “This is a version of the armor spearfighters will wear- for humans, this particular one is. The rules are simple; someone who accumulated 10 points of damage on their armor loses the match. To score a point of damage on the armor, you hit it with a part of the spear.”

Penma got up and grabbed a spear from under her chair.

“Hitting the opponent’s body with the shaft of the spear will net you 1 point of damage on them- but hitting their head will give you 2 points.” She demonstrated mock versions of both of these moves with trained precision.

She continued. "With the tip of the spear, hitting them in the arms, legs, and, for Sycriûns, tail, will net you 2 points of damage. Hitting the stomach or most of the chest will give you 3. But hitting the head, or over the the heart with the very tip…

She performed these last two moves at once, lingering over her guard’s heart with the blunt spear.

“Will net you an instant 10 points of damage. Additionally, hitting in the waist area, or in the neck will get you a foul. Fouls will allow the fighter who was fouled to recuperate after if they are harmed, and forces the fighter who fouled to stand still for 3 seconds when the match restarts. A player fouling repeatedly will be disqualified. Lastly, if the opponent is unable to get up or move at any point in the match, the victory will go to the other fighter- but if this is caused by a foul, the fouling fighter will be disqualified.”

She brought the spear in a standing position, like a soldier holding their weapon upright. “Without further ado, let the games… begin!”

As she said begin, she pointed her spear to the sky, and two military aircraft flew at extreme speeds overhead, leaving a trail of white in their wake. The crowd cheered- this was also tradition, and the crowd loved it.

“The first match… Nasaö Mannal versus Zuxam Bresnö!”

And with that, the cameras faded off of Penma, and the two fighters came onto the grounds…

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Nasaö was a Mekanakûl- A human brain of Hemmerhaldian origin, transported into a mechanical body. For this fight, of course, she was in a “Regulation body” with roughly the same strength and agility as a human’s. She stayed in regulation most of the time- Getting transported to a new body is a rather long and disorienting surgery, and she was one of the masters of the sport- all of her opponents were. The top 16 in a nation of trillions. She battled a lot, and having a surgery every time she needed to would be superfluous. She stood, at the ready, in her quarters, alone. When the Imperö called her name, she walked out, calmly, with her spear and its red tip. Her opponent was Zuxam Bresnö, a Sycriûn from Kûl-Vagrö. Defying the steriotype of Sycriûn as brutes that was still somewhat common in places in Hemmerhaldian space, he stood almost serenely calm, like a member of the TIF, at the ready, waiting for his orders. This did not surprise her- Fighting at such a level meant that all of the brutes who just wanted to hit people (from every species in Trianar) had already been knocked down a peg, and either relinquished their habits or dropped out of the sport. She could already tell that there would be no fouls.

The announcer- A Sycriûn female (whose voice was deeper than most human males’) announced the match’s start. "Let the Games begin: Karn, Malga, Ûraifa!

The words she spoke were the words that started every spearfighting match, from casual, to training, to professional. They meant Power, Wisdom, and Ingenuity. The creed of Ikaranara- The lessons taught by Ikarn, Narûs, and Ranaras respectively. At each word, they went into a different stance. At Karn, a high, agressive stance. At Malga, an inward, ceremonial stance, and at Ûraifa, their beginning stance. Without another word, the two of them sprang into action.

Many thought spearfighting matches were inherently unfair. Humans, Mekanakûl, and Kanareö were restricted to strength that could not overpower the Sycriûn, But what fighters learned early on was that, in one-on-one fights, strength was not the only equation: agility was a factor too. And Sycriûn, while having above average running speed, were not exactly agile. Nasaö had fought many Sycriûn and won. Of course, her opponent had fought many Mekanakûl and won, so it wasn’t necessarily a clean sweep on either side.

Necessarily being the operative word.

Her opponent was a poised professional, and charged at her with unrelenting speed. But Nasaö was quicker as she stepped to the side. Of course, Bresnö had not committed to such an attack- it was a test- and he turned to meet her, blocking her quick jab. She pushed back, just out of reach of his returning attack. She still lacked initiative- but that mattered little. Her style was defensive, and any mistake- even innocuous ones- she would use against her enemy. For almost two seconds, neither of them moved- but Bresnö moved again, more tentatively. Nasaö kept her ground. When he got close, she jabbed, and, predictably, was blocked, but she stepped to the side once again, and she jabbed, and, as Bresnö went to block, there was a slight urgency, causing his angle to be off. This allowed her to push back and disarm him, and in a quick motion, strike the helmet on his head. 10 points of damage. Instant victory.

The crowd roared at the victory. As she and her opponent bowed to each other, the announcer spoke again. "The winner is… Nasaö Mannal! She would have sighed if she was capable of it. The match wasn’t long, only about 40 seconds, but it was 40 seconds of intense combat, where any mistake could have meant defeat. But victory was hers. And she knew that her future matches would be more taxing. Still, she had not gotten out in the first match- and she felt this gave her the confidence that she would stay in for a while more.

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Nasaö’s emotions could not be considered “elation” at her first victory- but they were positive. Many of the people in this stadium would have only kept up with the spearfighting in their region- the sheer scale of Trianar demanded it. This would be many of their first introductions to her- and it was with a 10 point instant victory. She, after bowing to her opponent out of respect, returned to her seat, separated from the main crowd. The next match was announced by the Sycriûn announcer. "Next up; Lerasa Almarinia vs. Ansan Altrasnö.

She watched, and she saw a formidable opponent.

(this was a reminder that this topic is still alive.)

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