The Venerate Order

by Troy Dukart

  I walked over and sat across from her. I couldn’t help but notice the way she was praying. She placed her hands together and held them over her tilted head. She recited a few words and then rubbed her hands together as if she were brushing something off them. I’d never seen her do that before. “What was that?” I asked.

  “This is what my people do when there is a big challenge set for the day. We pray to our God and ask him to help us for victory. The way we hold our hands helps us focus on our goal and shield our eyes from the things that are not important,” Roya explained.

  “Hmm, I might have to start doing that myself,” I shrugged my shoulders.

  “You know Ren-sha, no?” Roya asked me while chewing her cereal.

  I shook my head no, “That’s Zindaqean?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “Ah,” I acknowledged, “I was baptized in my religion but never got too serious about it. It wasn’t a big part of my bringing-up.”

  “I respect that Strafe-Sah, to each his own. I hope one day that you find it in your heart to pursue your God’s Word. For me, I live everyday with Puja, or daily worship. It has helped to guide me my entire time here in Eternia,” Roya told me, “I pray for many reasons. I can ask Ren to help me with anything Strafe-Sah. Is this not the same with yours?”

  “I guess it’s the same,” I agreed after I got done with a mouth-full of food, “I’ve never really tried, but I admire the peace that it gives you.”

  ”It has helped me through some hard times,” Roya said; she clasped her hands and brought them to her lap.

  She could see I was feeling guilty about last night and grabbed my wrist, “Strafe-Sah, it was my fault. I was selfish. I should have never let you do that to your girlfriend.”

  I shook my head in disagreement, “Roya, I’m gonna fight until the last enemy is defeated to find her and bring her home because I love her but I’ve never felt like this with anyone else than with you. When I kissed you, it helped to erase all the pain, all the blood and killing we’ve been through. I needed to share my pain with someone and you’ve been with me since practically the beginning of this crazy-ass journey. Like I’ve said before, I may act brave but I’m also really scared. I’m scared I’ll never see home again. You helped remind me why I’m doing this. I’m doing this so everyone can know what it’s like to feel loved and free.”

  “Oh Strafe-Sah,” she caressed my hand, “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve had someone share with me.”

  “We could die any second in this war and if I am to die, I want to know that there are those who I would die for. I would die to protect you,” I assured.

  “I would die to protect you too Strafe-Sah,” a tear fell down her check, “That is a beautiful reason to fight. To protect those you love.”

  I looked around to see if anyone was around, and seeing we were alone, “Have you seen Zon lately? It’s been a while since I last saw him.”

  “No I have not Strafe-Sah, I was hoping I wasn’t the only one with worry for him. He told me the day before we practiced that he had something he needed to figure out by himself. It was my fault for not telling you earlier, I’m sorry,” Roya explained.

  “No, no, no, don’t worry about it. He’s stubborn but he’s can definitely handle himself. There really wasn’t anything any of us could’ve said to stop him if that’s what he wanted. I just hope his ass doesn’t get thrown-in jail because we’d have to ask Captain Cali for an even BIGGER favor,” I stated.

  “It would not be challenging for him, he can go through walls Strafe-Sah,” Roya smiled as she pointed a finger towards a wall.

  “Ha, ‘suppose!” I laughed.

  “He didn’t let me channel his energy, so I cannot see his where he is. Wasn’t he supposed to play with us today?” Roya asked me.

  “The show’s gonna go on either way,” I nodded.

  I finished my meal and saw that Rousseau had come down and sat with us.

  “Ready for the big day?!?” he asked as he slapped my back.

  “Ready! I don’t lose twice!” I replied.

  “We need to get on the shuttle in half an hour. We are going to the Royal Stadium to begin the tournament. You haven’t seen Zon have you?” Rousseau asked.

  We explained what we knew; Rousseau didn’t know where he was either.

  “Damnit! What is the man up to?! Aren’t people from Shinjo supposed to be extremely diligent to their duties?” Rousseau grumbled.

  “That is exactly what Zon-Sah is Rousseau-Sah. Whatever he is doing, it is important to him,” Roya said to Rousseau.

  “I guess everyone here has something they’re trying to do, right?” I added.

  “Well, when we win and get to use the airship, he’s gonna be the janitor!” Rousseau joked; we all laughed.

  Brutus came back to join us, he was all dirty from playing with the dogs here.

  “Damn Brutus! It’s like you dyed your hair black! I thought you liked being all white,” Rousseau observed.

  “Speaking of hair color, you should come play. I can see a few grey hairs popping up,” Brutus joked back.

  “Ha! Touché my good wolf! Touché! You best me again!” Rousseau held his arms up.

  “We gotta get going, so hop to it!” Captain Cali commanded us.

  Acrobats were flinging boxes into the back of our Mag-Truck and the gypsies were loading our uniforms and face paint. I noticed Rousseau had put up his hood again before getting into a large Mag-Bus for the players and spectators of the Rodin Pirates. We all boarded and sat down in a seat. Brutus sat by me.

  The drive through the city was quite exciting, as another parade was going on and people were lining the streets. Confetti and balloons were flying through the air as each team drove by. We were all in a bus line to enter the stadium, and we were the last team in. The Royal team was greeting each team at the gateway to the field. There were Knights in armor as well as the regular police everywhere. While the rest of the team was looking through the windows and waving to the fans, I could see Rousseau sitting in his seat cross-armed, trying to hide his face. What happened to you Rousseau?

  When it was our turn to go through security screenings, Charity looked over at Rousseau and the policeman inspecting our individual passes. The Mag-Bus stopped to let on one of the policemen to check IDs. Captain Cali had made us fake ones the night before and gave them to us before we got on the bus. One-by-one he looked at the face of the ID and made sure it matched the face in front of him.

  He eventually got to Rousseau. Rousseau showed the policeman his ID but was stopped for a moment. Charity stepped in front of Rousseau and touched the guard on the arm. After a few words the policeman turned around and he let Rousseau pass. How did she do that? And why is Rousseau taking such a huge risk?

  Right below Castle Bell, down the hill, stood the Royal Brave-Ball Stadium. It was a sight not to be forgotten. The exterior of the stadium was made of complete white marble, like Castle Bell and was decorated in a similar fashion with colored diamonds scattered across the upper wall. It was so massive and imposing that even the architects of the Roman Coliseum would be jealous. There were murals from the history of Yuwheria etched into the sides of the walls and as well as famous Brave-Ball players from across the country. It was oval in shape and probably eight stories tall and almost a quarter mile long. There were hundreds of Yuwherian flags mounted on the top. This stadium sure had gained a lot of history and value for the people of Yuwheria. They should be proud.

  We entered via an underground parking lot. The fans began to disperse after all the other teams were gone.

  ”They’ll learn to love us after we win this tournament,” Charity nodded.

  “Hmm! Did you just read my mind!?” I asked.

  “It’s easy to read ye simple mind Strafe,” she responded.

  “Simple?” I shook my head.

  After the Mag-Bus had parked, we got off and helped unload the supplies. Brutus was in full spirit and was wearing some checkered garb
from the Rodin Pirates. He was going to be our mascot. Brutus seemed to be excited for the day. I helped to bring some uniforms and strategy books to our locker room. We had the longest walk and the smallest locker rooms. Something told me we were getting the short end of the stick. The lockers were dirty with chipped brown paint and the whole place stunk like nasty sweat. The floors were slippery from just being cleaned, which was irritating because they didn’t clean anything else. No matter what the real issue was, it just helped add to my desire to win!

  We got dressed in our uniforms and Captain Cali called us over for a speech before our first game. He looked calm and collect; just the thing I like to see in a coach. We all sat down on the chairs in front of us as he stood in front of a whiteboard. He cleared his throat to begin his speech.

  “Alrighty mateys! We here at last!” he shouted with his arms in the air; we all cheered, “We made it in to the King’s Tournament! This ‘ill be the first and maybe only time for some of ye blokes to shine in the spotlight! For all ye who have been livin’ underwater or under a rock, I’ll explain to ye the way this grand arena works, ahahaha! There be eight teams from across this wonderful land-lobbing country competin’ for the Crown Royal, the trophy that been ‘round for over 500 years! Each team and player name that’d been champion has been engrained into it. So besides winnin’ enough money to stay at the brothel all ye sorry lads could want, ye name will forever be remembered as the ones who kicked everybody’s arse today!”

  “HUUUUUUAAAAAA!!!” everybody chanted.

  “The rules be simple, all we have to do is beat two teams to make it the Championship round. We start against the Tresian Highlanders and take on the winner of between Cladion Gladiators an’ Jenion SilverStones. I’ll be frank with ye and say I’m not surprised the King’s Court didn’ match us up with Castle Bell Royalty in our bracket!”

  “Who’s that?” I whispered to Charity.

  “Who do ye think? They play in the name of the New King!” she whispered back. I nodded and turned back to Captain Cali.

  ”Forget the women, forget the money, except ye three cause we be in a deal,” he pointed to Roya, Rousseau, and I, “forget about all the shit that be goin’ round in the world. Ye want immortality? It be out there boys! MAKE IT YOURS!!!! NOW LET’S DO IT!!! BRING IT IN!!!”

  “YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!” the entire crew shouted.

  The Rodin Pirates had a tradition of bringing their fisted hands together and stacking them on top one another. Captain Cali formed the bottom and we all stacked our hands on top of his.

  ”On three, win! One, two, THREE! WIN!!!” Captain Cali shouted as we joined him.

  “Alright ev’ryone! Get ye uniforms on and let’s get ready for the first game!” Charity told us.

  Chapter 25/

  Let the Games Begin

  Strafe

  There was so much excitement in the air.

  We were one of the first teams to play opening day because we were playing the highest seed in our division. The Tournament was split between two groups of four, and we were in the Violet Division and the other side the Rose Division. The winner of each division would proceed on to play each other in the Grand Finale. Our first game was against the Tresian Highlanders, who were known for their excellent Forwards, Charity told me. They were ranked number two overall in the entire tournament. The odds of us winning were ten to one.

  Our strategy was to bait the Forwards into rushing Charity, which would leave the Goal Zone exposed. Their Guards weren’t that great, so we would have to expose that weakness. We were the underdog in this bout. Whenever people doubted me though, it was the greatest motivation. There was nothing better than showing them they were wrong, not with your words, but with your actions.

  Before the game began, the Highlanders and our team lined up at the middle field and faced the King, who sat high above the crowd in a suite overlooking the entire stadium. It was incredible. The stadium lied on a hill and if you were up here, you could see the entire city and beautiful mountains in the background. This place was a treasure. The King sat up off his chair and began a speech to mark the beginning of the 500th King’s Tournament.

  “Beautiful people of Yuwheria, we have come again!” the people roared as he began, “We have come again to witness valor on the field of play and to honor our ancestors. We have come to witness the rise of a champion! We have come to join in merry festivities! My people! Love the people next to you like they were your brother and sister! Now rise as the Commander of the Royal Guard, Argenta Vero sings our national anthem, This Beautiful Day.’”

  I could hear Rousseau grinding his teeth in anger. He kept his cool though and looked up to the stand. We all stood with our hands folded behind our backs. I hoped that the face paint was enough to disguise him. Walking out on a platform overlooking the entire stadium, a gorgeous woman draped in a white dress with sparkling diamonds approached a microphone. She had short blue hair in a pixie-cut style. The entire crowd was on their feet, waiting in silence for the song to begin.

  She smiled and waved to the people in the stadium. It was hard to believe that she could wear all that armor, she was so slender. She took a deep breath, and began,

  “This beautiful day,

  No greater place to stay

  Than here with you forever,

  With peace for all comes liberty,

  Taught from our forefathers with tranquility,

  Now we honor them by protecting the crown,

  Yuwheria, we love you hands down!”

  She was greeted with a standing ovation. It was quite eloquent. She returned to her seat and King Othen addressed the crowd once more, “Thank you! Thank you so much Commander Vero! What an incredible voice! Now, it is with great privilege to mark the beginning of the games! May we be blessed with great show and valor! Brave-Ballers, begin!”

  Everyone around me, except Rousseau, knelt down on their right knee and bowed to the King, so I did the same. We all got up and then walked over to our sideline. Captain Cali assigned the starting players and second team players. Roya was named as a starter, but to my dismay, I was put on the second string.

  “What the hell?” I mumbled.

  It would’ve been easy to get angry but I remembered a saying Professor Sighter always used to tell me about over-coming adversity. He said, “It is not in times when everything is handed to us that we get respect, but rather when we have to earn it that our best selves awaken.”

  The team joined Charity as I sat on the bench with Brutus. They approached the Brave-Ball station, and with the snap of the King fingers, our team was launched toward the ball and the game began.

  The game was brutal; we traded blow for blow throughout the entire match. Their fabled Forwards really did come as advertised; they were huge men and at times it felt as though they were suffocating our team with their defense. Their uniforms were of checkered shiny gold and white squares. They had a cool lion in front of a mountain for an insignia with a red rose underneath it.

  Toward the end of the second quarter, the game was at 14-13 with our team leading. I was inserted into the lineup to give one of the players a break and it felt amazing. To have so many eyes watching your every movement was incredible. Roya had scored on a pass from Charity in the first quarter and our back-up Masser plugged in another score off a fumble at the beginning of the second. I never knew Roya had such a talent for this game; she demanded double coverage from the opposing Dodger and a Wing. She was so smart and graceful on the field. She had a real knack for it.

  On the very last possession of the second quarter, they managed to pass a score into the goal as time expired to give them a 20-14 lead. We headed to the locker room to assess our strategy. Captain Cali told us he was seeing opportunities for us to go deep down the field whenever we would recover the ball in our territory. Whenever this would happen, he told the Wings to make a break for it and have Charity throw a deep ball. He praised Roya for kicking ass out there as well as our Forwards for keep
ing the Highlanders’ Forwards in check. We wanted to score on the first drive to take back the lead to demoralize them.

  +++

  Captain Cali asked me to start this time, which was very humbling. When we returned, the starters stood on the Brave-Ball station and were shot again towards the ball. We managed to recover it after our Left Tackle stripped the ball away from the Highlanders’ Dodger. He passed it back to Charity and as soon as he did I made a break for it. The Wing guarding me was two steps behind me; this was the perfect chance! I was breaking for the Goal Zone as fast as I could and the crowd was getting louder and louder in anticipation. Charity chucked the ball into the air as high as she could and sent it flying down toward me. Everyone’s eyes went to the 50, then the 40, and finally the 30 yard mark when the ball came down and landed right into my hands. The Wing guarding me made a desperate jump at my legs, but I powered through it and ran 20 yards before reaching the Goal Zone. The crowd went wild! It ended up being a 70 yard BraveDown, the biggest throw of the game! Jumping up and down, I had my moment of glory and did a spinning flip. I then looked into the crowd and with both of my index fingers pointing toward the sky, I screamed, “WOOOHOOO!!!”

  The entire team came running down and surrounded me with hugs and pats on the back. Damn that felt amazing! The score now 21-20.

  As we continued, we traded kick for kick, making the score 24-23 to mark the end of the third quarter. The Highlanders came back with a vengeance in the fourth quarter by scoring two side goals in the first three minutes, making the game 29-24 in their favor. We knew we had to contain their Dodger, who was making a bunch of plays. Roya had done an excellent job at shutting down the Wing she was assigned to, and Captain Cali told her to switch assignments with our Dodger.