For the Love of the Game

      Tyrannia.

      Despite the fact that Terror Mountain and Tyrannia bordered each other, their weather was as different as night and day. I was thankful to be out of the bitter cold and I embraced the heat. As a Shoyru, I could handle the heat. What I hadn’t expected was the humidity. It was thicker than any blanket and I felt like I was trying to breathe water.

      Then there was the language barrier. It seemed like a simple enough language to learn but languages did not come naturally to me. It meant I had to lug around a clunky Standard Neopian-Tyrannian dictionary to help me navigate this primitive world. Coming originally from a modern place like Neopia Central, the culture shock hit me hardest. Though, I was determined to make this work.

      Unfortunately, I had gotten myself hopelessly lost in the thick jungle and was labouring to communicate with a Tyrannian Kougra for help.

      “Um, ug, ugga, ug ug ugga?” I grunted, hoping I hadn’t said anything too embarrassing.

      The Tyrannian Kougra looked blankly at me.

      I was about to try again when someone called my name. “Elbin?”

      I turned to see Neyhbol-Tyrannia’s goalkeeper-pushing through the undergrowth towards me.

      Upon seeing me, he called over his shoulder. “Lor, I’ve found him!”

      “The whole team is looking for me?” I asked, surprised and embarrassed.

      Neyhbol nodded. “We’ve been waiting for you so when you didn’t show up, Lor figured something happened to you and sent us out to search.”

      “Thank you. I got a bit turned around in this,” I said with a wave of the hand towards the jungle that threatened to swallow us whole, “and it doesn’t help that I can’t read the signs or communicate with the locals.” I cast a glance towards the Tyrannian Kougra.

      Neyhbol uttered something in Tyrannian and the Kougra grunted in reply before disappearing into the jungle. Then he turned to me. “Come on, Elbin. The rest of the team is expecting you.”

      I followed after the fire Grarrl gratefully. I was very surprised when just a few short minutes later, we arrived in the main village.

      “I’ve been lost for an hour and I was this close the entire time?” I couldn’t believe it.

      Neyhbol chuckled. “It sure looks that way.”

      I looked around for my first real look at the village. There were stone huts, some with thatched roofs, locals dressed in little more than furs and a surprisingly clear pond given the jungle that pressed in on every side. Neyhbol led me through the village to a clearing. I noticed an unlit bonfire with interest. I also noticed a stone table laid out with various slabs of meat. It did not look appetizing with hide and fur still attached, completely uncooked with Petpetpets buzzing around.

      I quickly focused on Team Tyrannia scattered around the clearing. Formerly known as the Forsaken Five, I still couldn’t believe they had broken up for me.

      Loryche. A female yellow Chomby and the team captain. I felt a rush of gratitude for her. She had agreed to the trade and given me a chance to redeem my professional career. I hoped that I would be everything she was looking for.

      Harlis Neyhbol. A male fire Grarrl and the team goalkeeper. His sheer size helped him as a goalkeeper but that wasn’t all. Having seen him in action, I knew that he had incredible reflexes and worked well with the rest of the defence. It was difficult to get a Yooyu past him.

      “Scrap” Taggert. A Tyrannian Moehog and the sole defender. He had the broad shoulders and long tusks that gave him the formidable appearance a defender needed. He reminded me of Rinok and I felt a twinge of unease. I wasn’t on defence anymore and hoped that we wouldn’t clash.

      Wila Benne. A female brown Tonu and the team left forward. She was an exceptional forward with experience in scoring and stealing the ball. She looked friendly and I was eager to learn as much as I could from her. I hoped we could become friends.

      At least they seemed happy to see me. I hoped I could find my place here.

      “Welcome to the team, Elbin!” Loryche clapped one large hand on my shoulder, making me wince. “Please, come eat. We’ll be having a bonfire tonight in your honour.”

      I smiled, suddenly queasy.

     I had certainly worked up an appetite after my accidental detour but I did not relish the thought of trying Tyrannian cuisine. I decided then and there to avoid the questionable meat available. As long as I was there, I would be vegetarian. Thankfully, it wasn’t all meat. I chose a Fern Salad with Stone Roasted Vegetables, Stuffed Dorkle Pepper, Tyrannian Flat Bread and a jug of tepid water.

     My teammates laughed and told jokes in Tyrannian that went completely over my head. Though I chuckled along as I poked at my mostly green plate.

     As the day wore on and dusk began to fall, the bonfire was lit. Others began to join us, grunts and hoots permeating the night. It felt like a party. Locals began to approach me, saying something in Tyrannian-I think congratulations for they were all smiles and thumped me on the back-before moving on. I really needed to learn the language.

     I wasn’t sure how late it was but the party appeared to be in full swing. I was getting tired, worn out from my trek earlier that day. Though I couldn’t just leave if the party was in my honour. Besides, if I got lost during the day I sure didn’t want to risk stumbling around in the dark. So I did my best to enjoy it though I knew the smile on my face was strained.

     “Elbin?”

     I jumped, startled as Wila appeared out of the darkness.

     “You’re practically dead on your feet. Lor wants me to show you to your hut,” Wila explained with a sympathetic look.

     “That would be great, thanks.” I looked back over my shoulder briefly, the bonfire casting rather alarming shadows over the faces of the gathered Tyrannians. “You sure know how to throw a party.”

     Wila laughed. “We do like to carry on but it’s all fun and games.”

     We walked on in silence. I stumbled along in the dark and prayed to Fyora I didn’t fall flat on my face in front of my teammate. Thankfully, we didn’t have far to go.

     “Practice tomorrow will be held in the afternoon so don’t worry about getting an early start. I’ll see ya then!” Wila smiled at me before disappearing in the night, I assumed back to the party.

     I stumbled wearily into my hut. It was too dark for me to make out much and I yelped as I hit something solid. Reaching out with my hands, I figured out that the flat stone slab was in fact my bed and I groaned. I struggled to get comfortable on the hard surface but eventually gave up. The heat and humidity were relentless without a breath of air to cool me; no wonder Tyrannians walked around in little more than scraps of fur (if that!).

     Somehow I drifted off to sleep and I only knew that because I was jolted awake with a heart- pounding roar. After that, the jungle seemed to come alive with wild beasts all competing to make the most noise. Since it was right outside my open window there was no escaping it. I groaned, curling into a ball and using my wings to shield me from the onslaught. It was going to be a long night.

     I came awake as the sun streamed directly into my face. I sat up to get my bearings. Everything was made of stone: my table, my chair, my dresser and my bed, of course. My duffel had been dumped onto my table the previous night and decided to go ahead and unpack.

     After that, I opted to get something to eat. There was nothing in the hut and I headed out, trying to ignore the cooking fires that were scattered across the village. Thankfully, I managed to find a booth with food. Unable to haggle, I bought a Sausage and Pepperoni Omelette, choosing to break my vegetarian stint for a “safe” meat choice. I was also given a complimentary jug of tepid water (how nice).

     I sat on a nearby rock, swatting away the Petpetpets that wanted to share my meal. I was getting used to the heat and preferred it to the cold any day. The village bustled around me and while it was so foreign, I found it familiar too. I had almost convinced myself that it was a good morning when my meal was interrupted. A sharp whistle drew my gaze up to see an Airax zipping around just above the huts.

     Amused, I watched the flying Petpet for a moment before it disappeared into the jungle. The smile slipped from my face as I looked down to find my omelette gone. I hopped up to look around, wondering if I had accidentally dropped it. To my absolute bewilderment, there wasn’t a crumb to be found. I consoled myself with the fact that I had eaten about half of it so at least I wouldn’t be hungry for a while.

     With a few hours to go before practice, I decided to go about buying some furniture. I had had enough of stone beds! After seeing the selection of bone, fur, stone, straw, and…dung furniture available, I made my choices as quickly as possible. Knowing this was as good as it was gonna get, I bought a hammock, a lumpy fur pillow and a flint since the only light source Tyrannians had available was fire. Satisfied, I arranged for it all to be delivered to my hut.

     It was time for practice!

     I had to ask for directions but was pleased that I only got lost a couple times before I heard the familiar voices of my teammates. I stepped out onto the field that was nothing more than a clearing in the jungle. Though, I would gladly take this over an ice field!

     “Welcome to the first day of training,” Loryche announced. “Are you ready?”

     I nodded.

     “Here, catch!”

     Caught off guard, I obeyed but almost dropped the brown furry ball, surprised by just how heavy it was. It was more like a boulder than a ball. Then my jaw dropped in astonishment as it unrolled to become a…Yooyu?

     Loryche chuckled at the look on my face. “These are our native Yooyus.”

     I took a closer look at the Petpet I now held as it blinked up at me. It was oddly furry with a row of spikes down the spine, striped legs and tusks.

     “As you are now aware, they are extremely heavy and don’t travel nearly as far as a normal Yooyu. Though, they are of course specially adapted to our climate and we use them during training to help us slow down and really work out our strategies. We have to make every move count with these. Wila, what’s the best way to handle one?”

     “By using short and direct throws,” Wila explained.

     Loryche grunted her approval. “You can put it down now, Elbin.”

     I gratefully set the Yooyu down at my feet. “Are these the only Yooyus we train with?”

     “We also use the fire Yooyu.” Loryche scooped one up into her racket. “Fire is the only official Yoo that can handle the heat and humidity of our region.”

     I perked up at this. I had never trained with a fire Yooyu before and looked forward to the experience. I knew they were small, fast and thrived in the heat. What wasn’t there to like?

     “Any other questions?”

     I shook my head.

     Loryche grunted. “Now that the basics are out of the way, let’s get started!”

     I was thankful to be playing a position that I was comfortable with. The rest of training was anything but. The humidity made training that much harder, wearing me out far more quickly than I was used to. I had to take a break every few minutes to chug water in an attempt to stay hydrated. Other than that, I actually enjoyed training.

     My team was patient with me and their plays were simple enough to learn. I adapted to the two types of Yooyu we used and found the advantages of each. As training wore on, I found myself relaxing. It still wasn’t ideal but I knew I could adjust. Perhaps someday, I would find my place here.

     To be continued…