The Problem with Power

Chapter 6 - A Calm Before The Games

The arena was the size of a regular football pitch, as regular football had died a death during the war; the disused venues were adapted into the combat arenas of today. The perimeter was surrounded by a strong, armoured glass wall interspaced with an energy field. The energy field was to stop any interference with the crowd, or, the crowd interfering with the game. There was a case a couple of years ago where a group of telepaths manipulated the minds of certain players, rigging games. The group was traced to a gang of racketeers and were subsequently executed, as interfering with any combat without a court order, warrant or for another important reason resulted in a lengthy prison sentence, a hefty fine, or a bullet to the brain. This also had the consequence of banning Telepaths from taking part in the games themselves, as many feared tampering could be done within team organisations themselves. This, as you would imagine caused outrage, but many accepted it as a necessity, as many teams didn't have telepaths on them in the first place.

Dylan had never been to anything like this before, he had seen it on TV but you never saw the sheer scale of the rows of seats, dotted here and there with covered boxes, like the one they were currently sat in. The boxes were all inclusive, with different benefits depending on the amount of money you had. The one they were sat in was reserved for educational use. There was a rack of informative leaflets and pamphlets in an alcove along with a set of school trophies. Posters advertising student friendly events lined the wall, from friendly sparring sessions to full on dismemberment and serious level competitive tournaments for the over eighteens. One entire wall of the box was dominated by a large bay window, where tiered seats lead downwards, so it felt like you were sat in one of the old cinemas that some towns still had.

Those on the field trip were getting comfortable, flipping through programs or munching on packets of crisps and chocolate bars. Dylan took a seat down the front with Sabrina and Sam, well; Sam sat a seat away, in order not to accidentally electrocute anyone, whilst Sabrina sat with her eyes glued to program of tonight's games. The match today was England against Iceland, who was currently fourth and second in their groups respectively, with Russia topping the group in first place, after crushing Wales three to nought yesterday. England had to score a win, three points, to surpass the third place holders Poland to secure a place in the knock out rounds.

All the games of the group stages were fought in a best of five, where full teams would compete against one another to get to a set goal or to win a game. Games of dodge ball and maze runner were fan favourites, as the contestants are able to use their powers at will, albeit in much moderation as these rounds were not actual combat, so no proper violence was needed.

It seemed that the theme of today's game seemed to be a maze. It was, as was tradition, filled with a menagerie of creatures and traps, some of which were miniature combat arenas. The creatures of the maze were featured in the pamphlet Dylan was currently reading through. The main theme of the maze seemed to reflect the upcoming Halloween holiday, as the maze contained a pack of Lycanthropes, mangy wolf like creatures, which were once human before they were overcome by their own greed for magical power, they also had their teeth clipped, ensuring no contestant ran the risk of getting bitten, however their claw could still do horrific damage. There was a also a brigade of skeleton soldiers, armed with everything from pitch-forks to double headed axes, lead by eight foot tall, rotting, colossal warrior, wielding a large, bearded axe. The giant looked to be contained at a nexus of different paths, the pamphlet stated that if the giant fell, the rest of skeletons would crumble with it and finally to round of the selection, there was a trio of spirits. Firstly a Ghoul, tough spirits which could tank a large amount of damage before being banished, next a Poltergeist, mischievous spirits which delighted in causing havoc and mayhem and finally a Banshee. Banshees are very rare outside of Ireland, which had the largest concentration of Banshees in the world. Their ear-splitting cries could shatter any material besides titanium, but had no effect on organic material. However, the psychological impact of a Banshee's scream can be devastating.

The entire of objective of this game was to get to the middle and step on a golden pad. This pad was actually a magical circle that teleported the team that reached there out of the maze. The first three teams to get to the pad went onto the next round, whereas the fourth team was eliminated and received zero points. There were four rounds in total, each having a different objective and set-up. The pamphlets were enchanted to change when the different rounds happened, so the audience had more enjoyment from the games and so that no team members on either team could receive an advance copy and possibly have an advantage over any other team.

Suddenly, the lights in the stadium dimmed and the announcers began to introduce the games.

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It took roughly half an hour for the stands of the stadium to fill up. It seemed that the chance of England actually passing the group stages had brought the masses out, a chance to witness an act of glory. Most however came to see the brightest and best combatants the country has to offer, getting their thrill from watching others fight. England always had the worse luck when it came to the group stages, as for last year, they lost on sudden death to Italy and the year before were crushed in the groups by South Korea.