Almost everything in their mechanic shop was from the junkyard. Jessa's father found their old gramovision from the top of the pile. He fixed the old thing up when Jessa was only two. The signal was always weak, but it was good enough for them to watch the race. Jessa used to complain about unable to hear the announcer clearly. But her father would tell her, "That was a good thing."
It wasn't like they weren't able to afford new appliances. It was just that her father thought the world was too wasteful. That, and he liked the challenge of fixing the impossible.
"Ryder...?"
Jessa got up early today to check on her new chimera friend. She peeked into the shop from the staircase above. Ryder wasn't by the fireplace. She found Ryder sleeping on top of her father's belly.
Her father had been sleeping next to his working desk for the last few months now. He needed to burn the midnight oil to keep up with his clients' demands. Seeing Ryder fitting in so well, Jessa could not help but to chuckle a little. She pulled a blanket over Ryder and her father and turned on the gramovision. She made sure she didn't sit too close, so her father wouldn't yell at her. But as soon as the Western Royal Cup began, it was impossible for her not to glue her eyes closer to the gramovision:
"And now we see Princess Verlassen making her way to the starting blocks," says the announcer. "She's carrying the ceremonial Victory Flag. All the riders are here representing their countries, hoping to take home that lustrous flag! But the moon is on our side this year! Remember, this is the year of the Pegasus!"
Princess Verlassen parades her way to the front of the line. It's like this lane is her own private catwalk. At least she is dressed appropriately for her age, unlike some of the grid ladies on the side. The princess stops and waves to her family in the upper box.
Her older sister, Princess Versto, is too busy reading her elemental exam books. The younger sister, Princess Zertru, is too busy chasing the magical butterflies Princess Versto cast out. Queen Aria proudly holds her baby boy from the Ivory Tower, displaying him like a newly bought accessory. Where is the king? He is most likely back in the Green Castle, not participating in what he calls a "barbarian sport."
Jessa didn't understand why Princess Verlassen was walking funny like that. Couldn't she just walk in a straight line, like a normal person? Or run, so the race could start sooner. The images in the gramovision started to scramble, and the announcer's voice faded in and out. Jessa slapped the big box a few times, and the pictures cleared up momentarily:
"All twelve riders are in place! Everyone made the qualification time yesterday! Tension is high! Who is going to come out on top?!" says the announcer.
Princess Verlassen blows a kiss to the captain of the Ivory Wings. The captain, Rand Ironwood, pays no attention to the princess. His attention is fully on the Victory Flag, just like every rider on the starting lane.
The princess drops the flag! And they are off!
The red emperor dragon zooms by the princess and heads towards the ledge! It drops off the cliff and soars into the clouds. The rest of the riders and their beasts chase behind the long dragon's tail. Since all the beasts in the Prime League can fly, the tracks on the ground are mainly just for decoration.
Behind the red dragon are Dark Clouds' zmiy and zmaj dragons. They have been blocking the emperor dragon's opponents for the last four seasons, but somehow the griffin and the hippogriff are able to swing around, easily claiming second and third on the first lap!
Qing-Long's second dragon, the noble dragon, sees its leader is being challenged. It tries to coast through the winged dragons to help. But the zmiy dragon isn't letting it through. Is the rumor true? Is the dragon alliance truly broken?
Viktor Shashkasky, the veteran of team Dark Clouds, continues to block the noble dragon with his zmiy dragon. Viktor's dragon is old. Its scales are long, like spikes. The noble dragon does not dare to pass.
Viktor then signals his teammate over. Together, the winged dragons let out a blazing fire towards the sea, and water vapor begins to rise.
Captain Ironwood of the Ivory Wings can feel the clouds condensing around him. He knows his peryton, a flying stag, is not going to do well with the incoming rain. He signals his teammate and flies out of the clouds. But his young teammate, Kan Greengrove, is too stubborn to follow. Greengrove wants to prove his worth. He has his pegasus stay in the clouds, unwilling to take the long way to finish this lap.
Jessa shook her head. She knew Greengrove lost the race already. She was also upset that the broadcast was only covering the Ivory Wings. She could not tell who was leading the race, so she grabbed her father's tool box and ran upstairs.
The sky was clear on this side of the city. All the gray clouds the winged dragons stirred were high up, near the capital. Jessa was safe on the roof.
She tuned their antenna with her father's wrench. Their antenna was an old standard issued model, but even the newer models could not receive the broadcast she wanted. She was hoping to "borrow" the signal from her neighbor's salver-receiver.
She twisted their antenna towards their neighbor's house and soldered a few wires inside the antenna box, but the signal was still weak. She looked at the shiny silver plate on her neighbor's roof. It was as if her neighbor's receiver was taunting her, saying to her, "You're too poor for this." She threw a broken roof tile at the silver plate! A direct hit!
"Yes!"
The signal patched through! Jessa was able to correct the position of the receiver with the broken tile. She was very proud of herself.
Why would her neighbor live on the lower plane if he could afford the premium broadcast? Shouldn't he be up there, with all the rich magicians and government officials? Jessa for the life of her could not figure this out. The wind suddenly shifted, and the gray clouds near the capital started to move down towards the lower planes. Jessa quickly closed the antenna box and climbed back into the house.
"And he is out!" yells the foreign announcer. "Greengrove's pegasus, Ventus, cannot continue anymore. Even though team Ivory Wings have two extra beasts on the side, they are not allowed to switch their pegasus in the middle of the race. This was a costly mistake by Kan Greengrove!"
A grid lady walks the exhausted pegasus off the tracks. Kan Greengrove throws his helmet on the ground, frustrated!
"Both he and his pegasus lost all of their individual points from this race," the announcer continues. "Their captain, Rand Ironwood, is still in the race, but barely. He wasted a lot of time on his first lap."
Team Feathered Spears' phoenix is also eliminated by the rain, but their thunderbird is going strong, fully taking advantage of the rain and turning it into a storm.
Team Lotus Crown's airavata, an elephant with wing-like ears, glides calmly in sixth place. It is not fazed by the storm at all. Since bumping is considered incidental contact, this southern elephant is feared by many in the late game. It can use its size to force its way through almost any obstacle! But for some reason, the Lotus Crown chooses to use it to block the wind for their ace, an uchchaihshravas, a seven-headed horse, in seventh place.
The griffin and the hippogriff are still flying strong in second and third. They swerve and dive, hoping to dethrone the emperor dragon. Dark Clouds' zmiy and zmaj dragons are right behind, leering at their every move. Everything can change in a split second. All first five positions are tied up. It's anyone's game. Well... anyone but the Ivory Wings.
Captain Ironwood is dead last in the race. He is trying his hardest to keep up with the noble dragon. He can see the royal family looking down from the Ivory Tower. He can feel the shame pouring down... Suddenly, a lightning strikes in the dark! The thunderbird catches the bolt and screeches its way to the front!
"Ryder!"
Jessa moved her head left and right, trying to see the broadcast. Ryder was in front of the gramovision, trying to catch the thunderbird inside. Jessa picked Ryder up and forced him to sit next to her.
"Sit back, both of you!" Jessa's father yelled.
Jessa was so focused on the race today, she completely forgot about making breakfast. Her father knew this was a special day, so he did not bother asking her. He walked out of the kitchen with some freshly baked panbread. This was the only pastry dish he knew how to make. He picked up a big slice and stuffed it into his mouth.
"It's close. Who's gonna win?" he asked.
Jessa did not reply. Her attention was still wholly on the race.
The storm from the capital finally reached the lower lands. Her father walked around to close all the windows around the house. Rain started to pour like thunderous applause.
"Wait," her father pondered. "How are we able to watch Blissebene's broadcast?"
Jessa's eyes started to dart around. She knew she was in trouble.
"Jessa?" her father asked.
Jessa was very quiet. She pretended she didn't hear the question.
"Jessa?" he asked again.
"Huh?"
"Did you use our neighbor's signal to watch this race?" he asked it firmly.
Jessa did not answer him because she knew he had figured it out already.
"Go apologize to the professor," her father demanded. "And go change our antenna back."
Jessa didn't want to miss the ending, so she tried to stall.
"But, Papa, it's raining..."
"Go!" her father yelled.
Jessa reluctantly stood up. She grabbed her rain cloak and walked towards the backdoor.
She tried to peek back at the broadcast, but her father's massive belly was in the way. She grunted a little and exited their shop.