21 Sports Festival (Part 1)

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our 541st Sports Festival. We hope that you'll enjoy the competitiveness and sportsmanship of our participants!" The announcer greeted the incoming spectators through the sound system.

The sports festival had become a popular event for the public, some even came from foreign countries. Stalls were set up selling refreshments and snacks besides merchandise such as toy models, weapon replicas and memorabilia. A large screen located in the middle of the field displayed events that were not able to be held at the venue.

As part of the disciplinary committee, Sylvia's duty was to patrol the stalls and keep watch for any trouble.

'It's really peaceful. Everyone is in a festive mood,' Sylvia thought as she passed through a vendor telling stories to a group of children.

"Legends say that there were a group of heroes who subjugated the demon lord thousands of years ago. After countless battles of hardship and sacrifice, the demons were vanquished but at the cost of the lives of the heroes and all of the mana in the world. Hence, there were no longer any mages and wizardry in the world," the vendor narrated the story with great ardour to the excited gazes of the children.

"Now, if you buy a set of these, I will tell you about their adventures and exploits. Interested?" The vendor grinned as the children hurriedly bought the set of the heroes' figurines.

Sylvia frowned disapprovingly at the vendor. 'This guy… baiting children with myths into buying his products. It's just a story and no way it exists. There are even stories that this school is the successor of the academy that trained the knights who supported the heroes, that's why we have all these sword, archery, equestrian and more in the sports festival.'

She adjusted her red armband from slipping further. The armband was the identity of the disciplinary committee and it makes it easier for the public to approach them for any inquiries.

'Although it's true that the school's history stems from a militaristic background, it was for war and garrisons during the tumultuous Age of Chaos where wars between kingdoms were commonplace.'

"Excuse me, miss. You know where booth number 45? To see prepare people," someone asked as the person touched Sylvia's shoulder from behind, quickly bringing her back into reality.

She turned back and saw a middle-aged man draped in a colourful fabric which contrasted deeply with his dark skin tone. He stood at least two meters tall and his hair was silvery white.

"Su sdnatsrednu ehs kniht uoy od?" a younger girl asked the man worriedly. She too had the same characteristics of the man and wore darker fabric but it was still in a spectrum of cool colours. "Meht teem ot emit eht ssim thgim ew."

Sylvia recognised their language and their physical characteristics. 'Ah, the people of the Southern Isles. It's quite rare to see them around here.'

"You know Aros? Vrine? Same us, skin dark, white hair," the middle-aged man attempted to ask again, his tone hesitant and doubtful while he made hand gestures to improve the understanding of the conversation.

"Aros dna Vrine rof gnikool era uoy ha," Sylvia spoke in their language fluently, much to their astonishment. She remembered that there were a pair of siblings from the Southern Isles enrolled in the school too. They must be their family members.

"Egaugnal ruo kaeps yllautca dluoc enoemos!" An older woman exclaimed in amazement and shook Sylvia's hands.

Sylvia smiled in awkwardness on how quickly they opened up to her after she spoke their language. She learnt the language from Alnu, a South Islander also working as a bodyguard for the Macchia Family. As he had always said, "We take pride in our culture. If you speak in our language, we consider you as one of us." It felt like today's the day it paid off.

"Dne eht litnu thgiarts klaw ot evah tsuj uoy... Flesym ereht uoy ekat lliw I, dnimreven," Sylvia told them with a warm smile. She knew Aros, a newcomer for the disciplinary committee still under probation.

All of them smiled in relief. "Hcum yrev uoy knaht!"

On their way, the family had so much to share with Sylvia.

"Hmm hmm, is the mic turned on? Oh, it is? Oh crap," the sound system went silent again. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen. We're now going live soon for our first event, the mounted orienteering event. For those who are new to this, the participants are given a map and a compass to navigate their way to the finish line."

The family and Sylvia looked at the large screen. The first event was starting, displaying the participants getting ready at the starting line.

"However, there's a catch! The participants have to search for 10 Objective Stations to get the most points in the shortest time possible, with the maximum time limit of 3 hours. A horse riding treasure hunt, a historical tradition of our beloved cavalry corps," the announcer continued to explain.

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"Alright, everyone. I'll be distributing the compass and maps to everyone. Remember to not open the sealed map until it's your turn," the invigilator instructed. "You can start when your assigned number is called."

Luna looked at her number, 12. It will still take some time. Each rider was called in a 5-minute interval.

"Number 4!" The invigilator called out. It's Elma's turn now.

"See you later, Luna. Best of luck!" Elma wished as she rode off to the dirt trail and slowly disappeared.

Now alone, Luna felt the churn in her stomach and the nervousness caught up to her.

"Are you nervous too, August?" She asked her horse while stroking it's black mane delicately. She had been riding August for 3 years now. She got curious when she saw Sylvia riding one and tried out horse riding then. Over the years, she developed a bond with it after countless hours of training and caring for it.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. She felt a little better now.

"Siht retfa tae ot ecin yllaer gnihtemos uoy teg lliw I, esimorp I," a girl was talking to her horse as well.

'Ah, a South Islander. Someone like Alnu,' Luna looked at the girl, admiring her glowing white hair like an angel.

The girl noticed Luna looking at her and rode her horse closer to her.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I don't think we have met each other. I'm Vrine Moss, daughter of the chieftain of the Southern Isles. I'm currently in my second year," she introduced herself.

"I'm Luna… Mocha," she almost botched her cover. "Nice to meet you too." She noticed her number, 13. Next in turn after her.

"Number 12!"

It's her turn now. "I'll be going first," Luna waved to Vrine before focusing on finding the checkpoints.

'Let's go!'