“Like when malevs show up?” Ava Blin asks, her eyes glinting at the thought.
“Right,” Conrad states, “or to just be confident that any charm you need can be ignited at the right moment. Today’s lesson will help with your speed and dexterity.”
“Sounds boring,” Katie Follygrin mutters.
“Rucklz isn’t boring, I can assure you Katie,” Jacob replies, struggling to hide his dislike of Katie’s sullen, self-centred nature.
“Rucklz…?” Olin Zucklewick queries — the smallest of the group. “Isn’t that boardgames?”
“Not the way we play it,” I add with a sharp clap of the hands which makes the group jump. “If things go to plan, you’ll either be running for your life, dragged to safety by our Williynx or smashing things into a million pieces, gaining you victory.”
“Wicked,” Ethan Lyell says, patting his immaculate afro again, as if he’s preening himself for an end-of-game interview.
Katie eyes Ethan who’s always her first choice for a teammate, mainly because she’s got a secret crush on him.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Katie asks impatiently.
“For the Williynx to blast a streak of ice into the sky,” Conrad explains, gesturing towards our turquoise and powder blue companions, hovering above the young wizards.
“Time to choose the teams,” Jacob states, taking out his Vaspyl and throwing it into the air, transforming it into a whistle. “Any moaning and you’ll be sent inside with a mark against your name. Time for the games to begin.”
6
A Helping Hand
Jacob adjusts his tie before saying, “Remember, everything you do goes towards your final mark, and our final decisions. It’s pass or fail: our magical world or the boring one you sometimes have to return to. How you play this game is as important as winning.”
“What?” Katie queries.
Ignoring Kate’s disgruntled comment, Jacob blows on his hands and releases a flurry of Quij: the luminous, colourful insects that light up The Cendryll. “You’re all familiar with the board game Rucklz, but we’re creating our own version of it out here.”
With that, he gives us the nod to introduce light to the occasion, the utterance of ‘Canvia’ releasing streaks of light and energy from our hands: topaz blue from Jacob and I while Conrad’s hands turn the colour of tanzanite. Without further explanation, we go to work marking out the outer boundaries of the game.
“While Conrad and Guppy prepare the pitch for you,” Jacob continues, having his class’ full attention now, “go over the charms we’ve been learning: the Bildin charm particularly. Obviously, Rucklz is based on your ability to build which is where the Bildin charm comes into play. Be imaginative and fast, remembering not to fall into the traps your opponents set.”
“Like what?” Roan Khan asks as he loosens his tie.
“Like masking steel in a glass shell,” I add, “or losing your temper and forgetting to defend before you attack. Rucklz is about holding your nerve and managing your mood. When you lose your temper, you lose control, leaving the objects you make to expand out of control, dragging you up into the air or across The Hallowed Lawn which is when things get messy.”
“So, it’s dangerous?” Leah Creswell asks, still exhilarated from her brief trip in the sky on the back of Conrad’s Williynx.
“We’re here to make sure it’s safe,” Conrad explains with a reassuring smile, “which doesn’t mean you go all guns blazing. Everything counts, remember: every lesson, every improvement and every mistake, so get ready.”
Conrad and I complete the pitch, stepping between the blue and tanzanite dots framed within an enormous square … the Quij hovering above the boundary of the pitch. Moving into their hoped-for teams, the young wizards wait to be put into teams.
“Someone’s going to end up in the air,” Conrad whispers as Jacob organises the class into two groups.
“Yep,” I nod, already knowing that the most competitive are going to fall short, making self-centred decisions that will undermine their team’s chances.
“Ava, Katie, Roan, Olin: Team One,” Jacob calls out, a cloud of anger passing across his face the moment Katie challenges his choice. “Tilly, Ethan, Tom, Leah: Team Two. Take your positions on the boundary and wait for my call. Guppy and Conrad are going to demonstrate the rules of Rucklz before we begin.”
“First, we need team names,” I say as Conrad joins me in the middle of The Hallowed Lawn. “Captains, step onto the dot closest to you.”
After a bit of murmuring and cajoling, Katie and Ethan step forwards.
“Right,” Conrad says to the captains. “Team names”
A quick discussion returns “Wicked Wizards” from Ethan’s team and “Slick Sorcerers” from Katie’s.
“Okay,” Conrad adds, whistling for his Williynx to take up position above Ethan’s team.
I do the same, gesturing for Laieya to rise into the air on the opposite side.
“On Jacob’s call, each person steps onto a dot,” Conrad continues. “You are not allowed to move from your dot until you’ve created your shape of attack or defence. You create your shape by tapping the dot like this and imagining the shape you want; it will form in your hands less than a second later.
Remember, Jacob’s chosen Rucklz to improve your reaction time when using defensive charms. We’re looking for this specifically so whether you win or lose isn’t as important.”
Stern nods follow from each team, fragile friendships replaced with intense stares as their desire to secure their place in the S.P.M.A. intensifies.
“One of the benefits of being out here,” I add, “is that the shape you create can grow. You use your arms to create the width you want and your imagination for the height. But if you lose control of your shape, you’ll be dragged off the pitch and out of the game. Rucklz is a game of subtleties … knowing when to strike and when to counter strike, setting traps for your opponents until they’ve got no point of attack or defence: like this.”
Conrad and I touch the dots we stand on, generating two vast shapes to demonstrate the majesty and might of Rucklz. Conrad’s chosen
