The Day She Ran

"FWEEEEEEET!!!"

The whistle shrieked. Ironroot 1A lined up before the first glowing line, hearts pounding and legs tense. This was their only shot.

The training field looked like something out of legend — a wide arena, one hundred paces long, forty across. Etched into the turf were five horizontal lines, shimmering faintly with æsther markers, dividing the field into four zones.

Each line held a single defender, champions of Heavenreach Academy's famed 'Galah Panjang' team. Their uniforms were unassuming, yet each bore subtle embroidery of their guild: gold for Skyward Arcanum, blue and white for Dawnseeker, green-brown for Ironroot, and crimson streaked with ash-gray for the star of the Beastheart Guild.

The defenders stood silently at attention, motionless but daunting. There was something surreal about how still they were, like statues carved from discipline.

Kaiden, Rio, Nerim, Peggy, and Irna took position shoulder to shoulder at the start, lining up before the first line. Each of them felt like the space around them had narrowed. The midday sun cast sharp angles over the grass, and the scent of crushed earth and old magic hovered in the air.

[ Coach Trillian ]

"Let me remind you, first-graders, of the rules again."

"You get one point for passing the last line..."

"And another for making it back to the starting zone."

"Only those who breached the final zone can attempt the return."

"The defenders can only move horizontally within their lines."

"Except for the captain..."

"Captain of the defense team may also move vertically in addition to horizontally..."

"But only along the center axis."

Coach Trillian's voice cut through the tension like a whip. She took one last glance across her clipboard, then leveled her eyes at them.

[ Coach Trillian ]

"Offense team."

"If you are tagged..."

"Yer out!"

"If you go out of the playing field."

"Yer out!"

"Understood?"

[ Ironroot 1A ]

"Yes, Coach!"

[ Rio (muttering) ]

"Great..."

"The guy with air magic and the personality of a statue is the one with the roaming license."

[ Kaiden ]

"We can do this, guys."

"Remember the plan."

"Divide and conquer."

"We have an edge here..."

[ Peggy ]

"And that is?"

[ Kaiden ]

"We are small."

"Easy for us to slip through their guard."

[ Nerim ]

"I think you might have a point there..."

[ Rio ]

"Well..."

"Irna is the smallest."

"Maybe she can score for us."

[ Irna ]

"I...Uhh."

"I will try."

Their opposition:

Line 1: Vellin Kilmer – Captain (Skyward Arcanum)

Line 2: Talya Quinn (Dawnseeker)

Line 3: Damien Quinn (Dawnseeker)

Line 4: Kiba (Beastheart)

Line 5: Brandon "The Wall" Sparke (Ironroot)

The field's edges were marked with thin hedges barely ankle-high, guiding the lines but offering no protection. The champions were stretching, looking disinterested in their final opponent.

Coach Trillian raised her hand, letting it hover.

And dropped it.

[ Coach Trillian ]

"BEGIN!"

Ironroot 1A burst forward on the whistle.

Like sparks across dry kindling.

Vellin didn't even bother to tag them. Instead, the trap sprang instantly.

Talya glided left. Damien dashed right. Vellin stepped precisely back to the center lane, inside the second zone, aligning himself vertically between the two.

He left the first line wide open.

[ * Kaiden (internally) * ]

"They're closing the lanes."

"Compressing the field..."

[ Kaiden ]

"They are herding us..."

"Don't fall for it."

"We are not out yet!"

[ HEART ]

[ Ironroot Blessing: Resolute - Triggered ]

Æsther flow regulated.

Party stimana & stamina output: Maximized

Title Awarded: Skipper

And he was right. It was a classic maneuver used by seasoned players. Let the offense taste momentum. Then compress the field and destroy it.

[ Vellin ]

"Okay, seedlings..."

"Let's see how you handle the trapdoor."

With a flick of his wrist, he released a precise sliver of wind. A narrow blade that hissed across the central line between the second and third, icing the grass instantly in a strip.

Talya followed up. Making herself big on the left half of the second line.

[ Talya ]

"Haha..."

"The little trees are..."

"Rooted!"

"Don't know what to do?"

[ Damien ]

"You bet, sis."

"Now let's jolt it up a notch."

[ Talya ]

"Time for the twin special..."

[ Damien (grinned) ]

"Ladies first."

The Quinn twins began chanting. White magic circles appeared across the area between them.

Shock runes spell.

The second zone shimmered faintly now — an overlapping patchwork of ice and active glyphs, humming just under the grass.

[ Nerim ]

"We can't go through there..."

"It's too slippery."

[ Rio ]

"Yeah..."

"Not to mention those paralyzing traps."

"We'll be stunned if we go in."

[ Peggy ]

"Chill, guys..."

[ Rio ]

"Got that right, Pegs..."

"Chilled and fried—what a combo."

[ Kaiden ]

"Relax..."

"As long as they don't tag us."

"We are still in the game..."

Kaiden paused to ponder.

"No team before us scored a point, right?"

[ Nerim ]

"True..."

"And your point is?"

[ Kaiden ]

"My point is..."

"If we can manage to score even once..."

"It's still a win."

"Right?"

[ Rio (clueless) ]

"Right!"

"I think..."

[ Kaiden ]

"So..."

"Who wants to score?"

[ Irna (slowly) ]

"Me..."

"I want to score."

[ Peggy ]

"Irna?"

[ Irna (reminisce) ]

"Back in Jadespring..."

"None of the kids wanted me to be in their team."

"I was always the last to be picked."

◈◈◈ (Flashback)

Irna stood near the edge of a dusty courtyard by the lake while the other village kids picked teams. Her hands were folded in front of her, nervous fingers twisting together.

[ Kid 1 ]

"I'll take Rania."

[ Kid 2 ]

"I'll take Venoo."

[ Kid 1 ]

"Why don't you take Irna?"

[ Kid 2 ]

"No..."

"Not Irna."

"She is too slow."

[ Irna ]

"I can run if I try..."

[ Kid 2 ]

"Yeah, but we don't want to lose."

She remembered lowering her head.

Watching her shadow stretch under the Jadespring sun.

But she still showed up to every game. Watched from the edges.

Practiced in secret.

Back then, she didn't know why she kept coming back.

Now she did.

◈◈◈

[ * Irna (internally) * ]

"Because one day..."

"I get to prove to everyone that I am not a dead weight!"

Back on the field, Irna stepped forward, eyes sharp.

[ Irna ]

"I'm going through..."

"I think I know how."

[ Kaiden ]

"You sure?"

[ Irna ]

"Yes."

"Because..."

[ Nerim ]

"Because?"

[ Irna (keen) ]

"Today's the day!"

[ HEART ]

[ Ironroot Passive: Regrowth - Triggered ]

Minor injuries suppressed.

Muscle memory restructured.

Instinct amplification: Active

[ Rio ]

"What day is it today, again?"

[ Kaiden (whisper) ]

"Okay, guys."

"Let's keep them distracted."

"Take their eyes off Irna."

The trap was still set. The wind-blade corridor, the ice patches, the twin-triggered stun field.

Irna took a breath. The others were taunting with fancy footwork and cantrips to keep the defense team distracted.

A pulse of green æsther shimmered faintly around Irna's feet — so subtle that even the champions didn't notice.

Irna moved.

Right towards the left hedges.

She leapt over the iced path, twisted midair to avoid the runes' activation radius. Moments before going out of bounds, Irna kicked the hedges to spin left to get past Damien.

The Dawnseeker boy lunged — too fast —

Irna dove low, sliding under and past the defender, with barely a breath of space. She was indeed the tiniest Ironroot 1A.

[ Damien ]

"What?!"

[ Talya ]

"How did she?"

Irna burst past them, gasping.

[ Peggy (wide-eyed) ]

"Did she just... get through?"

[ Kaiden (grinning) ]

"She most certainly did!"

Coach Trillian raised an eyebrow.

[ * Kaiden * (internally) ]

"So this is what it looks like… when a seed breaks open."

Across the field, a cluster of students watching from their bench shot to their feet.

[ Claire ]

"Was that Irna!?"

"The shy bookworm?"

[ Neena ]

"She just slipped past both Quinn twins!"

The first of Ironroot 1A had crossed the third line.

One line at a time. One seed at a time.

And something was growing.

Not of weeds and bushes.

But of merantis and oaks.

◈◈◈

From the shaded staff observation deck, a figure lowered a pair of gleaming brass lenses.

[ ??? (murmuring) ]

"Triggering guild blessings during a 'Galah panjang' game..."

"...Merely a couple of days from receiving them."

"Impressive."

"This reminds me of a kid back when I was coach."

[ Skyward Overseer Arwell ]

"Trillian's class is always a surprise."

[ Dawnseeker Overseer Marduke ]

"But that girl..."

"Regrowth, was it?"

"Hmm... People will be watching."

A seated Concordium observer scribbled into a long scroll.

[ * Concordium Scribe (internally) * ]

"Early divergents always surface during stress games..."

"'Galah Panjang' never fails."

[ Concordium Scribe ]

"Anomalous talent log..."

"Entry seventeen: Ironroot 1A."