InsaneJournal

Dragon Racing & Plot!
Hey guys! (Excuse me if this post doesn't make sense... I think Mei is half asleep right now.)

First off, some of you should have gotten an email about an upcoming plot! Please respond to it as soon as you can, so we can get it rolling?

Secondly, the first dragon racing match of the year will happen Saturday (today!) starting at 1pm! The mods talked it over, and here is how we think things will go down:

- There will be two different races. One is the official race for those in 6th and 7th years who wish to participate, and one will be a juniors race for 5th years who are still learning how to work things.
- The mods have rolled, and there will be one winner for each race. But we don't want to make this as NPC'd as the Blitzball games, so we're going to put up a thread and you guys are free to play out parts of the race or even write your own narrative of how certain things have gone down! :)
- There will be an after party! Because we love parties! Because the dragon races typically last for hours on end, there will be a viewing party near the finish line for all students who are not participating during the event. Those who finish the race will, of course, be welcomed to join in on the party. There will be screens displaying different parts of the course! Typical finish time, we are estimating, would probably be in the late evenings. 7pm if the winner is fast. Could last all night. Though, the teachers will start pulling people off the course around midnight, just to be safe.

A little bit more information about dragon racing:
As you all know, everyone who is interested should have taken a year of lessons in their 5th year. By the end of their 5th year, they are required to take a very extensive test that involves not only a written portion, but also actual field test where they choose a dragon and run the actual dragon racing course. It is generally accepted that by this time, they would have formed a strong bond with one dragon, as the dragon racing course would rely heavily on their bond with the dragon they choose. Therefore, it is usually accepted that they have that One Dragon that connects with them, and that dragon is 'theirs', at least until they graduate (in which case, their bond would never break, but the dragon will form another bond with a new 5th year baby.)

(If that made any sense. The tl;dr being that during official dragon racing, students generally are racing with a dragon they know very well and bond very well with.)

The race itself stretches through all of Greenland. It is regulated, and students do have to stay on the path given to them (though, the path is rather big, so it isn't like a tiny horse race or anything.) It starts from the edge of the forest at the academy and ends at the gate of the academy. The strong warding and spellwork in place ensures that the dragons remain invisible to any mundie eyes that happen to be looking. There will be obstacles along the way (like encountering the horrible weather of Greenland, or one of the more harmless creatures in the forest) and students are allowed to sabotage the other students' progress, so there will be plenty of opportunities for students to use their abilities.

Any questions, feel free to leave a comment and ask!

Winners will be announced in the thread post! (I promise I did nothing to rig this; Meghan was my witness. Plus, who actually wants those two to win?)