"Steel will be man of the match, and we'll get through to the Global Cup 4-2," announced Peter excitedly, all the time clutching the shiny silver ticket that his friend had given him.
"Steel's good, I'll give you that, but I'm pretty sure it'll be Silverbonce that will be man of the match. He's as good as a couple of goals saved, even before they start. We'll win 6-2, mark my words."
"Six!" exclaimed Peter. "You think we'll get six? Have you been eating butterflies again? How many laminium ball matches have you ever seen where a team scores six? You must be mad."
"At least we both agree the Warriors will win, and get through to the Global Cup," uttered Tank.
Peter nodded his agreement as the sleek, silver carriage whizzed them towards their destination, and a night of full on team sport.
That was how it progressed all the way to the Burton monorail station, lots of friendly banter about the game, all thoughts of anything else forgotten.
For those of you that don't know what laminium ball is, perhaps I should explain. Since before records began, dragons have been playing this as a sport and sooooo much more.
Laminium ball is almost the equivalent of football. Groomed for decades, after which only the best are selected and thrust into the limelight of the biggest full on sporting battle on the planet, the players can look forward to league and cup matches coming thick and fast throughout the season, pitching dragon against dragon in unmatched, adrenaline fuelled, jaw dropping action. Constant jeopardy, gut wrenching challenges from fully committed players on both sides, all at eye wateringly high speeds, put the sport on a pedestal like no other to dragons as a whole. If a human somehow managed to watch one of these matches, they'd need to find a whole new definition of the word sport.
Played in specially designed caverns located across the world, the playing zone in each is two miles long, a quarter of a mile wide and half a mile high, with a river of burning lava running beneath. Embedded in the cavern's walls, about half way up at each end of the two mile long stretch of playing area, are two 'mouths'. In the middle of each 'mouth' sit six stalagmites and six stalactites, joined in the middle, known as the 'teeth'. The game itself can last for up to two hours, unless all six of the 'teeth' are knocked down before then. The winner is declared to be the side that has knocked out the most 'teeth' during the two hour time span. It is incredibly rare for any team to knock all six 'teeth' out, happening on average every decade or so.
Dragon teams competing against each other consist of four outfielders and one 'mouth guard'. Outfielders are allowed to control the laminium ball with any part of their body, with most preferring, and trained, to use their tail, and are able to dribble, slap, roll, slam, tackle, intercept as well as perform tricks with the ball.
Once any of the outfielders think they are in range, they can attempt to shoot at the ‘mouth’. The 'mouth guard' can stop the ball hitting the 'teeth' with any part of his body, from the tip of his tail, to the end of his nose.
As the name suggests, the ball itself is made of laminium, covered in a coat of ionised platinum, making it all but unbreakable and even able to withstand a substantial amount of time submerged beneath the lava foundation. Teams make good use of this by performing dangerous 'flying dives' that start high up in the arena and end up with the player diving into the lava, popping up somewhere near the opposition's 'mouth', making it so outrageously difficult for the 'mouth guard' to defend against. Encased at the centre of the ball, the metal after which the game is named, laminium, is incredibly precious and rare, and is highly valued by dragons because of the magical way it can enhance a dragon's own natural abilities. Boosting their telepathic talents, enhancing their strength, stamina and reaction times, as well as adding power to any mantra cast, these are just a few of the long list of wicked side effects that close proximity to the hard to extract metal, can have. Only found in exceedingly small quantities, usually deep underground in remote and inaccessible areas, it is one of the more valuable things that Cropptech specialise in, hence the reason for dragon infiltration of the company at all levels. Guarding the prized metal, for fear of it being stolen and falling into the wrong hands, has long since been a dragon concern, and to this very day, remains a very high priority for the Council and the king himself. Down to the tiniest amount, dragons have records that span back centuries, covering any laminium mined, traded, or experimented on. Using a whole host of different shell companies, the dragon world, through one channel or another, receives every ounce of laminium that is discovered in the world. A considerable amount is used in their favourite sport, with most of the rest stored safely away. Far in the past, the cherished metal was used to make everyday items, worn to show one's status and power ranking. Jewellery was popular... necklaces, earrings, rings, brooches, all of that, allowing the wearer to not only show off their wealth and any sway they might have, but also magically enhancing their powers, there and then. A double whammy so to speak. Rumours have abounded over the centuries of much bigger and more powerful pieces. Individual items of armour, embossed tome covers, timepieces and even weapons were all reported, at different times, to have been crafted, before being stolen, and then of course lost. Occasionally the odd item or trinket has surfaced, causing a stir in the papers and a frantic bidding war, but these are usually only tiny items of jewellery. With these minuscule mites of metal being coveted so, it's easy to see how the much larger sphere of the precious metal, hidden beneath layers of platinum, would attract so much interest, and heighten the powers of the player on the ball. It can also make it mighty hard for the opposition to wrestle the ball away from the player who has it, making possession key for every team that plays.
For each team to be easily recognised by the spectators during the match, the players from the two teams are allocated different coloured auras, dished out in the form of a mantra, before the game by the referee. Normally the opposing teams have red and blue mantras, with the referee enveloped in an all green one.
More than just sport, laminium ball has become a way of life for many dragons, following their heroes in the papers, as well as attending home matches, travelling across the globe in some cases for away games, buying all the merchandise, and emulating the players in everything they do. With so much coverage given over to the teams and matches in the telepathic press, the players themselves are treated very much like gods, or rock stars. Once selected and part of a team, nothing other than a career crushing injury or retirement can remove that dragon from that team's squad. That's why getting selected is so important, it's like tenure... there for life. Only a small percentage of hopefuls are chosen to compete in this male only sport. To be a celebrated laminium ball player sounds perfect, and most would agree that it was, with but one exception, the one sacrifice those players had to make. Under no circumstance were they ever allowed on the surface. So highly valued were they that no risk, however insignificant, could be taken with their safety. Nearly all of them were okay with that; why wouldn't they be? So the decades in which normal adolescent dragons were taught how to transform and maintain human guises, were instead used to learn about flight, fight, character, and teamwork. It was by no means easy, but for those who reached the top, it was a magnificent achievement and the fulfilment of dragonling dreams.