A Castrovel Adventure: Part 4, Chapter 46

In which the Ofu-Laubu team gets their chance to take on their begrudged foe, the Sealnea, as the Hoverball tournament heads to the finals.

From the Daylog of Vaeol-Zheieveil Yaranevae be’Son

Motorae’s Eve, 24,544 - Lea
We stay at the embassy after a right lewd nighttide, since the Motorae holiday has begun. Lea, like many other cities, chooses a He-Queen to oversee the Motorae’s misdeeds, which trial I must shrive is a most wild and uncouth witness.
While we watched freely upon the embassy’s windowdeck, we beheld a throng within the city’s heartyeard, ingathering a score of masked Korasha upon a deck, who showed forth as claimers for the He-Queen title, and who had been chosen for no reason else than their manly length. Her Highness Lady Vifaul came forth as the trial’s deemer, whomto all beswore they are proven fathers, many five or six children over, after which she overlooked and praised their beauty and size. Then the trial began, and I was shaken by the lot of wives, both old and young, who wantonly uplisted to take share. In the end, a bode-runner from the citadel named Magas won after begladdening eight wives, the last man upstanding (so to speak).
Her Highness set a crown upon his brow, knelt before, and outquoth the city as his. Then from the heartyard deck Magas climbed to the Soul-Tree and from its bough called all men to him. When they filled the yard, he cheered their manliness until apelike roars rang from the walls. Then he bade them run forth and, for any wife they find in the streets, fill her well. Then while the men offran howling (and no few wives laughingly fleeing), he climbed down, sat upon a stool, drank ale, and slumbered while he waited news of his underlings' wickedness. Within the embassy, we gigglingly withdrew, though our housemen jealously assured all the gates were shut.
Laterward, the hallgrooms warily opened a gate. Introd Her Highness Lady Zhaene, who looked rather glowing, to my thought, and with a misfolded bodyshroud. When we asked what had befallen, she answered: ~O'nae-benyathi ruaelf ostra eiarrya o'heienaze-yei,~ - "I must sometimes yield fierce deeds as trucebode." We choked laughter while Her Highness haughtily bathed.
Yet this is not my logwrit’s main word, for which I must again bewrite the Hoverball Games. Again we came early to the gameyard, and if anything, we enthrove more to watch today’s first game than yesterday’s, for, since Lea as host ever withheld the last game for themselves, today the Sealnea and Lauba teams played first.
I have ere written of the queer feud between Ofu-Laubu and these outlandish monkeyfolk, ingathering the aguessed sakes. Today we and the city gathered to see this feud full-met, along with maybe some kind of mend. Whitsomely, Lady Marauqereth, mayhap from welcome made to the High Matron’s box, or mayhap from guessing our house’s hearts leaned toward Ofu-Laubu’s foe, clove us not. Wiselessly, at Her Highness’s leave, the game-reeve called the teams to midyard, with the watchstands already full, and the crowd likely to sing themselves hoarse ere the ball-cast.
Something doleful we witted when the Lauba came into the yard: today’s team showed wholly Korasha. This shift from yesterday at once enthrove the game-readers, who reckoned how this would behave their play-wise, and which showed eyesome so soon as the ball hit the ground. They brunted forth bold and fell, and though they were not the heaviest Korasha, having swiftness to offset the Sealnea’s, they sought to bodily overwhelm their slighter foes. The game forespoke rough and angry.
Yet in so choosing a full-Korasha team, the Lauba upyielded their height-behoof. While they could hover the ball overhead, the Sealnea leaps heartily threatened, and if they got tail or foot-hand agrasp, no soul-knack could outmatch. As yesterday, though Lashunta war-mind gave the team timeliness, whenever they drove into the Sealnea side, Ushna’s soulmight, waiting readily at halfback, stripped their edge as she brought her team tight and softened the onslaught. Rather than meeting the Lauba strength ahead, again her team tossed her the ball, letting her drive it mightily overyard, and making the Lauba witch-driver and rearward strive hard to forbid the goal-score. In this wise, the Sealnea scored three goals against the Lauba two in the first inning, which tally switched in the next, raising the score to six and six at the last inning’s start.
By then, both teams wearied. The only frain lay in which wearied more: the Lauba’s Korasha strength or the Sealnea nimbleness. The doom teetered unril a Lauba forerunner struck and trampled his Sealnea foe late after she offtossed the ball. The crowd witted and hissed, right as a gold flag flew, and the game halted as the Lauba player was banned. Yet not six tidewhits later, the same misdeed happened again. The watchers’ ill will seethed through the gameyard, beseeming the greatest ~qutau~ snake that ever lived. From our stead, the Lauba team wilted in shame, full-waring their strength, growing weary and hopeless in this late gametide, shifted blunderily. Their heads hung while another Lauba player was banned from the field, and this time unresteaded.
While the gamereeve reset, a tight mood overtook the yard, and unmerely the watchers, who broke dance to yell, but also the Sealnea team, whose tails twitched. Though but the inning’s last third outstayed, with a Lauba player short now offered hard behoof. The crowd bewitted as the gamereeve cast the ball and the players left, and I might have dreamed that these monkeyfolk looked newly eager.
At the players’ leap, the Lauba soul-knack seemingly wearied, even as their witch-driver. Yet the Sealnea feet and tails wearied less. They began an earnest drive downyard, which had the Lauba team fiercely backing to ward their goal-end. Yet then the Sealnea midrunner pitched the ball backward, where waited doughty Ushna, who readily hovered and drove the ball so fiercely that it swerved on meeting the Lauba witch-driver’s withstand but kept rightward all through the yard’s far edge. 
After that, the game outcomefully ended. Though an inning’s fourth outstayed, the Sealnea shrewdly played strong ward, and at a player short the Lauba had slight likelihood of scoring again. The crowd already danced a cheer even ere the end-bell rang, clearly beholding the Sealnea as their beloved while the Lauba team somewhat beshamedly yielded worship to the winners.
Afterward, Lea narrowly beat Than by four goals to three, in what belooked a well played game, though less thrillsome than the earlier. The win furthered the cityfolk’s mirth, giving their city a win against yesterday’s loss, and loosening them to outstream rowdily (which doubtlessly fueled the Motorae Eve lewdness I bewrote at this log’s start).
The aftermath’s high mark came, however, when Her Highness Lady Vifaul hosted an early duskmeal for the city’s guests. Lady Kueth, acknowledging her city’s bet, yielded her matron’s crown to Lord Ekishi, since Ushna had outscored the Lauba witch-driver five goals to three. Lord Ekishi took it with lissome thanks, though mayhap with the smugness of one who can so afford. By Her Highness’s mood, I read the Lauba will not soon forget this loss.

1. Motorae
This year-end’s Motorae is but two days, and thus one reason why the City Games began early. True to the holiday, Her Highness the High Matron welcomed His Lowness the Motorae He-Queen to the Matron’s Box, and wearing a crown of bumbleworts ahead. In good omen, he looked not too overdrunken from yesternight and whitsomely laid no uncouth hand upon Lea’s guests, though he spent the games’ greater share with many matrons sitting on his thigh and yielding sundry worship, much to the crowd’s fun, who cheered any misdeed shaming a high lady. Lady Marauqereth also flirted grovelingly with him, a deed which endlessly bechuckled her. Mayhap this lewdness, however, helped fray any tightness outstaying from yesterday’s game between Ofu-Laubu and the Sealnea, with both Lady Kueth and Lord Ekishi in the box.
Today’s first game played between Than and the Sealnea, wherein the Monkeyfolk handily won by two goals ahead. Yet the Thana team rallied at the end and heartily drove the game’s last goal, a deed Than betook, from the team with no wins under this game-set, as a proud mark, whereby they yielded not even though they lost. The teammates held heads high at the end-bell, and their erstwhile Sealnea foes greeted them worthily.
While we tarried between games and overtalked, many of us shared the same thought: after three days of games, the Sealnea team had wearied. If the game-set’s fourth day beheld a champion-match, this whit may outprove marksome.
In today’s later game, Lea the hosts played Ofu-Laubu, which the Lauba team won by a goal. Yet a Lauba foul again marred this game when a Lauba wing-runner overran and felled the Lea leftrunner, and dolefully a Korasha striking a Damaya. Under the crowd’s hiss, the Lea Korasha teammates forsook the bench, and under an ugly war-mind a true fight almost burst, until the gamereeve and the Lea teamlead stood between and forbade. The Lauba teamlead found the good wisdom to make her teammates kneel and withhold meeting Lea’s wrath, though they overstandingly threatened. In the end, after all soothed, the Lauba wing-runner was banned from the yard, under the watchers’ jeers and hisses. In my thought, Ofu-Laubu had well hardened their nameworth as the game-set’s wicked team.
When the game ended, a yell upcame from the crowd that the Sealnea, as the lone unlost team, should be named the winners, and doubtlessly owed to Ofu-Laubu’s evil nameworth. Under the game-set’s forespoken law, Her Highness Lady Vifaul withheld. Yet this thing upcame again at tonight’s masktide, held at Lady Nimizi’s hall, when Her Highness met the Thana, Lauba, and Sealnea ambassadors to overread the game-set. Two Lea matrons stood forth and beseeched that the championship be yielded to the Sealnea. Yet Lady Kueth gainsaid. While she acknowledged the Sealnea’s doughtiness, she answered her city’s team should get the forehap to again meet them in the last game to deem it.
All eyes swerved to His Highness Lord Ekishi, who held the behoof that, not only did his team hold the most wins, but also the cityfolk’s love, and so seemingly could do little wrong. The wizened monkey halted, and I wonder was reading the other guests’ and neighborfolks’ mood, mayhap to reckon what boon he could call. At last he nodded to Her Highness Lady Kueth and answered the thought of his team again meeting hers, and the canniness of repeating their earlier win, might enthrive. Then he asked: ~O’ziari seilf, a Haueil, o’dei thaes uvaeura hishura o’iheshi yoraea-shyaelassi?~ - “And yet I wonder, Your Highness, have you another crown you can yield?” His Highness then forespoke to repeat the same bet that Ushna his team's witch-driver would again outscore the Lauba’s.
We witted Lady Kueth halt, since eyesomely she had no crown else. Yet to our shock, Lady Marauqereth strode forth. ~Aeruaelf uvaeura,~ - “I will offer a crown,” she forespoke, at which Ekishi lissomely bowed, and the whole masktide buzzed. Thus Their Highnesses and the Matronhood have yaysaid that tomorrow the Lauba and Sealnea teams shall again play, and this time to deem the championship.
Afterward, I took a mindful whit to ask Lady Zhaene our ambassador right how a Lauba captain may have a crown. Foregiven that Son’s captains have right to speak within the Matrons’ Hall, but may vote only in war. Yet this stead bestows no crown. Mayhap Ofu-Laubu’s wonts are unlike.

Lashunta Words & Phrases:

• ~Motorae~ (spiritual): intercalery heaventide carnival holiday between the end of the old year and beginning of the new.
• ~Heienaze~ (feminine): trucebode; ambassador
• ~Qutau~ (animal): giant constrictor snake
• ~A Haueil~: Your Highness; vocative address of ~haueil~ (feminine): highness; high lady
• ~Uvaeura~: accusative of ~uvaeu~ (animal): crown
• ~Aeruaelf~: 1st-person exclusive conidtional of ~aeruaelassi~: to offer