Flingo Ball

CW: Violence, Blood, and Sports

Flingo Ball is a Dwarven bloodsport where two teams compete to steal the opponent's Flingo and score it in one of three goals.
Created in 149 by Dwarves Balrus and Irwyne, the sport was originally a dull game of simply stealing and scoring. A few years after creation, a rule was added that the Flingo must be covered in blood to gain points, spicing up play for centuries to come.

Rules of Flingo Ball

Flingo Ball teams consisted of two teams of five, starting on opposite sides of a field. Behind the teams, five Flingos were placed, which they would have to defend from the opposing team.

Goals

Behind even the Flingos, though, were three goals. On the left corner of each side, a Hoop traditionally used in Dunk the Deep Gnome. The most difficult goal to score in, as it was often too high for Dwarves to reach.

The middle goal is a Soccer Net, the simplest goal to score in, and the only one where a goalie would stand in front of. The goalie's job was twofold. One, to protect the Flingos, which were placed near the Net. Two, to be available if a Flingo is thrown to them, and then easily score said Flingo.

The final goal was from the Orcish sport Kick Axe. On the corner opposite the DtDG Hoop, the Kick Axe Goal was moreso placed for style rather than practicality. Long shot throws or kicks of Flingos would more easily go into a Kick Axe Goal than a DtDG Hoop, and would have less chance of being intercepted by opponents or by play-stealing goalies than the Soccer Net.

Balrus by Jarhed

There was no inherent point value difference in the different goals, instead supporting different tactics. The Hoop was for those that wanted to show off by dunking it, or show precise throws. The Net was for practicality and teamwork. The Goal was for long-range final moves. The point difference instead came from blood.

Blood and Flingos

Once the two teams began the game, it turned to a death match. Ruthlessly, they would fight to steal the opponent's Flingos, which they would then score in one of their above mentioned goals.
Therefore, the basic playstyle consisted of running to one side of the field, getting the Flingo, and running back to your side to score. The trouble came from the in-between parts. The other players.
Getting points in Flingo Ball requires more than just Flingos. It requires blood, sweat, and tears... but mostly blood. A bloodless Flingo is worth a singular point, but each drop of blood added to it counts for more points. It is often asked how exactly this is quantified, but Dwarven forges have tried to keep this fact a close secret.
It did not remain a secret for long, as it was found that a special enchantment was put on them when they are created. This enchantment can quantify the amount of blood on each Flingo, and links to a small counter where the blood points are tallied up.

Weaponry

Getting blood, however, is not very easy in Flingo Ball. Outside weapons are not allowed to be brought onto a Flingo Ball field. Therefore, only four official things that can be used to get blood.

Melthrum by Jarhed

1. Fisticuffs- Brute force is a simple, yet effective, method to get blood from an opponent, and is considered the most fair and balanced way.
2. Magic- Not as embraced as other methods, partially due to a large disadvantage many Dwarves have. The most common magic for Dwarves is Flame, which cauterizes wounds and stops bleeding rather than causing excess bleeding. Earth mages, therefore, have a major advantage in this field, as they can make sharp objects out of nothing.
3. Flingos- The Flingos are made of metal and plastic, and are shaped like clubs. Therefore, they can be used to get blood. This is a very effective method.
4. Flingo Balls- Each team is given one Flingo Ball, which is the only official weapon sanctioned in Flingo Ball matches. They are effective tools, and the main draw of the sport, as their simple but powerful nature makes them strong killing tools.

Flingo Ball and Flingos by OpenClipart-Vectors

Flingo

A Flingo is a white cylindrical pin with two red rings around the top. It starts off thin at the bottom, getting thicker as you go up the pin. Then, it gets smaller again. Once it has reached the width of the bottom, it then goes up further, once more getting thicker to form a similar, though smaller, shape compared to the bottom of the pin.
Their club-like shape was very intentional, as they are intended to be used as bludgeoning weapons during Flingo Ball matches. A plastic material is used to coat them, though the interior of a Flingo is metal. This is to make it heavy enough to weigh down those attempting to take them, and hard enough to hit opponents with.
Named after a famous play where co-creator Balrus tossed what would become the Flingo, where spectating Gnomes said, "He just did a Fling, oh!" The name stuck after that, and was officially adopted not long after.

Flingo Ball

A Flingo Ball is a metal ball intended to be used to deal as much damage as possible to opponents, but still be throwable. Their size was meant to be large enough to be able to break through even Dwarven, Emetian, and Draconian skin, which is famously tough compared to the surrounding species of Elone.
Their circular nature was considered best for aerodynamics, being easily throwable for those with enough strength. Three holes, for fingers to reach into the ball, were meant to allow for those that would not throw them to have a good grip on the ball. With this grip, they could swing the ball to hit opponents.
Originally, they were made of wood. This was considered to not be tough enough, and was thought to cause more lasting damage than would matter to the Flingo Ball match itself, and therefore was replaced soon after inception.

Other weaponry is not allowed, though a technicality in the rules does excuse this fact. The rules state teams cannot bring weapons on the field, but that is the extent.

Interference

Outside interference is never mentioned in the Flingo Ball rules, but it has become an unofficial rule that it is allowed in most scenarios.

The only rule stopping major interference is that only ten people may step foot onto the field, five players from each team. As long as the audience does not touch the field, they can do what they please. Attack players, give players items, heal them, and give advice.
This can be used to terrifying effectiveness, allowing reckless plays and powerful items to be used with very short notice.

Ogonn by Jarhed

Death and Knockout

The most important rule for many is what happens when fatalities happen on the fields. The simple answer is: it is an expected and embraced part of Flingo Ball. As a bloodsport, players expect to die. They are then quite pleased if they survive, and if they die they don't exactly get the chance to be mad about it.
Knocked out players are considered out of the game and cannot be used to siphon more blood. However, any bleeding orifices are able to be used to gain blood. They just cannot be beaten to gain more blood.
If an entire team is knocked out or killed, the game ends and the points of all scored Flingos are tallied up. Even if a team is dead, they can still win, as the winner is only the one with the highest amount of scored points.

550

There is precedent for this, as the Magic College Class of 550 beat the Class of 549 in a match by simply scoring one Flingo covered in a small amount of blood.
The mutated member of 550, Ogonn Ha, alongside his classmates, were incapacitated. However, the Class of 549 had neglected to cover Flingos in blood or score them. Therefore, by default, 550 won.

Children's Flingo

A little league version of Flingo Ball exists for children. The rules are similar, but the balls are made of a softer material, the Goal and Hoop are shorter and easier to reach, and the children are instead covered in blood packets. This means they do not, and almost cannot, cause injury to the other children, allowing it to be played recreationally.