Sand and Rock (16 May 2013)
Every team comes to the Altador Cup looking to gain some kind of advantage over the rest of the field, and today's new arrivals are no exception. For months there have been ongoing rumors of some kind of reserch going on in Lost Desert's state-of-the-art training facility, and the results of that research were unveiled today outside of the Colosseum. Standing on a raised platform built specially for the occasion, LD's General Manager proudly held up a brand new Yooyuball sling for the gathered crowd to admire. "This sling is the results of nearly two years' worth of research," she told the onlookers_ "And is a testament to the heights we can acheive when the best and brightest from each land come together to work towards a common goal. Scholars from Brightvale, scientists from Virtupets and even our own players labored to create this masterpiece of engineering, and thanks to their efforts we've come up with a design which is lighter, more aerodynamic, and even more efficient at transmitting the force from a player's arm into the Yooyuball. We have every confidence that this new sling is going to revolutionize the game." An immediate buzz went up from the crowd in response to the news, and the gathered media, in their rush to be the first to get reactions from the other teams, completely forgot about the scheduled interview with LD's Leera Heggle, which was eventually postponed for a later date.
Team Shenkuu, also looking for a leg up on the competition, decided on a slightly different approach. It all started when defender Antola Maeir joked that reason for the team's slump was because the Colosseum was the one place they hadn't climbed. Mirsha Grelinek, overhearing the comment, took it as a personal challenge and pretty soon a race was on between her and goalie Xana DiLanche to see which one could be the first to conquer the Colosseum. Within minutes the crowd outside swelled to nearly triple the size, with many of the fans taking bets as to which player would be the first to reach the top. Members of the Altador Cup Planning Committee, alerted by the ruckus, attempted to put a stop to the proceedings, but unfortunately for them neither player could hear their shouts over the general din, and the ACPC was reduced to trying to look dignified while scrambling to avoid the falling debris coming from above. After nearly an hour of climbing, Mirsha Grelinek finally reached the top, and she laughed later on that Shenkuu was bound to win now, since no other team could claim that they had literally risen above the competition.
With more and more teams arriving each day, the lighthearted atmosphere in the Colosseum is slowly giving way to an intense anticipation of events to come. Little more than two weeks remain before the start of Altador Cup VIII.