An Academy for Tieflings aka Hellkin, and an Academy for Humans come together once a year for a friendly inter-academy competition. This has been a very old tradition in this nation. It's sad that outsiders keep trying to push their bigoted ways and wreck the tradition. When will they learn that THIS nation doesn't discriminate like that? -- Anon Guest
[AN: Hellkin are of course a totally original creation not at all based on anything that WOTC might have accidentally released on an open license in recent history :\ Cough]
Some things just follow from malicious compliance. When people objected to Hellkin attending school with "more normal" subjects, the leader of the realm commissioned a school exclusively for his fellow Hellkin.
When people objected to the "exclusivity" of the school, and how the Hellkin students couldn't possibly be prepared for "the real world"... the contest began. Between the Academy of Outcasts and the leading "normal" school.
They could not compete as anything else but sports, owing to "unfairness", and thus began the Academy Games.
Not just Humans versus Hellkin, but also Humans versus Hellkin versus Elves versus Orcs and every other intelligent creature that had an academy to compete. Open to all.
No magic is allowed. The field has wards to make everything as even as possible. It's not just a game of skill, but also strategy and wit. It's won through fast thinking, learned skills, and even a knowledge of the opposite side.
It was a game that outlasted its inventor. It was the tradition of centuries, lasting so long that people couldn't think of any other way of pursuing competition between groups. At least in that area.
There's always more outsiders. People who don't know the way things are and believe that those ways are incorrect.
Some people, as that old ruler once said, were idiots.
"Those little children are fighting demons!"
"What? No! They're playing a game. It's only Hautboll." The regular at the spectator screen explained some of the rules and the teams, and even pointed out the body language. Then they added, "It's traditional."
"It's horrific," said the visitor. "How can anyone be sure those devils don't do anything to the real children?"
"They're... all real children?" said the regular. They pointed out a bright yellow Hellkin running from one objective to the other. "That's my cousin and she's a genius. Watch. She's going for the Upper Flurpy."
"Oh," said the stranger. "I didn't know you were from a tainted bloodline."
"My 'esteemed' fellow, it's been like a million years since the Xenophobia wars. Odds are everyone has a tainted bloodline."
The stranger left in a huff, fussing about how they didn't go there to be insulted.
As for the regular, they went back to watching the game and cheering on their younger cousin. Some people were just determined to be idiots.
[Photo by Javier Miranda on Unsplash]
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