Skar

Skar is a professional sport participated in by players on gibgibsew-back competing for control of the slog in order to make a goal with it. The name skar comes from the word 'zanktaskarg' (Throvian Language) which means ‘dragon struggle.’ Skar as it is played today originated in Aurice. However similar games have been played through the Pallathantic Region wherever gibgibsews have been ridden for sport. Skar teams have been organized in cities throughout the Aurician Empire and Corundy, most notably the cities of Addinoro, Asdrallen, Hemertispera, Shadmouthton, and Kumeikë . The greatest honor for any skarjibsman is to participate in the annual high game of skar on New Year's Day which in the Common Year is on Summer Solstice. The Imperial Skar Pennant is arguably the most popular game with spectators out of all the sports held on New Years Day in Aurice as part of the Games of High Summer of Aurice. Spectators fill the fundaments alongside the great canals and pack into special aerobarges chartered specifically for this purpose by late morning on New Year's Day. The cost of lodging in the city proper typically doubles or even triples.

The Imperial Skar Pennant is played among three teams of nine players on each team. The team colors are traditionally silver, crimson, and blue. A player is a human gibgibsew rider mounted on his gibgibsew and the game is played on the greatest rivens of the city of Aurice, most principally Golden Phœnice Riven. A gibgibsew player is typically stout and squat in stature as this is the ideal body shape to stay mounted on the creature’s back. A gibgibsew is similar in morphology to a gila monster with the exception that a gibgibsew has eight legs instead of four and is about fifteen feet long. The game is a contest over the slog, a loose bag of reptile hide bigger than the shoulder-breadth of a large man. The gibgibsew is trained to hold the bag in its mouth. A gibgibsew can bear its rider at a slow speed, slugging through the water, even deep water which is any water so deep, the gibgibsew cannot touch its bottom. However, the creature is capable of sprinting at rather fast speeds over the top of the water due to its constitution and magical properties. The manner and practice of human controlling gibgibsew requires continual conditioning and the implementation of magical devices much greater than standard practice of the law-lock.

At the beginning of the game, the three teams with their players mounted are arranged to each other like the sides of an isosceles triangle, with nine mounted players on each side. The slog is launched into the middle of the triangle and the jibriders move to have their mount seize the slog in its maw. The slog must be hurled by either the rider or the beast into a circular goal that rises on the middle of Golden Phœnice Riven. For this accomplishment, the rider's team is awarded nine points. The slog can be batted by the beast's tail or flung from its mouth.

Once the slog enters the goal, it is retrieved from play by a slogkeeper. The players must wait for the next slog to be delivered from the machine. The subsequent locations are randomly determined by a roulette-like machine. Various aristocrats and wealthy merchants pay for the privilege of throwing a coin into the machine to make the determination. In recent years, this activity has been done in a flying, carousel-like craft above the city. Once the location of the next slog is determined, the slog-launcher levitates to that place in the city and launches it into one of the rivens. A brilliant flare is launched into the sky at that point to signal the players and spectators where the slog may be found. The jibriders must race to that location, retrieve the slog and launch it successfully into the central goal. There are nine slogs for a regular full game. If the score is tied between the top two teams, then an additional slog can be added to break the tie.

The historian and folklorist Shunjimmo said of the game of skar: "The word zanktaskarg in turn was the word used by the sponsors of the game to replace ‘borgaslubh’ which was the original name of the sport that meant ‘behemoth ball’ as long as you understand that by ball I mean a lumpy sack made of reptile hide the size of a great sack, the perfect size to rest in the clenched maws of a gibgibsew. In the twenty fifth century (2400’s), the game saw a revival and was clamped down with various restrictions aimed at preventing the death or dismemberment of the players and spectators. By the twenty seventh century (2600’s), the game very much catered to the spectors’ longing for bloodlust as unwanted but seemingly unavoidable decapitations became less infrequent. The venal sponsors saw an ever expanding spectatorship with tourists from across the Pallathantic bringing an ever expanding revenue base to the victors and to their purses."

Customs of the High Game of Skar

Prior to the great game of Skar on New Year's Day, the jib riders of the three teams convene outside of the Citadel of the Palatine Guard of Aurice where they board the golden barge of the High Phœnissa and voyage south down Golden Phœnice Riven to the landing of the Temple of the Golden Phœnice, enter the the temple, and are ceremonially blessed by the High Phœnissa.

If a jibsman either on the back of his beast or by himself should come out of the water onto one of the fundaments or strades, the spectators will throw rocks at him. This is a dangerous proposition as the gibgibsews have been known to respond by mauling their assailants on some occasions. Legally, there is little recourse for the survivors as attacking a law-locked beast is provocation with consequences.

Immediately after judges determine the winning team, the jibriders of the team ride with long oriflamme pennants down the riven in front of the temple for the view of the High Phœnissa and her fellow Phœnissæ.

Purse and Winnings

The purse is paid for by concessions along the fundaments of Golden Phœnice River rented from the city by the game sponsors. To be admitted to these areas, the spectator must pay an entrance fee based upon propinquity to the goal. Additional money is earned by the game sponsors from vending of street foods and memorabilia.

The purse is divided into five parts. The winning team receives three parts and the other two teams receive one part. The individual team itself awards each player based on a contract determined before the game is played. Typically, the payment is based upon how much the player actually played, with an added bonus for the team captain. In the past, the number of goals won also determined payment, but this has been discontinued by the teams as it had undesirable consequences in teamwork.

In the event a player does not survive the game, the payment is given in accordance with appropriate inheritance laws.

Skar Betting and Riots

Betting on the outcome of skar games is rampant on New Year's Day and so prevalent that the city gendarmes typically turn their eye away from it. Unregistered bookies take in small fortunes at various taverns and pubs throughout the city. At the conclusion of the game and the announcement of the winning team, rioting often erupts, especially in the poor and working districts of the city of Aurice. Visitors are advised to avoid these areas and to evacuate any area where rioting breaks out as soon as possible. The city gendarmes often do not police these areas during riots as they are well outnumbered.

See Also

• Games of High Summer of Aurice
• Gibgibsew
• Jibsports