Ghyll:Day of Champions

The Day of Champions is held on Yin Yin 12^th Jole every year. The highlight of the day is final game of Bindlet Ball for the year. This game is the final one for the season where the championship is decided.

At the time of writing, we are in the 55^th year of the Day of Champions. Last years winning team were the Glossfordshire Maurlons, who beat the Evesque Warriors 6-1 in a record game time of 5 hours and 17 minutes (Source: Bindlet Ball; DrBacchus 12 Sep 2004).

It is traditional for the Day of Champions game is always held at the Folktown Hyperbolic Bindlet Ball Arena, this being the largest arena of any in the Ghyllian League. The Day of Champions is gazetted as a holiday in all towns in the region. Such is the following of Bindlet Ball, that even if the day were not an official holiday, the population at large would treat it as one.

Although the game of Bindlet Ball is the highlight of the day, this does not mean that it is the only significant event.

In keeping with the celebratory nature of the day, the Folktown Council organises a parade of jesters, muses and other chaotic persons as entertainment. On one celebrated occassion, the council found a troupe of minstrels that played Freege Horns. This was the first time these instruments had been seen south of the Evesque Valley and they were a great hit.

Other attractions of the day include a large arts, crafts and gourmet food markets. Merchants come from many lele away to participate as the crowds are huge.

At the end of the day, there is a traditional feast where the members of the Folktown Council are bound to serve all comers from a large array of bay marees. Huge quantities of Adlorst Wine is consumed at this feast making the following day somewhat of an ordeal for most. This time of servitude presents some special risks to the members of the Town Council. At last count, there have been eleven assassinations at these end of day events. The most notable was when Baron Smallwood’s uncle, Iain Underholm Smallwood was attacked by an unidentified assailant. This creative assassin sprayed his victim with Adlorst Wine and then threw a Ball Lightning Liqueur over him. The resulting conflagration caused Iain Smallwood to melt in front of bystanders. The assassin avoided capture^‡.

Should the game of Bindlet Ball, for which this whole occasion exists, exceed a day in length, then the holiday is similarly extended. This was taken to its extreme in -21EC when the game lasted nearly seven days. By this time, everyone was heartily sick of the holiday and the party and returned to their normal lives with a collective sigh of relief.

Footnotes

^‡It may only be a coincidence that the following day’s issue of the Folktown Records was its best selling ever - so much so, that a second and third printing were required.

Citations: Bindlet Ball, Freege Horn, Iain Underholm Smallwood

--Dok 23:22, 28 Sep 2004 (EDT)