[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M15cytA.png[/img][/center][hr][hr]
[color=00a99d]Seabirds circled and wheeled overhead, bleating and squawking under the relentless afternoon sun. Waves beat at a grand if somewhat weathered pier, and Zeno Giancarlo Silvestri and Tan-Zeno Jocasta Re waited, the former poring over a sheet of paper and murmuring instructions, the latter reaching out with her extended senses and providing updates and the occasional bit of local translation. And locals were everywhere: lining the walls of the great Castel Sant Angelo, bobbing up and down in brightly coloured fishing craft in the Grand Harbour, clustered along neighbouring piers, and sitting among the rigging of more than one docked galleon. Most were human. Some were eeaiko. A handful were yasoi or hegelan. 

There was, of course, a veritable army of leathery, sun-browned men who hung about in the shallows, tending to and placating some three hundred threshers of various species, shapes, and sizes. Sometimes the animals needed to be fed, so they fed them. Sometimes, they needed food. They were fed. Sometimes, they strained at their tethers. These were loosened or tightened as needed. Two and only two were great Bluewater Behemoths, tended to by master beast whisperers with years of experience. Two were immense Sandbar Threshers, sunning themselves lazily in the shadows, coaxed into activity when needed by eminently skilled and experienced handlers. The rest were a motley assortment of monarchs, Drudgunzean golds, crackclaws, volcanics, and a handful of diamondscales. Most common were the Perrench and Grande Perrench threshers, however: the most docile, generally speaking, and best for greenhorns to ride. 

These made up the vast bulk of the students who had gathered, and they were already being acquainted with their soon-to-be mounts. The lineup to try the Sandbars and the Behemoths was exceptionally long, but most were turned away with but a look. Jocasta was in the middle of physically yanking a protesting student away from a Sandbar when the first of the previous leg’s racers barreled through a newly-opened portal. Within a minute, it had disgorged dozens more. Almost immediately, those preparing to leave did so, and the magnificent array of sea animals bearing their precious mostly-human cargo disappeared under the waves and out of her sight and Zeno Silvestri’s range. 

Two minutes later, disaster struck.

Abdel Varga, a tethered boy of sixteen who had no business interfering with such forces, decided to cast his most powerful magnetic disruption across his entire extended range. The result was confusion, convulsions, and rage. Animals threw their riders and these needed to be rescued. The very moment that he arrived, the Sun King found himself busy. Jocasta ran herself ragged figuratively speaking, in her quest to pluck them from the water or revive them on time. Some of the large beasts rampaged aggressively. Other local animals, not even part of the race, took flight or savagely attacked the contestants. Their antics caused a massive underwater mudslide that damaged some of the sunken city of Cervan before Tan-Zeno Re and three other hired tethered put a stop to it. At the very least, it buried the artifacts inches to yards deep in the mud, making them much more difficult to locate. 

The thing was… that wasn’t even the worst part. Enraged beyond the control of its rider - the normally perfectly capable beast whisperer Zarina Al-Nader - the sole Bluewater Behemoth under control of a student unleashed its rage and confusion on multiple other riders. This caused a chain reaction, and soon a Grand Perrench thresher was tearing curtain whales apart and the terrifying but normally docile Sandbar thresher under another student’s control also decided to go on a rampage. In short, it was a complete fiasco, responsible for a great deal more harm than good to the sunken city. Yet, there was no single obvious, responsible party, and Jocasta and her fellow tethered kept Abdel protected within their cone of silence. 

So it was that, even as longtime frontrunners Raffscallions, Singers & Saints, Vyshta’s More Favoured, and Teatro Sorridente broke the surface, clambered onto the pier, and presented their finds to the school’s Head of Archaeology, dozens of teams found themselves eliminated, their dreams of completing the legendary race dashed by those more powerful than themselves. A handful of other elite and near-elite teams, like Fiske n’ Chips, Fait Accompli, Beware the Nice Ones, Rock and Stone, King’s Ear, and The Invisibles, survived and made it through. In the end, however, they were ten of only thirty-four teams remaining in the race.[/color]
[hr][hr][center][h2][color=00a99d]Results & Standings[/color][/h2][/center][hr][hr]
[hider=Submitted Strategies][h2]Teatro Sorridente: Abdel & Morrigan[/h2]
Participants:
❖ Abdel - Monarch - Search Level 5 (Boosts) - suit (attacked by Raff, S&S)
❖ Morrigan - Monarch - Search Level 5 (Boosts)

Strengths:
❖ Abdel is an expert magnetic mage with thunderchild and Tethered Range.
❖ He is a beastmaster to two skuggvars, used to animals. Past as a bounty hunter/investigator.
❖ Morrigan specializes in Magnetic. She can also make necromancer summons from sunken carcasses. Very competent.
❖ Monarch is balanced and optimal for those with experience animal handling. Should be able to do everything smoothly.
❖ Morrigan will buff Abdel and herself with commune.

Weaknesses:
❖ Abdel’s low Base RAS might leave him defensively vulnerable.
❖ Low experience with water areas and aquatic creatures.
❖ Rely on magnetic fields to navigate further down.

Strategy:
❖ EMP: Abdel will unleash an EMP pulse to disorient everything in his gargantuan range, slowing every thresher down and aggravating wildlife.
❖ Strong magnetic from both to pilot animals if they get rowdy and ward off predators. Even control them.
❖ Necromancer on carcasses to perform efficient searching. Also used to sabotage other teams and protect their own threshers. 

[h2]Vyshta’s Favoured: Juulet & Piss[/h2]
Participants:
❖ Juulet - Drudgunzean Gold - Search Level 1
❖ Takes-the-Piss - Dudgunezan Gold - Search Level 1

Strengths:
❖ Fast AF Bugs. Maneuverable too.
❖ Juulet can defend and wreck easily on her own to compensate for the thresher’s shortcomings.
❖ Piss has good RAS and can handle himself with lighting and movement.

Weaknesses:
❖ Juulet’s BS.
❖ Piss’ BS.

Strategy:
❖ Blitz through to the city and get the stuff. Then leave.
❖ Temporal buff to speed them up EVEN more. And slow down everyone else. (Not banned)
❖ Smash all those in the front with extreme prejudice. Nasty internal chem and advanced arcane to cause vents to pop sooner and currents to get more violent.
❖ King’s Ear gets special attention.
❖ If the thresher gets spooked, bribed with copious food. If resisting, Juulet becomes the ride.

[h2]Rock and Stone: Marz & Lumen[/h2]
Participants:
❖ Marz - Grand Perrench- Search Level 5 (phelendrion)
❖ Sister Lumen - Crackclaw - Search Level 5 (staff)

Strengths:
❖ Marz studied metallurgy and stone masonry, making him very capable of sensing out metals and different materials.
❖ Lumen is a very powerful magnetic, arcane, and binding mage.
❖ They both have a solid array of defenses from high heat, kinetic waves, and chemical attacks.
❖ The Crackclaw and the Grand Perrench are all-around decent threshers while they are decently fast and have decent or an amazing excavation to help quickly find goods and artifacts.

Weaknesses:
❖ Marz has relatively low RAS and not as much experience in animal handling.
❖ Lumen is an untested animal tamer.
❖ Neither are very well known for aquatic games.

Strategy:
❖ Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
❖ Using their solid searching skills and the excavation they will search out for artifacts and possibly other items.
❖ Physical sabotage attempts are defended by Marz and his stronger Thresher.
❖ Lumen will defend against internal attacks with magnetic and shield them from environmental threats with arcane and binding.
❖ Sabotage is low on the priority list as they are aiming to win the race quickly.

[h2]Beware the Nice Ones: Lunara & Lalita[/h2]
Strategy - Lunara and Lalita Suraj will pick a Grand Perrench Thresher. Lunara can use magnetic and thunderchild to help her counter the strange force that is affecting the animal and Lalita can help her with her own magnetic magic, and also use magnetic magic to find the artefacts. They will try to stay away from hazards, however if they are attacked by animals, Lunara and Lalita can use chemical magic to put them to sleep. Also if they get too close to the volcanic and hydrothermal vents she will use binding to make a barrier to try and stop them from taking damage. While they are travelling around looking for the artefacts, they will both keep an eye out for any treasure.

5 looking for Treasure (eggs, tip)

[h2]Raffscallions: Zarina & Axolotl[/h2]
Participants:
❖ Zarina - Behemoth - Search Level 10 (Calesades) - Rampage: Nice, Teatro, Fait
❖ Unfortunate Axolotl - Crackclaw - Search Level 8 (Thresher Booster)

Strengths:
❖ Zarina is a proven beastmaster, making her optimal for a Behemoth, with high chem. Also has magnetic. Has experience with threshers. Great defensive power.
❖ Axolotl is a wildblood, aquatic animal experience and expertise in magnetic.
❖ Both are experienced with coastal areas.
❖ Behemoth will not be fucked with. Crackclaw to help quickly find goods and artefacts.

Weaknesses:
❖ Relatively low RAS. Not the fastest animals.
❖ Not the smartest bunch.

Strategy:
❖ They won’t rush the process and will seek out the best stuff.
❖ The Behemoth is leaned on to essentially ward off saboteurs. Crackclaw to remove obstacles fast and dig.
❖ Zarina’s taming prowess and Axolotl’s internal magnetic to keep the Behemoth from rampaging.
❖ Sabotage attempts are defended by Zarina’s fat defenses and the Behemoth’s defenses.
❖ Temporal is used to speed up the animals, with Zarina even using a little bit of teleport/portal trickery to compensate. Also used to secure loot before it can be stolen. Used to slow down threats if they’re not disoriented by Magnetic.
❖ Will gatekeep with Behemoth at the end.

[h2]King’s Ear: Dory & Yaufin[/h2]
❖ Dory - Search 4, items, Drudgunzean Gold
❖ Yaufin - Search 1, items, Drudgunzean Gold

Strengths:
❖ Both have experience with riding Threshers.
❖ Yaufin is a skilled magnetic mage with thunderchild
❖ Dory has proficiency with the fastest rideable thresher.

Weaknesses:
❖ Dory has barely any magnetic to speak of.
❖ Her thresher is rather vulnerable.
❖ Relies on teamwork.

Strategy:
❖ They will use the speed and maneuverability of the Golds to as fast as they can to the bottom whilst avoiding obstacles. Yaufin could use magnetic to guide the poor threshers if they get confused.
❖ Once down Yaufin will use their magnetic to scan whilst Dory goes after the visible ones, making herself more alert through chemical and making a light with arcane.
❖ If more people begin to go to their area they will try to stay a safe distance away with their speed advantage.

[h2]Fiske n’ Chips: Yansee & Luza[/h2]
❖ Yansee - Perrench - Paupaup - 7 (cave)
❖ Luza-Urzac-Stoagi- perrench - 7 (bait)

Strengths:
❖ Yansee has Oceanborne. She can use the dark to buff and provide utility while making use of necromancer to help search.
❖ Paupaup can search for things as a third person and can stay inside of the thresher.
❖ Luza is not only a magnetic mage, but is a massive enough RAS to keep them away.

Weaknesses:
❖ Luza is, in fact, a Sirrahi in a thresher. It is going to be tight but hopefully the perrench is big enough for him
❖ Yansee lacks Magnetic entirely, and is only an apprentice in Arcane and Kinetic.
❖ Yansee lacks innate magical power and is reliant on Necromancy and buffing herself with dark to reach a reasonable level.

Strategy:
❖ Both of them taking Perrench threshers is going to give an even decent and good level of safety.
❖Yansee is going to be grabbing dead things on the bottom and filling them with demons to help find treasures.
❖ Luza is going to be using his brains to try and predict where the mass of people are going to go then find more lucrative spots.

[h2]Fait Accompli: Ingrid & Stratocumulus[/h2]
Participants:
❖ Ingrid - Drudgunzean Gold - Search Level 3, Boosts
❖ Stratocumulus - Perrench - Search Level 7, Items

Strengths:
❖ Ingrid has Oceanborne and good kinetic skills and can hide herself with Arcane and search with it.
❖ Statocumulus has good magnetic properties and can mask itself with it and chemical magic.
❖ Ingrid is high RAS and can negate the thermals and use them to her advantage.

Weaknesses:
❖ Ingrid is fast but lacks Magnetic.
❖ Stratocumulus is relatively low RAS.
❖ Little experience underwater.

Strategy:
❖ Ingrid takes the Dudgunzean Gold and Stratocumlus takes the Perrench.
❖ Ingrid rushes down to grab the easy ones, risking herself as Stratocumulus descends slower to find the last ones if necessary. Ingrid uses Arcane to hide herself from predators and Atomic to make them cry if they get close. Stratocumulus uses a mixture of Magnetic and Chemical to hide. She plans on checking the internals of the lost city for what is causing the confusion.
❖ Absorb energy from the hydrothermal vents to then blast your way to the top.

[h2]The Invisibles: Abdel Aziz & Xiulan[/h2]
Abdel Aziz: Grand Perrench (attacked by curtain whale)
Xiulan: Grand Perrench
The pyro mage will, uh, make a good go of it underwater. Xiulan will use her magnetic magic to search and her cryo to chill the water around other teams. Combined with Abdel Aziz’ temperature manipulation, they could create some really vicious currents. Not sure what the goal was for these two, but they’ll give it their all! No distractions or searching. 

[h2]Singers & Saints: Kaureerah & Anthal[/h2]
Kaureerah: Drudgunzean Gold
Anthal: Great Sandbar (Rampage: attacked Teatro, attacked by curtain whale)
At the end of the day, Kaureerah is an eeaiko in an environment she can absolutely thrive in and a good chemical mage who can pacify a familiar animal. Her senses work better underwater than anyone else’s and she won’t have to worry about breathing or the water pressure. She will also be aggressively employing primordial shenanigans to help herself and her teammate out. Anthal is a strong chemical and magnetic mage as well as a strong swimmer and mariner. The first will be useful for pacifying his ride, which is an animal he would reasonably be familiar with. The second is optimal for searching and dealing with the magnetic currents and their bermuda Triangle-like disturbances. Kaureerah won’t bother to search (1/10).[/hider]
[hider=Results][h2]Results[/h2]
[b]Standings:[/b] Raff (1,5), S&S (2,9), Vyshta’s (3,6), Teatro (4,15), Chips (7,12), Fait (8,11), Nice (10,14), Rock (13,16), King’s (17,18), Invisibles (19,20)

[b]Speed:[/b] Juulet, Kaureerah, Lumen, Yansee, Piss, Dory, Zarina, Ingrid, Axolotl, Marz, Yaufin, Abdel, Strato, Anthal, Morrigan, Lunara, Lalita, Luza, Xiulan, Abdel Aziz 

[b]Treasures:[/b] Zarina (Calesardes), Yansee (major), Axolotl (major), Lumen (Aphystaph), Lunara (volcanic eggs), Marz (Phelendrion), Luza (minor), Strato (minor), Lalita (minor), Abdel (minor)

[b]Points:[/b] Raff (55), S&S (53), Vyshta’s (57), Teatro (37), Chips (40), Fait (34), Nice (31), Rock (41), King’s (31), Invisibles (28)
Time: Raff (00:00.00), S&S (+00:04.23), Vyshta’s (+00:06.46), Teatro (+00:10.01), Chips (+00:14.75), Fait (+00:15.98), Nice (+00:19.17), Rock (+00:19.84), King’s (+00:22.32), Invisibles (+00:24.66)[/hider]