In Honour of Arthas!

“Greetings one and all and thank you for coming.” The cold voice of Tichondrious (Vampyre turned Wight) carries out over the crowd. He stands on a platform in the middle of the stadium. “As you all know, these past games have been relentless battles. Half the time on the field was spent arguing about proper procedures while the other half consisted of players brutishly pounding each other to make up for the lost time.”

A roar of approval erupts from the audience. Howls mixed with gunshots escalate the fervour of the crowd as they relive their favourite games. (An unfortunate goblin is tossed into the air with a bomb strapped to his back.) Tichondrious grins, his black lips spreading across his long-dead face. As the screams (of the goblin) die down, Tichondrious resumes.

We are nearing the beginning of the semi-finals and with the team rankings finally set in their proper places...” *Applause* (from the members of Coach Coffin’s team who actually have hands and a head to know how to use them) “...I feel that we, and the rest of the members of the NCC, are ready.”

The antics of the crowd pick up again. Some begin to cant “NCC! NCC!” and soon the ground begins to shake as the creatures stomp the ground and raise a ruckus. (Miraculously the goblin survived; unfortunately this encourages the crowd to try again.) Tichondrious examines the crowd and waits for them to finish, then realizing that they are not going to; he cuts in with a bone chilling wail. (Being a Wight has its benefits.)

“With that I would like to bring your attention to a tragedy, one which has undoubtedly impacted us all.” Tichondrious closes his eyes.

The crowd looks up, puzzled, unsure of what he means. All motion has ceased. (The goblin makes his escape). The Undead below Tichondrious begin to wail. The Ghouls scrape at their eyes, the Zombies their flesh. The Skeletons are taking their ribs and snapping them one by one. The members of the audience look to each other for an explanation. None is proffered.

“Arthas Menethil is dead!” More confusion. Some begin to laugh. Death is a part of the contract, everyone knows that! Although death is rare for undeath, it is still possible.

 Growing bored the audience begins to leave. They start talking of the upcoming finals, making bets followed by plans to poison the ones they bet against. An explosion catches the crowd’s attention and they make their way to the source to see if it marks the beginning of another game. (The runaway goblin apparently forgot to take the second bomb off his back, much to the pleasure of the crowd.)

Tichondrious does not notice his audience leave him as he stands in silence to honour the passing of his idol. With his team below acting as his only listeners, Tichondrious continues his speech.

“We all know of the triumphs of Arthas. Of his evolution from man, to death, to King of Undeath, he has touched us all.”

“And I would like to make a vow, that from this day forward, all of our games shall be played in honour of him, and that through him, we shall be triumphant!”

The Ghouls, Zombies, Skeletons, and even the Mummies, cheer, they begin to ceremoniously stomp the ground, both for effect and to attempt to reach Arthas in the far reaches of hell. As one the yell out to the world their new motto, “FOR ARTHAS!”

POSTSCRIPT:

On A related note, Coach Coffin has been reportedly been considering a new mascot - in order to draw in some younger blood...er ...fans (yeah thats it!) by softening the public image of his team a little. Here is a little preview - write in and tell us what you think?