Before the founding of the empire two otherworldly existences visited Pangu. One was known for his great breadth of knowledge and willingness to converse on any subject, earning the moniker The Academic. The other, The Contender, enjoyed games and competitions, she explained how to play many sports and games from her world and was especially fond of strategy games that simulated battles.
While learning to cultivate, The Contender created a new game based on the different elemental affinities. Siege[1], as it came to be known, meant to attack a city in The Contender's native tongue. Siege is played on a large hex grid, 25 hexagons wide with edges 13 hexagons long. The game is designed to be played with two, three, or six players. Play involves managing supplies produced by your cities, protecting your cities from your opponents, and positioning your pieces. The pieces are based on different elemental affinities which determines how they move and attack. When a player loses all their cities they are eliminated, the last player standing is the winner.
When Siege was first created there was a lack of interest in it, perhaps due to the lack of conflict between nations. However, after the civil war between provinces began, the generals controlling the armies realized there was a lot about strategy and warfare that could be learned from the game. Many provinces began holding tournaments among their recruits, with the winners being fast tracked for promotion. Even after the war came to an end and the Gaian Empire was established Siege tournaments remained popular. Many of the Emperor's agents use these tournaments to scout for talents that could be of use in the Empire's expansion efforts.
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“Ying'er[2] take a deep breath. Don't get distracted. The real competition starts now,” Ming Fang gently reminded in a hushed tone.
Ming Jia Ying was so overcome with excitement as they entered the arena that she nearly forgot to breathe. The cheering crowds and brightly colored banners were nothing like the low-key local tournaments she'd been in before. Taking a moment to focus on her breathing, she pushed everything else from her mind. “Thank you Mother, I'm ready now.”
Ming Fang gave a brief nod, a faint smile gracing her lips as she watched her daughter climb the steps leading to the arena stage. There were six tables on stage and when Ming Jia Ying found her seat Ming Fang moved to find a spot in the stands nearest her table.
The Qin province's regional Siege tournament brings together the winners of the thirty-six community level tournaments held across the Qin province. The tournament is single elimination, only winners move on to the next round, and the first round is going to be six simultaneous six-player matches. The next round will be two three-player matches, followed by a two-player match to close out the tournament. Each type of match has slightly different rules, testing each player's ability to adapt to a variety of situations.
Ming Jia Ying glanced around, -Looks like I'm the youngest one again,-[3] she thought to herself. She wasn't surprised, most of the people at the local level tournaments had been teenagers, now it looked like she'd be facing mostly young adults. A few had already taken their seats while others had formed groups and were chatting. As she continued to look around she noticed a young boy who appeared to only be a year or two older than her. When his eyes met hers he flashed her a bright smile causing her to quickly look away.
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Eventually the announcer, a Wind Cultivator using a technique that could amplify his voice, took the stage and began the introductions, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Qin Provence's 312th annual Siege competition.” As he continued talking, the last few competitors took their seats. After dispensing with the formalities the announcer concluded, “The starting player for each table has been chosen at random, play begins now. May The Contender guide you!”
The seven hexagons in the center of the board are water tiles, creating a lake, and for a six-player game a line of water tiles stretches from the center to each corner, like the spokes of a wheel. These 'rivers' create six territories on the board, one for each player, where they can place their starting pieces. In a six-player game each player starts with one city and two squads.
Ming Jia Ying had long since noticed that she'd be playing second to last, which was fine with her, there were advantages to going later. She recalled her mother's teachings, -Rule 4: Observe, analyze, and evaluate.- The first player, a teenage boy, placed his city in the center of his territory, that also changed the hexagons surrounding the city from field to road tiles. This was a textbook opening focused on versatility, neither aggressive nor defensive, showing that he was comfortable giving up the initiative to his opponents and was confident in his ability to adapt.
Next was an elderly gentleman, which was unusual. While many people of the older generation were skilled players they had their own Grand Masters Tournament, so most avoided competitions like this one, seeing it as bullying the young. He placed his city at the bottom of his territory, typically seen as a defensive opening. However, Ming Jia Ying was fairly certain that this was a feint meant to lure in his opponent and it seemed to be working as the next player, a young lady, placed her city along the 'river' bordering the elderly gentleman's territory, a very aggressive opening.
The young man that was next had the appearance of a field mouse that had just sat down to dinner with a tiger. He hesitated for a moment before placing his city in the position corresponding to the one chosen by the young lady before him, however instead of being seen as aggressive this seemed extremely defensive. It was Ming Jia Ying's turn, but the timid young man had ensured that his city would be at least a full territory's width away regardless of where she placed hers.
Taking a moment to look over the board before placing her city, Ming Jia Ying kept repeating her mother's teachings in her mind, -Rule 2: Never underestimate your opponent. Rule 3: Get your opponent to underestimate you.- Without any further hesitation she forcefully placed her city along the 'river' adjacent to the last player's territory, giving him her most arrogant glare and doing her best to appear overbearing. Seeing this display, the old man on the other side of the board had to cover his chuckle by pretending to cough.
By this point the young man going last was quite annoyed and felt like this little girl was taking him too lightly. Without thinking any further he grabbed his city and placed it just on the other side of the river from Ming Jia Ying's. Then the young man returned Ming Jia Ying's arrogant glare, using his added height to look down on her with contempt. This time the elderly gentleman could not hide his laughter, when he finally calmed down he said, “Well played young man!” While the young man was foolishly smiling to himself he missed the subtle wink the old man sent to Ming Jia Ying, making her feel as though her plans had already been seen through.
Author's Notes:
[1]Words that are italicized indicate that they are in a foreign language
[2]Adding 'er to a word denotes that it is for children, using it with a name can be a term of endearment between an adult and a minor, such as a parent and child
[3]Dialogue between two “-” indicates it's a character's thoughts, not spoken aloud