1

DispatchAccountSport

by The Midnight Kingdom of Nightralia. . 6 reads.

Nightralian Roster for the Elephant Cup

"The Realm of the Night Finally Steps Into the Spotlight"

Four players in Nightralia, each from diverse backgrounds, prepare to take on what might be the biggest challenge of their chess career yet: The Elephant Cup, where all of them will be tested to limits they have previously never faced. This team has been assembled by Raatrani Czoùhan, composed of fresh talent, and one member of each major Nightralian culture, in an attempt to mend the country which had been torn apart by the Ice War between the Sami North and the Sanskrit South, which nearly destroyed the unity and peace which had kept the country together following the eruption.

As a way to reach out to other countries and avoid diplomatic isolation, bordering on hostility which had been faced by Nightralia during the years of the war, the government is sponsoring sports diplomacy, a way to show the world and the people of Nightralia that unity is what's best for the country, and an avenue for the people to express themselves. The team doesn't expect to win first time around, but what it does expect; is to put up the damn best fight it can.

Board 1: Raatrani Czoùhan , age: 72 years
"The Shadow Envoy"

At 72 years, Raatrani Czoùhan doesn't seem like the sort of person to participate in a chess tournament of this scale. Yet, despite her age, she's the youngest of the Elder Nightwalkers; unlike the rest whose life was shaped by the Onyx Eruption that created Nightralia, hers was defined by the war which nearly destroyed it.
Nightralia's High Ambassador to the World Assembly, and the famed diplomat who orchestrated the peace treaty that ended the Ice War. Raatrani is not just a diplomat by profession but one by soul; she's always preferred tact and finesse over headlong rushes.

Known for her calm, composed demeanor at the board and off it, she is often seen employing the King's Indian Defense, a strategy that reflects her love for subtle maneuvers, gradually building up the pressure on the opponent's kingsidebefore launching a fierce counterattack. Off the board, she carries the weight of her nation's hopes and dreams; being the first-ever grandmaster from Nightralia, she's come to represent both chess and diplomacy in the country. As a result, she's the highest-rated among the team, but hasn't played professionally for 32 years, having quit her budding career to focus on the nation.

If there's one weakness she has; it's reticence: her tendency to spin a web around the opponent sometimes causes her to miss out on more immediate opportunities. While formulating an elaborate combination to pierce her opponent's defence, she might accidentally give up a loose pawn due to her laser focus. Despite that, she is by far the most experienced of the team, and any hopes of a Nightralian playoffs qualification shall rest largely upon her performance on Board 1.

Board 2: Yuvraj Kumar, age: 17 years
"Voyager"

Yuvraj Kumar, known as “The Voyager” to a growing legion of adoring fans, isn’t your typical chess player. Coming from a long line of Sanskrit merchants and seafarers, you'd expect him to have inherited the family tradition of navigating the oceans, but his first love wasn’t the waves—it was the ancient game of Chaturanga, over 3 millennia old. He was introduced to the game by his family when he was three and quickly developed a fascination for its complexity. By the age of eight, he was already one of the top ten Chaturanga players in Nightralia, an almost unheard-of achievement for someone so young. It seemed as if a new prodigy was set to take Nightralia by storm.

But as he grew older, Yuvraj’s parents realized that Chaturanga had its limits. It was a niche game, popular only in Nightralia and some of the neighboring sea empires. If Yuvraj was ever going to make a name for himself on the global stage, he would have to switch to the international game: chess. The transition wasn’t easy. For the first couple of years, he was frequently penalized for using Chaturanga rules that didn’t apply to chess, and his muscle memory worked against him as often as it favoured him. But his unique background also gave him an edge. He brought with him a completely different way of thinking about the game, which often took opponents by surprise; set in their ways, having been used to a particular sort of game, facing someone who felt like he played another game entirely was nothing short of herculean.

Yuvraj’s playstyle is nothing short of flamboyant. He’s known for pulling off seemingly reckless combinations that no one understands until it’s too late. His games often look like they’re spiraling out of control, only for him to suddenly turn the tables and completely decimate his opponent. This makes him one of the most exciting players to watch, and also one of the most unpredictable. His favorite opening is the English Defense, which gives him the flexibility to build the game into the type of complex, chaotic battlefield he thrives in. When playing black, he often opts for the Sicilian, a sharp and aggressive response that fits perfectly with his daring style.

However, Yuvraj’s tendency to get lost in his own head can sometimes work against him. He’s easily distracted, and his focus can waver, leading to careless mistakes at critical moments. He once lost the Nightralia Cup final against a much lower-rated opponent when he accidentally fell prey to a Fried Liver Attack, costing him his rook and subsequently the game. This, combined with his aversion to modern computer-assisted preparation, has cost him games against more disciplined and resourceful opponents. While his unconventional strategies have won him many memorable victories, they’ve also led to some frustrating losses.

Despite his flaws, Yuvraj is always a wildcard in any tournament he enters. Currently holding board 2 for Nightralia, "The Voyager" is the dark horse who can shift the momentum of the tournament in an instant. His career so far has been marked by dramatic ups and downs, but there's no question about his talent or his potential. When he’s at his best, Yuvraj Kumar is a force to be reckoned with, as unpredictable and resilient as the stormy sea he grew up in.

Board 3: Freya Laitala, age: 19 years
"The Tempest"

Freya had never thought that one day she would find herself rubbing shoulders with the world's best. And that too, in the foreign game of chess. Just ten years ago, she'd been contently minding her business, herding reindeer, and the only major events in life were the seasonal snowdrifts and the auroras that marked the winter. At the age of twelve, a world away from the bustling cities and frenetic energy of competitive chess, Freya had found solace in the serene rhythms of her Sami homeland. Each day began with the crisp bite of frost in the air and the gentle sound of reindeer hooves crunching through the snow, a lullaby that resonated deep within her soul.

She didn't think anything would change in the future. She had ambitions. She wanted to be like people she heard in the news, who did remarkable things. But she knew that it was not to be. That her only destiny was to herd reindeer and eke a living out of the hard tundra. Until suddenly, it wasn't. Freya didn't know about the civil unrest in Skaidirolf and the uprising against Nightralia. But what she did know was that the countryside was her home. The Sami were her people and the snow was her shelter.

And when the foreign tribes, the desperate Ugrians attacked her village, and the cowardly Southern army stood silent in the name of peace, she had no choice but to flee with her family, away from everything she'd ever known and everything she'd held dear. A year later, her life was shattered. Her family, her solace, was gone. A girl who once strolled in the meadows and threw snowballs, now huddled in a refugee camp at Evernox, wondering when the rations would run out. Life didn't seem worth living without a future. And there were so many times when she thought of ending it all. One winter night, she climbed to the tallest building she had access to, stood on the ledge, looked across the landscape of the once proud city, and prepared to jump.

But just before she took the leap, her hand caught on something. She'd never seen chess figures before in real life, but she'd heard about them. And this one looked oddly like a horse. She knew that this was a game that the southern people who had caused the war played. And she also knew that this might be her ticket, her last hope, at rebuilding her life. From that point onwards, nothing could stop her. You can't break a single-minded force whose ambition is also the only thing keeping it alive.

And she rose quickly, swiftly, like the meteors she used to see as a child, through the ranks of Skaidirolf's chess, and then to the top of Nightralian chess. She caught the attention of by the experienced Raatrani, who was crafting a team, a team for the ages, that would make Nightralia a formidable force to compete with, and show the enemies that the nation stood united; Sami and Sanskrit alike.
And when Freya took the entire chess community by storm, becoming the first-ever unrated player to win a national-level championship, that's when Nightralia really stood up and took notice.

Freya still isn't the ideal chess player. She's rough around the edges. In high-stakes games, she sometimes hesitates, overthinking her strategy, reminiscent of the times she stood frozen in fear when the world around her spun into turmoil, when nothing was secure. She doesn't know much theory. But what she does know is that if you punch her in the face, she will get back up. If you kick her down, no matter how hard, she will stand up. No matter how hard, she will stand up and look you in the eye. Nothing can stop the ferocity of the blizzard which has waited six months for winter to come. And nothing can stop the glaciers which have been drifting for centuries, the tempest that refuses to be quelled. And the stormy night and the joyless blight, it seems, are no match for Freya Laitala.

Board 4: Nishastra Ilmari-, age 247 years
"Nightwing"

Forged in the shadows, born of the night, he was older than time itself, yet younger than the sunrise. Nishastra, the Shadowphoenix, had always known that his future would be anything other than the ordinary. When he was a kid, his life had been turned upside down by the eruption. No longer did he have to hide beneath the shadows of the mighty mountains and sneak away as the rays of sunlight threatened to consume him. He could now wander freely wherever he wanted, untouched by the sun rays, forever basking in the night, the land of perpetual shadow.

However, freedom came with consequences. As the Sami nobles began to assert order in a chaotic world, they began to view shadowphoenixes not as the equivalent kin which they used to in the animistic past, but rather as a status symbol, an animal, a bird unworthy of respect.

And one day, in a shock raid upon his home nest, he was taken by surprise. Unable to put up resistance, the once mighty Shadowphoenix was taken as a pet and dragged to the Governor's house at Evernox. There, he became not only a mute spectator to his miserable life but also to the growing corruption of Nitralian society. He watched as the Governor took bribes from the local folk in exchange for taking their grievances to higher authorities. He witnessed the Governor reject petitions, quell revolts, and void elections simply because they didn’t fit his agenda.

Throughout all of this, his only escape was chess. It was the Governor's favorite game, and he spent hours playing it with friends and foes alike. Soon, Nishastra picked up the nuances of the game and began to understand it better, silently observing the moves. One day, when no one was at the house, he flew down to the Governor's side and began moving the pieces. Astounded by his skill, the Governor began to play matches with his pet—a silent testimony to the fact that the Shadow Phoenix was not just a mute animal but an equal, sentient being. But the Governor refused to acknowledge that fact. Every time Nishastra won, the Governor would take his anger out on the defenseless Shadow Phoenix and blame him for all his follies.

But Nishastra could sense the winds changing. Storm clouds gathered on the horizon. No longer would the Sami nobles be able to work in collusion with the Government and oppress the local society. The noble was called for war, and a contingent of soldiers was placed around his luxurious house to prevent the starving masses from seizing it. As the situation grew more desperate, Nishastra knew that if he did not take action, the opportunity might slip away, and the land of night would remain in the darkness of injustice for centuries to come.

As the leaders of the corrupt, collaborationist government—the ones who had wreaked havoc upon the ordinary citizens, the ones who had stood by while raiders and tribesmen ransacked villages for whatever they could take—, met at the governor's mansion, plotting how to suppress the imminent revolt, Nishastra knew that it was now or never. He burst into flames, bringing down not only the house but the entire edifice of magnificence, false grandeur, and lies upon which the government had been built.

When he awoke, devoid of memories and disconnected from his past physical strength, the first thing he remembered was chess. And as the new government of Skaidirolf continued to treat shadow phoenixes as beneath them, Nishastra began to make the case for equal treatment. Chess, the game he had learned in captivity, became the foundation of his new life, a symbol of equality, strategy, and quiet rebellion.

In the years that followed, the tides of reform began to churn slowly. The war that had drawn away the elites of Evernox had been lost, and with it, the false peace they had imposed. Yet even as the world around him transformed, Nishastra found himself still a prisoner, not of chains, but of perception. To the world, a shadow phoenix was still a creature of myth, something to be feared, caged, or commodified.

But chess—chess was his sanctuary. With every move, every quiet calculation, he forged a new identity, one that transcended feathers and flame. It was not just a game for him; it was an allegory for the battles fought in silence, for the unseen wars raging within every citizen of Nightralia. As his prowess on the board grew, so did his reputation. Whispers of the Shadow Phoenix with the mind of a grandmaster spread through Evernox and beyond, until they reached the ears of the Supreme Court of Nightralia. Nishastra, the once-captive, was now called to testify—not with words, but with action.

His presence before the court was not just about his own freedom, but the freedom of every shadow phoenix in the land. His kind had been written out of history, and now, their return to equality hinged on the decision of a few powerful souls.

The courtroom was packed with observers—skeptics, sympathizers, and those who had long profited from the subjugation of creatures like him. But Nishastra did not flinch. The first move was his. As he stood before the court, he could feel the weight of centuries pressing on his shoulders, but he also felt the fire within him, the indomitable spirit that had survived both war and capture. In this game, there was no room for failure.

It wasn’t enough to speak of his sentience, his intelligence, his right to walk alongside humans as equals. No, his very existence had become the ultimate checkmate, a living testimony to the resilience of those who refused to be silenced. And as the final ruling was passed, as the highest judges of Nightralia declared Shadow Phoenixes equal citizens under the law, the ground beneath Nishastra’s feet seemed to tremble with the weight of history.

For the first time in his long, tumultuous life, he stood as more than a creature born of shadows. He was not just a being forged in fire, but a citizen. And more than that, he was a chess player—a competitor whose mind had earned him a place among the greatest.

He joined the Nightralian chess team soon after, not as a novelty, not as a curiosity, but as an equal. He played the Sicilian Defense masterfully, blazing through opponent after opponent, ripping apart their defense. But his overzealousness frequently got the better of him. In the All-Nightralia qualifying tourney, he almost got eliminated due to his overzealousness, stretching out his pieces and leaving his king vulnerable to a back rank mate, losing the game. But the future holds opportunities galore for Nishastra Ilmari.
As he sits across from his opponents, the board before him is no longer just a battlefield of kings and pawns—it's the symbol of a world he had helped reshape, one where his people, and all people, could finally claim their rightful place.

RawReport