On Monday the city of New Toulouse once again played host to an air race, this time dubbed the “Steamlands 500.” Doctor Avalon once again presided, but this year the city had new tricks, including a dance floor hovering over Spiegel Hall. The track was modified to show off the new surroundings, ensuring that the craft would have to travel around the whole city.
There were two categories. The “Anything Goes” category featured any craft except airships. The first heat had Aodhan, Kimika Ying, Garnet Psaltery, and Rachilde. Garnet’s craft was an unusual yellow balloon, but any doubts about its speed were banished by seeing it fly past the competition. The second heat saw Garnet facing off against Pazzo Pestana, Mari Moonbeam (whose craft looked oddly like a bacon sandwich), and Aodhan, who dropped out due to something called “lag.” Miss Psaltery won and took home the championship and the L$1,000 prize; Miss Moonbeam took home L$200 as the runner-up.
The second category, “Airships,” had a bit of controversy. Defending his championship title was the dreaded pirate admiral Callidus Waydelich. The local favorite, Komnene, our own native champion, also competed. In the first heat, Callidus and Komnene faced off against Pazzo, but the heat was overturned because of an issue at the race start. After a few technical adjustments, the heat was redone, with the same participants plus our own Mayor Godenot himself. It was a brutal heat, with Komnene chasing after the odd “chicken” ship of the Mondragon, but in the end, Waydelich won the race and the L$1,000 prize. New Toulouse’s own Komnene was the runner-up, winning L$200 in prize money and a matching L$200 from the mayor.
DJ Q provided the music, and a fun time was had by all. More photographs of the event can be seen in this album: Steamlands 500.
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Avis Picayune is a tough old bird who was watching from a high perch.
Photo credit: Nikita Weymann.