“
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

The fans at the Old Palace Stadium should have packed their cagoules and rubber boots; the match between the Übersreik Unicorns the Praag Grizzlies was one of the most lethal in either franchise's history.

The Unicorns were still smarting from the death of Tancred Montfort and missed Carlos Lobato on the line. With a depleted, 13-man squad, they set out to try and even things up from the get-go. Having learned from the loss to the Cardinals, Wilson encouraged his team to play dirty early. But it would not be one-way traffic.

Adeniyi fouled Jutzenbach into a coma. Awuzie and Tavai got rid of Thornhill and van Buuren. Giza then injured Awuzie and Dent slammed his shoulder into Peter Lloyd, crushing his larynx. Unfortunately, the home team Apothecary was on his cigarette break and the unlucky Blitzer's ceremony will take place next Aubentag at The Temple of Salyak.

Ignoring the melee, the Grizzlies made ground through the pace of Aleksy Kroll. However, Adeniyi found a way to block him on the goal line, before Royce Freeman scooped up the ball to score.

The Unicorns' tactics were not to be disrupted. A calm sense of peace descended upon them as they carried out their grim orders. Leboucher wounded Atticus Timbrell, who threatened to sue as he was stretchered off. Thornhill dealt a fatal blow to the back of Connor Williams' neck. Fortunately, the Temple of Salyak do a two-for-one on cremations.

Big Jamil Demby knocked out Carlos Torossa on his return from injury but could not prevent Ottmar Wirt making a pass down the throat of the Grizzlies defence and into the grateful hands of Bruno Giza, meaning he has scored in back-to-back matches.

In the second half, the Grizzlies had to rely on the depth of their substitutes to field a full side but they would soon suffer the same fate as the starters. Giza seriously injured Murray before the start of a sacking jamboree. Kamara sacked Wirt, who spilled the ball to Dent, despite his lack of handling expertise. Benelli sacked Dent and the ball spilled to Giza. Giza then blitzed Kroll, who will miss the next match. Freeman then sacked Giza and the ball fell kindly to the Grizzlies. Thornhill hurt Hodge before Kamara hurt Bunting. The madness was only brought to a halt when Royce Freeman scored his second of the game.

The home side had to restart with just nine players as the Unicorns thirst for blood grew stronger. Unprotected and unable to defend themselves, Tavai and Green were the latest to get the knuckle-sandwich special. Even 'The Bolt' tried to get in one the action, but his ineffective foul on Demby only resulted in a red card.

Nonetheless, the Unicorns game plan paid off. Wirt was free to run unopposed, as the Grizzlies wisely backed away from any further violence, and hand the ball over to Richard Lane, who scored his first for Übersreik after his trade from the Aarnau Manticores.

Rasheem Green got the final punch of the game in as Logan Woodside took to the field, got ko'd, and carried off before having any influence on the game whatsoever...

After the buzzer, Coach Wilson, wearing uncustomary copper bangles, crystal amulet, and clad in a brightly-patterned, collarless smock, spoke evenly to the gathered reporters who, after the aggressive and short-tempered responses to the previous two matches, fully expected another irate outburst.

"You know, sometimes in life days can go your way and sometimes they don't. We were unfortunate to allow our cage break for the second Grizzlies touchdown but my boys have been spending a lot of time changing their mindset. They are no longer reckless with their blocks. They don't intend to inflict pain on others. Sadly, this is the nature of our game. One can extend ones hand as far as one can reach. But when the opponent meets that hand, whose bones are truly broken?"

Asked about the change in tactics, which were noticeably less focused on creating multiple passing lanes for Wirt and more concentrated on finding out the contents of the opponents' skulls, Wilson dismissed the question with a wave of his hand.

"Life is not a simple case of yin or yang. It is more about balance or chi. We have catchers who can receive the ball and throwers who can pass it. Balance. We have blitzers who satisfy their purpose by dispensing violence and we have linemen who accept their role in the universe's great plan by getting kneed in the face. Balance."

In a great, fragrant cloud of incense and accompanied by the sound of tinkling cymbals, the Übersreik coach departed the press conference. Fans, reporters, and opponents alike will wonder what version of the team - and the coach - they will get next time.”