Co-ed thrashball players compete on a football-sized field as a runner carries the ball toward the goal, defenders close in for a tackle, and a goaltender protects the net in a packed stadium filled with cheering fans.

The fictional sport in Wind Wielder is a thriller

ByTC Marti

I mention the fictional sport of thrashball in my Chosen Ones prequel, which you can access inside the Vault VIP Club, but it doesn’t do the sport justice until Wind Wielder. Here, you’re getting a cool view of thrashball, and all it has to offer.

But how did thrashball emerge, and how it could easily turn into the next fun picnic or even recreational sport in our world? Whether you love Wind Wielder or hate it, one thing is guaranteed: the thrashball scenes will entertain you.

How the good old fictional sport of thrashball was born

Ever since I read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series about a thousand years ago, I always knew there would be a fictional sport within my own works. However, the sport wouldn’t need so many rule modifications if Muggles like ourselves wanted to take part in it.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of Muggle Quidditch and all it entails. And if you haven’t it’s better than the wizarding version and it’s more than worth checking out. And yes, you can make further modifications to the game. For instance, you can go without the snitch runners (search for pennies on the turf?), add time limits to the game, and do away with the broomsticks. It might actually improve the game.

Long story short, thrashball was born the second I read about Quidditch in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I had so many concepts for the game, but there were a few things I insisted upon:

  1. It was going to be co-ed.
  2. I was going to fuse a few sports into one.
  3. One could modify the rules if they needed to — touch, instead of tackle, boundaries as opposed to soccer nets, fewer players if necessary, etc.

>>>> Catch thrashball in Wind Wielder

Thrashball by the numbers

You have 11 players on each side — a goaltender, two defenders, four centerfielders, three attackers, and one roamer. The goaltender must remain within the goal box, which is a 10 by 10 yard square, while the defenders could wander all the way to their opponent’s 25 yard line. The centerfielders could go from their own 25 to their opponent’s 10 yard line, and the attackers from their own 25 and into the opponent’s goal. The roamer has free reign all over the field.

An official playing field is the size of a traditional American football field, but without the end zones, which sits 100 yards in length. So say if you’re playing the game on a high school field, you would set the goals at the goal lines of each end zone.

Teams move the ball either through the ground game or through the air. One interesting side note is that in thrashball, teams that duck out of bounds as long as they have full possession of the ball retain possession. They only lose it if they do NOT have full control of the ball and they’re the last to touch it.

Teams can score a goal in one of three ways. The first way is the easiest — the throw in. Throw ins are worth one point and they’re the most common way to score. The second way is to kick or punt the ball into the net for two points. Finally, a drop kick, one of the most difficult maneuvers in sports, are worth three points.

Penalties and violations vary in scope, but they often reflect that of American football. Penalties like holding, illegal block in the back, clipping, chop blocks, hits on defenseless players, excessive use of the hands or elbows, hands to the face, tripping, and similar violations occur.

Penalties are enforced like hockey, wherein minor penalties as outlined above go for two minutes on the sideline, and the opposing team is awarded a power play.

I’ve always envisioned the contact and tackling to be akin to rugby. More form-based, than anything else. Often, however, as in the Wind Wielder subplot, players play the ball as opposed to the opposing player, which minimizes contact and injuries.

Thrashball in Wind Wielder

Thrashball served two purposes in Wind Wielder. One was to break up the tension to a certain extent. But at the same time, it also adds to the main plot. One thing I wanted to avoid here was to create an all out subplot, and instead focus on entwining the subplot with the main plot.

So when you read the thrashball scenes, a few elements in those scenes pertain to something more than simply a sporting matchup. Whether the scenes introduce new characters, move the overall story arc, or even the overall series arc, I had a reason for writing the scenes in the manner in which I did.

You will see this right off the bat from the very first thrashball scene in Wind Wielder. Ditto for the following thrashball contests.

Have fun reading about them. But at the same time, remember that you’re reading about more than just a simple thrashball game. Think Harry Potter, and how J.K. Rowling wove Quidditch into the primary story, literally from Harry Potter’s first match against Slytherin in Philosopher’s Stone.

>>>> Get Wind Wielder today and immerse yourself in thrashball

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