Chapter Text
May, the month of regrowth, sunshine and happiness.
It's also the month everyone anticipates. The largest competition of the year. The thing everyone waits all year for.
All the participants travel to this faraway island where there are totally new rules. Nothing that happens there affects the reality of their lives. No deaths that happen affect their actual amount of lives. All previous conflicts disappear. Everyone is friends again. It's the one time of the year where everyone can be happy. Where everyone puts all their duties aside and spends the month trying to win the crown.
There are no real benefits because once they leave the island everything goes back to normal. All the excitement goes away and they go back to their respective jobs. Their respective areas. back to their normal personalities. But for that one month, they get to play pretend.
The island is perfect, so peaceful. There are no ways to escape, some sort of barrier that surrounds it. No way to get out so it was safe for anyone to be there. And there was no way to enter without finding the portals. And that's not something easy to do.
A week before the event, at each contestant's front door, or in some people’s case their prison cell, they receive an animal. The animal of their team with a coloured ribbon tied loosely around their neck, a formal invitation and a small satchel with care instructions for their new pet, along with a coloured ribbon for themselves as well. It is the contestant’s responsibility to care for the animal for the entire week until exactly noon where they are to set the animal free. Each animal will lead them to a large portal that emits a soft glow and is decorated with the color of their team.
From there they enter the portal and get transported to the island. Each participant gets the next twenty four hours to do whatever they want, talk to whoever they want. They get new clothes, a few different outfits, a raincoat, stuff like that, all in their team color.
Then for the next two weeks they train extensively. There are different training facilities. Smaller versions of some of the games and some other small little things.
But once those two weeks are up, the competitions begin.
Portals open up for family and friends to enter the island and the participants start their lighthearted friendly competition. Four games are played, each one lasting around a day and a half but certain games last longer. As you complete games you collect coins. The more coins you collect then the higher your team places. The two teams with the most coins will compete in one final event that determines the winner.
Once the final event is over there is a crowning ceremony. The winning team gets to wear a crown and they receive a larger, more special coin. The crowns stay on the island but the coins, well, that they get to keep. Some people choose to put it on display but others choose to keep it safe, locked away in an ender chest. The coin is precious, sought after. And only the best of the best get to get one.
After the crowning ceremony and after the winners receive their congratulations from everyone, they get to spend the rest of the week on the island.
The participants, their friends, their families. Just a week to themselves to spend on the happy, safe island before turning back to the harsh reality of life. When everyone has to return to all of the fighting, the betrayal. Most didn’t want to return. They want to stay on the island all year round. One month of peace and happiness and freedom isn’t enough, but it’s all some get.
They weren’t exactly sure who held this magical event, but whoever it was must be some sort of god to be able to set it off of this. It was set up in such a way that there was no way a normal person could set it up.
It was the best time of the year for everyone involved.
All that the people of the SMP are waiting for, is an invite to play.