Occasionally players would admit to journalists, fans, or female admirers that in a match all they wanted to do when they received the ball was to play a pass as quickly as possible and get rid of the ball. Not Steel though, because he knew exactly what it was all about. It had taken its time to dawn on him. Even as a young dragonling he'd had all the necessary raw ability, courage, dexterity, wing eye coordination, etc. But all of that was nothing without the brains and understanding to match. Truth be told, as a dragonling, brains were pretty much in short supply, particularly when playing laminium ball. Even right up until he was chosen to play professionally it was more down to brawn and courage than thought. But after being selected for the Warriors, it was almost as if a switch had been flicked inside his head, with a giant light surging into life inside his brain. Looking back it was all so obvious, so easy to see with hindsight, but then most things usually are. It was also pretty easy to see how this insight had come about, mainly due to one of the other players in the team, someone he'd always admired and respected for being one of the game's greats, but it was only through playing alongside him that he realised quite how great he really was. Who was that player you ask? Easy... Silverbonce! In Steel's mind he had it alclass="underline" the courage of ten dragons twice his size, the agility of a dragon a quarter of his age, brains to match his brawn, coolness under pressure and the trait Steel admired the most... sneakiness, something he'd never really appreciated before meeting the wily old dragon. Bending the rules, stretching them sometimes, right to their very boundaries, the cunning old mouth guard played right on the edge, his mind open to possibilities that no other dragon would even consider. And so it was now, as he whizzed in and out of the scorching hot lava approaching a line of three Buccaneers, that a dozen sneaky thoughts zipped around his head; his only problem was which one to choose.
As the distance closed in the blink of an eye, Steel, flanked by Cheese and Flamer, rolled the ball underneath his body and down onto his tail, all in one seamless move. As one, the entire crowd gasped, all thinking the same thing:
'He's way too far out to have a shot... isn't he?'
Banking hard at the very last second, Steel used all his might and let rip with the ball, then allowed his momentum to carry him way over the head of the opposing dragons. All three Buccaneers did exactly as they should have and concentrated all their efforts on the ball, dismissing Steel as no threat whatsoever, as he'd flown out of view way above them. Strangely, when Steel had launched the ball, instead of sending it towards the opposition's mouth, he'd angled it down towards the lava, just below the three opposing Buccaneers. Nobody, including the players (on both sides) and the crowd, had any idea what on earth was going on. Well, maybe just one other dragon did. Silverbonce hovered in front of his mouth, nodding in satisfaction at what he'd just witnessed Steel attempt.
'That,' he thought, 'is very cunning and devious. I like it!'
When the ball left Steel, two things happened. Twisting the ball violently, creating as much spin as he dared with his tail, he tried to add something else. Using every ounce of his concentration, he tried to imbue the ball with a... thought. This was almost unheard of, and if you'd asked any dragon in the crowd, they would have told you it was beyond impossible. But it wasn't impossible at all, just forgotten. Silverbonce had explained how when he'd first started playing laminium ball, centuries ago, such imbuing was commonplace even for youngsters in the nursery ring, going on to explain how the magical qualities of the laminium provided the potential, if a player retained possession of the ball for long enough, to plant a thought in the ball's mind, so to speak. It would only last for a certain time, and that time decreased immeasurably as the ball left the player, but it was certainly possible. Talented players back then could bend and swerve the ball at will, on occasion making it stop dead in mid air after having thrown it at speed, with all their might. When Silverbonce had recounted all these feats to him, it had sounded a little far-fetched. At first he'd thought it one of the old mouth guard's renowned practical jokes. Many a laminium ball playing dragon, both team member and opponent, had been on the end of one of the old dragon's famed pranks or warped sense of humour. That, as well as his playing ability and longevity, was why he was one of the crowd's favourite players in all the leagues throughout the world.
Anyway, Steel had done as Silverbonce had suggested and practised alone with a brand new match ball. After two days, he was convinced it was all a big joke, and was just waiting for the old mouth guard to jump out at him and shout, "Gotcha." Needless to say, that never happened. Very slowly, Steel could sense the ball attempting to carry out a singular thought. At first it was very hit and miss, but at the same time unbelievably exciting. The more he practised, the better at it he got. But he was under no illusion as to how difficult a skill it was to master, let alone use in a match. It was one thing to achieve it while practicing alone, quite another to use the skill against top quality opponents with tens of thousands of spectators watching. Nevertheless, he'd given it his best shot, and Steel's best shot normally far exceeded that of a dozen ordinary dragons combined.
The thought he'd imbued within the ball was one of a burst of speed, about halfway through its intended flight. Aiming the ball at just such an angle that if it hit the lava's surface, it should in theory, just like a skimming stone on water, bounce right back up off it. The 'if' was whether it got as far as the lava in the first place. Buccaneers players were all swooping towards it, ready to intercept as Steel looked down from high above them. Knowing that if his plan failed, he'd have to double back and defend his mouth as fast as he could, as in essence he would have left the team shorthanded at the back, the momentary sliver of doubt that entered his mind was shattered like a sledgehammer pulverising a pebble, by his razor sharp confidence that returned with a vengeance. Continuing on course, he didn't let the ball leave his sight.
Cheese and Flamer hovered to a halt, unsure of what to do. There'd been no chance of them catching up with the ball once it had left Steel's powerful tail, and they'd been unable to perform the tight turn that had taken their captain high up over their opponents' heads. Both frustrated that Steel had given away possession so cheaply, particularly as any second now the Buccaneers were about to get their claws on it, as they looked on through the haze and the heat of the lava, something unimaginable happened. All three Buccaneers converged on the ball at once, competing against each other to see which of them would be the first to get a touch since the start of the game. It seemed to nearly everyone that it would be a close run thing as they all looked as if they'd reach the ball at exactly the same time. A split second before they were due to intercept the ball on its downward course, it quadrupled its speed, sending it whizzing past the Buccaneers, rushing on towards the surface. Having smashed into each other, all three opponents couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Steel, high above everybody, shook his head, grinning from ear to ear, hoping that he'd got the next part of his plan just right. Hitting the fiery surface, instead of the expected 'plop,' the sound the ball made was more of a 'twang' as the backspin on it prevented it from being absorbed by the lava, sending it soaring off up into the arena and, more importantly, straight into the grinning Steel's flight path. Too stunned by what he'd just seen to put up any resistance, the last Buccaneer defender flailed about haplessly as Steel gathered in the onrushing laminium ball with his tail. Tossing it high up over the defender, Steel swooped round behind him, gathered it in once again and found himself through on the mouth. Tens of thousands of spectators, even the Buccaneers fans, were on the edge of their seats, eager to see if the Warriors' captain could finish what he'd started, what seemed like an eternity ago, straight from the drop off. Putting on the biggest burst of speed possible, Steel headed straight for the middle of the mouth. About a second later, he hit the brakes as hard as he could, bringing himself to an abrupt halt. The forward momentum from his burst of speed brought his tail with the ball nestled in it, up over his head, so unexpected was the sudden stop. Letting the momentum carry his body forward, he rolled tail over head, catapulting the golden ball on its way only when his tail was at the perfect point in his tumble. Not having a prayer of stopping the ball, all the Buccaneers' mouth guard could do was watch as it smashed perfectly into one of the teeth.