The Golden Archers Magic Archery Competition
- Zoe A. Madison
- Nov 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 12, 2025
The Phoenix Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas Desert
Just outside the arena's front entrance Hazel & Finn heard the announcer herding guests and visitors inside toward candle lit tables and seating with curtained views.
"Come one! Come all!
See for yourselves the magic that never goes out of style!
The magic of the Golden Archers!"
~
In just a few minutes, the Golden Archers will test their skills and magic against
the Heretical King and his Gang of Idiots!
Hazel and Finn made sure they had pen and paper for taking notes and made their way upward, toward more private seating on the upper level with a bird's eye view. The Heretical King was said to be accompanied by his Gang of Idiots, over 600 idiots with an Eternal Grudge held against those who successfully practice magic. Finn wanted to keep an eye on things, and Hazel suggested the upper balcony with a bird's eye view. The arena below was dusty, hot, and crowded. A few guests sat at low tea tables set with small gold cups and saucers. Others were standing room only. The judges sat at a small table of their own.
On the way to the balcony, Hazel and Finn stopped briefly at the weaponry table. There were small pots filled with gems and jewels, burners for melting, mortars for crushing. Candles and the smell of fragrant incense were everywhere. Arrow heads and arrows lay in small piles at one end of the table. It was up to the Archer to figure out the rest. Except for one little pile in the corner. Four or five 12-inch long gold arrows with an Aqua Pink tip and Aqua Pink fletching had been left with a label on them that read: Illicit Extreme Jealousy. Finn picked one up and kept it. Hazel took a small amount of each: emerald, plutonium and two parts ivory (for Illicit Extreme Jealousy), crushed them finely in a mortar and put them in her Tea Pot with boiling hot water and honey. Then she searched the arena's tea tables for the Heretical King's Gang of Idiots that chose to converse over tea, rather than participate in the competition as directed.
Archers and attendees were still streaming in both doors when the Heretical King threw both hands up in the air yelling,
"I'm innocent!! I'm innocent!! I've been innocent since 500 BC!!
The first set of Muave Archers refused to shoot a single arrow and left the Golden Girl handing out her own. The Heretical King successfully escaped with his ruse. The Golden Archers were up next. Often reputed to be aided by a Gang of Idiots, the Heretical King had seemingly escaped, but his Idiots could be seen visibly frightened by his sudden exit, and began to slowly disperse.
~
~
Finn balanced a monocular from their balcony and watched for signs of the Heretical King's reappearance. Suddenly there was a loud "Whoosh!" as the first Golden Archer let an arrow fly. The first "Whoosh!" was quickly followed by several more "Whooshes" until the Archers paused briefly to reload Arrows. Many of the Arrows given to the Archers had magical properties that were unknown. That was the idea of the Competition. Figure out the magic behind the Bow & Arrows wielded by some of the greatest Archers of all time.
Some Arrows had been dipped in gemstones or jewels; some were made of gold, or silver or bronze. In fact, it was even foretold that an Arrow of solid Diamond would be used to kill the Heretical King. The Golden Archers had lost a lot in their planet's Gold explosion, but now was the time to demonstrate their magical skills.
The Golden Archers were ultimately crowned the official champions later that evening after successfully capturing all 600 Idiots, including the Heretical King.
~
for the first story installments, see The Aquarius website at
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