The Lindin Grand Circuit

A Celebration of Ingenuity that takes place in Lindin every year. It sees daring participants using various kinds of flying craft to race through dangerous courses for both renown and to show off their skills and creations.

Years ago, the people of Lindin rose above the Storm with the power of clever thinking and ingenuity. Now, we both float high in the sky and tame the elements from below. That is why this contest came to be. Every year, all Lindiners from all walks of life are able to come together and prove themselves to the rest of our great minds in a prestigious race that is one of the most lauded competitions in the three-week-long celebration of ingenuity that is The Storm’s Faire. All Lindin minds may compete in The Grand Circuit, noble or commoner, engineer or merchant. However, be warned that only the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the true elite, if you would, will succeed here. All others may as well be stepping stones in their path to excellence.The Mechanics The Grand Circuit is a series of no-holds-barred races taking place at various venues throughout Lindin over a three-month season. Each venue has its own unique set of challenges and hazards, some natural and some man-made, that are hand-picked to be challenging to overcome for all different types of creations, with different courses being better suited for different approaches. Contestants are free to approach the races from any creative angle they choose, the only three rules being that you must follow the route required of the venue, all creations must be invented by you, and you cannot add or remove any creations to or from your roster mid-season. When we say any creative angle, we truly mean it! Want to run? Perfectly fine. Want to fly? Permitted. Want to use a vehicle? It's bold, but if you believe your creation to be adaptive, you are permitted to try, and to some, it’s even recommended! Prosthetics? Magic? A mechanized and/or rune-covered suit of armor? Any new tool to aid you in your race is allowed! In fact, this may just be the perfect venue to prove the efficacy of your invention to the world! Ranking Throughout the season, participants shall be monitored and ranked according to their performances; think of these races as qualifiers. At the end of the season and when The Storm’s Faire begins, three exceptionally high-difficulty races are held on the first of each week.

The first race, the Whiskiton Open Cup, is open to the public much like any other seasonal race, but the latter two are closed invitational races. To gain entry into the Cloud’s Vayl Classic and Bright Falls Sprint Cups, one must either rank within the top 100 racers of the season or finish the Whiskiton Open Cup. The final five days of The Storm’s Faire are dedicated to the final race, the Transregional Grand Prix. Only the top 10 combined rankers across all three cups, not including the winners of each cup, along with 10 racers seeded ahead of the season, are allowed to participate in the Grand Prix. The only exception to this is if you win first place in any of the three cups, which automatically grants you a spot in the Grand Prix, totaling a maximum of 23 contestants. Winners are not barred from participating in the other two Cups; however, 23 is not always guaranteed. A small aside: though it has happened only twice thus far, winning all three cups is referred to as the Triple Crown, and winning the Grand Prix on top of that, which has only happened once, is called the legendary Four Courts’ Throne. The Grand Prix If a participant has made it to this stage, then they are already amongst the elite, for only the absolute best minds our kingdom has to offer will end up here. Now, it is you pitted against your fellows. Across five intense days, you must race across the entire region of Lindin in a course curated every year so that no one method of travel or approach shall have an overwhelming advantage.

Many have failed to get to this point, and some have even died, but those who qualify for this course have the hardest challenge of them all. Flying by air? It is the fastest, but you must deal with The Storm, possible air pirates, and/or carefully placed aerial traps! By foot? It's easily the most adaptable approach, but you have to deal with the harshness of nature while making it across the region in five days! It's best to have lots of mana and/or plenty of speed-enhancing tricks! By some sort of land vehicle? The median between the two other most common approaches is also typically by far the least flexible. I hope you don’t run into any obstacles that your ride simply can’t deal with~ All this, and many more trials that cannot be named, await these contestants, and only one will come out on top. Who will it be this year!? Why, maybe it could be you! A New Era of Racing No doubt, a Lindiner such as yourself who would be reading this has a bright enough mind to know good and well that we pride ourselves in our progress and keep it within our borders to ensure the security of our land by keeping the wrong hands away from our knowledge. You also doubtless know of the current conflict with Astana. These two factors have compounded upon each other to create a new era of racing. First, weapons have been permitted for use in all races, and all participants consent to potential death, not only at the hands of the hazards but also at the hands of their rivals in this competition. Disabling the competition is a viable strategy to gain the crown, given that you’re able to reach the end of the course yourself. Second, the Transregional Grand Prix’s courses traditionally ran from the eastmost point of our kingdom to the westmost point. This is no longer the case. Now, the courses span from the southernmost point to the westmost point and back. You will find that this, in fact, sometimes leads to courses being longer and more difficult than they used to be. Best of luck to all of Lindin’s brightest minds. You’ll need it.