The moment the thralls began their march down the three lanes, Elijah's team fanned out into position. Their comms lit up almost immediately with Mira's steady voice taking command.
"Alright, everyone, call out if you see an enemy approaching on the map overlay, but otherwise keep comms clear. I'll handle the instructions."
Elijah found himself nodding. It wasn't a perfect protocol, nothing as disciplined as what he would have drilled if he'd been in charge, but it was functional. Organized comms meant less chaos. For now, that was good enough.
The others, however, didn't sound nearly as convinced. Grumbles and half-hearted acknowledgments filled the channel. They weren't fighting Mira, but they weren't fully on board either. That was the story of their team in a nutshell: functional, but far from cohesive.
Each member carried their own baggage into the match. Sylvara was timid, content to follow without question, her soft voice rarely rising above a whisper. Brax, in contrast, was all reckless energy, eager to fight, uninterested in strategy, and more concerned with clashing fists than winning through careful play. This caused him to bounce off of the similar energy of Rennik, the highest-ranked among them, who had little respect for anyone else's decisions. He humored Mira's orders not out of trust but out of courtesy, trying not to sour team morale even as his pride told him he should be leading. And Elijah… Elijah didn't trust Mira's plans either. She had a good head, yes, but he could already see inefficiencies, holes, and missed opportunities.
Still, none of that mattered in the opening minutes. The thralls clashed, and the game moved forward whether they were ready or not.
Elijah's eyes swept across the battlefield, taking mental notes. The enemy formation was telling. In the middle lane stood their strongest fighter, Dravos, wielding his massive chains of gravity infused mana against Mira and Sylvara. Alone, he held them at bay.
Down in the bottom lane, Rennik and Brax faced a paired duo: Verya with her flaming serpents and Lyss with her shadow clones. Together, they created a wall of deception and pressure that frustrated both men.
In the top lane, Elijah faced Joren, who sprouted beastly claws and fangs in partial transformations, every swipe of his claws threatening to carve through Elijah's shields.
And then there was Nyra. She was nowhere to be seen, her absence conspicuous. Elijah's stomach tightened.
Nyra. She has to be in the jungle. Farming, preparing to gank whichever lane overextends. High mobility, high burst. If she shows up at the wrong time, we're in real trouble.
The enemy's setup wasn't random. This was a formation straight out of Circle of Champions. Someone on the other team knew the meta, and that meant his team's already shaky coordination would be tested against a polished strategy.
For now, Elijah kept his focus small. Joren's claws forced him to play defensively, every attempt at striking a thrall punished by slashes that shredded chunks of his shield. Elijah burned through mana just to stay afloat, firing sticky lines of energy to yank thralls back one at a time, killing them safely while avoiding direct duels. It was inefficient, but it kept him alive.
Meanwhile, Mira was analyzing the field too. Her voice cut through the comms again, crisp and confident.
"Rennik, since Dravos is holding mid, I want you and Brax to rotate up here after your next recall. Sylvara and I will switch to bot. Even two of us can't break through Dravos since we lack the firepower, his chains keep locking us down. But if you two come mid, you'll overwhelm him."
Rennik was quick to agree. "Good. This clone user's a nightmare. Waste of mana every time I shoot the wrong one, and the flame serpent girl just sits back farming thralls. Boring fight."
"Tell me about it," Brax chimed in, frustration thick in his voice. "I swing, it's a clone. I push forward, I get lit up. No fun at all."
Mira continued smoothly, as though their complaints only confirmed her plan. "Exactly. So, Sylvara, stick with me. Elijah, don't overextend top. In fact, rotate into the jungle, pick off monsters while we set up the switch. Keep them guessing where you are. Everyone, push your lanes hard first, force their thralls forward, then recall together. That way their push will take longer, giving us time to regroup in new positions."
On paper, it sounded reasonable. But Elijah's gut clenched. What if Nyra ganked while they were overextended? What if the enemy capitalized on their synchronized recall and tore through the undefended lanes? The plan had holes, glaring ones, but he bit back the urge to argue. He'd already spoken against Mira once before, and he could feel the team's patience for him thinning.
Still, he forced himself to add one warning. "Keep an eye out for Nyra. Still no vision on her. She'll strike when we least expect it."
It was all he dared to say.
The plan unfolded, and immediately unraveled.
As Mira and Sylvara pushed forward mid, Nyra came hurtling out of nowhere. She vaulted a wall in a gust of cutting wind, slamming both girls into the stone with stunning force. Dravos pounced instantly, chains snapping forward to bind them. Together, he and Nyra chained crowd-control after crowd-control, locking Mira and Sylvara in place while shredding their shields. By the time the stun ended, their health was gone.
Illusions flickered desperately. Shields tried to hold. But their obelisk was too far away. Their bodies burst into light as they respawned, Mira's voice cursing, Sylvara's sobbing, both echoing raw over the comms. Seconds later, they reappeared at base, scrambling to spend their gold before rushing back out.
Top lane fared no better. Elijah tried to push but lacked the raw strength, forced instead into attrition: trading shield health for thrall kills until finally retreating, yanking himself to safety with a sticky line.
Down bottom, Brax's reckless style finally caught up with him. He dove too deep in an attempt to land a hit, only to be cut down in a flurry of clones and flames. He respawned in a burst of light as Rennik retreated safely.
The enemy seized the moment. With three members of Elijah's team dead and two recalling, their opponents pressed hard across all three lanes. Just as Elijah had feared, the obelisks suffered heavy damage in the opening minutes.
When they regrouped at base and set out again in their new roles, the mood was tense. Mira tried to stay composed, her voice carefully calm.
"Alright. That was unfortunate, but one death each isn't too bad. We've repositioned as planned, so let's focus on the comeback. This is still winnable."
Her words didn't convince Rennik. His patience frayed.
"Unfortunate? That was a catastrophe! I told you your plan was stupid. We should have gone with mine. Anything would've been better than that mess." His voice snapped sharper than he intended, but the anger was real. "Fine, we'll keep to your plan now, we don't have a choice, but you'd better fix this."
The tension rippled through the comms, the edges of anger sharpening with every word. Elijah felt it like static under his skin. He had seen it countless times in Circle of Champions: a team starts losing, and suddenly the real battle is against each other. Bickering, finger-pointing, even slurs and name-calling. The worst poison for a team.
And they were teetering on the edge of it already.
Elijah clenched his fists. He couldn't let this spiral. Not here, not now. They still had this match to play, and two more after it. If they fell apart mentally, the trial was as good as lost.
The next few minutes were a brutal reminder of just how far behind Elijah's team was. One by one, their lanes started to crumble under the pressure of the more experienced enemy. Rennik and Brax were repeatedly ganked mid, barely surviving Nyra's lightning-fast flanks, while Dravos consistently chained them down just long enough for Nyra to clean up. Every time one of them tried to fight back, they ended up trading damage for nothing, their shields dwindling faster than they could replenish.
And bot lane Mira and Sylvara were too far behind in terms of items so every time they walked forward to try and fight they got lit up without mercy.
Rennik's frustration boiled over. "This is pointless! Why are we just letting them push? Mira, you're just… just walking into them!" he snapped over the comms.
"Calm down," Mira hissed. "I'm doing the best I can, but they-"
Before she could finish, a streak of wind slammed into her from the jungle. Nyra had come to gank again. Mira barely dodged, but the impact slammed her against a wall and left her staggered. Sylvara jumped to shield her, but both were pushed dangerously close to losing their shields entirely.
Elijah's mind raced. They couldn't keep doing this. Every moment they continued following Mira's plan was another moment the enemy gained objectives and widened the kill gap. He needed to take charge, not through authority or fear, but with pure logic, the kind that even the most hotheaded of his teammates couldn't ignore.
He took a slow, steady breath and spoke calmly into the comms. "Everyone. Stop reacting. Stop trying to fight the enemy on their terms. We're not losing because of bad plays individually, we're losing because we're letting them dictate where the fight happens. I have a plan that will get us kills and protect our objectives simultaneously. Listen carefully, and execute it precisely."
There was a pause over the comms. Rennik muttered something under his breath, but this time he didn't argue. Brax and Sylvara waited expectantly. Mira's tone softened as she reluctantly responded. "Alright… what do you propose?"
Elijah outlined his strategy: Mira would act as bait in mid. Using her illusions and evasive skills, she would make Dravos believe he had an easy fight. Nyra, drawn by the opportunity to gank mid, would be lured into a trap. Sylvara and Rennik would hide in a nearby brush, invisible until the perfect moment. Meanwhile, Elijah would hold bot lane against Verya and Lyss, his mobility allowing him to dodge their attacks and prevent the lane from collapsing. Brax would stall Joren top, using his stone transformations to absorb attacks and even force Joren under the turret if possible.
"Timing is everything," Elijah continued. "Mira, you draw them in but stay alive. Sylvara, Rennik, coordinate to hit them simultaneously. I'll stall bot, keep the pressure off our obelisk. Brax, I need you to do the same top. We turn this around with one clean engagement, and we'll come out with kills instead of just losses."
His team listened, not with awe or camaraderie, but with the quiet recognition that his plan made sense. It was clear, logical, and executable, a framework they couldn't argue with.
Mid lane began to unfold like clockwork. Mira advanced, illusions flickering around her as she engaged Dravos. The enemy assumed she was overextending, unaware of the hidden allies lying in wait. As predicted, Nyra dashed in, confident in a 2v1 advantage. That's when Sylvara and Rennik revealed themselves. Shields flared, and coordinated attacks struck the unsuspecting enemies simultaneously. Dravos was momentarily stunned by the barrage of focused magic, while Nyra found herself boxed in by Sylvara's defensive barriers and Rennik's rapid strikes.
The "2v1" had become a "3v2," and the tide turned instantly. Mira's illusions distracted Dravos long enough for Rennik to land precise attacks, and within moments, both Nyra and Dravos were down, giving Rennik a massive boost in bounty gold so he could buy much stronger items on his next recall. The comms lit up with stunned silence. "Both… both of them?" Brax muttered, incredulous.
Meanwhile, Elijah had been holding his own at the bottom lane. He danced between the attacks of Verya's pyro serpents and Lyss's shadow clones, using sticky lines of mana to pull himself into safe zones and fire back without overextending. His shields held just enough to keep him alive while the enemy's resources drained against him. Though no kills were secured here, his careful control ensured that the bottom obelisk remained intact, and the enemy's wave stalled just long enough for mid to execute the trap.
Top lane was equally dramatic. Joren had grown frustrated under Brax's stone defenses. Every transformation he tried to unleash was blocked or absorbed, and Brax managed to bait him under their turret. With a decisive strike, Brax secured the first kill on Joren, shocking the enemy team and shifting their momentum.
As the dust settled, Elijah's team had recovered one turret from immediate threat, held bot and top lanes safely, and for the first time in the match, they had taken the initiative. The scoreboard hadn't flipped, they were still down 12 to 5, and two turrets had been lost, but the first real sign of their capability emerged. Rennik, energized from landing both kills mid, breathed a deep, triumphant sigh. Mira's frustration softened into relief, and even Sylvara allowed herself a small smile.
Elijah exhaled, feeling the weight of command settle on his shoulders. He wasn't leading with fear like Claro, nor commanding through camaraderie like Tim, or imposing respect like Kat. But his strategy had proven effective. His teammates now saw, through logic and execution, that following his plan was the optimal path forward.
"Good," Elijah said calmly. "We've demonstrated what's possible when we work intelligently rather than reactively. Let's maintain this structure. Don't get greedy. Keep your lanes covered and wait for the enemy to make mistakes. If they push too far, bait them, then capitalize as we just did."
The mid lane kill netted them two critical players out of the fight, while top lane secured a kill and relieved pressure on that turret. Even if they weren't leading, they had created breathing room.
Rennik's voice cracked with excitement over the comms. "That… that actually worked! Two kills mid, Joren top down. I can't believe it!"
Brax grunted with satisfaction. "Finally, the idiots on the enemy team can't just run wild on me. I like this plan."
Mira, still catching her breath from mid lane chaos, added, "Alright… that was good. If we keep this up, maybe we can actually make a comeback."
Elijah smiled faintly inside. It wasn't about immediate victory. It was about showing his team that their failures weren't inevitable, that a single coherent strategy, executed with thought and precision, could counter even an enemy playing a more traditional, experienced style. He had no illusions that the enemy wouldn't adapt, or that further losses wouldn't come, but now his team knew he was thinking ahead.
From the mini-map, Elijah could already see the enemy reorganizing. Verya and Lyss had regained composure in the bottom lane, Dravos and Nyra were respawning, and Joren was about to rejoin top. The fight was far from over. But Elijah's team was no longer floundering.
Elijah let himself feel a small surge of satisfaction, knowing the next play could build off this. "This isn't the end," he said quietly over the comms. "It's just the first spark. Stick to the plan, and we can turn the tide."
Despite Elijah's efforts, the enemy's earlier lead proved too great. They used their advantage to secure the dragon, gaining the devastating ability to execute low-health targets at will. Each lane became a delicate balance of defense and opportunistic strikes. By the end of the match, Elijah's team had lost 35 to 24.
Yet the numbers told only part of the story. The morale of his team had shifted dramatically. They had felt the difference of a cohesive plan, of a leader who thought several moves ahead and orchestrated their strengths with precision. They now believed, in a way they hadn't before, that winning the next matches was possible, with Elijah at the helm.
Elijah exhaled, letting the tension leave his shoulders. The score was grim, the losses painful, but the spark had been lit. This first battle, though lost, was no longer a defeat in spirit. It was a lesson, and a promise, that with strategy, patience, and coordination, they could turn their weaknesses into strengths.
"This was just the beginning," Elijah said over the comms, voice calm but resolute. "We adapt, we improve, and next time, we strike smarter. Stick to the plan. We're not done yet."