Marbula One Season 2 / Pre-Marble League 2021 Offseason Moments – Part 1

Hello everyone, Nordique Whaler here, and welcome to the journal of my travels between Marbula One Season 2 and Marble League 2021 Qualifiers! I was motivated by Stynth to embark on an around-the-world trip after they did a similar trip last year. Along the way, I got to know most of our favorite marble athletes and how things have been since M1S2 and how some are preparing for ML21. Hope you enjoy the entries!

This is Part 1 of Nordique Whaler’s Offseason Moments series.
For Part 2, click here.
For Part 3, click here.
For Part 4, click here.

Helarve

I figured since we ended the season at Midnight Bay, I might as well begin my journey right here in Helarve. The Midnight Wisps season was very up and down and like the first season they got one medal, but this time it was a gold medal. Wospy was struggling early on getting only two points, then was able to win at Palette Park. I met with the Wisps at Midnight Bay as they were getting prepared for the qualifiers.

I proceeded to ask Wospy about that moment “How did it feel after having the race of your life going from last to first and winning a battle with Speedy?” Wospy responded: “I felt like I needed to silence some critics. It did not seem right that I kept being compared to Mary just because I went scoreless in the first half. I used the break to run some practice races here with Wispy after the MLWS. I needed to get close to catch the draft in order to pass. If you watch early on in the Raceforest GP, you can see I did just that. Unfortunately, I bumped into the safety marble exit lane and lost some positions. I did take into account the obstacles for my next race at Palette Park and starting from the rear I implemented my draft strategy to zoom all the way to the top. Battling Speedy was one of the hardest things I have ever done—I was getting exhausted—but when I saw them bump into the wall after the banked curve, I felt that this was my chance to shut everyone up. I took the lead back in the penultimate lap, but I knew Speedy was coming up right behind me and I nearly lost it bumping into the same wall. It was perhaps the hardest medal any one of us has ever gotten.” Wospy was gassed after saying all that fast.

I don’t blame Wospy for running to the oxygen tank as soon as the race ended. The thought of everything that Wospy did would have had a regular marble like me pass out. Wospy kept that gold medal next to their one from the Underwater Race in 2017.

Wispy then shouted “Hey, let’s all race to Midnight Hollow! Just like old times.” Wospy was on board with that idea. I could not keep up with those two at all. I haven’t been to Midnight Hollow since it was originally named Harva. The rest of the teammates were already there waiting for Wispy and Wospy to finish up at Midnight Bay. Along with Wuspy, Wespy, Waspy, and coach Wyspy, Ghost was also there. The two of us have been releasing charts after every race this season. Ghost’s charts were by where the marbles ranked and my charts were based on how far each marble was behind the leader. This allowed us to get caught up and recap Marbula One with our formulas. It just so happened to be “Full Moon Midnight” that night: where as soon as the clock strikes midnight, the bells ring around the city of Helarve but the sound is loud enough to be heard in the park. Combined with the backdrop of the city and a full moon, it is a perfect tradition to commemorate the night. The Wisps come here every full moon, per tradition. When we heard the bells start to chime to the tune of the chant, we all embraced the celebration of Full Moon Midnight at Midnight Hollow.

Wispy then told me: “We are training hard to make sure that in a few months we can all be back here with a second Marble League Championship. After coming so close last season, and missing out on prequalifying—especially seeing Crazy Cat’s Eyes earn the host bid right behind us–we are going to build off after that.” From the times I’ve watched them, if they get on a hot streak, the Wisps will be put in a good position to contend with the top teams and maybe bring home a second trophy.

Stormholm

After some rest, I journeyed out west a bit to Stormholm to check on the Thunderbolts. The Bolts had a very up and down season in M1, with the highlight being Bolt racking up three medals, the first time the Thunderbolts had three medals in a tournament since Marble League 2018 and the first with the modern roster. Bolt was one of the top marbles this season which was very surprising considering the Thunderbolts were previously eighth in M1 and the past Marble League’s haven’t been much, finishing 13th in both 2019 and 2020 which included a medal drought of 27 events. The MLWS brought the Thunderbolts back into title contention with a 5th place finish but it easily could’ve been a podium spot. Like that tournament, a late collapse kicked the Bolts down from the podium and they finished 6th.

When I arrived at Short Circuit, I was greeted by Thunderstorm, the team’s coach. The Thunderbolts had just completed an early workout session and were on a lunch break. “Welcome to our facility!” Thunderstorm said as I entered. The area was surrounded by tesla coils and a giant plasma ball. “The team has been anticipating your arrival.”

I took my seat next to Bolt and Shock, the two marbles representing the Bolts in Marbula One. Thunder, Lightning, and Zap sat across, as we all dug into an order of Momo’s Dumplings, which after Momotorway this season, had opened up locations all across Marblearth.

“I tell you, I don’t know what Momo puts in these, but these are probably their best batch yet.” Shock said after downing one whole. The rest of the team nodded. Thunder then proclaimed, “In a few months, we can enjoy these with a Marble League trophy soon!”

After lunch, the Thunderbolts went back into session, getting ready to test Balancing. On the way, I asked Bolt if the three medals they got will empower the Thunderbolts to new heights. “The two silvers and the bronze for me have done their part but I was so hoping I could’ve made one of these gold. After coming up short in the MLWS, we feel encouraged that we are able to learn from our mistakes and set our eyes forward to Marble League 2021 Qualifiers.” I’ll be honest, this is the most optimistic I have seen the Thunderbolts in quite some time. I watched them run the Balancing event a couple of times. It looks like they are ready for when the real deal comes: with their visions set high, the Thunderbolts do not want to be a middle of the pack team like in the past years, their eyes are set on glory.

Wingdon

I took a flight out from Stormholm later that night to Draklin in preparation for my meeting with the Green Ducks. I figured they would be in a better mood after going the entire ML20 and MLWS without a medal. Marbula One Season 2 was a different story for the Ducks as they improved on their sixth-place finish from the previous season, won a race, podiumed in two other races, and were able to finish 3rd overall. It was the Ducks’ second final podium finish along with Marble League 2019 where they finished 2nd in their inaugural tournament. I arrived at my hotel when I received a text from Mallard.

“Change in plans for tomorrow, instead of meeting at Greenstone, we will all meet at the top of Wingdon. Same time. See you then.”

Wingdon is the highest mountain on the entire island. I had actually planned on making a visit there sometime but wasn’t planning on doing it this trip. Fortunately, there is a railway that leads to the summit. The next morning I boarded the train at the bottom of the mountain. The Ducks had already been climbing the mountain earlier in the day, so when I arrived at the summit they were already there waiting.

“Glad you could make it!” said Mallard. “We wanted to have a special celebration for our season and thought we’d save it for when you got here. I proceeded to say “A well-deserved one for that podium spot you have earned.” Billy, Ducky, Quacky, Goose, and Bombay followed us to a part of the mountain with a steep cliff. It had been a long time since I had climbed a cliff, but once I saw what Billy pulled out of their bag, rock climbing would look easy compared to what was in store. Along with the gold medal came a hang glider. Seven of them to be exact. I knew each member already had one, so my initial guess was that it was a spare until I realized I was going to be gliding.

I felt nervous, I had never glided in my life. Billy did help me get set up with some practice runs. and gave some tips. I asked about the Arctic Circuit race that they won. “It felt like there was one big make or break moment, and that was the 90-degree curve at turn 7. I had some difficulties there early on but once I got used to it I studied how the other marbles approached it, then used that to my advantage. After battling Smoggy, I was eyeing Ruzzy and I wanted to get close to them but stay toward the right side of the track that way when we hit the turn I would be in front. From there, the race was won.” After that, they said, “Ready to give gliding a shot?” I rolled down and took off. The rest of the team was already off and there I was. Gliding over Wingdon. You could see far beyond the city of Draklin from here including the Ducks facility at Greenstone. It felt like being on the poster the Green Ducks had.

There was one thing Billy forgot to teach me, landing from high altitude. Yep, I had a rough landing in a field but fortunately was not hurt. “Not bad for a beginner.” Quacky, Goose, and Coach Bombay all thought I did pretty well for a first-timer at one of the Ducks’ favorite hobbies. Billy then collected the rest of the gliders, then Mallard said, “Stop, look in your bag.” I went back to see there was an extra item in my bag, a note that said, “For NW-Props for nailing that prediction at Arctic Circuit and believing in us. Consider this glider a gift from us. – Billy”.

I didn’t know what to say, except to thank the Green Ducks on such a fun adventure. Ducky then said, “We are planning on starting a youth league so we can mentor marbles who want to live out their dreams like we did a couple of years ago.” “You should come to check that out next time you come back around here,” Mallard told me as we were leaving Wingdon. I could see the Ducks becoming great leaders to future generations. After all, they are a fun team to root for, and hopefully this time they can replicate the 2019 success that they brought to M1 into the upcoming Marble League.

Vellis

Where have we heard this before, “never count out the Savage Speeders”? Their first two races were abysmal with Speedy falling off the belt at Minty Mania and Rapidly finishing dead last. Everyone thought the dynasty was over, but you know that was not the case. Speedy recovered instantly to win at Honeydome, then added two silvers to finish second in the Racer Standings. Rapidly needed a bit to improve as they finished the last three times and DNQed one other time, but you know what I’m going to say again. Rapidly proved critics wrong by finishing with two medals in their final two races including winning at Midnight Bay. The performance moved the Savage Speeders all the way up to second place. It was the first time all season the Savage Speeders had been in a podium spot after any race and they picked the perfect time to do it. While it may not have been a championship, it proved that like in Marble League 2020, this team is not out of it until they are. The silver earned the Speeders their sixth podium finish in eight tournaments, and teams beware they are coming into Marble League 2021 as perhaps the hottest team around after finishing M1S2 with medals in 4 of 6 races.

The Speeders facility had grown since the last time I visited. Speedy noticed me as I pulled up. “Hey, Nordique! It’s just me over here, for now, the training session doesn’t begin for another hour. In the meantime, I’ll show you around our renovated facility.” I felt honored to be given a tour of the Speeders updated facility by one of the greatest marble athletes ever to compete. The first place they took me was the Savage Speeders Museum that was brand new. Inside it was a theater showing some of the Savage Speeders’ greatest moments in their history. There were artifacts from each of the tournaments they have been in including the relay block from 2016, a steeplechase hurdle from 2017, a planet marble from Collision in 2020, and a light sculpture from Midnight Bay to name a few. Then Speedy told me “I think you will like this room the best, it is my favorite.” The highlight of the whole museum was the trophy and medal room. In it were all 34 medals the Savage Speeders have ever earned sorted by tournament, and right in the middle of the room were the three Championship trophies the Savage Speeders earned, as well as smaller trophies for the three runners-up podiums they got. Speedy’s Racer Championship trophy and runner-up trophy for both seasons were there as well. Speedy pointed to the Marble League 2016 trophy: “This right here was the one that started it all, it’s my favorite of all of them, just because of how much it meant to us and how it set the stage for us in the years to come. Of course, the Marbula One trophy last season and the Marble League 2020 trophy have their own places in our hearts as well.”

After the tour, the other Speeders arrived with Coach Quickly followed them. I had some time to hang around to watch part of their session. I originally thought the Speeders were very secretive when it comes to training methods but it did not look like anything different to them. However I wonder if they are only showing me a fraction of their strategy so as to not give everything away. Sprint came first since the track did not need to be set up. I noticed there were now five lanes of the track instead of the four so each Speeder had a chance to run against each other. They ran the Sprint twice each, with the second run faster on average. In between the Sprint and Relay I went and caught up with Rapidly while Speedy, Velocity, Swiftly, and Whizzy prepared for the Relay. The Relay was going to be done five times with each member doing each part of the Relay once while the extra member sat out for one run. I wanted to know how Rapidly was able to pull off the two-race stretch they had after such a horrible start to the season. They told me this:

“The beginning of the season was completely different than what I thought it was going to be since I had a strategy from Season 1 that I brought, but it seems like the other teams figured me out, and I tried to change it except it made me worse. So after Momotorway I spent some time alone training and trying to be much faster. I wanted to shut up anyone who thought I was washed up, being carried by Speedy, and even some that thought I was a Cube. So my strategy was this for the final two races: Ignore the other 15 racers, just focus on the path ahead and be yourself. Even with the obstruction at Misty Mountain, I did not want to be distracted by them and I kept going and was having the race of my life, though I still had a way to get to Cerulean, Momo, and Wispy. The Red Flag changed everything and I was able to get by them and finally make the podium. It felt like a sigh of relief.”

After that we watched the other Speeders perform the first of five Relay heats, and they crossed at a pretty impressive time. While the other members calmed them Rapidly finished their story “Speedy gave me some tips on how to master Midnight Bay considering they won this race last season. Combining what I did at Misty Mountain and what Speedy taught me allowed me to climb up the leaderboard, and once I got past Razzy I wanted to make sure I kept that lead the rest of the way through. I knew Cerulean was behind me but I didn’t want to focus on them because if I did I’d lose the lead so I just focused on what was ahead of me again until the race ended. Winning this race was a huge sigh of relief for me and knowing it got us a podium spot it made it all the sweeter.” Rapidly was up now for the Relay and after the other relay runs were done, it is safe to say the Speeders have not missed a beat and continue to perform like a Marble League was every day.

After the Relay was done I thanked the Savage Speeders for showing me around the facility and to cover part of their session. I will not go into detail about how fast the team was or which marble did the best, but I would not be surprised to see another trophy in that room and a few more medals to go along with it, as the Savage Speeders are favorites to defend their crown in Marble League 2021. As long as there is a chance they can win, never count out the Savage Speeders.

Van Gotterdam

I took a flight that night to Van Gotterdam, home of Team Primary. The team had a regression in Season 2 notably in Prim who finished 4th last season in the Racer Standings with every race in the top 4, to that 4th place the highest Prim ever finished this season. Rima was Mary’s replacement and while they were better than Mary there was still work to be done, as Team Primary finished in 16th. This would be the first team I would visit that finished in the bottom half of the standings so I had to lower my expectations on enthusiasm.

I pulled up to Palette Park the next morning where the team was enjoying their off day at the track. I saw on the jumbotron it said “Welcome Nordique Whaler to Palette Park”. The team then snuck up from behind me in surprise. It was a nice little welcome that the team had thought of at the last second. Prim said “We have a little something special planned for today.” I was curious to see what it was. Rima unveiled a large canvas the size of a jumbotron. It was black and white so it could’ve been all Snowballs for a moment, but out came the paint. Mary then told the team “One of our favorite moments from this season was the time we all got to host a M1 race. Even though we did not win it, we would like to create this mural that our friend Betawolfs made the template for to thank JMR for allowing us to host a race. We will recreate the final lap with Wospy beating out Speedy, we will also have some of the other marbles closer together.” The mural will take a couple of days to finish so I would not be there when it was done but I was assigned to paint Wospy crossing the finish line.

I asked Rima, who was painting Speedy, about how the season went for Primary. They told me “We were disappointed at our performance this season. There were moments like myself taking Pole at Raceforest or Prim hanging around in the top 3 at Savage Speedway that we had but wanted to take advantage of. Unfortunately, we didn’t. Though I have to say participating in Marbula One was an experience I will never forget.” Imar was painting Smoggy when they said, “I believe we can get into the Marble League this time around, we came so close to it last season.” Team Primary has not participated in the Marble League since a 14th place finish in 2017 though Prim and Mary did join forces with Team Momo in 2018. When our time was done we got a few of the Marbles done including the three podium finishers. “Thank you so much for your help today,” Prim said, looking at what we had done. “We will have the rest of the mural done soon, and we’ll send a picture of it when it’s finished.” Let’s see if their Marble League Qualifier will be as good as their art is.

Click here to keep reading about Nordique Whaler’s trip around the world!

Credits

• Writer: NordiqueWhaler
• Editor: Stynth
• Release: 30/06/2021