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"In this world filled with death and blood...what better way to relax than watching others shed their blood and die?"
-Lucius Malleus, History of the Arena
The continent of Arkreides is a cesspool of violence, each race discontent with each other for even the most minor of infractions. The otherwise pacifistic elves wage an incessant war against the industrious dwarves in the eastern Myrian forests while waves of orcs and humans crash against each other in the far northern wastes. Caught up in all of this are the beastmen whose nomadic lifestyle often brings them into conflict with the other factions. This near constant conflict brings in a steady flow of very specific commodities. Grieving mothers, corpses and, of course, slaves. But one can only have so many domestic slaves until all work is done, so what can you do with the excess? Why pit them against each other in mortal combat for your entertainment of course!
What started as backalley duels between wealthy families soon evolved into a nationwide sport for Humans once they realised they could make a pretty denar for charging people to watch this bloodshed. This practice soon spread to the nearby war-like orcs who relished these fights and the opportunity to beat slaves into a pulp for their own entertainment (not that they didn't already do so). Suffice to say most orc gladiators are not slaves, rather they are trained pit fighters. Over time, arena fights spread to almost all major nations, even the elves who used these fights to settle matters with as little bloodshed as possible, using selected champions to settle political matters. These days arenas are more regulated, with fighter training requiring a specific license. Those who hold these licenses are called the 'Lanista', people who hold the keys to the shackles of dozens of trained fighters, and yet somehow still maintain control over them, whether through respect, fear or otherwise.
Arena fights are not only simply pitting slaves against each other, no, there is so much more to it. Sometimes these slaves may be thrown into a pit with ferocious beasts or forced to reenact famous battles of those peoples' history, but by far the most popular are the simulated environments, pitting teams of slaves against each other in a fabricated environment. That ends our brief history lesson children, tis time for lunch. Remember your hats.
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Races:
Races:
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Magic:
Magic is a gift given to very few and for good reason, for those who possess this ability and misuse it are the most terrible threats. These mages are able to discern faint shimmering strings hanging in the air, attaching to everything, although individuals are tuned towards specific elements. Nascent mages may dismiss these faint strings as simple tricks of the light but those that know how to use them are extremely dangerous. These 'fate strings' dictate everything about their environment. Those attuned to fire can see the strings which control the climate while those attuned to the air can see the strings as they enter a person's body. Of course, those can see them can also alter them, given some assistance. Utilising special gloves or staves, these mages can 'weave' these strings to create something else. The aforementioned fire mages may pull together fire strings to create an excrutiatingly hot fire ball and throw it, or an air mage can suffocate his opponent by simply pulling the air strings away.
While sounding and being fantastic, the use of these fate strings often has long lasting effects. They say the cold, frozen northern wastes which the orcs now inhabit was once a desert wasteland...which turned into a winter wasteland when their shamans discovered their primitive version of fate weaving early in their inception as a civilisation. Their flames acted as beacons for their people, but at the same time they used up more of the flame strings than could regenerate until eventually they exhausted most of the naturally occuring strings, creating their now sub zero hell. That being said, the opposite can be seen in the Myrian Forest where the elves dwell. Their powerful magics were mostly held in check and instead of using it to combat their dwarven enemies, they used it to encourage growth, creating a luscious forest within years and increasing the density of earth based strings in the forest (which they then use to combat their dwarven enemies).
Magic:
Magic is a gift given to very few and for good reason, for those who possess this ability and misuse it are the most terrible threats. These mages are able to discern faint shimmering strings hanging in the air, attaching to everything, although individuals are tuned towards specific elements. Nascent mages may dismiss these faint strings as simple tricks of the light but those that know how to use them are extremely dangerous. These 'fate strings' dictate everything about their environment. Those attuned to fire can see the strings which control the climate while those attuned to the air can see the strings as they enter a person's body. Of course, those can see them can also alter them, given some assistance. Utilising special gloves or staves, these mages can 'weave' these strings to create something else. The aforementioned fire mages may pull together fire strings to create an excrutiatingly hot fire ball and throw it, or an air mage can suffocate his opponent by simply pulling the air strings away.
While sounding and being fantastic, the use of these fate strings often has long lasting effects. They say the cold, frozen northern wastes which the orcs now inhabit was once a desert wasteland...which turned into a winter wasteland when their shamans discovered their primitive version of fate weaving early in their inception as a civilisation. Their flames acted as beacons for their people, but at the same time they used up more of the flame strings than could regenerate until eventually they exhausted most of the naturally occuring strings, creating their now sub zero hell. That being said, the opposite can be seen in the Myrian Forest where the elves dwell. Their powerful magics were mostly held in check and instead of using it to combat their dwarven enemies, they used it to encourage growth, creating a luscious forest within years and increasing the density of earth based strings in the forest (which they then use to combat their dwarven enemies).
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Notable Locations:
Capital Cities:
Human Cities:
Orcish Cities:
Elvish Cities:
Dwarven Cities:
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Notable Locations:
Capital Cities:
Human Cities:
Orcish Cities:
Elvish Cities:
Dwarven Cities:
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Historic Events:
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