The Western Realm: Venatria

Capital: Tarracina
Religion: Monotheistic (Deity known as the Guardian)

The lands of the west have always been coveted by the rest of the world. Miles upon miles of fertile farmland, gentle rolling hills, fair weather, and the bustling towns and cities of the Venatrian Empire fill its borders. Venatria cannot boast the pure wealth of its southern neighbor, but they claim to be the most civilized people in the world, and they have a point. Well-maintained roads and highways connect their cities. The people feast on plentiful harvests every year. Their armies have proven unmatched in war for hundreds of years, despite the best efforts of their enemies. They have superb armor, advanced tactics, and steely discipline.

As a people, they have developed a culture of cunning, and victory at any cost. The nobility, governors and senators and politicians constantly squabble with one another for power, their disputes often settled with the blood spilled in the arenas. Through the glory of their champions the love of the people can be gained, and with that comes real power and influence. It is this infighting that is the only real threat to the Empire's stability, but thus far the Emperor maintains an iron grip. The distrust and feeling of superiority towards all their neighbors keeps the Venatrians united.

Venatrians worship the Guardian, who was supposedly once a human man, now nameless and ascended to godhood. In legend he led the Venatrian people across the sea from a distant and cursed place, and there they fought and claimed their new home, which they have defended from all invaders ever since. In essence, Venatrians believe that every one of them has the potential for godlike glory, if they have the skill and cunning to claim it, and protect it.

The Northern Realm: Torguren

Capital: None
Religion: Polytheistic (A pantheon of nature gods)

Once, the people of the north were united, and nearly had the power to crack the shell of Venatria. Now the Torgureni are fractured, a hundred different clans occupying the thick forests and ominous mountains of the frigid north. Their dreams of conquest have faded, but they remain a proud warrior people, every man and woman in every village or fort capable of holding their own. They have to, as well; the Torgureni commonly war among themselves, little conflicts that go unnoticed by the rest of the world, but deadly all the same to those involved.

Gladiators are among the only foreigners that the Torgureni allow to pass among them, for they value the opportunity to test themselves against warriors from other lands. It's the only true way to earn their respect, as well; those of the north admire strength above all, and respect it even when it is shown by an outsider. Legends have been made in this way.

Their pantheon of gods is as diverse as their clans, as are their myths and legends. Different clans call different gods by different names, but the Torgureni respect the power they supposedly wield over the sky and earth, and seek to perform great deeds in their honor.

The Southern Realm: Sariya

Capital: Meroa
Religion: Monotheistic (Akzum, the God of Death)

The most inhospitable realm in the world is also the wealthiest. In terms of landmass Sariya is the largest, but much of that is made up of uninhabitable desert. In the deep south, however, are the cities of the Sariyans, built along the few rivers that flow through their land, providing them with life. Their wealth comes from Sariya's magnificent mines. The majority of the world's gold, silver, and other precious gems originate in the south. Their people are expert traders, travelers, and seafarers, and have not made war on any of their neighbors for many years, not since the most infamous of their Sultans led so many of them to their deaths in Venatria.

They worship death, and the lord of it, their deity known as Akzum. What better way to honor death than to experience it time and time again in their arenas? Faraway tournaments in Sariya offer wealth like no other, but only the most impressive of foreign champions are invited to participate.

The Eastern Realm: Markoth

Capital: Kosren, Resting Place of the Tribes
Religion: Polytheistic (The Mother and Father)

The Markothi were once part of the Torgureni, but were cast out as exiles in a time beyond remembering. They have made their own home in the vast plains and mountain ranges of the east, and have become their own people. They boast the world's largest city, Kosren, but it cannot be compared to Venatrian or Sariyan cities for splender. The Markothi are nomadic people, tribes that rarely stay in one place for more than a week. Kosren is simply the largest gathering place in their land. The city is impossible to know, for it constantly changes shape with the coming and going of their people.

One place they do tend to gather are their arenas, often little more than circles of enchanted stones to keep the combatants alive, though they have a sort of beauty all the same. There are few ways to rise in standing among the tribes as effective as victory in the arena, and while outsiders might find little of worth to bring back, among the Markothi arena victories can come with great benefits and influence. The Markothi embrace their identity of exile, valuing honor and service to the tribe above all. Men and women from other lands may join with them, no questions asked, and if they prove their worth to the tribe, they can become Markothi, their pasts forgotten.

Markothi revere their pair of gods, the Mother and Father, patrons of parenthood, family, and adoption. This strengthens their culture of accepting outsiders for the betterment of the tribe. They will protect these families fiercely when threatened, and a united force of Markothi on their plains is a fearsome sight to behold.

Humans

All of the realms are populated by a vast majority of humans. There was a time when this was not so, but ancient wars drove many of the other races near to extinction, living in a diminished state that most humans regard as savage and uncivilized. Humans come in wide varieties depending on where they hail from. Venatrians are most commonly dark-haired and olive skinned, Torgureni are a large, pale people, Sariyans are dark-skinned and often decorated in jewels, and Markothi are a great mix, with the majority looking more like tanned northerners than anything else.

It isn't possible to confine all humans into a simple description, but they're obviously an adaptable and varied race, seeing how far they've spread. The vast majority of them see themselves as superior to all other races. In terms of power, they have been, for thousands of years.

Beast Races

The other races of the world are numerous and wildly different from each other, but collectively they are known as the "beast races" to easily imply their supposed inferiority to humans. This helps humans categorize them when they come across something they don't even recognize, which happens more often than you might think. Some of the beast races live in extremely isolated pockets of the world, keeping to themselves out of fear or perhaps just sensibility. Violence against them is rarely punished, on any scale.

The arenas of the world are among the few places they can be accepted in human society, and even then they are typically treated as beasts of war, to be thrown at the enemy for the spectacle and the benefit of the rest on their team. They often reap only a small portion of the glory.

The beast races are too many to go into detail on each, but here are a few of the more well-known ones from each realm, with a brief description attached:

Venatria
Cyclopes: Reviled cave-dwellers known to eat humans, cyclopes are only allowed within Venatrian cities to participate in the games.
Minotaurs: Rare, but incredibly dangerous. Minotaurs typically wander alone, but some teams attempt to cage them, to be unleashed in the arena as gladiators. They often prove as dangerous to their own side as the enemy.

Torguren
Yeti: Tall, fur-covered creatures with glowing eyes wandering the forests of the north. Slow, but incredibly strong. They can be surprisingly compassionate when not threatened.
Satyrs: Driven out of Venatria long ago, Satyrs are unruly, lustful, and devious. Some develop a lust for bloodshed, and satisfy their desires with whatever team will take them.
Dryads: Elusive creatures of the northern woods, dryads speak telepathically. Hated as any other outside of the north, but the Torgureni typically respect their privacy.

Sariya
Undead: Powerful Sariyan mages are capable of etching runes into the bones of the dead, the magic reanimating them and binding them to their will. This is typically done with servants and arena combatants, but occasionally an honored loved one will be brought back with no restriction on their will. They cannot speak, but have none of the drawbacks of being alive (hunger, tiredness, etc). Undead are not uncommon in Sariyan cities, but in any other land they will typically be destroyed on sight.

Markoth
Mongrels: A horned, hairy race of the eastern plains, the creatures known as mongrels live in roving bands that typically steer clear of the Markothi. They have a strong affinity for insidious magic, their shamans often finding themselves attached to teams as a way to practice their abilities on humans.
Centaurs: Proud warriors of the plains, centaurs occasionally trade with Markothi tribes, or participate in their arenas. Rarely is one seen in any of the other lands.
Hobgoblins: An isolationist race keeping to themselves in the mountains at the edge of Markothi lands. Distrustful and wary of all magic, which they believe transformed them from humans into what they now are.

(More will be added as needed, or as requested. These races are not common in the arena. Many teams have no combatants of beast race, those that do typically only have one. A few rare teams will be entirely beast races, handled by human managers. Playing any beast race will come with severe drawbacks for your character and probably our team to overcome, so keep that in mind. I'm open to having one or two, but probably no more than that. If you'd like to request something specific, either to play as or even just to fight against, let me know.)

Spellweaving

Combat magic is known as spellweaving. Every living creature is born with some amount of magic in their blood (enough to use items with simple enchantments, for example), but few have enough power to weave spells of their own. Those that do can become trained as mages. Study of magic is a long, arduous process, one that is heavily defined by a user's personal affinities. Most mages weave spells of a single element, such as fire or water, but many can be more outlandish. Force mages, entropic mages, necromancers, light mages... the form of a spellweaver's magic is part of their identity. And as with identities, every spell is unique, its exact properties defined and evolved by its creator. Typically, a human mage at age thirty might have a repertoire of 3-5 different unique spells they can cast.

The act of casting spells requires no words. For the vast majority of mages, hands act as the fountain of their magic. Spells are woven into the air before them, a process which takes time for all but the most elite of mages (for our purposes, you will not be able to cast a spell in one turn/post. It must be prepared, and then unleashed). Unleashing magic is a tiring process, and one that requires a great deal of focus, but the effects of spells can alter the entire course of a fight. A lightning bolt can cause an enemy's entire body to explode. Force magic can temporary paralyze foes, leaving them helpless while the mage's teammates strike them down. For this reason, mages on the field are often the highest priority targets, if only to disrupt their magic long enough to gain the upper hand.

Runic Enchantment

The other primary form of magic comes in the form of magical runes, etched into physical objects by skilled mages for a specific purpose. Anyone can use enchanted items of a basic level, but the more powerful the effect, the more magic is required. Arenas, for example, are all enchanted with ancient magic that only the most powerful mages could hope to inscribe, but even an average mage could properly work the enchantment to restore the dead to life. Arenas are enchanted with powerful runes that store the spirit and physical state of anyone entering. They can be called upon to return a body to that state at any time. This is done by trained mages at the end of every fight, to keep gladiators from dying permanently, and to heal their wounds so they can fight again soon. Memory is preserved, however, so experienced fighters often have memory of dozens of different painful deaths.

Weapons are the most commonly enchanted items. A bow could be enchanted to spread icy magic across a target's body with each arrow, or a shield could be enchanted to release an electrical discharge each time it is struck. Due to the skill required to make enchanted items, however, they are very expensive. If you possess an enchanted item, you're either quite wealthy, possess a valuable family heirloom, or killed someone and took it from them.

(I'm hoping to leave the design of magic here quite open ended as far as what kind of spells can be cast or enchantments could be made. I leave it up to you guys to invent your own spells with their own unique effects if you play a mage. As for enchanted items, most likely you shouldn't start out with one if you don't have a good reason for it. Acquire one as we go.)