The slaves scattered like mice, a few of the newer slaves tossing down their weapons as if that would aid them in any fashion. One man cried to Allah to save him, prostrated on his knees before a rampaging Rhinox slammed its hoof atop him, snapping his body in two for the merest instance before crushing both halves together into a bloody paste. The massive beasts pummeled the floor of the arena, every step causing indentions in the hard ground as they moved. Bahadir had seen them once before, but he had never fought them. He had only watched as one of his few friends had been crushed into the wall. 

Bahadir had been granted a moon-bladed axe with a back spike, a privilege granted to one of the most successful fighters. One of the beasts spied him and turned, arcing its head like a mace. He leaped out of the way of one of their swinging horns, his foot catching the ground before pivoting, launching his body at the flank of the turning beast. Bahadir stabbed the spike of his weapon into the meat of its buttocks, causing the big animal to squeal like a boar from the pits of the chaos wastes. A men atop the howdah fired his bow, but the bucking monstrosity caused his aim to swing upward, the arrow loosing into the crowd. A cheering peasant was impaled through the throat, but the crowd did not lower the volume of their screams of adulation.   

Bahadir glanced to his left, and saw a neophyte toss his spear at one of the behemoths. It was a weak throw, the spearpoint not even piercing its hide. Across the arena, some of the more experienced men had taken into a skirmish formation, worrying one of the beasts from all sides with tridents and swords. But while it delayed its charge, it wouldn't save them. The Rhinox the spear had been meant for hadn't even noticed it, and it charged into the left line of the slaves, crushing two men immediately and sending a third flying, his broken body landing atop the large statue of glorious Ptra above the eastern wall statue, a tribute to the father god of the sun. As the Rhinox galloped, its undulating body send one of the bowmen to the ground, and out of the dust the black clad woman appeared, slitting his throat with her sword. As the blood spilled on the sand, she took up the bow and slung the quiver, doing her best to nock an arrow as the slaves died around her. 

Bahadir saw one of the Rhinoxes scratch the floor, sending dust as it shook its shaggy head, looking for another target. Its howdah emptied from the polearms of the slaves and its own bucking gait. It's eyes fell upon Calliope, but as it snorted, Bahadir's axe hit it square on the snout. It flinched out of sudden fear, before its fear turned to anger and it bellowed into the air as it's eyes fell on Bahadir. The pit-fighter had thrown the axe, and he puffed out his chest and screamed an obscenity at the Rhinox. While the beast obviously could not understand, it took the bait. It charged, barreling at the powerful man with the velocity of a rolling boulder, Bahadir lining himself up and crouching, readying his body. Twelve yards, eight yards, four yards... 

Bahadir sprang to the side as the Rhinox crashed into the wall, splintering stone and sending dust into the air dozens of feet. The ancient stone of the wall cracked from the impact, and even Bahadir felt the concussive force of the air. The Rhinox growled in pain and annoyance, but Bahadir was not watching it try and collect itself. His eyes were skyward, and he felt a prayer answered when the large statue of Ptra began to topple forward, its base broken. The poor body of the slave hit the ground in a heap just as the statue fell atop the Rhinox, slamming the dazed beast into the ground. Bahadir wasn't sure if it was dead, but it was not getting up anytime soon, at least. 

He got to his feet, only for an arrow to clattering between his feet, a missile from the last man atop a howdah. He coughed dust and squinted from the sun, peering at the otherside of the arena to see how Calliope and the others fared.