Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2015 17:20:38 GMT -8
Many scholars often remark that the allure of the coliseum is curious. Filled with a mixture of drama, violence, emotion, and gambling, it is always a point of interest even when times would indicate otherwise. Some go to it for the simple thrill of the fights, attaching themselves to a gladiator and living vicariously through them while others are content to simply enjoy the atmosphere while making a little money on the side. Regardless of the reason, stories about gladiatorial combat are always spoken with an excited voice, the twinkle of the storyteller's eyes betraying the very emotion they felt in the battle, whether enjoyment or disgust. This is one of those stories. What feelings the spectator will draw, however, is one that will be remembered with blood and sand.
The bright light of the torches coupled with the skylights overhead lit the slowly filling arena up with light. Arena staff were running around distributing food and libations while needy gamblers ran back and forth to the betting counters, readying up for the next match. The fights that day had been fairly slow, mostly mismatched duels and monster smashes, but word had gotten out that this event was promising to be fun. The few advertising that had gone out labeled it as a seeming grudge match between a woman known only as the Magitek Maiden against a group with the moniker the Skull Squad of Slaughter. Rumors echoed through the halls of the arena that this woman was a known cheater and an unknown, many claiming she took falls when the bets went a certain way. With every voice that seemed to decry her, another spoke out in her defense, expounding on her beauty, skill, or elegance. Despite this, the odds were clearly against her, nearly five hundred to one against, and even her most adamant defenders were seemingly not willing to put their money as proof.
The murmuring in the crowd stayed at a constant high, excitement building as a heavily armored amateur gladiator made short work of three blasts. While it was clear he struggled, the blasts seemed more confused by the situation then he did, and the warmup fight was quick. "And the Steel Cage is victorious!" boomed a squeaky voice from the central dais. The dais extended out from one edge of the bottom of the stands, hanging some thirty fulms over the main arena floor proper. A male lallafel with a handlebar moustache and noble's finery stood up, announcing the end of the fight as he glanced around, his eyes covered by darkened glasses. The crowd cheered halfheartedly and were quickly silenced when the lallafel raised his hands. "Ah know, Ah know. Some blasts are 'ardly worthwhile opponents, but they all can't be electrifying!" He chuckled at his own joke, grinning as he stretched two arms in the air. "Still, it is time for an event that many of you have come to see, and even more have bet on! Ah ask you to look down at the arena, and cast your eyes upon our fair Magitek Maiden!" With a grandiose gesture, he waved a hand below him, all eyes looking down as a steel portcullis groaned open.
She strode forth with purpose, an almost casual gait as she stepped into the light of the arena. A large axe rested on her shoulder, easily five fulms long and just slightly smaller then her. She showed no hesitation as each step closed to the center revealed more of her features. Her head was encased in what looked to be steel, clearly showing off the ears of an elezen on the side. Two slits going down vertically from top to bottom and fancy golden details framing the face. The slits glowed a soft blue, akin to ceruleum. Her upper body was on display, a galerus covering her breasts and shoulders, but an exposed stomach and biceps showing off her bronzed, seemingly flawless skin. Thick, steel gauntlets glowed with the same color as her visor, magitek work clearly visible along her shoulderpads. A short, colibri pink skirt signaled the start of her lower body, covering her thighs and drawing the eye to two large greaves. Like the rest of her armor, segments of the greaves pulsed blue, creating a fairly prominent figure. Any clanks that her footfalls made were muffled by the sand or the loud cheering that filled with her entrance, Her gaze scanning across the arena before she arrived at the center. Pausing, she looked out over the cheering crowd before she cleaved the axe head into the ground lazily, lifting both arms up in a cheer. The crowd yelled louder at motion, the woman stepping forward, then leapt backwards, twisting her body into a flip as a blue arc trailed from her heels in an obvious exhibition. She grabbed the axe handle mid-flip, landing on a knee and hoising the axe up with both arms, the roar of the crowd reaching a peak as she simply curtsied and moved back to her entryway.
"Ah feisty one, ain't she?" the lallafel remarked, laughing as she gestured to try and calm the audience down. "Dun' worry, she's certainly full o' vim and vigor that one." He twirled his sandy moustache, pausing for effect before continuing, "But it seems the fair maiden 'as offended someone large and in charge, the one, the only, Lord Skull Deathscape the Slaughterer!" A portcullis opposite the arena opened as a man that looked to be a hyur the size of a roegadyn strode out. Contrarty to the Maiden, his walk was more a boisterous saunter, arms out stretched as he basked in the crowd's adoration. His outfit was fairly simple and unimaginative, consisting of a helmet, mask, shoulderpad, gloves, belt, pants, and boots all adorned with skulls. Slung on his back was a large iron sledgehammer, the heads unsurprisingly adorned with skulls. A massive faux skull adorned his chest, completing the look by having what looked to be blood pooled within the ajar mouth. His skin was as tan as a normal Ala Mhigan and absolutely littered with scars, the man a complete contrast to his opponent in everything but size. The expoed bottom of his face curled into a grin as he reached the middle, gesturing at the crowd before he motioned at the woman. A throat slit motion gave way to more lewd ones, when he positioned his hands over his crotch, violently thrusting his hips. The woman simply leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and her axe resting against the wall, scanning with a disinterested disposition at the rest of the arena.
Slowly but surely, the roar of the crowd died down, the armored man giving a dismissive gesture as he stalked over to his entrance and crouched down. "Now," the lallafel began, "Ah know many of you were here ah week or two ago when these two fought, and poor victahmized Skully got whooped." Laughter rings through the crowd as the armored man simply flipped off the crowd, gritting his teeth. "But that's what rematches ahn grudges 'r for! Still, it'd be a boring and predictable fight ta have these two square off again, no offense Skully," he'd grin as the man pulled a tomahawk out from his back, standing up and lobbing it at the dais, only to have it glance off the side and clatter to the floor of the arena. "Now now, save yer rage fer the dame. Still, ladies and gentleman, we struggled to find a way to make this interesting, and boy did we find it! SEND IN THE SQUAD!" As the voice echoed across the arena, eleven rugged individuals came out of the still open portcullis behind Lord Skull.
To say the group was a unique mixture was an understatement. Four women (two miqo'te, two hyur) and seven males (two lallafel, one rogeadyn, two hyur, one miqo'te, one elezen) made up the full squad. Adding to the variety, most of them had different weapons: the lallafel and roegadyn possessing bows, the male miqo'te wielding an axe, the hyur women possessing daggers, the elezen holding a lance, both male hyurs wearing cestii and the female miqo'te wielding a whip and a sword and board. The only consistent part of the entire squad were their shoddy skull masks and the leg and arm irons that hung from their ankles and wrists, the chains all snapped. Boos began to ring from the crowd as none of the fighters seemed to care much for their situation, the announcer stating, "Yea yea, the Skull Squad of Slaughter is Skully's much needed backup! But don't worry too much about the scum, they're just prisoners after all!" The booing continued as the group looked at Lord Skull, who simply grabbed one of the female hyurs and shoved her to the center, chuckling. The woman stumbled awkwardly before regaining her balance, shooting a look back before grimacing and falling into a fighting stance in the middle.
"Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, the rules are simple! Because she's soooooo skilled, our wonderful little Maiden was only restricted to her axe and the armor she's got on! Not fair to bring in a whole arsenal against her gang!" The aforementioned maiden pushed off the wall, hoisting her axe over her shoulder as she walked to the middle. Skull Lord casually stayed leaning against the opposite wall as both portcullis' slammed shut, the squad minus the archers beginning to surround the scantily clad warrior. "Better yet, this fight's gonna go 'til only one side's left standin'! We ain't goin' to tha death 'ere," he paused then, grinning and adding, "But don't let that stop ya from guttin' some prisoners, sexy!" The maiden glanced up to the dais, unable to show a facial expression, before dropping her gaze to the group surrounding her. Near Lord Skull, the roegadyn was picking up both lallafels and throwing them up some fifteen fulms to beams which stuck out all around the arena equidistant apart from each other. Each lallafel took a beam on either side of a central one, which the roegadyn got up to by scaling the wall with climbing claws. "Anyways, betting's startin' to close, but don't forget to bet on the condition of our lovely little maiden! Fighters ready? Ah, who cares, scrap, bite, and tear!" The crowd cheered at the official start, all eyes now locked in the arena.
No gladiatorial fight is ever complete without the staredown. A time honored tradition among duelists, there is a always a certain calm before the storm of combat as each fighter tries to stare and intimidate the other down. Some philosophers claim that thousands of fights happen within that very second, each combatant playing out hundreds of millions of moves in their head against their oppoonent. In all honesty, everyone agrees that it just feels intense. Slowly but surely, the maiden lowered her axe as she shifted back into a combat stance.
All around her the fighters jeered and laughed, clanging weapons, cracking a whip, taunting and mocking, all wanting to catch the woman off guard but none wanting to start the fight. Lord Skull seemed content to lean against the far wall, arms crossed, obviously amused at the entire event. He glanced above him, the archers finally settling onto the beams and nocking their bows. It was clear the maiden was in no hurry, her body visibly tensing up as she continued to watch around her, the crowd falling silent as the atmosphere built. The audible twang of the roegadyn's bow as he fired off a wide shot started the battle proper, the lallafels likewise firing arrows that clattered on the opposite wall harmlessly. With a yell, the axe wielding miqo'te lunged forward at the maiden, wielding his axe as he charged. The maiden reacted instantly, digging her axe down into the sand head first, then throwing a bunch of sand at the charging man's face as if her axe was a shovel. The other combatants reacted then, charging in on her as she continued her motion by dashing to the right of the blinded miqo'te,lowering her shoulder and shoving it against the lancer elezen's stomach and knocking him aside. Another set of three arrows hit the ground around her as the combatants hit where she was. The prisoners showing next to no poise as the maiden breaks from the crowd, swinging her axe to clear the air in front of her, no longer surrounded. "Ha!" booms Lord Skull, "Looks lak diz peez of tail has some fight!"
The maiden stood in the middle of the arena, staring down the group, her back to the archers and Lord Skull. She seemed to not react as two arrows struck the sand at her feet, one ricocheting off her shoulder pad the seven other combatants moving to regain their combat pose. The miqo'te that ate sand sat kneeling, growling and rubbing at his eyes under the mask, his axe on the floor. This time, the maiden would step back, as if to take a deep breath, then release a yell that was clearly filtered through a device in her helmet. The sound that came out was akin to a dragon's roar if it was a voidsent, and the intimidation it caused was obvious as the squad took a step back. She darted forward, the lights on the magitek suit blazing a blood red, as she swung her axe haft into an uppercut, catching the bottom of the shield miqo'te's jaw and knocking her out in an instant, the other's body collapsing into a pile. Before she could follow up, the maiden was sent reeling as a pugilist slammed a cestus against her armored face, staggering her to the side as a rogue moved to deliver a wide slice along her side, drawing blood. The crowd erupted into a cheer at the first blood, the whip cracking harmlessly against her leg at the same time. The maiden ducked into a crouch as the lancer thrust the spear towards her stomach, glancing harmlessly off her shoulder pad as the other rogue moved slashed at the air where she was. In an explosion of movement, she dived forward, axe held at chest level as she slammed the shaft against the knees of the attacker pugilist, audibly breaking them as she rolled and recovered her feet near the blinded miqo'te. The screaming pugilist collapsed as the other delivered a body punch against her stomach, throwing a heavy hook that went wide and slammed the blinded miqo'tes head, knocking him unconscious. The maiden cartwheeled backward, away from the group, slouching slightly as the burst of action faded.
Her posture was slouching as she darted between the five standing opponents. They fell back into a flank, the miqo'te wielding the whip cracking it harmlessly and annoyingly a few feet away. Lord Skull was laughing as he unslung two tomahawks, tossing them at the maiden who simply knocked them out of the air with her axe, only for two arrows to hit home in her abdomen. The crowd roared as the announcer yelled, "Oh, looks like this little girl's been penetrated!" as she staggered back, falling to a knee. One of the rogues leapt forward, taking advantage of the opening, her arms over her head as she tried to do a leaping double stab down. She was clearly lost in the thrill of the battle as the maiden thrust the head of her axe up into the woman's rag-covered stomach, pushing the spike that adorned the top of it through her skin then using her momentum to throw her up and over her, slamming the now unconscious rogue against the wall behind her. She was scarely able to recover as the pugilist ran forward and tackled her, sending her onto her back as he began to rain blows on her face, the lancer moving around and the other rogue standing to the side.
The pugilist sat on her chest and began to rain punches down on the woman, which seemed to deflect off the helmet before he got punched on the side of the head, the maiden rolling out, the arrows in her stomach digging in deeper. While a spear stabbed at the sand she was, a whip lash and another arrow found purchase in the small of her back, illiciting a pained yell. Scramling to her feet, she swung her axe around her like a top, clearing space around her as she moved to put her back up against the wall. Most of her stomach and back was covered in a grimy mixture of blood and sand, and a hand moved to break the haft off the fresh arrow sticking in her back. As the five moved to charge again, she dropped her axe, the head hitting the sand, as she moved her now free hands in a series of quick symbols, tossing out a small bit of fire which exploded just in front of her to keep the others back. "We got a fiery one, hoo hoo!" yelled the announcer from his seat, the crowd cheering at the sudden explosion. "Wutchu lugs scurred of? You need ta see a reel man at wurk?" Lord Skull yelled, finally pushing off the wall. "Fine! I's gettin' bored anywhooze!"
The roar of the crowd intensified as the mountain of a hyur hefted his sledgehammer on his shoulder, stomping forward. The remaining four combatants stepped back, obviously getting away from the ensuing scuffle, as the maiden leaned against the wall, picking up her axe. She held it in one hand as the man approached, the other clutching at her stomach as he stood before her, equal sized. He laughed, his voice booming, as he clearly showed no regard to the wounded elezen, who simply stepped forward and swung her axe in an upward arc with both hands at his boisterous display. Not expecting it, the blade of the axe glanced off his hip and cleaved the skull adornment that decorated his chest in half, sending fake blood flying everywhere. Staggered backwards by the blow and letting out a confused yell, Lord Skull was clearly unable to defend himself as the maiden moved in, twisting her body to deliver a hard elbow to his now exposed gut. As he collapsed to his knees from the blow, a few fulms back, an arrow flying by her face dissuaded any further attack.
"Looks like the Skull needed to keep...ABREAST of the situation! Hahaha, ah crack me up!" The maiden glanced to the archers as they nocked arrows, at the four squad members as they began to get closer, and at the kneeling Skull Lord who was clutching his stomach, then bared down and charged at Skull Lord. She planted a foot on his shoulder, jumping high into the air as she brought her axe up above her head. The archers watched, a bit dumb founded, as the four melee fighters braced for impact, the maiden bringing her axe slamming down on the ground between the four. The force of the impact was so hard, the axe embedded into the stone beneath the sand and caused a small shockwave to stumble those around her. She surged forward to take advantage of the situation, immediately shoulder checking the whip miqo'te in front of her and twisting her body around to deliver a roundhouse kick to the lancer's face. The first to recover, the pugilist began to unleash a series of punches at the maiden who raised her own gauntlets to defend herself, dancing backwards as she dodged and weaved against the blows. The rogue ran back to Skull Lord all the while, trying to rouse him from his stunned state. For her troubles, she was backhanded by the now fuming mad and slumped to the floor as he rose and roared.
While her dodging was not perfect, she was clearly trying to tire the pugilist out then fully defend herself, constantly backpedaling and dancing from side to side like a boxer. The lancer stood up, grunting as he rubbed his face, his skull mask cracked, the whip wielding miqo'te clutching her stomach as she steadies her breath. When the pugilist delivered a wide hook from fatigue, the maiden responded with an immediate set of punches to the stomach, followed by a heavy hook of her own, spinning the man like a top and sending him to the floor. She could barely respond as Skull Lord charged towards her at full speed, stray arrows forcing her to spin and dodge. The massive hyur brought his sledgehammer up and swung it down in a crushing overhead smash, but the maiden slammed her fists together, blades shooting out from the top of the wrists as she caught the shaft of the hammer in a parry. The sheer force of the blow forced her down to one knee as the two strained against the other, but the contest quickly ended when the lancer stabbed her in the right bicep. She screamed and twisted her body as the strength left her arm, curling up and rolling in to Skull Lord as the sledgehammer hit the ground just a few ilms from her chest.
Unsurprisingly, Skull Lord moved to stomp on the maiden, forcing her to roll aside as the lancer withdrew the spear and tried to stab her again. For a brief moment, the audience was treated to what looked like a large man trying to stomp a prone woman, while an elezen stabbed awkwardly between. Needless to say, the onlookers seemed more quiet and frustrated then in the mood to cheer. The archers looked at each other confused while the female miqo'te sat and watched, a bit dumbfounded. The frantic and random activity finally came to an end as the maiden sliced at Skull Lord's hamstring, the man yelling as he fell forward on his face from a bad stomp, and the maiden kipping up. She stood, fully slouched with a hand on her knee, as she stared the lancer down. Three arrows rained down near her, missing completely, and the female miqo'te finally stood up, cracking her whip threateningly at the maiden's face. Her good hand shot up, catching the whip mid crack, as she murmured out a simple, "Fuck. This." which echoed through the arena.
With a sharp tug, the maiden pulled the whip and miqo'te over to her, stabbing her with the other hand in the shoulder and driving the blade deep. The miqo'te let out a surprised cry, but was quickly silenced as she received a heavy kick to the gut, sending her to the floor, out of the fight. The lancer staggered back, a bit unnerved at the maiden's sudden change of demeanor, and was only further demoralized as the woman cracked the whip in front of her audibly. She stood up straight then, forcing herself to ignore the pain, as she began to twirl the leather weapon around her in a sudden dazzling display of skill. Snapping the whip above her head, at the ground, in front of her, and around her, she moved like a dancer showing off a choreographed set of moves, twisting and turning as she moved forward in strides until she was face to face with the intimidated lancer, the whip wrapped around her body provocatively. The lancer could only yelp in surprise before he received a headbutt, shattering his nose, and sending him sprawling back, out cold.
The arena exploded into a cheer from the display of skill but the cheers were cut off as all three arrows found a new home in the maiden's body. Two hit her square in the side while the third landed in her hip, sending her to the ground with a scream of pain. She instinctively rolled, getting up as she snappeed the arrow shafts out while clearly shifting her head to look around. The archers nocked another set of arrows as she snapped the whip out, grabbing the lance and hefting it over her shoulder. She sprang to her feet then, taking off in a dead sprint as the arrows hit where she was, leaping and throwing the spear with all her might at a lallafel archer, hitting him square in the shoulder. His cry of pain echoed through the arena as he fell from the perch, slamming into the ground as his bow snapped from the force. The maiden rolled as her shoulder hit the floor, an arrow deflecting off her armored leg as she kept her body down, the archers clearly panicing as they fired on her. Passing the tomahawks on the floor, she scooped one up and took aim, stopping and taking an arrow in the unarmored part of her shoulder as she threw the axe straight, hitting the other lallafel centermast in the stomach. He clutched at his gut, dropping his bow, then fell kneeling to the beam, clinging on for dear life.
The roegadyn and the maiden stared each other down then, as the elezen snapped the shaft off the new arrow in her body. Her upper torso was clearly covered in blood, and she was very obviously beginning to lose energy from both blood loss and fatigue. The archer calmly nocked the arrow and grinned, taking aim and firing at her feet. She stood, awkwardly, not intimidated by the threat, before turning and running parallel to the archer. Now serious, the archer took a shot only to miss, yelling over at the wounded lallafel, "GIMMIE YER ARROWS OR THA NEXT ONE GOES TA YOU!" The maiden ran over to her axe, straining with a yell as she pulled it out of the floor, the lallafel tossing the half empty quiver at the roegadyn who grins, placing the arrows in his quiver. The woman dashed to the wall as the archer took aim, grinning and watching with a show of cockiness, "Yer not gonna get up 'ere, sweet thing!" With a chortle, the archer turned and smacked his ass as the maiden reached the wall. Bracing for a moment, she took off in a dash, running along the wall until she was under the first beam. With a mighty leap, her greaves giving off a loud whine as they expended the last of their energy, she lept into the air, her axe over her head, before she dug the axe into the beam the roegadyn was standing on. Twisting and bending her body like a trapeeze artist, she went forward up, and planted both feet on the roegadyn's face, performing a complete flip, as she let the axe go and grabbed at the beam. The look of disbelief on the archer's face said enough as his mask was shattered, falling from his perch and landing hard on the ground with a deep thud. She grabbed at the beam on her way down, then dropped, landing on one knee as the crowd exploded into cheering.
Time seemed to slow as the maiden stood up, very visibly hurt and suffering from multiple wounds. As she looked to the crowd, yells began to emerge that sounded like warnings, but she seemed to be lost in the moment. The thundering steps of Lord Skull charging from behind were the only warning she'd get as she turned to him bringing his sledgehammer down fully in an overhead swing, as before. Caught unprepared, she brought her uninjured arm up, but took the blow full on her wrist, unable to properly parry it. The sheer force of the attack pushed her down, the sparks of her glove mixing with a sickly crack as her arm was broken, but the blow continued as the hammer head found purchase in her helmet. Thanks in part to the crest on the top and its shape, the rest of the impact was a sheer glancing blow, but a good quarter of the helmet was ripped clean off, exposing blonde hair. As the sledgehammer continued along its path, it slammed against her helmet, completely dislocating her right arm, then finally hit the floor, its energy expended. Her loud scream was cut off as she seemed to collapsed onto her back, her breathing haggard and rough.
The crowd was completely stunned, the silence thick in the air as there was a level of uncertainty as to what just happened. Lord Skull turned, raising his hammer victoriously as he yelled, "DAT BITCH DUN PUT INTA PLACE! RAAAAAAWWR"! and a few yells starting up. "My word ladies and gentleman," the announcer started, "It looks like the Maiden bit off more then she could chew! Your victor is...!" "Wait!" called a female voice, weak and cracked. Slowly but surely, the maiden stood up, her rather long blonde hair spilling out of her helmet. Her right arm hung uselessly on her side as she breathed, all lights except the one on her helmet off. Sparks and blood seemed to come freely from her, armor and body, but she was still able to stand. "HA HA! JUS' GIVE UP BITCH. I GO EASY ON YOU TONIGHT. AFTER." He grinned openly before she growled, then began to bend her body. Using her left arm, she painfully made three figures, recognizable to some as Doman mudra, which Skull Lord laughed off, "DANCE TIME FOR FUN TIME LATER! HA HA!" With a grunt, the maiden just chuckled, then slammed her fist into the ground. A spout of water erupted out from the ground slamming into Lord Skull's face and staggering him as she moved in a flash, driving her left fist, blade and all, into Lord Skull's side. "Fuck. You." She intoned, pulling the blade out and then headbutting him with her partial helmet. With a look of surprise, the giant hyur collapsed backwards, his back hitting the ground as he entered shock, coughing.
A silence passed over the arena as the maiden stood up straight, or tried to, slouching over before picking up Lord Skull's sledgehammer, hoisting it above her head. She stood in the pose for a moment as the crowd exploded into a roar, the announced yelling, "AH CANNA BELIEVE IT! SHE WON! SHE WON! AH'M BLOODY FUCKIN' RI--!" He cuts himself off, then remarks, "BY THE TWELVE WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS JUST HAPPENED! Ladies and gentleman that was ah'n amazing fight!" Lost to the crowd's roar, very few people noticed as she slumped to a knee, grunting and groaning, one arm hanging uselessly at her side, the other over her stomach. The entryways into the arena had opened up, a few robed people as well as assistants moving to begin the clean up, and she was quickly escorted out of the spotlight.
The allure of the coliseum is different to everyone, both fighters and spectators alike. Those who decry it claim it is little more then senseless violence, bloodsport, and little else. However, some will stop and see the true beauty within.
The bright light of the torches coupled with the skylights overhead lit the slowly filling arena up with light. Arena staff were running around distributing food and libations while needy gamblers ran back and forth to the betting counters, readying up for the next match. The fights that day had been fairly slow, mostly mismatched duels and monster smashes, but word had gotten out that this event was promising to be fun. The few advertising that had gone out labeled it as a seeming grudge match between a woman known only as the Magitek Maiden against a group with the moniker the Skull Squad of Slaughter. Rumors echoed through the halls of the arena that this woman was a known cheater and an unknown, many claiming she took falls when the bets went a certain way. With every voice that seemed to decry her, another spoke out in her defense, expounding on her beauty, skill, or elegance. Despite this, the odds were clearly against her, nearly five hundred to one against, and even her most adamant defenders were seemingly not willing to put their money as proof.
The murmuring in the crowd stayed at a constant high, excitement building as a heavily armored amateur gladiator made short work of three blasts. While it was clear he struggled, the blasts seemed more confused by the situation then he did, and the warmup fight was quick. "And the Steel Cage is victorious!" boomed a squeaky voice from the central dais. The dais extended out from one edge of the bottom of the stands, hanging some thirty fulms over the main arena floor proper. A male lallafel with a handlebar moustache and noble's finery stood up, announcing the end of the fight as he glanced around, his eyes covered by darkened glasses. The crowd cheered halfheartedly and were quickly silenced when the lallafel raised his hands. "Ah know, Ah know. Some blasts are 'ardly worthwhile opponents, but they all can't be electrifying!" He chuckled at his own joke, grinning as he stretched two arms in the air. "Still, it is time for an event that many of you have come to see, and even more have bet on! Ah ask you to look down at the arena, and cast your eyes upon our fair Magitek Maiden!" With a grandiose gesture, he waved a hand below him, all eyes looking down as a steel portcullis groaned open.
She strode forth with purpose, an almost casual gait as she stepped into the light of the arena. A large axe rested on her shoulder, easily five fulms long and just slightly smaller then her. She showed no hesitation as each step closed to the center revealed more of her features. Her head was encased in what looked to be steel, clearly showing off the ears of an elezen on the side. Two slits going down vertically from top to bottom and fancy golden details framing the face. The slits glowed a soft blue, akin to ceruleum. Her upper body was on display, a galerus covering her breasts and shoulders, but an exposed stomach and biceps showing off her bronzed, seemingly flawless skin. Thick, steel gauntlets glowed with the same color as her visor, magitek work clearly visible along her shoulderpads. A short, colibri pink skirt signaled the start of her lower body, covering her thighs and drawing the eye to two large greaves. Like the rest of her armor, segments of the greaves pulsed blue, creating a fairly prominent figure. Any clanks that her footfalls made were muffled by the sand or the loud cheering that filled with her entrance, Her gaze scanning across the arena before she arrived at the center. Pausing, she looked out over the cheering crowd before she cleaved the axe head into the ground lazily, lifting both arms up in a cheer. The crowd yelled louder at motion, the woman stepping forward, then leapt backwards, twisting her body into a flip as a blue arc trailed from her heels in an obvious exhibition. She grabbed the axe handle mid-flip, landing on a knee and hoising the axe up with both arms, the roar of the crowd reaching a peak as she simply curtsied and moved back to her entryway.
"Ah feisty one, ain't she?" the lallafel remarked, laughing as she gestured to try and calm the audience down. "Dun' worry, she's certainly full o' vim and vigor that one." He twirled his sandy moustache, pausing for effect before continuing, "But it seems the fair maiden 'as offended someone large and in charge, the one, the only, Lord Skull Deathscape the Slaughterer!" A portcullis opposite the arena opened as a man that looked to be a hyur the size of a roegadyn strode out. Contrarty to the Maiden, his walk was more a boisterous saunter, arms out stretched as he basked in the crowd's adoration. His outfit was fairly simple and unimaginative, consisting of a helmet, mask, shoulderpad, gloves, belt, pants, and boots all adorned with skulls. Slung on his back was a large iron sledgehammer, the heads unsurprisingly adorned with skulls. A massive faux skull adorned his chest, completing the look by having what looked to be blood pooled within the ajar mouth. His skin was as tan as a normal Ala Mhigan and absolutely littered with scars, the man a complete contrast to his opponent in everything but size. The expoed bottom of his face curled into a grin as he reached the middle, gesturing at the crowd before he motioned at the woman. A throat slit motion gave way to more lewd ones, when he positioned his hands over his crotch, violently thrusting his hips. The woman simply leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and her axe resting against the wall, scanning with a disinterested disposition at the rest of the arena.
Slowly but surely, the roar of the crowd died down, the armored man giving a dismissive gesture as he stalked over to his entrance and crouched down. "Now," the lallafel began, "Ah know many of you were here ah week or two ago when these two fought, and poor victahmized Skully got whooped." Laughter rings through the crowd as the armored man simply flipped off the crowd, gritting his teeth. "But that's what rematches ahn grudges 'r for! Still, it'd be a boring and predictable fight ta have these two square off again, no offense Skully," he'd grin as the man pulled a tomahawk out from his back, standing up and lobbing it at the dais, only to have it glance off the side and clatter to the floor of the arena. "Now now, save yer rage fer the dame. Still, ladies and gentleman, we struggled to find a way to make this interesting, and boy did we find it! SEND IN THE SQUAD!" As the voice echoed across the arena, eleven rugged individuals came out of the still open portcullis behind Lord Skull.
To say the group was a unique mixture was an understatement. Four women (two miqo'te, two hyur) and seven males (two lallafel, one rogeadyn, two hyur, one miqo'te, one elezen) made up the full squad. Adding to the variety, most of them had different weapons: the lallafel and roegadyn possessing bows, the male miqo'te wielding an axe, the hyur women possessing daggers, the elezen holding a lance, both male hyurs wearing cestii and the female miqo'te wielding a whip and a sword and board. The only consistent part of the entire squad were their shoddy skull masks and the leg and arm irons that hung from their ankles and wrists, the chains all snapped. Boos began to ring from the crowd as none of the fighters seemed to care much for their situation, the announcer stating, "Yea yea, the Skull Squad of Slaughter is Skully's much needed backup! But don't worry too much about the scum, they're just prisoners after all!" The booing continued as the group looked at Lord Skull, who simply grabbed one of the female hyurs and shoved her to the center, chuckling. The woman stumbled awkwardly before regaining her balance, shooting a look back before grimacing and falling into a fighting stance in the middle.
"Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, the rules are simple! Because she's soooooo skilled, our wonderful little Maiden was only restricted to her axe and the armor she's got on! Not fair to bring in a whole arsenal against her gang!" The aforementioned maiden pushed off the wall, hoisting her axe over her shoulder as she walked to the middle. Skull Lord casually stayed leaning against the opposite wall as both portcullis' slammed shut, the squad minus the archers beginning to surround the scantily clad warrior. "Better yet, this fight's gonna go 'til only one side's left standin'! We ain't goin' to tha death 'ere," he paused then, grinning and adding, "But don't let that stop ya from guttin' some prisoners, sexy!" The maiden glanced up to the dais, unable to show a facial expression, before dropping her gaze to the group surrounding her. Near Lord Skull, the roegadyn was picking up both lallafels and throwing them up some fifteen fulms to beams which stuck out all around the arena equidistant apart from each other. Each lallafel took a beam on either side of a central one, which the roegadyn got up to by scaling the wall with climbing claws. "Anyways, betting's startin' to close, but don't forget to bet on the condition of our lovely little maiden! Fighters ready? Ah, who cares, scrap, bite, and tear!" The crowd cheered at the official start, all eyes now locked in the arena.
No gladiatorial fight is ever complete without the staredown. A time honored tradition among duelists, there is a always a certain calm before the storm of combat as each fighter tries to stare and intimidate the other down. Some philosophers claim that thousands of fights happen within that very second, each combatant playing out hundreds of millions of moves in their head against their oppoonent. In all honesty, everyone agrees that it just feels intense. Slowly but surely, the maiden lowered her axe as she shifted back into a combat stance.
All around her the fighters jeered and laughed, clanging weapons, cracking a whip, taunting and mocking, all wanting to catch the woman off guard but none wanting to start the fight. Lord Skull seemed content to lean against the far wall, arms crossed, obviously amused at the entire event. He glanced above him, the archers finally settling onto the beams and nocking their bows. It was clear the maiden was in no hurry, her body visibly tensing up as she continued to watch around her, the crowd falling silent as the atmosphere built. The audible twang of the roegadyn's bow as he fired off a wide shot started the battle proper, the lallafels likewise firing arrows that clattered on the opposite wall harmlessly. With a yell, the axe wielding miqo'te lunged forward at the maiden, wielding his axe as he charged. The maiden reacted instantly, digging her axe down into the sand head first, then throwing a bunch of sand at the charging man's face as if her axe was a shovel. The other combatants reacted then, charging in on her as she continued her motion by dashing to the right of the blinded miqo'te,lowering her shoulder and shoving it against the lancer elezen's stomach and knocking him aside. Another set of three arrows hit the ground around her as the combatants hit where she was. The prisoners showing next to no poise as the maiden breaks from the crowd, swinging her axe to clear the air in front of her, no longer surrounded. "Ha!" booms Lord Skull, "Looks lak diz peez of tail has some fight!"
The maiden stood in the middle of the arena, staring down the group, her back to the archers and Lord Skull. She seemed to not react as two arrows struck the sand at her feet, one ricocheting off her shoulder pad the seven other combatants moving to regain their combat pose. The miqo'te that ate sand sat kneeling, growling and rubbing at his eyes under the mask, his axe on the floor. This time, the maiden would step back, as if to take a deep breath, then release a yell that was clearly filtered through a device in her helmet. The sound that came out was akin to a dragon's roar if it was a voidsent, and the intimidation it caused was obvious as the squad took a step back. She darted forward, the lights on the magitek suit blazing a blood red, as she swung her axe haft into an uppercut, catching the bottom of the shield miqo'te's jaw and knocking her out in an instant, the other's body collapsing into a pile. Before she could follow up, the maiden was sent reeling as a pugilist slammed a cestus against her armored face, staggering her to the side as a rogue moved to deliver a wide slice along her side, drawing blood. The crowd erupted into a cheer at the first blood, the whip cracking harmlessly against her leg at the same time. The maiden ducked into a crouch as the lancer thrust the spear towards her stomach, glancing harmlessly off her shoulder pad as the other rogue moved slashed at the air where she was. In an explosion of movement, she dived forward, axe held at chest level as she slammed the shaft against the knees of the attacker pugilist, audibly breaking them as she rolled and recovered her feet near the blinded miqo'te. The screaming pugilist collapsed as the other delivered a body punch against her stomach, throwing a heavy hook that went wide and slammed the blinded miqo'tes head, knocking him unconscious. The maiden cartwheeled backward, away from the group, slouching slightly as the burst of action faded.
Her posture was slouching as she darted between the five standing opponents. They fell back into a flank, the miqo'te wielding the whip cracking it harmlessly and annoyingly a few feet away. Lord Skull was laughing as he unslung two tomahawks, tossing them at the maiden who simply knocked them out of the air with her axe, only for two arrows to hit home in her abdomen. The crowd roared as the announcer yelled, "Oh, looks like this little girl's been penetrated!" as she staggered back, falling to a knee. One of the rogues leapt forward, taking advantage of the opening, her arms over her head as she tried to do a leaping double stab down. She was clearly lost in the thrill of the battle as the maiden thrust the head of her axe up into the woman's rag-covered stomach, pushing the spike that adorned the top of it through her skin then using her momentum to throw her up and over her, slamming the now unconscious rogue against the wall behind her. She was scarely able to recover as the pugilist ran forward and tackled her, sending her onto her back as he began to rain blows on her face, the lancer moving around and the other rogue standing to the side.
The pugilist sat on her chest and began to rain punches down on the woman, which seemed to deflect off the helmet before he got punched on the side of the head, the maiden rolling out, the arrows in her stomach digging in deeper. While a spear stabbed at the sand she was, a whip lash and another arrow found purchase in the small of her back, illiciting a pained yell. Scramling to her feet, she swung her axe around her like a top, clearing space around her as she moved to put her back up against the wall. Most of her stomach and back was covered in a grimy mixture of blood and sand, and a hand moved to break the haft off the fresh arrow sticking in her back. As the five moved to charge again, she dropped her axe, the head hitting the sand, as she moved her now free hands in a series of quick symbols, tossing out a small bit of fire which exploded just in front of her to keep the others back. "We got a fiery one, hoo hoo!" yelled the announcer from his seat, the crowd cheering at the sudden explosion. "Wutchu lugs scurred of? You need ta see a reel man at wurk?" Lord Skull yelled, finally pushing off the wall. "Fine! I's gettin' bored anywhooze!"
The roar of the crowd intensified as the mountain of a hyur hefted his sledgehammer on his shoulder, stomping forward. The remaining four combatants stepped back, obviously getting away from the ensuing scuffle, as the maiden leaned against the wall, picking up her axe. She held it in one hand as the man approached, the other clutching at her stomach as he stood before her, equal sized. He laughed, his voice booming, as he clearly showed no regard to the wounded elezen, who simply stepped forward and swung her axe in an upward arc with both hands at his boisterous display. Not expecting it, the blade of the axe glanced off his hip and cleaved the skull adornment that decorated his chest in half, sending fake blood flying everywhere. Staggered backwards by the blow and letting out a confused yell, Lord Skull was clearly unable to defend himself as the maiden moved in, twisting her body to deliver a hard elbow to his now exposed gut. As he collapsed to his knees from the blow, a few fulms back, an arrow flying by her face dissuaded any further attack.
"Looks like the Skull needed to keep...ABREAST of the situation! Hahaha, ah crack me up!" The maiden glanced to the archers as they nocked arrows, at the four squad members as they began to get closer, and at the kneeling Skull Lord who was clutching his stomach, then bared down and charged at Skull Lord. She planted a foot on his shoulder, jumping high into the air as she brought her axe up above her head. The archers watched, a bit dumb founded, as the four melee fighters braced for impact, the maiden bringing her axe slamming down on the ground between the four. The force of the impact was so hard, the axe embedded into the stone beneath the sand and caused a small shockwave to stumble those around her. She surged forward to take advantage of the situation, immediately shoulder checking the whip miqo'te in front of her and twisting her body around to deliver a roundhouse kick to the lancer's face. The first to recover, the pugilist began to unleash a series of punches at the maiden who raised her own gauntlets to defend herself, dancing backwards as she dodged and weaved against the blows. The rogue ran back to Skull Lord all the while, trying to rouse him from his stunned state. For her troubles, she was backhanded by the now fuming mad and slumped to the floor as he rose and roared.
While her dodging was not perfect, she was clearly trying to tire the pugilist out then fully defend herself, constantly backpedaling and dancing from side to side like a boxer. The lancer stood up, grunting as he rubbed his face, his skull mask cracked, the whip wielding miqo'te clutching her stomach as she steadies her breath. When the pugilist delivered a wide hook from fatigue, the maiden responded with an immediate set of punches to the stomach, followed by a heavy hook of her own, spinning the man like a top and sending him to the floor. She could barely respond as Skull Lord charged towards her at full speed, stray arrows forcing her to spin and dodge. The massive hyur brought his sledgehammer up and swung it down in a crushing overhead smash, but the maiden slammed her fists together, blades shooting out from the top of the wrists as she caught the shaft of the hammer in a parry. The sheer force of the blow forced her down to one knee as the two strained against the other, but the contest quickly ended when the lancer stabbed her in the right bicep. She screamed and twisted her body as the strength left her arm, curling up and rolling in to Skull Lord as the sledgehammer hit the ground just a few ilms from her chest.
Unsurprisingly, Skull Lord moved to stomp on the maiden, forcing her to roll aside as the lancer withdrew the spear and tried to stab her again. For a brief moment, the audience was treated to what looked like a large man trying to stomp a prone woman, while an elezen stabbed awkwardly between. Needless to say, the onlookers seemed more quiet and frustrated then in the mood to cheer. The archers looked at each other confused while the female miqo'te sat and watched, a bit dumbfounded. The frantic and random activity finally came to an end as the maiden sliced at Skull Lord's hamstring, the man yelling as he fell forward on his face from a bad stomp, and the maiden kipping up. She stood, fully slouched with a hand on her knee, as she stared the lancer down. Three arrows rained down near her, missing completely, and the female miqo'te finally stood up, cracking her whip threateningly at the maiden's face. Her good hand shot up, catching the whip mid crack, as she murmured out a simple, "Fuck. This." which echoed through the arena.
With a sharp tug, the maiden pulled the whip and miqo'te over to her, stabbing her with the other hand in the shoulder and driving the blade deep. The miqo'te let out a surprised cry, but was quickly silenced as she received a heavy kick to the gut, sending her to the floor, out of the fight. The lancer staggered back, a bit unnerved at the maiden's sudden change of demeanor, and was only further demoralized as the woman cracked the whip in front of her audibly. She stood up straight then, forcing herself to ignore the pain, as she began to twirl the leather weapon around her in a sudden dazzling display of skill. Snapping the whip above her head, at the ground, in front of her, and around her, she moved like a dancer showing off a choreographed set of moves, twisting and turning as she moved forward in strides until she was face to face with the intimidated lancer, the whip wrapped around her body provocatively. The lancer could only yelp in surprise before he received a headbutt, shattering his nose, and sending him sprawling back, out cold.
The arena exploded into a cheer from the display of skill but the cheers were cut off as all three arrows found a new home in the maiden's body. Two hit her square in the side while the third landed in her hip, sending her to the ground with a scream of pain. She instinctively rolled, getting up as she snappeed the arrow shafts out while clearly shifting her head to look around. The archers nocked another set of arrows as she snapped the whip out, grabbing the lance and hefting it over her shoulder. She sprang to her feet then, taking off in a dead sprint as the arrows hit where she was, leaping and throwing the spear with all her might at a lallafel archer, hitting him square in the shoulder. His cry of pain echoed through the arena as he fell from the perch, slamming into the ground as his bow snapped from the force. The maiden rolled as her shoulder hit the floor, an arrow deflecting off her armored leg as she kept her body down, the archers clearly panicing as they fired on her. Passing the tomahawks on the floor, she scooped one up and took aim, stopping and taking an arrow in the unarmored part of her shoulder as she threw the axe straight, hitting the other lallafel centermast in the stomach. He clutched at his gut, dropping his bow, then fell kneeling to the beam, clinging on for dear life.
The roegadyn and the maiden stared each other down then, as the elezen snapped the shaft off the new arrow in her body. Her upper torso was clearly covered in blood, and she was very obviously beginning to lose energy from both blood loss and fatigue. The archer calmly nocked the arrow and grinned, taking aim and firing at her feet. She stood, awkwardly, not intimidated by the threat, before turning and running parallel to the archer. Now serious, the archer took a shot only to miss, yelling over at the wounded lallafel, "GIMMIE YER ARROWS OR THA NEXT ONE GOES TA YOU!" The maiden ran over to her axe, straining with a yell as she pulled it out of the floor, the lallafel tossing the half empty quiver at the roegadyn who grins, placing the arrows in his quiver. The woman dashed to the wall as the archer took aim, grinning and watching with a show of cockiness, "Yer not gonna get up 'ere, sweet thing!" With a chortle, the archer turned and smacked his ass as the maiden reached the wall. Bracing for a moment, she took off in a dash, running along the wall until she was under the first beam. With a mighty leap, her greaves giving off a loud whine as they expended the last of their energy, she lept into the air, her axe over her head, before she dug the axe into the beam the roegadyn was standing on. Twisting and bending her body like a trapeeze artist, she went forward up, and planted both feet on the roegadyn's face, performing a complete flip, as she let the axe go and grabbed at the beam. The look of disbelief on the archer's face said enough as his mask was shattered, falling from his perch and landing hard on the ground with a deep thud. She grabbed at the beam on her way down, then dropped, landing on one knee as the crowd exploded into cheering.
Time seemed to slow as the maiden stood up, very visibly hurt and suffering from multiple wounds. As she looked to the crowd, yells began to emerge that sounded like warnings, but she seemed to be lost in the moment. The thundering steps of Lord Skull charging from behind were the only warning she'd get as she turned to him bringing his sledgehammer down fully in an overhead swing, as before. Caught unprepared, she brought her uninjured arm up, but took the blow full on her wrist, unable to properly parry it. The sheer force of the attack pushed her down, the sparks of her glove mixing with a sickly crack as her arm was broken, but the blow continued as the hammer head found purchase in her helmet. Thanks in part to the crest on the top and its shape, the rest of the impact was a sheer glancing blow, but a good quarter of the helmet was ripped clean off, exposing blonde hair. As the sledgehammer continued along its path, it slammed against her helmet, completely dislocating her right arm, then finally hit the floor, its energy expended. Her loud scream was cut off as she seemed to collapsed onto her back, her breathing haggard and rough.
The crowd was completely stunned, the silence thick in the air as there was a level of uncertainty as to what just happened. Lord Skull turned, raising his hammer victoriously as he yelled, "DAT BITCH DUN PUT INTA PLACE! RAAAAAAWWR"! and a few yells starting up. "My word ladies and gentleman," the announcer started, "It looks like the Maiden bit off more then she could chew! Your victor is...!" "Wait!" called a female voice, weak and cracked. Slowly but surely, the maiden stood up, her rather long blonde hair spilling out of her helmet. Her right arm hung uselessly on her side as she breathed, all lights except the one on her helmet off. Sparks and blood seemed to come freely from her, armor and body, but she was still able to stand. "HA HA! JUS' GIVE UP BITCH. I GO EASY ON YOU TONIGHT. AFTER." He grinned openly before she growled, then began to bend her body. Using her left arm, she painfully made three figures, recognizable to some as Doman mudra, which Skull Lord laughed off, "DANCE TIME FOR FUN TIME LATER! HA HA!" With a grunt, the maiden just chuckled, then slammed her fist into the ground. A spout of water erupted out from the ground slamming into Lord Skull's face and staggering him as she moved in a flash, driving her left fist, blade and all, into Lord Skull's side. "Fuck. You." She intoned, pulling the blade out and then headbutting him with her partial helmet. With a look of surprise, the giant hyur collapsed backwards, his back hitting the ground as he entered shock, coughing.
A silence passed over the arena as the maiden stood up straight, or tried to, slouching over before picking up Lord Skull's sledgehammer, hoisting it above her head. She stood in the pose for a moment as the crowd exploded into a roar, the announced yelling, "AH CANNA BELIEVE IT! SHE WON! SHE WON! AH'M BLOODY FUCKIN' RI--!" He cuts himself off, then remarks, "BY THE TWELVE WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS JUST HAPPENED! Ladies and gentleman that was ah'n amazing fight!" Lost to the crowd's roar, very few people noticed as she slumped to a knee, grunting and groaning, one arm hanging uselessly at her side, the other over her stomach. The entryways into the arena had opened up, a few robed people as well as assistants moving to begin the clean up, and she was quickly escorted out of the spotlight.
The allure of the coliseum is different to everyone, both fighters and spectators alike. Those who decry it claim it is little more then senseless violence, bloodsport, and little else. However, some will stop and see the true beauty within.