Far to the east, beyond the great empire, stands a gladiatorial arena, perhaps only apocryphal. Musty, leather bound tomes in the Great City’s library tell of ancient granite blocks rising up 100 feet in a ring. Stone benches look down upon a circle of dusty earth where gladiators of all types once fought nearly every day for 100,000 years. Marks on the outer walls count more than 500 million dead.
As one walks towards the area, down the Avenue of the Greatest, stone stelae announce the most successful gladiators of all time, organized by race and class specialty. All were slaves taken by the turbaned Illdrak who once hunted relentlessly into western lands and were eventually exterminated many forgotten ages ago.
The grand mansions and gardens of that battle-obsessed race lie in ruins, but the arena remains. It echoes in the dreams of western people, a lingering fear of the dreadful slave masters and their thirst for blood.
Who eliminated the Illdrak is yet unknown. Expeditions into this empty land are now forbidden by decree of kings reaching a hundred generations. Aluxudra’s final historical epic, A Journey of Blood and Wine, contains a brief description of each stele.
- An-hal the Daring
- Garnyamax the Ravenous
- Adelcarchard the Warped
- Mandlorne of High Rock
- Alnas
- Thaldrelras the Poisoner
- Rethdiel the Broken
- Rondrionrandir Clawface
- Freatrarg of Sogogda
- Thebar Busgor
- Rarangi the Horrid
- Berinlak of Glathligogoth