The Red Queen of the arena — part III
The spectacle of the arena
There’s a way to quickly rise in status and wealth in the Empire: the sports and the arts. The citizens of the Empire crave beauty and entertainment, they are seen as basic needs at par with food, sleep, shelter. “You need both flour and flowers” is a common saying. There’s a genuine appreciation for novelty and talent, and the public will cover in gold and honors the “next big thing”. These passions are mercurial and volatile, but many try to catch the wave of success, hoping to land in a good spot when it will wash away.
The Sabbaths, the seasonal festivals, are when the biggest show and tournament are held. Even if the operas are the most known festive activities, a lot of other events take place during these festive days, rivaling and somewhere surpassing the musical show in interest and investments. Horse racing, jousting, fencing, beast-fighting are all popular sports in which a talented and lucky athlete can gain some good money.
Fencing is very popular in Paimon, like in all capital cities. Duels, especially with swords, are seen as an urban and sophisticated activity compared to more rustic sports involving animals. Not that the city people dislike bull-fighting and other “animals versus human” matches but it’s something lowbrow, suitable for porters and laundresses (unless the animal is some exotic monster, who would miss that!)
In some eras duels in the arena are seen as a serious activity a sublime exercise in which intellect and athleticism must become one to perform a refined dance that is also a tactical essay. In other eras, the spectacle part has precedence, and now, in the late IX century, the show is everything: Bombastic entrances! Bizarre weapons! Flamboyant clothes! Drama!
The clashes among fighters of different schools are not a philosophical debate but a tragedy or a comedy or better still, both. The fighters are encouraged to pick up gimmicks, stage names and do some embellishment to their life story.
Mariza was just a street urchin well versed in the cloak and sword style. In the arena, she is the Little Sparrow, a former member of the shadowy criminal organization “the cuckoos” fighting in the pit to start a new and better life for herself.
Sirelis, a cynical cat-folk mercenary, became the White Manticore: a fallen noble who travel the world in search of her beloved, gone missing years prior. He wields a flambard, a long sword with a wavy edge, the last piece of his inheritance (in truth he found it in a shop in Paimon’s harbor, it was a sale).
And then there is the Blind Dragon, the Elvish Bear, the Terror of Dis, the Renegade, the Son of a Ghost, and so on and so forth.
The fights in the arena are not to the death. There’s a point system, convoluted and inscrutable as all rules and laws in the Empire are. For many, the long and heated discussions about the referee’s decisions are part of the fun. The aim is to hit the adversary and get points based on the kind of strike. The first who get a set number of points win. The number of points needed for a win depends on the kind of match. The higher the prestige, the higher the target number. The main event of a Sabbath tournament is usually a nine points duel, which means that opponents can really hurt themselves. Death happens but is an accident.
Two people can arrange a deathmatch, a so-called Red Duel. A fight to the death is usually held by two “stars” ready to retire: the big money riding on the match will ensure a large severance pay for the winner and a fat inheritance for the loser’s relatives. A Red Duel can be an incredible event where two skilled combatants are ready to prove with their life who is the best. More often the fight is between two aging and broken men with nothing to lose.
Katu went to the fencing tournament of the Spring Sabbath of Paimon and was unimpressed by the participants: she could easily defeat all of them, without breaking a sweat. There were some big guys and ferocious ladies but they were just using the basic fencing, not any advanced techniques. They were also quite ridiculous with those costumes and nicknames. “The Ruthless Butcher” was just a fat guy waving around a big knife. It looked like a children’s game or a silly theatre play. The public, on the other hand, was ecstatic: shouting, cheering, gasping, and most of all, betting.
Katu went to fencing masters, arenas’ agents, shady bookies; she asked anyone in the fencing world how to get an official match. Everybody told her it was impossible, she could not challenge anyone in a sword duel for a simple reason: for them, she didn’t fence. In the Holy Infernal Empire, Hesiak, the orcish art of the sword, is considered full-on magic. And spellcaster cannot enter the arena.
Part 3 of 7
