Dragons

This is the last Part. I'm going to dip my feet into writing a bit of lore...let me know whether it's too much, too little, boring, interesting; anything goes...

The Human Empire was a place of great power and lots of bloody history between it and the surrounding territories...sometimes cities even going to war with each other due to something happening between them. This was actually how the City of Forge was created: 

A bloody war broke out among two factions: one side was keen on keeping the peace and letting everyone, even beast-kin, live how they wanted to with equality and prosperity as one of their main virtues, and the other was a city that was strict on the policy against the care of any kind of Demi-human race. To them anything and any person (human) that willingly gave themselves over to a member of the animal race was no longer a person and instead a stain on the name of the Empire. In their eyes the Human's were supposed to be a race living up to the name and wearing the title of conquerors with pride. 

Conquest was a city for the slavery of any and all kinds of Demi-human, with most beast-kin being taken under chains and cast into slavery. Any human suspected of being in a relationship with any kind of demi-human was publicly executed, and the one they had given themselves to was stripped of their belongings and paraded through the city for days before meeting the same fate. 

The other city, Bravery, was a city that had been looked down upon by Conquest's citizens for nearly a hundred years at that point. Because they not only viewed Demi-humans and beast-kin as part of the community, but they also gave them rights and allowed them to work among the people! There had been several attempts to wage war against the city, but each and every attempt had ended in failure as not only were the 'messengers' sent there treated with great respect and care...very few of them actually came back to live as citizens of Conquest after a few trips. 

It had finally reached a boiling point when a training party of beast-kin and human citizens from Bravery were sent on an adventure to the near-by forests. Purposefully going in a direction where they wouldn't be anywhere near any routes or boundaries of Conquest's territory or network, but little did they know they were walking into a trap. Conquest had been sending scouting groups and small parties of adventurers to the area for years to map out the routes Bravery took their recruits on and this time they had set up a trap. 

A group of five mercenaries from Conquest, wearing their city's colors and insignia proudly on their breasts ambushed they traveling party of trainee adventurers and soldiers, killing everyone there and only leaving alive a senior adventurer with the threat of war if they did not submit. 

After that fateful event the cities declared war upon each other and to say that it was a fair fight would be like comparing a mock battle to a sword fight. Conquest was utterly crushed under the might of Bravery and it's combined forces of human and Demi-human the city named after it's own conviction was turned into a wasteland of death and humiliation. 

It was then that the new merged territories were named Forge, after the relationship Bravery had formed with the various races that populated it. New laws were put into place, and the cities were reformed into a giant mega-city that combined most of the population in both Bravery and Conquest. The majority of which had been nearing a third in slave citizens and nearly a fourth of reforming citizens. 

By the time the news had reached the Emperor of The Human Empire, Forge had already put new laws into place and was already in the process of rebuilding their new city: turning the fallen of Conquest's former soldiers into slaves for the building process, and even allowing them a chance of citizen-ship, a new start at life... but only if they had both shown that their minds had truly changed and by taking a blood oath to never do intentional harm to any citizen within Forge for as long as they lived...

When the mega-city had finally been finished the Emperor himself came over to congratulate the people on their victory, wishing them peace and prosperity, as well as to appoint a new king for the territory. The king was decided to be the Commander-General that lead the army and strategized how to best crush Conquest and keep most of it's people from harm: King Aluerto del Curisna, a feline-kin was named and his daughter, Aluerta, later rose to the position as the first leading Queen in power for the city-turned kingdom of Forge. 

However, that didn't stop the people of what used to be former Conquest to rise up in various continued rebellions all across the kingdom and it's various sub-cities. Almost conquering a smaller city before being crushed by a rampaging dragon, a folly they had not accounted for upon killing one of it's kin and harnessing their power for themselves...

Since then the underground of Forge had been more of a quiet understanding the ruler of Forge had with it's various sub-cities and their market continued to grow both above and below the streets across the land. Eventually some underground competitions and various other sports rose to fame, with the most visited being the gladiatorial arenas with strict rules of combat and various styles of physical might and magical prowess awarded to the victors. It was held in an arena near the center of the city and people from all across the city saved up for a single show, it was the dream of a lifetime in the Normal Circle of the kingdom to be a participant in the arena, but due to money reasons and a lack of power most never even got a chance to buy a single seat. 

The darker part of the competitions was that there was an event held there at an unspecified time every few years, often sanctioned under the strict watch of the city's royals and ruling powers for those that wished to see a bloodier, more brutal form of fighting. One where rules all but kept an opponent from needlessly tormenting another and where lives were list like wheat stalks at the mercy of a farmer's scythe. Fighters came from all over, various citizens from other cities, and even other nations flocked to Forge to participate in the gladiator arena's and more so often joined the Dark Gladiator Games with the promise of power and riches overshadowing the threat of death. 

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The Matchmaker of the Dark Arena was struggling to find Champions for this upcoming Dark Gladiator Games.  He was on a bit of a time crunch this time and so far he'd only been able to find four champions to submit as participants in the Games. And there was a five person's submission requirement for the Games, not to mention they were going to be held in just a few months...in commemoration of this being the hundredth season the games had been held. 

From what he'd heard so far it was supposed to be a super big deal this time around with more events and a lot of special award items and more prize money than the last time, during the fiftieth games. The Matchmaker watched the arena below with a mix of boredom and disappointment as the fifteenth competitor vying for the position was struck down by Fist Hammer: one of his blows turning he man's head to mush with a single punch, his body falling to the ground as a giant wave of cheers and blood-thirsty roars echoed out from the crowd. 

The Matchmaker looked down at the list in his hands and sighed, the sixteenth spot vying for the position of champion still hadn't show up yet...they were supposedly supposed to be extremely powerful and he'd been looking forward to seeing them fight with that strange attack spacial magic they wielded. No one knew how they managed to get an attribute in spacial magic, and many more had died going after the person for information. 

Hopefully seventeen through twenty had some actually noteworthy capabilities or this was going to be a long night, and Fist Hammer is sure to lodge a complaint for the umpteenth time about not having a worthy opponent to fight...He was technically the fifth person that was vying for the spot, and for not it looked like he was going to be taking it too...as little as The Matchmaker liked the guy he had to admit that his fighting prowess was surely something to behold. 

Fist Hammer raised both fists, adorned in gore and bloody, drying strips of flesh from each victim he struck down still staining the large, clawed metal Gauntlets he wore. He'd almost gone as far as to wield the things to his hands but The Matchmaker had managed to convince the man that it would've been far easier to just wear them during a match and take them off when he didn't need them, or while in public. As any member of the underground was now identifiable by the Guard and could be arrested, or even killed on sight depending on the person. 

The Four so far were a mix of Mercenaries, Adventurers, and former Military that had gone underground to participate in the bloody sport: Timberr, Slither-Slick, Panthera Adamantia, and Kitty Karnage were some of the most powerful groups of fighters that The Matchmaker's seen thus far, even at the rookie level in their championships, and most of them didn't seem to have a lot of time in the battlefield, but they learned quickly...it was rather scary.  

Timberr was a large hulk of a man that could be rather compared to a Silversteel Gorilla than an actual person, and he wasn't even a hybrid of any bestial race either; with pure muscle mass and a head full of stubborn dedication. He was around level 90, maybe a little under, and his stats were definitely lacking in the Dexterity spectrum of things but he was a good fighter and could definitely take a hit. 

Slither-Slick was a thin, tall and ragged man usually dressed in black, with oily hair and skin that seemed to shine no matter how little light. He was known for being able to slip out of tricky situations and come out on top no matter how big, strong, or fast his opponents were...opponents that The Matchmaker himself had sometimes sent just for kicks. He was probably in the mid 90's level wise and didn't have a lot of power, but his toxins and venom-induced weaponry sure took opponents by surprise. 

Panthera's Adamantia...now that was a girl that The Matchmaker wouldn't be fond of being on the wrong end facing against. She was a wildcard in all sense of the word: A Berserker and a Rouge, a Brawler and a Conservative. She was a fighter that he wouldn't want to face any time, no matter how much he'd been offered and no matter how much higher leveled he was compared to her. Panthera was a battle-maniac, and that was putting it lightly, and her talent seemed entirely based on damage dealt to her being returned to her opponent twice, or even thrice over. He didn't even try to get a gauge on her level as she was too all over the place in her matches to get a real estimate on without a crystal. 

Kitty Karnage wasn't much different in regards of her battling style, but at least she was a typical Beast-kin Rouge build, more so leaning on the mage style of things, but still a Rouge nonetheless. She was around level 90 by now and it was a wonder to The Matchmaker how well her and Panthera got along in such a short time; Almost as soon as the two met they seemed to be right at each other's necks, but after a match against the other they got along well enough to be considered siblings...

Then there was Fist Hammer...not only was his name an eye-sore but the guy was dumber than a pile of bricks in a mud-pit. It was a wonder how he'd gotten to adult-hood with how he spoke and acted and even more so how he'd reached level 80 in only thirty years. The Matchmaker had used a crystal on the guy when talking to him one time and by now they guy was probably around the 85th mark, and not a smidge smarter. 

"Hey Match guy! You gon' git Hammer sum'n else to bash!" Fist yelled towards The Matchmaker's box from the arena and the guy just leaned back in his chair with a sigh. 

Why wouldn't this punk die...

A knock at the door to his private booth shook him from his thoughts and with a wave the door opened revealing his Messenger. The stout man stepped in just past the doorway as it closed behind him and went into a deep bow, causing The Matchmaker to sigh again audibly. 

"What is it this time Messenger?" He groaned and the man rose into a common salute, left hand at the side and the right in a fist right above the heart. 

"I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but participants sixteen, eighteen, and twenty have decided to default suicide. Removing their positions from the tournament at the cost of their souls..." The Matchmaker groaned louder, transitioning into a growl of frustration. 

"Ughrrrr, Why today of all days did they decide to do that? It's so close to auditions; I've yet to find a suitable fifth..." The Messenger stood there in silence as he watched The Matchmaker meander through various emotions. "Alright, get the nineteenth and put them in the arena. They'll be the last participant for today. Can't waste the last twenty participants so soon..." The Messenger did hear that last part but didn't mention about it, he knew better...He just took a bow and stepped backwards out of the room, seemingly knowing it was open behind him already. 

"It's going to be another set of long days and short night's for me these next few months." 

Dragons

Turns out I can't just write an entire chapter of just lore...my mind doesn't really work like that and I usually just end up making things up as I go...
It's a pain sometimes, but it's how I write and I wouldn't change it for the world. 

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