[Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

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Once the People's Republic of Mar Sara, settled by the fabled Starsearchers, Mar Sara was long one of Shireroth's farthest-flung colonies before now finding its way into the Bovic Empire.

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Vilhelm Benkern
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[Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

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Welcome to the newest centre of bloodsports in Shireroth, the Saint Pseudo-Octavius the Agnite Dockside Combat Arena, Sant Mateu. The construction of this arena was funded by the Archmunicipal government while its operating costs are met by the authority which runs the fighting pit league, the Ministry of Sport.

As the Holy Pseudo-Octavius himself wrote: "[T]he sport... in the event... the [untranslatable] of the host of God can be found"

Many interesting variants on bloodsports are found here, and the stadium has filled a niche that brings together the multicultural people of the city of Sant Mateu in their shared appreciation of violent sport. Its popularity is only rivalled by Ice Hockey over at the Archmunicipal Hockey Stadium.

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An ultra wide-angle photograph of the interior of the stadium, taken from one of the back seats.
The massive televisual screen shows some ardent fans of the Mar Saran sporting spirit showing the colours.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

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Verion
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Verion »

Wonderful, the ministry of sport is glad that the mar sarans have embraced this new line of sports. As a token of respect, the ministry will send one of the greatest Jacian fighter, Thoras the giant, to participate in a match.
1.Titus Morvayne, Prefect of Shirekeep, Count of the Skyla Islands
2.Eki Aholibamah Verion, Queen in the North
3. Ludovic Verion, Lord of Blackstone and Governor-General of the Iron Company
4. Jeremy Harwinsson Archer, super sleuth

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Kaiser Mo'll I
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Kaiser Mo'll I »

Shiny. :bow:

I've half a mind to send the Lunatic Ice Hockey team here; compared to what they've had to face on the ice, this would be a break for them...
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Rei Milharna

Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Rei Milharna »

At the very least, you could have the outside of the stadium match the inside :p

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Vilhelm Benkern
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

Carl, you make my world go round.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

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Verion
Ayn Rand's toyboy
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Verion »

Very tricky forcefield for sure.
1.Titus Morvayne, Prefect of Shirekeep, Count of the Skyla Islands
2.Eki Aholibamah Verion, Queen in the North
3. Ludovic Verion, Lord of Blackstone and Governor-General of the Iron Company
4. Jeremy Harwinsson Archer, super sleuth

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Vilhelm Benkern
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:08 am

Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

The New Saran
Bloodsports Edition - An In-depth Look at the Latest Sporting Trend
ISSUE #423 - 5352 ASC

Editor's Note

This issue of the New Saran, as you will already be aware, focuses primarily on the new competition that has gripped the imagination of people across Shireroth. While warrior combat and personal duels are a constant in many parts of the Imperial Republic, violent martial arts competitions are rarer and usually regional in scope, such as the steikfaat tournaments of Highpass. Steikfaat usually only involves broken bones and tissue damage - hence the worship of the old Brookshiran god, Spleazure, God of Broken Limbs. The activity that has spread like wildfire from the pits of Jacia after being embraced by the Ministry of Sport has greater fatal potential. Gladiatorial combat is making a resurgence and in the land of the crossed hockey sticks, of the whaler brandishing his harpoon, and of the proud Marechaussee armed with killet, it has a particular appeal.

Building Opportunities

The new stadium in the northern city of Sant Mateu is a wonder to behold. Constructed over two years through funding made available by the city's government as well as subsidies from the Imperial Ministry of Sport, it has a capacity of fifty thousand spectators and state of the art facilities. The Dockside Combat Arena is a worthwhile expense, looming over what was once a derelict part of the western docklands of this northern city.


The same architectural firm behind the awe-inspiring Kaiseress Mira Raynora Minor Stadium in Til'Het produced the designs for the 'Agnite Arena'

The Arena is dedicated to a Saint of the Antican Rite of the Matbaic Orthodox Church, Pseudo-Octavius the Agnite, whose Apologia in Agnis et Verbum Dei was written in a monastery formerly on the site of the new arena. The work introduced the notion of religio licita into the Church, which provided the theological basis for the process of termination of centuries of bloody dispute between Matbaic Orthodoxy and Cedrism.

As well as being a symbol of religious unity, the Arena's construction provided for a much-needed boost to economic equality in Sant Mateu. 'Between the Jingdaoese moves off and back on Cibola, the Bretts only just having refounded Calbion, the Alexandrian revolution and the Natopian push towards Tapfer, trade here has been drying up for a generation,' said Annalf Metmet, one dockworker we spoke to. The area now occupied by the arena - still called 'Ogavia' after the demolished Church - has been a museum of empty warehouses and rusting loading cranes for years. The construction project itself brought employment to many long-term unemployed young people, and since its construction house prices have risen dramatically, commerce has flourished with the increase in local tourism and businesses are being set-up. Ambition has overtaken despair thanks to this new sporting sensation.


One of hundreds of apprentice teams: five Antican apprentices, one Saran apprentice and one Saran master

What is the future of Ogavia and its residents? It can only be brighter - albeit bloodier - with the arrival of the combat arena. The question we must ask ourselves is whether the moral and social cost of this sport could possibly outweigh the benefits.

Interview With the Man with Blood on His Hands

The air is wonderfully fresh - which surprises me, the NS correspondent sent to the Agnite Arena. Up until only eight hours before my arrival, the huge expanse in which I now stand was host to yet another bloody festival. And yet the turf has been washed or replaced, and the wind has blown all the atmospheric residue of the violent sport away into the memories of those that witnessed it. I am here with Arnestus Tibble-Mahron, Director of the Friends of the Dockside Combat Arena Group, who by virtue of his office has privileged access to this new sacrificial altar to our tastes.

New Saran: You were involved in bringing this sport to Mar Sara, weren't you?

Tibble-Mahron: Yes indeed, I was one of the first to see its commercial and cultural potential as a new way to bring people together and entertain them.

NS: What do you see as the cultural value of this kind of activity - bloodsports?

T-M: I see in it the potential for development of our armed forces and police forces, the appreciation of what those who lay down their lives in defence of our land do. I see the capacity for the retributive shaming of criminal offenders, who might then earn our respect and prove they deserve to re-join the ranks of the respectable Saran. I see the chance to bring communities together, to lay down their arms and watch someone else fight for a change.

NS: But isn't this a heavy cost for those things? People die here every day, don't they?

T-M: I'll clear that point up - people often die here, but certainly not every day. Only in certain of the tournaments and events are fatal blows considered legal, and I don't just mean within the rules of the game - as well as a full ambulance and medical service on stand-by all evening, we have a legal team and a squadron of police on duty to make sure the laws of the land are respected. No single blow occurs, without sanction, other than is mandated by the rules as approved by Charter of the Count.

NS: What would you say, then, to the countless critics of the fighting pits, not least of whom is Senyan sports minister Jonas Götëerez who describes this as 'organised murder'?

T-M: I would say a number of things - I would invite them to join me in the Friends Box to actually watch the sport, which I doubt they ever have. If a society approves of ice-hockey and its customary fights, this is a mere extension of that. It is an intense competition between people - it represents the values of diligence, temperance, and respect that we hold up as important. I find in particular the Senyan declaration of 'murder' and intention to arrest sportspeople as uncharacteristically Mondesian*. All participants voluntarily accept the sport, and all must abide by its rules. Do some people regret their choice once they have made it? No doubt, but they made the decisions that led to their place in the pit, and they must fight their way out of it.

NS: Any success stories of those fighters?

T-M: Absolutely, hundreds. Hard-working men and women who, when faced with a challenge that threatens their mortal existence, knew they could do nothing but work to get themselves out of it and never give up. As per the Count's Charter, many are now in the Marechaussee; others in government service; others just take part in the sport, in this arena or any other, and enjoy it as their life's calling. In fact, I'm hoping for the first award of a degree in the Order of Excellence to a Pit-Fighter within the next five years.
*Read: philistine.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

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Kaiser Mo'll I
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Kaiser Mo'll I »

A most enlightening read! :madviking:
Vilhelm Benkern wrote:Mondesian
There's a metaphor we don't often hear since Babkha went under... one wonders if any Mondesians of the contractually-obliged variety had hand in the construction of this fine arena :whip:
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Verion
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Verion »

What an amazing article. Let me say that the Ministry of Sport is glad that we work with capable people such as mister Tibble-Mahron to give bloodsports the place in society they deserve. This article shows us the great benefit of these sports, not only to obvious aspects of society such as the army and the justice system but also to local entrepreneurs and commerce.

I wish to say the following to the people in Sant Mateu: We are glad to have you on our side, may your island flourish and may your stadiums be coloured red!



This emoticon seems fitting: :madviking:
1.Titus Morvayne, Prefect of Shirekeep, Count of the Skyla Islands
2.Eki Aholibamah Verion, Queen in the North
3. Ludovic Verion, Lord of Blackstone and Governor-General of the Iron Company
4. Jeremy Harwinsson Archer, super sleuth

Thadeus Laing
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Re: [Sant Mateu] Dockside Combat Arena

Post by Thadeus Laing »

I highly commend the construction of this excellent new arena. Twilighteans
will be encouraged to purchase tickets to events occurring at it.

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