Greetings
Located in the frigid city of Xalum lies the central focus of all who reside above the northern border. It is here that their bravest warriors take on their fiercest beasts. It is here that the citizens gather to watch the public executions. It is here that the aristocrats come to be entertained. It is here that the compeditors come to entertain, and to die. The great structure has taken on a life of it's own, with the frozen blood of Xalum City's citizenry coursing through its veins. It devours those that it deems unworthy, and raises those that it deems destined for greatness. Welcome, to Xalum City Colosseum.
Description
Xalum City Colosseum is located in, you guessed it, Xalum City. In fact it is the most prominent structure in the entire city. Taller and covering more square footage than any other building in Xalum, and perhaps the world, the Colosseum can be seen from any point of Xalum City. The structure of the Colosseum is made entirely of ice. That's right, ice. The entire building is circular in shape, similar to the Roman Colosseum. There are three internal rings before reaching the arena, each consisting of three levels.
The outermost ring contains the ticket booths on the main floor, the second floor of the ring consists of various booths where barkers contend with each other to offer you odds on the latest match or just to sell you stuff. The top floor of the ring contains a number of resturants and seating areas usually reserved for the aristocratic classes.
The middle ring of the structure contains restrooms, small chapels where friends or relatives of compeditors can pray to the colosseum gods to insure victory, and even bath houses. Each floor contains all of these amenities, but each floor is reserved for a different social class. The bottom being for the lower class, middle for the middle class, and top for the upper class. Funny how that works out isn't it?
The inner ring of the Colosseum contains the stands. Each level of stands has enough seats to comfortably seat the entirety of Xalum city, which it does on a regular basis. The seats are stadium style with each level acting as an overhang for the next. On the topmost level, reserved for the aristocrats of course, the furnature is made of coral and has plenty of nice padding. The middle class seats are simply coral, and the lowest class seats are nothing more than ice.
In the center of the three rings is the arena. This is where all the action is, and where nobody really wants to be. The arena floor is covered with sand to prevent slipping on the layer of ice underneath it. Large pillars of ice rise up from the floor to stand unattatched to any sort of ceiling. The arena is slightly sunken in from the stands, so it is difficult to reach even the low class seating from the arena floor. Even so, spectators in the low class seating have a slightly higher than normal mortality rate. Along the arena wall are openings where the combatants can come through.
Under the layer of sand there are many trap doors. These doors can be rigged to open when stepped on, or may simply be used to raise compeditors or objects up from the basement. The basement of the arena contains the holding cells for compeditors, equipment, and wild animals. These holding cells have very few amenities, containing only a bed and a basin, both constructed of ice.
Matches
The matches are what the Xalum City Colosseum is all about. Be they one on one between two fighters, one fighter verses many, one fighter versus one or more beasts, or even a free for all containing hundreds of fighters and beasts. The fights here are a central part of the lives of every Xalum City resident.
Fights can happen at any time, and more often than not are completely spontanious. Whenever a fight is announced, a large bell hanging from the top level of the Colosseum is rung. The bell can be heard throughout the city and calls in the spectators to witness the fight.
More often than not the combatants are prisoners. The most common penalty under law in Xalum is to be sentanced to the Colosseum. Every now and then however, people sign up to fight in the Colosseum. The Colosseum has also been known to host tournaments in the past. These tournaments can be for glory or honor, but most people do it for the large cash prizes.
