An unseasonable heat has made the crowd tired and irritable, so it is hard to say if the cheers ringing out are for the two combatants who were entering the
arena or simply relief that the entertainment had begun. The first fight of the day seems horribly mismatched-a murmillo named Murtullius against Khan, who is
by far the largest tiger most of the spectators have ever seen. Nearly six hundred pounds of muscle, claws, and teeth. Murtullius was a tall man, be he
seems dwarfed by the animal that was slowly making its way toward him. The two fighter's reputations are well known. Khan had killed more than his share of
tigers and lions in the arena, much to the delight of his owner, Caius Arminius Reccanellus, who purchased the big cat from a Chinese silk merchant. Murtullius
was born into slavery in a distant province, but which province only he and his owner, Lucas Cassius Pontonius, knew for certain. He killed with the kind of
brutal savagery that delighted audiences, but today the bets had been placed oftener on Khan.
Cheers quickly turn to hisses as the great beast crouches thirty paces away from where Murtillius waits patiently for the inevitable attack. After what seems an
eternity Murtillius adjusts the position of his scutum (shield) and Khan quickly bounds forward, his great weight (nearly 600 lbs!) a weapon in its own right. At
the last possible second Murtullius moves to his right and Khan crashes into his scutum knocking him to the ground as half the crowd rose to its feet, roaring as
blood spurted from the big cat's throat where the murillo's gladius had bitten deep. The other half of the crowd stared in shock, trying to recall what their
wager on the fight had been.
Once the carcass had been removed and Murtullius limped out of the arena, the next contestants are brought in. More than a few sets of eyes look to Caius
Arminius Reccanellus. Slaughty, a female hyena, is his second fighter in the games, and unlike the late Khan, is not expected to win. She is crafty and
dangerous, the chew marks on the steel bars of her cage a testament to the strength of her teeth and jaw, but her opponent in this fight is Borus, the bear
captured by Quintus Vitellius Avitus Vopiscus during a hunting trip in Pannonia.
Dominus Vopiscus smiles as he listens to those around him suggesting it will be a short fight. Borus is a very large bear, and Slaughty was no more than an
appetizer.

It seems the gods have different ideas, as Borus tries in vain to connect a paw to any part of the hyena's quickly darting body. Slaughty lands bite after bite
as she draws Borus into one mistake after another until the infuriated bear makes a final, fatal error and the hyena's teeth sink deep into the throat of
its opponent. Wild cheers erupt from the stands as the bear gives up its life to the hungry hyena. Slaves prod her away from her kill and she goes willingly,
knowing that she will be allowed to feast once she finished her last fight.

As Adonis Formosissimus strides confidently to the center of the arena, the crowd quiets down. Owned by Lucius Arminius Faustus and favored by Venus, the
secutor's extraordinary good looks and excellent build made him very popular among the women of Rome. The word is that many a Senator's wife had given him a
tour of their husband's domus when the Senate was in session. Brought in to face him is Unending Fire, a lion whose bloodlust was unquenchable and the vicious
manner of his kills had given rise to the hopes of some that the end of the fight would find an ex-secutor eating the dust. Owned by Lucas Cassius
Pontonius, whom Fortunas has already shown favor this day, Unending Fire looks up to the task.

The crowd gasps as Adonis Formosissimus, ever the gallant, drops his shield and removes his helmet before raising his sword in a salute to the now cheering crowd.

He smiles as several women shriek in apparent delight, realizing too late that Unending Fire had closed the gap between them quickly and silently. The shrieks
had not been of admiration, but horror. He turns to face the slathering maw and, for a heartbeat, it seems he might prevail, but that heartbeat proves to be one
of his last. The jaw of the lion close down on his throat, and half of Rome enters a period of mourning. Unending Fire is pulled away before he can feed,
leaving the secutor's beautiful face intact. Venus has spared him that much.

The tears stop falling as the first leopard of the day makes its entrance, and no ordinary beast, this. His name is Vetus Faustus Terribilis and he is said to
be the grandfather of his owner-the same L. Arminius Faustus who had moments ago lost one of his fighters. Circe herself had laid the curse upon him. It is
thought that the curse is the reason the Gens Arminius Faustus in not counted among the patrician families, but no one seems sure. The creature that enters
next does not much care if he dines on patrician or plebeian, so long as he dines. Jolenus the hyena is quite possbily the ugliest animal to have trotted
across the arena floor! A lanista (stable master) employed by Q. Vitellius Avitus Vopiscus had bought the beast from traders on the northern plains of Africa.

Jolenus charges the leopard and his courage brings the crowd to its feet for the first time this day. Terribilis allows this first charge, easily evading the
snapping jaws. Two more attacks by the hyena prove equally fruitless and the mood of the audience changes. They want blood. The leopard obliges when Jolenus
makes his forth assault, easily swatting him aside before biting and breaking one of his hind legs. The hyena cries out in pain but Terriblis will not end it.
To the sound of both cheers and hisses, the former human returns to the gate and is allowed back inside. After a brief discussion, the slaves subdue the injured
hyena and carry him gently away. If a god has spared him, it is not their place to intervene.

The animated discussions brought about by the last combat were cut short by the arrival of Antony the Tiger and Cisca Prisca-the next pair of fighters. Antony
is owned by Lucius Vitellius Triarius, the uncle of Vopiscus. On trip to the plains of northern Africa with his nephew, Triarius purchased Antony from Nubian
traders with the assurances that he was extremely wild and fought with teeth and claw like no other tiger known to man. Cisca Prisca, on the other hand, was the
most singular animal entered in the venationes. Most were afraid of the beast, but not because of the danger her teeth posed, but because of the magic that
they believed she possesses. Cisca Prisca, it was said, told jokes. Trained in Britania, Germania, and Belgium, she is rumored to be multilingual. In
particular, she tells jokes about Gauls that have, on more than one occasion, caused a gladiator to laugh long and hard enough for her to fasten herself to
his or her throat and put an end to their fight. The crowd leans forward in curiosity, to see how the fight will play out.

Having been kept on the outskirts of Rome proper, Antony does not know the difference between a Gaul and a Nubian (and knows no Latin) so, as the hyena
begins her attempts to amuse him, it only increases his desire to see her dead at his paws. Prisca's owner Lucius Arminius Faustus, watches with dread as
Antony finally attacks. The fight is a brief and bloody one, and when Antony is pulled away at last, Cisca Prisca is in three separate pieces.

Next to enter the arena are the tiger Death Stripe, whose owner, Cassius Pontonius, has already two victories on the day, and the leopard Speckus. Team
Triarius fields Speckus, who was purchased from the same Nubian's who provided Tiger Antony. As the two large cats size each other up, the crowd murmurs
excitedly. For the first time of the day, the odds were fairly even.

With a roar Death Stripe attacks and the fight seems to be taking an eternity as first one and then the other looks to be on the verge of winning. As the fur
flies the crowd goes wild, until suddenly the crack of bone is heard and Death Strike rises as the victor. But he is wounded, and will have little rest before
his next match. Pontonius watches worriedly as his animal slowly makes his way to the exit.

The quarters are thus ended, and now the semi-finals will commence. From conversations overheard, it seems that there is no clear favorite as of yet, but
money is already being raised to erect a statue of "The Seductor," Adonis Formosissimus. Members of the Senate seem to be spearheading the effort.

Murtillius returns to the arena to face off with Slaughty, the hyena. The limp the murmillo displayed earlier is less pronounced, but it is obvious that the
left side of his body was injured during his fight with Khan. Slaughty circles behind the warrior, the better to bite at his calves. Two nips are taken before
a slash from Murtillius sword draws blood, but the wound is shallow and only results in a change in tactics. Slaughty throws himself against Murtillius'
scutum and the murmillo goes down with a cry, swinging his sword desperately against the hyena, but in vain-Slaughty claims his second win as he rips open
the throat of the murmillo.

The gates now open to admit the next combatants. The lion Unending Fire will fight Vetus Faustus Terribilis and expectations are high for this one. Unending
Fire's single-mindedness against the more calculated attack of the leopard. With a blood-curling roar the lion strikes first, but Terribilis avoids him with the
same ease he had shown earlier against the hyena. Enraged, the lion charges again and Unending's fire goes out for good as the leopard makes his move,
leaping onto Unending Fire's back and sinking long fangs into the lion's throat.

It is tiger versus tiger in the last of the semi-finals--Antony against Death Stripe. Death Stripe is in a foul mood, having been frightened by a rat while
awaiting this fight. His shame over his one and only fear being exposed, and the pain from his injuries has made him want only one thing-a quick, clean kill. And
so it is that no time is wasted in this one. The two enormous beasts are immediately at each other's throats and you can nearly feel the claws tearing
through their thick hides as they wrestle with one another. It is a tumbling blur of black and orange for several minutes until finally the thrashing mound
of tiger shudders to a halt, and Antony emerges bloody but victorious.

Now even the most bored civis in the stand becomes interested, as the first of two final fights is set to begin. The hyena, Slaughty, has by lot been chosen as
one of the two final fighters, the other to be determined by the contest about to begin. Antony has had a short rest and cleaned off the blood, but now he is
back in the arena to battle the leopard Terribilis. He looks uninjured, but no one who witnessed his fight with Death Stripe is willing to believe it.

Terribilis seems not to believe it either, as he immediately charges headlong at the tiger before veering away, turning, and leaping toward Antony's exposed
back. Antony has not been caught off-guard and turns to swipe a massive paw at his opponent, knocking him aside. The leopard runs away to rethink his strategy,
but Antony has nearly caught up to him. In the stands, Triarius fears what this means and watches in horror as Terribilis flips over onto his back. Antony
unable to stop and soon the leopard sinks his teeth deep into the throat of the tiger while tearing open his belly with his rear claws. It is over quickly and
Terriblis lopes off to the last section of the arena not yet stained with blood. There he waits for his final challenger.

He does not have to wait for long. Slaughty the hyena is eager for the fight to start, for the smell of so much fresh blood has driven him nearly insane with
hunger. He runs straight for the waiting leopard and is quickly swatted aside, only to dance away and begin trotting in circles, looking for an approach.
Terribilis is tired, but knows that if he can survive this last fight, he will have earned a long rest. Should he fall, his rest will be even longer. Slowly he
sits back on his haunches and raises his head, exposing his throat to his enemy. Submitting. The audience rises to its feet and screams objections, but Slaughty
laughs at the sight and rushes forward to accept the invitation.

Unfortunately for Slaughty, as well as owner Arminius Reccanellus, Vetus Faustus Terribilis was not yet prepared to die. Slaughty's teeth find only empty air and
he is slammed to the ground and torn apart by the leopard as the crowd cheers him on, wildly applauding the savagery of the attack. When it is over,
Terribilis looks into the stands to where his owner/grandson sits and lets out a mighty roar. Lucius Arminius Faustus smiles and sends a slave to prepare the
promised sacrifices to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus and Diana.

So ends the Venationes. Congratulations to L. Arminius Fautus on his victory!

Valete bene,
Artoria Marcella

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CERTAMEN HISTORICUM II - ROMAN RELIGION

Presented by : T. Artoria Marcella.