Out in a realm where the citizens are extremely poor. Like cannot eat for several weeks at a time poor. For them the only means of getting assistance from the one tyrant king is through battle and victory on the gigantic gladiator arena he has created, but the games are filled with deceit and treachery by the contestants, which is also encouraged.
The fighting itself is exclusive, the only ones who can participate are his children, who are multitude, since the king has various wives and concubines from across all the known realms.
That is to say all of the contestants are siblings, though estranged since they grew up in foreign lands. To say nothing of the fact, that they all come from different mothers.
And when we say the king's children are multitudes we really mean multitudes. One of the tyrant's favorite activities is copulation with, to put it mildly, every race within the known realms. Whether it be high born royalty, rabble from lands lost in time. Off worlders from the underground lands, beneath the sea, high in the clouds, any and all have traded in their fertile females for a chance at the arena.
In exchange for giving birth for the king, the females have a chance at living in the palace, and possibly provide aid to her nation of origin. But the risks are without saying enormous. A rival wife means competition for resources. More so than is normal even within a polygamous union. The average life expectancy of new wives is weeks at most.
There is also the audience to consider. As favor with the audience means more support in the arena. Meaning a higher probability of survival. Give the crowds what they want is the name of the game. And what they want is epic, spectacular, edge of your seat live combat.
A main favorite of the crowds is an long time prince. Returning to the games after a long absence, although he only returns to uncover a scheming villain. One who is an agent of chaos and intent on the destruction of the games and all involved. For better or worse, the prince would prefer to avoid that happening. When proof the prince's involvement is found by means of inspecting the blades of his siege equipment, the prince forms a tenuous alliance with the royal guard in order to find the fiend responsible.
There is an up and comer young lady who is fierce in the arena, but she comes from a poorer land. Therefore she is good at stealing & stealth, not all of the fighting has to be on the arena, in fact it is encouraged to bring as trophies defeated contestants from off arena. The elimination of competition garners you favor with the crowds. Since the assassin garners the reputation of being merciless, hence giving the crowds impetus at seeing them fight proper in the arena.
The games can last for weeks until there's a winner declared, so the more powerful competitors therefore must still be careful not to be defeated off the arena by poison & other similar schemes.
This year there are amazon half blood warriors princesses competing. The land of the amazons being of particular interest to the warped mind of the king, he is intoxicated with the idea of copulating with females much more powerful than he and several times his size.
Despite many of the races he has subjugated under his kingdom being more powerful than the king himself. None who dare to oppose the king last very long, as the multitudes of his bloodlines also come together when the king issues an order to annihilate a land. Having as hostages the citizens of their mother nations, makes the warriors under the king's thumb very compliant. Such bloodlines include dwarf offspring, angelic like elves, ninja clans, winged warriors, giantesses, mutated cave dwellers, mixed breed furred animal chimeras, the king has made martial alliances with all these and more.
A martial arts clan is set on avenging a rival in the kings court. Through the use of child pupils they raise and train women who are then sent to mate with the king, therefore gaining access to the court and the rival clan there.
Even the grim reaper has gotten involved apparently one made a bargain with him to reap a contestant, the reaper is more interested in finding two kiddos who befriended him though, and he makes it known when he communicates to the entire arena through a giant display, though he's instantly contained when his scheme to back out of his contract is revealed.
Another favorite moment of the games is when a master of nun-chucks fights since his battles are flashy and filled with style. This goes towards wondering what tribe he pertains to, since he claims to hail from none of the lands in the kingdom, the only draw he has to the arena is of finding worthy opponents.
The king himself is indifferent to watching his offspring murder each other, his multiple affairs are mere power grabs by his wives to have a slot on the roster. By sending more of their children off to combat in the arena, the better chances their motherland has at winning. And the more they copulate with the king the more favor he shows them to sire more children for them.
The palace of the concubines and queens therefore is just as much a battlefield as the one on the gladiatorial arena.
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Zero Sum
Science FictionHumanity is not alone in the universe. More specifically Earth is not alone. It is an age of wonder for humanity. For all but a few. Our history has been altered, according to one who has visions of the fractured world that could have been but ne...
