Legends speak of a time when the gods of the South ruled on Aedleran and brought all the world under their sway. They made eternal war on the gods of the North, the elder gods, Galahad the Warrior, his wife Dahlia the Mother, his concubine Aramina the Maiden, and his father and mother, knowlege and wisdom.
The gods of the south crushed their rivals almost utterly in the days when they ruled on earth. But then they, as one, ascended into the heavens to pursue their war against the elder gods, leaving behind their greatest champions, the Blades, to defend their faithful. Their names were:
Arian the Tyrant: This goddess of unatural psionic powers and doubly unatural femenine power, has been driven out by the gods of the south. Her champion, Empress of Vivante, is the Blade of Thrones, an unatural woman who rules from an unatural island at the mouth of the golden sea.
Sehkmet the Destroyer, who turned upon her own people when they could not put down the worship of the elsder gods. The deserts to the south are her domain, where a nation of undead worship's her. Again, the unaturalness and destructive nature of woman's power is shown.
Deviever, the unknowable.
Rajat, the Destroyer, who could not bare to leave behind the delight of his life of constant war and has settled in the north.
Carnos, the Devourer, god of Lycanthropes, who has done the same.
Kris, who offers imortality in return for belief. His poeple have conquered the southern heartlands.
Mincen, who teaches comunity through cofnormity. His people have conquered the northern heartlands. They make eternal war on each other, but grow rich together on the trade in grains. Mincen demanded tribute from us until recetly, but I wll speak more on that soon.
Miisha the Golden, goddess of Comerce, the goddess who understands a woman's place and yeilds her athority to the merchant prince she favors. But ware her wrath, for a great gem-eating dragon sleeps beneath her palace, ready to unleash her wrath.
But your god, Gladiators and Princes of our fair city, is Durin, god of the Games. A man who finds more value in good living than swift death on the battlefield, but knowes also the need for strenght.
We of Durin's Hold, merchant princes, farmers, and slaves alike, are on good relations with all peoples of the world save for the unatural women of Arian, and even they can be tolerated.
For centuries we were forced to pay tribute to Santifico, capitol of Kriss's realm, and though we rebeled many times, rarely could we stand against the hordes of ancestor spirits that came to the call of The Blade of Truth, much less stand up to that imortal war-priest himself.
That has changed now, and we owe it all to Chuma Mwili, the Iron Serpent. Born of a silver dragon and a janx (small giant) amazone no man has bested for 20 years now, no man save her son. Chuma Mwili is the undisputed grand master of Janx Mu Thai. He stole himself from the Gladiatorial Arena when Durin called him, and he stole the high priest's most favored slave girl, a bard who has since composed the epic of his odessy. He battled his way across north and south, besting drow in caverns deep beneath the golden sea, giants in the north, and counting coup on the son of Kontor, High King of the North.
Not three years ago he returned and, as a final proof his mastery, counted coup on his mother by stealing a lock of her hair in fair combat, then raced into the night to confer with Durin himself. Durin marked him with a tattoo that names him High King of Durin's Hold for all time.
And with him at the head of our armies, we have at last thrown off the Kristian yoke.
The temples of Kris are torn down. New arenas raised up in their place. New entertainments and festivals are instated.
Now, people of Durin's Hold and guests from around the world, I welcome you to the greatest show on earth. Our gladiators are as virile as they are strong, and our slave girls as beautiful as they are cheap. Take a turn against a non-human amazone, and have your way wtih her if you win, or, if pleasure alone intrests you, we have those arenas as well, where contests of sexual stamina prove the manhood of the participants.
