“Most nations considered military training something to keep a secret to everyone not part of their military forces. The dwarves of the Kingdom Down Under disagreed with that notion, and up till this day, they conducted weekly bouts of military practice in the guise of an event at the colosseum.

The tradition was one of the more popular bouts, and amongst the dwarves themselves, factions had formed, each of which cheered for fighters from their favored units. More recently, the whole idea had gained interest and even attracted the attention of mercenary organizations and militaries from other countries.

As of the current year of 690 FP, Knallzog and the Elvish domains had regularly sent units of their own to participate in the forming league, as had the larger mercenary companies like the Free Lances, Desmond’s Defenders, The Rampaging Horde, and others. Incorporating a point system from wins, losses, and draws, the units competed with one another for the championship title, with pride on the line.” - From a paper on dwarven history of combat entertainment, by Leigh Wainwrought.

“You’re all in luck today,” said Orloff as they watched an intermission where a troupe of entertainers did their best to please the crowd. “Tonight’s match is probably one of the hottest of this month’s league matches, since it might just decide just who will win the championship this year.”

Cal was familiar with the topic Orloff mentioned, since the combat league was one of the most popular entertainment forms for the dwarves in the Kingdom Down Under. In fact, the “sport” had gotten so popular after the teams from the mercenaries and other nations started to join that they had to set up multiple divisions just to schedule and handle everything.

The match Orloff mentioned that happened to be scheduled that night was for the highest division - the only ones whose matches took place in the Grand Colosseum, as the lower divisions had their matches take place at other, smaller venues instead - which consisted of the best twenty teams from the previous year.

They fought with the pride of their units on the line, as not only was the championship considered a great honor and comes with hefty rewards, the worst five units in the division would be replaced by the top five of the second division come the year’s end.

Such fights took place on a daily basis, from early in spring all the way till late in autumn, until every team had fought every other team twice. With three points from a victory, one from a draw, and none from a loss, the team with the highest total at the end of the year won the championship.

It was late autumn by then, and the year’s matches were drawing near its end, with only another three sets of matches after today’s event. The match that happened that day was one between the 3rd Cuirassiers Down Under who sat on the very top of the rankings, and their closest rivals, the main team from the Free Lances, who trailed them by the difference of a single point.

Whoever won the match, had very high chances of winning the championship that year. The two teams already fought once earlier in the year, which ended in a hard-fought draw. To say that this rematch was one of the most awaited matches of the year was no exaggeration.

Both teams marched side by side into the arena to the deafening cheers from the crowd, which went wild at their sight. The Cuirassiers dressed in brown and green tabards looked almost as if they were all cut out from the same stone, all impressively muscular dwarves who saluted the crowd as one after they lined up.

By contrast, their opponent, the Free Lances in white tabards with black trim, looked like a mess. The fifty members - twenty who would participate in the fight itself, and another thirty reserves - were composed of every race imaginable, with many hybrids in their midst as well, yet they also marched and lined up with military precision despite all the physical disparity between their members.

After the announcer finished hyping up the audience - something Cal thought was overkill with how riled up they were already, as some fist fights had even broken out at some places - the two teams withdrew to opposite sides of the arena. The reserves helped the twenty who would fight put on their gear for the match.

Wooden mock weapons and shields with blunted edges were used, paired with breastplates and helmets made out of hard, baked clay. The rules were simple enough, those with their breastplate and helmet broken were considered “dead” and had to leave the field, on threat of disqualification.

The first bout between the two teams had ended in a draw when their last members had “killed” each other simultaneously, and both teams had apparently revamped their strategies and members for this match.

From the Cuirassiers side - a light infantry unit by trade - the twenty who came out were organized into three groups. Ten wielded weapons and kite shields, their standard equipment. Five carried massive tower shields the size of doors, while another five forwent a shield in favor of long polearms instead. They formed up with the five heavy shieldsmen at the middle, with the light infantry to their sides, and the halberdiers in the back.

On the Free Lances side, their unit looked even more mixed. Four positively massive therians - one great ape, one bear, one elephant, and one rhinoceros therian - wielded tower shields even larger than what the dwarves had.

To balance the teams out, they were made to bring smaller, lighter members to even out the larger, heavier ones - measured by points which were determined based on either their performance the last year or by preliminary tests - and it was reflected on the rest of their composition, half of which were geared like light skirmishers and harassers who made up their flanks. Six other members, humans or hybrids mostly, sequestered themselves behind the massive shields, and carried two handed weapons or multiple weapons, an aggressive composition.

With a whistle from the referee, and loud roars from both teams which were echoed by the audience, the match began.