LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
I gladly welcome you to the Colosseum for the first Gladiator combats, in honour of the founding of Rome!
It is a sunny but cool afternoon, and you should thank the gods for this because our velum is not yet finished
Today we offer you five fights (five more tomorrow), and they look really promising!
The first fight features the dimachaerus Tiberius Africanus, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco, against the hoplomachus Papius Brutulus, sponsored by Marcus Horatius Moravius Piscinus. And they enter our brand new arena, filled with clean white sand – how long will the sand be white? The strong and fierce Papius Brutulus rushes forward and immediately tries his special legionary’s attack a few times in a row. Tiberius Africanus tries to defend, but both gladiators seem to lack a little competence to complete these moves. But then Papius Brutulus rushes in and strikes hard: he attacks Tiberius Africanus with his sword, hits him twice and once more on his sword arm. This reduces Tiberius Africanus’ force and hit points (15 left). Tiberius Africanus tries to respond, but he fails to hit Papius Brutulus even once… And with a strong final thrust with his spear Papius Brutulus ends the fight – although it seemed more like manslaughter instead of a fight… Better luck next time for Tiberius Africanus, Papius Brutulus and his lanista Marcus Moravius Horatius Piscinus win the first fight!
In our second fight we have the retiarius Scipio Umbra, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco, against the secutor Servus Secundus, sponsored by Lucius Moravius Tarquinius. Scipio Umbra, master of the web, opens the fight with a heavy thrust forward with his trident, immediately wounding his opponent who didn’t expect this early attack. But Servus Secundus quickly recovers and responds with a sword attack. Cautiously they turn around each other, and suddenly Scipio Umbra pulls out his dagger and stabs his opponent in the leg, making him a little slower. Then the retiarius kicks his opponent to the ground, but Servus Secundus acts quickly and rolls away. And then a furious attack by Scipio Umbra, who once again thrusts forward with his trident! Servus Secundus falls down, but in his fall he manages to wound Scipio Umbra with his sword. Unfortunately, this only encourages the retiarius to finish the fight: he gets on top of the secutor, wounding him twice with his dagger. Scipio Umbra shows no mercy and finishes the fight with a final blow with his mighty trident. Lanista Tiberius Dionysius Draco may smile, for his gladiator wins this fight!
The third fight is between the murmillo Raptor, sponsored by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco, and the hoplomachus Julius Phoenix, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco. Upon entering the arena, Julius Phoenix immediately runs towards Raptor, kicking him to the ground. He then thrusts forward with his spear, badly wounding Raptor. What a start of this fight! Raptor stands up, but he receives another attack: this time his sword arm is hit, resulting in less force for the rest of the fight. Raptor is finally able to respond with a sword attack. Both gladiators then make some feints, until Julius Phoenix does a successful attack with his sword. But Raptor quickly responds with his own sword attack! Julius Phoenix tries to defend, but he fails and is hit. And an enraged Julius Phoenix then decides to finish the fight with another thrust forward with his spear. Another fight won by Tiberius Dionysius Draco!
And so we come to our fourth fight, with the eques Lucius Verus, sponsored by Primus Aurelius Tergestus, fighting an eques ‘of the house’, Ferox. Both gladiators enter the arena on horseback and ride one round with a beautifully coloured flag in their hands – what a splendid entrée! Then they both race towards the centre of the arena and meet in a terrible clash! When the dust clears, both horses are dead and both gladiators wounded. Ferox immediately attacks with his sword. Ferox then runs towards the side of the arena where he mounts a new horse. Already victorious it seems, he rides two tours around the arena and then races to the centre again. But Lucius Verus is awaiting him there, and with a strong and fast attack he attacks the horse’s legs, causing Ferox to crash onto the sands of the Colosseum. The crowd goes wild with enthusiasm! Then Lucius Verus finishes the fight with a single sword attack, right in Ferox’ chest! Victory for Primus Aurelius Tergestus!
The fifth fight features the hoplomachus Argos, sponsored by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco and the dimacherus Servus Primus, sponsored by Lucius Moravius Tarquinius. They both circle around each other cautiously, and then they start a good old fashioned sword combat. Argos with sword and shield against the two flashing swords of Servus Primus… The dimachaerus strikes first, immediately followed by a counterattack from the hoplomachus. Another round of circling around each other, and then a new attack by Servus Primus, again immediately followed by an attack from Argos. But Argos seems to have come in a winning mood: twice he defends with his large shield whilst attacking Servus Primus with his gladius. The dimachaerus didn’t see those coming, and he falls down in the sand, deadly wounded. The first victory for lanista Gnaeus Dionysius Draco and Argos!
The other five fights will be posted tomorrow! Stay tuned
Valete bene