Sports Festivals

Gladiatorial Games Reminiscent of Rome's gladiatorial combat and arena events, organized fights and races take place in a number of set-ups and ways, from the grandiose stadium fighting events and races to the more local stable circuits we discover with Fighting Slave of Gor !n ma"or cities, it would appear that the various stadium events follow seasons, much like the sports calendars do on #arth $he games in the Stadium of %lades, for e&ample, are said to finish their season at the end of Se''ara, a month following the season of races (tarn races in this case) $his would indicate that there are periods of time for the rebuilding of teams and the training of fighters, tarn or tharlarion racers, etc *lthough it is said that some participation in these fights is voluntary, it is more that the participants are criminals or prisoners of the city in which the games are held !n the city of $harna, under the silver mask rule, the *musements of $harna were used as a way to dispose of those who broke the laws of $harna in as public a way as was possible $he men of $harna, were e&pected to attend these games four times a year or find themselves participating in them, a way the ruling women reminded them of their place $hough not all cities reserved the stadium fights to those sentenced to them, these combats were, for the large part, not of the type in which warriors would willingly partake $he spectacle of blood-for-blood without other purpose, and the presence of constantly unfair odds to ensure that death will occur, would be beneath the warrior's code of honor !f those warriors were prisoners, they would have no choice in fighting to survive $hey would not be willing to volunteer in e&change for the gold or the glory of coming out alive Stadium combat comes in a large variety of flavors and themes, more than likely for the purpose of holding the crowd's interest +en fight one-on-one using various weapons and being sub"ect to various handicaps, such as blinding hoods or yokes $hey fight in teams against other teams or beasts of as wide a selection as Gor offers Slave girls fight each other or are rounded up in groups to fight one man $here is even mention of flooding the arena with water so that sharks and ,osk turtles may be used Stadium Races - Tarns $he most heavily attended and followed public contest, at least in the city of *r, is the season of tarn racing !ts popularity and league set-up are not too unlike what we are used to as far as team sports on #arth $he league is sub"ect to rules and standards as well as participation fees, and we can clearly see that tarn racing isn't "ust a matter of racing- it is a business in itself $he cost of "oining the league, poor showing or failing to meet standards in racing

results for a number of consecutive seasons is said to result in penalties of financial nature !t can cause the loss of the right to belong and compete for as long as ten years in the tarn racing circuit Fans dress up in the colors of their favorite faction, or team, and as the time of the final races approach, the entire city becomes a rainbow of colored banners and patches Goreans of all levels of society flaunt patches of the color of their favored team on their left shoulder and even the slaves in paga taverns end up in silks of one or the other faction's color $he racing stadium has the spectators sitting around an aerial track of ./ rings which hang by chains from their respective supporting towers over a net and through which the racers, on their tarns, must pass $here are a number of possible set-ups and track arrangements, though details given on only one in the city of *r $he only race one can witness is located in the city of *r, the reference to racers being of other cities such as +elipolus of 0os and +enicius of 1ort 'ar allows us to think that tarn racing is indeed more than likely popular in any city where tarns can be found Racing tarns are described as smaller and much lighter than the more common tarn $hey are not the sort of bird which would be used for war, raiding and transport of loot $he training of the racing tarn is far different, as would be the training of the rider in how to maneuver such an animal for racing Stadium Races - Tharlarions $he breeding and racing of tharlarion is mentioned as a preferred sport in a number of the cities $he most important or at least the most mentioned city when it comes to tharlarion racing is the city of ,enna, home to the Stadium of $harlarion and to what seems to be the heart of the world of tharlarion racing Stable Fights - Fighting Slaves 2e are looking at a gambling sort of game, a sport which seems to have begun between the men who run breeding stables as a sort of pastime3sideshow to their gatherings $he custom is to pit stable slaves, one against the other, in a cross of street fighting3bo&ing3wrestling matches and making bets on who will win !t is said to be a form of amusement much favored by lower castes, though the slaves would likely belong to important people with enough money to have breeding stables and many stable slaves $he fighting slaves use hand wraps, gauntlets and sometimes hook knives !n the world of stable fighting, it would not seem that these fights are e&pected to end in the death of one of the participants $his makes sense, as habitually, the stable master is but an employee of the stables and not the owner of the slave he uses for these wagers

4ver time, this pastime appears to have developed its own network of fans and participants !n cities where fights are common, their time and date is often known $he event gathers 5uite a crowd, much to the "oy of those who make money from taking wager fees *lthough the higher class stable owners are less likely to be seen at the fights, there does seem to be a form of higher level contest between them $he impression received is that they are often 5uite aware of their stable's rank in the fighting circuit, as well as who their current champion is