A huge, baying crowd sat, stood and lounged in stale wooden stands, awaiting combat. There was no order, none dared police the mob. Fights occurred unnoticed.
A speaker stepped slowly onto the coliseum, this cathedral of Khorne's pulpit. It creaked under his weight.
"The whelps of the Flesh God come! They come for war!" he cried, his bass voice loud enough to be heard throughout the coliseum and beyond.
The speaker was met with roars, cries of triumph, curses and the usual chorus.
He was a huge champion of Khorne, standing nine feet in height, dressed in heavy plate armour. He was one the Vermillion Knight's inner cadre, a thinker as well as a fighter.
He finished it. "Skulls for the Skull Throne! There will be many skulls for us to take! We will show them strength, show them power, show them honour!"
The assembled Khornate warriors roared.
"Now, let the games commence! Let us prepare our bloodlust for the glorious days ahead!"
More cries from the crowd, as the gladiators entered the arena. Volunteers, all. The first was a tall, thin man with two long rapiers, dressed in hardened leather. The next was a huge man with a massive axe, topless, but wearing a horned helm, and chained gauntlets. Behind him skulked a diminutive warrior with a beaked helm, a small axe and a curved sword. He wore an overlarge chainmail vest and a brass collar.
The final contestant was a clear favourite. A giant mutant, with three eyes upon a vast forehead. It had a huge gut and huge claws in clumsy hands. It was utterly naked, but the skin looked tough, like the hide of some large and powerful creature.
They squared off, and it was a question of who would attack first. It was destined to be short, these were berserkers all.
The topless man roared and swung his axe at the tall man, who ducked and put his rapiers into a scissor shape, and sliced off his head The crowd roared at the sight of blood, Rayna joining the chant of "Blood! Blood! Blood!" gleefully from behind a wooden grille. Scuffles were breaking out in the rotting wooden stands. It would be seconds before the combatants there drew weapons.
The tiny man was dancing gleefully around the huge ogre-like mutant, who was too slow. The dwarf left countless slashes and cuts on the monster's belly and legs, but they only seemed to enrage it further. As the tall man advanced, it caught the dwarf and flung him into the air, wailing.
He landed in the maw of the monster, which was revealed as being larger than was natural, extending and widening. He was not swallowed, but he was chewed throughly before being spat upon the ground. Unfortunately, the tall man had leapt onto the monster's back by this point, and had stabbed one rapier deep. The creature screamed and tried to grab him, but other sword was stabbed deep into its head. It moaned, and fell, dead. The tall man pulled out his swords and screamed his victory, drenched in blood.
The crowd roared in reply, and another three men ran out. One was dressed in the threadbare remains of a Cadian uniform, carrying a axe. Another was a young man, barely older than a boy, naked and carrying a massive, two handed greatsword. The last was Rayna, dressed and armed for battle.
The games began.