#bvbevent

                                          THE FIGHTING PITS                                               A “PLOT EVENT”                                   & ADDITION TO THE LORE

A History—

The Vampire Territory is a vast landscape, and those under her domain are equally spread across the terrain. Despite their speed, the surging Vampire population growth in the recent decades has made it difficult for the Blood Court to be the centerpiece of justice and punishment. Rather than bring all disputes, large or small, to the Blood King himself, the Vampires have instead adopted their own method of settling affairs without the need for an impartial figure--a method far more suited to their carnal natures.

Across the Territory, Fighting Pits are one of the few staples created solely by Vampire culture. They serve as a way to air grievances and settle arguments without starting Clan wars. It’s far easier to take two fighting Vampires and shove them into a hole to beat each other bloody, as opposed to getting every Maker and Child in a bloodline involved in a war. Whether one person yields, someone fights to the death, or the sun comes up on them both, the Pits ensure a solution is found with the least amount of bloodshed.

For Sanctuary’s Vampires—

Blood King Wolfgang Arcturus-Child first brought the idea of the Fighting Pits to Sanctuary for Vampires only. Seeing his people forced into a half-starved state for the sake of cooperation, the King wished to grant them a place to air out their frustrations without the risk that any of his subjects might break one of the town’s Laws.

With the vote of the Tribunal, a massive Pit was dug behind the King’s Manor at the farthest reaches of the Vampire District. Two tunnels, one on either side of the Pit, were created for fighters to enter and leave the Pit on guard. And for protection a massive net of woven rope was made and anchored across the top of the Pit -- a safeguard insisted by Keeper Cadeyrn.

The Fighting Pit became a massive success among the town’s Vampires. It became not only a place to fight off disputes, but a way to train their bodies back into predatory shape. The difference could be seen not only in the Vampires, but in the rest of Sanctuary as well; in fewer confrontations involving the Vampire citizens, and more diligent Night-Workers. It didn’t take long for word to spread that the Fighting Pit was violence for the greater good.

Open For All—

Now others across Sanctuary want in on the action. The Vampires aren’t the only supernaturals with pent-up frustration, nor are they the only citizens with disputes to settle. After several petitions from different species groups to the Tribunal about opening the Fighting Pits for all citizens of Sanctuary, it could no longer be ignored. With thorough discussion among the Tribunal members and the agreement of the Blood King, the Fighting Pits have been opened to all.

The First Open Fights—

In celebration of this new addition to Sanctuary, special “celebratory matches” will be held on the 3rd Day of Fallun at midnight. These matches will be hosted and presided upon by the Tribunal, and all citizens of Sanctuary are welcome not only to attend, but to elect themselves as combatants.

                                                       Let the games begin.

“The Fighting Pits” is not a plot drop, nor an event, but merely a new addition to our lore and a creative new venue for future storytelling. There is no start/end date to this drop, but we welcome you to join us in participating!

Those who wish to bring their character into a fight can post an open starter in the tag: #bvbfightingpit. From there, starters can be taken and plots can be made as you all please!

If your character has no desire to fight but still wishes to observe the fights, you are free to post in the tag as well but please specify you will not be competing.

As a final note: we would like to give special accolades to our Cast Member Gina ( @wolfgangarcturus ), without whom this idea would not exist. She has done an incredible job contributing to our lore and with her we’re excited to bring this into the BVB World!

BELOW THE CUT ARE THE OFFICIAL TRIBUNAL-AGREED RULES FOR COMBAT WITHIN THE PITS.

A resounding applause greeted the winning crew of the boat race: five humans, three vampires, and one upyr.

Oh what a thrilling end it was! The last five minutes were such a neck to neck fight that till the last minute it was difficult to judge which of the two leading boats would clinch the prize. Finally, experience shone out in the end. 

The winners were greeted with a lot of fanfare by the crowd that had cheered for them. The three leaders congratulated the winners and presented each of them with a memento; all except one. The agile upyr had to settle for praise from his Queen, for the time being, as there was one book missing from those chosen to be given away as mementos by the Bone Queen.

Nevertheless, it all went quite smoothly and soon it was time to wind down the festivities. As per tradition, in order to express their gratitude to water, floating lanterns - lit at the beginning of the boat race - were released into water at midnight.

Gradually, people trickled back to the town, some with a skip in their step, others a staggering mess. But, most of them with happy and content smiles on their faces.

Perhaps, there was still hope for a harmonious existence between species, and a life of peace for all.

The Festival had come quicker than expected but perhaps that was because Reginmund had lost track of time. With the storm, the revolt and the new Bone Queen things in Sanctuary had been spiraling out of control but at least now life might get back into some sort of order. At least he had hoped so.

Walking along the Lake he watched with an amused smile all the events taking place. It was nice to see the people relaxing for once. He could see Nadya across the lake watching the boat races and hear the faint laugh of Ayanna in the distance. Now where was Wolfgang?

About to continue his walk along the lake he heard a familiar voice behind him and turned. “Now this is a surprise.”

Hours into the festivities, when the moon had risen high upon the sky, the exhaustion from the day seemed to crash down on her. Her body felt heavy and tired, and with it, the cold slowly but surely managed to creep in on her. She had forgotten to bring something to put over her attire, and despite both the cold and the exhaustion tugging at her, she was not yet ready to leave it all behind. After all, there were still activities left to participate in. Thus, when she spotted a single person by one of the fires, she took her chance and made her way over to them. 

“It’s starting to get a bit cold, isn’t it?” 

The Beach was still lit by the last rays of sun. The festival would be starting soon. He had been helping set the lanterns and anchor the boats on the race path. He loved the water more than Aya. Now the preparations were complete and there he stood with his pants rolled up to his knees, feet bare, and shirt tied around  his waist. He smiled a half crooked smile looking out over his handiwork as he chomped down on a fish stick. 

“You want me to show you how to really build a sandcastle?” The children were running around with buckets and small gardening shovels that they had repurposed. He was very good with kids, the sort of fun loving adult sized kid who would make a great father if he lived long enough to find the other half of his soul. “You got to wet the sand and pack it down like this.” 

They laughed with him as they started their grainy mission. It wasn’t long until Zak was covered in sand clinging to his damp skin. The children had abandoned their mission as soon as the night sky was out in full force. Parents were still weary of the darker natures mingling in and out of the crowds. 

“I know, I look terrible and sand is really a pain. It gets up into all my business.” He shook some from his pants with a wink. “Want to go for a swim later?”

The peals of her laughter mixed with the coastal melody floating on the night breeze. Sitting a safe distance away from the water where the race was in full swing, the blonde was surrounded by a group of toddlers most of whom were rolling into each other in fits of giggles. What had incited such a reaction? Well, the Keeper had volunteered to keep the young ones entertained while their parents enjoyed the festivities – it wasn’t everyday that they had the chance to unwind like that – and was telling them a story when one of the children made a comment that just threw all of them off track. One thing led to another and soon all of them were infected by the laughter bug.

He managed to spend a decent chunk of the night avoiding Father’s gaze. But it was an impossible task to undertake forever, and Rayyad didn’t want to be ignored forever. He was ignored forever as a general rule within the Court; not because they didn’t know how to respect a Prince of Blood but because they didn’t want their faces carved off and chewed for sport.

He approached his Father from behind, silent as the grave. Of course, he hadn’t gone all too silently to his first grave. He still remembered writhing and screaming underneath Wolfgang’s strong, masculine fingertips. It was in that moment that he fell in love for the first time. But Father wasn’t his to love. Father was Reginmund’s to love--and after his third attempt trying to kill his weaker older brother and being thrown in a pit for his troubles, Rayyad learned his lesson.

Slowly, the third-born of Wolfgang Arcturus, the Monster of the North, Rayyad wrapped his arms around Wolfgang’s waist from behind. He inhaled deeply; the smell of burning wood and salt was pungent on his Father. He rested his chin gently on Father’s shoulder, voice a hissed whisper in his ear.

“Stay at home, Rayyad, you’re better served in Court, Rayyad... I’ll show you... Rayyad...”

The words f his father, sire, and King haunted him like a ghostly echo, repeating in his mind over and over and over and over again until he thought he was literally going mad.

                 “Is it possible to go more mad than I already am?”                            “Of course it is. Where the fuck are they?”

It had taken some convincing--and a little spilled blood--for Rayyad to convince Fulke and Veeti to tell him exactly where his darling siblings and King were. He hated those wretched little boys. “This is why I only have daughters,” he hissed at them, before stepping on Veeti’s annoying little face and making his way to the direction of... Lake? G l a s s ?

Rayyad expected to find some backwater excuse for a Human celebration--a few candles, someone playing drums in a corner, and maybe shared food amongst all of the revelers. But what he found was so much more... exciting.

“Oh hello there g o r g e o u s !” He announced, immediately snatching a hand and dragging them with him towards the dozen or so people creating music with their cruse little instruments. The beautiful, supple skin of his dancing partner made him want to flay them alive and turn them into a drum just to commemorate the occasion--maybe later. Not just yet.

               “I think this is my new favorite tune!”