Selucia holds the first gladiator tournamentJuly 5472Princeps Maximianus has decided to hold a gladiator tournament with the purpose of celebrating Selucian prosperity and distracting people from the ongoing international conflicts, particularly the war between Lourenne and Beiteynu that has been worrying Selucians. Maximianus has assured the people that Selucia will stay neutral, despite the friendship between our nation and Beiteynu.
As for the gladiator tournament, 16 volunteers will be recruited as gladiators who will compete against each other in pairs using traditional ancient equipment and tactics. People will be able to bet for the winner of each pair, as well as the winner of the tournament, and earn a small sum of money as a reward. The gladiators will receive a wage similar to that of Legionaries for as long as they participate in the tournament, and if they win (be it in one of the rounds or the tournament overall) they will receive an additional pay, as well as the privilege of being recruited into the Legion if they desire, automatically as Accensi or, in the case of tournament winners, Milites. There will be several fights in several days and months. Round one will consist of eight fiths of two gladiators against each other. The winners of each pair will proceed to round two, which will consist of four fights. Round one will proceed in 2 different days: groups one to four will fight one day, groups five to eight another one. Round two will proceed the same day. The winners of each group of round two will proceed to round three, which will be held some months later to let gladiators rest and prepare. Round three will consist of two fights between two pairs. The winner of each pair will fight each other in round 4 the day after. The winner of round four will be declared winner of the tournament.
A few rules have been added: first and most importantly, killing is forbidden and any death, intentional or not, will result in a disqualification of the opponent who caused the death and will be replaced by a reserve volunteer. However, while it is discouraged, causing serious injuries is not forbidden and any volunteer should be aware of the consequences and risks of this event. Gladiators are allowed to present their own weapons, but they must be approved by the organisation first. No modern equipment must be used. In order to be accepted as a gladiator, one must also prove to be in the proper physical and mental conditions to participate in such an event, for the sake of everyone's safety and ensuring entertainment and a fair competition. Finally, once you're in, you cannot retire unless it is justified to do so - one should not participate if they think they can't endure it or last the entirety of it.
The Princeps has announced that the period of recruiting gladiators has already started and people are free to present themselves as volunteers. Once every gladiator is selected, an announcement will be made announcing them and the day in which the tournament will start. Anyone will be free to assist the amphitheatre in person, although they have to reserve an entry for a fair price due to lack of enough space to accommodate large amounts of people. However, for those who can't assist in person, the whole tournament will be recorded live to let people watch it from their homes, including people from foreign nations who might be interested in watching it.