Date: TC1853.10.01
Location: Imperial City — Fourth Ring Grand Arena
The Fourth Ring Grand Arena held one hundred thousand people, and every seat was full.
The colosseum's red stone walls rose in concentric tiers that climbed toward a sky streaked with morning clouds, golden accents catching the early light and throwing it back in lines that made the structure look like it was burning from within. Formation arrays hummed through every surface — structural reinforcement in the walls, crowd protection barriers shimmering at the arena's edge, recording crystals mounted on elevated platforms to broadcast the tournament across the Empire. Medical response stations positioned at each cardinal point, staffed by Guild healers who'd seen every injury combat could produce and maintained the professional calm of people who expected to use their skills frequently over the next seven days.
