Grat
Long ago there was an empire of humans that sits where the Gyndrin Kingdom now rests. In those days, the Emperor was cruel and swift to strike down those who spoke against him. Dissenters would be put in large prison camps and made to fight for the Emperor's and his loyal crowd's amusement. These contests usually were blood sports, but sometimes they were merely contests of violent skill.
Grat was one such contest. Developed when a jailor decided to not remove a pair of prisoners shackles and give them no weapons when they were ordered to fight to the death. For the onlookers, it was revolutionary, but for the fighters, it was life saving. The unique position of their hands when bound provided little power for death-dealing blows, which meant that eventually the crowd would tire of it and declare a winner. This had two outcomes for the whole affair. On one hand, the nobles would start taking lots on their favorite competitors. This meant that they had to stay alive, which led to better living conditions for the best Grat fighters. Eventually this practice became a sport in its own right, and even those not locked in the prisons walls would vie for a spot on the roster of any Grat league.
Today, Grat is a simple physical competition between two fighters. They wrap their fists in thin strips of canvas, a piece long enough to wrap both hands and leave a two foot section between them. It is a game of physical strength and tactics, as punching leaves you very open to attack. The winner is he who drops his opponent or makes them surrender.
Components and tools
- An arena, usually a round area, clean of debris
- Fist bindings, long enough to fully wrap each hand and extend 2 feet between the two
- 2 competitors with a willingness to feel pain.
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