The gnome-driven charter bus that transported the Team Arena Squad of Hardires High rode into the idyllic port town of Gungannon. Once there, they headed directly for the Gungannon Sporting Complex, a cutting-edge outdoor arena where the squad would do battle against the team of Gungannon Primary.

When they reached the street where they were to be dropped off, a rather unwelcoming sight greeted them. Hordes of Gungannon citizens were present, waiting for the away team to make their arrival. Before the bus was even in full view, the Gungannonites hurled jeers toward the student-gladiators inside.

Because of their success, most cities despised the Hardires team, and desperately wanted to see them lose. The opposing fanbase of every city would do all they could to ensure that it was their team to be the ones that defeated the undefeated. The hostilities that day were only amplified due to Gungannon’s team being undefeated themselves, which made Hardires High their ultimate rivals of the season.

Before the bus could park, people began throwing a volley of random objects at the Hardires teams’ transport. Its sides were bombarded by cabbages, old stinky shoes, rotted fruit, balloons filled with urine, and all sorts of unpleasant junk that knocked against the windows.

Unfortunately for Arcanus, he carelessly left his window wide open when the bombardment started. Before he had a chance to close it, a urine-filled balloon came sailing through the air at great speed and struck him right in the face. It exploded upon contact and left him soaked and with a strong smell of pee. Fenrick laughed for a minute straight at his teammate’s misfortune; Caleo tried his absolute best not to laugh, but couldn’t help silently laughing into his arm in order to get it out of his system.

Finally, the bus was parked outside the sporting complex. Venue security surrounded the bus door, needing to protect the gladiators from the hometown fans that were eager to give the opposing team an earful.

As the doors to the bus swung open, Caleo stepped out and gave a sarcastic salute to the crowd. The horde of Gungannonites erupted in boos. Caleo managed to cancel out the incessant rabble in front of him and breathed in a huge gulp of the coastal air.

Despite the harsh welcome, he always loved going to Gungannon. It was one of the only consistent stops on their road schedule that was near the sea. Looking out at the deep green waters made him think of his heritage.

He came from a long line of pirate descendants that terrorized the seas surrounding the continent and well beyond. The most famous of his ancestors was Nathaniel Pyrateson, who, according to the history books, was a tyrannical but charismatic pirate from Cardiax. He was one of the most successful pirates in history; captain of an immense ship called the Trove Taker with over fifty crew members. Rival pirates and the royal navy were relentless in the pursuit of the Trove Taker, but it never sunk, and once Nathaniel retired, the ship retired along with him.

Eventually, the Golden Age of Piracy, which Nathaniel Pyrateson was synonymous with, died out. Many pirates still sailed the seas in the years after, but some—including Nathaniel’s descendants, who were also Caleo’s ancestors—moved inland. They decided to get into other forms of lowlife thievery such as law or politics. Caleo’s own father was a lawyer at the highly successful firm: Hardwood, Harderwood and Pyrateson.

His first name, Piers (Caleo was his middle name, but his parents had called him Caleo since he was a baby) was named after one of Nathaniel Pyrateson’s arch-enemies: Piers “Lost Me Boots” Poots, named so because he was always seen barefoot, even in battle. He was an infamous pirate that was also Nathaniel Pyrateson’s greatest rival. The Trove Taker and Poots’ ship, the Siren Shocker, met in a battle that ultimately ended in a stalemate. To settle the score, Poots and Pyrateson decided to meet at the island called Gator Mouth, where they had a duel that went down in the history books. In the end, Nathaniel killed Poots and took the Siren Shocker as his second ship.

There was a unique code of honor among pirates where they named their descendants after renowned pirates they had killed in battle. Though the pirate age had long since died out, some traditions, such as that one, were kept alive. Many stereotypes about piracy were indeed true, like how pirates were savage and cutthroat and lived to steal, but they still had their own peculiar ways of showing respect. Caleo had extensively studied the turbulent age of piracy, and felt a sense of pride for being named after 2 infamous, yet legendary, masters of the sea.

After taking a deep breath of the salty coastal air, Caleo hopped off the bus and made his way towards the entrance of the arena. The security on the premises held the Gungannonites back as Caleo walked down the aisle of humanity. “Don’t any of you dare touch my hair!” He said as a few arms tried reaching out to grab at him.

Fenrick was the second one to get off the bus. He typically enjoyed jaw-jacking with the opposing fans as it was a way to let out the ever-present anger he had within. He took his time and lingered near the bus, unabashed at stooping down to their level.

“Keep running your mouths ya morons,” he instigated them. “You all just mad cause your town smells like a kraken crawled out of the sea and took a huge dump all over it!” Fenrick had zero problems returning the middle fingers that were given to him in abundance. “I’m gonna make you all pay for the wasted food and piss balloons. It’s gonna be great seeing you all cry like little bitches when we kick your team right in the nuts!”

Fenrick effortlessly managed to work up the crowd even more. One Gungannonite got so fired up that he slipped past security and charged at Fenrick. Luckily, an elite security member spotted him in time and tackled him to the ground. The scene quickly went into disarray, with security urging Fenrick and the rest of the Hardires High staff to get to their locker room immediately. He did so as a group of security escorted him, laughing the entire way.

Zeratron ignored the rabblers once he became the prime target. He almost made it to the entrance, but then took notice of something he couldn’t possibly ignore. He shoved his way through the raucous crowd and snatched away a sign that said “BEHEMOTH BURGERS TASTE LIKE HOT GARBAGE” and tore it up in little pieces. Arcanus—head and shoulders wrapped in towels—had to be assisted off the bus by staff members and guided into the Sporting Complex.

Thankfully, they all made it in without further incident. They were all booed into the building, and it was certain that they’d be booed during their match, and afterwards booed out of the building when they departed back home.

It was like that for every road match the Hardires High TAS had to undertake over the past couple years. However, the passionate crowds and fervent followings were a common sight that started well before their time…

There had been no large-scale war in Dubion for over two centuries. Though tensions had been raised significantly (mainly with the elves) and the times more turbulent than decades past, the continent still enjoyed a mass age of peace.

It was never publicly admitted, but the masses still craved some form of violence and conflict amidst their prolonged tranquility. Due to that, the popularity of gladiatorial sports shot up to heights never seen before in any sport. Injuries were very common during matches—sometimes very serious—but there were always certified healers on scene to immediately tend to the wounded once the contest was over. Whenever a match reached its conclusion, the participants almost always were able to walk out under their own power.

There were three stages of gladiatorial arena combat: High School, Collegiate, and Professional, and each stage had massive followings. Every stage had the same three different types of combat: singles, duos, and squads. And each combat type had both a male and female division. In High School, there is a team for every grade (4 single combatants, 4 duos teams, and 4 squad teams in total for every school). In some ways, the High School Arena Conference was more popular than collegiate or even professional. It was where people got their first look at stars in the making. University scouting agents are constantly glued to every match that happens in order to find the next fighting prodigy. Over the past three years, the Team Arena Squad of Hardires had caught the attention of the entire continent.

Other sports, such as baseball and football (soccer), enjoyed some popularity, but all paled in comparison to the sheer glory of the arena. It is there that Caleo, Fenrick, Arcanus, and Zeratron will try to cement their legacies—all they have to do is get through Ziggy and company.

After a most hostile welcome to Gungannon, our heroes make their final preparations before the big fight. They need to get into the right mindset before stepping into the arena in front of thousands of people who will be cheering for them to lose. What can Captain Caleo do to get his team ready for the challenge? Find out next time on Clubs and Stubs!