The arena sprawled vast and majestic under the midday sun, a colossal coliseum carved from ancient white marble veined with gold, its tiered stands rising in steep semicircles that seated thousands of nobles in opulent velvet-draped boxes adorned with fluttering silk banners emblazoned with house crests—golden lions, silver serpents, crimson roses swaying in the breeze.
Towering stone pillars etched with victorious battle scenes flanked the sandy pit below, where fresh ochre earth had been raked smooth, glinting with embedded quartz that sparkled like scattered stars.
Braziers of scented incense burned at each corner, wafting jasmine and myrrh to mask the faint undercurrent of old blood and sweat, while enchanted awnings of shimmering blue gossamer shielded the elite from glare, their murmurs buzzing like a hive as they clutched jewelled goblets, eyes hungry for spectacle.
