The Queens first King, Clement De Raine over 800 years ago, saw children at court screaming hysterically over two spiders fighting for a piece of bark. He became so fascinated by the ensuing battle that he devised a game consisting of a box, one segment of bark and two spiders (nowadays called Ganay spiders).
History of Battle Balt
Excerpts taken from Spiders to Balters, Gertrus Rosine, 3rd edition.
It is said art often imitates life or vice versa, depending on your perspective. And with this in mind, Battle Balt came about as a back and forward battle between the Imperials two big powerhouses; the King and Queen.
Each spitting at each other trying to gain supremacy over the direction and rules of a contest that first began with two spiders.
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World of Lendor
Age of Raine
2 AP 150 AP
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2 AP
18 AP
Age of Raine - Dawn Period
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18 AP
66 AP
Age of Raine - Sunrise Period
Soon all footers were kicking the balt and its popularity increased. During a particularly tense game in 18AP, a Lord’s storm arrived, flinging hundreds of tree branches into the arena. The game was at a critical junction, and even though the players were too exhausted to raise their legs to kick the ball neither would give up. One of them picked up a hefty branch and summoned their remaining energy to smash the ball. It flew past the desperate dive of the losing footer to win the game. By total accident, a new evolution had occurred, footers became batters, and specialized weapons were adopted to perform the best shots possible. The game evolved over the next years as the king kept introducing new more advanced bats until three were settled on. The game finally gained a semblance of stability and popularity further increased.
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66 AP
96 AP
Age of Raine - Light Period
In 66AP, a physically imposing but technically limited batter, who had become frustrated at always losing, decided to break the rules by leaving his goal-zone and smash his opponent over the head with his bat. The first-ever knock-out. Instead of criticizing the ruthless batter, the crowd went wild. From this moment onwards, the public knew what they wanted. A game of skill, yes, but most importantly, blood and violence. It soon became apparent that technical ability had been overrated as games turned into on-pitch wars. Competitors ignored the ball preferring to just smash each other over the head until only one remained. Over the next thirty years the death toll mounted. Something had to change.
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96 AP
Age of Raine - Sunset Period
For the second time, the Queen stepped in, saying the ball must be used. It was a sport, not a death bout. Coincidentally, she had also been going through a circle phase at that point, finding them far more aesthetically pleasing than squares or triangles and so changed the arena to have curved edges, naming it Sphere-ball. The following years the public often voiced their displeasure by going to the arena with the sole purpose of invading the spherical arena with mouldy food.
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125 AP
150 AP
Age of Raine - Twilight Period
King Clement De Raine saw fan numbers dwindling and his beloved game disappearing into obscurity so countered with a new ball that contained a metal core. This weightier and far more dangerous replacement combined with more powerful bats compensated for the lack of danger the Queen had introduced. The king had no intention of letting her Majesty ruin the contest he had painstakingly evolved over the last century. The royal spitting match was now in full swing, every time the Queen set a new law to stop the sport evolving into barbarism, the king would counter with a new one that would continue the blood tradition that the Imperials loved. 150AP - The Queen finally ran out of patience when her favourite personal “male-helper” died in a match. Shortly after, King De Raine also succumbed to the light; some rumours say not coincidently.
Age of Filloch
150 AP 332 AP
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151 AP
160 AP
Age of Filloch - Dawn Period
When the new king, Augustine Filloch was crowned, Her Majesty warned him not to continue the path of the dead King Clement. The game at that point was known as Balt and Blade, and that was supposed to be its final stage of evolution. King Filloch heeded his Queen’s words for a few years, but the clamour from the people for the sport to go back to its bloody roots and a rectangular arena forced him to act.
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160 AP
182 AP
Age of Filloch - Sunrise Period
Filloch risked the Queen’s wrath by, once again, changing the game. It went through several minor alterations with his primary purpose to increase blood content per match - subtle changes he hoped the Queen wouldn’t notice. His most popular additions were the Pillars of Filloch introduced in 176AP and in 179AP a return to the old days of a rectangular arena but now with the noticeable upgrade of thicker, stronger walls allowing for a true and consistent rebound shot.
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182 AP
Age of Filloch - Light Period
New amendments continued for a couple more decades and then Filloch pushed his luck when he allowed a match to go ahead using Sorce powers. The match conclusion was a horrific affair with the loser’s body being splattered in a hundred pieces all over the arena floor. Despite the shocking nature of the contest people returned in their masses to see the next match. The Queen realized what was happening and demanded no more rule changes and no increase in blood. She compromised with the king allowing all his current rule changes to remain but banned Sorce’s from the Arena.
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200 AP
Age of Filloch - Sunset Period
To celebrate the Queen’s 200th anniversary as Imperial Guardian she offered a reward to any warrior who proved themselves worthy in the arena. The champion would receive the pure essence weapon Victorino Ten; The very blade the Queen had used in her glorious battles to become the Guardian. The interest it created in Battle Balt meant every seat was occupied during any major contest. -
325 AP
Age of Filloch - Twilight Period
King Filloch’s proudest moment (or, so he claimed in his memoirs) came when he modified the Balt’s construction into one made of an unbreakable viram layer and a pure essence core. The resulting effect gave the projectile a powerful natural gyroscope with the ability to hover at waist height. This iconic design changed the dynamics of how Battle Balt should be played turning it into a faster, more tactical game yet delivering danger with every blade swing. Balters came to respect the balt for one wrong move could signal a painful injury. The bloody menace was born. The new balts success paved the way for King Filloch's final masterpiece: The triple-way balt launcher created in 326AP.
Age of Durek
332 AP 499 AP
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333 AP
399 AP
Age of Durek - Dawn Period
King Durek (The Tinkerer King) began the early years of his reign making micro-improvements to Battle Balt - He believed the sport had been through too many changes with the previous kings and so didn't want to dramatically alter what wasn't broken. He setup unions to protect the balters and introduced more rules to improve safety. Fans worried he was sanitising the brutality of their sport and simply following the Queen's orders. To allay these fears Durek worked with baltsmiths to improve blade technology to create deadlier balter weapons. This, combined with minor developmental changes to increase the balts aerodynamics, meant the latest iteration of the bloody menace was the deadliest yet. -
400 AP
Age of Durek - Sunrise Period
At the beginning of the 5th century, the church became worried at their dwindling attendance numbers. Durek's steps to improve Battle Balt popularity had proved more successful than he had expected. A new cultural phenomenon surfaced - The balter celebrity. Imperials were now placing greater significance on watching their favourite Battle Balt combatants than praying to the White Lord. The Church needed to stop this development and prepared for a fight. -
417 AP
King Durek - Light Period
The White Lord statues appearance in Battle Balt arenas throughout Tenglan reminded Imperials the importance of the White Lord and Church numbers rose.The positive effects Battle Balt was having on Church attendance and people's attitudes convinced the Queen now was the time to strengthen this connection. In discussion with Durek they agreed she should use one of her sacred Divines to place inside the Royal Stadium in Imperias City. -
475 AP
King Durek - Sunset Period
Years later, Durek and the Church collaborated for the final time with the introduction of the Beam of Taint. By 480, every Tenglan arena had a beam of taint fitted costing significant essence coins to both Church and Crown. But it was justified as attendance figures for both organisations reached unprecedented numbers. Battle Balt would forever be intrinsically linked to the White Church and their God of Light.
Age of Trevestus
499 AP 693 AP
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500 AP
670 AP
Age of Trevestus - Dawn Period
King Blake Trevestus had little interest in Battle Balt and focused his attention on Tenglan’s Trade, Industry and Architecture. Balter historians consequently awarded his era only two significant periods. The first of which related to the Queen who continued tweaking the game to protect its combatants. Her changes, although subtle, helped create a faster more athletic game, but she had learnt her lessons from previous public backlashes and so avoided reducing the violence.
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670 AP
693 AP
Age of Trevestus - Twilight Period
Battle Balt’s popularity increased but Trevestus’s lack of interest meant he never captured the hearts of the public. Over time the frustrations of this built up until he realized to create a true lasting legacy, he needed to do something for Battle Balt that he hoped would be remembered throughout the ages.
Age of Tireste
693 AP 818 AP
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694 AP
716 AP
Age of Tireste - Dawn Period
King Cranough Tireste the 5th King was the first and still only king that ever entered the arena as a balter. His violent contests endeared him to the people and his era was arguably more influential on the development of Battle Balt than King Filloch. As Tireste approached his 45th name day he became more daring in the Arena and the Queen fearing for his safety introduced a decree banning all Royal members from entering the arena. As compensation for upsetting her husband she allowed Tireste leeway to adopt some of his evolutionary ideas to develop the game.
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716 AP
720 AP
Age of Tireste - Sunrise Period
Tireste's first idea came in 716AP when he introduced the Tacticians box which allowed a balters trainer to give strategic advice to his balter during a match. This allowed the king to be a tactician for his favourite balters, and, of course, they couldn’t refuse. 717AP; his second rule created a renaissance in battle balt – He reintroduced Sorce powers to the arena but with the condition balters didn't taint their light by trying to kill their opponent. The Queen was furious but when given the choice between him returning to the arena or allowing Sorce powers she relented and accepted the blessed into the Tremena.
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720 AP
740 AP
Age of Tireste - Light Period
A momentous change: Tireste's next great venture was his attempt to introduce the other major races to Battle Balt. The church funded his dangerous and costly trips to explain the game to the Fein in the Eristy region and the Riktus in the Stexus mountain range of Grask. In return the church made a deal with Tireste to receive a 15% share in whatever venture the king setup. -
740 AP
807 AP
Age of Tireste - Sunset Period
To counter the extreme powers on display in the arena, the ARL committee agreed to introduce a power glove that would help limit the power of Sorce projected balts and provide much needed protection from the blessed powers of Light. It proved a huge hit with the rabs as matches now lasted longer and balters didn't suffer career ending injuries after only a few matches. One year later the Queen accepted the glove's inclusion to the Imperial Balt League. However, this proved unpopular as the Imperial league was already seen as too safe. Adding power gloves with their shield abilities and balt-slowing abilities further watered down the blood content.
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807 AP
818 AP
Age of Tireste - Twilight Period
After Soul Stealer's domination in the arena leaving a trail of damaged bodies in both the IBL and ARL, the Queen banned Sorces in the Imperial Balt League. She threatened to replace Tireste as King if he didn’t convince the ARL committee to stop Sorce’s in their league. He refused for it was her own law that said only an Imperial who defeated Tireste in a duel could replace him. And there was nobody alive mad enough to challenge Tireste's remarkable Sorce ability. The Queen was forced to speak with the Church and used her status as The White Lord's chosen Guardian to convince them that Sorce’s were an unholy power for the Arena.
Age of Ganay
819 AP and beyond
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819 AP
Age of Ganay
The Queen took the shocking step of banning Imperial women from entering the arena with no reason given. Many people believed it was the new king Johan Ganay’s idea for they couldn't accept their beloved Queen could create a rule of such inequality. This, along with the Sorce ban, convinced people that Battle Balt's death approached. But the shrewd King Ganay, had insider knowledge telling him the church were currently facing financial difficulties. He knew the Church's position would weaken the longer they kept losing money, so he waited a couple of years before striking in his bold attempt to save Battle Balt. -
841 AP
841 And beyond
Cravus Durone, the current IBL chairmen, has vowed to change the dwindling attendance numbers with grand plans to revolutionize his League. The drama of Battle Balt continues both on and off the pitch and will be fascinating to see what Cravus has planned for the IBL as well as the future direction of the All-Race League. King Johan Ganay will be hard pushed to create a balting legacy that surpasses his predecessors of Filloch and Tireste but bringing back Sorces has set him towards that goal. He seems to be a man willing to do what the late King Tireste couldn't - Stand up to the Queen.
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