Parched. Sandy. Harsh. The desert planet of Bara Magna is no place for the faint of heart. Glatorians battle to protect Agori villagers.
Once, Bara Magna was part of a larger world, until a terrible disaster split the planet into three segments. Bara Magna is the largest of these, with the other two now acting as moons to it. While many of the residents of Bara Magna are native to the region, others were trapped there when their homelands broke away.
Bara Magna is home to five major villages: Vulcanus, Iconox, Tesara, Tajun, and Roxtus. The wastelands in between them are home to the nomadic tribe of bone hunters, the beast-like Vorox and Zesk, numerous dangerous desert creatures, and other perils. Despite this, Agori traders and Glatorian fighters frequently travel across the sands for duty or for profit.
The villages of Bara Magna are scattered around the desert. Most consist of a single large structure which serves as a shelter for more crudely made dwellings and workplaces. Each village is home to a tribe of Agori whose name is based on the terrain of its home region (ice tribe, water tribe, jungle tribe, etc.) The villages are different sizes and have access to different resources, which means both trade and arguments over resources are common.
Glatorians are fighters, specifically fighters who battle on behalf of a village in return for food, shelter, equipment and other rewards. When two villages have a dispute, each sends a Glatorian to fight for them in an arena. The winning Glatorian earns for his villages the rights to whatever the dispute was about. For example, if Iconox and Tesara both claim an oasis, Gresh and Strakk might be sent to battle each other in a match. If Gresh won, Tesara would have ownership of that oasis. This system is designed to prevent wars from breaking out between the villages.
The Agori are the most populous species on Bara Magna. Where Glatorian specialize in fighting, Agori handle everything else the villages need to survive: farming, resource gathering, trade, equipment repair, healing, etc.
While every Agori is different, they do tend to have some qualities in common. Most are hard workers, because they have to be in this world. They adapt well to change. And they also tend to be pretty hard and cynical. Their world was damaged seemingly beyond repair 100,000 years ago and few believe things will ever get much better.
The largest and oldest arena on Bara Magna, the Arena Magna is also the only one that existed prior to the planet-wide disaster 100,000 years ago. Constructed by the Agori for sporting and civic events, it is now the site of the annual world-wide tournament of Glatorian.
The Arena Magna is located in the “free city” of Atero. During the chaos that preceded and followed the disaster, Atero was declared an area off-limits to any raids or invasions. As such, it became a symbol of the peace everyone hoped for someday, but had largely given up on ever thinking would come. Although its status is largely a thing of the past – bone hunters have no hesitation to strike at or around Atero, for example – it remains an important place in the hearts of Agori.