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Neighponese Gladiatorial Golems


Bellosh

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Neighponese Gladiatorial Golems - Winning is Their Dream

 

Inanimate forms made living; warriors of stone, fire, and water created to delight audiences with epic contests of strength. They are the Goremu, the famed gladiatorial golems of Neighpon. Although the product of centuries of experimentation and refinement by Neighpon's battlemages, gladiatorial golems are too impractical for use as weapons of war. Yet as weapons of entertainment, the Goremu are second to none.

 

The sport of Goremu battling is regulated by the Neighpon Goremu Commission, which sets guidelines for the creation of gladiatorial golems, assesses the battle-worthiness of said golems, and issues licenses to their handlers. According to NGC guidelines, permissible Goremu are created entirely out of substances found in nature (ie. no steel). Such beings can come in many shapes and sizes, from swift automatons crafted in the form of yokai to titanic masses of amorphous liquids or vapors. No golem combatant is allowed to equip weapons or armor that are not already part of its body. Because gladiatorial golems often exhibit the same amount of intelligence as non-sentient animals, kind handlers give Goremu the same care and regard that a pony would to animal companions.

 

What makes a Goremu (and smaller Neighponese automatons made solely for companionship) unique from all other conjured golems is its power core: an embedded, life-injecting thaumite crystal. The larger the crystal, the more power it generates... and the larger the golem must be to yield all that energy. Depending on which geological area a crystal grew and which magic enchantment a power core is imbued with, a golem will receive an enhancement to a certain attribute.  While thaumite gems are capable of slowly regenerating energy, a Goremu must be given time to recharge after expending large amounts of energy, or else it will shut down when drained of power.

 

An old proverb states that it takes a village to raise a child; the same can be said of the Goremu. Most prominent of a golem's handlers is its coach: the pony who trains it for battle, issues commands as necessary, and perhaps most importantly, shower it with affection. Although a Goremu's coach shares much of the glory of victory, there are other unsung crew members that must be acknowledged. Ponies like the one who repairs any damage a golem endures during a match, and the pony who focuses entirely on power core maintenance, along with their assistance. And of course, if a coach is not personally skilled in the magical arts, then somepony else would have designed the Goremu in the first place and granted it life.

 

Thanks to Neighpon's strong tradition of specialized schools, anypony with the heart to become a Goremu Master has the opportunity to enroll in an academy and gain experience through scholastic-level competitions (which are quite popular local affairs in their own right). Coaches and golemancers who earn success at the academies may then become licensed by the NGC and go pro, training their golems further to fight in tournaments all throughout Neighpon, Polyneighsia, and even Long Kong. Battlefield terrain varies wildly between tournaments, but all tourneys share the same basic rules: 10 rounds per bout — 3 minutes each — with a minute for the golem to recover between each round. The winner is chosen either by knock-out or judges' decision.


Most prestigious of all the Goremu competitions is the annual Tournament of Champions in Polohama. Each summer — on a clay battlefield within the Polohama Dome — fortunes are made and broken. Should a Goremu defeat all foes, it and its coach are awarded the title of Grand Champions, and instant stardom is all but guaranteed. As for the losers, there is always next year... as long as their sponsors don't out on them.....

 

~Gotta' Fight 'Em All: A Tourist's Guide to Goremu Battles 

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