Zandiziite Games

Overview

An incredibly popular Unathi sports-game that dates back to the late 900’s. It is the most popular game and television series on both Ouerea and Moghes, and remains a shared cultural phenomenon.

History

The first organized game was sponsored by the Kres’ha’nor Hegemony around 980 CE to promote a shared cultural identity. The Games persisted after the fall of the First Hegemony, with various regional interpretations of the Zandiziite Games cropping up as a peaceful means of competing for prestige and honor. The Sarakus Hegemony standardized the rules of the Games and began hosting them once more, with representatives of non-Hegemony nations often arriving to compete in the spirit of the Games.

The games were suspended during the violence of the Contact War and only started up again in recent years.

Some Lords put so much of their wealth into the games that the arenas turn into elaborate sets where defeated Zandiziites could be knocked off a hanging suspension bridge within the arena and plunged into a pool of water. Or, alternatively, the floor is covered in spikes for the drama of it all that are revealed to be padded foam when the contestants fall off the arena onto them.

While sometimes intense and brutal affairs, the games are not meant to be lethal. Deaths have been a rare misfortune in the game’s history, but all contestants that die are buried with their mask with full honors.

The Wrestlers

Zandiziites hopefuls usually compete in local pre-game trials until the ultimate champion is chosen. This champion is then gifted a mask and sent to the city where that year’s game is being hosted. They then spend the entire month in pitched, 1v1 or group mixed martial arts matches. Tournaments typically include traditional wrestling matches in an open-air arena, fighting with padded melee weapons with familiar fencing rules on point scoring, or even pitting the Zandiziites against one another in an obstacle course with ranged weapons like bows and crossbows with non lethal ammo, or more recently, laser tag guns.

Because their identity revolves around their mask and the community they represent, Zandiziites are given pseudonyms. In the old days they were simply referred to by the name of their city such as “Zandiziite Skalamar”, but in recent decades with the onset of television broadcasts they’ve come to give themselves more attention-grabbing nick-names. Some notable contenders are Zandiziite ‘Battle-Thorn’ of Skalamar, ‘Bone-Snapper’ Kres’na’hor, and ‘The Flayer’ of Tzonia.

The Masks And Zandiziite Drama

The masks of Zandiziite are chosen by both themselves and their clan alongside representatives or designers that work (or have been contracted to work) for their respective regions; for example, a Zandiziite from Skalamar would both have say in the size and perhaps minor designs or patterns of their mask, but would have to submit this to an artist or guildsman being contracted by the Sirax clan, or perhaps the Overlord himself, before being gifted the mask. For more authoritative parts of Moghes or Ouerea, a Zandi might get no say at all in the mask they wear, save for size and size alone. The masks are often blessed by elders or Shamans of the Zandiziite's and/or the Lord's clan before being given to the Zandiziite to wear during competition. The design (and occasionally the colors, though this is rare) will vary between Zandiziites, between years, but typically stick to symbols or flags and emblems most utilized by a region, given that's what they're representing at the end of the day, and it would not be in the spirit of the Games themselves if they were to constantly change. Some masks are more animal-like in appearance, whereas others can be form-fitting; it is incredibly rare if not impossible to see unorthodox masks worn by existing, well-populated regions, and sudden shifts of color or shapes are frowned upon except in the most extreme of circumstances, such as the end of the Contact War inspiring the regions to take on new designs or reinforce old ones, or an unmasking leading to a complete reimagining by that region's guildsmen or lord.

Although the masks will always remain sacred, some Zandiziites from lesser-known or, on occasion, less respected regions will choose to modify their masks themselves. This can be seen as a noble goal or choice for the Zandi to make, interpreted as adding on to what they think their region is and by extent showing respect by continuing to give to it even when they have many-a fight ahead of them, or more often it is seen as offensive and tone-deaf, defeating the purpose of region masks at all if a competitor is just going to modify them and give them personal flair, leading to the disqualification or last-minute mask replacements of some Zandis. An "arc" of the 2460 Zandiziite Games involved a fighter from the Aut'akh Valley pressing their claw into their opponent's blood and smearing it on their mask as intimidation, with their last fight against a representative from Sahhat ending in their defeat, and the Zandi of Sahhat smearing the Aut'akh fighter's blood on their own mask. The Aut'akh Valley's representative is the only fighter to be renamed midway through the Games, from "Metal's Disciple" to "Rainbow-Thresher".

Unmasking remains one of the greatest insults and acts of dishonor to ever happen to a wrestler. Although media influencers have attempted to drown out unmasking instances, the Imas'hi and Darakath regions and their competitors have had lasting, and until recently, unsaid, hostilities towards one another after a Zandi of Darakath unmasked a Zandi of Imas'hi, leading to a short bout of skirmishes that would be interrupted by the Izweski after a year or so of nonstop sabotage. In recent years, there has been an influx of media coverage and dramatizations that lean into a burning rivalry between the two regions and their corresponding lord and lady-regent, with the burning question of whether or not the latest Imas'hi warrior will unmask a Darakath "usurper" but always ends in a normal match between the two, with no attempts at unmasking (none legitimately anyways--it's almost in good fun between the two competitors to "pretend" to attempt an unmasking, only to be thrown onto their back and have the position reversed).

Deaths in the Zandiziite Games remain extremely rare, owed to the nonlethal nature of the Games. Those who do lose their life are buried with full honors and respects paid to them, with a copy of their mask (or other item chosen to represent them) used in a "Hall of Fame" of sorts. A select few Zandiziites have claimed their weapon(s) of choice have been blessed (or, by Aut'akh fighters, inhabited) by a late Zandiziite, though can be shunned or frowned upon should they fail or otherwise be defeated in the Games, as it is seen as disrespectful and/or dishonest to the spirit they claim for their weapon. Similarly, if their opponent destroys or disables the weapon claimed to be imbued with spiritual essence, the opponent is considered dishonorable for daring to mishandle or otherwise demolish a powerful artifact. For this reason, claiming a soul inhabits or has blessed a weapon is considered a slippery slope (it can be used by cowards who wish to have their weapons untouched, after all) and must have a very good reason behind it. Successors of late Zandiziite are always permitted to claim their weapon has been blessed by the Zandi in question with no repercussions, and in those cases the destruction of the weapon is seen as a similar insult to unmasking.

The dramas associated with the Zandiziite Games in recent history of course still hold up, with plot-twists, betrayals, oaths, bonds, and the making or breaking of any of those things aiding in the entertainment of the Games and the soap operas outside of the tournaments. Common themes are bad versus good, traditional versus modern, alien versus native, and natural versus fantasy/supernatural, with plenty of similar narrative ideas to come and go. There has been word through the grapevine that the first Skrell competitor will lead to an influx of other Skrell Zandiziite, and birth a "magic versus technology" arc, but many have said this is incredibly unlikely, if for no other reason than Aut'akh competitors are rare and it would pit everyone else against the Skrell; it would be very hard to write and pull off effectively.

Xeno-Zandiziites

While there is an overwhelmingly large number of Sinta in the Games, the masks are what make the fighters, not necessarily the individuals behind them, and any race or species can compete in the Games if they are chosen to represent a given region or territory, with the exception of Diona gestalts and synthetics. The first recorded alien contestant was a human competitor hailing from Um'a'yid, a native Ouerean man of at first lanky, then hulking build known for having dropped the jaws of the native Moghes population when he threw a contestant onto their back within the first thirty seconds of the match starting, even going so far as to make it to the top ten before being defeated in the underwater competitions of Skalamar.

Xeno-Zandiziites can hypothetically come from any part of the Spur, though whether or not the Hegemon or the rest of Moghes will recognize it is a different story. Zandiziite Sol, or more correctly Zandiziite Earth was anticipated prior to the Contact War, but was very quickly shot down during and following it due to the questionable relationship the Hegemony held with Sol during and after the conflict. Similarly, the first Skrellian competitor was only recently announced to have passed the pre-trials, and Zandiziite Qerrbalak is set to premier in mid 2466, leaving long-time Zandi fans and competitors alike scratching their heads at what that year's narrative will be, and how the use of psionics will affect the Zandiziite Games.

The Empire of Dominia was an unlikely participant in the games, and nowadays makes a return every other year with Kazhkz-Han'san competitors (jokingly) proclaiming themselves as the "force that shalt strike the Hegemon's hope down once and for all," gene-boosted or gene-modded and steroid-enhanced individuals (humans and Unathi alike) reaching new heights (literally and figuratively) and always creating a narrative of evil and fascism, ironically enough. Every instance where they have been major participants within the greater Games, they are framed as "the bad guys" or an opposing force of some kind, their entrances to matches and sometimes the final bout being accompanied by beautiful, minor-key choir notes and orchestral hits. The Empire was the catalyst for the current ruling on steroids and genetic modifications, the many writers for the Games deciding there would be far better results if they were left as-is, making it all the more prevalent and stunning when a Zandi manages to beat them regardless of their mutations and substances.

The Vaurcae of the K'lax hive, recently subjects of the Hegemon, have also sent representatives. Most recently, Za'Akaix'Hoiy K'lax, of Vedhra's brood, is a seven-foot-tall Warrior with metal antennae and large amounts of prostheses, though its head remains entirely natural (save for its antennae of course). Zandiziite "Chiton-Carve" of Tret trains tirelessly on and off of Moghes, whilst pursuing work elsewhere or during its off time. Vaurcesian members of the Games are portrayed as strange, unorthodox, utterly alien, but ultimately endearing and worthy of praise, and have done great things for relations between Unathi and Vaurca.

A single Tajaran contestant has represented Adhomai since 2459. Almost every diehard fan of the Games criticized this player, a M'sai, and joked about his entrance every which way, ranging from simple mocking to even harassment—though once again the people were proven wrong, surprised when the M'sai leapt over barricades and obstacles in a match of laser tag at breakneck speed, securing several key wins as the holographic fire raged below. Zandiziite Adhomai has become a fan favorite, with the extra publicity and popularity exposing many traditional Sinta to the Tajara long before they would ever set foot in Biesel. Zandiziite Adhomai has gone on record to state, "It is an honor to participate in this lovely community of fighters so far from his home," and, "Please stop sending him fan mail, he does not have the space for it!"

Zandiziite Qerrbalak, the first Skrellian competitor chosen to represent the planet of Qerrbalak and by extent the Nralakk Federation, has only been confirmed via writing and very little is known about them. It is speculated they are a high-level psionic of great social standing and Xiiori ancestry.

Game Rules; Spoke and Unspoken

The Zandiziite Games are ultimately nonlethal and aim to be naught more than entertainment and honorable fighters and their corresponding fights at the end of the day, and even in competitions or tournaments where weapons are used, Zandiziite involved are aiming to disable and not kill their opponent. Some examples of activities used or hosted in the Games are:

• Boxing, wrestling, mixed martial arts, or other hand-to-hand sports
• Fencing, point sparring, and other point-based sports
• Point-based sports that place emphasis on skill or technique rather than points; think sword fighting, melee combat, and other sports, typically with foam or padded weapons
• Long-range sports rooted in hand-eye coordination, such as archery, harpooning, slingshots, and other affairs, always utilizing nonlethal ammo
• Other competitions that make use of individual or team-based dexterity, strength, or endurance, but never activities that do not involve direct interaction between Zandiziites

Region-specific games exist, such as underwater harpoon competitions taking place in Skalamar, to sky-high fights atop (a holographic rendition of) the Razir lighthouse that make use of longer poking weapons. A couple of universal games are: jiikun, or "towel flick", wherein a large belt of cloth is placed underneath two (or more) Zandiziites, with the goal being to push their opponent off of it, lift it, and use it to whip them, and tzehana, or "movement blind", where both Zandiziites wear blindfolds and ear protection, and their goal is to wrestle the other off multilevel platforms, all while not losing their own footing.

Some examples of conditions that can be applied to arenas by wealthy nobles, Lords, and sometimes the hosts of the Games themselves, provided they have enough funds:

• Changing the height of suspension cables or the suspended arena to extreme heights of several hundred feet (with nets or excessive padding disguised via holograph)
• Adding, removing, or changing the padding used on weapons, usually in excess to exaggerate the weapon used
• Large shows of special effects, hard-light holoweapons to allow for more variety in weapon choice, etc.
• Generally, modifying a sport or activity such that it is unique to the season of Games, but not so unique that it causes incoordination in Zandiziites or violates the permitted games and rules

The rules of the Zandiziite Games are as follows:

• Zandiziites must be masked at all times during the Games. To remove your mask is to dishonor not only yourself, but your clan, their surrounding clans, the region and community you represent, and their Lord. Those who are unmasked are considered to be irrevocably humiliated and their renown tarnished.
• Zandiziites may use any means necessary to ensure their victory, barring grave bodily harm and violation of any given game's rules. The Games are a nonlethal sport, and while blood can be encouraged on some fronts, it is not the goal of the Games.
• No women or fishers are permitted to fight. To compete, you must claim the identity of a warrior. Any reference to the contrary before, during, or after the Games is grounds for immediate disqualification.
• No Diona gestalts or synthetics. They make up a whole much greater than the sum of their parts; Dionae cannot claim to be one as many, and synthetics are not capable of fighting spirit, and can be modified in any way to suit the needs of their tasks in the Games. Diona nymphs as limb replacements are fine, but must not exceed two in number.
• The narratives and comradery made during and outside of the tournaments are just as important as the tournaments themselves; it would not be a community of fighters otherwise.
• Aut'akh followers must have their implants and limbs inspected by no less than three times a day by a competent machinist in order to ensure faithful and fair play. Steroids and other drugs are allowed, provided they are clearly stated in being used, but must be permitted by the region a Zandiziite is representing.

The unspoken rules of the Games are, in order of the above list:

• You must have a very good reason to unmask yourself or your opponent. It is permitted to do so once the Games have ended and you return to civilian life. It is considered honorable to unmask yourself or your opponent in the event of a life-threatening situation, no matter how unlikely the situation may be.
• Blood is fine, wounding is fine, maiming and torturing a competitor is not. The Games are not meant to be lethal. Do not dishonor yourself or your opponent in your victory--there is nothing in strength to be told about using underhanded fighting styles in a tournament or activity therein that does not deal in them.
• You may claim your spirit or fighting style to be male if and only if you are genuine in this claim. To rebuke this is to ask to be outcast from the Games and to be considered a pariah.
• Dionaea limbs are frowned upon. Synthetics are not allowed whatsoever, it is taboo to confide in one during the Games.
• Friendships, rivalries, and relationships are preferred over wordless fighting. Flame must recognize flame in order to properly attune with their fighting spirit; you cannot have a fight with less than two people. If you have a choice between winning and forwarding a story, forward a story for your future attempts and other Zandiziites, but never feel obligated to lose.
• Aut'akh followers with more than 60% of their body replaced are extremely frowned upon. Using drugs is fine so long as you do not rely on them.
• You are competing to represent your region and its community first, your clan second, and yourself third. It is considered selfish and disgusting to treat the Zandiziite Games as an individual affair to be undertaken by one person, especially if you act as though it is you and not your people that have allowed you to compete in the first place.