The following is a journal entry from a famous gladiator after one of the most prominent gladiatorial battles of ancient Rome(est. 69AD), known only as Immortalis Proeliator, or “The Immortal Warrior”:

Monday, the twenty-seventh day of April:

Emperor Otho has just declared an empirical holiday for tomorrow, mainly due to his birthday and recent rise to the throne. Due to this fact, he has also announced a sudden battle between I and many of my companions and an unknown foe. Many citizens have began speaking of an unimaginably tenacious opponent; I must show now fear. Preparations are in order, and I pray to the Lord Jesus Christ I will live to see the rest of today’s glorious morn. May the fight be a relentless, yet successful encounter.

Tuesday, the twenty-eighth day of April:

We were standing there, behind the gates, unaware of what ferocious adversary was to follow, all we knew was that we must please the crowd, or face death. As the sweat ran down my brow, I gripped my spear, and hoped for the best. As we watched those bloody doors rise, the crowd cheering, we marched forward furiously,as if not a chance of failure. Located in a circle in the middle of the arena, we could do nothing more than listen to what the Emperor yelled.

“Abyssus vobis totus!”, he screached, “Nos recolligo hodie quaero maioribus inter vir quod bestia.”. Never have words been so intimidating. A certain stench of death was lingering in the breeze. The crowd cheered frantically, tens of thousands of them. I looked down towards the sand, I knew many men had died here in battle, I was convinced I would not become one of them. I glanced away in mild fear, only to gaze upon the large, rusted passage which held my competitor, possibly the most frightening experience of my life. The gates creaked open, to 4 ferocious beasts of which I have never seen.

Howling, they seemed to be starving, lurking for blood, our blood. Beasts which seemed to have not eaten in days, if not weeks, waiting to be unleashed into the bloodshed that was to come. “Habitum , proeliator! Ostendo haud misericordia!,” I shrieked, ready for the worst.

As the four-legged beasts dashed towards us, we clutched our spears and lunged forward. The first monstrosity darted, four men came to my side, holding shields forward, four men behind us pounced upward, stabbing the creature in various areas. Four wounds, yet it would not stop. Again, they lunged, as another monster ran towards us at an alarming rate. My friend, Lucius, appeared from the mist, slashing one beast in the leg, rendering it unable to fight, as I leaped and catapulted my spear towards its head, successfully. One down, three to go. Noting the first animal death, another was forced out. We must move faster, or confront our own death. As each man jumped, a stab was made, until one man slipped.