Kundehk

The greatest gladiator who ever lived.

Before skyships, before the Wildslayers, before the closure of the colosseum, there was one champion who reigned undefeated. His name was Kundehk and he was taller than any man, stronger than every man, and was only really alive while others were dying around him.

— Sarantuya, The Rise and Fall of the Colosseum

A Warrior is Born

Long ago, before the first Emperor of Bral, Temur Dodai, tamed a ketzlat, founded the Skyknights and united warring factions under a single banner, there was the colosseum. Located in the central region of what is now Bral, this place of violence and blood and death gathered fighters from far and wide to test their strength against each other for entertainment - and for profit.
No fighter reached such a streak of victories - or is as remembered by the histories - than one young man born high up in the mountains. He was unnaturally tall and unnaturally strong with the appetite to match and with the teeth of a predator. It would take the other children fifteen years to reach the size he did in five - they say his family became very poor trying to keep him fed. Little Kundehk was not very little for very long and by the time he was an adult he had left his home, his community of Mountainfolk, and found his way to the colosseum.

The Undisputed Champion

If the few records that remain from the pre-empire time in Bral - during the Time of Darkness - are to be believed, Kundehk ruled the colosseum for over a decade, his strength never faltering and his will stronger than the iron he held in his unshakable grip. No one is sure what he did with all his winnings but most say he sent it back to his family as thanks for raising him, though others say he spent it on less-than-virtuous things.
Should he have been born earlier, his reign could have continued longer but when the soon-to-be Emperor took control of the region, the arena was shuttered and the gladiators conscripted. For a few more glorious years, Kundehk fought on the front lines, his feet firmly in the dirt and the mud and the snow and never in the skies atop a ketzlat - should any have ever reached a size capable of carrying a giant.

If legends had no basis in reality he would still be fighting for the Empire now - centuries later - but the fate of all warriors is death.

— Sarantuya, The Rise and Fall of the Colosseum

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In-Progress Article

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Half-Man, Half-Bear

Some say that he was born of man and bear, that the horns on his helmet were actually truly his own, for in the mountains of Bral live the horned bears. These creatures are known for their fast charges and goring blows.
While clearly there is no way a human and a bear could have had a child there is another possibility. Some fae are known to have the qualities of animals and if one of them came into contact with a human, it could have resulted in the birth of a faekin with similar traits.

Unfair but not Unfun

While a few people got tired of seeing one person dominate the blood baths, most were happy to cheer for a winner - even when victory was assured.
The people running the colosseum tried to find others to rival the popularity of Kundehk but every one died a brutal death at the hands of the arena's true champion.
In the end, the organizers were satisfied with this, as long as people came to watch, they got what they wanted.

"For Kundehk unarmored did not mean unprepared."

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