The introductory seminar complete, the assorted entrants were directed towards the rooms in which they would prepare for the tests which would determine their potential in the arena. As each entered the corridor they found themselves examined by a woman of middling age, tall enough to look all but the tallest of men in the eye, with golden blonde hair reaching half way down her back. As they pass by she peers at them through spectacles which seem to be more liquid than solid, an intensity in her piercing blue eyes indicating deep consideration, though she says nothing to most except to hurry them along to their rooms. As Julius passes by, though, she places a hand on his shoulder and indicates for him to wait beside her while she examines the remaining combatants.
Julius
Once the others have passed the woman takes hold of Julius's wrist and starts towards the end of the corridor, examining his fingers as she walks, almost pulling him with her, "You, young man, have potential. Of course all have their talents, some even I cannot read, but you are the one who I can teach. Your hands seem frail, we will need to work on that if you are to have any hope, unless you can paint with your feet." Releasing her grasp on his wrist she pushes open the final door, ushering him inside. The room is surprisingly large, almost large enough to have been used as a dormitory, but no beds are present. Instead, on one wall stands a rack of leather armour, and beside it a pile of metal plates, presumably the armour mentioned by the man who greeted them, all with small squares on the surface, though they give the feel of lacking something. Opposite the armour hang weapons of many kinds, varying from daggers, to swords, to great clubs which could hardly be called a weapon, along with several bows, crossbows, and weighted knives, all with the same small square marking, giving the same feeling of incompletion. In the middle of the room, apart from all the rest, stands a small rectangular table, on side lined with a brush and ink, a chisel and hammer, and a peculiar blade which looks to be used for carving. Closing the door behind them, the woman addresses Julius, "Tell me, boy, what do you know of enchantment?"
Ollrith
As Ollrith enters a room, he finds himself facing a young girl, who looks to be no more than ten years of age, twirling a knife between her fingers with the skill of a trained performer. As he takes note of her she halts the blade and flicks her jet black hair out of her eyes with her free hand, shooting him a grin before speaking, "So you're one of the new fighters? I lucked out this time! The last person I was in charge of ran home crying after the first test, but you look like you can handle yourself. That's good, half the work for you newbies is putting yourself back together after you get all cut up. I'm Allisandra, and I'll be in charge of monitoring your test fights. You can call me Allie, if you make it through your first test. Now, your introduction to your equipment. On this side of the room, as you will see, is your armour," as she says this she points her knife toward the left side of the room where a stand holds a leather vest, with straps hanging below to provide some cover of the upper legs, and beside is a pile of metal plates. "If you look closely you can see the runes painted on all the bits and pieces. I won't go into the details until I know I'm not wasting my time, but you'll need to wear the leather vest, over your clothes is fine, and you can attach the metal to that. Just line up the hand mark on the metal with that on the leather and the enchantments will hold it there. To take it off, get a firm grasp of the plate with both hands, twist it, and pull it off. Both hands, mind you. Last person who tried with one got his fingers crushed when the plate snapped back into place. Anyway, on your right," again she indicates with her knife, "Is your selection of weapons." And a selection it is, with half the wall covered, "Now you'll probably notice that there are a lot of weapons of the same type. That's to account for different enchantments. Some people prefer to make their weapons heavier so they hit harder, some prefer to make them lighter, one of our top guys has a sword that sets things on fire. So, we accommodate where we can. For your first test, though, stick with a regular weapon or two. No handling fancy weaponry until we decide you can, so you don't lop off your own arm. You can choose what type of weapon you want, but you'll probably want to decide that based on what you're fighting. And that's the last thing I need to tell you, your opponent. Today, you're going to be set up against what the science farts call a Carionite. I call them blood packs. They're agile and a little hard to hit, but they're pretty squishy, and their bite isn't that bad. They do have a knack for drinking the blood out of living targets, though, and will only get ugly if you let that throw you off, but their real strength is when they're in a group. We're only putting you against one, so you should be fine. Now, suit up, decide on a weapon. I've been talking for long enough, let's see some blood!"
Loki
Upon choosing his room, Loki is greeted by an old man, his silvery hair only starting to thin. Not looking up from the sword he is examining, her grunts and gives brief directions, sending a shiver down Loki's spine "You a fighter? Armour on the left, connect runes hand to hand to attach plates to leather, twist and pull with both hands to take 'em off. Weapons on the right, take yer pick, but no enchantments for now. Ye'r goin' to be fighting two Rottina. Slow fat vermin things. Bite makes you sick, but the crush under the boot easy enough. Easy to handle if you can dance."
Korga
The first thing in the room to catch Korga's attention is a young man lounging in a soft chair, half way across the room, staring daggers at her over the edge of the book he holds, "If you're interrupting my reading, that means you're a new recruit. Nobody could be foolish enough to do so otherwise. Well, there's no helping it for those who are uninformed, and I suppose you're not too hard on the eyes, either. Well, let's handle this quickly so I can get back to it. On your left you will see a set of armour. You are required to wear that into battle, at the least. If you want to add more, you take a couple of those metal plates and stick them to the leather. Line up the hand symbols and you'll have no trouble. To take them off, grip with both hands, twist it either way, there was too much confusion when the direction was specific, and try to tear the plate away while you twist. Even following that procedure it isn't easy, but if you don't it's impossible. As for weapons, you can have your selection of any two weapons which are not enscribed with a rune, that means the ones closest to the door. If you try to take one with a rune I'll send you out there unarmed. Now, sorry to drop this on you, but since this whole arena is to show off, our new contestants get some variety in the tests, and you're an unfortunate one. You're going to have to work with one of your fellow recruits to take on a Felid. They can be extremely dangerous in a solo fight, which is why we're putting two of you against it, and I'll be there to handle things if the fight gets out of control, don't you worry. Now, the thing is fast, it'll step out of the way of most attacks, and it'll lay a real beating into you with the front paws, lots of hits that don't seem much, but they add up. They're used to picking off prey from stealth, so their hide isn't too thick. Now, the tail, that's the real problem. Let that thing nick you and the venom will be right in there. You may not notice at first, but it will wear you down fairly quickly. That's another reason I'm watching over your fight, to stop the toxins if it becomes necessary. Can't have anybody being killed. Now, get geared up, and don't distract me unless it's important or you want to admire my handsome features." With that, he lifts his book to block view of his face and settles deep into the chair.
Eavus
Entering his own room, Eavus is greeted with the sight of the same man who had provided the earlier introduction, but there seems to be some slight difference in the way he holds himself, "Of course somebody just had to choose my room. More work, great. I'm sure my brother gave you a good introduction? Well, armour's on your left, line up the hand on the metal with the leather if you want more layers of protection. You are to use one or two simple weapons in this first fight, no enchantments, that way we can properly assess your skill. You're going to be working with one of your fellows to fight a Felid. It'll be hard to hit if you're too slow, and it will try to lay a lot of hits into you whenever it gets the chance. Get stabbed by the tail, though, and it's over, so make sure you can dive out of the way and get on your feet quickly. Step to it, hup hup."
Risu
Risu's room is occupied by a young boy, surely no older than herself, staring into space, though as the door clicks shut he jumps slightly and his attention snaps to her, "Boy, you don't look like you're meant to be here. But if you're here then you are! I'm meant to tell you how things will work. We've got some armour on the left side of the room, it's going to seem pretty big, but we can adjust the length for you, and on the right are your weapons. You don't get any enchanted weapons yet. If you want to put on metal with your armour, you have to stick the hands together, then you twist and pull to take them off. I think the metal's too heavy to be worth it most of the time though. As for your test, that will be easy! You're gonna be fighting my pet, Monty! Monty the mountain! You don't have to worry, he doesn't like hurting people, so you mostly just have to not get stepped on accidentally, and his skin's harder than our walls, so there's no way you'll hurt him bad with a normal weapon. Have fun!"