Although technically not a class of gladiator, the Venator is a specialized public fighter who fought in the Coliseum against wild animals. Armed with a spear and a net, the Venator engaged in combat with exotic animals such as bears, lions, and elephants. Assisted by a bestiarius gladiator who carried a whip, the Venator was one of the more specialized fighters to grace the Coliseum; it is estimated that over 9,000 animals were killed by Venator gladiators.
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Battle vs. Short-faced Bear (by El Alamein)
The sun shines brightly on the sand of the arena, blazing hot onto the shoulders of the two gladiators who step confidently out into public view. The crowd roars its approval of the champions, a defeaning boom that continues for minutes as the venators raise their weapons high in the air. The Coliseum's fighting pit is littered with the corpses of fallen fighters, and the venatio is a welcome respite from the man-on-man slugfests. Rumors have spread of a new, wild beast unheard of for centuries, captured and brought to the games to thrill and shock the Roman citizens.
A massive iron gate is slowly raised and from the shadows of the chambers within, a massive hairy form slides forth, limp, chained, and defeated. The Giant Short-Faced Bear squints and struggles to its feet as the harsh light and raucous crowd assault its senses, but it is still stunned from its "sedation" at the hands of its captors. The chains are released and the animal escorts dash back to the safety of the gate, which is quickly lowered and slams shut with a clang. The venator nods to the bestiarius and the two circle the bear, sizing up their impressively-sized foe. The bestiarius raises his whip and slaps it across the bear's face, to the approval of the crowd. Backing up, the bestiarius drops his whip and raises his spear at an angle, nodding to the venator. They've rehearsed this show tens of times - the thrill of the hunt is gone, and the fights are now boring routine.
The venator circles the bear clockwise while the bestiarius does so in the opposite direction. The GSFB is recovering from its concussion, though, and quickly, too. It lets out a confused growl, too low to break throught the crowd. Retreating into the wall of the circular arena, it finds itself closer to the noise and even more frightened, so it stands up on its hind legs (still unable to reach the spectating area) and roars, to the thrill of the public. The bestiarius grows bold and rushes forward, plunging the spear into the exposed underbelly of the GSFB. It promptly falls forward and lands on its paws, the shaft of the spear snapping, leaving the spear-tip buried in its body. The bestiarius discards the useless broken spear and turns to run for his whip. The GSFB lunges forward, paws outstretched, and lands hard on the disarmed gladiator. His armor managed to prevent the claws from slicing through, but the weight is too much and he is crushed under the 1-ton bear. The effects are gruesome - bodily matter spurts out through cracked openings in his armor, blood pooling out from every opening in the bestiarius' broken body. The crowd thunders its approval at the first kill.
The venator dashes to the side as the GSFB charges, still disoriented and dripping blood from its stomach wound. The bear blindly careens past the gladiator and slams into the arena wall, cracking the thick stone. Shaking its head and slightly injured thanks to its now agitated head wound, the bear focuses its vision on the only conceivable source of torment it can fathom - the venator. Bloody saliva drips from its mouth as it roars and makes another charge, only to take a thrown net to the face. The net wasn't especially heavy or thick, but it came unexpected and halted the bear in its tracks as it flailed and raised its paws to its face.
Desperate to take advantage of this moment, the venator dashes forward and drives his spear home, right into the bear's chest. Pushing with all his might, he manages to twist the shaft a few inches into the bear's thick hide, but runs out of strength as the adrenaline wears off. The crowd falls hushed momentarily, leaning forward to watch thecoup de grace. Exhausted, the venator can only look up and watch, eyes weary and defeated, as the furious giant short-faced bear lunges forward with an open mouth full of teeth.
Expert's Opinion
The venator and bestiarius were no match for the bear, simply because their weapons were too primitive to do any real damage, and their armor wasn't durable enough to hold up against the bear's claws and teeth. Although arena fighting may have disoriented and frightened the bear, a cornered animal is the most dangerous, and it used that fight-or-flight mentality to tear its attackers to shreds.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Hyenadon (by Cfp3157)
Today was an important day within the city of Rome. As citizens from all over the city walked to the imposing Coliseum, the bright shining sun shone harshly upon the two gladiators in the arena. Yet they waited as the closed gates, only some getting to glimpse the fight that was shown only to the most powerful in the city. This was not the main event, but it was still a gory and entertaining opening act.
Those of higher status and nobility cheered as one of their favorite champions, Marellius Scipius, smacked his shield into the face of his victim. The fearful slave fell clumsily into the high grasses, watching his killer tower upon him.
"Any last words, puny man?"
The slave feebly held up the Gladius given to him, only for Marellius to smash him kneecap with a blow from his mighty club. As the victim screamed with the agony of a dying animal, Marellius turned away and screamed at the audience. "Are you not entertained?" The gladiator yelled in a fit of bloodlust, absorbing the cheering and yelling of the crowd.
"Finish him! Make him suffer! Off with 'is head!"
The shouts got louder, some even trying to spit on the fallen slave. Their saliva fell short from a long way, but their screams filled the Coliseum still.
"What say you, my Caesar!" Marellius ordered, glaring at the emperor seated high above all. Marcus Aurelius, standing high before his subjects, pointed his thumb downward.
The execution was swift and brutal. Listening to the uproar of the noblemen, Marellius smashed his club one final time into the slave's head, breaking his skull with ease. "Marellius! Marellius!" The cheers for their gladiator soared through the empty Coliseum.
As a few men dragged the slave's rotten corpse off of the battlefield and Marellius walked away as champion, two more men walked out onto the field as the spectators were finally allowed in for this special, one-time event.
The rumors had it, the mysterious trading partners of the East had found one of the last of it's ancient creatures. A time before man itself, this beast apparently came from. The two Venators stood atop a rock outcrop specialy built into the Colesium dramatically, their spears jabbed into the dirt for now.
The spectators seated and watched as the gates into the arena slowly opened, revealing a monster of a creature; The Hyaenodon. The beast snarled, it's small brain attempting to comprehend the situation presented to it. Looking around it, the Hyaenodon saw the Venators watching him, assessing their prey.
The crowd cheered on the beast, the noise deafening to the beast's ears. The Hyaenodon felt nothing but pain, and that pain quickly turned to anger. In a matter of seconds, the Hyaenodon charged at the Venators.
Taken surprised by the Hyaenodon's stunningly fast recovery, the Bestarius managed to crack his whip at the beast before it headbutted him, sending him flying into the custom water hole built into the Colesium. The Venator made a hasty thrust, managing to scrape the Hyaenodon's leg before retreating to avoid another crippling swing of the beast's gigantic head.
The Bestarius rose from the stunning blow, watching his partner and the Hyaenodon circle each other. Hefting his spear in hand, the Bestarius chages forward and thrusts his spear forward. The Hyaenodon backs away, before snapping it's jaws forward.
The shaft crumples to pieces, leaving the Bestarius with nothing more than broken stick. As the Hyaenodon leaps forward for the final blow, the Venator quickly throws his net over the Hyaenodon.
A hushness swarmed through the crowd as the beast shrugged it's shoulders to no avail, desperately attempting to throw off the boundary placed upon him. The Venator, smiling cockily, walks up to the trapped creature. Kicking the Hyaenodon one time, the Venator victoriously thrust his spear into the animal's chest.
The Coliseum erupted into cheers as the Hyaenodon gave a final, defiant roar. Blood sprouted from the wound profusely, and lay it's head down. The two gladiators shouted in victory, their prey bested and glory restored in Rome.
Expert's Opinion
The Venators ultimately triumphed over this gargantuan beast. While the Hyaenodon was the physically superior opponent, the tactical skills that the Venator's human brain gave him allowed him to defeat the narrow minded animal.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Inostrancevia (by Red243)
The Venator was walking towards the arena, and the bestiarius was walking with him. The Crowd was cheering in the Roman Colosseum, and the Venator doesn't know why. The Venator picked up a spear from the ground and says in Greek: Something tells me it is going to be different this time.
The bestiarius also picked up a whip from the ground in order to corner the animal that they would be facing in the arena. The Venator had only hoped that he would not faced an elephant, since elephants could crush him with it's weight. Then the Roman Emperor walked to his seat, and was ready to tell everyone this news. Then the Roman Emperor said to the everyone loudly in Greek: Everyone, the Venator will be facing an animal that wasn't like any animal you ever seen.
Hearing the news shocked the Venator, but was relief that he would not be facing the elephant. However, as the gate was opened, something came out of the gate and went into the arena. It was an Inostrancevia, and it glared at the two warriors, seeing them as its meal. Both of them went closer to Inostrancevia , and the bestiarius tried to whipped the beast with his whip in his attempt to corner the beast.
However, Inostrancevia being provoked by being whipped, tackled the bestiarius with it's body, knocking him off his feet. Then the Venator witness horribly as Inostrancevia bit the leg off of the bestiarius, causing him to scream in great pain. The ground where the bestiarius was laying was covered in blood due to the lost of his leg.
In rage of his friend being badly wounded, the Venator poked the Inostrancevia in the eye with his spear. Then he pulled his spear from Inostrancevia's eye, causing it great pain due to the left eye being badly wounded. Then the Venator ran far enough distance from Inostrancevia to think of a new plan to kill to the beast.
Then Inostrancevia ran towards the Venator, and began to open it's mouth in attempt to bit him hard with its sharp teeth. This was chance that the Venator was waiting for when Inostrancevia opened its mouth. He stabbed the Inostrancevia's throat with his spear before the beast could bit him. When Inostrancevia began to fell down, it roared softly with its last breath before it had died from the spear.
The crowd was cheering after the battle was over, but the Venator ran towards the bestiarius to see if he was all right. However, he discovered that the bestiarius had already died due to blood lost, and infection. Realizing that he was too late to save the bestiarius, the Venator began to cried at the loss of his friend.
Expert's Opinion
While Inostrancevia was the top preadator and it was really strong, it couldn't compete with the Venator's human intellect, which ultimately leads to its downfall. In addition to that, When Inostrancevia opened it's mouth to attack it's pray, it could exposed itself to being stabbed in the throat with a spear.
