A few days later than expected, but the rubble from the previous games still had to be cleared away.
So here's the quarters of the Ludi Latini. Hold on to your reins!
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QUARTERS
Group I: Morgareth, Indutiomarus, Hannibal, Victorinus
Woo, the first quarters of the new ludi already. Chariots have been repaired, charioteers and horses healed and the fans have gathered again in the circus! Coincidentally, the two Greens meet again in these quarters, against two Golden. Although there has never been much rivalry between these two factiones, some malignant individuals are hoping for it. And off they go! Steady but strongly they conquer the tracks and each battles for the first place. Violence is imminent and curses can be heard. And there! Victorinus smashes his "Res Publica" into Morgareth's "Infernerator". The former champion's chariot breaks against the spina but the resounding crash is so devastating that Victorinus is out of course and scrapes against the walls. No matter how hard he tries, he can't catch up with the leading duo anymore: Indutiomarus leads and stays out of reach of Hannibal's furious whip, and so the race has been run.
1. Indutiomarus
2. Hannibal
3. Victorinus
4. Morgareth slammed against the spina
Group II (Juba Bane, Phaethoon, Pericolosus, Romulus)
Now this will be interesting. Although Romulus is not the type to be hell-bent on revenge, as the chariots start we can see that he is unrelenting in his pace and rumours go that instead of adopting new tactics, his followers have been praying all night for their hero, cursing his opponent. Pericolosus is very close on his tail, however. The public knows that the role of Veneta and Russata, represented by Juba Bane and Phaethoon, will be minimal in this titanic conflict, if not… suddenly a flaming whip lashes and wraps itself around Pericolosus' throat. The driver of the "Flora Mortis" is yanked out of his chariot and coughingly rolls into the sand. This stunt causes such an uproar both on and off the tracks that Juba Bane narrowly evades the walls as he passes the duo. Romulus increases his lead. Phaethoon chases Juba Bane down the track and eventually gets to him without much ado. Albata fans are infuriated at this defeat. Russata may have found a new hero.
1. Romulus
2. Phaethoon
3. Juba Bane
4. Pericolosus was eliminated by Phaethoon
Group III: Myrtilos, Damnator, Bibax, PD Robur
During the pause, the Whites have vented their barely suppressed anger and would have attacked the Reds if the aediles hadn't stopped them from doing so. Well, now is their all-or-nothing chance to continue their winning streak: with two Whites in these quarters, things can't go terribly wrong, can they? Veneta is burning a candle for Myrtilos. Aurata is hoping to see some results from PD Robur, finally, who's always been steady but never quite good enough. As they start, this first impression seems to come true in a very brutal manner: Damnator first bumps into the "Quadriga Ignis" of Robur and then cruelly whips his back. Robur cries out in pain and tries to speed up, but to no avail: Damnator's whip is now wrapped around the Golden charioteer and as he passes him, he drags Robur across the tracks for half a round. In the lower regions of the race, Myrtilos has easily overcome Bibax' randomness and is now in a safe second position. Damnator lets go of the unconscious Robur when he narrowly misses the spina, and goes on to win these quarters overconfidently.
1. Damnator
2. Myrtilos
3. Bibax
4. PD Robur was eliminated by Damnator
Group IV: Callidus, Caesar, Maximus
Two Reds and one Blue remaining but only two of them will go into the semis. The three of them are judged as capable drivers: Caesar has demonstrated that he can do more than losing in the last few racers, but is he good enough to face two speed demons like Callidus and Maximus? According to the bookmakers and racing fans alike, Callidus still has all the potential to become a champion. Veneta knows that Caesar can only win if he uses his whip. However, his whip falls short when it's appearent from the first round that, although his "Tempestas" is a decent chariot and span, the two Reds are much faster. All in all it's a fairly boring race. Half of the circus leaves during the sixth round, when nothing more eventful happens than Callidus' occasional scraping the spina. After the spectacles today, this is a bit of a dry disappointment. Callidus wins, Maximus comes second by a hair's breadth. All of factio Russata passes into the semis.
1. Callidus
2. Maximus
3. Caesar
Go into the semis: Indutiomarus (Au), Hannibal (Pr), Maximus, Callidus, Phaethoon (Ru), Damnator (Al), Myrtilos (Ve), Romulus (Pu)
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