The arena floor was sand today.
Fine white sand, raked in neat lines like a zen garden.
Team Soup stepped onto it and immediately felt out of place.
Across the ring, four mountains of meat waited for them.
The Blood-Iron Academy squad were absolute giants. Each member stood over six and a half feet tall. Their shoulders were as wide as doorways. Every inch of their bodies was covered in thick, interlocking iron armor, the plates layered so densely that no skin was visible anywhere.
Their faces were a map of violence. They had scars all over their cheeks, foreheads, and chins. One of them was missing an ear. Another had a nose that had been broken so many times it pointed permanently to the left.
Their leader, the biggest of the four, stepped forward. His armor was darker than the rest, stained with what might have been old blood or rust. A massive tower shield rested on his left arm.
