The Arena as Court (CGH)

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When subversion, poison, back-stabbing, and double dealing cannot eliminate a rival templar and/or when their feud becomes public, templars have been known to go to the arena to settle their differences. This type of combat justice may take place in many forms. The form of combat is always pre-discussed and chosen by the templar who is challenged. The templar s options are to face one another in a fight to the death, or choose champions to fight in their stead. In a few notable situations, displeased rulers have ordered the templars to face one another in the arena. Combat is almost always a combination of defiler magic and battle skills. A small but powerful spell group is awarded to each combatant by the sorcerer-king or -queen. Use of "the Way" is neither forbidden nor encouraged, but usually gives a combatant an upper hand.
One of the most famous cases of courtyard combat was between Sephinea the Red and Nortora of Sagia in the arena at Raam. The sorcerer-queen's two favorite templars accused one another of heresies and plots to overthrow the queen. The sorcerer-queen Abalach-Re concluded that personal combat between the templars was the best way to publicly decide guilt and innocence for such heinous accusations. This combat drew the largest crowd ever known to attend any fight in Raam.
The battle was short and vicious. Although an accomplished spellcaster, Sephinea had no resistance to Nortora's extremely powerful wild psionic talents. Sephinea was dead before the two (undisintegrated) halves of her body hit the ground.
Following the glorious combat, the sorcerer-queen called Nortora, the victor, over in front of the royal viewing stands. In one of the few personal appearances the sorcerer-queen ever made to the arena, she gazed down upon the winner with fire in her eyes. As the crowd gelled and screamed the victor's name, the sorcerer-queen pointed a single finger in her templar s direction and exploded the winning combatant's body into a thousand pieces across the arena. The stunned crowd fell silent. The great sorcerer-queen raised her inhuman voice and stated, in matter-of-fact tones, that she tolerated no rumors of the overthrow of her kingdom or anarchy therein. With that, she turned and faded away. The crowds fled the exit, fearing the next action of their sorcerer-queen. None was to come. Abalach-Re had achieved all she desired for the moment. She had put an end to a rivalry, stopped a malicious rumor, and regained the fear of her people.