The Books of Faerie: Auberon's Tale #1

he second volume of The Books of Faerie jumps further back in time, showing the end of the reign of King Magnus and the rise of Auberon and his regent Obrey. King Magnus has become obsessed with the superiority of purebred faeries, and oppresses the other races of Faerie such as the flitlings and the brownies. He also organises games, where the other races fight to the death for the amusement of the Court, with the "contestants" being selected by the Amadan. The best fighter they have is a loyal troll called Sturm, who the King decides he will fight to show how superior the faeries are: Sturm is too loyal to fight back, but is confused and goaded into striking back and killing the King by a disembodied voice (hinted at belonging to the Amadan).