Imperium ii [Video]

[callmecaesar]

[Octavian sits amidst a sea of scrolls and maps upon his table] 

My mother swore by the patronage of Ares... god of war. My uncle by Apollo...feast and song to please the people... 

[A frown]

I have always thought Athena... wisdom... the more tempting choice but so many have reprimanded me for it. 

[He turns his gaze to the feed]

Then what is it for you? War? Wisdom? Indulgence?

Comments

[callmecaesar]

They sound akin to the beasts of our tales, but I've not seen any such creatures for myself.

The gods made us. I imagine it is rather we who look however they wish us to look than the other way around.

[necrowmantic]

They are pretty beastly!

Huh... I never thought about it like that. Like they're naturally stuck with our wiggly limbs and lack of claws, so they decided to inflict it on mortals too. Sooo... why are you trying to pick one god to be besties with? Are any of them here to listen to ya?

[callmecaesar]

I am not trying to pick one. [He shakes his head, unrolling a scroll] I am referring to paths one may choose. It interests me to see how many share my mother and uncle's paths or how many might share my own. To be the warrior or the scholar, for example.

In truth, I expect the actual gods to have no part in this.

[necrowmantic]

Oh... like whether you want to spend time going out and soaking the land in blood, or staying home in the library reading about stuff? I'm guessing you're a noble of some kind, since you get a choice beyond "go out and till those fields".

Why not just do what you enjoy most?

[callmecaesar]

Precisely.

[He frowns a moment]

I am of a noble family, yes. But nobility who wishes to survive in Rome will not do so for long if they only do as they please.

[necrowmantic]

How come? I thought the good part of being up there in the ranks, means that you can do what you want, kill who you want, that sort of thing.

[callmecaesar]

That is a plebeian notion of the noble classes, I suppose.

[necrowmantic]

That's me! Total pleb, nya ha!

I get that it's not just eating cheese and lounging around, but what's it really like then?

[callmecaesar]

It is hard to say definitively. Mine is a political family, thus expectations and threats are high.

[necrowmantic]

Ah... can't say I envy ya! 'Least you don't have to bother with any of the intrigue and backstabbing here, right?

[callmecaesar]

[A bit of a side smile]

I suppose that is a small thing to be grateful for, yes. Though the threat of losing one's head does tend to keep one's thoughts sharper.