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Res Publica: A Quest of Ancient Rome

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If you recall, this was Sulla's question:
Simon_Jester said:
"How may I secure rule of the aristoi in Rome?"
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So the Oracle's... err, oracle... was responding to this. Here's my take:

Simon_Jester said:
Here, you pray that Geras rot
Forge in which your blade was wrought.
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Geras is the god of old age. The Pythia is pointing out that Sulla rose to power due to the political chaos of the last decades, but now in his old age seeks to 'secure' one faction above all others.


Aging lions sharpen claws;
As you seek to break their jaws!
To seize the fate that's rightly yours,
Seek renown on Eastern shores!
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"Aging lions" are pretty obviously Marius and his faction. Oddly, this line includes the single clear command in the whole prophecy: "To seize the fate that's rightly yours, seek renown on Eastern shores." Of course, this is clearly the same Oracle that said 'a great kingdom shall fall' -- "the fate that's rightly yours" is not a good thing, but Sulla wouldn't necessarily think that.

Long the play, and great his part,
He who binds the iron heart,
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The Samnites have that 'Hearts of Steel' trait that gives them an insane bonus to pretty much every military roll vs. Rome. The question is, is it Sertorius or is it Atellus that's the one doing the 'binding'?

Fosters men of black and red,
Fills the ancient foes with dread,
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This was a total mystery at first, but I think I figured it out. If Sertorius is the 'binder' above, then we (Atellus and the other tribunes) are the ones he's 'fostering'. Here's the kicker: 'Atellus' is a Latin cognomen meaning 'dark-haired', while Rufus means 'redhead'. So: "men of black and red," which mean the "long the play and great his part" refers to Sertorius.

Wisdom-sharpened, Ares' sword,
Will outlive the levies' lord!
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We are the champion of Athena (goddess of Wisdom), and we are training ('sharpening) the Legio VI Gradivius ('Blessed by Mars'). This makes the Legion itself "Ares' sword", though it might also refer to ourselves as the broad-striped tribune who is second-in-command.

"Levy" could refer to Legio VI itself, or it could refer to the populares faction and/or the legions brought by Marius to fight Sulla. Either way, this indicates that the Sixth Legion "will outlive" either Sertorius or Marius.


One dark without and deep within,
Hides sharpened silver under skin.
So bind him to you, if you can;
The odds are on the bright-eyed man!
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"Dark without" probably means the same thing as "man of black" -- I suspect this is referring to Atellus.

"Hides sharpened silver under skin" -- in Greek and Roman myth, metals were associated with each of the seven planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). The planet that ruled silver was the Moon, which was 'governed' by Apollo's sister Artemis (aka Diana), though sometimes the goddess in question is 'Luna' (sometimes conflated with Juno and Hecate). I'm not sure what this means, and whether it's referring to us or someone else.

OTOH, Apollo was often known by the epithet Argyrotoxus, meaning "with silver bow" -- he was often depicted with a bow and arrows of silver to illustrate his talent at archery. If 'sharpened silver' refers to Apollo, then this means we (Atellus) are blessed by the god of orators just as surely as we are the champion of the goddess of wisdom.


Know, he who bows to Time and Fates
Must always fear, more than he hates.
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...I got nothing.

Clio's voice sang thy renown,
'Speaker,' king without a crown!
All that was, thy strength proclaims,
Breaker of thy rivals' names!
All that is, writ in thy hand-
Rise thou up, and shake the sand!"​
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Clio is the muse of history. If she "sang" Sulla's renown, that past tense might mean his time is up. "Thy strength proclaims, breaker of thy rival's names" is present tense; his reputation for triumphing over his enemies is unsullied (ha!) But the last line is ominous: "All that is, writ in thy hand-- rise thou up, and shake the sand!" His feats are 'writ' by his own hand; the Oracle is encouraging him to rise up and 'shake the sand' -- to erase the words etched on sand. Implicitly, the Pythia is encouraging his ambition, to 'write a new legend for yourself', but "shake the sand" indicates that this would primarily be erasing his old achievements and reputation.


@Simon_Jester, how'd I do?
 
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DAMN you did good, Publicola. In fact, you did so well I'm deleting some big chunks of my own breakdown, because I couldn't explain them better.

You hit almost everything. Well, except the shout-out to some other SV-ers located in His Marble Nymphs, which I'll leave for people to find as an easter egg. :p

Blonddude42 said:
This might be about Sulla finishing stomping the Greeks -- fate rightfully yours and eastern shore seem to point to Sulla at least I think. Although this might be the guy that Sulla is fighting right now or something.
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Sulla's already in Greece, having finished off the siege of Athens (and pillaged it heavily) and is currently looting Delphi for treasures to keep his war machine running long enough to finish off Marius and Mithridates of Pontus.

Blonddude42 said:
Not to mention he's old, so he's been around a long time doing big things and has the wisdom that comes with that age.
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Point of order: Sertorius is, like, thirty-eight. He's actually fifteen years younger than Sulla, who is in turn about twenty years younger than Marius.

Key realizations here, in the context of Greek mythology. If Greek mythology is ignored, replace "Apollo" with "the Pythia" and "Tyche" with "badass legions."

1) Apollo hates Sulla for stealing all the temple bling, but
2) While Apollo wants revenge on Sulla, Sulla is under the protection of Tyche, and
3) Tyche provides really good protection. Furthermore,
4) Apollo can't lie in an oracular statement for... contractual reasons... but
5) Apollo can totally give a misleading or ambiguous statement that will cause Sulla to do something stupid and get himself killed, and is actively intending this outcome.

Simon_Jester said:
Here, you pray that Geras rot
Forge in which your blade was wrought.
Aging lions sharpen claws;
As you seek to break their jaws!
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Geras is the Greek personification of old age (the root word of 'geriatric'). The enemy Sulla has cause to pray will be rotted by old age is Marius, who is in multiple senses "the forge in which his blade was wrought." Sulla has risen to greatness by commanding the reformed legions Marius pioneered, and Sulla personally was Marius's client for quite some time earlier in their respective careers. In the context that we're talking about Marius, the next two lines are self-explanatory. @Publicola 's version of these lines is also viable, by the way; oracular pronouncements rarely have only one good interpretation, which is kind of the point.

The second verse is definitely meant to be Sertorius, but pointing out that Atellus is also "he who binds the iron heart" is, again, a totally valid alternate interpretation. Publicola also nailed the Sertorius interpretation; the "men of black and red" are Atellus and Rufus, respectively.

Wisdom-sharpened, Ares' sword,
Will outlive the levies' lord!
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Sertorius is (in my context) actively blessed by Ares. He's Ares' sword- but Sulla, who is one of the greatest generals in Roman history himself, may very naturally identify himself as such. Thus making it another 'Apollo special' likely to mislead Sulla into misinterpreting the prophecy. Moreover, Sertorius's metaphorical 'sword' of his association with Mars has been enhanced by his own relationship with Atellus, who is (in my context) the budding champion of Athena. Thus, wisdom-sharpened.

The "levies" in question are the legions, because that's the root term from which the word 'legion' originates. And in this era there is only one man in this era who can truly be called 'lord of the legions...' Marius.

So in a sense these lines reduce to "Sertorius will outlive Marius," which seems likely given that he's thirty-five years younger, though not quite truly certain. With Tyche and the other gods fooling around, Apollo's hit rate isn't literally perfect. Plus sometimes Zeus just jumps in and upsets the whole applecart while seducing a nymph in the form of a bull or something.

For example, Publicola's interpretation could turn out to be correct. :p

One dark without and deep within,
Hides sharpened silver under skin.
So bind him to you, if you can;
The odds are on the bright-eyed man!
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This is Atellus. Dark without (that is literally his cognomen), deep within (dat mind), silver-tongued when he has his sudden moments. This can be expanded into Publicola's interpretation, referencing Apollo's connection to both oratory and the silver bow.

Furthermore, as @Blonddude42 noted, Atellus is, uniquely of all these potential foils to Sulla, recruitable. "Bright-eyed" is a reference to one of Athena's epithets (that is, names), because Atellus is unusually blessed by Athena in the same sense Sertorius is by Ares or Sulla is by Tyche.

Know, he who bows to Time and Fates
Must always fear, more than he hates.
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This is Cato, who does not bow to time or fate, and who is perfectly capable of hating the most powerful tyrant much much more than he fears him... Because Cato is a nut.

Historically, we have reports that there was a point when the boy Cato, in conversation with his tutor, suddenly realized (during Sulla's dictatorship) that the reason other people didn't just kill Sulla for having all these prominent Romans disappeared was that they were afraid of him! Like, wow, mind blown.

Cato's reaction?

"Hey, uh, got a sword on you? I've got this."

His tutor talked Cato out of it and recommended the boy not be allowed out in public without a keeper under current political conditions. Interestingly, Sulla knew Cato. My in-story parsing of this is that this was (in OTL) a case of "doom averted," in that Sulla's good fortune deflected or rather utterly pre-empted an assassination attempt. It just doesn't look like it because, y'know, sometimes Fortuna acts in subtle ways.

[It would also explain why Cato wound up being kind of... superfluous, historically speaking. He was supposed to do something big, supposed to be the fearless boy who turned "SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!" into something genuinely heroic that not even John Wilkes Booth could stain... then got all tied up in socialing and never actually did it. So he kept just sort of... continuing, without a specific destiny anymore.]

...

Publicola basically nailed the last verse, with some slight variations because I'm interpreting OTL as "the old history/prophecy/fate" that existed before Athena succeeded in seeing to it that her champion would actually, y'know, be born, despite the curse of the Carthaginian gods on his family. In OTL, she failed, Atellus was never born. This is why Apollo called Atellus "the lad whose psyche shifts the course of the tempest with a flap of its wings" The psyche is the soul... but also associated with the butterfly. :D

So, Clio's voice (history, Clio is the muse of history) did sing Sulla's renown as one of the dominant figures of Roman history who shaped everything after. Sulla was (in OTL) fated to rule Rome as dictator (speaker), which is an office tantamount to kingship- but without the crown, because Romans hate the idea of a crowned king.

All that was (that is, the fate and prophecy that existed OTL) proclaims Sulla's strength, as illustrated by his infamous proscriptions that are referenced in the fourth line.

But all that is is a total blank slate, because butterflies. It's Sulla's game to win or (Apollo hopes) lose. Thus the injunction to Sulla to "shake the sand," that is to say, to shake up his now-uncertain grand destiny and (Apollo hopes) utterly erase it.​
 
Simon_Jester said:
This is Cato, who does not bow to time or fate, and who is perfectly capable of hating the most powerful tyrant much much more than he fears him... Because Cato is a nut.

Historically, we have reports that there was a point when the boy Cato, in conversation with his tutor, suddenly realized (during Sulla's dictatorship) that the reason other people didn't just kill Sulla for having all these prominent Romans disappeared was that they were afraid of him! Like, wow, mind blown.

Cato's reaction?

"Hey, uh, got a sword on you? I've got this."

His tutor talked Cato out of it and recommended the boy not be allowed out in public without a keeper under current political conditions. Interestingly, Sulla knew Cato. My in-story parsing of this is that this was (in OTL) a case of "doom averted," in that Sulla's good fortune deflected or rather utterly pre-empted an assassination attempt. It just doesn't look like it because, y'know, sometimes Fortuna acts in subtle ways.

[It would also explain why Cato wound up being kind of... superfluous, historically speaking. He was supposed to do something big, supposed to be the fearless boy who turned "SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!" into something genuinely heroic that not even John Wilkes Booth could stain... then got all tied up in socialing and never actually did it. So he kept just sort of... continuing, without a specific destiny anymore.]
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If we fuck up, and Sulla does still manage to end up in power like that, I hope this is exactly what happens. The Cato killing Sulla bit I mean.

Everyone is focused on intrigue, and assassins and this random fucking 10(?) year old just grabs a sword, walks over to the evil overlord and casually impales him before walking back to class.
Simon_Jester said:
All that was (that is, the fate and prophecy that existed OTL) proclaims Sulla's strength, as illustrated by his infamous proscriptions that are referenced in the fourth line.

But all that is is a total blank slate, because butterflies. It's Sulla's game to win or (Apollo hopes) lose. Thus the injunction to Sulla to "shake the sand," that is to say, to shake up his now-uncertain grand destiny and (Apollo hopes) utterly erase it.
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That is such a well targeted fuck you via prophecy, that I can't help but be impressed.
 
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:rofl:

@Simon_Jester's mention of the Cato story inspired me to check out the wiki article. Midway through, I encounter this gem:
In a meeting of the Senate dedicated to the Catilina affair, Cato harshly reproached Caesar for reading personal messages while the senate was in session to discuss a matter of treason. Cato accused Caesar of involvement in the conspiracy and suggested that he was working on Catilina's behalf, which might explain Caesar's otherwise odd position—that the conspirators should receive no public hearing yet be shown clemency. Caesar offered it up to Cato to read. Cato took the paper from his hands and read it, discovering that it was a love letter from Caesar's mistress Servilia, Cato's half-sister.
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Like... how? How does that even happen? The Senate is discussing a matter of treason by Catalina, and Caesar is one of the few voices pleading for clemency. Midway through the debate, Cato notices that Caesar keeps glancing at a letter held in hand, and harangues Caesar for it, suggesting that Caesar was working with Catalina. Then when Cato seizes the letter and reads it aloud (the concept of 'reading privately' has not been invented yet -- the first known instance is recorded in Augustine's Confessions, several hundred years AD), only to discover it's a gushing love-letter from Cato's own sister.

Literally rolling on my chair laughing here. Julius Caesar was a slug, but dang talk about using his reputation as a lothario to advantage.

...Though now I'm wondering if he was holding a letter from Catalina at first, and simply used sleight of hand to swap it with the letter from Servilia when it was clear Cato intended to read it aloud. Does anyone know if the idea of 'prestidigitation' was around at that point? Because that would have been perfect.
 
Alternatively, Caesar knew that if he just kept glancing at the letter long enough, he'd troll Cato into doing something stupid like snatching it out of his hand? :p
 
Question. If Pompey were to be, oh, assassinated, any chance we could grab up his legions for Sertorius?
Publicola said:
...Though now I'm wondering if he was holding a letter from Catalina at first, and simply used sleight of hand to swap it with the letter from Servilia when it was clear Cato intended to read it aloud. Does anyone know if the idea of 'prestidigitation' was around at that point? Because that would have been perfect.
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Since at least the time of Seneca apparently.

Also given how Caesar was clearly a quest protagonist, I wouldn't put it past the players to pick it up.
 
You know, if we'd picked Gift of Venus, our entire life would probably be one long string of incidents like that one.

But we haaaad to pick the bookish trait. :p
 
Publicola said:
...Though now I'm wondering if he was holding a letter from Catalina at first, and simply used sleight of hand to swap it with the letter from Servilia when it was clear Cato intended to read it aloud. Does anyone know if the idea of 'prestidigitation' was around at that point? Because that would have been perfect.
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Unlikely. Caesar was winning blowout electoral victories around the time of the Catilinarian Conspiracy. He had very little reason to gamble on violent revolution.

But yes, that little incident was hilarious, made all the more so by the fact that Servilia's husband was there (and, IIRC, supporting Caesar at that point, though he obviously changed his vote after that.) If my memory does not fail me, Cato threw the letter back to Caesar and called him a drunk. A strange choice of insult, given that Caesar was notably abstinent, and Cato's sole vice (aside from insane fanaticism) was wine.

Oh, and @Simon_Jester, I really liked the omake series. Very Greek.
 
The Oracle is warning Sulla of four enemies set to overthrow him. First stanza is Marius, and to the Oracle, Sulla's "deserved fate" is defeat for extorting the temple. Second stanza warns of Sertorius outliving Marius. Third stanza warns of Atellus, potential foe, but useful subordinate. Fourth stanza fortells @Caesar.
 
Absent 'death of the author...' Third warns of Atellus and Cato, fourth is specifically addressing Sulla. Though I'm curious about your alternate interpretation.
 
Well, from Apollo and the pythia's conversation, Apollo mentioned four enemies for Sulla, and with the three already mentioned, the fourth would be the "ringer" and one who in otl did so much to surpass Sulla by following his footsteps, that thoughts of "dictator-for-life" automatically gravitate to him rather than Sulla, who got the metaphorical "first" post. I speak of @Caesar, who is taught to children of the opposite side of the globe, while Sulla is overlooked.
 
The thing is, you're trying to deduce who I meant, but I'm not sure you read who I meant.

"And the boy, the austere man in a city gone decadent, who cares not that he lives in the Age of Iron, too maddened with reckless courage and the traditions of his race to fear tyrants."

Does that sound like Caesar?
 
Simon_Jester said:
The thing is, you're trying to deduce who I meant, but I'm not sure you read who I meant.

"And the boy, the austere man in a city gone decadent, who cares not that he lives in the Age of Iron, too maddened with reckless courage and the traditions of his race to fear tyrants."

Does that sound like Caesar?
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No, he doesn't. hmmmm.... the question is this refers to somebody who we know from history or somebody that will not be as we know because of Atellus' actions?
 
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Canon Omake: Sharp Words and Swords
  • Apocrypha
    • Sharp words and swords​
    The clattering of swords on armour and shields against shields filled the air as two men did their best to push the other out of the sparring circle on the ground. Shield battering, sword slashing, always on sure footing, fighting as they would a mortal foe.

    Or rather, Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, tribune of the Sixth Legion "Gradivius", was fighting his opponent as he would one of Meddix' own warriors. Lucius Proculus Mercator, primus pilum of that very same legion, had yet to show the same grim determination Atellus had seen before at Aequum Tuticum, Aeclanum and at the Tabelline Pass. The man seemed to enjoy bashing the younger man around.

    Not that Atellus truly could tell with that stoic look Mercator had adopted for this match.

    However, the tribune had an inkling from where that impression came from. It got clearer with every time the first sword battered Atellus' gladius out of his hand and rammed his shield into the tribune, effectively throwing Atellus out of the ring. Like he had just now.

    "Up boy, this match is not yet over. And use your damned shield more often. There is a reason we Romans make them so big."

    Yes, outside this particular ring Mercator would never address him as "boy". The pure relish in Mercator's voice showed that he enjoyed it, even if the face would not reveal the same.
    Any other day Atellus would have bristled at the words as he picked himself up. Ever slower with every time his back would touch the ground. Among the legionaries of the Sixth serving in his capacity as tribune he would have seen to Mercator's punishment himself.

    However, this was sparring and Atellus had been the one who had wanted to test his mettle against the primus pilum. As accomplished as he was a fighter, there was yet so much to learn from this man who had made his way to the first century of the first cohort.

    Still, his losses were certainly a cold rain on the fire that was the pride Atellus had felt swell inside him ever since he had joined the siege at Nola.

    Thankfully Tercerus was not around to witness all his lessons fail to make a difference in this fight. That last thought made him chuckle.

    "Last time you had laid me out, you had told me that I used the shield too often, that I exposed myself."

    "And last time you had used your shield too often, just as you have used it now far too rarely," Mercator replied, carefully eyeing the young tribune as he crossed the line in the sand and entered the ring once more.

    "Now pick your blade up, we'll fight one more time."

    And the battering and clashing and slashing resumed once more, but this time slower than before. Atellus was not fool enough to think that the autumn sun or exhaustion had finally taken their toll on the older man and he doubted that he used his shield any better than before. Whatever the reason was, the fighting came to a halt as Mercator's eyes bored deeper into Atellus' than they had since the first sword had first met the green tribune Atellus had been.

    "I did you a disservice."

    "My aches tell me differently."

    "You'll live, boy. No, I did you a disservice at Aeclanum. I would never have thought that sly words and promises would ever turn down Samnite swords and spears. Imagine the looks of Romans and Hirpini alike when news reached us of the Pentrii turning their backs on Gemino," Mercator said. Or spat in the case of the Samnite rebel's name.

    "I imagine it must have been quite a shock to some."

    Mercator drew closer as he chuckled.

    "The Hirpini looked like the sky had just crashed down on them. They had been hoping that they could get more gold, more promises out of the legate. And then they heard that a Roman boy swayed an entire Samnite tribe with words alone."

    "Sertorius was quite pleased with you, Atellus. He even sent out a rider to get a copy of your speech at Aquilonia. In his tent he said that he had been jesting when he said that next you would deliver him Samnium," Mercator said in good humour and his face relaxed just a bit.

    " 'Sword and hand' the Hirpini whisper among themselves and in Abellinum men of learning and peasants alike know of what you said. And what Rome promises. I am certain these words have spread through all of Samnium by now."

    At that Mercator looked up to the sky, before settling his eyes on Atellus again.

    "And I do not doubt that the tale of your work in Bovianum has reached Rome and your patron. I'm sure that Scaevola Pontifex must be pleased with himself."

    And suddenly, a sharp pain struck Atellus' head as Mercator hit his helmet with his pommel. One shield bash later, Atellus laid in the sand once more.

    "But wars are not just won with well placed words alone. Weapons and soldiers have to be kept sharp at all times. Up boy, we go another round."



    So, I tried my hand at this, I can't promise anything good and it's not particularly long, but this had been stuck in my head for a while now. Tell me if there are glaring mistakes or if I could have done something better.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • Simon_Jester said:
    "We fit well together, as I learned on the Adriatic shore in higher, wilder days- has it been four centuries already?"
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    Simon_Jester said:
    You hit almost everything. Well, except the shout-out to some other SV-ers located in His Marble Nymphs, which I'll leave for people to find as an easter egg. :p
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    Pretty sure this is a reference to Cetashwayo's Magna Graecia quest, right? Specifically that the Eretrian refugees worship the Divine Marriage of Apollo and Athena, IIRC.
     
    HeWhoAdds said:
    Pretty sure this is a reference to Cetashwayo's Magna Graecia quest, right? Specifically that the Eretrian refugees worship the Divine Marriage of Apollo and Athena, IIRC.
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    If we wanted to fuck with roman religion and make an actual unique and cohesive roman pantheon we could steal that idea and apply it on mars and minerva
    Granted getting that to work would be a life long project and involve taking popular cults out of the picture with a Roman inqusition
     
    I just binged this quest over the last 24hours. Twice.

    The first time just reading the story posts, and the second time reading everything just to make sure I knew what you guys had been discussing.

    I have to say, I was a bit sceptical at first. As the intro says....
    Telamon said:
    To simply survive in Rome, you must be more cunning, more vicious, and more brutal than all around you. You must trust nothing and no one, for even the fastest of friends may turn foe
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    And to be quite honest those aren't traits you see too often on SV! I gotta say though, the voters so far have - aside from one or two questionable(ish) decisions - done a pretty great job. I started reading expecting a bad end and instead I'm up to date and the MC is in a fairly good position. (assuming we continue to navigate the very fine line we stand upon!)

    I have to give major props to @Telamon for the writing. So many quests set in antiquity or in a supposedly medieval/feudal period (real or fantasy) do a terrible job of actually making the setting feel true to the period. Too often they read like 'modern guy, with modern sensibilities, in a modern world that for some reason happens to have swords and bows instead of guns'.

    There's none of that here, Atellus feels like a true Roman, the setting is well crafted, engaging, and most importantly believable.

    I may have to go and rewatch Spartacus and reread Conn Iggulden's Emperor series now... Though that's hardly a burden.


    As fun as reading the quest has been the discussion was... an experience. At times detailed and interesting with some of you showing quite a breadth of knowledge on the subject and other times just hilarious. The number of times you guys have had a discussion, been distracted by something, and eventually come back to the original discussion (not to continue it) but to start again was worth a laugh. And some of the ideas... o_O


    For the current vote (if it's not already closed) it's a tough choice. Wolves of Rome comes closest to what I'd like to have, although missing out on the diplomatic mission is painful. But if whipping the other Tribunes into shape does get us some additional actions that would be a big win. And even if they are useless, they're from families with enough status to get elected so they'll be useful to us in one way or another at some point (hopefully?).

    The fact that the personal actions (minus studying) are all social in one way or another is very wise imo and I'm glad they won out over Prospects which honestly I struggle to see as too urgent a matter, especially with so many time-sensitive opportunities here.

    On that note, I really think 'Silver Tongues, Silver Words' is something to consider over the coming months. While we've made considerable progress winning the respect of the men we've not yet won their love.

    The time will come when we need to raise and/or replenish a Legion (likely not for some time but it will come) and it's never too early to lay the groundwork for that. A soldier who respects you will follow your orders when placed under your command, but a soldier who loves you will place himself under your command.

    Moreover, no matter how the war between Marius and Sulla plays out it won't hurt to have the loyalty of a few soldiers, whether that's for the near or far future.

    Anyway, kudos again to @Telamon. This is a fantastically written quest and I'm really looking forward to taking part in the future and seeing where it goes. The coming years will be fascinating (if occasionally stressful) to see play out given the changes that have already occurred.

    [X] Plan Wolves of Rome
     
    @Telamon I'm new here, and feel free to not answer if you don't want to or if I'm doing something against the rules, but is "A son of Mandalore" dead or on hiatus, or what? It's what got me into this site in the first place, and I enjoyed reading it.
     
    Oh, okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I just haven't figured out how to PM yet, or what is even stands for
     
    It's been been two hours since I last posted, so another post should be fine.

    Anyway, driven by this quest (and stumbling over a copy of season one) I've decided to start watching Rome. There's a nonzero chance that I'll (shit?)post about it as a go.
     
    I like the show Rome they got Cicero personality really well and I pictured him in my mind when he met Atellus

    Edit spoiler for the show
     
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