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Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
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<blockquote data-quote="Orichalcum" data-source="post: 2216020" data-attributes="member: 3722"><p><strong>Alea Iacta IX: An Easy Descent Chp. 5: Into the Gates</strong></p><p></p><p>This chapter is for Mortepierre - thanks! And also as a get-well card for WisdomLikeSilence. Sorry for the delay, but I've been grading and reviewing papers for my Roman History class - and they actually pay me. Cool historical factoid of the day: when the Emperor Julian (the Apostate, as he was later known) tried to rebuild the Jewish Temple in 363 CE, construction was halted by the appearance of numerous, repeated fireballs from underneath the foundation of the building, as reported by a variety of reliable witnesses, including the historian and general Ammianus Marcellinus. The fireballs prevented building work until the death of Julian, when the project was abandoned and the Empire returned to Christianity.</p><p></p><p>Alea - cuz who needs to make this stuff up?</p><p></p><p> ***</p><p>The Vestals bless us, we gather every conceivably useful bit of equipment except the goat and Talat (who won't really fit), and go off to inform the nobilissima Hadriana of our plans. She listens gravely to our story, and nods, finally saying, "Fare well, with the blessings of the gods. And remember the old Spartan words, good citizens."</p><p></p><p>Metellus gulps at the thought that this is so clearly an all-or-nothing mission, but reflects that, if the Empire is destroyed, he won't have much of a home to come back to anyway. We go down into the deserted hallway, deep in the palace, where only Heilyn can clearly see the two shining Gates. After much discussion, we have decided to go to the Gate of Truth first, both because the Gate of False Visions seems far more dangerous and because we hope to deal with at least some of the threats there.</p><p></p><p>Heilyn reaches for a doorhandle no one else can see, which to him is a shining brown antelope horn, and pulls it open. He proceeds to step through a blaze of shining light,and the rest of us quickly follow.</p><p></p><p>We find ourselves on the top of a grassy, green hill, easily recognizable as the Palatine. While the similar region in the divine realm had been bewilderingly crowded with a dozen imperial palaces, each the home of the emperor-god who constructed it, we can see only two buildings on this hill: a simple, perfectly round hut covered in gleaming golden straw and sturdy red bricks, presumably the Hut of Romulus, and a small but perfectly elegant marble columned house on the summit, which Metellus and Cornelia recognize from their lessons as the House of Augustus. A gentle light, from no visible source, shines down, and there is a sense of joy and contentment in a perfectly quiet, empty world.</p><p></p><p>We do not spend much time studying the architecture, however, before we notice the changes in each other. Metellus stands taller and prouder, his shoulders wider, and his characteristic furrowed brows and vague look of anxiety seem gone. Marcus' scars are gone from his muscled shoulders and legs, and he wears the long beard of a philosopher. Wena's tattoos seem to glow, and the wisdom is more visible in her eyes; her dress is utterly Iceni. Llyr, in contrast, remains dressed in legionary armor, but a golden torque has appeared around his neck, and he, too, looks fit and strong. Both his and Wena's left eyes glow slightly. My fur is thick and free, for once, of lice, and my tail seems remarkably long and agile. And Heilyn - well, for some reason Heilyn himself is glowing from the tips of his sandals to the handle of his giant hammer, and his hair has gone from red to a shining blond. His moustache is positively luxuriant.</p><p></p><p>But these are not the most surprising changes - indeed, they are what we might have expected. But when we turn to gaze at young Cornelia, we notice that, while still a lovely Roman woman, her skin has taken on a faintly blue tinge, and...there appear to be small, bat-like blue wings stretching out of her back. Also, her fingernails have grown into deadly claws.</p><p></p><p>And then, lastly, my gaze turns towards the stalwart Praetorian Decurion who has bravely chosen to accompany us, Lucretius. Lucretius is still dressed as a Praetorian, eyes glowing slightly grey and looking fit and deadly. The Praetorian also, however, now has quite visible breasts, and a figure that fills out the Praetorian leather skirt rather...differently. </p><p></p><p>As we are all staring, a silvery female wolf trots up the hill towards us. Though she does not speak, a growling voice echoes in all our minds. "Hail and well met, visitors. I see you have already learned that there are no secrets in the Place of Truth. Speak not, lest you change the truths in the world from which you came."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Orichalcum, post: 2216020, member: 3722"] [b]Alea Iacta IX: An Easy Descent Chp. 5: Into the Gates[/b] This chapter is for Mortepierre - thanks! And also as a get-well card for WisdomLikeSilence. Sorry for the delay, but I've been grading and reviewing papers for my Roman History class - and they actually pay me. Cool historical factoid of the day: when the Emperor Julian (the Apostate, as he was later known) tried to rebuild the Jewish Temple in 363 CE, construction was halted by the appearance of numerous, repeated fireballs from underneath the foundation of the building, as reported by a variety of reliable witnesses, including the historian and general Ammianus Marcellinus. The fireballs prevented building work until the death of Julian, when the project was abandoned and the Empire returned to Christianity. Alea - cuz who needs to make this stuff up? *** The Vestals bless us, we gather every conceivably useful bit of equipment except the goat and Talat (who won't really fit), and go off to inform the nobilissima Hadriana of our plans. She listens gravely to our story, and nods, finally saying, "Fare well, with the blessings of the gods. And remember the old Spartan words, good citizens." Metellus gulps at the thought that this is so clearly an all-or-nothing mission, but reflects that, if the Empire is destroyed, he won't have much of a home to come back to anyway. We go down into the deserted hallway, deep in the palace, where only Heilyn can clearly see the two shining Gates. After much discussion, we have decided to go to the Gate of Truth first, both because the Gate of False Visions seems far more dangerous and because we hope to deal with at least some of the threats there. Heilyn reaches for a doorhandle no one else can see, which to him is a shining brown antelope horn, and pulls it open. He proceeds to step through a blaze of shining light,and the rest of us quickly follow. We find ourselves on the top of a grassy, green hill, easily recognizable as the Palatine. While the similar region in the divine realm had been bewilderingly crowded with a dozen imperial palaces, each the home of the emperor-god who constructed it, we can see only two buildings on this hill: a simple, perfectly round hut covered in gleaming golden straw and sturdy red bricks, presumably the Hut of Romulus, and a small but perfectly elegant marble columned house on the summit, which Metellus and Cornelia recognize from their lessons as the House of Augustus. A gentle light, from no visible source, shines down, and there is a sense of joy and contentment in a perfectly quiet, empty world. We do not spend much time studying the architecture, however, before we notice the changes in each other. Metellus stands taller and prouder, his shoulders wider, and his characteristic furrowed brows and vague look of anxiety seem gone. Marcus' scars are gone from his muscled shoulders and legs, and he wears the long beard of a philosopher. Wena's tattoos seem to glow, and the wisdom is more visible in her eyes; her dress is utterly Iceni. Llyr, in contrast, remains dressed in legionary armor, but a golden torque has appeared around his neck, and he, too, looks fit and strong. Both his and Wena's left eyes glow slightly. My fur is thick and free, for once, of lice, and my tail seems remarkably long and agile. And Heilyn - well, for some reason Heilyn himself is glowing from the tips of his sandals to the handle of his giant hammer, and his hair has gone from red to a shining blond. His moustache is positively luxuriant. But these are not the most surprising changes - indeed, they are what we might have expected. But when we turn to gaze at young Cornelia, we notice that, while still a lovely Roman woman, her skin has taken on a faintly blue tinge, and...there appear to be small, bat-like blue wings stretching out of her back. Also, her fingernails have grown into deadly claws. And then, lastly, my gaze turns towards the stalwart Praetorian Decurion who has bravely chosen to accompany us, Lucretius. Lucretius is still dressed as a Praetorian, eyes glowing slightly grey and looking fit and deadly. The Praetorian also, however, now has quite visible breasts, and a figure that fills out the Praetorian leather skirt rather...differently. As we are all staring, a silvery female wolf trots up the hill towards us. Though she does not speak, a growling voice echoes in all our minds. "Hail and well met, visitors. I see you have already learned that there are no secrets in the Place of Truth. Speak not, lest you change the truths in the world from which you came." [/QUOTE]
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