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scans_dailyThe issue began with Antonius Axia's life nearly ending.
Dispatched from Rome to investigate the goings-on up north, he who'd earned the name Detectioner was almost at the truth of things.
He'd been turning them over in his mind, in his tent, when the woman Bodmall came to him.
They embraced, her hands on his back.
Then her hands changed, against her will, and went for his neck.
Her strength of arm overpowered his.
An insistent vision came to him, then- Rubria, chief of the Vestal Virgins in Rome.
" Find the codex within you.
" Feel the heat of the eternal flame of Vesta.
" Remember that ancient text of knowledge.. that we made a part of you.. "
She staggered to her feet, glad that she hadn't killed Antonius and sad at the fate she'd forseen for him.
Antonius asked her about that fate- and was interrupted by his slave Bran, entering the damaged tent.
Bodmall took that opportunity to leave, leaving the two of them there.
Bran, who'd been in the local village, described the heavy fog that was setting in.
Antonius remembered, then- the fog in the cave years ago, the fog in where the Roman encampment they were in now'd moved from recently.
He remembered the cult that had been sacrificing to the devil Orkus in that cave.
He knew that Orkus was in Britannia now, and that the cruelty of the Romans in the camp to the locals was something more than the usual.
So it was that he and Bran went to see Prefect Gabinius, the ranking Roman, the man Antonius'd seen lead a pack of his fellows in running a local to ground.
They caught him sacrificing a rabbit to Orkus.
He threatened them with being put to death.
" And offered up as sacrifice to Orkus?
" Like the poor Brits that Eryn supplied you with? "
Gabinius called his loyal men into the tent. They engaged Antonius and Bran.
Outside, far away in the woods, Bodmall met the " [w]ife of no man, keeper of the ways.. "
" What do you want, child? "
She wanted help, and understanding of Antonius- how could he have what he had, being a Roman?
" These are new times. Times of men and their hard weapons.
" But in old days, it was a sister world. We travelled far. We kept the fire. "
" The fire? "
" .. he must be special indeed. "
Back at Gabinius' tent, Antonius and Bran had dispatched the prefect's men.
There was only the prefect himself, who charged at Antonius.
Gabinius fell to his knees, dying; out of his face came Orkus, who promised that Antonius would soon be his.
Over the prefect's corpse, Antonius decided that he had to go find Bodmall.
Bran went with him; they made their way to the nearby village, which was burning.
" See? See what you have done? "
The druid Eryn, who'd got Bodmall to summon Orkus, who'd worked with Gabinius and his lot to feed him (so that Orkus would in turn feed on the Romans), confronted them.
" You moved Orkus to do this, Roman. He hates you. And his hate makes him angry with us. "
Dark clouds burst from Eryn's hands, obscuring everything.
Antonius thought of his ties to Orkus as he stumbled blind.
" Is that why the Vestal Virgins remade me?
" Is that why they rebuilt me? "
Antonius helped Bran to his feet, then parted ways with him.
He went to confront Orkus, alone, certain in his realization that he'd die in the doing.
Orkus met him, with taunts and images.
He plunged the sword into Orkus, burning the devil away.
From its grasp he fell onto the earth, secure in his victory and death.
After that, in Rome, Rubria of the Vestals told the Emperor Nero that the problem in Britannia was solved- and that, unfortunately, Antonius Axia had died in the process of solving it.
" My Emperor? "
They turned- and saw Antonius, who made his report.
To Rubria later, he made a more honest one, one that actually mentioned Orkus.
She asked him exactly what had happened.
" You mean.. why didn't I die? "
He said that after he'd killed Orkus, " [a]fterwards.. "
(The hair's a nicely succinct implication of that destiny.)
(Pagecount's 7 and just under a quarter of 23 from Britannia #4.
There's going to be a sequel to this, with the first issue coming out this April- Britannia: We Who Are About To Die, a mystery of gladiators and gods.)
Dispatched from Rome to investigate the goings-on up north, he who'd earned the name Detectioner was almost at the truth of things.
He'd been turning them over in his mind, in his tent, when the woman Bodmall came to him.
They embraced, her hands on his back.
Then her hands changed, against her will, and went for his neck.
Her strength of arm overpowered his.
An insistent vision came to him, then- Rubria, chief of the Vestal Virgins in Rome.
" Find the codex within you.
" Feel the heat of the eternal flame of Vesta.
" Remember that ancient text of knowledge.. that we made a part of you.. "
She staggered to her feet, glad that she hadn't killed Antonius and sad at the fate she'd forseen for him.
Antonius asked her about that fate- and was interrupted by his slave Bran, entering the damaged tent.
Bodmall took that opportunity to leave, leaving the two of them there.
Bran, who'd been in the local village, described the heavy fog that was setting in.
Antonius remembered, then- the fog in the cave years ago, the fog in where the Roman encampment they were in now'd moved from recently.
He remembered the cult that had been sacrificing to the devil Orkus in that cave.
He knew that Orkus was in Britannia now, and that the cruelty of the Romans in the camp to the locals was something more than the usual.
So it was that he and Bran went to see Prefect Gabinius, the ranking Roman, the man Antonius'd seen lead a pack of his fellows in running a local to ground.
They caught him sacrificing a rabbit to Orkus.
He threatened them with being put to death.
" And offered up as sacrifice to Orkus?
" Like the poor Brits that Eryn supplied you with? "
Gabinius called his loyal men into the tent. They engaged Antonius and Bran.
Outside, far away in the woods, Bodmall met the " [w]ife of no man, keeper of the ways.. "
" What do you want, child? "
She wanted help, and understanding of Antonius- how could he have what he had, being a Roman?
" These are new times. Times of men and their hard weapons.
" But in old days, it was a sister world. We travelled far. We kept the fire. "
" The fire? "
" .. he must be special indeed. "
Back at Gabinius' tent, Antonius and Bran had dispatched the prefect's men.
There was only the prefect himself, who charged at Antonius.
Gabinius fell to his knees, dying; out of his face came Orkus, who promised that Antonius would soon be his.
Over the prefect's corpse, Antonius decided that he had to go find Bodmall.
Bran went with him; they made their way to the nearby village, which was burning.
" See? See what you have done? "
The druid Eryn, who'd got Bodmall to summon Orkus, who'd worked with Gabinius and his lot to feed him (so that Orkus would in turn feed on the Romans), confronted them.
" You moved Orkus to do this, Roman. He hates you. And his hate makes him angry with us. "
Dark clouds burst from Eryn's hands, obscuring everything.
Antonius thought of his ties to Orkus as he stumbled blind.
" Is that why the Vestal Virgins remade me?
" Is that why they rebuilt me? "
Antonius helped Bran to his feet, then parted ways with him.
He went to confront Orkus, alone, certain in his realization that he'd die in the doing.
Orkus met him, with taunts and images.
He plunged the sword into Orkus, burning the devil away.
From its grasp he fell onto the earth, secure in his victory and death.
After that, in Rome, Rubria of the Vestals told the Emperor Nero that the problem in Britannia was solved- and that, unfortunately, Antonius Axia had died in the process of solving it.
" My Emperor? "
They turned- and saw Antonius, who made his report.
To Rubria later, he made a more honest one, one that actually mentioned Orkus.
She asked him exactly what had happened.
" You mean.. why didn't I die? "
He said that after he'd killed Orkus, " [a]fterwards.. "
(The hair's a nicely succinct implication of that destiny.)
(Pagecount's 7 and just under a quarter of 23 from Britannia #4.
There's going to be a sequel to this, with the first issue coming out this April- Britannia: We Who Are About To Die, a mystery of gladiators and gods.)
no subject
Date: 2017-04-01 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-04-01 09:41 pm (UTC)