#Legatus Legionis

[gobingirl]

Roman Empire AU

Omggg. I’ve been thinking (uh oh, lookout she’s been thinking) about my Roman Emp AU. And it’s just such a good Kiribaku set up I can’t even. Like Song of Achilles style soft and sad.

What if Kiri is assigned to guard Kat bc he’s building a temple or something that the civilians don’t want and so it’s kinda high risk. And Kiri sees him working on a statue or a column or smth and just like, freezes and wonders if a statue came to life.

And Kat is always covered in marble dust and it makes him look so statuesque that Kiri isn’t even wrong to think that.

What if Kat worked his whole life to be taken seriously as a sculptor/architect and this is his first major project and so he’s protective as hell over it. And so he spots Kiri standing frozen in a doorway in progress and just starts going off on him for being in his workspace and all Kiri can do is stare and nod.

Ugh my brain is so infected with this I can’t even. I’d like to say I’m completely normal about them but then I come up w something like this.

[ianmiller42]

Ebook Discount

From June 29 – July 6, Legatus Legionis will be discounted to 99c on Amazon in the US and 99p in the UK. The second book in a series. This is a mix of science fiction and historical fiction. In Athene’s Prophecy. Gaius Claudius Scaevola is required by Pallas Athene to do three things, one of which is to show that the Earth goes around the sun. I issued a challenge to readers: could they do it…

[dariusult]

FFXIV Write Day 6- Halcyon

-The following is a transcript of an address made to the Garlean IXth Legion by its Legatus: one Vectis van Coronus, following the legion's suspension from its deployment to Othard after the now infamous Yanxia Bay incident wherein Vectis van Coronus earned the title "The Butcher of Yanxia Bay". The recording of this address was retrieved from the wreckage of the IXth Legion flagship following its destruction in Corvos.

"As I gaze out across the brave sons and daughters of the Ninth Legion, I cannot help but feel a great swell of pride in my breast. You who remained faithful to your oaths. You who would neither shrink away from nor balk at your duty. You who can see the shining future for which we strive, and you who dare to walk the thorny path towards that future. To you, I extend my sincerest congratulations.

You have proven yourselves to be soldiers of genuine character. Sons and Daughters of Garlemald true. In culling from our number those of weak resolve we have once again returned the Ninth Legion to its rightful place as a place fit only for those walking the path of true rigor.

Consider not on the judgments of those content to languish, fat and contented, in the capital. Accept not the hollow camaraderie of those pining for faded glory, steeped in their insipid nostalgia. Heed not the spineless criticisms of the Populares, reveling in their weakness and extolling their wretched cowardice as virtue. The bureaucrat, the traditionalist, and the pacifist—parasites, all.

We who walk the true path do not see war as a means to an end as the bureaucrats and traditionalists do. We understand that war is both the means AND the end. Those who seek to reclaim what we once had fail to learn from the mistakes of the past, and those who seek to be contented with what we have now are no better than livestock. War is the purest expression of a people's strength, the truest test of their value and the surest way to cull that which is superfluous. As the craftsman continually hones his craft, so too must a people continually hone themselves in that great crucible of war. To cease this process of continual improvement is to invite stagnation, irrelevance, and death.

History has shown us this with what befell Allag. A great empire fallen not to foes without, but the rot of greed and indolence that hollowed their nation out from within. Garlemald has long sought to emulate once-great Allag, but the Allagan legacy is one of failure. We will not repeat Allag's mistakes, even if our countrymen are content to strive no higher than what has come before, we of the Ninth Legion will never cease our march towards our glorious future, greater than that of any peoples seen before on this star, enduring until the end of all things!

And make no mistake, my friends the end IS coming. When it comes, the Ninth Legion shall rise to answer it! For that great war is what we are preparing for. That great final war that has been prophesied since time immemorial... The war that shall scorch the earth, rend the skies, and boil the seas. Doubt not that it is coming, for it WILL come; and we who have honed our craft with diligence shall reap our just reward: victory and glory everlasting. Omnes Legioni!"

-I find it interesting that some account of the Final Days appears to have survived since antiquity, morphing into this tale of the 'final war' that Vectis was so obsessed with. Further accounts of the IXth Legion, known colloquially by their peers as a 'war cult', seem to indicate that Vectis' obsession began before his rise to legatus. It may be worth searching any archived resources in Noumenon for mention of this 'final war', though research on the Echo as well as notes from the Scions of the Seventh dawn suggest that there may be some sort of shared traumatic memory re: the final days. Further research may be required in these fields. -Archon Deki Lihzeh

[fenicenera83]

🍃🍯A day's shopping… a month's work!- A Sweet Marius/Daniel Tale

It was a soft Thursday evening, when Daniel entered followed by Marius into one of those big do-it-yourself shops, the ones overflowing with things, painting, gardening, modelling, house etc… Daniel was super excited, it had been a long time since they had ventured among all those people. He felt a little like a child, so excited in the face of what, for many other vampires, would have seemed just another place. For him, instead, it contained the wonder of offering his creativity, as Marius had called it, and he did not want to hear other terms, the chance to bring his little worlds to life. Daniel would have been a little worried, alone in the midst of all those mortals, however much he tried he still did not feel completely safe. But every time he turned back, he found his gaze serene and calm, set in the deep blue of Marius' eyes. He needed no more, he smiled, turning towards him, his heart in his throat, happy to see how gently Marius reciprocated, tilting his head slightly, his smile, a silent encouragement, and full of confidence. Walking together, they traversed the length and breadth of the shop, the trolley slowly filled under Marius' amused gaze. At a certain point Daniel noticed a small box, enclosing some kind of construction that seemed to be a reconstruction of something ancient. Intrigued he took the pouch and turned it over in his hands, Marius leaned over his shoulder. Daniel looked up at him: "You're not going to believe this! It's a Roman camp!!! To build!" Daniel waved the bag, and Marius stared at it, then looked at Daniel: "You want to dedicate yourself to this, as a new project? A Roman encampment?" and Marius sighed, more incredulous than anything else. Daniel stared at the bag: "This is only a small part! We have to find all the materials to build the rest! You and me." Daniel leaned towards Marius cheerfully, a smile on his lips, which became laughter as Marius shook his head in surrender: " Ave legatus legionis" Marius leaned towards Daniel and placed a kiss on his nose. Daniel burst out laughing: "Come on get to work and help me find what we need!" Marius rolled his eyes but was smiling.

A month later ...

They spent a month working together on that project. Marius explained to Daniel how the castrum was organised, they had even prepared a small map on where they had marked how to organise the work. And together they had managed to recreate everything perfectly. The shape square, the moat around it, the defensive palisade of logs along its entire perimeter. On the sides they had even built throwing machines, with coats of arms and men on horseback. Inside the camp they had neatly arranged the tents, and on each side of the encampment an exit route for emergencies. From these routes departed the main ones that divided the encampment into four rectangles. The two main streets, from which they met, rose the forum, the main square. The commander's tent in the centre, the soldiers intent on their daily routine. It was a small masterpiece full of life and attention to detail. Daniel had stood staring at it with shining eyes and clenched hands, not only had they managed to create all this from nothing, and that in itself was wonderful for Daniel, but having the memories, of those moments they had spent together. Like when he had accidentally squeezed the glue too hard, and Marius had ended up gluing his fingers to Daniel's, to Daniel's laughter. Like when he had painted the shields red and drawn a big red heart on Marius' cheek, who had looked at him incredulously, and then painted the same one on Daniel's forehead and placed a kiss on it. When they had cut the fabric for the curtains of the small camp, and Daniel had created a small stuffed animal that he had delicately sewn to one of Marius' jumpers, Marius had looked at him with a sweet smile the whole time, and then hugged him tightly, murmuring a thank you. Thinking back on it now, Daniel was overcome with emotion, looked at Marius with shining eyes, and jumping up like a child, extended his hand: "High five, Mars, we are the coolest team ever!" Marius stared at Daniel, arching an eyebrow and then his hand, then smiling, ignored his hand and took Daniel in a hug, pulling him close, resting his cheek on his hair. Daniel didn't think twice, and squeezed, so hard that for a moment he was afraid, but when he felt a tender kiss on his hair he knew, that Marius was more than happy like this.

[condemnata]

PSALMS OF STYGIAN OVERHAUL: COMBAT REPORT.

This journal covers the summary of General Carmenta, Bathysmal Herald of Inexorable Justice and feats of her abilities over the centuries.

Born over ███ years ago, Carmenta belonged to the Amaltheian subclass of Delphian seachildren. She was first brought into the court during the reign of Exarch Ascalon and has continued to guide the outliving exarchs and leaders of Delphi in the following eras. She was made the exarchate’s legatus legionis in the year of ████ and reign of Exarch [DATA EXPUNGED] before her penance came to prevail her fate.

Alike many other sirens of Delphian subculture, she is well-versed in the arts of war. Having been fighting in countless battles, it is only natural for her to amass the trust of the entire exarchate within her. Her decrees are therefore applied in the form of hydrokinesis and siren songs befitting for another endless war.

Carmenta is currently residing in the depths of Kyrene’s coastlines, Andromeda, serving a period of repentance to no audience for herself. She would occasionally walk the ground to hunt for food and report to the cathedral, however. Her current allegiance is the only thing keeping her beneath the unforgiving justice.

Beneath pretenses of pure thalassophobia and bathysmal malice, author hopes for the betterment of seachildren research so we can extend our knowledge past the Amaltheians, even towards the Stratioceans, and Callisteans.

[thelegionoffakeneils]

Legatus Legionis Neil: The top-ranked Fake Neil of the Legion.

[theblackphoenixwritings]

🍃🍯A day's shopping… a month's work!- A Sweet Marius/Daniel Tale

It was a soft Thursday evening, when Daniel entered followed by Marius into one of those big do-it-yourself shops, the ones overflowing with things, painting, gardening, modelling, house etc… Daniel was super excited, it had been a long time since they had ventured among all those people. He felt a little like a child, so excited in the face of what, for many other vampires, would have seemed just another place. For him, instead, it contained the wonder of offering his creativity, as Marius had called it, and he did not want to hear other terms, the chance to bring his little worlds to life. Daniel would have been a little worried, alone in the midst of all those mortals, however much he tried he still did not feel completely safe. But every time he turned back, he found his gaze serene and calm, set in the deep blue of Marius' eyes. He needed no more, he smiled, turning towards him, his heart in his throat, happy to see how gently Marius reciprocated, tilting his head slightly, his smile, a silent encouragement, and full of confidence. Walking together, they traversed the length and breadth of the shop, the trolley slowly filled under Marius' amused gaze. At a certain point Daniel noticed a small box, enclosing some kind of construction that seemed to be a reconstruction of something ancient. Intrigued he took the pouch and turned it over in his hands, Marius leaned over his shoulder. Daniel looked up at him: "You're not going to believe this! It's a Roman camp!!! To build!" Daniel waved the bag, and Marius stared at it, then looked at Daniel: "You want to dedicate yourself to this, as a new project? A Roman encampment?" and Marius sighed, more incredulous than anything else. Daniel stared at the bag: "This is only a small part! We have to find all the materials to build the rest! You and me." Daniel leaned towards Marius cheerfully, a smile on his lips, which became laughter as Marius shook his head in surrender: " Ave legatus legionis" Marius leaned towards Daniel and placed a kiss on his nose. Daniel burst out laughing: "Come on get to work and help me find what we need!" Marius rolled his eyes but was smiling.

A month later ...

They spent a month working together on that project. Marius explained to Daniel how the castrum was organised, they had even prepared a small map on where they had marked how to organise the work. And together they had managed to recreate everything perfectly. The shape square, the moat around it, the defensive palisade of logs along its entire perimeter. On the sides they had even built throwing machines, with coats of arms and men on horseback. Inside the camp they had neatly arranged the tents, and on each side of the encampment an exit route for emergencies. From these routes departed the main ones that divided the encampment into four rectangles. The two main streets, from which they met, rose the forum, the main square. The commander's tent in the centre, the soldiers intent on their daily routine. It was a small masterpiece full of life and attention to detail. Daniel had stood staring at it with shining eyes and clenched hands, not only had they managed to create all this from nothing, and that in itself was wonderful for Daniel, but having the memories, of those moments they had spent together. Like when he had accidentally squeezed the glue too hard, and Marius had ended up gluing his fingers to Daniel's, to Daniel's laughter. Like when he had painted the shields red and drawn a big red heart on Marius' cheek, who had looked at him incredulously, and then painted the same one on Daniel's forehead and placed a kiss on it. When they had cut the fabric for the curtains of the small camp, and Daniel had created a small stuffed animal that he had delicately sewn to one of Marius' jumpers, Marius had looked at him with a sweet smile the whole time, and then hugged him tightly, murmuring a thank you. Thinking back on it now, Daniel was overcome with emotion, looked at Marius with shining eyes, and jumping up like a child, extended his hand: "High five, Mars, we are the coolest team ever!" Marius stared at Daniel, arching an eyebrow and then his hand, then smiling, ignored his hand and took Daniel in a hug, pulling him close, resting his cheek on his hair. Daniel didn't think twice, and squeezed, so hard that for a moment he was afraid, but when he felt a tender kiss on his hair he knew, that Marius was more than happy like this.

[richo1915]

Augustus on Legatus Legionis

He thought nothing less becoming in a well-trained leader than haste and rashness. He used to say that a war or a battle should not be begun under any circumstances, unless the hope of gain was clearly greater than the fear of loss. He would compare those who took great risks in the hope of gaining some small advantage, to a man who fishes with a golden hook, though aware that nothing he can catch will be valuable enough to justify it’s loss.

[c0rpseductor]

👀👀What’s up sluts!💋💋Did you hear? 🤴His Radiance Emperor Solus🤴has shuffled off this 👅sexy coil👅. We’re 👁seeing👁 him off with one last 👑royal👑 🪛💦😛screw🪛💦😛 at 👉 the Galvus 👉👌🍆 Phallus 🍆 so put on your best 🍆💦pearl necklace💦🍆 and get over here for a 👸 king-sized👸😜fuck🍆😜 and 👅🍌suck🍆.Send this to all your favorite 🤴Garleans 🤴 who you want to 🍆measure your reach 🍌😛 with. If you get 3️⃣ back you’re a 🍆💍Prince Zenos 💍🍆. If you get 7️⃣ back you’re a 🍑🍑Glory Booty🍑🍑. But if you get 🔟 back ☄️💥Legatus legionis Gaius van Baelsar ☄️💥 👅devastates you. If you don’t send this to at least 🔟 horny ⚔️legatuses⚔️ Varis will make you a 😫viator 😫

[gobingirl]

My little Roman Empire AU where Baku is a sculpture and Kiri is a Centurion (or a legatus legionis).

More characters to be added in the near future. I have so many ideas for this AU it’s not even funny.

[turbobyakuren]

Yda: heard the Garlean Empire is problematic so now Hatsune Miku is the legatus legionis of the XIVth legion

Papalymo: who.

[roosterarts]

"In this suburb to Hell I'm living to tell

'Bout how I defended my Rome

Hail the Caesar, Kingdom Come"

The Roman aquila (eagle) was the main military standard used by the legio. Carried by an aquilifier, which would have been the signifier (standard bearer) of the legio's 1st cohortes, the aquila was often located at the right flank of the first line of the legio. The aquila also marked the presence of the legatus legionis (the commander of the legio), as the aquila and aquilifier followed followed the legatus wherever they went.

After the Marian reforms, the main standard of every legio was the eagle. This would continue through the centuries until other symbols begin to gradually replace it.

Aside from being a military standard, the aquila also represnted Roman might and power. Due to this, the enemies of Rome often did their best to seize and capture one, while the legionnaires did their best to protect it. To lose an aquila often brough grave embarassmenet both to the legio and to Rome itself. Because of this, many Imperators would launch campaigns to recover lost aquilas.

[whitherliliesbloom]

in scornful eyes

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #04 - baleful ]

[ wol, gaius & alisaie ]  ★ [ 838 words ]  ★ [ post-sb ]

baleful: threatening harm, menacing

gaius van baelsar did not fear death, but it didn’t make the warrior of light’s glare, full of seething hatred and fury any less frightening

Last the black wolf fought as the legatus legionis of the Garlean empire, he had come face to face with the might of a young girl. Despite her power, and the many gifts she possessed that set her apart from the faceless masses that he’d saw as weak, he believed her to still be weak.

Weak at heart, evident by the swiveling of hope and empathy that yet lingered in her eyes even as she’d brute forced her way through the caestrum to get to the heart of the imperials - to him. The warrior of light was weak because she still held hope for change in others, even for him... who, in hindsight, deserved none of the mercy that she’d offered to him during their final confrontation. 

As he wandered the lands, weathered gunblade strapped to his back, his mind had occasionally drifted to her - the visage of a pure white heroine still crystal clear in his mind, and how in an ironic twist of fate, it would be she who showed him the errors in his ways, and the inherent weakness in his own beliefs.

A part of him knew that their paths would cross once more in the future - if the path she chose did indeed involve the walkers of the shadows they called ascians... which it would. Given her character and the goals of the scions, they would surely be hunting after the same quarry.

Four whole summers later indeed, did he finally reunite with the crusader of evil that was the warrior of light. He could not hope to forget her even if he tried - the blinding hues of her bright violet eyes and snow white hair a constant in some of his most twisted of nightmares. 

But to say she was the same woman he’d met back in the sanctum of the Praetorium would be false - for the venom that laced her every word as she stepped past Alisaie and demanded for the slumbering boy would be enough to scald even the most calm and collected of men.

“Give him to me! NOW!”

He has never seen her voice sound out with such maliciousness, such anger and intent to hurt - not even when they’d fought four years ago. Gone was the soft tenderness of her voice - the little pleas of peace that had gone unheard to him, now replaced with a fury that the past, more foolish version of himself all those years ago would surely praise to be an exemplar of a true ruler.  

It had only been for a moment, of surprise and confusion both, but Gaius doesn’t resist, and sets Alphinaud down where the warrior of light was quick to cradle him, tucking the boy to closely and tightly to herself.

For a moment, the flames that had burned so violently in the lalafellin woman’s eyes were extinguished, replaced now with a quiet, regretful sorrow as she looks at the boy in her arms.

“Oh Alphinaud.... Not you too...” Her voice is barely a whisper, quivering and strained as if she’d been crying out for a long while now. “And to think that we’d just....”

He doesn’t know the context behind his words, and he knows better than to question her as he watched in solemn silence as the warrior of light bites back the urge to shed tears. 

Another woman approaches, Alphinaud’s twin sister, Gaius gathered, who is quick to kneel down beside her friend to worriedly check on her brother’s vitals.

“Be at ease.” He breaks the silence with his reassurance, feeling the need to speak up now more than before. “The lad’s not dead - just locked in slumber.”

His words are met with a morbid silence - not that he’d expected otherwise, and merely watches as the two women stared longingly at the boy - before one of them finally speaks up. 

The warrior of light, to his surprise... He’d thought her content with simply gaining custody over the boy from him... but it would seem, from her following words, that further introduction would be unnecessary.

“Why was Alphinaud with you, black wolf?” The lalafell asks, her head finally lifted to glare daggers at the man. “And how... how in the seven hells are you still alive?”

Her jewel like eyes no longer possessed blind hope, nor what little ounce of sympathy she’d shown for the fool that had been the legatus legionis... But an unsettling threat that made him believe were it not for the vulnerable, sleeping boy in her arms, the warrior of light would have long raised her staff to strike at him.

“The black wolf?? You mean... Gaius van Baelsar??” Alphinaud’s twin exclaims, eyes wide and alarmed. 

The broken mask he had strapped to his belt buckle felt heavier than it has ever been before, and the revelation of his identity bids him take the mask off before tossing it onto the sandy ground, the legacy, pride, lies he carried abandoned. 

“Aye. The very same.” 

[notfeelingthyaster]

Imagine (Son of Hades! Percy; Godswapped! Big Three's kids) Mark of Athena AU Pt. 1 (3/7) or (8/12)

Hello!! MoA is freaking extensive, so you're getting it in two parts. What are y'all thinking about this AU? Do you like it? Do you have suggestions? Anyway before reading this, check on the masterpost - all parts are essencial for the understanding of this - PJO or HoO - and check on the warnings before proceeding :))

Before everything, everyone's ages. Malcolm is 20, Reyna and Octavian are 19; Percy and Annabeth are 18; Frank and Jason are 17; Piper, Leo and Nico are newly 16; Will and Hazel are 15 - everyone is older, because I can.

Perseus is on a very uncomfortable toga praetexta, and he is late to the committee he has been organizing for at least two weeks now.

Planning for the greek commission - that he really hopes has planned a decent diplomatic mission, come on, Annie - is a very difficult job.

Mainly because Octavian is being a pain - and his direct superior, the Pontifex Maximus, is his grand-uncle, so nepotism is, of course, making Perseus life very hard.

They don't have any real say about the subject - the Vestal Virgins outrank them, and they're all for it because their Lady said so - but they still can protest every single one of the Alliance Committee decisions. Every single one.

They don't know how the greeks are getting here - it seems to be by ship, so they are keeping people at the closest bay, but no one is sure, so they are preparing for everything.

Hera gave him a date - July 8th, a Sunday - and they're working with that. Saturday is a day of rest, to the Roman people, so they organize everything on Friday - food, beverage, accommodations. Will they need garments? Perseus is not letting them walk around in those orange monstrosities.

Well. Hazel and Frank organize those - mainly helped by Questors and Magistrates - while Reyna and Perseus lock themselves up and review all the paperwork.

Because if they're not coming with their own mountain of paperwork, Perseus is kicking their asses, from Jason Grace - the previous Praetor - to Annabeth - she is supposed to be smart.

He also works on the mess that is the patrol rotation, the defense plans for the city, in the reconstruction efforts and in rising the wall at least 10 feet - getting it thirty feet tall, an impenetrable fortress for the upcoming war against the Giants.

Perseus has also made time for Iris Messaging his mother, - who is always overjoyed to hear from him - Persephone, - who he was only able to talk to once - Rachel, - who was not surprised to hear from him, and keep suggesting that he goes to the college closest to Parsons instead of staying in Nova Roma - and Calypso - who no Iris Messaging has been able to connect, nor can he find her location, so he guesses she is also in Olympus.

So back to the present - Perseus is late. It's 9h22 - he doesn't think that the greeks are getting here in the afternoon. He passes by Reyna's villa - with a cup of coffee and half their paperwork - and she is also late - a first when it comes to Praetor Arellano. Because they aren't Perseus and Reyna from now - they're Praetor Jackson of Styx and Praetor Arellano.

So they go to the courtyard - where the whole army is waiting, swords and shields gleaming with Frank in the head, plus the Consul, his two assistants, the Pontifex Maximus, Augur Primus Octavian, the six Questors and Perseus, and Reyna's assistants.

Perseus was never so grateful for someone as he was for Commander Sabina Artorius - the legacy of Pomona had been injured in the battle against Polybotes and lost her right leg and an eye - didn't make her any less valuable for him - but in the eyes of the prejudiced Roman people, she was a burden - so Reyna appointed her for the job.

She did everything Perseus wasn't able to - including proof-reading everything he wrote, teaching him the intricacies of Roman Politics, and giving him paperwork to sign.

Everyone who called her a useless servant was lying - Sabina was an amazingly competent P.A. and diplomat, and Perseus was very grateful for her, and her salary reflected that. Even if the Romans found weird a Praetor was paying for work - weird slaver fascist culture.

Reyna also has an assistant - a boy called Aeneas Nerius - a son of Virtus - who was born blind, so was relegated to poor-paying (or not paid at all, because housing and food aren't payment) jobs. Because Nova Roma is not only queerphobic and racist, no. It's also ableist.

The Pontifex - his name is Septimus Gavius, and he's a direct son of Phebus Apollo - looks at them angrily when they arrive late - but the Consul doesn't even notice the time - the man is too afraid of their conjoined power over the masses.

The Consul plays for the people as if Perseus would be a good successor - calls him Augustus and Imperator - even when everyone knows Reyna is the obvious choice - the man is as misogynist as all the older Senators are.

While Reyna tries her best to make her purple stola less constricting and Aeneas corrects Perseus toga with the practiced movements of someone who has been trained to do it - and that's when Perseus remembers that Aeneas was a servant to Octavian's family.

He pointedly avoids looking at the boy's hands - the demigod is no older than Percy, and his hands are burned and scarred. Perseus doesn't pity him - he rages internally against Octavian and his bigoted, slaver, prejudiced family.

They are talking - he is still seething from his realization - when the Greeks appear. And Perseus wants so much to kick their butts.

He has no words. He wants to scream. Reyna massages her temples with the face of a resigned person, and Sabina - the bloodthirsty woman that she is - snorts in amusement.

"Praetor Jackson. I fought beside you! I didn't expect your people to be... well... barbarians!" Whispers Reyna in his ear, in utter exasperation.

"I wasn't expecting this either! They have Grace, who is a roman! Why are they doing this?" He whispers back, as lost as she appears.

It doesn't matter - he tells Frank - Legatus Legionis Zhang - to make the troops stand down. This is not a fight - not yet, Lady Lupa whispers in his mind.

Hazel - Centurion Levesque - looks at him worried. She has been frenzied since her brother's disappearance the day after her birthday, but this is just the cherry on top. Are they fools?

The ship crosses their wall - and hovers in the air as, one by one, six people climb down. Perseus recognize almost all of them - there's Annabeth, Malcolm, Will, Jason Grace, and two other demigods, who he doesn't know.

At least Grace is wearing a toga. A makeshift, purple toga picta - as if he was a Triumvir or an Imperator - but a toga nonetheless, even if pretentious.

The Consul is the first to talk - the Greeks approach slowly, wary of the army behind them. The man welcomes them to Nova Roma - looking at Grace's toga with something akin to disdain - and then promptly passes the torch to the Praetors - the organization of this whole thing has been in their hands from the start.

"I am Praetor Urbanus Arellano" Reyna starts, in an official tone that no one questions "And this is Praetor Peregrinus Jackson of Styx. These are Pontifex Maximus Septimus and Augur Primus Octavian, Legatus Legionis Zhang, and the Twelfth Legion of Nova Roma. Please, follow me - let's continue our talking in a more private setting, I'm sure you're must be exhausted."

It's just an excuse to avoid the mocking looks the bigots are throwing them - Perseus can hear their voices in his head, calling him an ape, a savage bringing barbarians into their home.

The greeks - with their orange T-shirts and faded jeans and mocking purple toga - look as out of place in Nova Roma as Perseus feared they would. Reyna and he take them to the Praetor Villa - is as much as they can restrain themselves.

Annabeth - who knows him longer than anyone here - doesn't jump him - she just looks a little overwhelmed - Nova Roma is probably a bit much for her Athenian brain, which is now possibly being overridden with possibilities. It's Jason who makes the first move - and what a weird move at that.

"Reyna" He greets, and they hug briefly - and as manly as possible, for some weird roman reason about feminization - before the blonde turns to him "Perseus Jackson"

"Jason Grace" He answers back, and they exchange a handshake, but there's something weird in the inflection of his voice that Perseus doesn't necessarily care for "Annabeth"

Her greeting - when she gets off the subspace she dropped to - is much nicer - and warmer - he even gets a hug out of it.

They introduce him to Leo Valdez - who Perseus looks at once, remembers Charles Beckendorf, and swears to never let any harm come upon his baby brother - and Piper McLean.

"I know you!" They say at the same time - because that's where English gets you.

They explain that they went to Yancy together - two years, doing the same English tutoring. They give each other a high five for surviving the highs and lows of high school as monster bait. Malcolm and Will both hug Percy and greet Reyna with the same respect they give Annabeth - Praetor Arellano is terrifying.

The conversation eventually goes to how - how did they find Nova Roma, why they aren't surprised to see him here - and the answers are kind of obvious.

"I dreamed of you," Says Grace, still with a strange tilt to his voice. Perseus guesses he probably isn't okay with losing his place as Praetor - but he was kind of lost for eight/seven months. It's the gods' fault, really.

"Me too. Kind of - Lady Juno... I mean, Hera, she sent me dreams for about a month or so? It was all very weird - like basically the training I was doing at the day, you were doing at night. I think she was trying to tell me to follow in your footsteps. Helped me a lot - thank you, man."

Jason - and all of the greek entourage - seems a bit downtrodden - like he just gave a big miss. But Perseus has more important things to care about.

"Who had the brilliant idea to come for an alliance in a military flying ship?!"

Jason Grace wants to punch Hera, or Juno, or whatever is her name in the face. He wants to punch himself either - the gods never did anything good for him, why would they now?

He talked - like a creep - about the dreams. And turns out? He is the only one having deep, emotional dreams about Perseus' past for months. He got a crush on someone he knows, like the palm of his hand - but that doesn't know him back, because really, why make this easy? Why give him those dreams at all - if they were doing this one-sided?

So he stays quiet, as Leo apologizes for the worst idea ever - coming with a warship to a military city - and, while Perseus and Piper trade stories, Reyna beacons him for a quick walk - to show him the development of plans they did together - their own way of catching up.

"You're infatuated with him," Jason says but is not an accusation, is just the truth, in the worst time possible.

"Can you blame me? You were gone." She retorts "Wait... It's not me you're jealous of. But how do you? You never met before."

He explains the dreams - the seven months of dreams, the only link to his past, the way Camp Half-Blood worships Percy - the way that they don't have rules about who you lay with. Jason feels Nova Roma around him - the decadence of water everywhere that CHB simply lacked.

"Well, we should open a club. Me, you, that blonde girl, Di Angelo, half of Nova Roma..." And they laugh, for it seems impossible to not fall for Percy's charm, just as impossible as making him notice any of them. "Now can you explain to me why are you wearing purple of all things?"

He is apologetic - it was the only toga they could find in short notice without leaving Camp. Then, she shows him the plans - Reyna can do multiple things at once, and her best friend's love life is merely a blip in her radar.

Reyna loves differently - she has known that, all her life. It doesn't make a difference where it comes to Perseus - she loves him, even if she can't imagine ever laying with him. Maybe that's why she hasn't made any moves under the course of three months. She should let him go - he has so many options, anyway.

When they go back, is to see Perseus and Annabeth in a heated debate about she wearing a chiton or a stola - anyway, no greek can go to Senatus in jeans and a T-shirt.

Eventually, they manage to get them all in togas - the girls refuse the stolas, but they are convinced to put on the chitons for diplomacy.

They didn't come with mountains of paperwork. But between Malcolm, Will, and Annabeth, by lunch they have outlined most of their possible contributions and what do they need - and what they're unable to give up.

Perseus and Jason - and possibly Nico di Angelo, who's missing - are the only ones who know the full information - how many battle-ready people both sides have, how many disabled people, how many children, healers, resources.

Nova Roma is winning - in everything. Except for power - because Camp Half-Blood only has, maybe, five legacies out of more than 150 campers, while Nova Roma is mainly composed of legacies, second-generation demigods, or minor gods' demigods.

The Greeks are composed of 63% Olympian's children, 36% minor gods' children, and 2% legacies - all children of two demigods, so second-generation demigods. They don't have Nova Roma's training - but they have powers the Romans could only dream of.

The Romans are composed of 12% Olympian's children, 39,5% minor gods' children, and 48,5% legacies - most who are at least a few generations diluted. They don't have Camp's power - but they have techniques and numbers the Greeks couldn't even hope to have - if you counted the able non-fighters - the ones who would fight either way for the sake of Rome - it was a number bordering on 700 hundred strong.

It is a gamble that could only bring destruction - for both sides. So Perseus and Jason exchange looks - and decide not to divulge all information. Egos are so fragile - especially between the older generations - so it's best they don't have material to plan in accord.

The Greeks and Roman heed together to the Forum Romanum. Is still weird to see the Romans - especially for Leo.

You see, Leo has been surrounded by a cult of Perseus Jackson over the last few months. Half the people he knows are infatuated with the guy - including the meticulous Annabeth Chase, his best friend, and even scary as hell, Nico "I'm bringing the thunder" di Angelo.

He is expecting a Batman-esque character. He is expecting the heroes from legends - the ones destined to fall. Leo is half-waiting from an automaton - or perhaps Lucifer himself. He isn't sure.

But the guy is... easy-going. He bears a striking similarity to Charles Beckendorf - with surprisingly green eyes. Perseus is wearing sheets - why, Leo can't phantom - and making jokes with Malcolm Cage like the guy wasn't perpetually boomed by something.

It isn't the only thing that surprises him: All his ships (the romantic ones, not the literal one) crashed and burned worse than Helen of Troy and Paris. Perseus is seemingly oblivious to romance - he is all about the job, making friends, rebelling against the traditions and their superpowerful angsty parents.

Well, Leo can get behind this. He can't stop looking at Nova Roma - a whole city, directly taken off a good Gladiator reboot. Leo is not an architecture crazy like Annabeth - but oh, the aqueducts!

Leo wants to take a peak at the place the chimneys are poking of - maybe a two or three hour walk from where he is - but Piper keeps a hand in his wrist, leashing him like a unruly puppy.

Annabeth is in a similar state of amazement - she came here for her best friend and crush - and is surprised.

Not by Perseus becoming some kind of military political person - he always had the potential - and the way he grew, somewhat, harder and prettier at the same time. Annabeth is only eighteen and still on sophomore year - blame the hormones.

But she is amazed by Nova Roma. They have such an intricate society, with traditions the greeks have long forgotten - who still uses clothes like that - and a military formation worthy of Julius Caesar.

Her best friend turned out to kind of be the Julius Caesar to Reyna's - Praetor Arellano - Augustus. Perseus - Praetor Jackson of Styx - is militar and rigid, a political conqueror - while Reyna is infinitely more dangerous - she is a king, a leader to be worshipped as a goddess for centuries to come.

Annabeth came in this mission for three reasons: Her best friend, the war, and the mission her mother gave her. But now, she looks at the politics, at the city - and wants to stay.

They enter the Senatus - Perseus and Reyna upfront, followed by Jason and the greeks - and take their places. Jason - for the anger of most romans - stay with the greeks.

The session starts as normal - titles, names, rankings, people bringing their issues, strifes, budgets, ideas of infrastructure that were authorized by the Censors, marriage licenses and research projects.

Jason thinks they are scarily good together. Reyna works most of the civil front - she is a master at law - but it's Perseus who separates most strifes and solves the money problems - he is the son of a fair judge himself.

He can see the looks - he is Propraetor now. Why doesn't he sit in his side of the Senatus, between his pairs? Does he think himself above them now - even between barbarians?

But Jason can't let his friends to the mercy of the romans - not alone. After all people come - some redirected to the Consul, some with their issues solved for better or for worse - it's their time, to state the case.

The Alliance of Ephesus - for a city that was both greek and roman in nature - is still in it's initial states. But they make their cases - the way Camp Half-Blood could help in the upcoming war against the giants, their own roles in the previous war against the titans.

It is a convincing argument - both Perseus and him are unmovable objects, and Reyna is an unstoppable force - but they do hit a rock in the way.

"If the best your camp has to offer is a healer of Phebus Apollo, a bulla-wearer of Flamen Vulcan, a daughter of Venus Verticordia and two children of Minerva - a virgin goddess - this Alliance is highly unfair for the people of Rome!"

It had to be Octavian, Jason thinks. It is good, then, that Perseus has the tongue made of steel and looks like a Basileus - sat on a throne, overlooking them, with a bored look upon his face, he could demand a crown and they would give him.

"You overestimate yourself, Augur Primus Octavian. You see yourself so mighty that you have no need for allies?"

It is mocking and there's a message behind it - "This is where I come from and I am your Praetor - do you challenge my power?" - it makes Jason shiver.

Perseus - Praetor Jackson of Styx - is his father through and through. Jason only met the god once - in the post-war council in Olympus - but he had the same imposing voice, the same luxury that seduced Proserpina to the Underworld.

Just like he looked leading the greek forces against Kronos, wielding his weapons of choice with a roar that made Manhattan tremble.

It seemed to work - for Octavian shut up pretty quickly. Jason is no longer in a position to do it - he is respected, technically, as a Propraetor, but he barely reached half of his term - after spending a year as Legatus Legionis - a position which Frank Zhang more than deserved.

Everything is going well - too well, for Piper's liking. Perseus is cool, Reyna is cooler, they have a whole government (!), Jason is making heart-eyes at dream dude and even prejudiced guy recognized her as a girl.

They have a feast - where they are introduced to Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque - and Piper sure isn't keeping all those titles straight in her head, this is Annabeth's job.

Centurion Levesque - Hazel, a girl a little younger than them, but apparently already a general - keeps looking at Leo as if he is about to implode - a normal reaction to him. She stops once they are introduced - there's a forlorn air about her.

She catches up a little with Perseus - who is the most oblivious person to ever grace this earth, for so many look at him and he barely looks at anything but his paperwork - who finds it mightly funny to slowly eat a pomegranate while everyone freaks out at the implications.

Well - he thinks they are scared. But Piper knows they're just horny and waiting to pass winter cozying up in hell.

Perseus explains to her (finally) why they give the gods different names - Venus Verticordia, Genetrix, and Victrix; Juno Moneta, Regina, Lucina, and Populona; Mars Ultor, Pater, Quirinus, and Gradivus, etc. He explains they are epithets - different forms of each god.

Different from the greek to roman transition, these are the same gods - in very different facades. Like, for example, her mother could either be Venus Genetrix - the maternal one - Victrix - the war one - or Verticordia - the romantic love one.

Greeks used to have this - but some of their aspects got too jumbled, so they started rebirthing - evolution. Zagreus became Dionysus. Hermes split from Pan. Helius merged with Apollo, Selene merged with Artemis. As their cult changed - so did they.

Children of Venus Genetrix and Verticordia are different from Children of Venus Victrix - still brothers and sisters, but their powers are different - where the first lean towards priesthood and the second towards charm speak and magic - almost all the third's are warriors of the same caliber of Mars Ultor's children.

Everyone here is so different though- Perseus' P.A., Sabina, is a total badass and Piper would be all for her... but wouldn't that invalidate her? She spent her whole life trying to prove she is a girl - to now go pursue sex with other girls? Piper is confused - she should IM Ariel before sleeping

It is all going very well - minor accident when someone mentioned Perseus' decision to send the harpy Ella away days ago - probably to Rachel - until Octavian decides to see the ship. And, of course, Leo just has to go.

Jason is proving to be very smart - for while Leo is occupied above with Octavian, he insists to also be on the ship, with Will and Malcolm as his backup - no one here trusts the drowned rat.

They take with them Frank and Hazel Levesque - two possible candidates for the mission on the Roman side - evening the sides - three Romans, three greeks, and Jason - a medium.

Perseus stays on ground - he is the host and can't leave the party - with Reyna - who is talking to Annabeth in hushed whispers - and her - who is starting to get a little tipsy.

Well. She should've known better.

Leo attacks the camp - it's not him, but it's enough. Perseus - at the first cannon bomb - whispers something in Reyna's ear, and escort her and Annabeth to the ship before Roma can react.

He jumps on board, pops an unconscious Octavian out of the ship, and tells Annabeth to get out of there in the next ten minutes or he won't have an alibi. They do - but look at him like he is either crazy or drunk, still in laurels and a toga, a goblet of wine precariously between his fingers.

"I'm Praetor Peregrinus Jackson of Styx - and this is an espionage mission with the objective of rescuing Legatus Legionis Zhang and Centurion Levesque while finding who is the greek traitor. At least, officially - I'm here because I am not a big fan of the woman encroaching in my territory, trying to kill my friends."

Leo - who is still disoriented of what Frank explain is an eidolon, they had a run with those when the attacks on Nova Roma started - starts laughing and takes Annabeth's place steering the Argo II. After a minute of silence, everyone starts laughing - the man is a genius.

So they go after decent clothing - because just Hazel and Frank are in battle appropriate clothing, and Perseus just noticed that they're floating and he can almost see the equations around his head - he wants so bad to talk to him because he has the same numbers around him all the time.

After everyone is in pants and shirts - Perseus, Frank, and Hazel take the loose shirts - Annabeth brought a stash of clothes in more or less their size, in Jason's word - but, while Frank tugs on a pair of sweatpants, the other two look at each other.

Leo is not really surprised when Hazel is in a skirt - but he gasps when Perseus walks in Frank's roman military skirt. He looks uncomfortable at the mere idea of pants.

No one says anything - not only they lived in CHB, but he has the Minotaur dagger that pair perfectly with Rachel's strapped to his tight, while his ax and Warhammer are crossed in his back.

Leo can see Jason drooling - he isn't the only one. Leo is newly sixteen - the youngest bar Will, and, perhaps, Hazel - and generally more interested in machines but he is not blind - the guy is hot.

Perseus gets hotter when he comes to Leo - still with a resting bitch face that would give Chiron a run for his money - and starts asking questions with the excitement of a puppy - about the ship, about the plans, how the aerodynamics work.

Hazel is roped into the conversation when they try and test if she has any control over the wind - almost nothing, but Perseus thinks he can hone her eventually - while Will and Malcolm start grilling Frank and Jason over Nova Roma.

Perseus mentions Nico - which Hazel supports. He hasn't be seen in either Camp since Perseus recovered his memories - said he was going to make up for it, but Percy knows the guy is a little self-destructive - he is too prideful to know when to just stop.

Piper and Annabeth are on patrol - no one is really sure the Romans aren't going after them. It doesn't serve for much: they are attacked.

Not by Romans, but by griffins. Between Jason, Piper, and Annabeth, Perseus and Leo don't even move. The ship does suffer some damage - which prompts Leo to give the Romans a tour of the Argo II.

Perseus is fascinated by Festus - while Hazel is fascinated by Leo - And Frank is seriously just marveling at the greeks by now - Nova Roma is pleasing to the eye, but they don't have automaton dragon ships.

They go to Salt Lake. Jason, Frank, and Piper go get tar, while Leo, Hazel, and Perseus go to the Celestial Bronze. Annabeth, Malcolm, and Will stay, to protect the ship.

It's the first time Perseus has touched land outside of Roma with his memories back - and he can feel a pressure in his chest: His link of empathy to Grover, never completely off.

They encounter Nemesis - who talks to Perseus about Ethan and Domitia, for which he retorts she has no rights. She took Ethan's eye, and his choice was not worth it - she asked for too high a payment.

Nemesis, or Invidia, laughs. Says the world isn't fair - look at Perseus and Jason, Leo and Sammy, Hazel and Nico, the marks in Roman's backs. She doesn't explain anything - but they understand.

Perseus understands Hazel and Nico - it's not fair, that her brother is missing, probably captured if his dreams have an ounce of truth. Leo understands Perseus and Jason - for Jason confided in him for months. It's unfair that Perseus doesn't know as much about Jason - and that Jason knows way too much about him.

Both Hazel and Perseus muse about Sammy - the one from Hazel's flashbacks. They hold hands and keep silent - this is not the moment. Leo doesn't ask about the marks - he saw Jason bare-chested once. He doesn't need to know more.

Invidia gives the fortune cookie to Leo, and promptly disappears - Percy wants to punch her. For Alabaster, for Ethan, for Domitia and the punishments that she has to dole out.

They meet Echo - who Perseus pity and rages, for it's the gods's fault. She couldn't refuse to help Zeus - neither could she flee from Hera's punishment, or Eros' arrows. It's their fault, that she stands now, alive again, but incapable of happiness.

Narcissus is a dick. And Hazel thinks that both Sammy - Leo - and Percy - who looks just like Pluto, and not in a bad way - could surpass him in both looks and personality.

Percy and Leo distract the nymphs - in different ways. Perseus plays his father well, and the dryads flee to Leo, in search of protection from a hero. A black makeshift toga Echo gives them, and that's it: The god of the Underworld coming to kidnap someone else.

Hazel retrieves the Celestial Bronze - the energy in it is strong enough, with Perseus opening the earth sideways for it to pass. They don't need to run back to the ship: Percy keeps evoking skeletons, which scares the nymphs, and in a fit of fury for Echo, Leo breaks Narcissus' nose - which sends him into a panic.

While getting tar, Piper feels her dagger heating up - Katoptris shows her a man Jason recognizes as Dionysus, in Topeka.

When everyone is back to the ship, they relay their stories. Perseus briefly asks Annabeth about Grover - who she tells him is occupied in Maine this year, but never gave up on looking for Perseus. Then, they leave for Topeka - they have a god to meet.

"I know a friend who could help us get down" Starts Perseus, looking at the emptiness under them with worry. The daughter of Aphrodite sympathizes.

"I thought you couldn't shadow travel more than one person at a time" States Jason, with all the creepiness of the dream stalker that he is. Piper is laughing - while Jason flushes and tries to explain.

Perseus ignores it, for the sake of his sanity, and asks if Jason has a Pegasus: Thalia has Porkpie, and he is right, Perseus couldn't possibly get three of them down and up without draining himself.

Jason doesn't have a pegasus - he does have Arion, the son of his matron, Ceres, and Neptune, his father. It doesn't fly - but Hazel has a venti that does.

So it goes Hazel and Jason on Tempest, Piper, and Perseus on Blackjack. Bacchus is waiting for them, a two-liter bottle of Pepsi in one hand.

While many of the roman aspects of greek gods are mainly more rigid, Bacchus is the complete opposite. Dionysus is a god of madness and, in his older iterations, Zagreus, a god of the Underworld.

Bacchus is a god of drunkness, sex, excess, and parties. He has none of the darker sides of his counterpart - nor the austerity of his aspect as Bacchus Liber, a god of freedom, fertility, and protector of people.

No, this was Bacchus in his most simple form: a deadbeat drunk. Piper is so tired - why couldn't she be born in a serious pantheon? Egyptians seem pretty focused.

Bacchus wishes for Ceres' presence - says it's not his responsibility to deal with plants - this is the dominion of Liber, and he can't be Liber without Ceres here. He asks Jason or Perseus to call for the matron - she should listen to them - but Ceres doesn't answer their prayers.

Perseus is as done as Piper and just rolls his eyes. At the presence of a fertility god, even if he only has a bare connection to it, vines start growing around the son of Hades' ankles, like if they're coming to play. Perseus is not only a son of Hades', Piper remembers, but he is also a champion of Persephone.

And while Jason's only blessing is his magical horse, Perseus was trained and has some mild control over plants - Piper thinks he got the better goddess in the deal.

Bacchus - drunk in Pepsi, if that's even possible - don't answer much. He tells them about Phorcys, and paying tribute - Liber would probably answer to it. He then flees.

Jason and Perseus hold a brief conversation about holding evening prayers - Piper doesn't understand much, but Hazel is nodding along, so it can't be bad: The girl is pretty level-headed.

Perseus is a son of the Underworld, he cannot be possessed by spirits, and fight them off easily, and Jason does too - mainly because he knows Perseus way too much to attack him.

But then the spirits turn to the girls. Jason has to throw a wave over Perseus to wake him from Piper's charmspeak so that he can exorcise them. It works, but Perseus has a small panic attack over drowning, is immediately drained and faints on his arms.

So Jason hauls Piper and Hazel over Tempest, so the venti takes them up first, before he bride-carries Perseus into a hurricane and over to Argo II, and promptly passing out from exhaustion and scaring the hell out of everyone on board.

Jason thinks it's worth it - Perseus asks him to start calling him Percy, and, in the Mess Hall, each takes one head of the table. He feels like he should be bothered - he isn't one to share leadership, but they all know the true head of operations here is Annabeth, so.

Percy tells them what he told Reyna - to stop any from following them, for this was a special ops mission. It's his role, and, later, Jason and he can strategize what Perseus will say in the Iris Messages to the Senatus.

And how they're going to spin crossing the Mediterranean Sea without using Julius Caesar's journey as a comparative too much, least they think Jason and Perseus are planning a coup.

They totally are. The two of them and Reyna would be the first triumvirate to work.

That evening, they sit together on the deck and talk. Not about Jason's dreams, not about Perseus's fear of drowning. But the joke about the Forum, and trade anecdotes of campers both know - and it feels like something.

Perseus dreams of drowning on earth and trashes around in his sleep - just until he starts dreaming of Nico again.

Nico is locked up in a cage - like a bird trying to reach flight. Ephialtes and Otis taunt him - two eagles come and try to attack him. He fends them off - feeding off electricity in the sky - but Perseus knows he won't be able to keep this for a long time.

Perseus goes to the deeps of the ship, just close to the motors, and cuddles up to Blackjack - the Nico situation will have to wait until morning.

In the same night, Leo catches Frank sleeping as a dog - and his crush on the guy threatens to swallow him whole.

It's Will who finds him, twelve hours later. Everyone is pissed that Perseus disappeared - so they don't let him go search for Phorcys with Jason, sending the blonde boy with Frank and Will, claiming the son of Hades is still exhausted from the past day.

Perseus stays on board. He tries to decypher his vision with Piper and Hazel, while Malcolm and Annabeth trace the route to their own mission. Leo is steering the ship and finishing the repairs.

Hazel is worried about what Percy saw. The two eagles match a dream she had, a little over a week ago: Prometheus. If those eagles reach Nico, when Nico gets too weak, he will have his liver ripped off, and no magical powers to regrow it.

Jason's mission is also giving bad results. They meet Keto - who Jason is pretty sure he already killed once - and is uncooperative as she takes Will in a tour. Phorcys is much more open - after a little flattery, he tells them all about the twin Giants, the prisoner in a cage - bait for Perseus Jackson and Hazel Levesque - and a map that would possibly lead to the Athenas Parthenos.

They escape when Will kills Keto with a well-positioned arrow, before breaking the tank together and fleeing to Argus II.

In the way to Charleston, they discuss where could the map be. Perseus trade his first Iris Message with the Senatus - in his room, faking that both Frank and Hazel are helping him, and that the greeks have no idea what happened - that there is a traitor in their midst, but the Alliance continues.

Perseus hopes they can win this war with minimum bloodshed, and then he can claim the traitor was controlled by Gaia or something because that's not his main preoccupation. He trades information with Reyna - she tells him to go to Battery.

Annabeth remembers her meeting with her mother - for this time, she was accompanied by Malcolm. Athena told them they were failures - wasting their time searching for a son of Hades. But that they should have a chance at proving themselves - and gave them the small silver coin. To "avenge" her.

Athena raged and bristled about Annabeth and Malcolm helping the Romans, but that's where Annabeth would not relent. Would her mother prefer destruction over her pride? Oh, how wise.

Annabeth feels ashamed she still craves her mother's approval, while the goddess simply saw them as pawns, even after the war raged by the rejected children - she was one of the Olympians with most children on the opposite side.

This time, they play with the finger trap all together - in the mess hall - and Annabeth looks at them and decides this is her family, not a bitter goddess that never bothered with her. She wasn't doing this for Athena - she was doing this for Camp, and her friends.

Annabeth, Hazel, and Perseus go to the Battery, while Leo, Frank, and Malcolm go to the museum after the map. Jason goes to the bay with Will, to try and free the animals at Phorcys aquarium, and Piper stays on board to patrol the ship.

Aphrodite is flickering between her greek form and her Venus Genetrix aspect, but ends up settling as Venus Verticordia - the closest she can get to greek between a roman, a greek, and Perseus, who, according to her, is both.

"You shall tread carefully with love, Annabeth Chase, for your heart lays elsewhere; You are locked up between two ways of the heart, Hazel Levesque, and shall thread both; And you, Perseus Jackson of Styx, when it comes to the heart, you are my crown jewel."

Perseus would punch her, but he knows better: Verticordia means "the changer of hearts", she is a manipulator, a player. It's this aspect who caused the Trojan War, who tossed Aeneas right and left for Lavinia.

He much prefers Venus Victrix, who appears when they're about to leave, to warn then about the importance of the statue and the location of the map, in Fort Sumter.

Octavian - who was conspicuously missing from the Senatus meeting - is here - against the orders of both Praetors. He tries to attack them - but Perseus makes the earth tremble and they run away. Jason and Will join the fray, and they send a message to Leo's group for them to regroup.

Annabeth gets the map - again fighting against spiders and the voice of Lady Earth - but this time there's no Reyna to confront her - this time, Roma is on their side.

Perseus asks if killing Octavian would be so bad, after all, but Hazel stops him from making the earth swallow the Augur - he is still a person, after all.

They change their minds pretty quickly once Reyna IM's Perseus, saying that Octavian poisoned the minds of the Senatus against the greeks and that she was unable to do much. She says the Augur is claiming that Perseus, Jason, Frank, and Hazel are mind-controlled by Piper - and that he tried valiantly to rescue them, but failed.

Perseus is pretty sure that he should've made the earth swallow him, send him directly to the Punishment Fields so he wouldn't be able to leave the Underworld never again, the lying rat.

It takes three days for them to reach the Mediterranean Sea. These three days are spent most with training and planning - while the children of Athena plan for their mission, Hazel and Frank train their powers, Perseus and Piper spar, Annabeth and Leo steer the ship, Perseus and Jason spar and patrol, Jason and Annabeth trade ideas about the two sides, Will mends a lot of people up.

Leo, especially, admires both Hazel and Frank from afar - since the Narcissus situation, he can't keep his eyes off the girl, and Frank is just adorable - he feels like he just watched Pirates of the Caribbean all over again.

The group becomes pretty tight - especially after Will walks in Percy without a shirt on, and immediately manhandles him into the infirmary. He does the same with all Romans - trying to figure an answer to those scars.

Will has a boyfriend - Jake Mason, seventeen - who has the same bad habit of hiding scars from him. But since he lost his foot - Will has discovered a thousand ways to find someone's health problems.

Piper and Leo are not surprised - they are the closest to Jason after all. Malcolm and Annabeth are up in arms - and they call the greeks barbarians?

Jason blames himself - for he has a guilty streak a mile wide, and apologizes to them - as if is his fault Juno had this godawful idea. Perseus punches him in the shoulder and tells him to stop with the bullshit - they have bigger problems than that.

They meet Heracles - and their best speakers are Piper, Perseus, and Will - the charmspeaker, the Praetor who actually finished high school, and the son of the god of poetry - maybe some flattery would help.

Heracles is a complete ass - no, he is a creep. He leers on Will - who is fifteen and he calls eromenos, yes, like a pedophile - then on Piper - who is utterly unimpressed - but don't try on Perseus - his eyes are as dark as the Pit, and he looks ready to punch Heracles.

They don't mention Hera - because the three are smarter than to mention the woman who turned the god's life miserable - but, after Piper refuses to kiss him, he gives him the mission to get the horn of Achelous anyway.

The Achelous is suitably afraid of Perseus - and it's easier to break his horn. They fight against the god - Will punches the guy in the face, while Perseus has no qualms about swarming him with skeletons and melting his armor.

Jason - who is keeping a keen eye on them from the deck - raises a wave for them to go onboard. Will - dripping and utterly mad - starts throwing curses at Heracles - he shines with the power of his father.

Percy is trembling - he hates water, he hates the feeling of drowning, he hates water in his face. He feels weak.

Hercules throws stones at the ship - but fail to hit anything, even if he almost gets Jason - who is pushed to the ground by Perseus, who grounded himself on the blonde.

For now, they have a cornucopia and managed to pass Heracles - so they just hug and laugh breathlessly at Will's increasingly ridiculous curses.

In the midnight patrol, while keeping watch for Stymphalian birds (Perseus hates those), they talk. Perseus tells him about drowning in his own element, about his distaste for both air and water - explains why he never gets close to the margins of the ship.

"Y'know, I dreamed of you" Percy nods, but Jason shakes his head "Not for a week or two, but for seven months. I thought it was Juno..."

Percy seems tense as if he is about to flee at any moment. High-strung. He looks anywhere but at Jason, and finally, he murmurs, almost too low for the silence that expands between them.

"How much?" "Everything."

He tells Percy about his dreams: Luke, Ethan, Alabaster, Persephone, Hades, Sally, Annabeth, Clarisse&Connor, the Labyrinth, the Sea of Monsters, Bianca, Nico, Zoe, Thalia, the weight of the sky, the Styx, the last defense of Olympus.

There are a lot of pieces missing - Percy Jackson is not a puzzle, but a giant Rubik Cube with ten sides - but Jason saw the worst parts of Perseus, his friends, the betrayals, the deaths, the bitterness that threatened to swallow him whole.

Percy doesn't answer - he flees. Back to his room, to conciliate that someone has dreamed about him, for months. That someone he is barely friends with knows so many deep details about him, things he never told anyone, and didn't plan to, ever.

It's not the only difficult conversation that night by far - Hazel and Leo are having a similar one.

You see, Leo is, by all means, closer to Jason out of all romans, and the least close to Frank - who is Hazel's best friend. Leo is pretty friendly flirty with Hazel since the Narcissus situation - because she is cute and just a year below him - but he also has been nursing this massive crush on Frank - who is a hunk of a man with the attitude of a puppy.

But seeing that Frank is straight as a board and Hazel only sees him as his grandfather, apparently, he is out of luck in this department - nothing new. At least he has a bunch of friends.

"Are you my friend only because of my grandfather?" "Of course not." Leo doesn't believe her, but he lets it go - it's the fatal flaw of Hephaestus' children: Lack of self-worth.

Perseus sleeps fitfully - and wakes Hazel to tell her about his vision of Otis and Ephialtes, for she is Nico's sister. They go to the deck, and he plays with her hair as they watch the sunrise.

Jason - looking at them from the other side of the ship - suddenly has a bad feeling - there's something coming in their direction. He makes Leo - who is steering this night - stop, but they are rammed and overrun by dolphin warriors.

Chrysaor disarms Jason - and his crew manages to tie everybody up - except for Perseus, who managed to flee into the shadows, and Frank, who hid away.

It's pretty simple from there - Hazel and Piper trash around when Chrysaor says he is taking them to Circe, Jason says their Captain is Dionysus, and Chrysaor says he is a roman, and Bacchus is weak in comparison to his greek form.

To prove Jason's point, Frank turns into a dolphin while Perseus makes vines appear and hold Chrysaor into place. Their enemies throw themselves overboard, including Chrysaor himself - and Jason sinks their ship by filling it with Diet Coke and Pepsi and burning it to Dionysus and Bacchus Liber - both of the serious sides of the god.

Perseus sleeps on the deck under the fickle rays of the midday sun and dreams of Gaea. Jason wakes him. They spend an awkward moment looking at each other before Jason hugs him.

"I'm sorry" "It's not your fault, stop blaming yourself for everything, Water Boy" "Sure, Death Boy"

They laugh - and for a second, they feel their own ages - eighteen and seventeen - without a care in the world. They mock-wrestle before giving up and just laying in the sun.

Perseus looks at Jason and thinks his beauty under the light of the day might be a good reason to tolerate the brightness.

It's Leo - with a knowing smirk - that tells them to come to mess hall - they need to plan.

Annabeth and Malcolm are going together to the Tiber River - but the children of Athena aren't leaving without a proper send-off - so they're having lunch together first, all together.

They pile around two tables in a little restaurant. This time is not Percy that asks for pizza - it's Leo and Will.

They eat and joke - and forget they are demigods in a mission that might bring the end of the world. No, for a second they're just teenagers - Malcolm is the oldest at twenty, and Hazel and Will are the youngest, both fifteen.

The group jokes and fools around, spending more or less an hour at the little restaurant. The old man who manages the place has a warm smile upon his face.

They go to the park close to the river to walk around - they are stalling the time they'll have to go back to their hardships. Annabeth and Perseus walk together, apart from the others - she says she wants to catch up.

Annabeth has a crush on Perseus since they were both fourteen. She studied with him for a year - he as a senior, she as a freshman - and this crush only grew. She looked for him for months, he is her best friend and she loves him.

Annabeth still remembers after the war - when she thought they would get together. They were both too caught up in mourning - Perseus even more than her - even if she always knew he corresponded. But this... this might be her last chance to tell him.

So, she kisses him.

Perseus is shocked. He is shocked, and speechless.

"Annabeth..." He says, but she takes this as iniciative and goes back to kissing him "Annabeth!"

Kisses have to mean something to him. And Percy only feels friendship with Annabeth.

She stops, and there are tears in the corners of her eyes. But Perseus just hugs her and says, slowly and as kindly as possible.

"Annabeth... We can't do this. It's been... it's been months. I-... I love you. But we-... I-... Not that way, Annie, not anymore. We spent months apart, and before that, I was too busy with school, and before that..." He takes a deep breath, and clear her tears with his thumbs "I'm sorry. I don't think I can do this."

Annabeth doesn't cry. She doesn't scream and rage with jealously and ask "Who else? Who else if not me?". She wants to because she knows, she knows he loves her, and Annabeth has never been wrong before.

Because she remembers Aphrodite. Her heart doesn't lay with Percy - her heart lays elsewhere. It still hurts - but she just nods and asks him if they can still be friends, for which he answers an enthusiastic yes.

There's a little voice in her head, that keeps comparing her to Reyna Arellano, Jason Grace, and Nico di Angelo, their powerful heritages and legacies. A sliver of poison in her heart, that shows her Rachel, Calypso, and Piper - their beauties far beyond hers.

Then she takes a deep breath, finds her brother, says goodbye to everyone, and leaves with Rhea Silvia and Tiberinus. Annabeth has a mission.

Annabeth and Malcolm pass by the same challenges - she with a broken ankle and him with a twisted wrist - and both fall again in the hands of Arachne.

While the children of Athena fight their way through the underground, Perseus, Hazel, Frank, and Leo embark on a mission after Nico di Angelo, and the rest of the demigods go back to the ship.

Hazel - who is almost sentient to Perseus moods at this point - takes one look at Annabeth's rushed departure and Percy's wistful face, and, when their group takes off, takes the demigod aside, leaving Leo and Frank to walk side by side.

"I'm telling you, Hazel, because you won't tell anyone else - and I don't have anyone else as close as you on board. I would've said yes, perhaps, had she asked this question before... before everything. Had she told me this when I was fourteen or fifteen, I would be overjoyed. But it has been two and a half harrowing years since... since Luke. And I cannot love her - there's too much history."

He tells Hazel what she cannot remember from what Perseus told her in the Fields of Asphodel, and she nods and calms him - she became a kind of his little sister in the short four months that they have known each other alive - and the year and a half they knew each other dead. Closer than most, aside, perhaps, from Rachel (who he still managed to talk to once after this mission started), his mom, Calypso (who he still hasn't be able to contact) and Persephone.

Leo and Frank are behind them - far behind them, so to not accidentally eavesdrop in their conversation. They talk - a little stilted - but it quickly picks rhythm, as Leo is such a charming person - and Frank is a weak, weak man.

You see, while Leo pines from afar for both Hazel and Frank, Frank himself is dealing with the fact that, since leaving Nova Roma, those improper feelings towards inappropriate people resurfaced - now, together with something even worse.

Frank doesn't want just men anymore, like the clear aberration that he is. He wants a boy and a girl - and at the same time, at that! Not only improper - for he is two years older than Hazel and Leo is a boy - but they are clearly infatuated with each other.

And Frank doesn't really think he could be happy with one of them - he wants both, together. Selfish, something in the back of his mind says, so selfish. Let them be happy, they don't need you.

So he hoards this little conversation with Leo in his chest, like a precious treasure he won't ever get the chance to hold again.

Perseus and Hazel eventually go to the underground - while Frank and Leo still talk - about life, about their mothers, even about Frank's stick. Leo wants to hold the boy and never let go.

The Eidolons appear, forcing Leo and Frank down the hole, where they meet back up with Hazel and Perseus. They find a workshop - full of stuff that makes Leo salivate.

While exploring the workshop, the Eidolons take control of the automatons, quickly knocking out Hazel and Frank. Perseus is able to banish them - but by now, the automatons are out of control - it's the Bianca situation all over again.

He and Leo escape into a control room and lock it. Leo finds a control sphere for everything in the shop but they're unable to find the right password. Leo uses the fortune cookie Nemesis gave him to ask for the password, allowing him to take control of the machines and deactivate them forever. Perseus seethes inside - the little manipulative bitch.

When Perseus questions why his efforts with Hazel lead them to this workshop, they find Nico's Celestial Bronze and realize it was a trap. 

Gaea appears in a mirror and taunts them, but Leo burns the mirror - "I thought Mother Nature was supposed to be cool but this is what we got? Sheesh, this is almost Aztec-levels of crazy man" - and they leave to go search for Nico.

[wingletblackbird]

The Population and Socio-Political Structure of New Rome and Camp Jupiter

This is borne of the increase in Percy Jackson content on my dash since the Disney+ announcement and my need to procrastinate studying for the MCATs, because stress.

This will have three parts below the cut.

Part I: Population and Implications

Where I discuss why the number of campers at Camp Jupiter is probably at least ten times more than what Riordan portrayed. 

Part II: The Structure of New Rome’s Military

How this increase in population does or does not affect what we see in canon. Also why it is significant that Octavian is at the head of the first cohort and Percy goes to the Fifth. 

Part III: Socio-political Implications

Where we discuss  the dynamic in New Rome, why the senators should not be the centurions, and what Octavian’s motivations might be. Ultimately, why there is definitely a class divide between the old and new blood.

Part I: Population and Implications

In Son of Neptune, it is indicated that there are about a couple hundred children training at Camp. I would like to argue that this number makes little contextual sense. We are given to understand that Camp Jupiter trains its legacies for several generations. Additionally, Camp Jupiter has been around since, at least, the American Civil War. Given that, in the PJO series, it is indicated that some of the founding fathers were demigods, it is likely that the camps were around since the late 18th century or early 19th. When you do the math, a couple hundred kids just is not enough.

If we assume that when the camp moved from European soil to American soil not every demigod and/or legacy wanted to make the shift, there were only a few hundred soldiers at camp by the year 1800. Nonetheless, with the almost two hundred years between then and Son of Neptune, the number of potential descendants is significant. Additionally, there are a couple hundred minor gods whose children must now be claimed due to Zeus’s pact with Percy. This means that the numbers at Camp Jupiter must have gone up the same as Camp Half-Blood’s numbers did. There are around maybe 200 campers at Camp Half-Blood, potentially, as of HoO, but the exact same number at Camp Jupiter? Very unlikely! 

If we assume a few hundred Roman campers as of the year 1800, and start multiplying their descendants, (up to around the fourth generation, or more if legacies married each other), as well as adding in the new demigod blood etc. I would argue that the peak population of people training in the legion to be around 4,500 in the early 20th century with numbers dropping towards the end of the 20th century. By the time Percy arrives, it is probably about 2,700 to 3,000 at maximum.

Contextually, not only does this make more sense mathematically, it also makes more sense in terms of the terminology used. Reyna calls herself the “Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.” Now, the title Praetor is an interesting one. Technically, the leader of a legion is the Legatus Legionis. However, for the sake of simplicity, as Roman history is vast, a praetor is the leader of an army. It is also a political role. This suggests to me that New Rome has one legion that makes up their entire army. Hence, Reyna is “Praetor of the Twelfth Legion.” It is the Twelfth specifically, rather than any other number, or no number, because that is a legion of legend. This also makes sense when she tells Percy that he has not seen the “Legion in action,” because the legion is the whole army. I highly doubt there are more (even if it may have been implied). 

I imagine Riordan reduced the numbers the way he did, to make the civil war between the camps seem more even, but in the context of the world he gave us, it makes no sense. The Romans would vastly outnumber their Greek counterparts. There is a reason New Rome has a population enough to sustain a small university. The previous civil wars between the camps did not happen in a vacuum; they were a part of larger conflicts. It did not matter that there were more Romans since they trained their legacies, because the Greeks had their own allies as well. The Romans and Greeks prior to their forced separation may not have trusted each other, but I imagine the war where it was exclusively camp members involved was fairly unique. Prior to it, the camps just backed or influenced larger political and military events.

Part II: How This Larger Population Fits Into the What we See at Camp Jupiter

Given the description of generally standard weaponry, and that this can be supplied to newcomers, as well as descriptions of the divisions and ranks, I assume that Riordan is basing his writing largely on the Roman Army after the Marian Reformations. Hence, that is the period of history I will be largely drawing from. It also makes sense in terms of how the gods reflect modernity, as it is this type of Roman military I feel is most commonly thought of by pop culture. Upping the population actually changes very little in terms of what we see in the HoO series.

The most basic group building up the army would be the contubernium. These would be a group of about eight soldiers who all shared a tent or barracks. I imagine this would be directly applicable to the breakdown of the cohorts in the standard barracks of ten in Camp Jupiter. People in the contubernium would be both rewarded and punished together. They would be led by a decanus who would likely be the most experienced member of the contuberium. This rarely translated to command in the battlefield, however, and was often reserved for camp responsibilities. The decanus was probably responsible for making sure their tent (barrack) were kept tidy and their fellow members were on track and on time. While I said the contubernium were made up of eight soldiers, there were often ten people total, as two other auxiliary members would be there to help with logistics or special skills. Since some soldiers could be specialised anyway, these roles could overlap. Specialised soldiers were immunes.

About ten contubernium would make up a centuria which would have between 80-100 people. About six of these would make up a cohort. And ten of those would make up a legion. Given that I estimate the population of the legion to be about 2700-2800 as of Percy’s arrival, (which is less than at its peak of 4500). Five cohorts actually works quite well, (...albeit with the more typical number rather than what Riordan indicated in Son of Neptune.) Incidentally, the best members of legion were expected to be in the First Cohort, with the least experienced in the Tenth Cohort. Since Riordan only had five cohorts in Camp Jupiter, it makes sense that Riordan made the Fifth Cohort the “Greeks and geeks.”

It also makes sense that you would have to be the rank of centurion to lead in a quest. Centurion was a very respected but flexible rank. They made up a good portion of the commanders in the army. The centurion with the most clout or seniority would be the primus pilus which would put him in command of the first century of the first cohort. S/he would lead the entire first cohort into battle. Without getting into complicated ranks, I will simply say that on average each centuria had six centurions of varying ranks. The first centurion of the first cohort would be the most prestigious with the sixth centurion of the tenth, or in the case of Camp Jupiter, the Fifth, being the least prestigious. We can assume then that Octavian, as “the most senior centurion” who was “at the head of the First Cohort”, is pretty special indeed.

There are some other notable ranks like optio which would be the second in command of the centurions. There was also tesserarius who helped the optio. There was one of each for each century. There were many other specific ranks as well, such as the person who holds the eagle, or blows the horn etc.

Part III: Socio-political Implications

I appreciated the fact that Hazel was mocked for carrying a cavalry sword, because a lot of the Roman hierarchy was, by its very nature, divided by class. Cavalry was very much the position of the wealthy. Eventually, the cavalry was typically supplied by allied or auxiliary forces and Rome did not much bother with its own.  Under the Marian Reforms, you might be supplied the basic equipment, but Rome definitely would not be supplying the horses and food and special equipment you would need for cavalry. Also, the stirrup had not been invented yet so, you would often have to dismount to fight. Hazel might have a spatha, but it was very unlikely for her to be able to afford to be cavalry. She would have to supply her own horse and food for the horse and everything else!

This also leads to another interesting observation that Hazel is even carrying a spatha at all. Rome is supposed to supply basic weapons and armour for the new recruits, but they would be giving her a gladius not a spatha. I figure there are two reasons for this phenomenon. One is that thanks to the failed expedition to Alaska, a lot of Rome’s weaponry was lost. This means Hazel has to make do with less. You take what you can get. Secondly, this is not old Rome. Camp Jupiter is not an empire. They do not nearly have the same resources. This means that people who can afford to supply their own weapons probably did. This makes it much easier for the wealthy and established demigod families to advance. Hazel may have been able to afford a spatha and decided to at least get that.

Furthermore, we can observe that Percy is immediately placed with the “losers” of the Fifth Cohort, because he has no papers, no one to vouch for him, no money etc. It is also noted that “a good letter could get you...even special jobs like legion messenger, which made you exempt from grunt work.” This sounds like the immunes who historically could only get exempt from such work after serving for awhile. Clearly, at Camp Jupiter, if you already prove you are connected and specialized, it does not matter if you have served at all. Why would a son of Vulcan do grunt work when he can make weapons from the get-go? 

This system means that you are at a disadvantage if you are new and connection-less. The Senate, who appoints a lot of the leadership, will naturally favour their children and allied families. I think we can see this in Octavian who is very proud of his legacy status. He is important and he knows it. He likes to show it off. I have no doubt that is how he got to be such a high-ranking centurion.

However, a consequence of the Marian Reforms meant that anyone could join the army, which did make the military dangerous to the ruling elite. I think we can see this divide in the praetorship. The population of the legion is significant in New Rome. If the Praetor or Praetors have enough loyalty form the legion, they could stage a coup against the entrenched elite. They also have political power in the senate. This creates an interesting tug of war.

We are told that the Senators in New Rome are the centurions. Quite frankly I think that is ludicrous. The laws, (or decrees, technically, possibly), that affect the entirety of New Rome, including business owners, families, retired veterans, a whole lot of adults, are not decided by teenagers, thank you. That is nuts. In Ancient Rome, the senators were appointed. They also, as a rule, had to be wealthy. I imagine in New Rome, they are almost exclusively from well-off legacy families. The exception to this would be the praetors. While they are teens in the HoO series, I would argue this is because of the war. I imagine praetors are often older, career soldliers.

We are never given much about Octavian’s initial motivations, but if I had to guess he is driven by a fear of being overrun by those of lesser wealth and status. Losing all that gold in Alaska only served to skew the balance of power in the favour of powerful legacy families who could afford new weaponry. However, the arrival of Jason Grace, and then the sudden claiming of all of these new demigods, means this power is lost a bit. There are more new and unknown demigods to rise through the ranks and gain favour. (Additionally, some powerful demigods like Nico may be able to serve as “ambassadors” in the Senate to represent the gods interests. Octavian may even do this for Apollo in his role as augur.)

Now, we know that Jason storms Mount Othrys and kills a Titan. However, Jason was probably centurion of the Fifth Cohort when that happened. He was not the highest ranking commander; he was one of the least. It was typical to place the least inexperienced members of the legion in the front; Jason and the Fifth Cohort likely were right at the front at Mount Orthrys because they were so undervalued. Jason turned things around. I doubt that pleased Octavian. He probably put Jason at the front and hoped he would die there. Instead, he becomes Praetor. Jason has the clout of Jupiter, possibly Juno, and the military to put pressure on the Senate. Worst, suddenly all these demigods are being claimed. I imagine the bond between Reyna and Jason is about how they worked hard to get where they are despite the opposition from the powerful legacy factions and their poor resources. 

When Jason disappears, it is an opportunity, for Octavian in his prestigious position to angle for praetor to make sure these new-fangled demigods remain loyal to the true Roman ideals. He can make sure the army is loyal to him, as it should be in his eyes.There is almost certainly a duality between the new blood and the old blood in New Rome.

When Percy, Frank and Haze succeed in their mission, not only does Octavian fail to get the leadership position he wanted, there are also more weapons to distribute to the recruits now. This means that the balance of power is much more even for the first time in a century: New demigods can work their way up, or serve as ambassadors of the gods, while the old blood serves as senators and tries to manipulate the commanders of the Legion. Of course Octavian is not happy! He wanted to keep the new upstarts under-wraps and dependent solely on his favour. 

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: The Roman Legion, Spies, and Cover Identities

My heroine is a secret agent who travels with one of Emperor Hadrian’s legions disguised as a camp launderer. (For context, she’s not spying on the legion or anything, but her mission is secret.) Could she feasibly hide Roman armour under civilian clothes?

No.

So, before we fully pry this question apart, the simplest answer is, “no, you cannot hide armor under civilian clothes.” This isn’t, 100% true. In the modern era you can conceal a light ballistic vest under heavy clothing, like a hoodie or jacket. It will still add bulk, but not to the point that you automatically assume they’re wearing armor.

When we’re talking about historical armor, the answer will, generally, be, “no.” In the case of a Roman Legionary, no, you could not.

A spy may have armor that functions as their uniform when they’re on home territory and openly interacting their military. Which is a long way to say, “yes they may have armor back at home,” but they probably wouldn’t bring it with them.

Also, I’m not an expert on the Roman Legions, but, my understanding was that the Legions on the move did not employ dedicated launderers. Laundry duties were performed along with bathing, and a Legionary was responsible for cleaning their own gear. The Legatus might have had a personal servant who handled their laundry, but I’m just guessing there, and that’s a long way from “the camp launderer.”

There were a number of potential intrigues within a legion. The Legion had 120 Eques Legionis, who were mounted cavalry, and their duties included scouting and relaying messages. As covers go that grants a lot of latitude for independent operation.

The Tribune was appointed by the Emperor as the Legion’s second in command (behind the Legate.) It’s possible (even under Hadrian) that the Tribune may have covert orders from the Emperor.

Additionally, there were the Immunes. These included surgeons, Venetorii (hunters), engineers, and other specialist roles. If someone had technical training that the legion used (even in its civil functions) they were probably an Immune. This mean they were exempted from the hard labor that most Legionaries engaged in.

Civilian camp followers offering laundry services was a reality, historically. But, that was (mostly) later in the middle ages. Camp followers were a serious weak point, as you had civilians following armies, without much scrutiny. They didn’t have access to the camp, proper, but they did have a lot of access to its soldiers, which was almost as good for intelligence gathering.

When it comes to women in the Roman Legions, they weren’t allowed to serve. Until recently, archaeologists have taken this to mean there were no women. Additionally, Hadrian’s rule came in the middle of a two century ban on married legionaries. (Note: I do mean the soldiers. This ban did not extend to officers.) So, on paper, these were supposed to be unmarried men. However, the legionaries would marry illegally. Archaeological research at Vindolanda (an auxiliary fort along Hadrian’s Wall), estimates that ~43% of the legionaries stationed there had a wife or children.

There is a problem: The Legionaries weren’t paid enough to support the families they weren’t supposed to have, so the women worked. It’s believed that the women were employed in domestic roles such as fort cooks and launderers. As a random note: Immunes received better pay than their fellow soldiers. Though, I suspect it still wasn’t enough to support a family.

So, this is not a Roman legion on the move, and more importantly, these jobs would have preferentially gone to the Legionary’s wives, not a Roman citizen showing up under strange circumstances.

Also, while you’re looking for something, it is worth remembering that the senior officers may have had family members present. Especially if they were deployed someplace for decades.

So, that’s the legion, let’s talk about spies, cover identities, and gear for a second.

When you’re picking gear for a spy, you need to consider their cover identity, and mission critical equipment. Nothing else. This is something we’ve discussed before, though that was about assassins. In many cases this means they neither need, nor benefit from, having weapons and armor.

If your job is to kill someone, you need a weapon. Okay, “need” is debatable, but you will seriously benefit from having one. Ironically, most people don’t carry functional weapons on a daily basis. It has been the fashion historically, and it’s not too hard to explain away a knife as a utility tool, but if your job as a spy doesn’t include combat, that weapon doesn’t help you do your job.

Likewise, most people don’t wear functional combat armor on a regular basis. If your spy is not in a role where that armor would be expected, it’s a major sign that something isn’t, quite right. The armor is, literally, more dangerous to a spy than its absence would be. Obviously, if you’re in a fantasy setting you might have armor options that wouldn’t be out of place for your cover, but that requires roles that are far rarer in the real world.

I suspect you thought about this, but when your spy is trying to set up a cover, they want one that will overlap with their actual job as much as is practical.

If you need to get information from someone important, get hired onto their personal staff. Preferably a position that will get you the access you need, so that when you need to extract with the information, you can pick it up and walk out the door without anyone thinking anything’s amiss.

The reason that service positions make for excellent covers is, they allow your spy to eavesdrop as part of their job. No one will question a waiter listening in on a conversation periodically, because their job requires them to know when the patrons need something from them. Getting caught isn’t the end of the world, because their behavior has the potential to be legitimate.

Additionally, most service positions are functionally invisible to the average person. If you interact with a lot of people on a daily basis, people who provide these services just kinda blend into the background. (Now, obviously, if you’re interacting with the same person for years, you’re more likely to remember them.)

Within this context, launderer isn’t as good. Because you will be tethered to the cover, and you’ll need to spend a lot of your time away from the people you’re trying to eavesdrop on. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad cover, just that options are more limited. Also, critically, you’ll probably to move away from the cover to do your real job, this is a problem. This makes your spy more noticeable. Nobody notices a bartender when they’re behind a bar, but when you see them sneaking into someplace across town, they’re going to stand out.

Maintaining a cover, really is, about looking legitimate until the last possible moment. Your character needs to pretend to be doing the job they’re supposed to, playing that role. Get caught out of character and it’s over.

To give your character the best position possible, she should probably be sent with the Legion along with the Tribune. Maybe assigned as his daughter (maybe actually his daughter.) That would give her a lot of autonomy, a lot of inferred authority, without any of the responsibilities, and a cover that will let her (almost) get away with murder.

-Starke

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Q&A: The Roman Legion, Spies, and Cover Identities was originally published on How to Fight Write.