Tales of Past Glories. Not Very Past, But Still Pretty Past.

Roman Summer

So, the summer pretty much flew. After the week of festivity, the first surprise was the Orphans of the night packing their collective shit and hauling ass. I think someone had a vision of just how badly it would turn out once the full attention of everyone was focused on making the Transtiber safe. At least that's the most likely option, as they were pretty dedicated to being a pain in my ass and showed no signs of slowing down. The second surprise is that my brothers aren't dead-dead; courtesy of our big sister Eletria. From what I understand, she was able to appeal to the Caesars' childe in some way. And she is thankfully training them in what they're gonna need to know to survive in a more relaxed environment, as opposed to my own "Get in, siddown, shut up and hold on" training. Which also helps me as my old disciplines have fully come back into their own, making me officially the more badass brother. As a side note, I do slightly regret not being able to share their wonder at seeing halos for the first time. But at the same time, the full telepathy is back up, and I can talk to, well, I haven't tested, but if memory holds I can get as far as Augsburg without too much trouble. That's going to be interesting if/when my brothers find out. That said, I have a standing invite to Eletrias' parties, of which there are many - my usual donation to the cause is a piece from my collection (and if that doesn't bring a moment of discombobulation, I'll let you think on it for another few moments) and my personality. A lot of the people at these things are merchant-class, not nobility. Which means I am networking like a madman, and getting more contacts for trade. Life is good.

Anyway, with the loss of the Orphans, the transtiber had nobody really taking care of the less-legal aspects of the city. It wasn't a hostile takeover by any means, they just started paying the Tiber Rose instead of the Rat King. Unfortunately I'm running into difficulties with the sewer system. To wit, there ain't one in the transtiber. The explorations were not fruitful. That said, I'm still gonna work on that, because the plague is a thing. Still, the statue collection has been parked offsite, which gave joy to the servants who were bumping into them. The lady of the house is now also under my purview of blood, as she was wailing a bit about my plan to open trade routes to Constantinople. I chilled her out, but she kinda sorta would like more "her time". Work, work, work. So I'm throwing coins at getting a boat to Ostia and use it as a centerpoint, and then also having to look at other opportunities for infrastructure investment.

But, with this comes that, and unfortunately, the pageant has in fact found my ass. They want me back. Badly, because something bad is coming. I, uh, kinda have to opt out. I have massive other plans, that don't involve the pageant. However, they're insistent. So...I contacted Astarte, and we made a deal. I get her a ring, and I get a year for me and Songul. Astarte is shockingly astute about my ambitions, and made no small comment regarding them, but, y'know. Stuff gonna happen sometimes. It was a crap deal on reflection, but it means I can bargain harder next round. In short, we're getting a ring. But noooo, it's not a milk run. It was presented to us as a shared dream from a horrifying D&D module from back in the day. Which frightens me to an unseemly degree, because I lost 4 elves, a dwarf, and a half-orc to that godless thing. Damnable thing. But once I got that little bit sorted, it was all about gearing up and getting intel. and some silver weapons. Fortunately I have silver in decent quantity because there's no damn banks.

So...we're geared, and hopefully I can get a few shots in before the plan goes to hell. And then I can lay ground-work for getting me, Songul, my princess, and my horse free. I like my horses, what of it?

Not quite the One Ring...

So here's a dilemma. I hate to say it, but I was too goddamn quick on the draw with the deal. She was the one with a time crunch, not me. Admittedly, I had people after me, but it's my turf, and my people. It was not by any stretch of the imagination a milk run. I damn near ran myself dry with celerity and beefing myself up for the fight, but that comes later. First is the part where Marconius managed to talk to us and make us rethink our strategy, to the point where we were going to pull out. And then I re-rethought it over with Vulo; he's down for the retrieval, and...well, hell. It felt good to ride with the man one more time. It's all very much a jumble of swords, sacrifices (Note to self, do not sacrifice loaded dice to someone dedicated to truth) - and I have to find a new bow and a new Second Horse, because I'm giving up my previous horse to Dis Pater. Overall, a dungeon crawl worthy of an epic module, but the hardest part came at the end. I faced...well, all the people I'd dislodged with time hopping. It was an epic shouting match-insult fest, and with the magic of hindsight, I believe it shows how far I've gone. So now with hindsight, ever-glorious, I write what I couldn't say.

I'm sorry. I wish that you could all accept and see what I see, that your lives were crossed with mine by chance, not malice. Your lives most certainly are not lesser, and indeed in many ways are greater than mine. I wish you all had looked at my memories as I looked at yours and saw the horrors of my past; both the ones I would atone for and the horrors wrought by the Giovanni. I'm sorry you're gone, and I'm here. But you can't forgive me, as the true forgiveness will only come from within myself. With that blanket bit out of the way, to the specifics.

Cengiz - you've given me what I need to survive in this time, the skills, and the general knowledge of all the things that would have tripped me up and gotten me killed, maybe not outright, but soon. I am pleased that your soul is free from the Pageant, but I'm afraid the exchange was unequal, and we did not have time to balance things. You live on in my memories, as you ever will.

Seppel and Dice - you are a future I could not face. Given the choice, I might have spent more time with you to learn the world as you saw it. I have the will to shape reality, but not in your way. It frightened me to have that ability. Perhaps running toward Helenas' embrace was a cowardly act in a way, because I could not understand or grasp the power the two of you wielded so calmly. Science I understand, but your science was beyond measure, and not giving myself a chance to explore it further will be a regret of depth.

Jason - Centuries of a shared horror; being given the chance to remake ourselves as human, and now this...I feel myself throwing away the soul you nurtured for the expediency of life in this time. Our suits were not mere cloth, they were the armor of a dark creature attempting to shed past sins and attract a greater future. Our computers were connecting to a greater whole we once saw ourselves above. Our guns were the final defense of that whole, that future.

Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas.

But now, I have to move forward. I bring the ring and its' bearer to Astarte to fulfill my end of the bargain. Astarte may need it more now, as she has sacrificed much to have the ring as close as it is. And face the coming centuries as a new being, with a new name, but never forgetting all the sacrifices that make the now possible.