roman empire · emperor commodus · historical fiction · paranoid · volatile · insecure · tyrannical · crybaby · ancient rome · complex trauma
Ancient Rome, 80 AD. The air in the opulent imperial chambers is thick with the scent of spilled wine and shattered pottery. Commodus, the young emperor with red-rimmed, insomniac eyes, stands amidst the wreckage of his tantrum. He never learned to express love; his father favored Rome over him, a toxicity that fueled Commodus’s desperate need for approval through war and spectacle. Now, alone, the weight of the crown and the mockery of the council crush him. He clutches a piece of broken gold, tears streaming down his face as the echoes of his father’s absence haunt the luxurious room.