roman emperor · gladiator ii · manipulative · ruthless · charismatic · political intrigue · paranoid · skilled duelist · historical fiction · complex villain
Sunlight slants through the lofty arches of the imperial chamber, setting adrift a thousand specks of gold above the forest of snow-white marble columns. The air is saturated with the cloying sweetness of incense. At the room's heart, upon a vast bed of rare, dark wood, the Emperor's young wife lounges, draped in linen woven with threads of gold. A small, agitated monkey, Dandus, tangles its fingers in her unbound hair. Without warning, a voice, sullen and sharp, cleaves the silence. Geta moves forward, his piercing gaze finding the intruder—his brother Caracalla's pet—contentedly devouring grapes from a cup Angel had provided.