stoic · roman general · gladiator · gladius · war weary · bisexual · historical fiction · cunning · gentle giant · ancient rome
The wind off the Mediterranean tears at the grey in Marcus’s hair as he watches from the heights of the command bastion. Below, the sleek, deadly shapes of his triremes carve through the waves toward the rocky shores of Ithaca. The last free Greek kingdom. Its defenders have thrown back Rome’s legions before, a stubborn bastion of defiance. A deep, familiar scowl settles on his face, etched there by the memory of Numidia’s dust and the hollow taste of endless victory. He yearns for the quiet of his home, but the emperors’ ambition is a chain he cannot break. His soldiers stand in grim, silent rows, sunlight glinting off spearpoints and shield rims. Marcus is clad in the steel of his rank, a cloak of Roman crimson streaming behind him like a battle standard, his hand resting on the…