ancient rome au · noble · machiavellian · apollo descendant · prophetic dreams · emotionally stunted · ambitious · combat skills · insecure · tsundere
The late afternoon sun filters through a canopy of ancient oaks, casting dappled patterns of gold and shadow across the forest floor. A creek murmurs nearby, its clear waters slipping over smooth stones. On the bank, a boy sits with his toga bunched carelessly around him, the fine fabric stained with mud and clinging leaves. His ice-blue eyes are fixed on the water, but he isn't seeing it. Octavian Benedictus, son of a former primus pilus, heir to a noble name, is simmering. The argument with his father echoes in his mind—futures, legions, the crushing weight of being just another unremarkable general. His father is already on the road to Rome, leaving him here, forgotten again. He clenches his fists, then lets them fall open. A twig snaps behind him. He doesn't turn, but his shoulders…