Zia

[Sara]

Zia

26 | November 11th 49CE | Slave | General attendant/seamstress | Heterosexual | Wanted | Aurora Ruffino

 

 

Personality.

Tough, prideful and ingenious are all words that come to mind when considering Zia. Her marriage was a partnership and whilst Diegis had brains himself, he was not above differing to his wife's opinion. A keen strategist and lover of games, Zia is continually thinking about her next move and what would bring her the most gain. Whilst not without warmth, her life thus far has moulded her into a woman where strategy and glory come first, and emotion second. She's not a naturally loving person, although her son is an exception, and sometimes struggles to bond with strangers. Being brought down several (hundred) rungs in the social ladder from future wife of a chieftain, to a slave, has been a shock for her but she still holds her head up high and bides her time. She's adapted fairly well to life in slavery, although a significant portion of that is an act designed to make her masters pity her, or feel more comfortable around her. She misses her husband dearly, and relishes the opportunity to see him (not least because it gives her time to plot and scheme). She finds the tasks she's given in Titus' house dull considering she used to occupy her time with political stratagems and hosting the great and the good. Her Latin has improved immeasurably in her time in Rome, but her accent often makes people believe she's without wits which mask her deeply intelligent, but often incredibly ruthless personality.

 

Appearance

Standing at about five foot five, and with an athletic figure, Zia's appearance mimics her stern personality. She dresses simply, as befits a slave, but hasn't forgotten her roots and her standing and her countenance all speak to a proud woman. Her back is arrow straight and she only lightly averts her eyes if required to look away from her masters. She has long dark hair, tanned skin and light hazel eyes. Her life, as the daughter of a Dacian chieftain and wife to a future one kept her away from the majority of the hardships of her people but that is not to say she hasn't worked. Her hands aren't smooth like that of a Roman woman and she bares small scars across her arms and legs from childhood grazes and mishaps. Unlike a lot of slaves, she doesn't look like a girl anymore and her features - whilst attractive - are stern and mature. She's not a simpering sixteen year old (and forgets she ever was), and whilst she's not the most stunning of Titus' haul from Dacia, her confidence and pride make her stand out as a force not to be underestimated.

 

Family

Father: Brindis (chief of the Appuli tribe, middle Dacia) - alive.

Mother: Rescuturme (second wife of Brindis) - deceased. 

Siblings: 

Cotiso (half-brother by Brindis' first wife, future chief of the Appuli) - alive. 
Mokson (half-brother by Brindis' first wife) - alive.
Cotys (full younger sister by Rescuturme, married to a prominent warrior of the Appuli) - alive.
Rholes (full younger brother by Rescuturme) - alive. 
Dotos (half-brother by Brindis' third wife) - alive.

Spouse: Diegis (now a slave, youngest son of the chief of the Ratacenses tribe, eastern Dacia) - alive.

Children:

1 miscarriage
Luto (son, now a slave, 4 years old, residing in an equite house known to Titus) - alive.

Extended family: Numerous nieces and nephews by her siblings. Numerous cousins, including Tarbus (now a slave). Sisters in law by Diegis.

Other: Owners:

Titus Sulpicius Rufus
Valeria Flacca

 

History

49CE: Zia is born, the first daughter to the chief of the Appuli tribe and his second wife. Her birth is celebrated, as it heralds a new opportunity for alliances with other tribes, through marriage. 

52CE: Her younger sister, Cotys, is born. 

56CE: Her younger brother Rholes is born, Zia's mother dies in childbirth. Brindis grieves deeply and rules out remarriage for the foreseeable future. Their tribe is largely kept out of the ongoing war between Rome and the various eastern tribes. 

60CE: During the close of the war, Zia is sent with her younger siblings and with her cousins to safety to family with the Caucoenses. 

63CE: Zia and her family return to Apulum. Her father, keen on establishing strong bonds in the face of consistent Roman aggression and military movements (even after the close of the war), procures an honourable match between his first born daughter and the youngest son of the Ratacenses tribe, Diegis. Only a couple of years older than her, Zia is nonetheless unimpressed, finding him brutish and macho and beneath her. 

64CE: After the start of her first flux, to ensure she is ready, Zia and Diegis marry. To ensure her safety, her cousin Tarbus is married into the tribe through a cousin of Diegis and accompanies her to Surcea. 

66CE: Zia miscarries their first child. The couple drift apart and Diegis has a son with a local woman, infuriating Zia who promptly has her exiled whilst Diegis is elsewhere in Dacia conducting discussions with eastern tribes on the future of their land. 

68CE: The couple reconcile and Zia, having withdrawn to Cumidava in fury, returns home to Surcea. Diegis agrees to give his wife more say in their future, and his father respects her tenacity. Early wobbles in their marriage are largely forgotten going forward. 

69CE: Her father remarries and has another son.

71CE: Zia gives birth to their only child, a son, named Luto for Diegis' grandfather. The birth is celebrated and Zia relaxes slightly, feeling more secure in her position. She begins to involve herself more and more with politics, and Diegis continues to encourage his wife's lightening fast mind. She begins to suggest that the Roman occupation of the east is more fragile than previous tribes gave credit for, and Diegis and his father begin tentative discussions on next steps and begin small skirmishes to disrupt supply lines and raid outposts.

73CE: Tarbus warns his cousin and her husband from provoking Roman aggression, but nonetheless supports their underhanded attempts to provoke instability (if only out of concern for his cousin). 

74CE: Their years of intrigue catch up with them, and whilst hosting a feast for the leaders of several smaller tribes far from Surcea after a very successful raid on a Roman cohort, Rome's great and powerful swoop in. Many are killed and maimed including Diegis' father and oldest brother, leaving him the chief, in name only. Diegis, Tarbus, Zia and her son are captured for inciting and provoking discord in the territory. Given as spoils to the legate, the four are shipped to Rome. Zia is placed in the household of said legate apart from her husband, as surety for his good behaviour. Their son - much to her horror and fury - is enslaved and placed in the house of an equite known to their captors as surety for her good behaviour. She has no sense of where Tarbus is. 

75CE: Having been in the house for several months, Zia has adapted well although she is forever plotting her next move and how to spin her newfound situation to her advantage.

 

 

Sara | GMT | Discord!

 

@Gothic

Edited February 3, 2020 by Sara

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