Cerealia: Grand Finale

[Sharpie]

Once the man was unquestionably dead, Jason's attention had returned to his master. Tiberius had only begun to turn his head but Jason was fully alert and responding to him by the time the younger man's blue eyes were on him.

He managed a tight smile. "Thank you." It was quiet but heartfelt. Thank you for repaying my trust in you. Thank you for ensuring that nobody else will suffer at his hands. Thank you for not making his trial a public spectacle.

It had been quick, maybe too quick, as the suffering he'd inflicted had not been. A quick death was all the mercy he could have expected, for what he'd done - no citizen would ever suffer the potentially days-long agony of crucifixion, as some of Jason's friends and compatriots had. His shade would wander the earth forever, according to the Roman beliefs, because his body would not receive a burial or funeral pyre but would be cast out onto the offal heap, as befit someone who had done what he had.

Maybe things could return to normal now, and the women like Ovinia and the others could begin to heal mentally as well as physically.

"Domine - thank you."

 

@Sarah @Sains @Sara @Atrice @Chevi

[Chevi]

She looked at his scar; Azarion was not sure she understood. She seemed skittish, and he was not exactly the kind of person to comfort anyone right now.

"The...man...he enjoyed it? The cutting of people?"

He nodded. And then she pulled her tunica down, and he saw the scar on her skin. His eyes widened a little, realizing what she was showing him. He had cut her too. She lived. And she was here to watch him die too. He pointed between her, and the arena, which was now a scene of blood and gore as the cats feasted. He's gone now.

@Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia glanced at Pinaria with wide, dark eyes and nodded. "Good reason. He deserved worse." She managed to force out. She was a vengeful woman by nature - the slightest infractions often sent her into a mood, but here, at least, she felt justified in her anger and her desire to see him fall. They were all justified. She glanced very briefly from Pinaria to Jason and then Tiberius - letting her eyes linger on him for just a moment with the smallest of inclinations of her head. A wordless thanks she didn't know whether he'd accept or want. 

And then the beasts roared and her attention was diverted back to the sands. She swallowed, bile rising into her throat. He was torn apart. It was quick - although she supposed the brief moments before they went for his neck would have been agonising. More physically painful than what he'd done to her. But somehow it was not enough. His torment was over, gone forever, his shade to wander for eternity but...he was no longer in pain. How many of his victims could say the same? A small voice chimed in her head; everybody has moved on. It's just you. You're too weak to see past it. She swallowed it down, biting her lower lip as the beasts parted and all they could see was a corpse and a pile of bones. She exhaled deeply. "Good." She agreed with a breathless nod. 

She flicked her eyes to her father who was showing no emotion at all. And then she turned her attentions back to Pinaria, speaking quietly and just for him. "I am at least grateful he brought you into my life." She gave the woman a weak smile. "But I do not wish to keep you from your...company." She cleared her throat, trying to focus on more banal topics.

 

TAG: @Atrice @Sarah @Sains @Sharpie @Chevi

[Sara]

Azarion nodded and Ione swallowed. She never knew his name, although she new he referred to himself as Gaius sometimes to the other girls. That was likely a false name she presumed. Could it be the same man? But then of course, who else could it be? She could tell - before it was over - that he was dark haired and slight but tall. She wished she could have seen his face to confirm it. She swallowed down bile. It had to be him but...she would never be sure, only by virtue of the fact that she - as a slave - was sat so far away. She bit her lip.

The man wasn't talking - he was merely gesturing. She presumed he could not speak and given he was a slave with an FVG brand she guessed the reason why. It was not polite to ask in any case, and so she merely nodded with a weak smile. "It's over." She confirmed, guessing what he meant. "Are you...sure you're alright?" She asked as she replaced the shoulder of her scratchy, thin tunica and watched him. "He...was an evil man." She swallowed. "This is...deserved but you look...angry?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

No, he was not alright. Then again, when had he ever been since the Romans came into his life? Azarion struggled with not being able to explain. Or even to curse about it. In the end, he gestured at the arena, and drew his hand across his neck, pressing a hand to his chest. He killed someone I cared for.

In the and, that was what it was about. Personal vengeance. He pointed at the arena again, then himself, and made motions like stabbing someone. I wanted to kill him myself.

@Sara

[Sara]

She followed his gesture to the arena and grimaced as the man...or what remained of the man...was dragged away. She wrinkled her nose and glanced back to to him. He slit his throat and then covered his heart with his palm and she frowned, trying to understand what he meant. Somebody died...heart...nobody could say that Ione was a clever woman, or particularly astute, but she picked it up after a few moments. She sighed heavily and reached a hand to grip his forearm. "He took the life of somebody you love? I am so sorry..." 

She bit her lip and then jumped away as he made violent, stabbing motions. She was shocked and choked. "I...I..." She frowned. "You want to hurt him more? He's dead...he's gone." She swallowed. "Do you...want some wine?" It was cheap nasty lora that she had in her room at the brothel that she'd decanted into a wineskin, loaned from another girl. She offered it to him.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

"He took the life of somebody you love? I am so sorry..." 

Love. The word stung. Azaion didn't now if he'd loved Safinia. He never had the time to find out. But he had cared for her, and she did not deserve the way she died.

"I...I... You want to hurt him more? He's dead...he's gone... Do you...want some wine?" 

She offered some wine; his gestures must have scared her. Azarion sighed, trying to give her a kinder look, and nodded. Taking the skin, he drank some of the wine, wrinkling his nose. It was bad, but whatever. He put a hand on his chest. Thank you.

@Sara

[Sara]

His look softened and she smiled. She was used to cold men, angry men, scary men, but that was work and not something she could avoid. Here, she wanted to attempt to make her day as pleasurable as possible. She happily handed him her meagre rations of wine and smiled broader as he thanked her. Or tried to thank her, in his own way. 

"It's my pleasure I...I'm Ione." She gave him a small, self-conscious look knowing he couldn't explain his name in gestures alone. "You're a slave too?" Obviously, otherwise he wouldn't be sat here. "Where...where do you work?" 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

Ione. She had realized by now that he couldn't talk, at least, and asked him if he was a slave too. Of course I am. He nodded, tapping the slave tablet around his neck, tilting it so she could see. He was not sure whether she could read enough to make out his name and the name of the Whites.

"Where...where do you work?" 

Apparently not. Azarion pointed towards the Palatine, and the Circus beyond. He did his best to explain chariot racing with gestures, miming wheels, and going in circles, and holding reins.

@Sara

[Sarah]

Romans were certainly creative when it came to ways of killing people. Back home, if someone committed a crime so heinous that they needed to die, the clan chief would generally do the deed, or at least oversee it. Sometimes they'd be held to be sacrificed a little later, often strangled and placed into the waters to meet the gods, other times they'd simply be run through or beheaded. But always it was a solemn matter; an execution was never entertainment. Just when he thought he was beginning to understand Romans...

But those cats. He'd been far more interested in the giant cats than the man they ate. All the ferocity of their siblings that roamed the forests of his homeland, but the size and weight of a man, at least. Magic. He and Thessala watched through the grill in the gate as the sands were cleared and cleaned, the two beautiful beasts dragged away. And then their gate swung open and it was their turn to march out onto the sands.

Aeneas held his blade high and paraded around, the torchlight causing his pale skin to glow and highlighting the blue tattoos that crawled across his arms and chest. His right arm was mostly covered in leather plates, ending in the shield in his land, but the left was free, holding just his blade. Across from them another gate opened and their opponents also came forth, drumming up their own support and interest in turn.

This was the first time that the 'mixed doubles' format that he'd proposed would actually be displayed for an audience, so they'd better make it a good show. Gladiatrices were far rarer than gladiators, and the pairs had to train to fight together, using each other's strengths. In combat Aeneas stayed to Thessala's left, using his shield to cover them both as needed. At least this wasn't the kind of bout where people expected a death at the end. Well trained gladiators like them were generally considered too valuable, though there were always exceptions, especially if an Imperial was in a mood...

@Chevi

[Sara]

Ione couldn't read, but she nodded at the tablet and gestured to her own one. It was on a thin cord and made of simple wood. She only had to wear it when out of the house not in her toga. That itself signalled what she was, but when dressed in a tunica like she was, she needed to wear something to demonstrate she was anything but respectable. She wasn't even allowed that thin sliver of a dream that she was a normal young woman. No, her tablet proclaimed far and wide she was the slave of Lucius Armenius Valerius, whore at the house of the Elysium. 

She watched his gestured and frowned, only putting two and two together slowly. "Chariots!" She smiled broadly, genuinely. "I've always wanted to see a race." She had never been allowed the time off - nor did she have the coins spare - to watch one. "Do you ride the chariots? Are you one of the famous ones?" She asked, genuinely excited, body now turned entirely  to him. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Chevi]

She couldn't read, but he could. Not very well, but knowing her name he recognized the letters, and he could make out the name of the Elysium. She was one of those girls then, the prostitutes the barber used to cut. She would not know Azarion's name, but she did succeed in figuring out his job, and seemed very excited about it.

"Chariots! I've always wanted to see a race."

Azarion smiled a little. It was unusual for him. He nodded.

"Do you ride the chariots?"

He nodded again. He gestured, miming riding a horse, and driving a chariot. The horses, and the chariots. She had not seen a race, but maybe she knew Cerealia also had horse races.

"Are you one of the famous ones?"

Azarion smirked, shrugging. Not yet, really. Not unless you counted being the one barbarian who won a race by using stirrups. He touched the white cloth around his neck, similar to what soldiers wore. Wearing a white tunica every day would have been a luxury, but he still wore some of the color of his team.

@Sara

[Chevi]

For the first time in a long time, Thessala was really excited about a fight. Not that she didn't enjoy being a gladiatrix in general, but this was the first event for years that she was trying something new. Fighting in a pair, alongside a male gladiator. Aeneas and she had practiced a lot, and now they would show what they could do. The arena was cleared after the gruesome execution; some murdered or other. Good riddance.

They were an interesting pair, the two of them. Aeneas looking like the barbarian he was, and Thessala painted like the Thessalian witch she liked to pretend to be. Aeneas left-handed, and she with her two swords next to him. They greeted the crowds together; she could hear from their sound they were just as excited for this spectacle as she was. She flashed them a bright, ferocious grin, and let out a wailing scream. 

On the other side of the arena, the other pair appeared. A tall, bulky gladiator, and an equally tall, wiry gladiatrix.

"Let's give them a show, shall we?" Thessala said, grinning at Aeneas.

@Sarah

[Sara]

Ione didn't imagine that he could read, but even if he could she didn't mind so much that he'd know what she was. She was not ashamed. How could she be? Shame was reserved for people that still had a life outside of their embarrassment. Ione didn't. Everything she knew was at the brothel - her work, her friends, her place of rest. It was who she was.

But his awkward reaction to her questions made her grin, giggling a little. He was a charioteer. "For the whites?" She gestured at his neckerchief as he had. "I...hope I get to see you ride one day. And I'm sure you're just being very modest, I'm sure you're actually terribly famous and just humouring me." She smiled more softly at him.

Roars went up around them as more gladiators entered the sands and Ione flicked those big doe eyes down. She squinted. It was difficult to see from this far up. "I have only watched Gladiators but I have a feeling I'd prefer  the races." She gave him a sly smile and flicked her eyes to the wineskin he was holding. She'd like a sip but didn't dare ask for it back.

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Sains]

The roars of the crowd were deafening from within the Imperial box, and it would have been some wonder if he'd managed to hear anything that came out of the wretch's mouth with any clarity. Something about death that was clearly directed at all that wished it upon him. Whatever it had been, Decimus was totally uninterested. The only thing that mattered now was to see it ended. No more wandering the streets at night looking for suspicious figures in the alleyways, no more hearing of honest citizens with their throats slit wide like livestock, and, perhaps most importantly, there was Aia. At least he could stand calmly at his post without wondering if she'd be taken from him by the time his shift had finally ended. With grim excitement his eyes flicked from the beasts to the man awaiting the fatal blows. It took a great deal of strength not to join the feverish shouting of the crowd as the lion drew first blood. 

Gnashing teeth, skin rent from the body and hanging loose like parchment in the vat, and, of course, the screams; it was enough to make any man's breath quicken. Just seeing the bastard in such a helpless state was enough to make Decimus squeeze the decorated hilt of his sword with a strength he might not have known since he'd left the isle. Perhaps even for a fleeting moment he wished it were him in that arena cleaving the man into bits. If it weren't for the sudden glance from Tiberius he may have summoned the strength to crush the bone-handle itself. He could hardly think of anything appropriate to say for his own personal gratitude that the man who had terrorized his city, his friends, and his family was finally put to an end. Jason seemed to have the right idea, and Decimus was happy to follow suit with a quick nod of the head, fiery plume dipping for just a moment before he met the prince's gaze once more. 

"Rome thanks you, Dominus." 

However curt it may have seemed, that was likely the best Tiberius could hope for from the centurion at the moment. The sound of crunching bone had drawn his gaze back to the arena and the grizzly site that lay before them all. Finally, it was done. He wondered if Aia would greet him with an appreciation for the way it had happened. Perhaps she still wished he'd been dismembered there on the floor. Dis, he hardly had to ask Alexius how he'd felt. For his own part there was much more satisfaction than there was pleasure. This Tiberius had done something good. Something that much of the public may not have agreed with had they known the details of its orchestration, but something good nonetheless. He only hoped that one day he might return the favor to the nobleman. Only time would tell. 

 

@Sharpie@Atrice@Chevi@Sara@Sarah

[Chevi]

"For the whites? I...hope I get to see you ride one day. And I'm sure you're just being very modest, I'm sure you're actually terribly famous and just humouring me." 

Azarion smirked, shrugging again. He wasn't famous at all. He was probably known in racing circles as the strange barbarian who broke the rules, but he had not had any spectacular wins or achievements yet. But it was nice to imagine one day people would know who he is.

"I have only watched Gladiators but I have a feeling I'd prefer  the races."

Azarion nodded again. He did too. They required a lot more skill. He noted her glance, and handed back the wine skin to her. Down in the arena, an actual fight was about to begin. The races were done with the day. Azarion gestured at the gladiators. Are you staying to watch the fight?

@Sara

[Sara]

"Modest, as I said." She grinned at him and shifted a little on the bench - closer to him and further away from the other person she was squeezed against. Her eyes glanced down to the sounds and then seeing his  gestures from the corner of her gaze, she snapped her eyes to him and tried to get his meaning as she fiddled with the wine skin. 

"Do I know them?" She  guessed his meaning and shook her head, frowning at him. "Is that what you meant?" She tilted her head, ignoring the roar of the crowd as people started to cheer the gladiators. "I'm sorry, I'm not good at this..." 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Atrice]

Pinaria glanced at Ovinia, who said she thought their attacker deserved worse. That was possibly true. But on the other hand, most of Rome did not know the story behind this man and why he was being killed in the arena now. They just saw entertainment. And Tiberius must have judged that this was the right way to go. At least he’d die. A beast being torn apart by beasts. It did seem fitting, Pinaria judged. 

And then it happened and Pinaria watched it all, all until the end. Her eyes did not miss a moment of what happened on those sands. It wasn’t until it was really over that she looked at Ovinia again and saw how the other woman bit her lip and agreed that it was good. Ovinia looked towards her father for a moment, and then to Pinaria again. Said she was grateful they had met and commented on Pinaria’s current company.

 She leaned closer, picking up on Ovinia’s words in an attempt to lighten the mood. She spoke in a lower voice to the younger woman, “Sometimes, being there for a friend is more important than being there for a man.” She gave a small smile and pulled back again. She glanced towards Gaius and then back to Ovinia, “Do you know him? There’s a good chance he’ll become my new husband.”

@Sarah @Sains @Sharpie @Chevi @Sara

[Sara]

Ovinia managed a chuckle and nodded with a small smile. "Yes, I suppose so." Not that she had a great deal of experience with the latter but she firmly believed she would prioritise her female friends over any men in her life. Women were dealt an infuriating lot in life, and they should stick together. But Pinaria's next question prompted an unrestrained little choke and she bit her lip, trying to style it out by clearing her throat, feigning that she had a cough. 

Well. This was awkward. She stole another glance in Gaius' direction and then back down to the sands. She had no idea the pair even knew one another let alone were that serious but...the thought made her happy. Gaius was a good man. And deserved a good wife, a better wife than Ovinia herself would have been to him. Pinaria was...perfect. For him and as a friend. She gave her friend a little wince and then nodded. "Yes....yes I know Gaius. We...well..." Ovinia was rarely stuck for words, "We met several times when my father was considering him as a husband. We had a...precontract of sorts but I chose not to pursue it. Him." She gave her friend a reassuring squeeze on her forearm. "And it was nothing to do with Gaius himself, he is a good man, and I have faith he'll make an excellent husband I...I just felt he deserved...well...I wanted something different. That's all." She gave Pinaria a small smile. "How did you two meet, anyway?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice

[Chevi]

Azarion frowned; it was not easy to carry a conversation with someone who did not read his signs. But it was not her fault, at least she tried. The crowd around them was getting louder now, as the actual gladiator fight began. Azarion did not give a shit. The killer had been torn apart, and he was gone now. The whole thing felt kind of empty. Rome had already moved on. As if they had not just witnessed a monster killed.

He stood up, nodding at Ione. Are you coming?

@Sara

[Sara]

Ione blinked as the man stood and nodded at her. Habitually she glanced over her shoulder, as if he must be gesturing to somebody else, not her. When she saw the person to her left was engaged in conversation elsewhere she frowned and gestured at herself. "Me?" When he nodded she blinked but stood up. She was the perfect slave; docile and easily led. All it took was Azarion standing and she was in her feet. 

"Where...where are you going? Where are we going?" She asked as she followed him. 

 

TAG: @Chevi

[Sarah]

Imperial Box

Both Decimus and Jason expressed their gratitude and so were presumably satisfied; Tiberius supposed that he must be also. Still, despite the apparent necessity of the decision - and he still considered it to be the correct decision - the execution left a hollow feeling inside the young Imperial. "It is done then." He nodded to the pair, acknowledging their replies and their thanks, but his gaze was on the arena, all unseeing. He took no joy from the execution. Perhaps if he'd had more first-hand experience of the man's actions, it would have felt more obvious. But at the same time, whilst they might be entertainment for the plebians, he didn't feel that an intellectual should take any pleasure in such a grisly death. It was necessary, and it was done, but he couldn't enjoy it. 

Perhaps he could take some satisfaction from the implications; there would be no more attacks on Roman citizens by the man. Especially women like Ovinia and Pinaria. Yes, that he could do. He had protected their people by taking on the grim task of deciding the man's fate himself, and that was part of his duty and role as an Imperial. He had, after all, trusted certain men to bring him information of import to the city and the Empire; Roscianus was one of those, and he had done so. Jason he trusted perhaps more than he should, but there was an integrity to his slave and a strength of character that bespoke his previous life. Decimus he trusted with his life of course, the man was a Praetorian. Alexius was the unknown factor but the others vouched for him. If he was to have his own counsellors then he must trust their counsel. Ovinia and Pinaria had spoken of their ordeals at the man's hands, poor Ovinia had suffered twice. He had considered her a friend, though after that interview he wasn't certain what she thought of him, but regardless when he considered the issue on the level of the individual citizen like her, he knew he could not stand idle. 

And now it was done. The man was dead, his soul damned to walk the earth restless. He had protected his people; he had to remember that. If this is the burden of rule, Titus can keep it, Tiberius thought bitterly. 

@Sains @Sharpie