Chapter Eleven: Noble Men
Part 12 Anarchy
Unfortunately for Lucius, he was not dismissed from his duties immediately. He had plenty of time for his self-doubt and his self-recrimination to re-emerge. So he still did not write to Claudia. After all the time that had passed, he wondered if a letter from him would be welcome; and as more time passed, the task became harder to accomplish and easier to delay. Hed been told since hed first met Claudia that he wasnt good enough for her, and a lifetime of hearing that message was not easily set aside.
Caesar, meanwhile, busied himself returning order to the former Aztec Empire, but also found the time to send a series of proposed laws back to Rome. There, they would be discussed first in the Senate, then in the main legislative body of the Roman Republic, the Plebeian Assembly. In the latter body, the proposed laws would be promulgated by one of the newly-elected Tribunes of the Plebs, one Septimus Scaurus Rufus, a Caesar adherent to his very bones. In his previous positions, Septimus Scaurus had proved himself an able administrator. a masterful politician and orator, however, he was not, and this was no doubt partly to blame for what happened.
The first measure Septimus Scaurus introduced, to invest half of the war booty into rebuilding Aztec cities, gained ratification with relative ease. There was, inevitably, some grousing, but most of the businessmen that comprised the top three of Romes five classes could see the sense in it. With Aztecia open to them, they anticipated a new, large market for their goods. The sooner the people there had the money to buy them, the better. The men who ran the treasury saw the sense of it as well. Besides, all concerned expected the remainder of the war booty to come home to the treasury.
When Scaurus introduced Caesars next law, which distributed the remaining war proceeds among Romes troops, the grumbling was louder. Outside of the higher classes, however, the proposition was extremely popular; support for the troops was running high among the people after a very successful war that had been fought, it seemed, with no small amount of moral justification. Catullus Seniors prediction proved correct; neither of Romes representative bodies were willing to oppose a motion with such popular support, and it passed into law with the reluctant blessing of both the Plebeian Assembly and the Senate.
However, this put the men in both government bodies into a recalcitrant frame of mind. Those not completely within Caesars camp quietly decided amongst themselves that whatever his next proposition might be, they would present stiff and formidable opposition. Therefore, when the
lex Fides Libertas was introduced a veritable political storm erupted. This law, which would allow all religions equal footing within the Empire, would have been controversial enough on its own; but with the political forces in Rome in a resistant mood, the opposition was fierce. Meetings in the Well of the Comitiathe open-air meeting place in the
Forum Romanum for the peoples assembliesdegenerated into shouting matches, and the following meetings to discuss the proposed law in the Senate followed suit, with Caesars adherents fighting a pitched rhetorical battle against his opponents.
To make a rapidly-deteriorating situation even worse, one ambitious Tribune of the Plebs saw the unrest as an opportunity to rise to prominence. With Caesar and most of the other prominent political leaders absent from Rome, Lucius Appuleius Saturninus seized his chance. Speaking from the rostra in the Well of the Comitia, he spoke to the crowd and appealed to their worst instincts.
People of Rome, listen to me! he shouted indignantly, and people obeyed; Saturninus was tall, dark-featured, and handsome, and was an excellent orator, having earned several years experience in Romes law courts before embarking on his political career.
For centuries we have tolerated the heresies of other faiths! Saturninus said. For generations we have defended Confucianism against the threat of infidels! For years we have fought a holy war to defend our brothers and sisters of the faith! And now look at what Caesar and his patrician henchmen propose! All faiths are equal! Confucianismthe one
true faith, the one
Roman faithis but one among many, no better than the others! Are we to tolerate this debasement of our beliefs, of our culture, of what makes us
Roman?
The stirring and rumbling of the crowd in and around the Comitia spurred Saturninus on. That some of the patricians in the Senate were opposing the measure was immaterial. Saturninus intended to wed whatever resentment of the new law he could stir up to the underlying resentment that many plebeians harboured towards Romes most privileged class. As for the fact that Confucianism had been founded by a man of Chinese descent, not a Roman, of course Saturninus deliberately avoided mentioning it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Septimus Scaurus watching him, his face livid in response to Saturninus demagoguery, but without the oratorical skill to oppose him. Saturninus suppressed a grin and turned on the man.
Look at
this man, a fellow Tribune of the Plebs! He said, pointing an accusing finger at Scaurus. A plebeian? Ha! Hes a patrician puppet if ever there was one! They want to shove this new law down your throats, like bitter medicine, with
him as the doctor. Well, its not medicine, its
poison, and Septimus Scaurus is a quack! Make no mistake, my friendsall we hold precious, all we hold dear, is threatened!
This will be the end of Rome as we know it!
All it would take for the full fury of the crowd to be unleashed, Saturninus knew, was for one person to cross the line from talk to action. Thus he had arranged for one of his adherents to be within the Well of the Comitia with a good-sized rock hidden within the folds of his toga. That last phrase was the signal; as soon as the words left Saturninus mouth, his confederate threw his rock. It struck Septimus Scaurus right between the eyes; he dropped to the ground like a puppet whose strings were suddenly cut.
Saturninus was taking no chances. He wanted a revolution, and he got it. Scaurus fall was the signal to the other men hed arranged to have planted in the crowd, most of them ex-gladiators, enforcers from the various crossroads colleges, and other ruffians drawn from the stews of Rome and the waterfronts of Antium and Ostia. They rushed the rostra, attacking the other Tribunes of the Plebs. Carried away by the ugly emotions Saturninus rhetoric had inspired, many others in the crowd joined in. Of the ten Tribunes of the Plebs, eight managed to escape only with severe beatings and considered themselves lucky; poor Septimus Scaurus, however, was beaten to death by the crowd. Saturninus, the hero of the hour, emerged unscathed, and was carried triumphantly out of the Well of the Comitia on the shoulders of his hired thugs. They carried him home, where he met with the two other ringleaders of his rebellion.
Ive already received word from Antium that an uprising is underway there, Gaius Servilius Glaucia, his friend and chief confederate, informed him. Well hear news from the other cities over the next few days, but we have agents stirring up the people everywhere.
Excellent! Saturninus said from his dining couch, draining his wine cup and signalling to a servant for more. First thing we do is wipe out the Senate and
all patricianswith one notable exception, he said with a nod to his other guest. Without their traditional leadership, the people will be looking for someone to guide them. That role, of course, will fall to me.
What about Caesar? Glaucia said, his face folding into a frown. He still has his legions up in the north.
The third member of their party spoke up at this point, shaking his head while a confident smile played upon his face.
Caesar is a spent force, Marcus Phillippus Cinna said, brushing the long lock of dark hair that fell from his forehead out of his eyes.
Cinna had largely lain dormant since his disgraceful dismissal from the battlefield a few short years before. His father had threatened to disown him. A bribed servant and the administration of some untraceable poison into the senior Cinnas dinner one night, however, ensured that he never got a chance to change his will. Cinna, an only child, received his full inheritance of money and estates.
His wealth, however, was not enough to overcome the shame of his military disgrace. The story had spread throughout the empire, it seemed. He couldnt walk anywhere in public without hearing people sniggering behind his back, or looking down their noses at him. So Cinna had retreated into his mansion and brooded, dreaming of a day when he could exact his revenge on all those who had wronged him. As time passed, that list grew very long indeed.
Thus, when Lucius Appuleius Saturninus had appeared in his study and offered his services to Cinna, the disgraced patrician had taken him up on his offer. Saturninus political career had been floundering because of a lack of funds, which Cinna now provided. In return, Cinna worked behind the scenes, but pulled all the strings. The
lex Fides Libertas had presented them with the perfect opportunity to make their move, and they had seized it with a vengeance.
Hes served his purpose; hes united the continent under Roman rule. Cinna said to his two companions. Now his time is done. Even an immortal cannot resist the will of the people. Cinna paused. The people
are sovereign, he intoned solemnly, then laughed.
Yes, the whole ill-bred, uncouth lot of them! Saturninus added, laughing derisively with Cinna. Trust me, Glaucia; by the time Caesar and his legions are finished tidying up Aztecia and complete the long march home, our goals will be accomplished. We will be installed as the new leaders of the Roman Empire. Caesar will have no choice but to stand down, and the legions no choice but to obey the orders of their new leaders.
Exactly, Cinna said. You forget, Glaucia, that Caesar has great respect for the will of the people, and for the law. Cinna chuckled and swirled his wine within his cup. The sentimentality of a foolish old man.
Glauica nodded, but held his tongue. He wasnt so certain that a 5000-year-old immortal could be dealt with so easily.
***
Two days later, Lucius Rutullus found himself summoned to the command tent yet again, which was located on a wind-swept plain just south of Calixtlahuaca. Once inside, he was greeted by several grim faces.
Youve heard? Ceasar asked him curtly when he walked in, waving the junior legate to a chair on the other side of a table from his own. Beside him sat Catullus Senior, looking equally grim, his lips pressed together in a hard line.
About the riots? Lucius replied. The camp is buzzing about it, Caesar.
Whats the mood of the men? How do they feel about all this? Caesar asked.
Theyre with you as always sir, Lucius informed him confidently; hed spent most of the morning making the rounds, gauging the legionaries opinions of the unrest in the Empires main cities. Theyre soldiers. Theyre used to action. And everyone has loved ones back home. They want to
do something about it, Lucius added, his voice fervent, indicating he shared their feelings on the matter.
So they shall, Caesar said, his voice hard and decisive. The garrisons in the Aztec cities can maintain the peace here. The remaining Legions will return to Roman territory and re-establish order. You are to take the Fourteenth and return to Rome to do just that. Try to do it with minimal bloodshed; these are fellow Romans, Lucius. Theyre being misled by a demagogue. This storm will pass. Its our job to minimize its effects.
The entire Senate has gone into hiding, Catullus Senior rumbled from beside Caesar. The generals hands were shaking. The mobs were dragging patricians out of their homes, into the streetskilling the men, raping the women
his voice trailed off.
Sitting in front of him, Lucius face went pale as a single word, a name, flashed into his mind.
Claudia...
I would not trust Rome to anyone else, Lucius Rutullus Lepidus, Caesar said to him. Take the Fourteenth and march to Calixtlahuacas dock on the double. The galleon Minerva will bear you and your men back to Rome. Ill be right behind you as soon as Im able to get away.
Sir! Lucius said, already on his feet and heading out.
***
Claudia Pulchra sat in her study, trying to go over her household accounts, but found herself unable to concentrate. Frustrated, she stood up from her desk and took to pacing. She was impatient with this debilitating agitation she was suffering from, but she couldnt help it. She felt like an animal in a cage.
When the riots in Rome had begun several days ago, most of the senators and other patrician nobility had decided that discretion was the better part of valour and had promptly left the city. Most of them had country estates outside of Rome where they hoped to safely wait out the unrest until order was re-established. A few patricians, however, refused to budge, to be forced from
their city, the city their ancestors had founded and guided to greatness, because of common rabble led by a demagogue. They would not be intimidated; they would remain and make a stand, for better or for worse. Claudia was among them.
Nonetheless, those who remained werent so arrogant that they didnt take precautions. Several patricians had, as Catullus Senior had heard, been subject to the full wrath of the mobs wandering Rome when the riots had first started. Noblemen had indeed been dragged from their homes and torn apart by the crowds, their wives and daughters passed around by the ruffians and subjected to their lust. So the few patricians who had remained had boarded up their windows and doors, had armed their servants, and had hired ex-gladiators and retired soldiers for protection. Some of their new guardians had been among the rioters not long before taking on their new duties, but at times like this, one couldnt be fussy.
Claudias father had urged her to leave Rome for their family estate on the coast, south of Ostia.
Youre a woman and youre by yourself, Marcus Claudius Pulcher had pleaded with his eldest daughter. Youre not safe here!
No one is safe here, Claudia had countered. Even so, Im not alone. I have the servants, and the house is secure.
Her father had shaken his head. You should leave, he insisted.
Are
you leaving? shed asked him pointedly.
Of course Marcus Claudius Pulcher, twice Consul, would not quit Rome, and realized that he would therefore lose this argument with his daughter. Not for the first time, he regretted that she was so well-versed in rhetoric. He couldnt even persuade her to leave her own home for the added security of his.
And leave my house to be looted by the mob? shed responded to the suggestion. I think not!
So she had remained in her home, though she was nervous and, yes, afraid. She had been careful not to let on to her father or to her anxious servants that she felt that way. Thus far, the mobs had avoided the highest, wealthiest homes on the Palatine Hill, as though they were somehow sacrosanct because of their grandness, or because the oldest and most prestigious of Romes founding families lived in them. Or maybe the ruffians were just too lazy to climb all the way up the hill, Claudia reflected ruefully. Still, she knew better than to expect this state of affairs to last.
And what will you do, she asked herself,
when they batter down your door?
When they drag you from your home, out into the street, tear your dress from your body and pass you around like a common whore? She shuddered, then forced the unpleasant image from her mind.
It wont happen. It cant happen!
Domina! her steward, Titus, was calling to her from the hallway.
Domina! he came bursting into her study without knocking, that simple act telling her something was very wrong indeed.
Claudia forced a calm expression onto her face. What is it, Titus? she asked, proud that her voice was even.
A group of men,
Domina! Heading up the Palatine! Up our street!
The middle-aged man seemed on the verge of tears. He wasnt even carrying one of the few spears or swords shed managed to obtain to arm her staff. He was a house servant, not a warrior. Not for the first time, Claudia questioned the wisdom of her decision to stay in the city, especially when she now realized that her servants would suffer as much as she if the mob chose to ransack her home.
Youre a proud, foolhardy, stupid woman, she chastised herself silently, then pushed the thought aside; the decision had been made, and it was now too late to take it back. She would have to liveor diewith the consequences.
They may pass us by, Titus, she said. The man only shook his head, wrung his hands, and blinked away tears. Sympathetic to his fear, for she felt no small part of it herself, she reached out and placed what she hoped was a steadying hand on his shoulder. Whatever may come, we will face it together. Remember that you are Roman, Titus. Remember that above all else.
Taking some courage from her words and from her show of strength, Titus took a deep breath, steadied himself, and nodded.
Alert the rest of the staff. Have everyone take up the arms that have been provided.
She paused a moment, considering. She suddenly recalled something shed read in Caesars account of the Spanish campaign.
A good general always ensures that his troops have a course for retreat, should it prove necessary.
Have one of the maids stationed by the back door, she said. And another one by the rear windows. If necessary, we can escape through them, and make our way to my fathers home.
Titus actually favoured her with a smile, so impressed was he by her clear thinking and grace under pressure. Not for the first time, he considered how lucky he was to be the chief steward of this beautiful patrician widow.
I will,
Domina, he said, then turned to head for the door. There, he paused. Your husband, I think, would have been very proud of you at this moment.
The compliment did little to comfort Claudia, however; it just made her wish that her husband was alive and present so that he could take command of the situation, not her. What did she know of fighting? Shed read about it in a book, that was the sum total of her experience of conflict. She blinked away tears as she wished that one of the two men she had loved were presentpreferably both of them. For she had come to love her husband in the short time shed known hima love of affection, if not passion. But Catullus was dead, and Lucius was away in the north, and she hadnt heard from him in years.
And yet, the thought of both men stirred something in her mind. She had arranged to have her servants armed, yesbut what about herself? Her hazel eyes suddenly blazed. She would not be hauled off by the mob and made their whore; she would go down
fighting! She left her own study and marched across the courtyard garden to that of her late husband. There,
there was what she needed, hanging upon the studys walls.
Outside in the street, Saturninus was leading a throng of men over two hundred strong right up to the top of the Palatine Hill. Prior to this, he had steered away the rioters from this exclusive district to ensure that the home of his patron, Marcus Phillippus Cinna, remained safe. But now he and Cinna were confident that they had the mob firmly under their control; it was time to demonstrate to
all patricians that
none of them were safe.
He reached the top of the hill and picked out the house which Cinna had told him would be his first target. His eyes settled upon the home of the late Quintus Lutatius Catullus Junior, now home to his widow: Claudia Pulchra Primia, one of the most beautiful women in Rome, if not the most beautiful. He smiled wolfishly.
Dont worry, Claudia Pulchra, he thought to himself,
you wont get raped by my men like those other patrician women we caught. Cinna wants you for himself. He felt his blood stirring as he thought of taking her, bound and tearful, to Cinnas house, there to watch whatever his patron had in store for the beautiful widow. For Saturninus liked to watch.
Cinna had personal reasons for choosing Claudia as his target. She was the beloved of the two men who had shown him up: Lucius Rutullus Publius by taking command of the Fourteenth Legion
his Legion!during the battle of Tlatelolco, and Quintus Lutatius Catullus Junior by taking command of the Fourteenth after his disgrace. Cinna was eagerly looking forward to meting out his revenge on her. He had several things he planned to do to herthings that even the prostitutes he regularly hired had balked at.
This one, my friends! Saturninus shouted, pointing at Claudias house. We sack this one first! But remember what I told youits mistress is an enemy of the people! She must be captured and taken unharmed so that she may be tried in a court of the people! Ill have any man who disobeys this order
flogged, is that clear?
His men nodded knowingly. So Saturninus wanted the woman for himself, they figured. Well, that was fair enough; as their leader, he was certainly entitled to his pickings of the spoils. They were sure thered be plenty of comely serving maids to be passed around amongst themselves.
The mob formed up in front of Claudias door, shouting and cheering, while a battering ram was carried forward by the strongest men in the crowd. They lined up the heavy wooden ram with the door and slammed it forward. The heavy oak door of the house withstood this first assault; it shuddered and bore an ugly mark, but it held.
Again! Saturninus shouted, and the men wielding the battering ram drew it back.
But they never brought it forward, for to their surprise, the maimed door suddenly opened. And out of it stepped a goddess.
She was clad in a gleaming helmet with a high crest and held a long spear in her right hand, its blunt end resting on the pavement. A belt with a dagger and a sword in a scabbard was girdled about her slender waist. Her left arm carried a legionarys large, convex rectangular shield. Her long woolen dress was immaculately white, her skin glowing, her hazel eyes blazing with righteous fury. She was the living embodiment of Minerva, the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom and war.
She lowered her shield and let its bottom edge rap loudly upon the pavement, a sound that made every man in the suddenly shocked and silent crowd jump.
Ecastor, that thing is heavy! Claudia thought as she set the shield down with a relief she was careful not to display to the mob before her. Instead, she maintained her look of dignified rage, took a deep breath, and roared in a stage voice, just as Lucius Rutullus had taught her how to do when they were children.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!? she demanded of the men standing before her. Her voice, high and clear, reverberated off the stone walls around and behind her. LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE! RETURN TO YOUR HOMES!
For several long moments, the crowd did and said nothing. The ancient beliefs in the old gods had been supplanted by new faiths, yes; but Romans were by nature a superstitious lot, and in their habits and customs they paid obeisance to the old gods every day. They had never thought to be confronted by one of them in person!
Behind her, in her house, Claudias servants watched the confrontation nervously through peepholes in the heavy shutters theyd nailed into place over the windows only a few days earlier. She had given them a simple order: if she fell before the mob, they were not to fight, but to flee, out the back door to her fathers home.
This house and its contents dont matter as much as your lives, shed told her weeping servants, and neither do I. She wished shed realized that several days ago. But it was too late for self-recrimination now.
ARE YOU DEAF? Claudia shouted at the crowd. She took a step forward, lifting the heavy shield and setting it down with a loud
thump, and was pleased to see the crowd flinch yet again at the sound.
This just might work
Saturninus, though, suddenly saw his entire revolution slipping away as a result of the actions of this one woman. He knew enough about how the mobs mind worked to understand that if they retreated now, news of this incident would spread, and would grow from story to legend in short order. Who could stand against the old order, the men he was leading would say, when the ancient gods themselves spoke through them? He knew he had to do something, had to regain control of the crowd, of
his crowd.
Claudia Pulchra! he said, stepping forward. Dressing up in your late husbands armour doesnt fool us! You are a patrician and an enemy of the people! Your property is forfeit! It belongs
to the people! he shouted, his face reddening as he yelled at her.
The
people?!? Claudia shouted back, her dignified voice rich with contempt. You do not represent the
people, you jumped-up worm! The good
people of Rome, patrician and plebeian alike, are locked away in their homes, afraid of you and your cut-throat mobs! And if the rest of you had an ounce of good sense, youd leave here at once and go emulate them! Do any of you want to face Caesars wrath when he returns? For return he will, and a reckoning shall surely follow! She was pleased to see many of the men in the mob shudder at that unwelcome but very likely possibility.
Saturninus turned several different shades of purple. How dare she! How dare she oppose him in this manner, assuming the mantle of a goddess, speaking to them as eloquently as he could himself! A mere
woman! He turned to the crowd.
You there! Take hold of this harpy while rest of us enter
He was unable to complete relaying his orders, however. Claudia knew that she could not kill a man, even one as odious as this rabble-rousing demagogue. But she wasnt above hurting him. Thus, she had raised the spear she held and brought the flat side of its iron tip down sharply upon the top of Saturninus head.
OW!! the erstwhile leader of the people exclaimed, clutching his head and turning to face his nemesis.
You will not enter this home! she told him, and the crowd.
You rotten, stinking,
cunnus!
Claudias eyes opened wide at the coarse insult. She brought the spear down again, even more heavily, so much so that this time it broke when it struck Saturninus skull. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he unceremoniously fell to the pavement like a dropped sack of grain.
The men standing around him glanced down at their fallen leader uncertainly, then cast equally confused glances at the woman opposing them. A critical moment had come; Claudia knew it down to her very bones. The crowd wavered, hesitated. Then, as her stomach lurched, she saw the fear vanish from the coarse features of its roughest-looking members and knew that in spite of her valiant effort, she had lost.
Shes just a woman, a tall man with an unshaven face and long, unruly hair snarled. His narrow eyes looked her up and down, and a lecherous grin appeared on his face. An angry murmur swept through the crowd.
Claudia swallowed hard. She threw the ruined shaft of the spear aside and drew her late husbands
gladius from its scabbard and held it forward. She grunted as she lifted the heavy shield and did her best to assume a defensive stance, her left arm trembling from the weight of the shield and, she knew, from fear as well. As a youngster, she and her girlfriends had watched the young men drilling on the Campus Martius, and she now struggled to remember what shed seen. At the time, shed never considered the possibility of emulating the young men. No proper Roman woman would! She had been more concerned, like her girlfriends, with watching their favourites go through their military exercises.
And Lucius was always my favourite, she reflected as the mob of angry, lustful men shifted before her, collectively moving like a cat about to pounce on its hapless prey. Not for the first time in the past few minutes, she wished that her childhood sweetheart was there at her side. But he was not; she was utterly and terribly alone.
Very well then, she said, quite proud that she maintained an even tone quite devoid of the terror she felt. I suppose Ill only be able to killwhat, two? Three? Maybe four of you before you overwhelm me. So, who among you is ready to die? she asked as she forced an eager smile onto her face.
She realized then that the cowardly, hesitant looks on their coarse faces at that moment would likely be the last thing that she ever enjoyed in this life. She hunkered down behind her dead husbands heavy shield and waited for them to make their move.
I need to go back into a save and grab a couple more screenshots, hence the delay.
Hey, I can fit one more in!
