It had been nearly three years since Lucius’ master
heard news of the death of his eldest son, Primus. Having been picked personally by Caesar to
join his army, Master could not have been more proud of his son. Caesar’s crusade to find and destroy Pompey
and any remnants of his optimates
meant Primus would be given the perfect opportunity to fight for the great
Julius Caesar and defend Rome. But
Primus was killed in battle not long after he set out. A dark cloud of sadness loomed over the
household, and Master fell into a restless fit he could not seem to overcome. Lucius made countless attempts to reassure
him that Primus had died an honorable death; fighting for a cause Master
certainly supported, for the better of Rome behind Caesar and his fellow populares. His constant efforts went completely
unnoticed.
Lucius
remembered the day he learned of Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, and that he
knew nothing from that point on would ever be the same. Lucius’ master, a populare himself, often spoke of rumors of growing tensions between
Caesar and the Roman Senate. He believed
it to be caused by Caesars growing military success and support from the people
of Rome. Just more than a year later,
word had traveled to Rome of a battle taking place at Dyrrachium. It had been said that
despite the efforts of Caesar and his troops, who had been vastly outnumbered, he
was forced to retreat by Pompey and his legions. It was during this battle that Primus had
fallen.
Lucius saw Julia sitting solemnly across the yard, the
shade of a tree keeping her safe from the sun’s rays. Pompey was dead; Caesar was slowly gaining
consecutive victories on the warfront; the people of Rome could feel the end
was near; the optimates were sure to
fail. He approached Julia. She had not spoken much since the death of
her brother. Though she and Primus
detested each other, she still mourned, unable to fill the void his death had
created. When she saw him, she gave a
meek smile, unable to offer much more.
Lucius only looked at her. The
warmth in his eyes assured her Primus’ death would not be in vain, it simply
could not. A better, stronger Rome was
yet to come.
-Elizabeth Reed
