100. Of What Was and Will Be
Date Written: December 20, 2020
Date Posted: December 25, 2020
Characters: Veneziano, The Roman Empire
Summary: Like the tide, he will rise and fall.
Notes:
Falling down and getting back up was something that the young boy had seen many others of his own age had done, but for him, it seemed like a monumental step to something greater. For the life of him, he couldn't manage to get back up on his own without a fair amount of struggling and tears on his part. Much to his childish indignation and embarrassment, the others of their kind, those closest to him, had laughed behind his back or straight in his face.
Shame was what he usually felt and his anger and sadness boded way deep inside of him like a soup set to a low, but constant simmer. Truly, the only light of his life, of his days, was that one stalwart person who had raised him from a little swampy area.
He had been dubbed the son of Neptune.
An offspring of the gods.
A demigod in his own right and someone who was thought to be one of the worthy descendants of the great one.
The Roman Empire.
Even now, when his benefactor had left him to fend for himself as he tended to his other children, the child hoped to see him again. There was just something so fulfilling and encouraging within him that called out to the child.
Something that told him to try harder, to push past his tears. Perhaps it was the promise of becoming something more in the future. To rise from the ashes of a burning, dying phoenix. To grow from the corpse of a fallen one.
To become an empire greater than the one before him.
However, such thoughts aren't always welcome. The child knows, like the humans that continue to grow and populate his lands, that all things must come to an end. The Great Roman Empire, be it within this century or the next, will surely fall.
And perhaps…
If the three sister fates were to smile upon him gently… Maybe he could be one of the worthy successors to inherit the vast lands, resources, and culture that his predecessor had left behind.
But those thoughts were for the future.
For now—
"Come now, my little son of Neptune."
Hesitantly, the young child looked up from the unforgiving ground and up at the one who believed in him wholeheartedly.
Above him, like a god that chose to descend from the heavens, the Great Roman Empire stood at his full height, his shadow comfortably blocking the worst of the sun's harsh rays from burning his eyes. Slowly, as if he were approaching a rabid, spooked animal, the older Nation began to slowly descend from his great height. As he did so, his voice, low and warm, tickled the young Nations' ears as he bent down and held out a large, calloused hand. Curly hair framed a well chiseled face that was hardened from years at war and subjugation, yet softened from bouts of diplomacy and wrinkled from constant laughter.
The Great Roman Empire, the one who had raised him from a mere swaddling in the midst of nowhere, looked down upon him like he was the world's most coveted treasure.
Trusting and adoring of the older Nation, the young child grasped his hand and slowly hauled himself up to his feet. Even though his scraped knees screamed in agony and his legs felt wobbly, he still proudly smiled up at his forbear.
Pride and fatherly affection immediately greeted the young child's eyes as the elder's other calloused hand ruffled his curly locks.
"You may not know it, yet, little godling, but you will be surely something great in the future."
The child beamed like the sun and easily allowed himself to be hoisted and carried within the Roman's arms.
Child of the sea or not, it did not matter. With Rome's blessing, he would become something more and be a beacon for those who wish to push forward and push past their own expectations and boundaries.
Of what was and will be and everything in between, the child knew that he could not afford to simply fall.
No.
As the child of the sea, he will rise and fall like the tide.
