Non est ad Astra Mollis e Terris Via

44 BCE

Outskirts of Roma

Decanus Sartorius Orustus looked at the destruction of his legion. Thousands of corpses lay dead on the battle field, and indeed even he himself was wounded by the weapons of the demons who emerged from the mammoth structure that had landed on the eastern bank of the Tiber seven days ago.

Smoke and debris filled the air as Sartorius searched for any other survivors, hoping beyond hope that he could at least find the standard, and bring it back to the Senate if Fortuna were so willing.

Bending down to examine one of his fallen comrades Sartorius saw a sillhouette approach from beyond the veil of smoke before him, at first he thought for sure it was a fellow survivor, but as the being approached nearer, dread filled Sartorius' heart. It was too tall to be a Roman.

Drawing his gladius Sartorius said a short prayer to Mars hoping that the God of War would give him strength to defeat this enemy, or at least allow him entrance into Elysium.

The four eyed creature emerged from the smoke, it's weapon pointed straight at Sartorius, as it spoke in a tongue he could not understand, but Sartorius could decipher one thing, this beast was full of rage, and if Sartorius was not mistaken a hint of fear.

Sartorius wasting no more time, charged his gladius held high. As he closed in on the creature he saw a flash and felt a sharp pain in his leg before he fell to the ground, his gladius falling unceremoniously before him.

"GAHHH!" He yelled as he gripped his leg trying desperately to stop the blood from pouring out of his leg.

As he wallowed on the ground in pain the tall creature approached him kneeling down, his four eyes piercing Sartorius' soul. Even though the iris was different, Sartorius could recognize the pain in a fellow soldiers eyes. Raising it's three fingered hand to the Decanus' face it touched him.

Sartorius was sure he had entered the underworld. Surrounded by blackness he cursed the ferryman for not appearing, but soon, before his eyes his entire life played itself out in front of him. He saw the place of his childhood, the kind warm smile of his mother that was always a comfort, joining the legion, the times he spent in the temple with his devout father, and the twenty years of a soldiers life he lived. Soon though something changed, new ideas, and knowledge spilled into his mind, flooding it with information almost spilling over, he saw countless worlds destroyed by what looked to be giant sea monsters, Messosum, he heard a voice say, and then he saw the race of his advasary, Bellator, he heard the voice again.

Everything started to make sense to Sartorius as the experience continued, he undestood that the Bellator were sons of Mars himself, and that their mandate was to rule over the stars, but they failed when the Messosum emerged from the darkness.

Almost as quickly as the experience started Sartorius' soul fell back into his body, and he was face to face with the Bellator, who he had tried to kill. He remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Forgive me, I did not know..."

The Bellator's four eyes softened, the rage seeming to subside if only for a moment, "You understand now son of Prometheus, we are here to guide your people, and pass to you the mandate for which we failed to uphold. As the first to speak with us, will you accept it."

Remembering the images of the Messosum, Sartorius nodded his head, "For the glory of Mars yes." He said as he pulled a dagger from his belt and sliced the flesh of his hand open. "I offer you a blood oath Bellator, that I and all my descendants after me shall uphold the mantle, and bring glory to the Gods!"

Sartorius stood with the VIII Bellator as the Senators looked anxiously at them. Sartorius could not blame them. Five thousand men of Roma had just been slaughtered not a mile away from the city.

As Sartorius escorted the Bellator into Roma, albeit with a limp, he had never seen the city so quiet. He almost thought the entire city had committed suicide it was so liveless.

Luckily for them, the senate was already in session when they arrived. Before they entered he heard shouting louder than in any battle he had ever participated in. The senate was in a state of panick, probably trying to flee as they did when Caesar had come back from Gaul. One thing Sartorius noticed before entry was how the Bellators seemed to touch almost everything on the way to the senatorial chambers, he asked about this, but the Bellator Constel just shook his head at him.

Upon entry in the circular room that the senate debated in, the area fell silent, fear gripped the hearts of Roma's politicians. Without missing a beat Jadaron the Bellator that Sartorius had clashed with approached the vacant consul's chair, vacant because Caesar had died only hours ago in the battle outside Roma. "Honorable members of the senate, approach me that I may bless you with the wisdom gifted to my kind by Minerva!"

When all of the senators failed to approached Jadaron nodded to his fellow Bellators. Ruden and Nilrine guarded then doors, as the remaining Bellator forced the members of the senate to line up and approach Jadaron. Sartorius smiled, their souls shall be blessed by the Gods themselves on this day, he thought.

Some senators tried to run, but were quickly forced back into line, and as each of them recieved Jadaron's blessing, the ceased resistance, and bowed before him. "IMPERATOR!" Each cried as they fell to their knees and worshipped the smiling Bellator.

When it was over, the prostrating senate unanimously declared Jadaron Emperor of Roma, and all her holdings. Jadaron was now in control of an Empire than spanned from Gaul to Egypt, and all it cost Roma was five thousand men. While Sartorius mourned for his fallen brother's he understood the ignorance in which they tried to attack the Bellator. Prostrating before Jadaron he spoke, "Hail to you Jadaron Emperor of Rome and all her holdings, what are your orders."

Jadaron was silent as was the rest of the chamber, even his fellow Bellators looked anxious as to his next words, "We begin..." He said quietly.

And so it begins

Info Roma:

Early Roma: According to legend, Roma was founded by twin brothers named "Romulus" and "Remus," the sons of the God Mars and a king's daughter. The children were abandoned at birth, but they were rescued by a she-wolf who suckled and raised them. Upon reaching maturity the boys founded a new city, then quarreled over who would rule. Romulus won: he killed his brother and became the first King of Roma.

Archaeologists date the first major settlement in the area from the eighth century BC (though there is some evidence suggesting that there were settlements in the area as far back as the 10th century BC). The city was founded by the Latin tribe atop the Palatine Hill, which overlooks a crossing of the Tiber River. The city's strategic location made it a natural trading post between the Etruscan civilization to the north and the Greek settlements to the south. Thus Rome benefitted from technological and cultural advances of both groups. Its location also made it greatly prized by its neighbors, and for two centuries the Latins fought off attacks by the Etruscans and the Sabines, another local tribe.

The Republic: Roman tradition states that the last Roman king was a brutal tyrant. The villainous king, Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown after his son raped a virtuous noblewoman. Modern historians believe that the truth is far more prosaic. According to one current theory Rome was captured by the Etruscans, who ejected the Roman king, but external events forced them to vacate the city before they could install their own monarch. Finding that they preferred being kingless, the Romans did not recall Tarquinius to power but instead implemented a Republic loosely based upon the Greek model. It is believed that the last Roman king fell at the end of the fifth century BC.

The Roman political system evolved over time, but the early structure was something like this: Roma was ruled by two consuls. The consuls acted as the city's chief magistrates as well as the military commanders. The two consuls possessed equal power. The consuls were elected annually by the "centuriate assembly" - the Roman army. To ensure unity of command in times of great danger a "dictator" could be appointed. The dictator had supreme military command. However, the dictator's term lasted only for six months, at which time power reverted to the consuls and senate.

The second power bloc in Roman government was the Senate. The Senate was composed of approximately 300 men drawn from the leading Roman families. According to theory the Senate was strictly an advisory body, advising both the Consuls and the assemblies (see below), but in fact it held enormous political power, and its "advice" was almost always followed by the assemblies (see below).

Two assemblies met periodically in Roma, and they (theoretically) held all political power. The centuriate assembly met outside the city's borders in the Field of Mars. As stated before this assembly was composed of Roman soldiers; they elected consuls and magistrates and voted on peace and war. The "tribal" assembly met inside the city; it was comprised of all male Roman citizens. This assembly enacted laws and sat as a court for public offenses involving money.

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AN: HOLY SHIT! Has it been this long, sorry about the weight guys, but school has been kicking my ass up and down main street, but on the plus side it is chilling out now and I look to update this, and we FINALLY get to some story. This chapter is kind of acting as a prologue, but I am toying with the idea of having some characters be at major events until we catch up to Shepard. Also hit me up with your tech ideas guys, I really need some inspiration for it!