Panem et Liftin' - (Fantasy Roman Timeline, Lepidus!SI)
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676 A.U.C. (Ab Urbe Condita/Since the Foundation of the Capital)
A weeping widow wandered the halls of the family manor, her steps heavy and uncertain, woobly and sorrowful.
There was no doubt in her mind today was truly a horrible day for the family, and yet she knew that she had to bring the news of such tragedy to the one that would not carry on the noble title of their family from now on.
She found the young boy of hers, always the peculiar and quirky child, in his 'training room'. It was still weird for the peaceful Appulia to find the brown-haired child, a blue-eyed handsome little fellow, lifting rocks and doing exercises in his free time but... he was growing. And he was growing strong.
The boy, about 12, paused as he took notice of her and of her tears, his eyes wide open as he dropped the weight he was lifting and he walked up to the woman.
He clearly sought answers to his questioning eyes, but the woman's answer was just as muted - an embrace, one that required his strength to keep her from falling as tears rained upon his shoulder.
"Marcus, your father- he perished!"
The news had the boy tensing up in surprise but also awareness as he had predicted such event from happening from the very beginning of the rebellion of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Elder.
The man had sought validation from the Res Publica, but he was cornered and then forced upon traitorous lands in Sardinia.
And now...
Now, I, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Young, shall take care of my family.
679 A.U.C.
When I was reborn as the 'infamous' Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 665 A.U.C. (89 AD), I had been nervous of what this amounted to.
At a time where Rome was approaching the end of its Republican Period to make way to the Imperial Period, the Gens Aemilia was not meant to last through the waves of the turbulent storm up ahead.
What made the experience somewhat more acceptable was the strange notification window I happened to find one day as I was ten:
Warning! You have selected by the Deity Vesta to uphold a destiny of prosperity for your home.
So yes, I learned that in this timeline which looked so very similar from mine, specific characters could be selected by deities. And that there were indeed gods all over the world - they existed and they were keen to play games where possible.
This discovery shocked me, even more as my parents received a letter from the Temple of Vesta confirming my alignment, and I was soon praised with a mixture of delight (from mom) and displeasure (from dad).
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus 'Snr.' was a tough man. He had done a lot of military stuff, he had served several political chairs, and he had looked forward to see me or my brother, Lucius Aemilius Lepidus, do the same.
Considering my new 'inclination' towards 'homely affairs', that pretty much made me a worthless heir.
Did he came to hate me for it? No, but it was clear that this matter had him disappointed through the rest of his life. And when he died in Sardinia following a rebellion to enforce his claims of warranting a new position in the high Roman society, our family found itself in a tough spot.
Lucius was soon working hard to preserve our political stability as much as his lesser positions allowed to, while I found myself entrusted, at the age of 12, of fixing the bleeding treasury left behind by our father.
Mother's family wasn't going to help - not without some concessions that would further debase the legitimacy of the Gens Aemilia.
So, I had to play with numbers and scrunch up a proper budget that involved cutting back on some properties we owned.
I doubt anyone had expecting me to pull some unorthodox economic methods to fix our balances, but with the economy of the Res Publica a far cry from a modern one with the complexities of macroeconomics, I found it fitting to play ball with what was amiss in regard to limitations in creating new business.
The 'Lepidus Good Meal n' Fit' was the big plan that took me three years of careful plotting to see fully mustered. A chain of street food restaurants starting from Rome and then reach down to Neapolis and even further down to Siracusae.
The project had exploded in popularity as the model I followed was akin to what a proper fast food chain would follow, with the best thing being that all ingredients were produced at the local farms.
Contracts were prepared, deals were forged, monetary exchanges were done at a timely fashion, and business was booming rapidly across the peninsula as a whole.
While Lucius was still struggling to keep our name politically active, it goes without saying that my economic success was helping in the process. And the fact we were considered the 'richest family' in Rome, quite feasible at the time, meant that we already had a lot of sway in non-political way.
Which also meant that people, to damage us, would resort to subtle non-political methods which demanded loyal guards all the time.
The issue with having 24/7 guards implied a salary that was too draining and not necessarily safe - after all, Romans were known to be fickle beings when it comes to loyalty, especially if those were of lesser ranks and were bribed accordingly.
The best way to go around this was to have that kind of utter loyalty that was hard to find by my fellow Romans... but it could be found in those that owed one a life debt or two.
It was around Summertime that I found myself strolling down in Capua to see for a new potential expansion for the local restaurant considering the growth of clients in the area.
That was the official reason, but my feet took me to the Gladiator School owned and handled by Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Vatia.
The man had been bleeding a lot of coins in trying to keep his business afloat, harshening the training steps for all those men serving him as fighting slaves. It was a year before the infamous Third Servile War, so I knew the men held there were already plotting for freedom.
So, when I arrived, I came across a very fortuitous circumstance - the gladiators were already misbehaving, something that Gnaeus' servants handling the training were ill-suited to properly solve.
Which is why I came in confidently and strolled through like the winner that I was. Fitness and good money had turned me from the little 'wimpy homely child' to a muscular teen that 'owned' places.
"Ave Marcus Aemilius," Gnaeus greeted, trying to sound happy to see me, but rather displeased by the sights I was bestowed by his 'loyal gladiators'. "Your visit fills me with hope you came here for business."
I shook his hand and smiled, making sure to apply just enough strength to show who was in charge of the negotiation. "I am. And I believe there isn't much to speak in private - I seek to buy off from you all those formidable-looking gladiators."
My public statement drew attention from the few Gladiators in that very hall.
"T-That would be quite expensive- I don't doubt your formidable wealth but-"
"Twenty hundreds talents."
A lot of silver coins. A fuckton even.
Gnaeus' jaw fell to the ground as I interjected with that, the heavy bag of denarii soon sitting on his open palms for him to look into.
There was a lot - but he took his time to look into it and confirm I was giving him the amount of coins I brought up.
During the counting, several other gladiators had rallied - after all, this was inherently a big change in their lives.
Gnaeus was soon nodding, face flushed and his eyes wide open.
"I-It's indeed as much as you said it was."
"Is it sufficient?" I asked sarcastically and the man nodded again.
"Y-Yes. O' merciful Lepidus, these man are now yours. I just need to fetch the proper paperwork, it- it will take a while."
I nodded, seeing him leave as I turned to the gladiators as they all looked back at me attentively.
"My name is Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. I am the owner of a large chain of food-makers in the nation of Rome. The reason why I am buying all of you is not to establish my own Gladiator school, nor I intend to keep you all as slaves - I seek to free you and hire you as my guards, to be salaried, to be given benefits fitting of a proper worker under my guidance, and to eventually be rewarded for your hard work."
One of them raised a hand. "What sort of 'rewards'?"
"Many of you have families beyond Rome's borders. Some of whom thinks that you are dead. You will be given the means, starting now, to send a letter to them and to confirm you are all alive. Also, if you are able to uphold the work I shall assign you, which is to guard me and my family from those trying to inflict harm to us, I will personally pledge to pay for their trip to Rome and to be granted access to one of the new houses I plan to create in the capital within the next few years," I stated strongly. "Your wages shall be less than the common guard, but that's because you shall be granted free beds, meals, and even training areas which you can use at your own leisure to keep your skills sharpened and honed."
All I was saying was preposterous and I could see it in their faces. No Roman would go as far as this at the current time, which was convenient for me as it made such a basic understanding of dignity even more palatable for those folks.
"I promise you all that you will never lose your dignity ever again. You shall be recognized as beyond mere slaves. You will be the loyal bodyguards of the Gens Aemilia."
There was a lot of whispering and a lot more of agreement.
By the time Gnaeus was back with a large pile of papers for me to sign, I started getting to work right in front of the slaves. It took me about ten minutes of looking and signing before I was done with that.
I had the contracts ready to be signed for the new freemen.
None deserted the signing after they were convinced of the contracts as I read one aloud and for everyone to listen to.
After that visit, I came back home with 83 gladiators-turned-guards for my family to rely upon. And while this was going to level onto us some accusations of mustering an army, it was within law for families of large prominence to muster its own guards. The size of which depending on the wealth.
Another successful day, I thought, but I was soon going to receive a surprise as it was nighttime and I prepared to sleep... only to be rewarded with-
Warning! The Deity Vesta, following your most recent acts, has decided to bless you - [Blessing of the Hearth] Your home shall never feel horrible for those you regard as family, friends, and guests.
...There are blessings now? What's next? Supernatural creatures?
AN
Lil' Lepidus the Liftin' Youth is about to pull a flex or two around Rome. Also, expect things to get really fantasy starting by next chapter.