The Light of Rome clashed with the great waves of the oceans, defiant against the elements that would seek to drag the island under so that those Romans might now know peace in this new world. It’s beacon shown weakly on the shore, barely hidden in a small bay where the waves could not reach it so easily and where the settlers had built up their new city. It was within this Beacon of Rome that the Italian culture began to take root in the New World as the people had built up classical italian homes and that one might have seen while walking through the older streets of the ancient city that these colonizers had come from. This could not have been done without the help of the technology from the Gaia Corporation, able to fabricate what was needed for the city to properly begin to take root.
It was within this city that the two consuls, Taide and Ciro, looked out to that calm bay as the Romulus and Remus stayed anchored in the newly built docks. The two men were in a silent bliss as the moon kissed the earth, enjoying a night where they did not have to take turns truly managing the city from dawn to dawn. As it stood, the Beacon of Rome would be able to operate for some time on its own, allowing the farmers to claim their lands from the wilderness and sow their seeds. Perhaps, life would not be as bad as what many would have believed for the italian people took the day to make celebration as they had survived for half of a year and now, they had power.
“I hope to God that we won’t have to live without power for that long again,” Taide laughed, earning a snort from Ciro as the silence was disrupted.
Ciro gave the other consul a look, “You should be more worried that those lizards don’t become pests. You know the senate motions that we drive them from our lands, right?” He took a step forward, looking back out to the bay and loosing a sigh. “They’re smarter than the lizards I’m used to,” Ciro stated in a light annoyance, “And much bigger.”
“Yes, yes. I know your concern,” Taide started, “But you know that we cannot afford to go to war yet. Plus, we don’t even know if those things are even capable of speaking. Guns will scare them off plenty.”
“And what about when our guns
don’t scare them anymore?” Ciro countered, not bothering to meet the gaze of his other consul, “Sure, the city is set up, but you know as well as I do that we don’t know what other people might be on this island. For all we know, we are just invaders to them and they could have allies.” Ciro finally turned to look at Taide, concern in his eyes as he brushed his hair back and closed his eyes to take a moment to breathe.
“We need to proceed with caution, Taide. Tomorrow, the Senate will meet and I’m going to be talking with the Legion to make sure they know not to just kill the lizards. That means that you need to convince the Senate that we can’t push our boundaries too far just yet,” Ciro ordered, meeting the glare from Taide as both consuls silently battled each other.
“No. The Senate is right, this is our land now. Those things will need to understand that this land is our land. With Rome itself gone, we will need the space for our people and our farms and whatever it is that we will need,” Taide countered, the joy on his face slowly going away as the two began to bicker. He watched as Ciro let out a groan and ran a hand over his face before offending Taide’s ears with a response.
“Okay, fine. But at least do me the favor to try and have the senate motion for a more diplomatic approach. I don’t want to go against them and have the populace at our throat if I try to steer clear of conflict,” Ciro sighed as he stepped away from the other consul.
“Very well, Ciro. You have my word that I’ll attempt to steer the council away from an aggressive war,” Taide said with an equal sigh, turning away from Ciro and storming off to allow the other man to bask in the light of the moon for the moment. The two had always been at odds on how to handle the native population of the island, the verminous kobolds that had since been of little issue to them. The senate had been on the heels of the consuls to deal with them, but only Ciro stood between Rome and the natives, much to the ire of the senate.
It did not help that the Legion would not act without both of the consuls approving of a military action against the kobold tribes, that they had since merely been scaring away from the lands claimed by the new republic. The senate had no authority to command them and the commander of the First Legion sided with Ciro in that the Republic should not overstep its boundaries and should focus more on developing the land it already had with the people that had just now been able to establish a sense of normalcy after so long. This act angered the Senate who continued to rail against Ciro, calling him and the commander of the First both cowards who did not care for Rome's interests. The Legion would always counter this by saying that the Senate acted as warmongers who would rather see their own interests furthered rather than the safety of Rome itself.
Such was the ways of politics.
MarshalSolgriev,
Cao the Exiled,
Grijs,
Enzayne,
Lord Zee,
Frettzo,
DracoLunaris,
Vec
