Will of the Senate flashback/epilogue

[GeneralHankerchief]

Okay, I've been holding on to this PM for over two years. Figured now was as good a time as any to share it.

If you can remember, the Will of the Senate PBM ended with the Battle for Rome when Servius Aemilius, trying to become Consul-for-Life, was defeated by his underachieving uncle Marcellus (me) in the greatest battle the world had ever seen (until Bern and/or Trent). Marcellus, while achieving a decisive victory, desperately sought to capture his nephew and bring him to justice. However, it was not to be. Servius fled the battle, ending the PBM on an ambiguous note.

However, imagine me at this point dancing around and saying in a singsong voice: "I've got the upper hand!" over and over. For the hunt for Servius was on, and Marcellus had a clue as to where he was going. During some part of the battle, his forces intercepted a communication from Servius to the third Aemilius in the picture, Oppius, whom both sides thought they could trust.

Your men have intercepted the following message sent from Servius to Oppius. After some distasteful steps taken to ensure verification, they are convinced that the message is genuine.

Oppius, I write to you in regards to this dire news from Sardinia. The Carthaginians did not attack Caralis on my command, nor were they to return to Sardinia for any reason. My only ideas as to what happened are that Marcellus got to them before they landed in Rome, and bought their loyalty with a better offer than my own. What purpose would turning the Carthaginians back to Sardinia serve me? You're letting confusion cloud your judgement. The battle for Rome is extremely tense, but we will survive the night. It is tomorrow that will test our mettle.

The plan to use Carthage to defeat Marcellus has failed, the battle for Rome is being extremely hard fought, and Flavius still has no way to reach us in anything even remotely resembling good time. These may be my final orders to you Oppius. Go to Palma, have Eutropia let you into my library, and collect every book I've written or criticised on strategy and tactics. In the event that I do not survive this battle, have these texts sealed in the sarcophagus in the basement of my estate there, and have the basement filled with dirt, the entrance to it built over. They should survive for posterity, but they won't if the senate can find them. They must be hidden. As for Eutropia. I promised her I would return, but that is a promise I am not sure I'll be able to keep. Wait for news of me. If I do not survive, take her somewhere safe, take care of her Oppius. And let nobody know of where you take her. She is with child. If the senate knew this, they would send her straight to Hades. They would do anything to prevent a continuation of my line. If it is a boy, I trust you will teach him well, teach him honor, respect, teach him justice. True justice, and teach him who his father was, teach him where to find my writing. If it is a girl, then teach her all the things she must know to tell her first son, all of the things I would have taught my own. A time will come when Rome realises in the majority that my view for the Republic was the right one, and when that time comes, I hope one of my descendants can be there to help realize it.

Oppius, I've entrusted you with my legacy.
This is all I can ask you to do.

Servius

Now, keeping in the spirit of the dearly departed PBM, I want to keep the ending ambiguous, but as the player in control of Marcellus, I think I'm authorized to say that Marcellus may just have used the knowledge of Servius's family's wherabouts as leverage to track down the man himself.

Thanks for bearing with me, and if none of this makes sense... check the archives of this subforum.

[TinCow]

Very nice. At the time, my avatar was still pretty new to me after the death of Augustus Virginius, so I hadn't really gotten into his character very deeply. However, I do remember planning to have him seek power via the Civil War. He was formally allied with the Republican side, but it was his intention to let both sides batter themselves silly and then squash the survivors. If he had ever found himself in a battle with Republican allies fighting beside him, he would have intentionally let them get mauled, with their general hopefully killed, before commiting any of his forces.

For this reason, he intentionally stalled in marching on Rome. In the end, it didn't matter because the Battle of Rome occurred faster than he expected and ended the entire war.

That was a fun game.

[flyd]

Old Tiberius would have been of no help in tracking down Servius. He would have died a few months later, if not of old age than of alcohol-related liver failure brought on by severe depression. You see, in the turn before the Battle of Rome, he decided to take the more cautious option for the first time in his life, and as a result missed the most glorious battle ever fought. Ouch.