Secret Histories Chapter II: A Cousin's and Widow's Tale

One day, not too long ago, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my cousins at his farmstead near Cumae. Though the war had been 10 years removed from the area, you could still see its scars deeply on the land surrounding the Great Siege of Atalanta. It was still chilling to me to see the once great city, the Pearl of the Vesta, gone from existence. I remember my younger days at Cumae, when myself and Marcellus, another Aquiliean, would set ourselves up in a grove near Cumae, overlooking the great city.

There we spent many afternoons debating philosophy, art, science and literature, watching the sun set over Atalanta. Hundreds of Ships could be seen moored at her Grand Harbor, her streets filled with people that appeared as mere ants from the distance and tall, monumental works of architecture spanning the sky below us. The Palace of the Doge, the Great Temple of Finana, the Tribunal, and the Hippodrome Maximus were sights to behold.

Now, all that was left was ruins. Gone were the "Towers of Skulls and Walls of Bones", which I had never seen but my cousin did. When I asked him about them he remarked coldly and with disgust "Their awful sight was purged from existence long ago, I saw them as did my wife but fortunately our children never will have to see the horrors themselves."

My cousin was a veteran of Pomerlane's campaign and had been rewarded with several acres of land near Cumae for his valiance in the Great Siege. He personally fought as part of the reserves Pomerlane used during the Battle of Fort Pappenheim and he remarked to me with some degree of despondency.

"When he (Pomerlane) fell from the arrow... it was like time froze for a few moments and all fighting had stopped. I will never forget it as long as I live this feeling that I never felt before in that moment. Marcianus looking down softly says The feeling of helplessness and dread. It was like a part of me had died... Marcianus starts to smile and his voice grows louder again But when my master arose, took off his helmet and raised his sword high in the area; shouting with a Booming Voice "It will take more than an arrow to kill me, and by Pomu, drive these foul miscreants into the sea!", my spirit suddenly became invigorated... Standing up with his chest pushed out, filled with pride It was like that part of me that had just died had be resurrected and was now stronger than ever."

Marcianus, growing teary in his eyes "It-It's hard to explain it, Appius, but it truly was something you wouldn't believe unless you had been there. All of us seem to have reached levels of enthusiasm and zealousness in the moment that I truly did not think was possible. It was almost like we had experience the divine intercede directly into the world before us. Those Republicans who stood before us were fine warriors, the best of the best. They had fought hard all day and we struggled to make ground against them until that very moment... It was like something you would find out of the legends of old. Looks at the ground with a smile before looking up at me again The vigor instilled in us by that leader not only gave us a new high we never could have dreamed of but drove the Republicans into the sea with our new tenacity... I will never forget it as long as I live..."

When the war ended, my cousin married a young widow, by the name Cornelia. You see, Pomerlane had implemented a law that encouraged young men in his new Principality of Syrenia to marry young widows in his realm with tax incentives and had also instituted a welfare program for older widows so that they did not have to worry about the loss of their lands.

To be frank with my readers, the person who came up with the idea for this law was not Pomerlane himself, but his beautiful wife Emylia. The story goes that Emylia, not long after Pomerlane had finished his conquest of Feeshland, told her future husband that he must not overlook the many widows that his war created and if he truly wanted to be the Prince he claimed to be, he must take care of them. Pomerlane, appreciating his Betrothed's wisdom as he always has, put her ideas into action.

Regardless, Cornelia had lost her husband Procopius during the war and was left her small farmstead outside of Cumae. She had just given birth to a pair of twins and only by her the kindness of Pomerlane had been given food and income to survive. Though she never met Pomerlane personally, she greatly appreciated that he was willing to sacrifice from his own treasury to help the helpless that his war had caused. But she still has mixed emotions about him as well.

Cornelia told me this about Pomerlane "I truly in my heart of hearts still do not understand this man, who was so callously cruel to our people and generous at the same time." Growing increasingly animated and with some degree of grief, Cornelia would say "He killed perhaps hundreds of thousands, if not half of million of our people... Crying and looking downwards I-I...l-lost my brother and h-husband at Pelusium... though it is hard to know if they were slain helpless after the battle or died during it... the latter reconciles my soul much easier... turns her head back up with tears still in her eyes But I never would have thought he would actually look after the helpless like me!"

Cornelia pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts and looks to the sky with a great burden of mixed emotions seemingly bearing on her soul "How could a man so cruel be so generous... How could someone who ordered the destruction of Atalanta be capable of such generosity to a people he had subjugated by the sword... I-I-I" She turns her head down starting to cry again slightly, and with a soft voice says "I still do not truly understand it all, my dear Caudex... perhaps it was Finana's will..." She turns her head up again, with a warm smile. "What I do know is that I am glad our Goddess and the other two Goddess of LazuLight have given me happiness again with my new husband and children. I am truly blessed now!"

Surely these stories are not one of a kind; rather I do believe that many within my own people feel the same. We all know someone who died during the war and many of us are still horrified by the cruelty of that my Prince showed to our people. To be frank, I still am as well. But at the same time, this Prince of Terror and Chaos is also the Prince of Peace and Magnanimity. Truly qualities that are quite baffling but are true of our Prince. Where you can see his cruelty at full display at the ruins of Atalanta, you can also see his nobility and princely virtues by the how he has ruled us ever since. It is easy to see why the man has become almost mythical, but yet we have uncovered some of his humanity as well. As my work continues, and I find more tales to add to it of merit, I truly believe we can piece together the man behind the mask.

A. Claudius Caudex