Murder In-Absentia
Page 29
“He proceeded according to the instructions in the scroll, with modifications to enable him to achieve it all by himself. He crafted the inks, and tattooed himself. This was the cause of his pale and drawn looks, what was thought to be his deteriorating health before his death, as it took him a while to complete. He then, somehow with the understanding awakened in him by the numina, managed to complete the ritual by himself. He used an ingenious source of power. Whereas the rite normally requires eleven initiates to channel and complete, he managed to draw it in all by himself, onto himself. This source of power was also the reason why it went unnoticed. You see, the visus verum lets those who have it notice the flow of energies around our world. But some spots have so much energy that they are so bright, that looking at them is like looking into the sun, blinding and painful. We have such a source right here in Egretia. Caeso did his ceremony in his little cave under the Pharos, drawing on that ancient raw power to fuel it. All the incantatores of the Collegium, well-trained and ever-watchful, are so used to never looking directly at the Pharos with the visus verum lest their eyes be burnt, that the surge went unnoticed. Even if someone did observe it at that point, it would have looked like a freak lightning strike I imagine, nothing that triggered any of the standing alarms for incantations of such power.
“And thus Caeso, seeking to heal his broken heart was caught in the machinations of the gods. Given direction by his vision at the sibyl, invested with the raw talent by the numina, acting ingeniously, he performed what no one has managed to successfully complete in centuries. Yet for all the ability and insight he was given, he was still uneducated in the traditions of magic. All his new gifts did not stack up to the years of study, and left him with a fatal flaw. He misinterpreted one of the sigils in the rite. Lacking the finer understanding, he fell for the simpler interpretation and performed his rite on the boundary between night and day, instead of performing it on a night of a lunar eclipse. So while he managed to execute one of the most complex and demanding rituals ever known to man, this fatal flaw of understanding spelled his end.”
What remained after that was the catharsis. Corpio was wrought with tears, at the son who could not find approval for his love, and died in seeking a magical means to turn his broken heart to stone. I consoled him that as far as I could tell, Caeso was a bright lad who got caught in the power-plays of the numina, and had no evil intentions for himself.
Cornelia and Aemilia looked relieved that it was truly over. Gnaeus Drusus pater was still shocked at his own son’s activities. Gaetanicus I think was satisfied with the neat wrapping of all the loose ends.
I left them there to deal with their emotions, the closure for their loss of a son, cousin, friend. I saved them the simpler explanation for Caeso’s final failure, that Corpio, by forcing Caeso to go abroad, has caused his son to hurry through the completion of the rite and he simply stumbled and executed badly one of the shortcuts and modifications that enabled him to perform it by himself — even while guided by Iovis Pater himself. We could never be sure exactly what went on during his last months, so why not chose a version that would let his father heal in time, rather than break completely?
Typheus came out after me while I was getting ready to leave and handed me a heavy purse. “I trust you will find everything in order. In addition to the agreed price for your services, Cornelia has included something by way of personal thanks.” He left me there, and when I looked into the purse I saw on top of the silver and gold coins the single black pearl we found on the ship with Margaritus.
I put the sack on the loop inside my tunic and was about to leave, when Aemilia came in. We were standing alone in the atrium, next to the shimmering pool. The reflected light danced in her eyes as she said, “Thank you for giving solace to my uncle. I also never got to thank you for rescuing me.” She stepped closer to me, stood on her toes and kissed my cheek. “But don’t let that make you think I like you,” she added with a smile, turned and walked back inside.
And suddenly, very unexpectedly, my heart felt something I thought lost since that night I found Helena’s mutilated body in the well.
~ Finis ~
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Following are some notes about the culture of Egretia and the adaptations from the Roman world.
While the Egretian society borrows heavily from that of ancient Rome, please remember that this is primarily a fantasy novel and do not take it as an accurate reflection of reality. I have conflated many aspects from over a millennium of Kings, Republic and Empire. The calendar and gods, for example, reflect the earliest known versions, while the legions and circus games are definitely from the imperial period.
Another aspect I twisted to fit my needs are the fetiales. The real fetiales were priests of Jupiter as the patron of good faith, and acted on foreign affairs. They were not spies or special forces, however; I mixed the old religious institution of the fetiales with the late empire’s areani and frumentarii. Similarly the augurs were a priestly college devoted to the interpretation of the will of the gods, not magicians specialising in divination. All this is tied together with some atrocious pig Latin. Except the swear words — those are mostly authentic.
In fact, more information about the origins of the concepts and words in this book can be found with a web search. There is only one made up term, the title of Rhone. I just could not find an appropriate word that sounded good in both Latin and English, and would have the appearance of high-rank.
I have also used the names of some real-world ancient authors — Antoninus Liberalis, Nikander, Plautus. And as with the other Latin terms, I have twisted their writings from mythological tales to actual monsters. Praxiteles is, of course, an historical Greek sculptor; art is eternal.
One topic I was careful to avoid in this book was the age-old struggle between the Patricians and Plebeians. This subject is alluded to in the way Zymaxis and his cabal rail against the “old guard”. This may come up in future books, but I felt it was not needed for the plot here.
The Collegia and the Senate
Rome had many colleges. These were sodalities — fraternities and associations of various kinds. When integrating the magical aspect of Egretia into the Roman-like society, I took a similar approach. The incantatores are organised into five main schools, according to their speciality.
I did, however, take this organisation further. Training to be an incantator requires a lot of instruction. That led to the colleges taking on a teaching aspect, something that wasn’t a part of the ancient Roman colleges. And, of course, if the magicians can do it, why can’t the military? That led to a profound change in the social structure of Egretia over Roman culture.
There are four main colleges in Egretia: that of magicians (incantatores), that of the military (militum — soldiers), that of merchants (mercatorum) and that of priests (sacrorum). The college of merchants was needed to balance the military and magic ones, and the college of priests, relegated to a minor position, is there to collect all the many and varied priesthoods under an easy umbrella.
Each of the main colleges is divided into five main branches, and teaches aspirants as cadets. In some cases (soldiers, merchants) this is training for the elite — foot-soldiers just get basic training to go about their business and small merchants can operate anywhere.
In the case of the incantatores however, this is primarily where they learn their craft. Other cultures around Nuremata (the continent on which Egretia is located) have differing ideas about how to approach the magia. This is alluded to in Felix’s talks with Akhirabus; nothing about magic is ever concrete or absolute.
These colleges are professional organisations. There is still the Senate, which controls Egretia in terms of legislation. In this novel I have glossed over many aspects of the complex political structure of the Roman republic, with its various assemblies and who-got-what-powers in regards to passing laws and controlling the courts throughout the years. The main point here is that the Senate is a political body, its membe
rs restricted in their other activities. To create some more tension and social mobility, I have extended the cursus honorum to include postings within the collegia. More on that in future novels.
Gods and Numina
The gods of Egretia are modelled after the ancient Roman numina — the faceless divinities. This corresponds to the older Roman view, before Hellenisation became popular and gods appeared in more human form.
Ancient Romans were notoriously superstitious. Their view of religion was that it was contractual - they performed the rites, and the gods fulfilled their part. Instead, I mixed in some Greek philosophy about the nature and existence of gods. I felt that the advent of controllable magic in the world would make the learned adopt a more atheistic outlook, leading to a different kind of clash between the educated and the masses.
Of the numina mentioned in this book, I have also used the ancient Roman names rather than the later renditions.
To aid in understanding, the triad of three main gods:
Iovis Pater — the old name for what later became Jupiter; the main patron god of Egretia
Martius — Mars, god of war, but also the protector of fields and agriculture
Quirinus — god of the people of Egretia (Quirites); In Rome, originally a Sabine entity that came to represent the people of Rome.
Other important numina mentioned in the book:
Fortuna — goddess of luck and fortune
Neptunus — Neptune, god of the seas
Vesta — goddess of the hearth
Vulcan — god of earth and metals
Dis — god of the underworld, and also the place where the shades of the dead go
Lares — many gods of homes, places, families, crossroads
Di Penates — gods of the pantry
Anna Perenna — goddess of the year
As can be seen, the Egretians had every bit as many gods and superstitions as the Romans, and saw gods and presences that control their life everywhere. The difference was that Egretians live in a fantasy world, where these presences might have been real — a matter that was hotly debated between the common folks and the incantatores.
Calendar
The Egretian calendar is based on the old (pre-Romulan) Roman calendar. There were ten months, of 30 or 31 days, and a period of unassigned days between years called Intercalaris. The first five months were named after important gods, while the rest were named positionally.
The month names are:
Martius — 31 days — named after the numen Mars
Avrilis — 30 days — named after the numen Fortuna Virilis
Maius — 31 days — named after the numen Maia
Iunius — 30 days — named after the numen Iuno (Juno)
Quirinalis — 31 days — named after the numen Quirinus (In Rome it was positional — Quinctilis)
Sextilis — 30 days — sixth month
September — 30 days — seventh month
October — 31 days — eighth month
November — 30 days — ninth month
December — 30 days — tenth month
Intercalaris — 61 days, variable due to leap years
The Egretians year, like the Roman year, is solar-based, while the months are lunar. The year starts with Martius on the first new moon before the spring equinox, and the finishes on the last day of the moon after the winter solstice. Intercalaris then falls in the “mid-winter” period between the winter solstice and the following spring equinox.
Like the Romans, Egretians count back from specific days of the months.
Kalends is the first of the month
Nones — ninth day before the Ides — is either on the 7th of the month (Martius, Maius, Quirinalis and October) or the 5th on “short” months
Ides is either on the 15th on long months or on the 13th on short months
The Egretians did not have a concept of a week, but had a similar rhythm with market days held every eight days.
Our story thus begins on the day after the Kalends of Avrilis, or April second by modern counting. Felix leaves for Ephemezica five days to the Ides of Avrilis (April 9th), and returns from Kebros on the Nones of Maius (May 7th).
The day was divided into twelve daylight hour and twelve night hours. Because the division was the same year round, the length of the hour changed with the seasons. In the winter solstice (shortest day) the daylight hour was only about 45 modern minutes, while in the summer solstice (longest day) the daylight hour was about one hour and fifteen modern minutes. The sixth hour was always mid-day / mid-night.
Obscure References
There are a few homages strewn throughout the book. They deserve a special mention, with my sincere thanks to their originators.
The firm of Gordius et Falconius
Refers to my two favourite detectives from ancient Rome: Gordianus the Finder by Steven Saylor, and Marcus Didius Falco by Lindsey Davis. Both are series of books, telling the stories of hardboiled private detectives in ancient Rome.
Gordianus lives in the first century BCE, and watches the major events in the decline of the Roman Republic.
Falco operates in the time of Vespasian, and Davis does a wonderful job of exploring many aspects of life in the early empire.
Aulus Paulinus and the quote about shepherds and shepherdesses
These come from the British sitcom “Chelmsford 123”. I still watch re-runs every few years, and it still makes me laugh every time. If you can find a copy, do yourself a favour and watch it.
Scenes on the Pharos and Cloacina
The scenes depicted on the Pharos in Chapter II are the Egretian version of some early Roman history. For example, Junius Brutus was the founder of the republic (having thrown out the last of the kings - not by being a magician), and Servilius Ahala killed Maelius who wanted to become king of Rome again, not Athanasios (“un-dying”) the necromancer.
As for Cloacina — yes, she was the Roman goddess of the sewers, and yes, she was also the protector of marital sexual relations. I could not make this stuff up!
Larks Tongues in Aspic
One of my favourite King Crimson albums. With dishes like that, who wouldn’t want to sample the Egretian cooking? The rest of the dishes and food in the book are mostly authentic Roman cuisine, with the exception of the sunflower seeds who were not known in Rome at the time. Garum was an important Roman condiment, though liquamen is just a term used later and not a different grade of sauce.
Shakespeare, Star Trek and other pop-culture icons
One reference each, but if they didn’t make you groan when you read the book I won’t point them out now.
More of Felix
If you liked this book, please visit http://egretia.com for more information, including short stories, news, an expanded glossary and high resolution maps.
GLOSSARY
Aedile one of the civil servant posts in the Senate (as opposed to the collegia). Aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings, regulation of public festivals, and enforcing public order.
Anna Perenna goddess of the cyclical year. Her festival was held on the Ides (15th) of March.
Aqua an aqueduct (literally water).
Aqua Sextiae the main aqueduct of Egretia, bringing fresh water from six sacred springs in the foothills on the mountains to the west, and cascading them throughout the city.
Augur an incantator specialising in augury, the branch of magia concerned with divination, prognostication and clairvoyance.
Aureus a gold coin, worth 25 denarii.
Avrilis the second month of the Egretian year.
Bestiarius a gladiator trained to fight wild beasts.
Bireme a war galley with two banks of oars.
Cack shit. Not proper Latin (which would be cacat), but I like the four-letter expletive nature of the word.
Campus (pl. Campi) a flat expanse of ground.
Canicula female dog.
Capsa (pl. Capsae) a special box or large bucket used to hold scrolls.
Centurion the commander of a century. The most senior and able soldier. Their ranks do not correspond to the modern non-commission officers. Rather centurions were the effective field commanders, while the general with his legates and tribunes were the strategic and administrative leadership. There were some 60 centoriones in a legion, ranked by seniority within each cohort and across the legion.
Cestus a gladiator trained to use his fists. In fights they usually wore spiked brass gloves.
Circus the arena where games and races were held.
Citocacia stink-weed, a mild insult.
Client in the Egretian social order, a client pledged himself to a patron. His oath was to serve the interests and wishes of his patron, and is return was granted favours and assistance. The obligations could be to vote according to the patron’s wishes or fulfil other tasks, and the favours could be money or assistance in being elected to public office, as examples.