12:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time.
Still Thanksgiving, so it's Thursday.
------
This isn't so much a post where I write about me; it's a post for my writing.
Invictus
They decided to execute me at sunset, which left me feeling slightly disappointed. Watching the chariot of Apollo emerge on the horizon each morning and disappear at night, leaving the world immersed in blackness, was among my favorite pastimes. But at the same time, the news caused my heart to leap with joy. My last sight was not to be the faces of the spectators, jubilant at my pain and misery; it could be the sky, streaked with bright reds and deep oranges and traces of purple. And in that, I knew, I could forget my pain and be able to go out of this world adamant in my resolve. I would bow to the Emperor no longer, not even on the verge of death, as he so hoped I would.
The world of Rome is a cruel one, strict in its regime of order. Already I can hear the jeers of the crowds in my mind, waiting for the moment when death leers over me, ready to rid me of all life. But now is not the time to back down in fear. Now is not the time to fail my father and the gods of Olympus. I had given all I had to carry out their wishes, but for the cause, the loss of my own life seemed necessary as well. For Rome, I would do anything. And if my countrymen needed my death to further the cause, to achieve the goal set to me by the gods, and to restore honor, glory, and greatness to Rome, who was I to deny them?
To the people I am either one thing or the opposite: their leader, soon to be their martyr, a man they would die for themselves, or a traitor, the bane of the empire's existence, a nuisance who brought only disorder, panic, and riots to Rome. To myself, though . . . to myself I am simply the man who has tried--the man who tried to fix Rome, to do what the gods wanted done, and, eventually, the man who failed.
------
Entirely unedited, but I adore it. It's my new baby. :D
--Ave, quite happy
No comments:
Post a Comment