“Adapt yourself to the life you have been given, and truly love the people with whom destiny has surrounded you.”
– Marcus Aurelius Meditations
In the afternoon of his inauguration day, Julius finds himself back at the familiar room he woke up to earlier. Understanding the context about who he was, Julius now recognizes this room to be his study. It was clean yet disorderly, there were papers stacked on one side of the worktable held down by a piece of lumber. Opposite to the stack, many quills can be found holstered on what looks like a small, repurposed vase accompanied by an inkwell next to it. Beyond the stable lied a towering bookshelf. Displayed there is a vast array of books, ledgers, and scrolls.
Having nowhere else to turn to for answers, Julius sought to find them himself. He quickly skimmed through the many documents available to him in that room, and it was not long before he finds some books and words that seem…out of place.
“The Fae section? What the…”
“*Compendium of the Elvish Tongue*…*Dwarven Craft Codex*?…*Orcish war Signals*?!”
The more he looked the more he got lost. Seeing all of these words related to fantasy fiction only added more questions. This frustrated Julius just as much as it sadistically fuelled his curiosity.
“What in the name of all that is holy is this?!”
Julius proclaimed, scratching his head as he furrowed his brows. While he was attempting to process the information, he pauses for a moment to calm himself down, eyes closed, head looking up towards the ceiling. Julius takes in a deep breath before exhaling rather defeatedly, he opens his eyes and notices a large rolled up piece of parchment hiding behind two boxes at the top of the book shelf. Unable to reach it, he quickly scours the room for either a ladder or a stool. Realizing that he could just use his study chair, Julius prompted himself upwards, successfully bringing down the rather heavy piece of parchment from the top.
It was quite dusty, the roll being held down by a slim flax rope. When he tried to untie it, the flimsy piece of rope snapped in half, leading to a violent unraveling of the parchment. Dust clouded the area, making Julius cough as he covered his mouth while frantically waving his hand to clear the dust. When it finally settled, he couldn’t believe his eyes, a world map presenting the current regions met the inquisitive eyes of Julius. The map had been entitled, “Tabula Mundi”. Familiar with the term, his eyes immediately looked to find Rome, and near the very center of the map, he found it…
“Roma…”
Now knowing the geographical location of Rome, Julius went on to scan the map thoroughly. Many notable settlements on the map come unfamiliar to Julius.
“*Hearth of Dumathoin*, *Yggdrasil*, *Landvættir*…”
He lists out the names as he goes along the map to the north. The map portrays vague dashes dividing the areas around these landmarks, looking as if to show that these areas are under the domain of whatever nation they represent. Many other smaller names for what seemed like cities and towns could also be found around the described territory of each region. Looking down south, a large dessert caught his eye, what was very interesting , however, was that the coastal area of the dessert seemed to transition into a lush jungle region the further you go down south, with many islands varying in sizes off the coast.
“*Sahel al-Kubrā*, *Cuauhtlah stx’otx’alq’inal*, *Nusantaria*…”
Out of all of these mystical almost legendary sounding areas, what surprised Julius the most was the area around the center of the the map, there were no major labels declaring territory, only city states. Of which have names much more familiar to Julius…
To the east.
” *Spartiates*, *Hellenes*, *Mackednoi*…”
To the west.
” *Hispania*, *Tartessia*, *Isca Celtae*…”
Julius gravitated to these name naturally, as they all seem to carry a name closely related to historical places back in his world. This sense of off putting familiarity put Julius through a state of disarray, within context of his old world, surely, none of this is real, that it was all made up, that these books and names must be a prank of some sort. But within the context of THIS reality, there was enough evidence to say otherwise. There was no reason to fabricate such an elaborate narrative, especially considering that these were all found in the study of a consul.
Julius simply wanted to deny this reality, he feared this sense of unfamiliarity to his world, and so, fuelled by an almost primal fear, like a desperate man yearning for self preservation. He scoured the books containing information about this word, for what seemed like days, he read through many books and papers, and yet again, the more he looked the more questions he had with no answer. It was a never ending cycle of discovery, he wanted to learn more, he wanted to read, he wanted to do research, more…more…more…Eventually, this fear of unfamiliarity turned into joy, the desperate man turned into a giddy young child stumbling into a playground for the first time in their life.
Julius was a historian, but more than that, he was a scholar. It was second nature for him to yearn to acquire more and more knowledge. To read, to understand, to imagine, to apply, despite the fear of the unknown and the many dangers it may present. He was never one to back down in the face of adversity, be it from others, and especially from himself. To take on a challenge, fail, and then try again. In that way, he never could have been more Roman.
The day became night and the night became day. Unable to sleep, Julius spent all time from the afternoon of his inauguration to the morning of the day after learning. At this point, he wasn’t just learning about the world, but also this version of Rome, “Roma”. The city, its people, the current senate members, the active duty personnel, and most importantly…the people closest to him, his lictors. He went through each and every single one of their files, finding out their history and who they were to Julius prior to his transmigration. It was then when he finally found out the name of the first lictor he met.
“Marcus Antonius…Mark Anthony?”
He repeated to himself. Julius, then, had a sudden realization, never before has he made the connection, perhaps it was due to the confusion and chaos that occupied his mind at the time, but his name being “Julius”, confirmed by reply of the a lictor the other day, was no coincidence. Crassus, Quintus, and now, Mark Anthony. It all made sense to him now, in this world he was supposed to be THE Gaius Julius Caesar, the one to bring the Roman republic to the brink of empire…The Grand Conqueror. Julius Fondatore, a 28-year-old Italian historian, is supposed to fill in the shoes for one of the greatest romans to ever live. His new found elation then again became fear, not of unknown, but of his own thoughts of self deprecating inadequacy.
“Im…Julius Ceasar…I am, supposed…to be…Julius Caesar.”
He makes multiple pauses while saying that world shattering statement. Overwhelmed, bewildered, scared…these are the kinds of emotions one would expect to find from someone in this situation. The pressure would have been too much for a normal person to handle. Julius, however, was not a normal person.
The moment he got introduced to the concept of Rome at the age of 9, he became obsessed, carrying this obsession along with him to now at 28. He was amazed and dumbfounded by this great empire and its people, the many wars it fought, the vast lands it conquered, the glory of the city and its people, its eventual downfall, he has studied ALL of it. By the time he finished writing his dissertation, he had done and experienced everything that his world could offer in regards to the Rome. His journey would have soon come to an end, he has already climbed the peak of his own Everest. But now, as he looked over the peak, there lied a vast valley leading to the base of an even bigger mountain. A whole new world with an entirely new Rome has presented itself to him. How could he NOT get excited?
So he smiled…he smiled and laughed, becoming restless as time goes by. No fear nor sense of being overwhelmed to be found, his body may have been shaking, was it because of fear? or was it because of excitement? But his mind was clear, his knowledge, his SOUL, was ready…Ready to lead a broken city into glory as it so happened in his old world. Ready to become the Roman he never knew he ever wanted to be…to be Julius…Julius Caesar of Rome.
In his moment of envisioned glory, the now familiar voice of Mark Anthony grabs his attention.
“Lord Consul! There has been an emergency! The senate has assembled again.”
