When in Rome
Tagging: Xander Drakos & August Knight
Time Frame: January 13th - 19th, 2019
Word Count: 1945
Trigger Warning: Alcohol, Slavery, Dark Themes
Notes: August breaks away from the party and finds Vitalis (Xander) who proceeds to give him a small tour of some of the ancient world. INCOMPLETE.
August
The evening had moved past him in a blur, how long had it been? August could not say. Time felt different here, the spring weather made him exuberant and excitable, though perhaps that was the wine and the very fine faerie food he’d indulged in previously. August lay, languid across the lap of someone he barely knew as the fae recited poetry he implied was a work of his own. August tasted grapes and wine and smiled, despite himself.
“The life so brief, the art so long in the learning, the attempt so hard, the conquest so sharp, the fearful joy that ever slips away so quickly - by all this I mean love,” fingers caressed his cheek and absently August cringed. Was he reciting Chaucer? “...which so sorely astounds my feeling with its wondrous operation, that when I think upon it I scarce know whether I wake or sleep.”
Yeah, he definitely was. Absently August had to wonder how many had succumbed to that tactic. How many had swooned at stolen, honeyed words. Barf. The fae leaned in and from the corner of his eye, August caught the sight of a familiar face and sat up immediately. Hungry for an excuse to get away from this particularly grating plagiarist. “Where are you going?” The fae asked as August stood to leave without so much as a goodbye, “sobriety calls.” August dismissed, not looking back as he made his way towards Vitalis. “Tell me about late Rome? Tell me again about how it fell.”
Xander
Xander had been enjoying his time at the sarau for as long as he could; entertaining the other fae that he didn't know well enough to care about. He missed his old friends, but even now, faces were always missing, and the gatherings got smaller and smaller. He nearly ran off to hide until he heard a familiar voice, glancing over his shoulder to see August running after him. "Don't you have someone else to bother?" The air fae tried not to laugh, wrinkling his nose at the question, "Everyone says Rome fell. No one seems to remember that it split into two – while Western Rome fell, Constantinople thrived. Either way, what do you want to know? What it looked like?" He turned to walk backwards, his eyes glowing brighter for a few moments as the reality between the two of them began to morph. "Rome was all....magnificent archways, shining marble – and conquest. Rome was shitty, but everyone seems to love it. If you want beauty, you should've asked for the shores of the Nile, and the golden pathways of Thebes. How much do you know about the ancient world, kid?"
August
Vitalis’ greeting was predictable, but warm in that it was familiar. The party, however grand and entertaining, was far removed from anything August had yet to experience. The fights were more gilded than the ones he’d experienced, the wine was stronger, the food was richer, and the fae, however blessed among their own. Were embodiments of the disharmonious elements that they each represented. It had been a rich experience, but like any, he began to see the cracks below the surface quickly. The resentment in the eyes of some, the longing in the eyes of others, the sorrow and grief that stained the empty seats. “At the moment? No.” August said, absently wondering where Aria might have gotten off to, but so far everything the witch had seen was -relatively- safe, he was sure she was fine, whereever she was right now. He followed Vitalis' as the fae's eyes shone more brilliantly, “I know as much as one can find through books and the like, and from what you’ve shown me in the past.” The witch said thoughtfully, “I don’t think there has ever been a great society without some rot, some perhaps more than others, but I would be eager to see the Coliseum, you’ve yet to take me there.”
Xander
"What, you've never been there to see it crumbling a little? They take pretty good care of it – but huge monuments like theaters are always the longest to last. People just live around it. How do you think Cairo grew to be so big? They took stone from the pyramids. It's why they look like they're made of steps. The tops used to be made of pure gold, and the outside was beautiful white stone. Now, it's the old stone underneath that's shown because over time, people just starting taking stones from the pyramids. It's why I hate the human world. They can't take care of the beautiful monuments left behind from their own ancestors. It's ridiculous." Alexander created a new scene around them, one that was filled with the sounds of a typical Agora. The cobbled streets of Rome were dusty and dirty; children running, guards patrolling – it was everything he'd seen when he was there. "Rome was filled with people. They praised the gods they found in Greece; hailed for treasures that they thought would please their gods." The Colosseum was in front of them now, restored in all of its former glory. "Titus took all the credit for finishing it. They used to play out sea battles, believe it or not. My favorites were the gladiators. You know, you'd think they'd be strong and glorious – most of the time they were missing fingers or an eye and some teeth. Definitely not worth your time. Every now and then they'd bring in an exotic from the East, and I have to say they were the attractive ones. Which is why I'd save them when I could. No one that pretty deserves to die like that."
August
“Sadly no, most of my experiences were scattered between casinos in Vegas, and road trips through the Midwest.” August said easily, “I’d hoped I’d end up in Rome eventually, it was on the list of things I’d like to see, next to the pyramids actually. It is detestable, that such marvels could be created only to be stripped bare.I read that the ancient Egyptians used slaves to transport the stones from a great distance,” August paused for a moment, he imagined that they were quite the sight to see once. “It seems to be the case for all great human structures that they were built upon the backs of those who endured great and long suffering.” He saw the jewels and the gold in his mind’s eye but somehow underneath, he just saw how it rot. The street that Vitalis transformed before him was bustling, full, exciting. He wondered what magics this era might have offered, if they went back millennia further to ask mythical Circe the legendary secrets of transformation. Absently, August sighed. “They must have been grateful to you,” August chimed, though it was a shame that Vitalis was not able to save more, though August imagined that the air fae much felt the same. “Where did you sit? In the times that you came here.”
Xander
“Vegas and the Midwest?” Alexander found himself laughing, wrinkling his nose as he looked fondly at the young witch. “North America built on top of everything that was once held sacred by a people who had been there far longer than the Spanish and other Europeans who claimed the land. They were curious as to why the land was barren when they got here and built on skeletons.” He waved his hand, getting completely off topic as he tried to steer the conversation back towards Rome. “Slaves were the norm; anyone could become a slave. If you were the son of a noble and were captured by Spartans, you would have no titles in Laconia. You would simply be another Greek tragedy. Gladiators were slaves - and I could only save so many. And the lives they all lived? Some were good, some were not worth saving. I took care of the ones who weren’t.” He pulled August up onto one of the stands, the echoes of the fight reaching even the highest section. “Wherever I wanted. But here was nice.” The people of Rome were just as he remembered, and the colors of the fabric woven in to the clothes of the nobles compared to the middle class was evident as well. “What do you think?” He asked curiously, changing their scenery to the banks of the Nile.
August
August smiled in return, it was nice to hear the acknowledgment from another. “Colonialism,” August said, the word rolled off his tongue somewhat disdainfully. “My aunt told me our families’ coven had its origins among those people who called the land sacred. My ancestor walked among banks of roses at night, and became known as a man who did such things. The colonists shortened it to just ‘Knight’ for census.” Now an entire coven thrived under it. “Did you have opportunity to see it beforehand?” He imagined desserts that ran uninterrupted for miles, evergreens that rolled the hills and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. He’d always wanted to go north, the thought made him smile despite that it was impossible now. “I suppose,” August hummed as Vitalis went into greater explanation, it was true, when society was stratified class systems made such things common. Practical even. And it wasn’t limited strictly to human society, how else would such pyres of human sacrifice be built. Aptly, August took in the sights as Vitalis unveiled them, sand that rolled through the floor, raucous cheers and laughter that became more contained the higher the two of them climbed. The fae never failed to disappoint, though to him this was just another in a long line of memories - apparently one of lesser interest to Vitalis. The division was clear as they stood at the summit, absently, August wondered where he himself might have sat. Absently he could spy a dark corner, suitable for a social pariah to gaze up at everything that was out of his reach someday he’d say.
It was a relief when the scenery changed, the waters, the richest he’d ever seen. Water rolled across vast and rich, lush sights and settlements and creatures of all forms sculpted the landscape. Lazy amphibians rolled in the muck, or lurked waiting in its depths, monuments in the distance greater and more beautiful than any he’d seen prior; a cornucopia of life as exuberance lifted into the sky. August smiled, it was beautiful, but he was still considering the fae’s question. “I think it is sad,” he hummed lightly before he wandered to the beach, not fearing harm by any of the many-toothed animals that called the banks of the Nile their home. Absently he knelt and felt the grains of fertile sand beneath his fingers, it seemed so real. So powerful was the fae’s magic, but it was still different from what August had expected.
“The court had many beauties, but here I can say I almost prefer the illusion,” August said, pausing for a moment before he looked at Vitalis- he looked different from what the witch had known him as before. But still he felt the same. He could not help but think he preferred him this way, here, he was in his element, but absently they were frozen in time. It would be too easy to stay here forever, a million questions puddled and pooled in the witches mind, but he was grateful to be with someone he thought of fondly. Someone who answered his questions with only some scathing tones. “But I suspect you feel the same, does it trouble you to bring me here?”