BooksBarbecue
Back Emperor
Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. I
  4. II
  5. III
  6. I - INVADER AD 43-70
  7. I
  8. II
  9. III
  10. IV
  11. V
  12. VI
  13. VII
  14. VIII
  15. IX
  16. X
  17. XI
  18. XII
  19. XIII
  20. XIV
  21. XV
  22. XVI
  23. XVII
  24. XVIII
  25. XIX
  26. XX
  27. XXI
  28. XXII
  29. XXIII
  30. XXIV
  31. XXV
  32. XXVI
  33. II - BUILDER AD 122-138
  34. I
  35. II
  36. III
  37. IV
  38. V
  39. VI
  40. VII
  41. VIII
  42. IX
  43. X
  44. XI
  45. XII
  46. XIII
  47. XIV
  48. XV
  49. XVI
  50. XVII
  51. XVIII
  52. XIX
  53. XX
  54. XXI
  55. III - EMPEROR AD 314—337
  56. I
  57. II
  58. III
  59. IV
  60. V
  61. VI
  62. VII
  63. VIII
  64. IX
  65. X
  66. XI
  67. XII
  68. XIII
  69. XIV
  70. XV
  71. EPILOGUE
  72. I
  73. II
  74. III
  75. IV
  76. Afterword

‘Yes, a complicated man,’ Severa whispered, gazing at the Emperor. ‘Talking of the future, I think Hadrian fears it - and not just the assassin’s blade. He is a scholar who knows that history holds dire warnings for the Romans, for empires have come and gone in the past: even mighty Alexander’s realm barely outlived his own death. Take this business of the Jewish rebellion under Trajan - barely heard of in Britain, but a dreadful disaster in the east. The Jews won’t become Romans, as we Britons have; it is a clash of minds, a shuddering shock for the Romans. For all Xander sneers at Hadrian’s Greekness, I think it is necessary, a matter of policy as much as personality. He embodies the identity of the empire, which is Greek and Roman, and so in the face of the challenge of the Jews he must be more Greek than the Greeks.

‘No wonder Hadrian is obsessed by the future even more than by the past. Everywhere he goes he consults astrologers and mystics and soothsayers. And surely a thoughtful man like Hadrian wants to leave a mark on his empire, on history. What else can assure his own worth in the afterlife?’

Karus’s eyes glittered as he listened. ‘Isn’t she marvellous?’ he whispered to Brigonius. ‘I told you, it’s as if she stands outside time itself.’

Lepidina said, ‘Poor man.’

Brigonius asked, ‘Who?’

‘The Emperor. If he really is so tortured. He might draw comfort if he followed the teaching of the Christ. Because then he would understand that cities and empires don’t matter. They all pass away, even Rome. But the city of God endures for ever.’

Severa glared at her. ‘That Judean renegade promised that all would be saved, not just emperors but slaves too. What use is that to anybody? Now shut up about your foolish fad, Lepidina.’

‘It’s not foolish,’ Lepidina shot back. ‘If it was, why is our Prophecy connected to it? Even the Emperor Claudius noticed that Nectovelin was born in the same year as the Judean!’

‘You never mind the Emperor Claudius. I’m your mother and I’m telling you that our family destiny has nothing to do with some ragged-arsed troublemaker from the east. And what’s more—’

‘Hush,’ Xander said. ‘We’re being called forward.’

‘About time,’ Karus muttered. ‘I’m bursting with piss.’

The five of them advanced towards the imperial table, Severa, Lepidina, Karus and Brigonius, with a nervous Xander supervising two sweating slaves who carried his model on a slab of wood.

IX

IX

Severa introduced herself and her party. Then she handed the floor to Xander. The little Greek stood fearlessly, Brigonius thought, fearless as only the representative of an older culture could be before a junior, regardless of such incidentals as global power.