Excerpt from page one
It is here that I record the reign and death of Imperator Caeser Hadrianus Severlinus Augustus, whose reign began 883 Ab urbe condita and lasted a glorious eight years. It will be here, and only here, that his excellence is deified. His reign brought great prosperity to the empire and its people but also brought him to madness. His actions were guided by fate, as commanded by Jupiter himself. Come, scion, and learn of your forebearers feats and victories, as well as his fall from grace.
Excerpt from page nine
During Imperator Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus's voyage up the River Nile, much of his flotilla sank and drowned. An inquiry into this event has led many to come to the conclusion that a sudden flood killed the late emperor, his beloved Antinous, and many who accompanied them. Locals who witnessed the event believe it was the influence of Suchus as means of protecting the River Nile. Upon word of the tragedy reaching Rome, Severlinus was struck with immense grief. The late emperor had been his father, his teacher, and mentor. Words can not describe the number of tears that were shed that day. Regardless, it was now time for your forebearer to take the crown. After the Senate was told of Hadrian's death, which was received of mixed opinion, your forebearer was officially crowned as the new emperor of the empire.
Excerpt from page seventeen
Severlinus then traveled to Athens a few months later, where he had hoped to uphold his father's ambitions. He had hoped to finally realize his father's Panhellenion as a means of culturally uniting the Greek city-states and Rome. As a gift to the Athenians, as well as completing another one of his father's dreams, he finished the construction of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Underneath the temple, he had buried Trajan's artifact as a means of passively subjugating the Athenians. By giving the Athenians more luxuries, Severlinus had gained their trust and admiration. These feelings were reciprocated, as Severlinus would walk among the Athenians in the streets with little to no guard. Upon his departure for the east, he was sent off warmly by the people.
Excerpt from page twenty-seven
During his visit to Palmyra, Severlinus first heard of the artifact from a woman claiming to be a traveling Vates. It was here that his curiosity and hubris led him further down the stairs of fate. Intrigued, he pleaded the woman for answers. She told him of the powers it could give, and the horrors it could bring. In great detail, she explained its mastery over the flesh of others, sickening those around Severlinus. But not him. He had heard of the ancient myths and legends of a people who could manipulate flesh and bone. If such a power existed, no matter how savage it could be, Severlinus sought to tame it. Upon learning the location of the artifact, he and his troop moved south towards Judea.
Excerpt from page thirty-one
While in Judea, Severlinus sought to rebuild Jerusalem after years of destruction and war. He not only intended this to be a gift to the Jews but also hoped that the rabbis would lead him to the artifact he so desperately craved. Upon his arrival, he learned more about Jewish culture from a local Samaritan priest. Learning that the Jews openly circumcise their young, Severlinus was disgusted. A Hellenist like his father believed such an act was mutilation. He then enacted a decree within the city, announcing that circumcision was banned throughout the empire. This was met with much dissatisfaction, and the anti-Roman sentiment that lingered within the Jews had grown even more significant. This angered Severlinus, who then enacted many other anti-Jewish decrees. This would pave the way to war, sending your forefather even closer to his fate.
Excerpt from page thirty-five
Even as I write this, it is still unknown how the Jews found the artifact first. While our legionaries searched throughout Judea, one of the Jews found it. This Jew, Simon bar Kokhba, would utilize the artifact's immense power to gather followers to his cause. He utilized the artifact to 'bless' his soldiers and followers. As bar Kokhba marched on Jerusalem, he demanded that every single Roman within Judea leave immediately. Severlinus, no longer fond of the Jews, took this a declaration of war and had Tineius Rufus send two legions to crush the rebellion. They were met with utter annihilation with few survivors. The command bar Kokhba had on the artifact was masterful, leading his armies against Rome with skill. This only further spurred Severlinus's hate for the Jews, resolving to destroy bar Kokhba. He came to believe that his destiny was here in Judea, not in Greece. Oh scion, how right he was.
Excerpt from page forty
Severlinus had summoned several more legions and called Sextus Julius Severus from Britain to face bar Kokhba. In spite of the largest gathering of legions since the wars in Dacia, bar Kokhba still raised above Severlinus's pressure. Your forebearer became desperate, destroying the Jewish armies against him became the sole thing he thought about for the next year. He and Severus met bar Kokhba's forces outside of Jericho, where he witnessed for the first time the artifact's effects.
Seeing the mutation of bodies and frenzied fighting from the Jewish armies made Severlinus sick. Despite our best efforts, the legions were once again defeated at the hands of bar Kokhba's armies. Severlinus no longer wanted to capture the artifact, rather he wished to destroy it by whatever means. After regrouping in Samaria, Severus informed Severlinus of his own artifact from Britain. A sword that could be used to combat bar Kokhba's. Desperate, your forebearer had it brought to him.
Excerpt from page forty-four
Severus's sword proved to be the dagger. Bar Kokhba and his forces were on their knees, retreating to their final fortress in Betar. It would be here that the artifact's effect would finally take shape on bar Kokhba's men. They were now nothing more than prisoners in their own flesh, which only further disgusted Severlinus. His resolve to destroy bar Kokhba and his artifact only deepened. Despite their situation, the Jews still fought with frenzy and vigor.
Our legions could not break the walls of Betar, despite our best efforts. It would be here that your forefather resigned himself to fate. He stepped onto the front line in the last summer of the siege and charged at the walls. The legionaries saw this as a rallying cry, that if the emperor was as bold so should they. Only those closest to Severlinus knew the truth. He had become just as desperate, crazed, and manic as the Jews in front of them. He then broke the walls, and the massacre began.
Excerpt from page fifty-six
Finally, Severlinus returned to Rome. Word of his feats in Judea had already reached the greater population, who praised him as a hero. He had quashed the rebellion, renamed Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina, and decreed that Judea be erased from every map. Those closest to him knew the truth, however. His mind and body were broken. He had lost dear comrades and friends, including Severus, in the war. He was successful at destroying bar Kokhba and the artifact, but at what cost scion? He lost nearly everything he held dear to him. He didn't greet the senate with the customary salutation, he knew he wasn't worthy of doing so. The war effectively ended your forebearer's aspirations to realize his father's dreams. It had made him a recluse, yet he still held tightly onto Severus's sword.
Excerpt from page sixty-one
When his mother, empress Sabina, died Severlinus only further slipped into depression. He had been stopped numerous times from committing suicide. He had no heir, his travels left him childless. His current state of mind did not allow him to think of even adopting an heir. Many around him became frightened by the prospect of him dying with no heir designated to fulfill the office of emperor. That was until he met Lucius Aelius. Severlinus immediately became infatuated with him and sought him out on numerous occasions. The two would be seen together many times before eventually Severlinus named him his son and by extension his heir. Despite his newfound invigoration, your forebearer would still have bouts of madness all while keeping hold of Severus's sword.
Excerpt from page seventy-three
It happened suddenly. Lucius Aelius's death greatly impacted Severlinus, sending him into a deeper depression. He would always have two people around at all times, for if he ended his life the office of the emperor would be left vacant with no successor. As he sat alone, Severus's sword in hand, one of his consuls approached him. The consul, Arrius Antoninus, began to comfort him. At first ineffective, the consul eventually made a connection with your forebearer. The two talked for a long while, throughout the night. The next morning Severlinus announced to the senate that he had adopted the consul, with the condition that he adopt the son of the recently deceased Lucius Aelius. There was a sigh of relief among the senators, for the office was once again secure. Despite having made a connection with Severlinus, the consul could not pry Severus's sword from him.
Excerpt from page eighty-seven
It had finally happened. The sword that Severlinus had grown attached to brought him to madness. The object he had long used as a comforter, a precaution for the day should bar Kokhba's artifact rear its face again, had turned on him. He interrupted the consul's dinner with his attendants, Severus's sword in hand. He swung it wildly and with frenzy. The consul's wife shrieked as Severlinus approached them. The consul grabbed his blade and begged your forebearer to stand down.
He was beyond reason and swung at the consul. Then, the consul cut his neck. Can you blame him, scion? As Severlinus fell, the consul caught him in his arms. Letting go of Severus's sword for the first time, Severlinus asked the consul if he had made his father proud. With tears in his eyes, the consul comforted him by saying he had. With life leaving him, Severlinus made the consul promise to deify his father. And with that, your forebearer died experiencing peace for the first time in years.
Excerpt from page eighty-nine
Upon his ascension Antoninus Pius saw to it that Hadrian was deified, fulfilling Severlinus's final wish. Fearful that word of Severlinus's actions would further destabilize the empire, he was to be hidden from history. Severus's sword was confiscated and buried in Aegyptus. Due to his remarkable likeness to his father, the people were made to believe that Severlinus was indeed Hadrian. Any record and document saying otherwise were destroyed. That is why I have recorded all of this. Your forebearer would have been lost, if not for me.
I, son of Aelius Hadrianus Severlinus, will see to it that he been seen by future generations. I was there for it all, experienced what he experienced, and rightful occupant to the office of the emperor. I fear that if Antoninus Pius finds this book, he will destroy it. I will see to it that the Vates harness the emotions my father felt moments before his death, and curse those that attempt to read the book. Only my future sons and daughters may view these texts without repercussions. If you are reading this somewhere in the future, even if the empire has fallen, I plead that you hide this book until the time is right. Ensure that my father deserves his place in the sun. Please, let him see the light of day once more.