Phoenix Rising

With the civil war ending, life seemed to restart. The Capitol, once the home of millions, was in ruins. All over the country infrastructure was destroyed, people were homeless and hungry, and until some kind of election could be held all of the stress laid on the shoulders of the Imperator.

“The civil war has been won.” Augustus said.

The cameras in the room all pointed at the Imperator. Media giants such as SNN and Hardian Telecom group jumped at the opportunity to broadcast the most important speech the Suavidici have had in the last fifty years.

“Winning a war is one thing, however winning the peace is something very different.” The Emperor grabbed his glass of water.

His hand shook a little. The stress of war had taken a toll on the young monarch. What was once a young vibrant man had become someone who looked much older than his actual age. A clean shaven face had become scruffy, and his blue eyes became more contrasted with the tired look on his olive skin.

“In cooperation with our neighbors on Auroria. The Imperium has joined several economic organizations that will assist in the rebuilding process. I thank my counterparts in Ultramont and Volshan for the opportunities that their governments have given my people.” The Imperator paused for a moment.

Every word that he said would be combed over by his people, the Imperium’s friends, and the Imperiums enemies. He had to maintain the balance of a nation whose capabilities were diminished, yet would be able to defend itself in case of dire circumstances. He knew that his country was weakened but due to the ever present Palmyra* weakness needed to be hidden as much as possible.

“As my first act in my newly reunified Empire, I hereby begin the electoral process and move for a civilian government to form.”

The cameras started to go off at a faster pace.

“The Imperium must show that it is moving away from the Neroist regime. In order to make sure that the previous mistakes can never again be made, the civilian government will now have an office that outranks all military posts except for that occupied by the Imperator.”



Journalists began to write frantically. The Imperium had always been a heavily militarized society. Giving the civilian leadership authority over the military may not have been a big deal elsewhere in the world but it was headlines in the Imperium.

“The Tyrant Nero will also face justice. I have sent in a formal petition to the Association of Nations to launch a trial of the former marshal. His punishment will happen in the Imperium, but his crimes are international in nature.”

“Elections are to take place at the end of the month to allow for a brief campaign season. May DEUS and all the other gods bless the Imperium.” The Imperator stood and left the briefing room.

Augustus walked into the private chambers of the Imperator and immediately looked for a drink.

“Prydanian please. No ice.” The Imperator said into his hands.

Drinking was a habit he picked up while in captivity. He had been a drinker in university but something about being a prisoner made the Imperator feel like the only joy he could have was being drunk.

“My lord, your whiskey.” A servant said to Augustus.

The Imperator entered his chambers and started to change. He was wearing a suit, but he wanted to be comfortable. When the Imperator had taken off his shirt he paused to look at the scars on his body.

Subrov had left quite the mark on me eh? Well he’s dead and I’m still here.

Augustus laughed as he looked at his chest.

He placed the glass down on a coaster and layed down on the bed.

I wonder where that Volshan princess is.

---

Augustus woke up from a nap. The Imperator cleared his early afternoons. He was the embodiment of the Imperium, but he was also human. Augustus never liked the whole embodiment of the Imperium idea. How could one man represent the wants, needs and desires of an entire nation?

There were meetings to be had of course. Augustus could put off a lot, but with the upcoming elections He needed to spend time with the potential consuls. Several parties had started to form. The one that seemed the most energetic was calling itself the Greens. Augustus laughed at the name, it was a reference to the old Chariot racing teams.

Pius Octavius Lucilla had a meeting with the Imperator. Augustus had a briefing on the man given to him.

A humble man from the north eh?

Augustus laughed to himself. Before the civil war this man would have never met his emperor before. The Imperator thought that it was funny how worlds changed. Augustus got himself ready; he put on his suit, and an Amore brand watch.

The meeting took place in a small dining chamber in the residence section of the Imperial palace. Journalists snapped photos of and tried to get a statement form Pius as he climbed the steps of the Imperial palace.

“Welcome Mr.Lucilla, his Imperial excellency is awaiting you.” Said the doorman.

There was a knock at the door and Augustus sat up. Slouching was a bad habit that he had been trying to break, he needed to focus on it so that he didn’t make a fool out of himself.

“Come in.” The Imperator said.

“Presenting: Puis Octavius Lucilla.” The servant said before closing the door and leaving.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Mr.Lucilla.”

“The honor is all mine, your Highness.”
“Please mr.Lucilla tell me about yourself. I would like to get the man who leads the Greens.” Augustus said. Looking intently at the man.

“Well, I am a simple family man from the north. As you know it’s coal and lead country up there, so I grew up mining for Mine Boreus. I stopped mining when I hit thirty five because of my back, the Union gave me a nice pension. Once the civil war started I wanted to keep my community and family safe so I started fighting fascists. I tell you, your Highness, I would do anything to help people.” Pius spoke with confidence. The Ultramontese trained him well.

“Quite the dedicated man to his community I see. Now what does your Green Party want? I know what the blues want, I’m well acquainted with Senator Gaius Brututs. I know what he wants and I have an idea of his vision. What is your vision?” The Emperor continued to prod.

“Your majesty, we need reform. The people of this country deserved better than what just happened to them. When the Greens get elected we will move to curb the previous powers of the military. We need to work on giving all citizens of the Empire fair and equitable treatment.” Pius responded.

“Well Mr.Lucilla, I worry. You speak well, and you have wonderful ideas. But I wonder about your connections. You know that I signed the USRPA which brought us closer with Ultramont, I just want to make sure that you weren’t going to-”

“Your majesty, I don’t want to be rude. But I am loyal to the Imperium. I am loyal to you. I did not fight for three years to be a puppet of Ultramont. Now I get it, but I want to increase the welfare state in the Imperium, I want to make education affordable, I want to make child care free. I want to use the loans we are receiving to rebuild to create jobs for Suavidici.” Pius snapped back.

“Well then sir. I do think that we can have a wonderful partnership.” Augustus stuck out his hand.

Pius seemed shocked by this.

The conversation seemed to be getting more and more hostile. All of a sudden the Emperor was trying to shake his hand.

“Mr.Lucilla I wanted to see what kind of man you are. I think you will be a great member of the Senate.” Augustus said.

“Mr.Lucilla, please what would your economic policy be?”

The debate moderator Mr. Flavius Varus looked at the war hero turned politician. The moderator had a smug look on his face as the plebian politician thought for a moment.

“Well, Mr.Flavius, I think that the Imperium must focus on its people. Money needs to re-enter the system. My plan would be to take out loans from internal sources, while spending money on restarting the industry and giving the people something to use to spend on these new products.”


Lucilla continued: “I also would like to lean on our Ultramontese partners. Both sides of the strait have an opportunity to have our economies grow exponentially. Suavidici citizens need to find work, and Suavidici companies need to have people to sell to. Having a partner like Ultramont allows us to find solutions to both of these problems.”


Flavius perked up.


“Mr.Lucilla, do you have anything to say to the claims that you are an agent of Ultramont? You received quite a bit of help from them during the civil war.”

“I did, and I fought back Nero with it. I will categorically refute any claim that I am somehow in their pocket. His Imperial majesty himself even had a meeting with me to address these claims. I would trust his judgment above all else. Mr. Varus I want to ask you something, what did you do during the civil war? I heard Hadrian sent you to purchase Prydianian telecom companies.” Lucilla responded.

Flavius’ face was red.

“Now please let's debate policy.” The crowd applauded this comment.


Senator Gaius Brututs responded to the previous question.
“The Blues are committed to helping Suavidici business in this trying time. What Mr.Lucilla has recommended is a gross misuse of funds. We need to save our money. We need to let the businesses operate without interference and we need to let jobs grow in the Imperium.” Senator Brutus said.

The crowd was a mixture of applause and silence.

The goal of the debate was to show the move from Nero’s government. But there was an air of tension. Three weeks ago the Imperium had been racked by war. Brother killed brother, the Imperial capital was destroyed. Now the people were expected to sit down and pretend like they could just move on?

An old woman stood up and the room went quiet.


“Senator, Mr.Lucilla. How do you two intend on healing this country? We know your economics, we have heard them in ads. But how do you want to heal the SOUL of the nation?”


The woman sat down. The two men looked at eachother, each one trying to come up with something to say. Everyone had been touched by Nero’s coup. If not the actual coup then when Alexander tried to crown himself king of the Ephiphan.


“Thank you for your question ma’am.” Lucilla spoke first.


“I think that we should start with education. Our students must be exposed to the horrors of National Populism. Our students need to also be aware that the lack of civilian oversight of the military was what allowed the coup to manifest.” Lucilla said.


“I agree with my compatriot.” Senator Brutus said.

The two men looked at each other before the senator continued. There was a look of respect, the two men shared a thought. They did not know if the other man shared his thoughts. The cameras seemed to think so and they snapped repeatedly.


“We need to prevent someone like Nero from taking advantage of our system. Education serves as a way to peer through the veil of society. Using education to make sure that our youth are prepared to be functioning members of Society is an absolute necessity.” The Senator replied.


The rest of the debate seemed to have a more friendly air. The two men engaged in a friendly debate about policy. The Imperium would be able to see brotherhood once more.

After everyone had left and the cameras were off the two men shook hands. They paused for a moment before Brutus spoke.

“I think we will work well together. No matter who is first consul, I look forward to our partnership.”

“The Metropolis of Suavidicum’s votes can be broken down by the neighborhood.” The media personality moved a 3D map of the city around to show where Blue votes ended and Green began.

“We can see as we move towards the industrial sections of the city there are pockets of Red dominated areas. But the vast majority of the Metropolis has split between the Blues and Greens.”

The Media personality pushed up his glasses. He continued to go on and on about the election. The patrons of the pub kept their eyes glued to the screen, a beer or a harder drink was always in their hands. A month had gone by since the civil war had ended and the tension had not seemed to die down at all.

“I want them to get this damned prick off the screen, he keeps going on about his maps!” Someone yelled from the back.

Waitresses ran about bringing food to the patrons. The typical Suavidici dinner started at eight and usually didn’t end until eleven. Election night only made the already busy night shift even harder.

The pub had Ursus gear all over, it had wooden floors and a high ceiling. The speakers were from the eighties, the quality of sound would jump, sometimes good, sometimes very poor. Booths lined the walls, the padding still there, but worn after years of being used. TV's were in every corner. The owner said that there was no chance he would miss a game even if he was working. So far it seemed like he had made good on his promise. Instead of a mens and women's bathroom sign, it said Men's and Women's/ PACTOR fans. Despite indoor smoking being illegal in the Imperium this bar always had the fait smell of old cigarettes. The kitchen always smelled like fresh pizza. The staff came in at 5 am to make sure that the ovens were ready to go.

it was a miracle that the establishment survived the fighting in the city. The whole neighborhood saw very little fighting, it was as if DEUS himself protected the small neighborhood. People were able to enjoy some semblance of a normal life despite all of the pain around them. Caligula's was on the South Eastern side of Suavidicum, an area deemed too risky for Nero's forces to hold. Its claim to fame was a Ferrarum factory that managed to keep running despite the war. The neighborhood was one kids grew up in and if they got out they didn't tend to move back.

At the bar two men shared a basket of Calamari while having a conversation. The bar was your typical long bar with a curve. Names were carved into the counter, a testament to the age of the Pub. These two men sat where they had before the fighting happened, right next to the Julia loves Maria carving. They chose that spot when they were younger because as they thought at the time "haha that's hot." The two had seen Super bowls at that bar together. They saw breakups, they shared pictures of their first kids, it was their spot.

“I mean I appreciated the mandatory day off, construction work is brutal right now but I wish that I could have gotten overtime today.” The first man said as he raised his beer to his mouth.

“You’re telling me, my son right, he is finishing up at the University of Galicium and I don’t know how I am going to be able to afford to keep him in school. DEUS be praised that the concrete industry is in need right now.” The second man said as he got a piece of Calamari.

The two men say there for a moment, beer and calamari being the goal. There was not much to celebrate currently, they were poorer than before, they were older than before, and they had more to do than before. The football season didn't even start for another few months.

“My wife, she’s been helping out with after school care for kids. It’s bad enough that the primary school teachers aren’t getting paid but now she’s been ‘encouraged’ to provide additional care at a reduced rate. I tell you this election better fix all of this crap.” The man said, his agitation at how life was going clear.

The pubs patrons looked back at the screen, the commentator:

“It is increasingly looking like a Blue and Green runaway. The Reds are a distant third and the Purples haven’t been able to get their feet off the ground. The Green’s have chosen Mr.Lucillia to represent them as Consul while Senator Brutus has clearly been the choice for the Blues since the election was announced.”

“I like that Lucilla guy.” The man on the left said. He was halfway through his beer at that point.

“I do too, did you know he’s a blue collar guy from up North?” The man on the right said while reaching for his beer.

“Everyone knows that you moron.” The man on the left yelled back laughing.

“But it is nice to see that someone who knows what the people are going through might win.” The man on the left said, the tone shift was quick.

The two men sat in silence for a minute, the sounds of the bar drowned out the TV’s. There was music, waitresses running food and drinks, people laughing. The loudest laugh came from Ericus, the owner of the bar. The man looked old, his hair only having a tiny sliver of its color remaining. He took over from his father back in the eighties and kept Caligula’s as an institution in this neighborhood.

Ericus walked over to the two men and in his normal jovial voice asked:

“What’s wrong with you two? Politics bumming you out? I get it, but look at the bright side. You made it. I know a lot of families that lost someone. You made it, you got to vote in the first election since Nero ruined everything. We have to move forward and look at the bright side of life now. We won.”

Ericus gave the two men a beer and went back to talking to his other patrons.

The two men looked at each other for a moment, Ericus was right. Life moves on, and they were there to enjoy it.

“Breaking news!” The bar quieted down to hear the News.

“With a total of forty five percent of the National vote, the Green party will be the largest party in the Senate. The Blues will make up thirty percent of the Senate, the Reds secured fifteen percent and in a surprising turn the Purples have secured ten percent. Consul elect Lucillia has decided to meet with Consul elect Brutus to try and set a unified policy compromise. There are rumors that the leader of the Reds Marcus Quintillius Sexus will also be in attendance.”

"I can't help but feel like that was anti climatic." The man on the right said.

"Yeah but I am not sure what I was expecting." The man on the left seemed confused.

"I voted for the guy did you know that?" The man on the right looked proud.

"Yeah, I know. You've been talking about it all day. I was trying to enjoy time with my wife when I saw your name pop up on my phone. Now I have to see you and you're still talking about who you voted for!" The man on the left yelled.

"Well I don't think you have to be so mean." The man on the right sounded defeated.

"I'll stop being mean when you stop having a room temperature IQ." The man on the left patted the other mans shoulder.

Ericus came back into the conversation. This time he was holding something.

"Pizza time boys.I see you both need another beer!"

"Thanks Ericus." The men said together.

"Suavidici pizza really is the best isn't it?" The man on the right said as he got a slice.

"First right good idea you've had in a while." Said the man on the left.