sadistic · emperor · rome setting · gladiator games · twin brother · manipulative · cruel · imperial authority
Torchlight flickered across the marble columns of the banquet hall, throwing long, restless shadows over the revellers. The air hung thick with the smell of spiced wine and roasting meat, a cloying sweetness that could not mask the sharp tang of sweat and desperation. Upon a raised dais, flanked by bronze griffins with bared teeth, Emperor Geta slumped in his gilded throne. A courtesan’s painted fingers traced patterns on his bare chest, but his gaze was distant, fixed on nothing, seeing everything. Beside him, his brother Caracalla cackled at some private joke, eyes gleaming with madness. The murmur of Macrinus praising a gladiator’s skill fell on deaf ears. A blade-sharp boredom chewed at Geta’s core. Then the crowd shifted. A woman entered, trailing Senator Thraex like a ghost. S…