I’m too tired to open my eye, my bed is too comfortable and I think I should pass the morning sleeping. I can feel something warm close to me, without opening my eye I stretch my hand and found something very soft. I start to squeeze when another hand hit me in the head.

- “Enough, we have a lot of things to do today, we can do that tonight”.

As usual my wife opens her eyes ready to have a full day, I can’t understand how she does that. I’m not even horny, I just want to cuddle. I finally open my eyes and see her leaving the bed and starting to putting her dress. It has been less then a year that she gave birth, but looking to her naked body you couldn’t tell.

She tries to look angry that I’m enjoying the view instead of getting ready for the day, but I know that she loves been watched by me.

-“You need to get ready, today there is a meeting of the Royal Council, you can’t be late.”

- “Today will be just like the last meeting, it’s not like something will be decided, just a bunch of old men that like to listen to the sound of their own voices.”

- “I thought the Head Priest had called for this meeting? It’s the talk of the city how he had an oracle.”

- “He just wants more money for a new temple or something like that. It’s always like that, not something to get worried about.”

By the way she looks at me I know that she thinks I’m wrong but dosen’t want to fight right now.

-“But you need to be there on time. The old dragon already makes enough enemies for us without you insulting the Head Priest for no reason.”

Can’t deny that, mother has a way to make people want hire assassins. But there is no point in talking again about this, she hates my mother any way – the sentiment is mutual- and there is no need for me to put more wood in the fire. So, like a good husband I close my eyes and pretend to be sleeping.

I hear a “huff” and a door opening and closing. I will need to pay for this later but I will just bring from the Royal Palace one of her favorites wines as tribute today and she will forgive or at least save the discussion for our next fight.

Oracle, like I would believe something like that. The old bastard is one of the less religious man that I had ever the displeasure to meet. The only reason he is the head priest is that he is the brother king. The bastard is always too drunk to do most of the ceremonies. The last thing that we need is the head priest vomiting during a sacrifice. Everybody would be claiming that the end is near.

The weirdest part is that he is a improvement for the last one. At least he not molesting people who work in the temple or is just there to pray. I’m thankful that I’m was not around when the wife of a foreign dignitary was raped when she stopped to pray.

There was hell to pay that time, a lot of gold and silver had to change hands to avoid any escalation. We lost a lot of creditability and status thanks to that. Mother likes to joke that the dignitary has reward for letting his wife be raped, and that we now only are visited by dignitary’s with very pretty wives who tend to pray a lot in the temple.

Or I like to think that she is joking, hard to tell with her. As much as I hate meeting the Royal Council I can’t afford not to go, that would create to many rumors that my enemies could use. Besides, the meeting are usually after lunch and take a few hours, no problem to attend them and pretend to pay attention. Any soldier or sailor is used to be bored for long hours.

I would like to use the time to expand the navy and army. But my proposes are denied before I can even explain. The fools are too used to their ways, maybe there is a opportunity with this so called oracle. I could just pretend to be in favor of given the old drunk more money.

The other members will refuse, everybody has their own uses for the royal funds and building a new altar is not one of those. But if I supported him that will create a debt that I can use later.

It will be hard to get the votes that I need for my plans and the price will be enormous for each vote. If I can get a vote by supporting a plan that I disagree and has no chance of getting approved it’s a win win situation.

As much I would love to spend the morning in the bed that is impossible, before going to the meeting I need to meet my clients and if I stay to long on my bed some stupid rumor about being sick or too drunk to do my duty will start. Sometimes I think I live more to fulfil other expectations then my own.

I take off my furs and start getting dressed, mother would complain that I should use a slave to help me since I’m royalty. My wife would complain that our society has become to soft and used to comforts and need to return to his origins.

I’m pretty sure that both of them just like to oppose each other as a principle. The day that my mother starts saying that having a slave to help get dressed is wrong, my house will be full of such slaves in the same day. Not that I have the guts to say that.

After getting dressed I leave for the kitchen, Catta is breast feeding the baby. Most wealthy families just use wet nurses, she can give a lesson of why is that wrong that can last for half a day, I know because I have listened the first and last time I mentioned to use one.

Thanks to Danu my son is healthy, when I went raiding the idea that I would come back to a small grave was my worst nightmare. So many babies die before their first anniversary. Catta believes that the reason is because most of them are not breastfeed by their mother, that’s why she personally breast feeds him and will fight to the death anyone that disagrees with her.

I have my doubts since many babies had wet nurses – including me – and survived. But she looks so happy when breast feeding that I prefer to stay quiet and agree. The important thing is that I have a very healthy son and heir. Catta wants a few more children, I’m worried about that, to many women die in child birth, but she is right that only one son is not enough.

Not only children tend to die from many diseases, my son will have to face many people who will try very hard do kill him. I have younger brothers and cousins that dream about the throne and there are many nobles that wouldn’t mind to put a puppet in power. Bunch of snakes that would prefer to see the kingdom burn then give power to a enemy.

To most nobles my breakfast is too simple, some meat, bread and a soup. For someone like me that spends half a year in the sea this is a banquet. Perhaps Catta is right, our kingdom has grow to used to the finer things in life and became stagnate. That’s the reason that they refuse to see the necessity to prepare for war, the good times have corrupted us.

We talk about futilities, who married who, who sons and daughter look suspicious similar to some handsome slave of the household. When she finishes breast feeding she gives the baby to a slave and goes to do her beauty routine.

It takes her hours and lots of my silver every morning for her to get ready. I once considered telling her that I’m sure that our ancestor didn’t have the time and money to do that. But I stopped myself for doing that because I like to have peace in my house and she would remember that until my death.

Talos my personal secretary sees that I have finished my breakfast and starting talking.

-“My prince, since you have a important meeting I have limited the number of clients that you are going to see, to seven, there is the usual requests, nothing out of the ordinary.”

_”- Talking about the meeting, do you know what he wants? It’s very rare for that old drunk to care about anything that it’s not on his cup.”

- “I’m afraid not my prince, nobody knows in the city.”

When that bastard had asked for a meeting, I used my contacts in the temple to see what he wanted. The temple makes more then enough for his drinks and he makes sure that none of his subordinates do anything stupid and make him lost his comfortable job.

None of my contacts knew anything, the only thing that they could tell is that for once the man is doing his job with fervor. Even Catta and my mother don’t know what he wants, and there is very little gossip that both of them dosen’t know.

My theory is that he wants to build a new temple or reform the old one. He never asks for anything besides the regular stuff, such as more funds to festival and sacrifices and he dosen’t even try very hard, he just does the motions.

It’s the first time that he ask for a extraordinary meeting. It looks very suspicious and probably it’s not a new temple. But as long is not something ridiculous I will support him, he may be a drunk but he always keeps his promises and pay his debts. I just need to make sure that I ask for payment before alcohol finishes him off.

Reception of the clients goes as usual. A lot of people asking for a boon that could variety from a new job, funds for a new business or help in negotiation a dowry. I told my clients that I would help them in all request with the expectation of the job in the city guard. That’s one of my cousins’ fiefdoms and he will never let one of my men there to undermine his position.

Not that I don’t have people doing exactly that, but I would never be stupid enough to put the son of one of my clients. But I promised to take him in the next year raid and depending of the result could be another position for him later.

The man didn’t seem to like the idea of his second son going to the sea, but the position that I offered to him was a honorable one and very disputed. He could leave me and try to became my cousin client. But he would never do that.

I’m offered him a very good deal and nobody would accept a client that is this ungrateful, a men may kill his wife and sell his children to slavery but he would never public betray his patron. Or at least is what my teachers would tell me when I was growing up. He thanked me just like the other and leaved.

I look to the water clock and it’s close to noon, I need to eat something before getting ready. There is always wine in the meetings but never nothing to eat, it’s like my father wants to only hear the opinion of drunk man so he can appear more intelligent.

The worst part is that even the worst of drunks can give better advice than my father, Catta is already in the kitchen feeding the baby and there is a plait of food for me. I sit and start to devour without boring to taste the food. In can see her disapprove but amazingly she dosen’t complain, she hates when I eat fast.

-“I know that you don’t take very serious the Head Priest, but the entire town is talking about the oracle he received, you need to take care about how you deal with the situation.”

-“The old drunk? Who cares what he is thinking ? I pretend to support whatever he asks as long is reasonable. He probably wants more funds, the Council will veto and he will own me one for supporting him.”

By her face expression she disagrees with me, I can see she controlling her anger behind her pretty brown eyes, she hates when I don’t take her warning serious. She most thinks the Head Priest will ask for something serious.

-“Even the old dragon dosen’t know what he wants and he is one of her minions.”

As usual she refuses to use my mother’s name, so childish. Yesterday when he asked for a meeting, mother send me a message that something wasn’t right but she couldn’t tell me what.

- “I will tell the same thing that I said to my mother and you yesterday. He wants to sound important and mysterious. The whole point of this is to remember people that he exists and has a lot of power. And he isn’t one of her minions or she would know exactly what this meeting was about.”

She rolls her eyes.

- “Exactly because he is one of her minions that I’m worried, he could be working for another faction!”

I considered that yesterday, but I think it’s impossible. Head Priest of the God Camulus are a prestigious position, so people want to have one of their one in the ceremonial toga. In case that a man with a patron is in the position, he is murder in a few weeks. The intelligent ones tend to be or at least pretend to be neutral.

Everybody knew that the last priest was a rapist, but a neutral one. Better to have a rapist in office than a pious man that worked for a adversary.

There are very few people that would after years of playing all sides to actually chose one, and the Head Priest is not that type of idiot. We may pretend that he is my mother minion, but it’s a open secret that he sell the same information for every side.

- “If he takes a side, we will deal accordingly.”

Which means that I will have him kill, but is never a good idea to say that out loud. Even most of my slaves and freedman are spy’s working for other people. Not that the fact the I didn’t say out loud will change that I will be accused of just that. But a men can never be to cautions.

She dosen’t like my answer, but since she also doesn’t know a better solution we change the subject for the usual gossip, we only spend a few months together every year, no point of spoiling by fighting every single time that we disagree.

After lunch I couple of slaves help me to get on my formal toga. Even my wife doesn’t complain that I need help, since it's impossible to wear the thing without outside help. Once I heard my father saying that the only reason for such a complicated toga was because ours ancestors wanted to limited reunions.

Their idea was that since the necessary clothes were so uncomfortable, that nobody would ask for formal meeting without a good reason. If that was the plan, they were completed wrong, I use the bloody thing almost every day.

I pay my respects to my ancestors and leave the house escorted by my lictors, since I’m the crown prince I have the right for 11, all of them caring fasces. Since I’m inside of the Pomerium their axe blades were removed.

In theory I should always go around with them and their fasces. But thanks the Gods there is a expectation to the rule, that they are not necessary in navy warfare, for some reason that was lost in time. In the city or in a land battlefield they are a glorious view, but even with the axes, they are useless while boarding a ship.

People make way for me while greeting me, my secretary makes sure to whisper the name of the important people so I can greet they back. To my house to the royal palace is not long walk, but since I need to respond people, it takes a time.

I walk inside the royal palace while my lictors are take to a separate room to wait for me. The only lictors with fasces allowed in the palace are the kings one. Like always there is a lot of slaves cleaning the palace and freedmen walking around pretending to be important.

This place never changes, the world could end right now and the people here would pretend that nothing was happing and continue to discuss the color of the banner for the next harvest festival.

I continue to greet every single person that greets me first. Most of them are just freedman but they are the ones that keep the kingdom going and to alienate them is a huge mistake. They know that would be improper to expect a warm welcome from me, but if I don’t return a formal greet, it will be something they will remember to their graves and tell their descents to avenge such a crime…

Unfortunate I have to play this stupid game, I already have enough enemies, no need to make more. The throne room doors are open with six lictors in each side, my father wanted to change the number of the king lictors to 26 but the idea was vetoed.

The argument that just 12 lictors were not enough for his gravitas was not very good to begin, he just wanted to show to the people that his reign was so glorious that he needed more bodyguards than his ancestor to show that he was the greatest king that ever lived. Which he isn’t.

The round table that is in front of the throne is half full with both consuls and 3 of the six praetors, the Head Priest is not present, which is weird since he is normally the first one to arrived.

I sit on my usual spot and talk to Wirogalos one of the praetors about the next games and who he thinks will win the chariot races, the man is a blue fanatic and is always happy in talking about the subject.

My father must be in a chamber close by, just waiting to be the last one to arrive. He just loves this kind of petty act. The rest of the praetors arrive but no signal of the Head Priest, the meeting was supposed to start a while ago.

What kind of games is he playing? I would expect this kind of power move from my father but never from him. The man always made a point to always please people while staying neutral, never rocking the boat.

When I start to consider to send a slave to pick him, he finally arrives. The man looks like he is going to start a sacrifice, he is wearing a very archaic toga with his face painted in terracotta. By his expression he looks like he is ready for his death and is very excited about the prospect.

He sits and looks like a kid you can’t wait to tell everybody what magic experience he had that day. I’m not even sure what to think of him right now, one of the consuls try to start a conversation but he simply refuse to even look at him. Samorix is a man well know for holding grudges, by his expression he will not forgive or forget this insult. What is going on with him today?

One of the lictors enter and introduce the king.

-“All hail King of Veii and protector of all Etruscans!

Normally my father introduction would have a lot of more titles, but since the meeting is running late, I suppose he gave the order to give the short version. Normally he would never do that, since he loves to hear all his title and he tends to invent a new one every month. He must be really curious about the High Priest request to do this.

My father enters, as usual he is wearing his toga with a purple cloak and a bronze crown with precious stones in his head. Physically he is a fat middle age man who hates exercises and has 5 big meals a day.

His toga is close to burst and just a small walk makes him sweet. Mother says the only reason that he makes sure that every single ceremonia is always performance to perfection and how he is prone to create new titles is to compensate for his poor physically appearance.

But then again, there is very little that she dosen’t blame in the fact that my father can’t see his own feet thanks to his belly. The poor fool must curse the day that he fell in love with her, or not, the Gods know that they deserve each other.

After sitting, he signalizes for his secretary to start the proceedings. Normally that would mean to talk about the subjects in the agenda and since today the only subject is the request of the High Priest you would think the introduction would be short.

But to compensate the short introduction his personal secretary needs to waist some time to explain how big and import the king is before passing the word for the Head Priest.

The man gets up from his chair and after filling his chest with air starting talking.

-“My sons, yesterday the powerful Camulus blessed me with a vision! I will not lie, I always tried my best to be the best priest possible, but I had my doubts if I was good enough for the position, but yesterday all my doubts were wash clean when he came in person to my dreams!

The man sounds like one of those charlatans in the streets that say the end is near, but for the first time I will admit that he sounds like he truly believes in what he is saying. He normally sounds like a man readying a very boring book during his sermons.

-“ Camulus has a mission for us! He told me that he could only trust such a important mission for the bests of his true believers! And he ask, no he demands that we crush a evil cult that has take cult close to us!

He stops talking and look direct at which of us, you could hear a pin drop in the room, we were all looking amuse to the man, wandering when he would ask for funds for some pet project of his. Wars are never simple affair, a religious war is completely different animal.

In a regular war you can always make a treat after winning or losing a little, no point in fight to the death. A religious war can only end when of the parts is dead, the population would never accept anything less then total victory.

Even if manage to end the war with reasonable terms, anything that is not a total victory is a defeat to the people, to lose a holy war means that the elite has lost divine backing. Creating fertile ground for social chaos.

I thought holy wars were things of the distant past, one of the reasons that we make sure to put men with few ambitions as Head Priest is to avoid this kind of situation to happen. We could always try to say that the man lost his mind, but the population would say that we are denying the will of the Gods and leading the whole kingdom to doom.

That’s why he didn’t tell anyone about the reason for the meeting, because we would stop him! Dosen’t matter that in theory what is said here is a state secret, I would be surprise if they are not gossiping in the street already about a new holy war!

-“ We must prepare ourselves to deal with them before their evil doctrine spends to more places! We must kill every single man, woman, child and animal, none of them can be spare. No slaves can’t be take! After destroying everything we must build a new temple for our pantheon to clean the area and send settlers to make sure that never again such a evil cult will take root!”

Is he insane? To kill and destroy everything, there will be no loot! Men will risk their lives and receive only a thanks! Even the most faithful of men will refuse to serve in the army! Surely the Gods understand enough the human nature to let us loot a little! The worst part is that if we give no way out for the people. they will fight to the death, our casualties will be huge.

-“And may I ask, who Camulus wishes for us to destroy? I wish to serve him, but there is a limit for what we can do without divine intervention.”

I look to my father, normally he would just whisper the question for his secretary to ask, but the shock is so big that I suppose even his precious protocols can be forgotten when the future of the kingdom is at stake.

-“Fear not my King, for Camulus only ask for what we can do. The enemies are hiding in a small island close to us. The heretics are living in a island they call Tatuí!