1 Calm Before the Storm

Maximus stood still as he stared at the bars running up and down and side to side on the door in front of him.

The door blocking him, barely, from the arena, from the death that had been set for him.

Maximus had served in the emperor's legion all his life. He had risen in ranks until he became the emperor's most trusted general. He had been a loyal soldier, never questioning Marcus Aurelius and following the emperor's orders dutifully.

That changed when Marcus Aurelius's son, Commodus, grew jealous when Aurelius adopted Maximus as a second son.

It was true of Maximus and Aurelius that the two were like father and son. It was also true that the orphan Maximus found himself looking to Aurelius to provide that father figure in the mundane as well as the extravagant. No matter the reason, Maximus constantly looked to the old emperor for advice.

When Marcus Aurelius died and Commodus took over, Maximus knew his life was in danger. He knew Commodus would do everything in his power to rid himself of the general that had stolen so much of Aurelius's attention from him.

Commodus hated him more for a reason much bigger than attention, however.

Maximus could have become the emperor of Rome. He could have stolen the throne right out from underneath the true son of the emperor.

That was something Commodus could not forgive.

It was on this that Maximus reflected as he awaited the glorious death he would face in the arena, the great Colosseum. It was better to think of this than to think of poor Calliope, the Greek princess who had been promised to the general of Rome. It was better to think of this than the life he could have had the was ripped from him. It was better to think of this than the downfall of the glorious Roman empire that was surely coming to an end.

Maximus took a deep breath through his nose. He willed himself to be calm.

The door opened and Maximus started forward, waiting at the huge wrought iron gates before him, the ones leading into the arena, in the public eye.

The gates opened and Maximus ran out into the arena, out to meet his death.