"I've seen it. The fishermen first told us of the creature. It is likely the cause of our shipwrecks and the loss of our legions." Gaius Augustine, Consul of Joan sat on his throne, addressing the newcomer to his court. He was worried, and showed it with anger. Augustine's long black hair fell into his scowling face as he shifted in his chair. He brushed it aside in a huff.

"Indeed, Consul. We should act quickly then to unite the masses. Your people are searching for something greater than themselves. They seek hope. Something to cling to." Sculla said. He stood alone at Augustine's feet, yet not as a beggar. He held the posture of an equal; unbroken, almost untouched by the turmoil of the world. He had arrived in Joan only days before, and had already begun making preparations.

"Consul? I am no more a consul than you are a senator. The Novissime is finished. You said it yourself." Augustine said, a tad mockingly.

"Call yourself what you will, but this is your city. Without action you stand to lose it."

Augustine stood and walked to the uniformed man next to Sculla. "This is what you suggest, then?" The man stood in traditional Novissime armor, yet with a large shield painted white and a red flared cross dyed across its front, touching all sides. "A new cult? Children of Aiden, you called it?"

"Yes." Sculla said of the man. "The Old Gods united the people before the Novissime, then the empire held them together. With the Novissime gone, as you said, something must fill the void."

"So the Children of Aiden? Why not the Children of Joan, or Augustine? Why not Sculla?" Augustine eyed Sculla mockingly, but something in his eyes told Sculla the man was fully on board.

"A sort of bridge, from what they know to where we need them. We must not stray too far from the familiar. Please go out and speak the words they want to hear."

Augustine shot him another knowing glare. He was never a kind man and certainly not a fan of the Novissime, but he was sensible. And Sculla made sense. Without another word he walked from the throne room out onto a balcony overlooking the panicked crowd of Joan's citizens. He lifted his arms and the crowd fell silent. Sculla stepped silently behind him.

"Good people of Joan, I am sure you have heard the terrible fate of our sister cities to the south. Both Adrianople and the Novissime capital of Oram have fallen. Indeed, the Novissime empire is at its end." The crowd shuddered at Augustine's words. They had heard rumors, but to hear it spoken shook them. Augustine again quieted the crowd.

"We were spared from the Nu horde. They rode south in part because of my faith and devotion to the memory and spirit of Emperor Aiden Severus." The armored man stepped forward and joined Augustine on the balcony. Sculla stayed far back from the edge, hidden from the crowd. "And now we face another trial. From the depths of the Caspian marches what can only be called a monster from another world. Some have even claimed an Old God is returning." The crowd gasped and the panic grew. Augustine quieted them with a wave of his hand.

"Whatever the creature is, and whatever its aim may be, our survival depends on our faith. I offer you, good people, the safety of our city's Great Hall. Return home, gather your family and enter the palace grounds. We will lead you in prayer, and our faith, and our Legion of Aiden will save us." Augustine turned, allowing the armored man to step forward. The cheers of the crowd started slowly, but grew and grew until every face beamed with hope and excitement. Augustine looked to Sculla again.

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Marcus Sculla knew Augustine was hooked. He saw that the former Consul did not care about the hope of the people; he had no faith in the new cult. Sculla saw in the Consul's wide eyes the thrill of power. Augustine was the first to leave the balcony. Sculla peeked over the edge at the people cheering the uniformed man. He was expressionless, as if he looked over a silent serene mountain lake.

Inside, Augustine turned to Sculla, almost laughing, "I thought your idea was ridiculous, Sculla, but there you go."

"This will help to ease the risk of revolt, but there is still a possibility that we could meet our end at the hands of that thing."

"Well your people in the south have lost all the cities and territories. We have nowhere to run."

"Yes, good Gaius Augustine, we certainly have nowhere to run, but perhaps we could strike the beast before it gets to land."

The two returned to the throne and Augustine sat, turning the idea in his head. "A ship with a crew of sacrificial lambs. What do you propose, Sculla? We have already lost our general, my advisors, and much of our legion. The men we have left are, ahh nevermind." He motioned to the otherwise empty room. "The reports say the beasts will be on land, if it does come at all, within the next two days. No Sculla I am afraid we have no other options but to sit and wait."

"Ah yes. I do urge you to consider the utility of developing a method of defense against similar threats. Perhaps we will take on the task in the future. Tell me, Good Augustine, have you any minds in your city capable of such a task?"

Augustine stared at the former Novissime senator curiously. "The future? What an odd thing to say at a time like this. Our doom lies so close and you speak of calming the people and inventing new defenses."

"Yes, I do. A great fault of the Severans, not just Aiden but his father and his father's father before him was that they never planned for the future. And here we are now, in the future, and they are no longer with us. If things go as we intend through this, we will be well positioned. And if not, then we needn't worry about how much thought we wasted."

The armored man came from the balcony to the other two and removed the steel helmet that had completely covered his face. It was a young man, not yet thirty with the dark features of a Novissime. "The crowd has begun to disperse, my lord. They seem willing to trust us."

"Let us move on from the term My Lord. Let that be reserved for reference to Aiden, the figurehead of the people. Good Augustine, or Good Gaius, if you prefer, will do." Sculla said it casually, and Augustine followed right along nodding. He was as much under the spell of Sculla's plan as his people. Sculla knew he would agree to anything.

"Good," Augustine barked. Neither Sculla nor the armored man knew who he spoke to. Augustine stood to meet the armored man, "Well, I suppose congratulations are in order, Quintus Drusus, seeing as I've got no one left, you are now the first General of the Legion of Aiden." If the man was surprised, his only tell was a brief widening of his dark brown eyes.

"If I may," Sculla interjected, "perhaps we also move from the title of General. May I propose Saint of Aiden as an alternative? It lends itself to the more inspirational tone we look to embody."

"Have it your way, we are all going to die anyway. Saint Drusus, work with what we have left to secure the city. Have archers on the walls and enough men here to calm the masses. It will be tight, and stink with the whole city here. Make sure the men keep their tempers in check."

Sculla smiled inwardly. He expected a fight with all of it, a struggle to convince these people to follow along. Instead, he found Good Gaius Augustine was a simple leaf blowing in Sculla's breeze. And so too are all of his people, he thought.