The Protagonist Speaks

Dear readers, tonight with us is a Roman citizen from the time of Trajan. He’s here to talk about the why Antioch is a better city than Rome or Alexandria, about cultural diversity, and about winnowing truth from lies when a crime has been committed.

It’s not often that we have a guest from Antioch in Syria. Tell us about your city.

Antioch is the finest and most beautiful city in the free world, the one, true beacon of civilisation.

Many people in our audience believe that description fits Rome and Alexandria better.

I said, the greatest city in the FREE world. In Rome, no one is free. Without the imports of grain from the East, the city would starve. To walk in the streets is to contract infection unless you can avoid the contents of latrine pots that people throw out the window. You cannot speak the truth for fear of offending the Emperor, who has spies everywhere. As for Alexandria, you cannot even set foot there without written permission from the Emperor. No, freedom is neither in Rome or in Alexandria. But in Antioch, it is everyone’s birthright.

Besides freedom, what else does Antioch have to offer?

The first daughter of freedom is creativity. The city is full of poets, philosophers, musicians, actors, sculptors, painters, architects, writers. Artists beautify not only the city itself with monuments, porticoes and gardens, they beautify the mind. The second daughter of freedom is truth. In Antioch, no one needs to pretend they are someone they are not. We are who we are, in harmony with ourselves from the moment of birth. To be forced to be someone we are not is the greatest crime.

Speaking of crime, your brother Antonius Sabas is famous in the whole Roman Empire for solving them. Especially murder.

My brother is the best discoverer of crime in our city’s history, if I do say so myself. You see, a murderer kills someone, and then proceeds to live a lie. He or she must pretend they did not do what they did, and take care to deceive everyone around them. Sabas exposes the pretence. He reveals what the murderer actually did, which in all cases is very different from what the murderer says he did.

You assist him in his inquiries. Do you enjoy looking for criminals?

I enjoy separating the facts from the fiction. To pretend to be someone you are not, or to love something you actually hate, or not to have done something you actually did, is to attack not only the truth, but the harmony of the cosmos. I enjoy helping Sabas to restore that harmony.

Dear reader, tonight with us is a teenaged girl, related to our very first interviewee! She — and her author — are here to tell us about secret societies, infernal realms, monsters and monarchs.

A portal opens and a man steps out. He sits down at a table, resting his notebook and pen down on the table. A little girl wearing roman-esque attire sits in front of them as they both sit down inside of a large tent

Interviewer: Hi, so you must be Keisha. How are you? I’m just going to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind. Can you…

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

Hi! Thanks for having me. Yes, my name’s Keisha Alighieri, um, I never been in an interview before so I might stumble a bit. So, I guess I should start with how old I am? I’m fifteen now. I just had a birthday in the Inferno—that’s another world via portal, it’s kind of like Earth—my Papá is originally from there, but I was born in Atlanta. It’s kind of a long story, haha. I liked it okay, especially, when me and mamma go out city-shopping or go to the movies.

Didn’t really like school too much, sometimes it can be a bit challenging for me—and there are some mean bullies—but when I do get something, it’s pretty fun.

Ooh, there’s been a convention in the city one time for The Heroes Society – they’re this really cool super hero group and Scarlett Hero is my favorite! I really want her weapon (haha, spoiler I kind of get my own through my adventures… but I still want her scepter cause it’s pretty awesome).

Interviewer: That is pretty awesome. So you like super heroes? Cool. I’m a big fan of history, mystery, and throw in some fantasy. I think I might have to check out the Heroes Society with my family one day *laughs* Alright, next question….

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

Mmmm…I have a stuffed doggy back home, does that count? Cause Action Figures are not toys. I have a lot of stuff about the Heroes Society; there’s some action figures, the book bags, and I have an Insider Book about the Society. My wall has a bunch of posters of different anime and RPGs I play too! Wait, um… where were we going…Oh, yeah, sorry I get side tracked sometimes.

I got plenty memories about my family. Especially with my Papá, Dante, he’s the one who taught me how to play chess and I know several different languages. It was kind of hard at first, but he made it into a real fun game. The day that is my best memory was when I was twelve and we all sat down and opened presents on Christmas and we had this really big turkey. There was so much food and gifts, we played a bunch of games staying up past my bedtime. I know it seems like it’s not a big memory, but… it was around the last time I saw him before he disappeared (he actually was taken back to the Inferno when his friend wanted him to stop a mysterious entity known as the Anomaly. We’re trying to stop it too).

Interviewer: Well, I hope you find your Papá too. Also, well point taken about action figures. If you’re ready for the next question…

What do you do now?

Oh! I’m a Legacy (like the title, see!) That’s like a Hunter that protects the people of the Inferno (the Natura Borne) from Demi (like a Supernatural) that attack or go through portals to the human world, so Legacy’s (or the adult term after your 18 is Shikari) capture them. I don’t do that though cause I think it’s pretty wrong to bind a Demi and make them do your bidding and stuff. It’s not the kind of Legacy I wanna be (though I’ve made mistakes, I’m trying to get over now. It’s hard, but I got some really good friends by my side). Besides, there’s a lot of Demi that are misunderstood and they’re the ones who are terrorized. Like, sure, Leo and Scav tried to attack me, but it worked out in the end! Ooh, and Cerberus, he’s pretty cool—oh, wait, I think I’m saying too much, but yeah, there’s some good Demi’s out there. Like my best-friend Celra, she’s a She-Wolf and she’s pretty dang awesome. She gives the best cheek-nuzzles!

Interviewer: Okay, so I’m kind of curious cause The Inferno Verse sounds pretty interesting…

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

Uhhh… Not sure if T.R. Tells wants me to say much, buuuutttt…. What I can say is that there’s this prophecy and it has us traveling all around the Inferno. There’s the Illicit—I’ve met some really cool and kind of scary people—Perdito…erm, I can’t say too much, but there are some really special people I can’t wait for you to meet soon, and NOW we’re actually on our way to Paradigm. I kind of have to get this… thing… that’s really bad news before the… uh, bad guy gets it first. Hmm… this is waaay harder than I thought it would be and I don’t want to get in trouble, I’m sorry!

Dear readers, tonight with us is a witchfinder, from a post-apocalyptic world where tyranny and medieval torture reign supreme and witch burnings are an everyday occurrence. He’s here to talk about demons and sorcery, of the dark past and twisted present.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I grew up in a Church-sponsored orphan house. My parents died in a fire when I was young. The Church of the Deiparous takes in and provides for all foundlings, until such a time as they are old enough to begin apprenticing or enter a profession. Like most homes of this kind, mine was rigorous but fair. They taught me about the Church which in turn nurtured my love for the Church.

Did you have any favourite toys as a child? Any cherished memories?

I have no particular toys that I remember a distinct fondness for, but books are another matter. One of my most cherished ones, given to me by Valerian Merrick—the man who would become my sponsor and mentor—was called Malachi the Strong and the Keeper of the Gate. I think I was six at the time. Merrick used to tell me that I was named after Malachi the Strong although I’m sure that wasn’t really the case. When I was eight, the two of us were supposed to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Malachi the Strong but it didn’t happen. Merrick was a Witchfinder Imperator and got called away at the last minute. I was so mad I wouldn’t speak to him for three months!

What do you do now?

Once I was a Witchfinder Imperator just like my mentor. One of the best, in fact. A Witchfinder Imperator is the highest rank attainable in the Paracletian Order, the arm of the Church responsible for law and jurisprudence across the realm. It was our duty to assess, investigate, interrogate, and pass sentence on those convicted of heresy, witchcraft, rebellion, sedition, or other acts against the Church. In my first three years as an Imperator, I had overseen the trials and executions of 200 heretics. People referred to me—with awe and fear—as the “Hammer of the Heiromonarch.”

However, in the pursuit of my duties I uncovered some…troubling…things about the Church. I rejected these discoveries at first, convinced that they were nothing but lies. But I soon learned different. And with that learning my faith was torn asunder. All that I had ever believed, all that I had willingly given my life to, crumbled like burnt parchment. I was faced with horrible truths about myself and questions about what my future held.