Roman Legion OOC Forums

::A letter arrives from Africa to be read aloud in the Forum::

"People of Rome;

We face a time of great loss... No, I am not speaking of political, economic or social loss, I am speaking of something deeper, something far more important; I am speaking of the loss of life coupled with a loss of sense. The first, the loss of life, I feel stems from a loss of sense, a sense of who we are as a people, a civilization and more important, as human beings. As I write you this letter, news has just reached me of the loss of the Imperial Roman Army in Hispania, and the loss of the Emperor, who only a year ago seemed to be able to bring about a new golden age not seen since Divius Pertinax Veno.

But this did not happen, why? Because we as Romans lost our sense. We, as a people, have let foolish notions corrupt us, to blind us to the suffering we could and did cause. What notions would these be? Honor, Prestige and Dignity. Yes, these notions to us now seem like reasonable things, but are they? At least, are they reasonable when applied to the many due to the one? One man, ONE MAN slighted another and created a rivalry, then those men entered into conflict as honor would demand. Then their prestige brought other men join them in this conflict, men who would openly fight and kill each other for no reason other then their patron's prestige. And finally, the dignity of the two men prevented them from ceasing hostilities even when thousands of men were dying because of them!

Put yourself, noble Citizens, in the position of just one of those men, imagine a man, like yourself is called to arms to fight an kill another man just like you. You have never meet, you have never insulted one another and yet you fight him anyway. And when you fight, you want to kill him, because you have children and a wife who depend on you for food and shelter; but so does that man, and yet you fight. And the worst part of all, this man is of the same culture as you, he is not Greek, Persian, German... no, he is Roman, but you still fight to the death.

How far have we fallen citizens! To condone such action! Was this what Romulus wanted when we founded our city? No! The original Romans wanted to have families, look after their livings and pass on their peace to their sons and so on. But Empire changed that! We have taken over the world, and now that there is no world left we fight each other? Where is the sense? Now, we can continue on this pass, and many of you reading this will die; maybe not you, but maybe a son, or grandson, a nephew or an Uncle... maybe a wife, mother or daughter will starve because their father is not their to provide for them... is this the dream of Rome? I do not imagine it to be.

I ask the Senate: how many more men need to die? How many more fathers have to go without sons, wifes without husbands, sisters without brothers? There is no evil where fight, or barbarians threatening our way of life, no we fight people who are just like us in every way! Its time the leaders set aside their pride and do the prudent thing: make peace... for their are bigger dangers then Hispania. Maybe the loss of an Emperor will make others see that.

I plan on traveling to Rome soon, to enter politics and see if there is anything that I can do to help make this vision a reality. I am but a citizen, but it is the Citizens that make this Empire what it is, and it is the Citizens who are, for the most part, lossing lives due to this.

I beseech you, the people, and the Senate, and the Defensor himself, to take heed to my warnings... we do not want an empire ripped part. And after all, is not peace always better then war? Life, always better then death?

Signed; Roman Citizen
Vespius Hostilius Aemilianus"