Marcus Verus Sol
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Biography
The two families, Orfidius of foreign nobility with de-facto Patrician status, and Verus Sol, of strong Roman Plebeian pride and respect among peers both suffered tragedy within only a few years of each other. The Orfidius family was labeled heretics and killed. Among the Orfidius killed was Cassius Verus Sol's only daughter Julia. With both of Julia's children (Alba and Spurius) orphaned, the middle child, Marcus Verus Sol, stepped forward to help raise the boys with what was left of their estate in the city. During the boy's upbringing under Marcus, his father, Cassius Verus Sol passed away, leaving Julius Verus Sol, a legionnaire at the end of his tenure, in line to run the Verus Sol agricultural estate sooner than expected.
After burying and mourning his father, he returned to Rome to heightened tensions and violence, as the Republic's stability struggled under Patrician-Plebeian conflicts. Having always wanted to serve the people and make something of himself (always having respect for and wanting to serve in the Legion) his father's sudden passing and his wards coming of age, he used his inheritance to run for the office of Tribune of the Plebeians. During the end of his campaigning, Marcus got news of his brother's death fighting Roman rioters in the south, after a Patrician ordered the protest violently dispersed. This caused him to leave during his campaign to help his mother sort out their estate and put Julius to rest next to his twin sister. Temporarily taking control of the estate until getting a letter saying he had won the elections back at home, barely winning out over his opponent due to his name and history alone despite his absence for the last few months of campaigning, elections, and government turnover.
Despite being grief-stricken, he charged his mother to run the estate in his absence until he finished his terms, returning to Rome just barely in time to get to the first meeting of the new Senate, not even having time to find his office or set back up in his twin nephew's home. By the time he reached the Senate, all he had left was a burning desire for the change that would have saved his brother and sister.
Reign
Markus Verus Sol served as tribune to the plebians for three years, making massive strides in plebian rights which ended up very minimal differences between the plebs and the pats.
Story
Upon returning to Rome, Marcus was welcomed by an old friend, Aemilia Lucretia, who offered him a place to stay at her expansive estate. Though grateful, he declined, knowing he could remain with his nephews and wishing to avoid even the appearance of favoritism toward her in the Senate. Soon after, he reunited with Astra, a longtime friend of the Orfidius family who had been courting him, and the two grew closer.
As Marcus settled into Roman life, he increasingly came to feel at home within the city. Yet with that comfort came growing resentment toward the Patrician class and the political system that upheld it. He became convinced that meaningful change could only come through his efforts, delaying his return to his homeland as he immersed himself in the Republic's politics.
His first full day in the Senate saw him clash with the patriarch of the Vinarius family, only to discover afterward that the estate where he now lived beside his nephews stood directly adjacent to the Vinarius residence. This strange circumstance created an unusual relationship where neighborly civility existed alongside bitter political rivalry.
Marcus devoted himself to championing the rights of the Plebeians, earning overwhelming public support and achieving significant victories on their behalf. To strengthen his position, he allied himself with many of the Senate's populist faction, counting Gracchus, Lucretia, and Umbrum among his strongest political and military allies.
Following one particularly tense confrontation with Legion V, Marcus defended a group of Plebeians, only to have members of the Legion threaten his life. Ironically, their barracks stood beside his own residence. He immediately informed Senator Titus Cato, who would later become one of his closest friends, as well as Consul Gallus Cato, who would eventually become his rival during the Civil War. The Legion's threats and disloyalty were later confirmed by Consul Clodia Pultcher, later known as Clodia Vera, culminating in a tense standoff involving Legion II, Legion V, and numerous senators outside Marcus' home.
As Marcus investigated the inefficiencies of the Republic, he uncovered that both the Senate and the Consuls had failed to relay vital information to the Civilian Governors. This negligence first became apparent through discussions with his friend and roommate, Governor Romilius Kaine, and was later confirmed with the assistance of Governor Justius Cento.
Seeking both to better serve Rome and expand his influence, Marcus organized a council of Governors and Priestesses. In doing so, he realized he would effectively command two-thirds of the Republic's institutions. Viewing such concentrated authority as contrary to the Republic's ideals, he instead sought to formalize the position under Senate oversight through the office of Praetor. When the Civilian Governors voted, Marcus was unanimously elected in less than ten seconds.
Throughout his tenure as Tribune, Marcus worked closely alongside the Clergy. His wife Astra and his nephew Alba both served as Chief Priestesses. After discussions with the Pontifex Maximus, Marcus was declared the sole Roman capable of true change and was named both an Avatar of Ceres and Messenger of Apollo, a recognition upheld even after the Pontifex's passing.
As the hostility from Legion V escalated, Gracchus and Umbrum approached Marcus with a daring plan. Under orders from the Consul, they intended to lure Legion V into attempting Marcus' assassination so they could arrest them in the act. Though the plan ultimately fell apart due to the Gallic campaign, it solidified Marcus' trust in both senators.
Forced to live under constant threat, Marcus began wearing armor for protection, a right permitted by the Constitution, the Senate, and the Consul. During one encounter, Legion V pursued him through the streets until he reached Legion Headquarters, where heated arguments erupted before being interrupted by the Legions' departure for Gaul. It was afterward that Marcus requested his official institution become that of the Legion itself, fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a legionnaire while also providing further constitutional protection against Legion V's persecution. Continued attacks eventually forced Marcus and his family to relocate beside the Vulpeculus estate, whose family remained steadfast allies despite Victoria's increasingly strange behavior.
Political tensions deepened when Aemilia Lucretia warned Marcus that Divinia Umbria sought to become Imperator, while Divinia herself accused Lucretia of heresy. After weighing the evidence presented by both the clergy and those involved, Marcus testified against Lucretia. The ordeal devastated him as he wandered the Senate, watching those he had once called friends tear one another apart without dignity. During this low point he was approached by Mithras, whose words tempted him. Leaving the Senate, Marcus desperately searched for Astra as violence spread through the streets, fearing she had been killed. His frantic search caused him to miss the vote stripping him of his institution and nearly caused him to miss another vote limiting his authority. Upon learning of these betrayals, he was heartbroken. Yet as he exited the Senate and finally found Astra alive, he immediately proposed to her.
The betrayals hardened Marcus. Together with Clodia, who commanded a large Plebeian force, Judge Reccos, who supplied information regarding influential Patricians, and his close friend Titus Cato, Marcus devised a contingency to eliminate Monkeus Vinarius for his role in the oppression of Plebeians, his weaponization of Legion V, and his deputizing of Patricians for violence. Marcus would first attempt sweeping reforms to strengthen the Tribune's office. Should those fail, the conspirators would poison Vinarius, and if necessary, ambush him in the streets. Ultimately, none of these plans proved necessary, as Marcus' faith in both the Senate and the Gods was restored following his marriage and renewed legislative successes.
By day's end, Legion V stormed the Senate, proclaimed treason, and departed. Marcus immediately demanded their arrest and execution for their crimes against both himself and the Republic. Before any action could be taken, a rogue legionnaire slew Vinarius outright, plunging the Senate into chaos. Amidst the confusion, Victoria Vulpeculus approached Marcus, consumed with guilt over betraying him during the earlier votes, and sought forgiveness.
As Civil War loomed, Marcus gathered the members of his Plebeian Assembly, his roommates, and his closest companions, formally inducting them into the Tribune's Guard, Legion X. Before battle, he addressed them not merely as soldiers but as family, telling them that if they were to die, they would die together as kin. He formally adopted many into his family, including Titus Verus Sol, Publia Vera Pultcher, Tokuania Vera Cerise, Shleepington El Verus Hennessius, Kennatius Vera Sol, Monocibus Verus Helvia, Romilius Verus Kaine, Thees Verus Ghostos, Finn Verus Helvia, Octavia Ferus Helvia, and his nephews Alba and Spurius, who assumed the Verus name to honor both their mother Julia and their guardian Marcus.
Throughout the Civil War, Marcus and Legion X fought recklessly upon the front lines, deliberately using Marcus as bait to lure enemy forces into fatal overextensions. During the fighting he personally slew two traitors. The campaign earned him tremendous respect for Lucius Aurelion, one of the few senators willing to fight beside him in the front ranks, while simultaneously diminishing his opinion of several former allies, including Divinia Umbria, Zekor Gracchus, Gaius Aurelion, and others, whom he believed remained behind merely to claim glory and loot the battlefield.
Following the battle, Marcus attempted to spare the captured Aquarius Vinarius, with whom he had spoken before the war. During negotiations, however, he was ambushed by Montelius Sopranius, the Legion V member who had persecuted him most relentlessly. Amid the ensuing confusion, Senate loyalists killed Aquarius.
In the aftermath, Marcus officiated the marriage of Lucius Aurelion and Victoria Vulpeculus, further strengthening the friendship between the three. With the Republic lacking a Consul, Marcus successfully championed the election of his longtime ally Publia Vera to the office, satisfying even the more radical Plebeians who had demanded the complete destruction of the Patrician establishment.
As reports regarding the Umbria family continued to accumulate from the Lucretia, Aurelion, Gracchus families and numerous independent Plebeians, Marcus investigated their activities and concluded they sought to control Rome through deceit. Believing that merely arresting Divinia Umbria would ignite another civil war, he instead planned a state-sanctioned execution. To carry it out, he assembled Legion X, members of Legion IV, Plebeian militia, armed clergy, the Consul, and fellow senators. Delays in carrying out the arrest allowed Legion II and Zekor Gracchus to intervene. Divinia was instead placed on trial, during which Marcus survived three separate assassination attempts by members of Legion II. Unaware that nearly half the Senate consisted of unconfirmed Umbrias appointed by the Consuls, Marcus argued passionately for execution. Divinia was ultimately found guilty by a narrow margin, though the punishment imposed was only the stripping of her Senate and Patrician status, with abstaining members ensuring her survival.
After the verdict, Marcus fled the Senate fearing for his life. Once again, he found himself abandoned by Zekor Gracchus, who admitted he simply did not care about Marcus' safety and would instead remain at the Colosseum with his Legion. Returning home offered no sanctuary, as Legion II lay waiting and forced Marcus into another desperate chase through the streets. Searching everywhere for Zekor, including the Senate, his villa, and other Patrician estates. Marcus finally returned to the Colosseum, where he and his companions were ultimately hunted down and killed. Only after Marcus' death did Zekor lead his Legion against Legion II, claiming the glory Marcus had been denied.
Following the slaughter, the surviving Consul Publia Vera Pultcher swore vengeance. Supported by Pontifex Astra Vera Sol and Pontifex Alba Verus Kaine, she rejected both Zekor Gracchus and Nefarius Umbrum, backing revenge, reform, and continued progress. In doing so, she secured a Religious Populist Military dictatorship, supported by her Plebeian militia, the heads of the faith, and the emergency authority vested in the sole remaining Consul over a Senate left too fractured to maintain even basic decorum.