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Story Notes:

Second story on GTS- World, writing this so I don't get burnt out on The Hunt for El Lobo. 

Author's Chapter Notes:

By the way, I know the Coliseum was not built during Caesar's time, but for the purpose of story telling it will be. 

Chapter 1: The Ides of March

A huge leather clad foot hovered above the small crowd of gladiators, the powerful Empress towering above the Coliseum. The gold lined dress fit snugly on her mountainous curves, as she glared at the small men. The leather sandal stood inches away from their faces, as a female voice boomed above, “Lick, you insignificant pests”. The gladiators sucked up their pride, as they started frantically licking the massive sole, or risk being crushed.  However, one lone figure stood up to giant empress, as he emerged from the sole. The lightly armed gladiator stood at the base of the foot, her toes easily twice his size. The slightest flick of those, could crush a man in an instant. The gladiator stood firm, his scarred face portraying no fear.  The emboldened figure looked up at the empress, directly in her huge blue eyes. The gladiator pulled out his gladius and yelled, “I am Julius Maximus Marius and I bow down to no man or woman”…

Ever since birth, Julius Marius was bred to be a warrior, his blood flowing thick with Roman Ancestry. All of his ancestors had either fought for Rome or against it. Maximus Decimus Marius, his father, was a Roman Legionnaire who obtained the esteemed rank of Primus Pilas, but was killed in battle at the Battle of the Baetis River in 80 BC, less than one year before Julius was born. Adelia Marius, his mother, committed suicide shortly after he was born, succumbing to grief at her husband’s death. Unfortunately, Julius was too young to know his parents, and was not aware of his father’s career.

The death of his parents led to a harsh life for young Julius, as he was adopted by a set of foster parents. Gaius Vispanius Afer, his foster father, and a close friend of Maximus, brutally beat the young boy to teach him the most important virtues for a child of Rome. These virtues were reverence for the gods, respect for the law, unquestioning and instant obedience to authority, truthfulness, and self-reliance. Not only did his foster father instill values in the young Julius, but he also taught him the art of war. Gaius showed Julius the ways to use his smaller stature to defeat larger, stronger opponents. “Celeritatem et sollertiam (speed and skill),” Gaius always used to say.

These skills were put to use when he was hunted by the local bullies. Blond hair swaying, the agile Julius used his small stature to easily weave in and out of the slow punches of the larger bullies, quickly taking them down. Gaius taught him all the necessary skills of the art of war, as well as in riding, swimming, wrestling, and boxing. Lucilla Severa Afer, his foster mother, taught Julius reading, writing, arithmetic, and proper oratory skills. Ambition is what drove Julius, his small stature, even by Roman standards, a measly 5’3, made him want to prove his worth. This made Julius constantly pick fights with larger boys, to discover his weaknesses and theirs.  His stature would in fact, give him a slight advantage in fights.

As Julius approached manhood, he slowly started to develop a fascination towards the glorious Roman Legionnaires.  On the day he discarded the crimson-bordered toga (toga praetexta) of a child and donned the pure white toga of a man, Julius enlisted in the Legionnaires. On the day before leaving for Legionnaire training, his father bought Julius a chest plate engraved with the words, Vires et Honestas (Strength and Honor). These two words are what would guide him throughout his military career.

Luckily for Julius, the Consul Julius Caesar had just embarked on his campaigns in Gaul, Germania, and Brittania. Julius Marius joined the Thirteenth Legion (Legio XIII), and served in some of the most famous battles of the Gallic Wars such as The Battle against the Nervians, The Siege of Gergovia, and The Battle of Alesia. He served bravely during the eight year Gallic Campaign, rising to the esteemed position of Optio at the age of twenty six.  This was due to his prowess on the battlefield, and his tactical finesse.

After the Gallic Wars, Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his thirteenth legion, and started a Civil War.  The legion remained faithful to Caesar during the resulting civil war between Caesar and the conservative Optimates faction of the senate, whose legions were commanded by Pompey. Legio XIII was active throughout the entire war, fighting at Dyrrhachium,Pharsalus, The Battle of Thapsus and the final Battle of Munda. After Munda, Caesar disbanded the legion, retired his veterans, and gave them farmland in Italy. Finally, after thirteen years of battle, Julius Marius returned home a war hero.

 

 

44 BC: The Ides of March

Pompey’s theatre blazed bright as the sounds of the area drifted to an old man’s ears. The flowing purple toga picta flowed around the man’s scrawny legs.  The man was tall of stature with a fair complexion, shapely limbs, a somewhat full face, and keen black eyes. The figure looked lost in thought as he walked down the cobbled roads. This man was the legendary Gaius Julius Caesar, the recently proclaimed dictator for life. This was the man who had conquered the Gauls, Brittanians, the forces of Pompey, and brought glory back to the Roman Republic. But this legendary man was nervous, lately tensions with the senate had been running high.

“The people want me king,” he thought, “I must use this to finally take absolute power from the Senate”. Even though he was proclaimed Dictator Perpetou (Dictator in Perpetuity), the Senate still had the formal power, to the chagrin of Caesar. As he walked a familiar pain resounded through his head. Bright flashes went off inside Caesars head as he almost felt his spirit exiting his body. Breathing heavily, a hairy hand went up to Caesar’s forehead. “Caesar are you alright?” a familiar voice came through the foggy mist in his throbbing head. “I am fine Decimus,” Caesar said as he gritted his teeth. “We are not far from the Senate, Caesar,” Decimus Brutus said politely. “Let us hurry dear Decimus,” Caesar whispered as he composed himself. A small group of senators approached Decimus and Caesar, greeting them as they walked to the Senate.

The marble walls of the Senate shone brightly as the group entered. The statues of Mars, Jupiter, and Venus were displayed all over the room.  “Hail Caesar,” the senators all yelled as he sat down on a marble seat. Caesar slowly adjusted himself as he observed the hundreds of senators sitting before him. Caesar’s eyes danced around the room as he looked at senators such as Marcus Brutus, Gaius Cassius, and Servilius Casca. Lucius Cimber slowly approached Caesar with a small piece of parchment in his sweaty hand. “Caesar, this is a petition to recall my exiled brother Publius”. A sudden crowd of white senators swarmed around Caesar as he looked at the parchment paper in Lucius’s hand. With a flick of a wrist, Caesar waved off Lucius without even glancing at the pardon.

 That was the signal… Lucius grabbed Caesar’s shoulder and pulled down on his tunic. “Why, this is this violence,” Caesar screamed as he was thrown to the ground. Servilius Casca produced his dagger and made a move towards Caesars throat, but he quickly turned around and caught the dagger. “Casca you villain, what are you doing?” Caesar questioned. Casca, frightened, shouted, “Help, Brother”. Within moments, the senators had swarmed Caesar but before they could strike, a distant rumbling was heard… A giant feminine hand burst through the Senate’s ceiling, marble raining down upon the assassins, their bodies were trapped under the ruins, as their screams for help echoed through the building. Then suddenly… a giant face appeared… the face of Calpurnia Pisonis.

Three hours earlier… Calpurnia sat on her linen bed looking slowly at the dark glass of wine before her. In this wine rested the infamous soybeans of Han. These beans were discovered by local village women hundreds of years ago in the remote mountains of China. These beans were a natural growth enhancer, meaning the consumer grew as they ate these. However, due to the nature of these beans, the user did not grow rapidly over time. Only over ten or twenty years did the user experience any type of growth, and even then, the growth was not noticeable. Once the soybeans reached the Roman Empire they came into contact with a substance known as Asbestos. This substance was found in the clothes, pots, buildings, and most things the Romans made. This asbestos acted as a catalyst for the soybeans fueling the growth process for organisms. Not all people grew though, only women grew to extreme heights due to their estrogen which positively reacted with the soybeans once ingested.  Presently, these bits of knowledge were not well known, and only a few women had tried this. Unfortunately, these giant women were usually banished or killed by the townspeople.

Now, the wife of Julius Caesar, Calpurnia, held the mysterious concoction in her hands. She knew the peril her husband faced going into the Senate. She knew the sneaky nature of the senators, and consequently did not trust them. Calpurnia had begged Julius not to travel to the Senate, as she had a dream. In her dreams, she saw the Roman Senators bathing their hands in Caesars blood, as his body lay before them. Caesar had at first, listened to Calpurnia’s warning about not going to the Senate. But, alas, Decimus Brutus had convinced Caesar to join them in the Senate. Presently, she lay on their bed as she stared at the mysterious liquid. The next thing she did would change history forever…

The cool concoction slid down her throat as she slurped down the remainder of the drink. Calpurnia laid on the bed, as she thought about the consequences of her actions. Suddenly it happened, a warm fuzzy feeling started from her belly, and spread to every corner of her body. Then she started to grow, her breasts became larger, hips wider, legs longer, arms larger, and muscle more firm. The bed started to creak under the increasing pressure, as it buckled to the floor. Calpurnia’s moans filled the large room, as she gasped for air. The room became increasingly small as she grew, the seams of her gown bursting at the bits. Abruptly, she then burst out of the building in full frontal glory, the plaster flying out at high speeds.

“Must find Caesar,” she thought as she gazed around the ruined building. The ever growing woman stepped out of the villa, into the busy streets of Rome. A legionnaire stepped out into the road, “My lady… ahhhhhhh,”he screamed as he was thrown into her growing mouth. Calpurnia slowly chewed on the soldier, savoring the bloody juices seeping out of his body.  The growing body ached for more nutrients, as the iron in his blood, rapidly sped up the growth process. Another moan rocked Calpurnia’s body as she now stood at over one hundred feet tall. As she took a step, a small crowd of around ten people were obliterated under the merciless foot of the new empress. Their bones cracking, and ribs breaking as the thousands of pounds of pressure squeezed the life out of them. As she started walking towards the Senate, she found herself popping people like cherries into her mouth, as she continued to grow. Their insignificant bodies being thrown into the huge cavern of her mouth, as they were ground to a fine mist. The giant feet cracking the cobbled streets, as the ground shook.  

It only took a few minutes for Calpurnia to cover the distance to the Senate, as the city scurried in panic. At the Senate, she plunged her huge hands into the roof, collapsing it in on itself. As she looked around the rubble, she found what she always knew along. Daggers were splayed across the floor, as the assassins looked upon the giantess. The huge hands gravitated towards the senators, as she picked them up and shoved them into her cacophonous mouth. Their screams dying away as they traveled down her massive esophagus. Calpurnia moaned as she felt the struggles of the most powerful men in Rome sliding down her throat. Then her gaze fell upon her husband Caesar as he lay wounded on the floor, a piece of marble pinning his leg. She then rolled the rock to the side, as she picked up the wounded Caesar.

As Caesar gazed into his wife’s huge eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder what did this. His crushed right leg spurting blood, as he screeched in pain. “Help me…,” screamed Caesar, as he looked pleadingly at Calpurnia. The giant woman averted her gaze from Caesar, and looked around at the city beneath her feet, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, and The Forum. “The whole city mine, all mine,” she thought, “and only a puny man in my way”. The face slowly returned as she gazed upon her wounded husband. The hand slowly started ascending towards her gaping maw, Caesar yelled, “Calpurnia what are you doing?” she then giggled as he was dropped into her massive tongue. Caesar looked up at the fading light as the jaw closed shut, and yelled, “Et tu, Calpurnia?”, as he plunged into the darkness. 

 

Chapter End Notes:

Primus Pilas- Highest rank a Roman citizen can achieve in the Roman Army. The Primus Pilas commanded a whole cohort.

Decimus Brutus- One of the co-conspirators in the plot to kill Caesar, not to be confused with Marcus Brutus. Decimus Brutus was also one of Caesar’s most trusted friends.

Toga Praetexta- a crimson bordered toga worn by a child.

Toga Picta- Purple toga worn by a victorious general, and was then made standard dress for the emperor by Caesar.

Et tu, Brute (and you Brute?)- Famous line in the play Julius Caesar, in which Marcus Brutus strikes the last blow to Caesar.

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