Rome Burning (2 page)

HYPATIA
A friend of
MAKARIA
living on Siphnos.

J

JUN SHEN
also (to the Romans)
JUNOSENA
Dowager Empress of Sina.

K

KATO-NO-MASARU
also (to the Romans)
MASARUS CATO
Lord of Tokogane.

KIYOWARA-NO-SANETOMO
Lord of Goshu.

L

LAL
Daughter of
DELIR
, also a fugitive. Roman citizenship revoked.

LAUREUS
A young Roman aristocrat.

LEO
See
NOVII.

LIUYIN
Son of an official, living in Jiangning.

LUCIUS
See
NOVII.

M

MAECILII, THE
A Senatorial family.

MAKARIA
See
NOVII.

MARCUS
See
NOVII.

MARINUS
A fugitive slave, formerly resident at the Holzarta refuge camp.

MATHO
A fugitive Roman slave, working as a shopkeeper in Jiangning.

MAZATL?

MEI
Purchased as a child along with
ZIYE
by
HUANG.

MIMANA-NO-FUSAHIRA
Lord of Corea.

MIZUKI
A lady-in-waiting at the Nionian court.

MOULI
A contact of
DELIR
living in a village near Wuhu, has assisted fugitive Roman slaves travelling through Sina in the past.

N

NORIKO
?

NOVII, THE
The Roman Imperial family.

NOVIA FAUSTINA
, nicknamed
MAKARIA
– only child of
FAUSTUS.

DRUSUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS
Son of
LUCIUS
and
DRUSILLA TERENTIA,
cousin of
MAKARIA
and
MARCUS.

LUCIUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS
Brother of
FAUSTUS
and
LEO,
father of
DRUSUS,
uncle of
MARCUS
and
MAKARIA
. Suffers from the ‘Novian curse’ – excluded from succession.

MARCUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS LEO
Son of
LEO
and
CLODIA
, nephew of
FAUSTUS
and
LUCIUS
, cousin of
MAKARIA
and
DRUSUS.
Heir apparent to the Roman throne.

OPPIUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS
The first member of the
NOVII
to become Emperor in
2509
.

TERTIUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS LEO
Youngest brother of
FAUSTUS
and
LUCIUS
, father of
MARCUS
. Heir presumptive to the Roman throne, supporter of the abolition of slavery, murdered along with his wife
CLODIA AURELIA
in
2757
.

TITUS NOVIUS FAUSTUS AUGUSTUS
Emperor of Rome.

O

OCTAVIA
A divorcée living in the same block of flats as
VARIUS
.

OPPIUS
See
NOVII.

P

PACCIA
A slave.

PROBUS
A Senator acting as minister for Terranova.

PROCULUS
Manager of Veii Imperial Arms Factory.

Q

QUENTIN, MEMMIUS
, an advisor to Faustus.

R

RONG
Purchased as a child along with
ZIYE
by
HUANG.

S

SAKURA
A lady-in-waiting at the Nionian court.

SALVIUS
General of the Legions of the Roman Empire.

SIBYL, THE
The Pythia at Delphi.

SING-JI
The Sinoan Emperor, son of the Dowager Empress
JUN SHEN.
Also (to the Romans)
FLORENS
. [
, in Pinyin: Xing Zhi?

SOHAKU
A retainer to
KATO-NO-MASARU.

SU, MRS.
A peasant farmer, mother of
GENG.

SULIEN
Brother of
UNA
. A former slave with strange abilities born in London. Sentenced to crucifixion for rape in
2757
, but rescued by Una and later exonerated by the testimony of
TANCORIX.

T

TADAHITO
also (to the Romans)
TADASIUS
The Nionian Crown Prince, eldest son of the
GO-NATOKU EMPEROR
.

TAIRA
A Nionian Lord.

TANCORIX
The daughter of the London family that owned
SULIEN.
Formerly married to
EPIMACHUS
, disgraced by admission of an affair with a slave. Now living as a singer in Rome.

TIRO
A fugitive slave, formerly resident at the Holzarta refuge camp.

TOMOE
A lady-in-waiting at the Nionian court.

TULLIOLA (TULLIA MARCIANA)
Former wife of
FAUSTUS
. Arrested for involvement in the pro-slavery conspiracy that killed
LEO
,
CLODIA
and
GEMELLA
. Died in custody, apparently by suicide, in
2757
.

U

ULPIA
Nurse to
LUCIUS
.

UNA
Sister of
SULIEN
. A former slave with strange abilities born in London.

V

VARIUS, CAIUS
Director of a free clinic for slaves in Transtiberine Rome. Former private secretary to
LEO
, widower of
GEMELLA
. Charged with murder and treason in
2757
, but later exonerated.

W

WEIGI
An interpreter at the Sinoan court.

X

XANTHE
Daughter of
TANCORIX
.

Y

YANISEN, MARCUS VESNIUS
Head Governor of Terranova.

Z

ZIYE
A former gladiatrix of Sinoan origin. Escaped to the Holzarta refuge camp in
2754
, now a fugitive.

How is it that a mortal can wish for another mortal the annihilation of his body, or of his soul, or death for his children or for his cattle, if he has sense enough to know that he himself is mortal?

For he is pitiless to himself, and none of the others shall pity him.

AVESTA, FRAGMENTS 48–49
TR. JAMES DARMESTETER

She had barely slept. The single damp sheet that lay over her was smothering, a heavy pelt, but when she pushed it off she felt exposed, a little panting grey animal, curled up in the heat. The windows were all open, but when the air moved it made no difference, it was like moist wool brushing over her. Summers had not always been like this, had they? She thought she could feel the bricks of the house, the trees outside and the miles of dry ground, hurt with heat, straining and creaking.

But after all she must have been more than half-asleep, for she was very late noticing the sound, or the scent.

She thought that perhaps something had moved in the corner of the room, near the door: an animal, or a person. She blinked heavily and pressed her cheek to the pillow, not afraid; it did not really occur to her to believe there was anything there. She lay, possibly asleep, eyes open or shut, she could not tell. The heat puffed and crept.

Then again she had the impression of motion, in the air above her this time – a dark ripple – and she smelt it now.

She sat up, and the gasp she made brought the bitterness in the air far more sharply into her throat. She had seen smoke moving, and there were flames like small creatures skittering on the floor.

She ran shuffling across the room. The door led into her sitting room, the stairs down into the rest of the house were beyond it. The little flames by the door were not, in themselves, terrifying, but when she pushed the door open, the room was bright with yellow fire, and a thick hovering flood of hot gas and dust struck her face.