Amiculus (Ch 9)

IX: Flagellum Dei

. Orestes deals with a thorn in his side, Eugenius, who leads a group that opposes Orestes; Eugenius arrests Orestes but Orestes is one step ahead of Eugenius; in the end Eugenius' allies are slain before him and he commits suicide rather than submit
. A good chunk of this chapter is devoted to filling in some of Orestes background; he tells Eugenius of his time serving Attila the Hun and one of the lessons he learned

. I like the use of a different color palette for scenes that take place in the the "past"; even so it got a little confusing for me at times differentiating between the past and the present

. The notes at the back helped to flesh things out and to clarify them a bit, as did the short conversation I had yesterday with writer Travis Horseman at SPX

9/19

Amiculus (Ch 8)

VIII: Dulcedo Memoriae, Part 2

. Orestes alliance with the barbarians ends when he refuses to give them what they want, 1/3 of Italy
. Orestes is seemingly killed in a battle with the barbarians but later emerges
. The good times end for Romulus
. Amiculus who only seems to have been a rumor until now takes human form (or does he?)
. This chapter is a little confusing in its purpose and what it is putting forth
.

9/16

Amiculus (Ch 7)

VII: Interlude

. Procopius takes a break from reading because he thinks someone is watching him; he startles a young monk who was bringing him food and then interrogates him
. Meanwhile a mysterious figure lingers in the shadows watching Procopius and the young monk

9/15

Amiculus (Ch 6)

VI: Trans Tiberim

. Ioannes shows up to relieve Valerius of command of the legion guarding the city only to discover that things aren't exactly as they seem; it turns out Valerius had made a deal with the barbarians, a deal which the barbarians decide not to uphold

9/14

Amiculus (Ch 5)

V: Ioannes

- The government is on the run, in hiding from the barbarians who have attacked Rome
- Orestes seems to be taking control of the small group of senators; he tries to get Ioannes to take control of an advance military force that hasn't been heard from but Ioannes doesn't seem to have the mental toughness to get the job done
- Orestes flips out when one of the senators suggests turning over the young emperor to the barbarians; he beats the senator to death, which seems to invigorate Ioannes
- In the moment when Orestes is delivering the beating he looks for a moment like Amiculus; foreshadowing?
- This book really could use a cast of characters page; I sometimes get mixed up with all the archaic names

9/12

Amiculus (Ch 4)

Vol. 2: Flagellum Dei
By Travis Horseman and Giancarlo Caracuzzo

IV: Dulcedo Memoriae, Part 1

. A look back at happier time from the young emperor's past, when his parents were still alive
. Apparently his father was not the emperor before him, that was Julius Nepos; so how did the succession work in the mid to late 5th century?

9/12