Dear flavius, my fathers used to tell stories of our family’s ancestors, who lived in the time of julius caesar. then, power derived from . however, as more and more land came into the hands of fewer people, the people of rome began to become landless. many signed up for the army and were paid by their generals. their loyalty then lay with these individuals. my father also told me stories of the of that time that ended with the accession of augustus. augustus saw his position as and in that manner served rome. yet, he laid the groundwork for the imperial system. now power is vested in one man. sometimes this can be good. our recently deceased leader , who died last year, was one of the good ones. i pray that remains the case, but maybe he is the last? when a madman like nero is emperor things can go horribly wrong. what do you think of our new emperor commodus? sincerely, gaius severianus narba