Emperor Manius

Emperor Manius, also called Emperor Manius the Great and Emperor Manius Vesnia, was the first emperor of Seprum, a rank he gave himself in 110 PS at age 34.

## Early Life

Manius was born in Meditas to the pater, mater, and water of the Vesnia ars, a sprawling family that gained power and wealth by controlling the plurality of iron mines in the western half of the island. He was the youngest of three boys, which meant traditionally, he ought to serve in the military, though at the time it was voluntary.

He trained for almost ten years, fighting in brief skirmishes but never battles, during which time he met Cicero Auriga, the man who would eventually become his black hand. A campaign in Delphyn, when superior Seprum cohorts were defeated by a smaller Henesian force due to confused leadership, showed Manius that the res publica needed more centralized power.

While the other ars all considered themselves Seprum, they were only weakly controlled by a senate, composed of paters from the Alleatan families, which met infrequently. Manius' task was to unite them behind a strong leader and a cause, and he had the cause before he realized he was the man to achieve it—for decades, the most powerful artes had wanted to unite the island under a Seprum banner.

He rose through the ranks of the military alongside Cicero Auriga, often jockeying for the same positions. In 123 PS, he made his first deal with Cicero: in exchange for his support as deputy instead of a competitor, he would unite the entire island. Cicero saw something in Manius that perhaps even the emperor didn't and agreed. In 121 PS, Manius achieved the rank of general prior, which made him one of three non-paters on the senate.

## Senate Career

Augustok Vesnia, always an intellectual wifere, discovered an old senatorial clause buried in a charter in the Antioch library that allowed them to elect one senator to the position of senator prior, with broad powers. Manius set about currying favor, finding allies, and threatening opponents. In doing so, he found his wife, Aeliana of the Justina ars, who proved a formidable politician. His marriage to her brought Manius the support of the Justina ars, whose center of power was in Augustus.

As general prior, Manius did not have the power to call for the vote and he struggled to decide which ally ought to do it, when they could just as easily make a case for their own priorship instead of his. To ensure his nomination, he executed the child of the Lykan pharaoh and sent their head back to Teban, infuriating the Lykans and spurning an immediate, misguided military response against Augustus. With Augustus burning and an army approaching the capital, the pater of Justina called a vote and nominated Manius, who won by three votes.

## War with Henesia

Manius made a strong case for a consolidation of power to keep Seprum safe during the Lykan attack. When he at last declared himself emperor in 110 PS, he anticipated a stronger opposition than he received, and he allowed the senate to remain to appease Qualia, Machitis, and Nautia, though he granted it few powers. As emperor, his first act was to designate Cicero Auriga his black hand, fulfilling a decade's old promise. Cicero put down western rebels without mercy, moving the seat of prisoners from Deos to Augustus to further consolidate power with the emperor's family and his black hand. In 110 PS, with little fighting or violence, Seprum was united. Manius could turn his attention at last to Lykan and Henesia.

Though it was Lykos who spurred Manius to his position as emperor, he set his sights on Henesia first. The city-states had a shared cultural identity but no shared army. With Dex's leadership, they took Delphyn and Aegius and burned the Xandrios lighthouse to the ground. Hellen remained out of a reach, though, and the city-states opted to raise a standing army and create a senate of their own to offer unified leadership. Manius died before Hellen fell, leaving the task to his son, Aelius Vesnia.