Atticusia and the House of Atticus

Atticusia (a181) is the home province of the current Diktator of Tardia Felix Atticus Octavian as well as the noble house of Atticus from which he hails.

## **Terrain and landscape**

Atticusia is a dry and hostile province marked by a dry and bushy landscape filled with dense bush which is hard to cover by foot and would tangle any man that dared to try in a swarm of dry thorns. The fortunate noble might traverse these lands by horse sitting high in his saddle to avoid getting caught on the thorns surrounding the few roads and clothing their mounts in armor as to spare them the death by a thousand cuts. The reliance on horses for travel have produced a large riding community where the nobles ride from a very young age and is there by leaps and bounds better then the other riders of Tardia but that being said he is still no match for a wild and savage Horselord who are born and raised in the saddle. These young nobles adept in riding come together to form large Battalions of Hellenic Cataphracts who with their fearless horses and able riders have become a valuable tool in the Tardian army. But horses are not all that travel the landscape of Atticusia, wild hyenas stalk the roads and the larger open areas around the scarce water holes. These wild beasts have become an icon of the harsh Atticusian terrain and have even made their way onto the Atticus household emblem. They frequently snatch wandering children or ambush weak adults, they are not to be trifled with and the “war” between the packs of Hyenas and hunters have become a part of normal life for the Atticusian peasant.

All this said, the terrain of Atticusa is also home to larger open areas of fertile soil and home to many small towns and villages which cluster together in the small areas of safety. Spurting from these communities is the House of Atticus.

## **The House of Atticus:**

The House of Atticus is a quite young noble family yet it has become one of the strongest political forces in Tard society because of their backing of Sulla during the Tard civil war as well as having its dynast Octavian occupy the position of Diktator. The family was ennobled during Cesarean II's reign when one of his mistresses was snatched by a pack of wild Hyenas during his travels through Atticusia and upon hearing of this the prominent family of Atticus organized a search and rescue party. The family had ruled these lands for centuries yet never become strong enough to create a noble house and take a place among the other noble families of the realm. They had been noble in all but name and were there by not allowed into the higher echelons of Tard society or to adopt a middle name which is the mark of high nobility in Tard society. Markus Atticus dynast of the family and a skilled hunter quickly took up the task of finding the missing mistress and would within hours find her wandering the bushes of Atticusia bleeding from hundreds of cuts. The king either drunk or in a generous mood ennobled Markus right there and then upon being reunited with his favorite mistress, much to the queens dislike. It is also from here the house emblem of the Hyena stems. The mistress would sadly not live long and would perish from her wounds several days later although this confused the doctors and healers tending her wounds as they believed she would recover. This led some to speculate that maybe it wasn't hunger and feral hyenas that had snatched her but maybe it had been power hungry and scheming men and maybe someone wanted to keep her mouth shut for good so as she would tell no such outlandish tales.

Markus Atticus having adopted a noble name in Cerlix Atticus Markus would after this spread his rule over the province and start to take his place in the court of the kingdom. He would prove a cunning and shrewd character capable of anything. He would be succeeded by his son Helix Atticus Brutus who would prove an even more shameless actor in Tardian politics and would betray and backstab anyone in order to increase his power and these traits would suited him well in the times to come. During the reign of Gabianus he made himself indispensable to the king becoming one of his close advisors all the while increasing his own power but this would not last as Sulla's rebellion flared into a civil war. Brutus would betray Gabianus and aid in the palace coup and then throw his support behind Sulla believing him to be his ticket to ultimate power. But he was mistaken as Sulla was not as easily swayed and manipulated as the kings and nobles of the court, he was a military man who saw Brutus for what he was and that was a man who could not be trusted. He was kept at an arm's length and would find himself isolated and removed from power and influence as the war raged on and he would finally admit defeat after he was rejected from the generals council following Sullas victory in the civil war. He retired to Attacusia where he would spend his time and wealth on building the Black rock estate, a massive palace with a vast underground complex and lavish gardens, it was a palace in which any royal blood would feel at home. Here he died at the age of 67 and he was succeeded by his youngest son Felix Atticus Octavian. Octavian being a cunning and shrewd man just like his grandfather but sharing the ambitions of his father would climb the ranks of the military and performed well under Sulla's command in the Alexandrite war as well as his outstanding actions in the Salamander Strait where he pacified the Roperians. He would become like a son to Sulla who had never had the courage to take a wife due to his undying love for Servilla. His good standing with Sulla would open many doors and he would exploit this skillfully, he maneuvered himself into the seat of Sulla's heir and would together with this massive legacy of legitimacy secure his future.

Scheming and intrigue certainly is in the Atticus blood as Octavian would outshine both his predecessors as he climbed to the position of Diktator having even been adopted by Sulla the great and named his heir after his tragic death. His story is yet to be told as we will watch it unfold in the coming years.