Augustus dynasty

*"The descendants of Marius the Great, they are Blessed by the Gods for they carry the Seed of Greatness in their Blood."*

Auronius, *Encyclopedia Imperium*

The ruling family of the Minthras Imperium, founded by Marius the Great and Valeria Messor.

## Living Members

Being a fairly new dynasty the Augustus family has relatively few members, but this also means that every direct descendant of Marius the Great has a strong claim to the Imperial Throne. Although none dare question the current patriarch, they are all leveraging their positions for gains in The Great Game.

Traditionally all members of the family are expected to show preference to St. Cuthbert, *God of Law, Justice and Retribution*, since his domains align most with the ideals of the Imperium. Strong-willed family members sometimes ignore the tradition and dedicate themselves to a god whose domain better aligns with their personality (e.g. Prince Gregor follows Heironeous, *God of Chivalry and Valor*).

### Emperor Marius II

Marius II, Emperor of Minthras is the current patriarch of the dynasty. For more details see here.

### Queen Claudia of Nordterra

Born from the second marriage of Gregor the Conqueror, she is the half-sister of Marius II, although she is 18 years younger. Since childhood she knew that she was meant to be married to one of the rulers of the Old Continent to forge alliances. She resisted his father's efforts to marry her off, often turning down suitors in the most humiliating ways (e.g. throwing her wine in the face of King Eckbert of Rubia). When her father died she reached an agreement with her brother: she could choose whom she marries but he has to be royalty. It was quite a surprise at the Imperial Court when the next day she announced her engagement with King Harald Magnusson of Nordterra. Turns out he had been secretly courting her for years, but Claudia's father forbade her from marrying a "*fish smelling Northman*".

Now she lives with her husband in the royal palace in Rockbell, capital of Nordterra.

### Prince Octavius

Octavius is the eldest son of Marius II, he is the current heir to the Imperial Throne. For his whole life he has been preparing for his ascension to the throne, formulating plans on reforms and conquests. Now he is almost thirty years old and is anxious to start his rule, but in all likelihood he will not be Emperor for at least a decade. To prepare him for his new role (and perhaps to placate him) his father assigned most of his administrative duties to Octavius.

Although the Imperial Court tries to hide it, it is publicly known that Octavius is frustrated with his role of "*glorified bookkeeper*". Although he loathes his administrative duties, he is remarkably good at them: he single-handedly reorganized the finances of the Imperium and even managed to (somewhat) reduce the notorious levels of corruption in the provinces.

He oversees all financial and administrative matters at the Imperial Court, which has the (unintended) consequence that he is aware of all meetings, plans and plots, even if his father does not wish to share them with him.

### Prince Gregor

Gregor is the second son of Marius II. Since he is not the heir apparent he devoted his life to live up to his namesake, Gregor the Conqueror, his grandfather. He is known to take part in expeditions and to head out alone adventuring (usually in incognito). So far he has done a number of great feats that include slaying dragons and demons, but these are likely embellished by the Imperial chroniclers. Still, even non-imperial sources agree that Gregor is without doubt a great warrior and a natural leader, which he demonstrated at the battle of Ragged Gorge during the conquest of the Cleaver orcs.

Gregor took command of the II. Legion during the campaign against the Sorrow in Eremus Minor. He led the imperial scouts north to retrieve one half of the Godhammer (the other piece was retrieved by The Faultless Arrow). In the final fight with the Sorrow he used the Sword of Corellon Larethian to pin the vengeful goddess in place until the Godhammer detonated, sacrificing himself.

In the Imperium one month of games and mourning was declared to honor his sacrifice. His death was publicly honored in foreign lands too, even in realms traditionally hostile to the Imperium (e.g. Rubia).

Several months later wizards of the Arcane Directorium discovered that a small fragment of Gregor's soul survived the Godhammer, as it merged with the divine essence of the Sorrow. This new being was a Godwoken, that the Imperium sought to empower so that it could become a divine protector of the empire. In the end these efforts were thwarted by The Faultless Arrow who slew him.

### Princess Septima

Septima is the daughter of Marius II. Similar to her aunt Claudia she resented the role politics assigned to her: a daughter to be wedded to some stranger in a foreign land. The temperamental princess instead desired to be a great and powerful wizard. Although she definitely had the ambition and the smarts for it, she could not persuade her father. Fortunately in her brother Octavius she found an ally, and together they managed to wear Marius down and Septima was free to pursue whatever studies she wished.

Now Septima is one of the most promising young wizards in the Imperium. She not only has tremendous talent but she is also a member of the most powerful family on the continent. After finishing her studies she adopted the wizard name "*Sidonia*", which she mostly uses when she wishes to stay incognito. Although she is still expected to show up for some state functions, she spends most of her time working with her mentor, Archmage Zykora.

Septima is aware of her position and power, of course, and she set herself a worthy goal: to become the leader of the Arcane Directorium and all the mages on the Old Continent. She is close to her brother Octavius who has supported all her arcane endeavors and promised to elevate her to the Directorium leadership once he becomes Emperor (much to the dismay of Archmage Travenus).