I had been at the renowned Legio Urbana Military Academy for a few days; most of the cadets were of legal age, except for one or two who were the same age as me. They all possessed an intelligence in military matters that will be useful when the Weplechians attack Earth.
However, the most surprising thing was discovering that the Severan Dynasty, their descendants are still around today; incredibly, Italia Australis was the perfect hiding place in the Classical Era to gather an army outside of Europe and reclaim their throne.
This happened twice in history when Italia Australis was part of the Roman Empire; the first time was in 312 when the praetors of all the cities of Italia Australis decided to support the In the city of Eboracum in Britannia, the young self-proclaimed Roman emperor Constantine Chlorus, son of Constantius Chlorus, fought against the tyrant Maxentius, resulting in the end of the Tetrarchy and the first Christian Roman emperor, the second time was in 394, When the praetors approved sending 30,000 legionaries to eliminate the last vestiges of paganism at the Battle of Frigidus, and with the approval of Emperor Theodosius, Italia Australis was now overseas province, thus increasing its connection with Rome, but what came in the 5th century was terrifying, so in 414, in the city of Nova Olissipo, the praetor officially declared independence from the Western Roman Empire, and soon the other provinces of Italia Australis, would separate from Rome, not for freedom but for survival, as Suebian and Visigoth pirates were attacking.
During the 6th century, in the kingdom of Augustopolis, Senator Lucius Vertullius Severus did something unusual: he added Caracalla as the last name of his youngest son, as a way of honoring his legacy.
Since then, his descendants often use "Caracalla" to reaffirm their descent from the Roman emperor Caracalla, and sometimes some of his descendants do something noteworthy for history.
Claudius Marcus Severus Caracalla (1615-1700), was one of the military figures who participated in the Thirty Years' War and, after the conflict ended, fought against the Dutch invaders in the northeastern region From Italia Australis, and finally fought against the Portuguese in the Roman-tropical War of Independence, his name is in the book of heroes of Augustopolis.
Cicero Lucius Severus Caracalla (1713 - 1793), He was a politician who approved the deposition of Emperor Julius IV and supported laws professionalizing the Roman-tropical army and supported reforms to the Latin language for its modernization, in his last years He wrote a book on public administration that went on to inspire the Codex Vivatus Publicus, the foundational text of any executive branch in Italia Australis to this day.
Paulus Constantius Severus Caracalla (1860 - 1955) was a foreign minister of Italia Australis during the reign of Titus II, and was a key figure in the establishment of the Roman-Tropical Empire to enter World War II on the Allied side against the Axis, in the postwar period he was one of those who supported the idea that the Roman-tropical Empire had the right to possess the atomic bomb; his legacy is Atomic neutrality and a defense of Augustopolis as the heir to the Roman legacy, something that in the 70s would create the Vitalist party.
February 19, 2016, Augustopolis, Legio Urbana Military Academy, room battle N° 10 "Marcus Felix Augustus"
It was ten o'clock in the morning when Captain Claudius Valerius Arminius arrived In the battle room, dressed in Roman-tropical army camouflage, he held a newspaper in his hands and said.
"News from the Old World: there is a petition in Moldova to unite with Romania; official sources say that the Romanian mafia is working behind the scenes to prevent this, since if Romania If it becomes strong enough, Romania may try to replicate Lex Memento Mori, and that is precisely why the Romanian mafia is attacking authorities on a large scale. Still in Eastern Europe, the Ukrainian army defeated the separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, but the Ukrainian government granted amnesty to the separatist leaders to avoid Russian intervention. In Moscow, Medvedev assumes the presidency of the Russian Federation. Since Putin disappeared a month ago, the Chechen army is close to finally achieving Chechen independence from the Russians." says Captain Claudius.
So, this timeline is now diverging significantly from the original one, with Romania and Moldova united? Not even the most patriotic Romanian fan of Mihai the Brave would believe that in their most patriotic days.Chechnya being independent from the Russians? I think it would be crazy for someone to say that without it being a comedy sketch.
The murmuring continued as the other cadets realized that so much was happening in such a short time, so the captain placed the newspaper on top of his backpack and said.
"The 21st century is just beginning. Augustopolis, as heir to the Roman legacy, should not choose to be a country that would only align with the Hellenic legacy. We are tropical Romans; we are the Romans who survived 476, We are the only civilization on the American continent that has been extensively urbanized since the 11th century. The world is changing, and Augustopolis will change, just as it did with the end of the Pronatus System, giving rise to a professionalized army in the 18th century during the Franco-Roman period, in 1947 when we had our first atomic bomb, but this time we will be the ones to solve the problems that are here and those that may come." says Captain Claudius.
Then one of the cadets raised his hand and asked.
"Tell me, Captain Claudius, do the Russians perhaps think they're in the 19th century? Perhaps if they read something by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, or Medvedev must be listening to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker in despair "Thinking he's the next to disappear?" a cadet asked.
Captain Claudius chuckled, but then his expression hardened again as he replied.
"Cadet Julius Stefanus Severus Caracalla, the Russians are being subjected to humiliation and perhaps the next leader to take over Russia will be a tyrant worse than Stalin, so I hope they are in his 'Decemberist' moment is more important than the 'Stalinism vs. Trotskyism' moment, because something even worse could come." replied Captain Claudius.
Julius Stefanus Severus Caracalla, or simply Julius Caracalla, was a 17-year-old boy nearing his birthday. He had curly brown hair and green eyes, and was 1.80 meters tall,what to a Roman, is almost like an alien.
Then he comes closer to me and asks:
"I wasn't expecting you here. My father said you would be the first decorative tropical Roman emperor, where ministers and senators would run your government and you would accept everything. Want to prove you're something more than your ancestors? Well, that's what I'm here for too, friends?" Julius asks.
Julius extended his hand as a sign of goodwill toward the future emperor of Italia Australis.
Then I shook Julius's hand and replied
"I have no vocation to be a figurehead emperor; I will be the Trajan of the 21st century. It's good that we understand each other and that we carry a giant weight on our shoulders: to honor our ancestors. Welcome, Julius Stefanus Severus Caracalla, You've joined the club of those who will actually do something, not just boast about ancestry like the pedantic Greeks did about Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great." I replied to Julius
A member of the Severan Dynasty here, which tends to be important since in this reality Caracalla faked his death to rule Italia Australis, and they are quite influential here, it's going to be interesting.
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Ongoing Roman-Tropical projects:
Project "Imperator Solis" (practical nuclear fusion): 41.4%, made in the secret underground base of Nova Istria.
Project "Conflictus Titanum" (neutron bomb): 39.6%, made at the Nuclear-Physical Engineering Center of Nova Chersonia.
Project "Fulminatrix" (first firearm designed for space): 26.8%, made at the Fabius Licinius Military Space Engineering Center in Saint Louis.