Agrippa

Until the fury of history burned everything away, Agrippa was the brightest jewel in Capua.

She does as she likes, and her whip always comes down hard on the silent gladiators. She hates being looked at straight on, it lays bare the weakness underneath. But when it comes to breaking in a slave, Agrippa is a professional. Perhaps you'd care to inspect the twenty whips of assorted design in her bedroom. She had them prepared especially for you.

Unlocks at: Awakener Level 1

@3Built in the Second Samnite period, decorated in the exquisite Third Pompeian and Lemovician styles, this is a typical residence of the wealthy merchant class during the Roman era. Featuring two courtyards and four triclinia, @1@1

.....all reduced to ashes in the famous slave uprising... According to contemporaneous anecdotes, a massive pale spider was sealed beneath the ruins, referred to by locals as the "God of the Maze," and they firmly believe that those who tread upon the spider's territory will become disoriented among countless passages and entrances, ultimately becoming hosts for its offspring.

An interesting horror story, but it will not deter us @2@1

Excerpt from "@2Archaeological Notes on the Ruins"

.....The situation is dire, Sir Goodman. Moretti and his party have been missing for several days now. We all understand this has nothing to do with the legend of the "God of the Maze," yet it is indeed unsettling. We have decided to end the investigation early and return to Durham.

Additionally, the archaeological team discovered a cluster of Silver-like objects in the ruins, which may be related to the @1 you mentioned earlier...

Excerpt from Clarkson Johnson's "A Letter to Goodman"

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 3

Arithmetic: Zero points. Aurita even scored 2 points.

English: Failing. It took a long time to understand the difference between "shift" and "bullshit."

......

History: Failing. Claimed Caligula was the most outstanding Roman emperor because he built many arenas.

Danger Rating: C. Shows a degree of aggression when interacting with other Awakeners. Not a serious threat; no special attention needed.

Notes: This individual has almost no self-care abilities (another victim poisoned by slavery), requires constant attention, and must not be allowed to use snowflake cream as a dental cleaner again.

Excerpt from A.F. 313,"Mythag Annual Student Profile."

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 5

Even as the gladiators burned the training grounds to the ground and hung her parents' heads on the high wall, Agrippa could not believe it, where would these low, docile slaves find that kind of nerve?

In Rome there were only two sorts of people: those who enslaved, and those who were enslaved.

Agrippa had been lucky. She was the daughter of the man who owned the largest gladiator school in Capua. She was cruel, arrogant, untouchable; there was nothing she did not dare do, nothing she could not do.

And now she was a panicked rabbit huddled in the corner of the cellar, and the revelry outside sounded no different from hell.

A slave revolt. What a strange phrase. Agrippa was only fifteen. There was still far too much in the world she did not understand.

In the shadows she saw a pair of eyes glowing red. That was Uvhash, the school's greatest earner, kept chained underground for years because he was too dangerous.

The two of them had never gotten along, and no one knows what they said to each other that night. When the bloody, fire-lit night was over, Agrippa was found dead deep in the dark, no one beside her. The slaves had not killed her, something had drained her blood, and not a drop was left.

Her head came off in the end, of course. They hung it beside her parents', all of them streaming in the wind, turned toward Rome.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 7

It was... blinding light and waves of heat, an orgy of pleasure with nothing held back.

The cheering hummed in her ears like surf, and down in the arena the fighters bathed in blood and glory.

The girl went home sullen and did what she always did: raised the whip and brought it down without mercy on the dull-faced gladiator in front of her.

This was her arena.

No exhilarating duel, no flowers, no applause. The towering champions were the tamest of deer, and every curse, all her rage, was swallowed into a dark hollow that gave nothing back, not even a breath of wind.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 9