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[first lines]
Inn Keeper: Roman, huh? That's a Tribune's ring?
Clavius: Yes.
Inn Keeper: Have you come far?
Clavius: [narrating as he remembers a battle in Judea] Thirty years the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar has ruled the wasteland of Judea and its people. As Tribune to Prefect Ponpiu Pilate, my task is to keep order in a city that is steeped in unrest. The Jews pray to their single God, Yahweh, for the arrival of the mystical Messiah. As their religious leader, the Sanhedrin try to keep an uneasy peace. But each day creates more zealots to challenge the rule of Rome, and bring freedom. Instead, we bring them death.
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Zealot Leader: [on his knees] I know how this ends.
Clavius: Then tell Yahweh you are coming, courtesy of Mars.
Zealot Leader: It must pain you to know that the one true God chooses us over you.
Clavius: But not today he didn't.
Zealot Leader: When the Messiah comes, Rome will be nothing!
Clavius: Until then...
[stabs him]
Mish Boyko
Extended Reading
