The Seventeen: Gaius Aurelius

Epilogue

This is Sertoria, the one Aurelius trusted his record to. I will write what happened after this book came into my hands. When Aurelius fell, our numbers had already diminished to seven. We had no choice but to retreat, so Attilius and I led the remaining rebels out of the palace. Attilius was the first person to join the cause besides me, so I trusted him to lead. About twenty minutes after being injured, Aurelius gave me his journal, and his heart stopped after another five. While we tried to escape, four others were killed by the Roman scum. Maybe we could have won with better planning, but I don't think that was the issue. If only I had believed Aurelius when he warned me about the flaws in luck. I regret my stubbornness.

With only three of us remaining, Lucius Attilius, Ethan Benaberman, and me, Quintus Sertoria, we had to flee the city. We, the last mutineers, retreated to Greece, hiding from Roman soldiers and mourning the loss of our colleagues and friends. We didn't have the time or strength to collect our dead. We had to abandon Aurelius' body by the entry of the palace, may he have a good afterlife. But, we made a small memorial in honor of the dead warriors. Each of the rebels with their respective weapon buried where their bodies would have been. Thank the gods we had spares, because retrieving the original weapons from the disgusting Romans would have been impossible. Aulus Hirtius, Titus Juventius, Marcus Lucilius Balbus, Gaius Aurelius, Lucius Numerius, Gaius Praeconius, Quintus Sanquinus, Sextus Spurius, Marcus Tribelius Calca, Titus Urbanius Cinnamus, Gnaeus Umbrius, Simon Barjohn, and Decimus Javolenus were all noble men. Their memory will live on.