REAL NAME: Antonius Axia

According to historical records from the 1st Century A.D., Antonius Axia was a Centurion during Nero’s reign of the Roman Empire, which at that point stretched from Judea in the South to a wild Northern country called Britannia, an untamed territory where the military enforced Nero’s rule.

At the heart of Roman society, there was a group of women tasked with guarding important wills and sacred objects and with tending the sacred fire of Vesta known as the Vestal Virgins. In 60 A.D., the head of this powerful organization was Rubria — the Vestalis Maxima, or Chief Vestal.

While Antonius led a Roman campaign in Etrusca, Rubria asked him to rescue a young vestal from Orkus, the Etruscan God of the Underworld and, while he succeeded, the encounter shattered his mind. After the Vestals performed obscure rituals that healed Antonius’ body, Rubria allowed him to read the Codex, sacred secret writings that offered reasons for why men do what they do.

Antonius used the knowledge he gained from the Codex to solve mysteries for the citizens — mostly finding cheating husbands — and cases for the Emperor. Helping him with this work was Bran, a Briton slave that preferred to remain so for tax reasons.

Years later, a new mission in Britannia almost ended Antonius’ life once more. Upon returning to Rome, he decided to reveal to young Avitus that he was his father and not his uncle as the boy believed. This strained their relationship, and Avitus is usually in the care of Bran.

By 64 A.D., Antonius had built a reputation as a Detectioner, which led a woman called Scarpia to ask for his help finding her lost brother, Gilad. Though Bran believed she was a Druid who had put a spell on him, Antonius took her case. His search began with interrogating a soothsayer called Sabbas, whose cryptic predictions set him on his path.

Antonius’ quest next took him to the arena, where he came across Vexana, a foreign woman whose very presence made people’s blood boil that, soon upon her arrival in Rome, became the new favorite in the gladiator fights.

While investigating the great fire of Rome, that Nero wanted to blame the Christians for, Antonius ultimately found Gilad taking shelter in the Temple of Numa Pompilius, the ancient founder of the Vestals. What followed was a bloody melee between Gilad and Scarpia’s men in which Antonius learned that Scarpia was actually the reincarnated Dying One, Gilad’s sworn enemy. Gilad's presence in Rome suggests there was a Geomancer there at the time.

Though Antonius did not find the evidence he requested, Nero blamed the Christians anyway. To distract the Emperor from the lack of evidence, Rubria put Sabbas in his service.

ALIASES: The First Detectioner.

ABILITIES: Trained as a soldier of the Roman Empire, reading the Codex gave him knowledge in the art of deduction.