REAL NAME: Antonius Axia
Centurion of the Roman army. Long hailed as a hero of the battle of Tigranocerta. He is a naturally skilled soldier.
He is usually accompanied by Bran, his "loyal slave", a Briton who aids Antonius in his cases. Bran could be a free man, and Antonius said he left instructions for that in his will, but prefers to be a slave for tax reasons.
The Roman Empire is ruled by the might of the military, but at the heart of society there is a group of women who tend the sacred fire of Rome, and are tasked with guarding important wills and sacred objects. These women are the Vestal Virgins.
Rubria, Chief Vestal, chose Antonius to save a young girl from Orkus, the Etruscan god of the underworld. That encounter shattered his mind, and the Virgin Vestals remade him with their rituals. They trained him in the art of deduction and in psychology studying the Codex, sacred writings held in secret.
He works solving cases for both the citizens and Emperor Nero. In 64 A.D., while investigating the Great Fire of Rome, he came across a soothsayer known as Sabbas, who was later put in service of the emperor.
While most cases involve cheating spouses, a beautiful woman called Scarpia asked him to find who she claimed was her lost brother, Gilad. It turned out Scarpia was actually the Undying One, cursed to be born again and again, who's convinced that the deathless Eternal Warrior can help them find the key to this unwanted immortality.
Apparently, a Geomancer was in Rome at the time.
ALIASES: The First Detectioner.
ABILITIES: Battle skills; deduction.
KNOWN ASSOCIATIONS: Bran; Avious Axia; the Anni-Padda clan.
OTHER DETAILS: He's usually seen alongside Bran, a man from Britannia that prefers to remain a slave for tax reasons.
