We've also seen a Tertius, whose policies stopped inflation and allowed the beginning of the silkbat industry. He isn't explictly a Gaius, but considering he's setting fiscal policy for Alera, he probably is. (AF Ch.34) And we've seen a Gaius Pentius, who kept a secret passage from his study to his mistress Lady Annalisa's bedchamber. (AF 52) My personal pet theory is that this was Gaius Sextus' father, and that's why he's so obsessive about not taking a mistress/shaming Caria, despite everything. But that's a pet theory.

While the same family has been ruling Alera for a thousand years, it hasn't always been the same branch.  The first of each family calls himself Primus, his son/heir Secondus, with Secondus's son/heir being Tertius.  Branches of the family die out, starting the entire naming procedure again.  The current family in charge has lasted 8 generations, thus Gaius Octavian.

Don't forget the sprinkles!

I disagree with that.  The House of Gaius has ruled for 1,000 years and while a Cadet Branch might have taken over, as we know the House isn't all that fertile, I personally doubt they simply started over, if only because it would have been an insult to the original Primus.

At the very least, there has had to have been over 20 First Citizens of the House of Gaius in my estimation.  I would say that the average reign has been for approximaely years, inheriting about age 25, giving them 25 years to have a son, then 25 more to let him get old enough to rule.  Actually, my average is probably wildly overstated so there has probably been a lot more First Citizens than just 20.

Most likely the original Primus got the name when he took over and began to rule as First Citizen.  It might have been that he shared the same real name as his son, so people started talking about him as Gaius Primus to differentiate between him and his son.  Therefore the likelhood is that the numeration became used for the really Great first citizens and Sextus took it for his own.

As for when the Romans who became the Alerans arrived, Jim had pinpointed it fairly accurately, during the reign of Gaius Agustus Caesar, also known as Octavian/Octavius which is the supposed base for October.  Augustus never took the title of Emperor although he held the power.  He always insisted upon the title of 'First Citizen', can you see the parallels.

The organization of the Legions is pretty much the same as during Augustus reign.  The only real question is where all the nice horsies came from since generally the only horses in a camp would be for the officers and most transport was by mule or oxen wagon.



 

I am not allowed to get Mister fixed.  In fact I am not allowed to get anything that has nice sharp claws that can return the favor, fixed.  Unfortunately that includes Mab, Maeve, Lara and others too numerous to mention.

To think it over, maybe I should just stop hanging around with females with claws, just in case.

I may not ask the Merlin to help me recreate John Belushi's 'Samurai Tailor'.

I may not nominate the Merlin for the British version of 'What Not to Wear'.

I may not nominate Toe-mas for Bravo's hairstylist show.

I may however nominate myself for any of a dozen home improvement shows.  Maybe I can figure out a way to get a warm shower in the middle of winter.

Why not?  I don't see a single law that precludes using magic to blackmail somebody.  Control them, kill them yes but blackmail, nope.  They still have their own free will and can of course always blow the whistle.


Harry Dresden cannot take a job to work at a Asleigh Simpson concert to prove if she is still lip synching or not!

He can however work for the Grammy Committe to make sure that all Grammy nominees are (a) human and (b) not using vocal enhancements or tapes.

By the way, many singers have the song playing in their ears as a memory aid.  It is also useful to keep your song on tune/time in a large arena not nescessarily designed for voice performance.  I won't tell you how many actors use a similar method, especially when pulled into a role with only a few days warning.

When the time comes for Molly to learn electricity magic, I am not allowed to 'forget' to remind her to leave the piercings at home.  That would be just cruel...

No Pain, No Gain

When the time comes for Maeve to meet Molly, I am not allowed to gag if they start oohing and aahing over each other's outfits and exchanging fashion comments...

But I am allowed to put earplugs in, start talking to mouse about his next vet's appointment or mention a B-A-T-H for Mister.