| Year One |
Lucius was elected Consul and led the army against the army of Hannibal. He was too late however and the army was not at the rendezvous point, instead he found the army ambushed while on the march at Lake Trasimene. During the battle he made Legio X famous by saving the army from destruction, a legion which he later used at the Battle of Arretium where, outnumbered and outclassed 3:1, he used a bold stratagem to break the siege and destroy the army of Carthage. Afterward he brought the Suffet to the Curia, breaking a law of tradition in order to prove the battle was won where the dying leader of Carthage gave a speech amidst his groans of pain, which turned out to be a terrible omen.
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| Year Two |
Rebellion! Southern Italy rebels against Rome, Roman soldiers are sent South to deal with the threat and all advances by Lucius Valerius to take control of the army are rendered nil by a series of votes that gains Scaurus all power and leaves his co-consul in Rome with a motion putting the entire campaign into the hands of tribunes. However, not all goes as planned as a tribune is ambushed and then falls ill, allowing Consul Aquila to take command of the theater and mount a quick campaign against the Capuan rebels. During this term the Valerii and the Cassi created a rivalry against the family of the Caelii, not the Lucinii by adoption into a plebeian family.
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| Year Three |
With the rebellion of the Latin league in the South, the rise of a demagogue, the treason of Senator Ambustus of the Claudii, and inactivity by the consuls, Lucius, as Praetor, declared martial law by near unanimous vote by the senate. Under his military rule 74 men were executed for various reasons, most being Punic messengers, the Curia house was burned down by Tribune Gracchus of the Caelii and his mob of Plebeians and many more were arrested with the toll of dead in the city reaching upwards of 3,000. Gracchus seems to have left his demagogic legacy to him, which would further his gap with men of the plebeian class rather than strengthen it. He ended the term as a man with a broken will and political career.
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| Year Four | | In a resounding victory, Lucius somehow overtook every other senator in votes for the consulship. He used this time to re-organize the army and take the fight to the Punics in Italy, hopefully expelling them from the region for good. With this new, re-organized army he then laid the groundwork for a daring thrust across the Mediterranean and into Spain to cut Carthage off from its precious metals in an attempt to win the war. |
| Year Five |
Lucius would not see his work unfinished as before, something had changed him, maybe it was the events of Gracchus or was there some deeper intent or change growing in him? He had won a re-election as consul, an honor not granted as often as not and said goodbye to the comforts of the new senate halls and his villa and said hello to war. During the war he had taken the Baleares Islands and pushed the war into Spain, taking the fortress of Cathargo Nova and essentially ending Punic influence into central Spain.
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| Year Six |
Lucius has begun the year as Censor, this time with a new ambition, not to gain glory for himself but to deprive the consuls Scaeva and Septimus of it. He had always found them wanting in terms of military strategy but their ultimate failure in logistics to his eyes has caused him to risk much in order to turn public opinion against them. He has finally proposed his legionary bill in writing and is planning to finally make friends rather than enemies of a senator he had long since hated without knowing why. He is also planning something to garner the family fortune.
Nothing went as planned during the term however, except everything did. Instead of depriving Septimus and Scaeva of glory, instead he started a political campaign to annihilate their careers. This led to the suicide of Septimus and led to a violent attack upon Poplicola himself and he found himself with his leg broken and various other injuries to his person. His attempt was a success however, and the vote to remove Scaeva from office was already under way.
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| Year Seven | The vote however, was not to be. Through an unexpected use of political power, Scaeva invaded and poisoned the mind of the Valerian tribune and turned him against the bill, nullifying it. What Scaeva did not expect however, was the lack of consular candidates which puts Poplicola back in the consul's chair where through a single speech and use of his crippled position has gained the sympathy of those within the senate and set the groundwork for a terrible scheme against those who threatened him in the past.
Even that was not to be however, at least not in the way intended. Pallas Rutulus Aventinus waged a war of annihilation against Macedon, apparently using his immense influence amongst the weak-minded to have them believe he had actually gained a free hand in the region despite the addendum to his imperium failing. This led to the sacking of Edessa and the 17 day rape of Pella in Macedon. Lucius drew the line after the latter and began a smear campaign against Pallas and his supporters. This led to a massive confrontation as Pallas was named Imperator by the Praetor and his term was to be prorogued by the delay of elections by a near unanimous margin.
It was then that Tribune Aulus Licinius Caldus stood forth and imposed intercessio on Pallas and his motions and blocked the way out of the Curia to force the senators to listen. It was then that the Censor Spurius Geminius Scaeva went forth and touched the Tribune, violating his sacrosanct nature and in return had his right hand severed from his body by Consul Lucius Valerius Poplicola, he then tossed a coin into his lap, securing his revenge. The following moments were tense as lictors from the young Consul and of the Praetor prepared to clash in the Curia, an ironic return to the days of Gracchus and his legacy. Pallas, in turn, was forced to reason with his fellow Consul to save face and with this turn he had forced Lucius to do the same. The fire remained lit as the new term dawned, only waiting for the next flow of oxygen to flare it.
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| Year Eight | | ...and came the flare did. Within a few months of the term the senators were back at each others' throats and Lucius' supporters wilted around him. He lost the support of the tribunal and was betrayed by the ex-tribune Aulus Licinius Caldius, who he had defended just the term before. With this lack of any support, Lucius then became the target of a vicious flurry of attacks led by Licinius and his old rival Geminius, now seeing their moment to strike with the support of Aventinus of the Rutuli and finish off their rival once and for all and without opposition, a drum head trial was about to commence. |
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Villa Valerii L.
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