Academy Author Index
Last Updated: 10/31/2016
The Children of Mara [Academy Halloween 2016]
This story is very roughly based on Tomyris (Tiirmirise) Queen of the Massagetae as recorded by Herodotus the Historian in the Histories. The Amazons of legend were supposedly descended from the Scythians and their Massagetae cousins. This story is a blend of fact, legend, fiction and in some places pure fantasy. I have taken some liberties with the customs of the Massagetae. Some I made up and some are taken from Nigeria and Dahomey or (Cameroon as it is now known) which were both in Africa. The Kings of Dahomey maintained an elite bodyguard which was exclusively comprised of women. These female warriors were the only ones the Kings trusted to protect him and his family in the Palace. Palace politics was what actually decided the succession and such women were therefore held in the highest esteem since they effectively decided who would be king.
In a world where legends and myths stalked the earth and the ancient gods still walked the earth, the Imperatrix Gaia Julia Caesaris, the beloved only legitimate heir of the Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar should have been nothing more than a footnote in history but her destiny was altered by divine decree. Now, enemies surround her on all sides so that to keep her throne her head and her life she must battle her treacherous family, produce an heir and save the world from an ancient evil that had the power to defeat even the gods of Rome, she is Imperatrix.