You were born in a Roman province after the invasion. You do not remember the Romans exactly. You can still see the beautiful old houses, coated in plaster and shining marble, watched over by gods and surrounded by clean marble columns forming the beautiful gates of your home.
But the Empire has changed. The old ways of the Roman gods are going out of fashion, even the Emperor has stopped honoring them in public. And you, a young Roman Christian, must continue to practice in secret if you want to keep the new faith you have always believed in.
To have stepped out of the shadows now would have meant certain death, so you are staying inside the relative safety of your home.
But you are restless. You want to travel to see the world, see what it has to offer, even if only through your books and the stories of your neighboring women.
You are in the library, perusing a book on the newest religions arriving in Rome. You want to hear about the Greek and Egyptian gods to see if we live in a world of many gods or a single God.
You are careful as always, no one has entered the room since you arrived so you are not particularly worried. No one thinks to look for books about God in a library.
Security at this particular library is not bad, and nobody in the library is armed at least, so you don't worry about that for the moment. The guards at the door don't stand out and they get paid anyway.
It is a new religion which has captured your imagination this time. The first day, you find a small book on Egyptian gods, and the next a tome dedicated to worshiping the Greek gods.
You take a few steps inside the library to find a specific volume and the sound of your footfall echoes throughout the room. You continue to walk but stop about 2/3 of the way to the bookcases and you need a drink of water. You walk back to the entrance and see a statue which surprises you.
With so many different gods and religions, you did not expect to find an altar in the Roman libraries. Facing the statue, you can see an inscription dedicated to "The Roman Pantheon". You know you must go closer to it, find out what it means.
You sidestep around the statue, making sure not to touch it and you go up to the inscription, looking at it closely. It is a formulaic blend of names and statements of unity but an interesting one.
At the bottom lies a curious description of a religion introduced by the Jews, which you have never heard of before named "Christianity". It seems the Jews have multiple gods instead of the one God and only because of the "hatred" they have against the Roman gods did they introduce this one instead.
Christianity has many gods", you tell your husband when you have fixed your hair and swiped some rouge on your cheeks. "We have one God but the Jews have more, and the Roman pagans have more than them. They told me what the inscription means.
Your husband gives you a confused look.
They told me the Jews had more gods., you say, tapping your chin thoughtfully. And that Christianity is the religion of more gods. And that the one God is not in Rome, He is in Israel.
It sounds very convenient for the Jews, your husband says, skeptical. The Jews have "unclean" people in their midst. It is an act of mercy to allow them to live. He asks you if you have heard of the Judaizers. Jews in their midst are not Jews.
You protest. The Jews still live in their land! There must be thousands of them!
Even with his limited knowledge of history and those who follow hatred and misery, he has seen how the Jews turned Rome to dust. He is not keen on this new god. He has seen how the Christian gods destroyed his city.
Dalmatian says that it is time to go home and you walk out of the library, to the smell of rotting books, past the statue and to outside again.
The streets are crowded with folk and light-skinned people passing by. There are shops and markets selling amazing spice mixes, their wares displayed in beautiful containers. There are stalls with beautiful gems, pearls and silver necklaces and carefully crafted jewelry in the shape of flowers.
You walk out in the light, drenched by the rays of the sun and by the scents of some of the richer spices, and you look up, searching for the residential area you normally live in.
As you walk, you see many men from the city, all dressed in gleaming white and pure silk, wearing handsome and elaborate headgear, all of which are woven with jewels, strung from their arms and waists by gold chains. As you glance behind them, you see them walking towards you. They are all armed, many men and the rich men of the city are all armed, but you know better than to pay attention to the rich men. Because of their fancy clothes, you would be less inclined to kill them, wouldn't you?
You turn away and continue to walk towards your home.
A man calls out and you turn around to see him running towards you. He wears armor and the white cloak of the Imperial guards. Holding up his hand, he says he has been sent to bring you to the Emperor.
You quickly tell him that you cannot go, you are ill and your husband is not at home, he would not leave you unprotected and besides, you simply cannot go. You ask him to get someone else.
He smiles and says it would be his best pleasure.
"No, please don't", you plead, hoping he will leave you alone but he continues to smile.
"But my dear, it is an order. I cannot change my mind. I am sorry", he says.
You look at him and he smiles brightly, holding out his hand so you can take his offered hand. The other guards are behind you and you can hear them talking excitedly in Syriac, their own language. They are clearly excited about the reception you will get. You plead. I cannot go with you, you say, blinking back tears. Please, don't take me.
He gently touches your cheek and brushes her hair from your face. "You must not be afraid, my dear. It will be just fine. You will have a nice dressing, and wine and you will have a good time. We will take care of you. You'll be escorted by a few of my men.
