The Privateer
Home Universe: 86 (The "Nova Roma" Timeline)
Biography:
A kleptomaniac "diplomat" from a timeline where the Roman Empire lasted into the modern day, "Exploratrix Prima" of the Inceptum de Trajectio Temporalium (Time Shift Initiative). As she was the first sent off to explore the multiverse, the Imperial Navy created and loaned her the Messor I, a one-person vessel equipped with technology which the inhabitants of most timelines have no hope of ever understanding. Unfortunately, they neglected to give her any form of translation technology, arrogantly assuming other universes would have the same languages. She speaks only a timeline-specific variant of the Latin language, forcing her to derive intent from physical cues. As a result, she's become somewhat disillusioned by the imperialistic claims of those who sent her, but regardless, she continues her attempts to collect artifacts and information from across timelines, hoping it will gain her some favor back home. However, in spite of the advanced technology she carries and her wide range of skills, her life story is currently a mystery due to the language barrier and the fact that she only rarely speaks.
Travel Method:
The Messor I is a craft which perfectly reflects the mindset behind its construction: Elegant, gaudy, heavily detailed, yet surprisingly efficient and simple to operate. It is constructed in the shape of an icosahedron, mounted on a pair of pentagonal tank treads. Its outer casing is composed of a type of white plastic which is foreign to Timeline 1, coated with a glossy wax and then covered with an array of ultra-compact solar panels. It can be entered and exited through a round hatch in its top face. The words "MESSOR I - INCEPTUM DE TRAJECTIO TEMPORALIUM" are engraved around the circumference of the hatch. Inside the vehicle are a single seat and numerous controls, all of which are written in Latin, and the back face is connected to a large cylindrical storage bay. On each edge of the outer surface is a copper rod. The network of rods is believed to be linked to its ability to travel between timelines, since electricity leaps between them as it travels. It is only capable of making a jump once every 24 hours, as the battery it uses to jump requires a substantial amount of power and drains after each use.
Timeline 86
Rome is not known in our universe for having a very good ending, but nobody truly knows the reason for its fall. Over 200 different theories have been devised, with little support for any of them.
But what Rome had never fallen? What if Romulus Augustulus had never been deposed in 476? What if the Germanic tribes had all been pushed aside or assimilated through their might? It may sound unlikely, but after Timeline 86 diverged, that is exactly what happened.
Over the course of its 3,000-year reign, Rome remained strong, eventually growing to encompass most of the civilized world, with the exception of numerous smaller nations surrounding its borders and the majority of islands, particularly Japan, which only vaguely resembles the Japan we know, and Australia, still mainly inhabited by its Aboriginal peoples. Society progressed, technology advanced, language developed.
In this world, traditional Roman ways are beginning to decline, in favor of a secular, egalitarian, constitutional monarchy headed by Januarius Griseus. But not everyone is happy living under Roman rule anymore, and Griseus' position of leadership is now in jeopardy as a result. With colonies declaring their secession left and right, Griseus' advisors suggest spreading to other timelines in a bid for power, and the first person chosen for this undertaking is a woman named Gloriana Titanus. She was told to act as a diplomat, extending the hand of peace to other worlds, but as the craft's engine shunted her out of her universe, she would suddenly come to the realization that the Empire was asking a far bigger task than they had originally believed.
Home Universe: 86 (The "Nova Roma" Timeline)
Biography:
A kleptomaniac "diplomat" from a timeline where the Roman Empire lasted into the modern day, "Exploratrix Prima" of the Inceptum de Trajectio Temporalium (Time Shift Initiative). As she was the first sent off to explore the multiverse, the Imperial Navy created and loaned her the Messor I, a one-person vessel equipped with technology which the inhabitants of most timelines have no hope of ever understanding. Unfortunately, they neglected to give her any form of translation technology, arrogantly assuming other universes would have the same languages. She speaks only a timeline-specific variant of the Latin language, forcing her to derive intent from physical cues. As a result, she's become somewhat disillusioned by the imperialistic claims of those who sent her, but regardless, she continues her attempts to collect artifacts and information from across timelines, hoping it will gain her some favor back home. However, in spite of the advanced technology she carries and her wide range of skills, her life story is currently a mystery due to the language barrier and the fact that she only rarely speaks.
Travel Method:
The Messor I is a craft which perfectly reflects the mindset behind its construction: Elegant, gaudy, heavily detailed, yet surprisingly efficient and simple to operate. It is constructed in the shape of an icosahedron, mounted on a pair of pentagonal tank treads. Its outer casing is composed of a type of white plastic which is foreign to Timeline 1, coated with a glossy wax and then covered with an array of ultra-compact solar panels. It can be entered and exited through a round hatch in its top face. The words "MESSOR I - INCEPTUM DE TRAJECTIO TEMPORALIUM" are engraved around the circumference of the hatch. Inside the vehicle are a single seat and numerous controls, all of which are written in Latin, and the back face is connected to a large cylindrical storage bay. On each edge of the outer surface is a copper rod. The network of rods is believed to be linked to its ability to travel between timelines, since electricity leaps between them as it travels. It is only capable of making a jump once every 24 hours, as the battery it uses to jump requires a substantial amount of power and drains after each use.
Timeline 86
Rome is not known in our universe for having a very good ending, but nobody truly knows the reason for its fall. Over 200 different theories have been devised, with little support for any of them.
But what Rome had never fallen? What if Romulus Augustulus had never been deposed in 476? What if the Germanic tribes had all been pushed aside or assimilated through their might? It may sound unlikely, but after Timeline 86 diverged, that is exactly what happened.
Over the course of its 3,000-year reign, Rome remained strong, eventually growing to encompass most of the civilized world, with the exception of numerous smaller nations surrounding its borders and the majority of islands, particularly Japan, which only vaguely resembles the Japan we know, and Australia, still mainly inhabited by its Aboriginal peoples. Society progressed, technology advanced, language developed.
In this world, traditional Roman ways are beginning to decline, in favor of a secular, egalitarian, constitutional monarchy headed by Januarius Griseus. But not everyone is happy living under Roman rule anymore, and Griseus' position of leadership is now in jeopardy as a result. With colonies declaring their secession left and right, Griseus' advisors suggest spreading to other timelines in a bid for power, and the first person chosen for this undertaking is a woman named Gloriana Titanus. She was told to act as a diplomat, extending the hand of peace to other worlds, but as the craft's engine shunted her out of her universe, she would suddenly come to the realization that the Empire was asking a far bigger task than they had originally believed.