[center][img]http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ee4330ca07fda09c97b4c995bb424da7-970-80.jpg[/img][/center][center][h3][i]S[/i] [color=7e6e75]i r[/color] [i]I[/i] [color=7e6e75]G N A T I U S[/color][color=333333] ♔[/color][sup][center][color=333333] ♔[/color][/center][/sup][/h3][sup][sup][sup][sup][img]https://drfhlmcehrc34.cloudfront.net/cache/7a/2e/7a2eca87d796d9fd03a702d75817da61.png[/img][/sup][/sup][/sup][/sup][/center][center][sup][color=524948]"Rome has betrayed itself. It knew the truth and chose violence, it knew humaneness and it chose tyranny."[/color][/sup][/center][hr][hr][center][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]http://i.imgur.com/NESiC7M.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub] [sup]I G N A T I U S D O N T U S[/sup] 34[color=7e6e75]♦[/color] Male [color=7e6e75]♦[/color] Former Sagittarii[/center] [sub][ ♔ ] A P P E A R A N C E[/sub][hr][indent][color=7e6e75]With deep ancestry descending from Capua, Italy— Ignatius is a [i]Roman[/i] in culture and ethnicity. Whilst Ignatius’ family claims that the Dontus line is entirely composed of pureblood Romans, the likelihood of that being based in truth is unlikely due to the presence of various ethnicities and nationalities in Capua for many years. Whilst Ignatius is most certainly distinctly Roman he probably has traces of Goth, German, and Greek. More individually, Ignatius is a tall man that appears Roman in origin with mid-length dark brown-to-black hair and olive complexion. He is well built due to his legionnaire training and conditioning, and contains a fierce and unflinching yet wounded look to him. [/color][/indent] [sub][ ♔ ] B A C K G R O U N D[/sub][hr][indent][color=7e6e75]Ignatius Dontus was born in the Imperium Romanum thirty-four years ago in the city of [b]Constantinople[/b] to a family of Roman lineage that had represented central Roman politicians in Capua for several generations until they were forced to vacate Italy by the Ostrogoths. The Dontus family were Patricians and as such had many expectations that were pressed upon to each individual members including political affiliations, social ideologies, and strict teachings that had leant the dynasty a particular reputation that was inherently negative— especially towards the Peregrinus classes of foreigners. As such the first ideals that Ignatius came to know were fashioned out of hatred, bigotry, nationalist agendas, and classist elitism. Such values would not be corrected for many years to come, as Ignatius often reflects upon. Following one of the traditions of his house, Ignatius looked to serve the imperium in a different manner than his father had and instead decided to follow his father’s brother, Celsus, who had created his own legacy within the imperium’s military hierarchy as a Legatus. Ignatius’ inspiration was not disregarded by his father, though the disappointment that he’d not want to follow in his footsteps was prevalent and a series of passive-aggressive letters sent to Ignatius during his early career in the legion. Upon the time of the completion of his training and preparation for his first assignment there were no large scale wars going on within the imperium, though following the [b]Anastasian War[/b]’s conclusion some years earlier there wasn’t exactly peace or stability either— it was a world on the edge and there were plenty of opportunities for battle. Those opportunities turned into realities. Ignatius’ first assignments were alongside the fringe borders north of Constantinople in a fortress that was designated as a outlook outpost to keep an eye on activities of nomadic heretics such as the slavs, avars, and bulghars. The majority of Ignatius’ early career was dealing with these tribes and several conflicts that saw him gaining experience against minor threats to the imperium. Days turned to years— but then something far more pertinent became a reality. Called into the tent of his commander, he was brought into a discussion about transferring him towards more of a position worthy of his talents. Noting his talent with tactics, archery, and his connection to the Dontus dynasty he gave a missive that sent Ignatius back to the capital to serve a more central legion. His new commander was an aspiring commander with ambitions and a staunch connection to the emperor himself— his name was Belisarius Falvius. Conflicts between the imperium and the Persians of the [b]Sassanid Empire[/b] had finally began to get heated once again within the earliest years of Ignatius’ service under Belisarius and Ignatius alongside his commander and others gathered a reputation following the battles of Dara & Callinicum. Ignatius’ experiences alongside Belisarius made him reconsider his thoughts on foreigners serving so highly in the empire and made him speculate if Theodoric was simply just the exception and not the rule. However, such favorability between him and his commander would change two years later when they were assigned to handle the [b]Nika Riots[/b] in Constantinople. The horrors of war and the reality of the men he was fighting with would shock Ignatius to his core when they committed a massacre against the rioters at the Hippodrome. The blood of 30,000 people was now on all of their hands. Once Ignatius began to backtrack his investigation’s reports— he saw ways they could’ve met diplomatic ends with the rioters, but he knew that resorting to quasi-genocide had been the only answer that the Emperor had given to Belisarius and the other commanders. Feeling unease with the empire, Ignatius began investigating the affairs that he could using his contacts from his family’s relations in Constantinople. As Ignatius went further down the rabbit hole, things only became exponentially more complicated as the actual politics and realities of the imperium became revealed— he learned more about the rioters that he had more or less executed in a dishonorable and brutal manner, but that the darkness of Constantinople was scarier than whatever had been ingrained into his head as a child. He thought to confront Belisarius— who laughed at his moralizing of people against the imperium as well as nearly killing Ignatius after painting him a traitor. When Ignatius awoke he was disowned by his family, painted by Belisarius (and as a product, his people) as a traitor who aligned with the rebels known for the Nika Riots, and a dishonorable fiend who attempted to kill the honorable Belisarius in his sleep. Somehow, Ignatius had everything he ever had taken from him and before he was hunted down like a dog he made to escape the city and the imperium. He fled for many months, travelling from Byzantium to Gaul and then Britannia. Finding work as a hiresword, Ignatius found work fighting Saxons and other threats as he began trying to find purpose back in his life… or what little of it he had left. Now a stranger in a foreign land, Ignatius soon found himself in associated with the people of [b]Camelot[/b]. Following an incident regarding rescuing a noble’s daughter from treacherous individuals and solving a conspiracy against them he found himself knighted by Brythonic conventions and rites— and now he potentially sits with the rest of the knights at the famous round table.[/color][/indent]