<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 2em;"><strong>Manius Sertorius Africanus</strong><br/></span><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1.45em;"><em>Roman, Husband, Lanista, Leo Rex</em></span></div><div class="floatright">(http://yahoorp.webs.com/Stuff/ManiusYounger.PNG)<div align="center">Manius, the Legionnaire</div></div><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><span class="bbc_u">Stats</span></strong></span><br/>Age: 47<br/>Height: 5'9"<br/>Weight: 178 lbs.<br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>The Boy on the Mountainside</em></strong></span></div>Manius' childhood was typical for a middling child of a farming family in the shadows of the Italian Alps. He wasn't the largest of his peers, and not the strongest, though he was no slouch. The distinguishing traits of young Manius were his keen intellect and sharp temper. When he would get into a fight, he could become rather vicious, which made him quite a few enemies in his childhood even as it gave him begrudging respect from others. Despite having a head for numbers, he was drawn to the siren call of the legions, and was implacable in his desire after being drafted for defense of the area from a deep raid that spilled in from the north.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Scion of the Gladius and Shield</em></strong></span></div>It is said the ideal Roman is a farmer and a soldier. While Manius was never quite one for simple labor, the life of the soldier suited him rather well. He made a name for himself by willingly throwing himself into any area in need of extra men, volunteering eagerly for posts that many avoided. Though the crucible of summer wars and autumn skirmishes carved into him an instinctive sense of teamwork in the legendary formation strength that kept the legions strong against most foes, the shining moments of his record came when those tactics finally fell apart in the climax of battle; it was there his clever mind and voracious anger made him a hero to the men on his side. Only a few people tended to see the method in his madness, the calculated risks he would take upon himself and those close with him to save legionnaires who would have otherwise fallen on the field.<br/><br/>One of the higher-ups in the legions was aware of his unorthodox bravery and helped lift him up in the ranks, and Sertorius failed to disappoint, slowly forming a loyal center that made his command particularly effective on the flanks of a battle. Eventually, he was given command of the defense of Thevestis, a trade city and capital of the Numidia province. For a year or so, he served honorably and with distinction.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Southern Cross</em></strong></span></div>Fate did not have a steady path for him, however, as a large raiding party cut its way through from the southern deserts just before the conclusion of a large festival that bought many dignitaries from Rome, including a rich Senator and a few other officials from Emperor Claudius' administration. While his efforts at drawing out the civilians from the city allowed him to save most of the city and its people by using the city's streets as a funnel to break the strength of the invading force, he was unable to save a group which included the wife and daughter of one of the Senator. The weight of his words (and his coin) were sufficient to sway his superiors in Rome that he should be stripped of rank and thrown into forced labor ostensibly to repay the Senator's losses; this was considered merciful compared with the original goal of execution.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Slave Upon the Docks</em></strong></span></div>Given to the care of the proconsul of the Africanus province, a close friend to the spurned Senator, Manius was set to work as a longshoreman on the vast docks of Hadrumetum. The first several years of labor were intentionally rough on him, though despite the efforts to break him without deigning to outright murder; tried as they might to goad him into stepping out of line, he made a name for himself as a truly model servant, making him beyond reproach. Because of his reputation and ability to work so hard in the face of the forces set against him, he managed to set a good amount of coin toward buying himself out of bondage and repaying the Senator, which by that point was clearly not his concern.<br/><br/>Growing increasingly frustrated at Manius' hard-earned success, the proconsul arranged a hit on him by a few of the burlier slaves in his employ. Even if they somehow failed to kill him, the thought went, his fighting back could be construed as an act of aggression justifying he be put down. Fate intervened in Manius' favor, however, for not only did he manage to fend off the assailants, but the spectacle was seen by the local Praetor, who offered to take the slave rather than allowing him to be killed for helping stop a nascent slave revolt. The transfer into the elder statesman's ownership was a boon, as he was able to take on less physically destructive tasks and earn his way out of bondage faster.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>The Monster that is Man</em></strong></span></div>Unfortunately for Manius, the period of peace was short-lived. Because of a rough drought in the region for the years after he came into the Praetor's house, he was forced to find more lucrative ways to employ his slaves with the dwindling coin from the dried fields. Remembering the impressive fight which brought him to his attention, Manius was set to fight in a local gladiatorial arena. At first he fought in some mock battles, usually comparatively tame affairs. However, the demands of the audience forced him into more barbaric fights, and he once again shone as he developed a range of unorthodox techniques to supplement his war-forged techniques in the arena. The second and most dramatic act of vengeance would come in the height of this period.<br/><br/>The visit of the spiteful Senator to Hadrumetum's young arena let him use the opportunity to draw the renowned Manius, known to the fans of the gladiators as the Northern Lion thanks to a spectacular fight in which he managed to slay two lions after the other three men with him died to them, into a series of increasingly lopsided fights he managed to overcome. The final fight put him nude and handcuffed in the center of the arena against six heavily armed foes. Their first mistake came when they attacked him one at a time at first, in large part to ensure at least a vaguely interesting fight for the crowd. Manius was able to draw a couple of powerful hits down onto his cuffs; though the cuts he suffered were bloody and painful, he managed to use the strikes to break the weakened metal. Living up to his namesake, he was then able to use a piece of adobe irrigation piping to block a lethal strike, disarm the shocked warrior, and impale him with a broken shard from the pipe. From there, he once again managed to spurn the odds and overcome the five gladiators upon him.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://yahoorp.webs.com/Stuff/ManiusElder.PNG)<div align="center">Lion to Lanista</div></div><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Perch Upon the Cliff</em></strong></span></div>The purse for the trials was massive on its own, only fitting for a major spectacle sponsored in part by a Senator, but the bets Manius and his master placed paid out huge dividends, to the point where he was able to by himself out of bondage right there. It was fortuitous timing, because the injuries from the final fight left his left arm rather weakened. After resting for a time, partaking of the delights that came with his fame, he gathered up what he had left of his winnings after paying out to the Praetor and Senator in turn. A patron offered him passage to his home in the west, the province of lush, fertile Tarraconensis.<br/><br/>For a brief period, the Northern Lion arose once more in the wooden arena in Tarraco as Manius fought as a free gladiator. While the pay couldn't match the halcyon treasure that won his freedom, the wealth of the upper class made it possible for him to earn a respectable nest egg. He brought together some slaves and free men together and formed a school; his patron offered him a discount on a parcel of land which, while poor for farming because of its rocky nature along the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, made it an ideal location to build a house to showcase his young school. Befitting its perch near the edge of the land, he named it Ludus Leonis Scopulus, the School of the Cliff Lions. Able to finally retire from the arena with his body mostly intact, several scars and the weakened arm his sacrifices to the gods, he set on building a stable of men who would carry on his legacy and expand the region's small arena into grander affairs befitting the wealth of the region.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>Of an Elder Lion's Pride</em></strong></span></div>Content over the first year's work of the state in his school as the influx of interest for the gladiatorial shows helped secure his position in society, he still had something of a stigma for his odd procession for life, at once a Roman yet not, a freed slave with the official respectability of a man born Roman. His patron, a man of the gens Caerellia, surprised him with an offer of his daughter's hand in marriage, a favor meant to tie him more tightly with their fate as his star rose in no small part thanks to their support; the wedding was at once a means to re-legitimize both partners in the eyes of high society, a spurned woman and a freed-Roman both rather unpalatable to the more refined. Many years of bliss have done much in this regard, Manius as acceptable as he might be in the patrician circles while Valeria's prior scandals are mostly washed away from rapt interest in the affairs of their house.<br/><br/>These days, Manius once again looks more the part of a traditional Roman than a warrior, particularly concerned with his cleanliness and decorum in public. He does have a flair for the ostentatious when at the arena, however, showcasing pieces of armor reminiscent of his gladiatorial garb, chief among these a specially-made pair of pauldrons set with the heads of the lions he had slain many years ago. This imposing sight reminds the people of the glint rarely seen in public where it's clear this aging Roman still has a beast caged within. His worship of Isis and acts of charity downplay this in the public mind, helping cement his enigma; the Isis worship is more than for show, since he hopes earnestly in channeling her blessing as a healer to restore his left arm to full strength before he gets too old for it to matter. Despite their time together, Manius and Valeria have not had children, and though he has little personal concern, rumors of infertility and impropriety slowly creep in gossip, which is of concern to his patrons.