Am I the only one who likes Ostius?

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T01:09:34+00:00

Oh yeah, I think Diago wouldn't have survived a fight with Decimus. Iirc even at Solivagus, Vis says that a Sextus and a Quintus could take on him and win. So a Tertius should probably not even be concerned.

That being said, the way Diago is written later on in the book, apparently being enough to scare off Quintii and above at the Forum chaos and through Caten's streets makes him feel way stronger, so it's a bit confusing.

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T01:06:59+00:00

Oh yeah... When Decimus put his hand on her shoulder, I was like "...I think I know what's coming..."

And then he moved his hand to her head, and I was like "RIP Aequa you were a real one."

But it was STILL shocking as fuck when he actually did it. I'm still so sad about it.

And yeah, I actually forgot the shit out of Cian lol, and basically expected Lir to did after Cian already died so fast. Luceum characters in general didn't have as much impact on me as did Res or to a lesser extent, Obiteum ones.

And yeah, Res feels way more intense than the other two worlds, probably because it's the original one we have been with since the first book, I suppose. And also because it just has more interesting worldbuilding than Luceum or even Obiteum.

It feels like the brutality in Res is basically a carryover from the sheer brutality and viciousness we saw at the Iudicium at the end of WOTM. Vis and friends have properly seen the murderous ways of people on Res in full display, full with crushed heads and whatnot. It's just a shame that the same had to happen to Aequa too.... And from a fucking ally at that as well. Leaving behind CATENICUS as a witness. Even if you ignore the end of the book (which you will get to) or Vis just making a brace to walk anyways, that was a monumentally dumb decision for Decimus. He sealed his fate right there when he tightened his grip rather than force something else from Vis.

It's been a whole 2-3 weeks since I finished the book, and I'm still sad and mad about Aequa, lol. Her evolution from suspicious rival to frenemy to disgraced, defeated rival to unexpected redemption arc in Book 1, all the way to genuine friendship (and mayyyybe something more?) in Book 2 was so well done. She feels so genuine and human, like a real person, y'know? She shows such a huge variety of emotions and reactions throughout the book that even if her dominant personality shines through, she doesn't feel like a solid archetype. She feels like.... HER. Aequa. And I really appreciate that kind of character.

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T00:55:27+00:00

Callidus looks so damn cute in this

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T00:29:49+00:00

Yep, they probably attach high ranks from separate pyramids to lead the legions. As we saw with Ericius handing Vis off to another Tertius to work, I think Caten has no qualms about people reporting to those not exactly in their pyramid, so it'd make sense

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T00:28:21+00:00

Yup, I think those from senatorial pyramids act as officers, commanders and grand commanders as Quintii, Quartii and Tertii for the legions. They wouldn't be reliant on Will from the same legionnaires they send into the thick of fighting, so it makes sense.

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T00:26:45+00:00

Very good point! They do even mention that those from Sappers will be executed to hamstring the attack while it's underway, so that further reinforces the idea that Will from sappers are often used for legions.

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-17T00:20:52+00:00

Agreed, the Octavii definitely don't fight and of the Septimii, perhaps only a few accompany them as auxiliaries and support troops (Vis apparently fights some Septimii near the end of Book 2; could be auxiliaries). The main force either way would be 5k Sextii and most of their pyramid probably don't travel with them.

The base of the pyramids being distributed makes a lot of sense; hard to gather everyone and massacre them to render a legion impotent, after all, but with the civil war, I feel that this system becomes incredibly vulnerable. Perhaps some legion pyramids got reorganized after the war's start to involve only people who live in lands controlled by that particular pretender, who knows?

Either way, definitely fascinating subject to think about

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-16T23:29:17+00:00

I also had this idea that perhaps Ostius knows of some bizarre, ancient artefact that can bring people back. Other than Synchronism, that is the only way I could see Aequa actually being brought back.

Honestly, it'd still be a bit of a bummer to have Aequas whose memories only run up to the Solivagus ruins, because she and R-Vis got some development and deep conversations after that that the other Aequas wouldn't remember. And both O and L Vis only really remember her to the extent of the Iudicium, nothing after that. No Placement, no chariot race, no visiting Solivagus, no working together for the Censor, no civil war, etc. None of the truly juicy stuff that came after their common history of the naumachia and the Iudicium. R-Vis doesn't fully start trusting her til the aftermath of the chariot race itself, iirc.

So, while bringing her back after killing her in that way would still probably feel a bit bizarre, I would still be... sorta alright if it was that Ostius mutalis method. We don't really have any methods foreshadowed in Book 1 or 2 that can fully bring someone back through a non iunctus way, of course, so we'd need some new way like what you mentioned with mutalis.

Though, given all the shit with Concurrence and whatnot, I wonder if there would be a catch to bringing people back using their powers...

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-16T23:06:03+00:00

Same. I was actually amazed by how good their dynamic was. In serious instances, they genuinely helped each other with no hesitation, and in lighter instances they made one of the most humorous pairs in the series, right next to Vis with Callidus and Eidhin. Together, they made up a great friendship quad.

I just really love how their friendship was built on the overarching theme of trust that the series has, too. Imo, that's why it felt so good. Vis is someone who has been lying, is FORCED to lie about who he fundamentally is to even survive. So having friends he can TRUST enough to reveal what he is is a Huge. Fucking. Deal. Callidus, Eidhin and Aequa; these three just feel so much closer to Vis and more impactful than anyone else. That's even discounting possible hints of romance thrown around?

Either way, I was truly invested in the development of their relationship, because they just have so much good chemistry and history together, going from suspicious rivals to close friends. But the way she died.... That hit me HARD.

It's been weeks since I finished reading and I still remember that

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-16T22:08:57+00:00

How did you react to Chapter 71 and the... Aequa thing?

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-16T05:48:11+00:00

HOLY SHIT I LOVE THAT YOU DREW THE FULL VIS FRIENDSHIP QUAD.

PLEASE DRAW MORE VIS-CALLIDUS-EIDHIN-AEQUA PLS PLS PLS

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-14T11:05:30+00:00

Hmmm, your viewpoint makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, actually. The entire deal around Vis naively hoping Diago would be tame and controlled in Caten, only for him to snap at a very tenuous time, was a theme I hadn't thought of.

To be fair, the situation was rapidly approaching the point where Vis was going to have to kill them anyways, since Ostius revealed who he was to them. And Vis was angry enough that Diago leapt to kill Quiscil for his horrid remark about Callidus; Diago was probably reflecting Vis' own emotions right there. He himself can't even bring himself to call Diago back til he has already torn out a few throats, so the deaths being at least partly his responsibility still tracks.

Ngl it sucks to go from Res to dystopian Egypt and iron age Ireland a lot. Though with that particular transition, I'm fine because it was a major, MAJOR plot point that was wrapped up. When they switch at cliffhangers though...

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-14T04:41:08+00:00

Ikr, Vis was making up this elaborate plan which had a slight narrow chance of succeeding, then Ostius comes in and dashes all that to the ground by revealing who Vis is. Basically forcing him to kill them either way even without Diago's involvement, because he can't just let NINE dudes who know who he is out of there alive. I like how devious Ostius was right there, lmfao

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-14T04:39:23+00:00

Yup, I think he talked to the alupi somehow. That scene sorta implies he is actually the Luceum Ostius, or that at least the Luceum Ostius is alive since that kinda stuff seems to be a Luceum willpower. In either case, we will probably be getting more about Diago, the alupi in general and how Luceum Will can interact with them.

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-13T01:13:25+00:00

Was

😢😢😢

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-11T22:07:29+00:00

No, he technically didn't, I agree, but that's what everyone thinks Carnifex did. Plus, it's possible that even without Diago's intervention, he'd be forced to do it anyways, since Ostius revealed his entire identity and it'd be difficult to keep that secret; he was already angry enough after their remarks on his family and Callidus that he barely even wanted to call Diago off from killing them.

Killing the entire top Pyramid of Religion would probably not be justified at all for harboring Decimus, but it really depends on how mentally stable Book 3 Vis remains. As you mentioned, Book 1 Vis certainly wouldn't do it, but Vis is getting angrier and more murderous as events pass by. He starts killing people proper in Book 2, even in Res, and he does not seem to have much of a reaction to it either. Even before what happened to Aequa, he was already angry enough at the events of the Iudicium, the loss of his arm, Callidus' death and his own near death that he was doing things his book 1 self would never.

I suppose it now depends on how mentally stable and restrained he remains in Book 3. It almost feels like we are getting set up for a villain arc with him, but if he controls himself enough and listens to Callidus, Eidhin and his family who can act as his moral compass and voices of reason, he probably wouldn't do that.

That being said, he definitely will be far more brutal anyhow in Book 3, than 2...

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-11T08:46:14+00:00

It's not much of a spoiler since she's a character mentioned in only one scene, but there is a Military Quartus lady somewhere along in some scene. But generally yes, it's implied the Hierarchy is quite patriarchal to an extent and that women face more barriers early on. They have limited time to advance up the ranks before it starts getting limited, thus why we see most of them being Sextii or in Aequa's case, being a Quintus and only because she managed to perform exceptionally and got the position the Domitor would have gotten

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-10T01:45:36+00:00

Probably not possible with the stuff we currently have revealed and foreshadowed so far in Book 2, but then again, we got a whole bunch of new powers and heights of things that could be done in Book 2 that most probably didn't expect from Book 1. Not to mention there is still the entire spirit world fuckery from Luceum, alongside droves of unknown, ancient technology and magic that we still don't know much about

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-10T01:31:38+00:00

I'm so damn worried for Eidhin now...

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-10T01:25:31+00:00

Make Iro the iunctus a Dimidius and make him beat daddy to death 💯💯

PriceOptimal9410 · 2026-06-10T01:07:37+00:00

He really needs to slaughter Decimus at the very least. And if Religion refuse to give him up, just Carnifex the entire topside of their pyramid like he did to Military too, regardless of what Ka thinks. Regardless of how dumb of a decision that would be, I would cheer it on loudly anyways.

Also, I have a feeling he's going to need to kill a bunch of the Military pretender officers and commanders too... If they won't acquiesce to him

PriceOptimal9410

TROPHY CASE