The two hour drive from Elysium to Aetole, the vast Imperial hunting estate in northern Aquitainia, includes some of the most scenic back country in Etruria. The road itself is a single lane that gently climbs into the foothill region known as Brauronia where the Elysian Plains meet the western terminus of the Atenian range. Although considered a required destination by any in the know tourists to Etruria, the pristine and unspoiled views are often uninterrupted by other motorists for the duration of the lonely journey. This is due almost entirely its location in the depths of the Etrurian wilderness. It was also why Flavius Drusus didn't bother looking up from his newspaper. This was his sixth tour of Brauronia this month.

Being the go between connecting the Imperator with the Imperial City has been exhausting but he could not complain. It was all his idea anyway. Most days the Imperator has not been bedridden. However, the days he has been have been frequent and unpredictable. Furthermore, his condition has taken a physical toll on him. Now a shell of his former self, it would be obvious to the casual observer that he was not a well man. Dictatorships, even benevolent ones, require a strong leader. There was no way that Flavius could have known that months later the condition would have shown no improvement. An strong but absent leader is no more useful than one that is weak but present.

The domestic media, still under tight anti-communalist censorship, had made little mention of the Imperator's absence. Even the international media hadn't picked up on the true nature of the situation. However, the rumors persisted and it was clear that the Imperator would not be able to hide in the bushes forever. The Danetian League, having lost its most vocal advocate had sustained a nearly fatal loss of momentum. Sure the highways were under construction. But little else had materialized. Meanwhile the Vederi League and the once nearly forgotten Corulag Alliance are alive and well. Not to mention the North Danetian Treaty Organization. None are particularly good things for Etruria or the failing Danetian League.

Then there is Antara. The self styled sole superpower with the largest military and economy in the world... well at least on paper. The most recent economic numbers are so over the top they could not be serious. Ever since the Antaran's reported a GDP per capita nearly twice that the next two highest combined, most of the Etrurian Vulgar Press gave up printing the ANE index. The Imperator was outraged when the Praeconium Office followed suit. His friendship with Belesarious ensured the inflated figures continued to be released in Etruria's official state publications.

Flavius had long advocated a tougher stand when it came to Antara. The secret bomb tests in the Patronic only reinforced his concerns. The policing of the oceans are also a more recent nuisance. Leading the Honorata Societį to push hard for immediate intervention. Even on a superficial level the secret societies, propaganda and the historical revisionism simply annoyed him. Reading an Antaran history book, an Etrurian would be surprised to learn how eerily similar Etruria and Antara are. It just so happened that Antarans were slightly more Etrurian than the Etrurians just slightly before the Etrurians. Obviously the fantasy of an over zealous propaganda officer. The average Antaran can't really buy into this. Still, the international press - something Flavius has had the opportunity to read often lately- is shockingly silent when it comes to Antara's propaganda claims. Only a quip, a mere quote, in the Derian press stood in defiance of what is no doubt the worlds greatest propaganda machine. Unfortunately, it would seem that the Derians put Etruria in the same diluted state as Antara. Perhaps rightly so. Perhaps Etrurian military capabilities seem exaggerated as well. But no more than little Deria's rubust military. Perhaps, to the Derians, Etruria is just as quilty in that we have allowed the Antaran propaganda to go unchecked.

Of course, none of that matters. The great thing about most delusions are that they are harmless. However, what does matter is that Antara and her two puppet regimes in Artania and Galea have Etruria practically surrounded. Friend or not, Belesarious truly believes that he rules the sole super power and that is a dangerous delusion. As the Imperial Model 2111 approached Aetole, Flavius resolved that the Imperator would agree.

This post has been edited by FORD on Sep 30 2009, 09:39 PM