------------- Crimson Ludus – Lightning Always Strikes Twice

The Olympians, sometimes known by different names, but all the same nonetheless, control the hearts of more than half the continent of Callona. Theirs is the worship of Atheae, Viridia, Carellon, Hellenia, Equideyea, Maeceyea, and even parts of the Kingdoms of Farston and Skycliff. And of the churches and temples that train War Priests, the Olympian Gods have perhaps more than their share. Not everyone, however, goes for the obvious choices, Ares and Athena. There is one other War Goddess amongst the Olympians. She may be considered a lesser Goddess, not one of the twelve Olympians, the inner family of Atreides, but a Goddess, nonetheless. And She is the only other God on Olympus that is permitted to wield Zeus’ thunderbolts. Nike, the Atheaen Goddess of Victory, has long been a patroness of Viridia.

Droxime Milantius was born poor, and would likely have stayed that way if she hadn’t been born with natural gifts for magic and warfare. In her early teen years, she was presented to the Temple of Nike at Laecrius and accepted as an acolyte. It was quite the relief to her parents to be rid of her. Through her years of training, she was an outstanding student. When at last she graduated, her parents attended. She nodded and smiled to them, and then turned and walked away and never looked back.

Her first assignment was to aid the Viridian army against the Trolls in the northern territories on the border of Centeyea. She saw little action, spending most of her time sequestered at the command post, healing the wounded and acting as the Commander’s aide de camp. He would not even allow her to speak. Her reaction to such treatment gave her a resounding black mark on her record. When she returned to Laecrius, she petitioned for reassignment and was sent to the Coliseum at Virdus to train with the female gladiators. It was thought her willful attitude might be reined in by some stricter discipline than she had received at temple. It was,… ineffective. All she really learned was more advanced fighting styles, and the secret of a certain member of the Carnelian Sisterhood.

Events turned. Droxime was soon to be embroiled in the politics and social maneuvering surrounding the Coliseum. At the center of that tempest were the Carnelian Sisters, and their ambitions outstripped even their appetites. But by the time it all came to a head, Droxime had gained great personal power as a member of the Crimson Ludus. As a Warpriestess of Nike, she made sure lighting always struck twice.

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