(no subject)
Title: Crumbling
Author: romanitas
Characters: Rome, Germania.
Rating: Strong T for language.
Summary: It's 410 C.E., and the city of Rome has been sacked for the first time in ages.
“Fuck… you…” the fallen empire hissed, breathing heavily, using his sword like a cane to brace himself. He was unable to lift it as a weapon; instead, he used it as a different kind of support (one which embarrassed him greatly). From his side, he bled, his clothes and light armor stained with red. The wound was deep.
Germania only stared, hoisting the bag full of gold and other such valuables, sheathing his sword. The pieces clanged together inside as he did so, and one of his people hurried by, beckoning for him to follow. “Alaric says we’re done!” he relayed, turning the corner.
“We had a goddamn… agreement…”
“We had no agreement as of yet,” he replied, finally speaking. “And it was broken regardless.”
Rome coughed, heaving and gasping. He spat at the ground, and mixed in with the saliva was blood.
“I think it would be best if you would just cease this foolishness. You can hardly stand on your own.”
“Shut up,” he barked, lifting his sword to swing it at the German. He missed, badly, and the other man hardly even had to side step to dodge. “I am Rome.”
“No. You once were. But not anymore,” was Germania’s only reply, and he turned around, hurrying out of the city.
Rome collapsed.
--
END NOTES
+ Rome was sieged three times by the Visigoths, and the third time resulted in the sacking. It was the first time in centuries Rome had fallen to outsiders.
+ Despite that, it is not the official date for the fall of the Roman Empire. There is no official date. The shift (in the West, at least) from Rome to Medieval was a gradual one. Dates are argued (410 C.E, 478 C.E with the abdication of the last Roman Emperor, etc), but because there was so much going on, it's impossible to pinpoint one exact date as the exact moment Rome fell. (Because lol The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is not exactly the Go To source for what it suggests.)
+ Continuing on the fall of Rome, everyone forgets that Rome did live on, in the East, as what is known today as the Byzantine Empire. But back in the day, they simply considered themselves to be a continuation of the Roman Empire, the "New Rome," and thought of themselves as Romans. So while the West collapsed into the Middle Ages, the East experiences another few centuries of prosperity (before the Turks decided they wanted the shiny peninsula known as Anatolia). The Eastern Roman Empire was decidedly different from the West, though, and therefore, I don't consider the Ancient Rome of Hetalia to live on as the Byzantine Empire (especially since Germania delivered the fatal blow canon-wise. Germania killing Byzantium? Yeeeeeeah no).
+ Why are the end notes just as long as the fic. ಠ_ಠ
Author: romanitas
Characters: Rome, Germania.
Rating: Strong T for language.
Summary: It's 410 C.E., and the city of Rome has been sacked for the first time in ages.
“Fuck… you…” the fallen empire hissed, breathing heavily, using his sword like a cane to brace himself. He was unable to lift it as a weapon; instead, he used it as a different kind of support (one which embarrassed him greatly). From his side, he bled, his clothes and light armor stained with red. The wound was deep.
Germania only stared, hoisting the bag full of gold and other such valuables, sheathing his sword. The pieces clanged together inside as he did so, and one of his people hurried by, beckoning for him to follow. “Alaric says we’re done!” he relayed, turning the corner.
“We had a goddamn… agreement…”
“We had no agreement as of yet,” he replied, finally speaking. “And it was broken regardless.”
Rome coughed, heaving and gasping. He spat at the ground, and mixed in with the saliva was blood.
“I think it would be best if you would just cease this foolishness. You can hardly stand on your own.”
“Shut up,” he barked, lifting his sword to swing it at the German. He missed, badly, and the other man hardly even had to side step to dodge. “I am Rome.”
“No. You once were. But not anymore,” was Germania’s only reply, and he turned around, hurrying out of the city.
Rome collapsed.
--
END NOTES
+ Rome was sieged three times by the Visigoths, and the third time resulted in the sacking. It was the first time in centuries Rome had fallen to outsiders.
+ Despite that, it is not the official date for the fall of the Roman Empire. There is no official date. The shift (in the West, at least) from Rome to Medieval was a gradual one. Dates are argued (410 C.E, 478 C.E with the abdication of the last Roman Emperor, etc), but because there was so much going on, it's impossible to pinpoint one exact date as the exact moment Rome fell. (Because lol The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is not exactly the Go To source for what it suggests.)
+ Continuing on the fall of Rome, everyone forgets that Rome did live on, in the East, as what is known today as the Byzantine Empire. But back in the day, they simply considered themselves to be a continuation of the Roman Empire, the "New Rome," and thought of themselves as Romans. So while the West collapsed into the Middle Ages, the East experiences another few centuries of prosperity (before the Turks decided they wanted the shiny peninsula known as Anatolia). The Eastern Roman Empire was decidedly different from the West, though, and therefore, I don't consider the Ancient Rome of Hetalia to live on as the Byzantine Empire (especially since Germania delivered the fatal blow canon-wise. Germania killing Byzantium? Yeeeeeeah no).
+ Why are the end notes just as long as the fic. ಠ_ಠ