Lucius Septimius (c. 90s BCE – 44 BCE), also known as The Jackal, was a Roman Gabiniani stationed in Alexandria, Egypt to protect the members of the Ptolemaic royal dynasty. He was also a member of the Order of the Ancients and the assassin of Pompey in 48 BCE.
After the Battle of the Nile, Septimius was pardoned by Julius Caesar and, along with Flavius Metellus, managed to turn the Roman general and Cleopatra to the side of the Order. Upon acquiring a Staff of Eden once wielded by Alexander the Great, Septimus returned to Rome, where he served as Caesar's advisor until his death at the hands of the Hidden One Aya on the Ides of March, shortly before Caesar's own assassination.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Septimius was the model of the Roman legionary, being strong, imposing, and athletic. In 67 BCE, he served with Pompey in the general's campaign against pirates in the Mediterranean Sea.[1]
In 55 BCE, Septimius was permanently stationed in Alexandria as a tribune of the Gabiniani, a group of 2,000 Roman legionaries led by General Aulus Gabinius who were initially sent to Egypt to restore the Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes to the throne. He and the Gabiniani were eventually tasked with protecting the royal family. Septimius soon became fond of his adopted country, and when he first arrived in Alexandria, he fell in love with the city and a local woman named Nebetia, whom he married.[2]
Septimius also became acquainted with several powerful men at Ptolemy's court, including Pothinus, Achillas and Ganymedes. After the pharaoh died of an illness in 51 BCE, Septimius became one of the members of the inner circle, serving as an advisor to the late pharaoh's son and successor, Ptolemy XIII, along with Pothinus, Ganymedes, and the boy's tutor, Theodotus of Chios.[2]
Quest for the vault[]
By 49 BCE, Septimius had been inducted as a member of the Order of the Ancients, taking on the cryptonym "The Jackal". That year, he and his fellow members Medunamun, Flavius Metellus, Pothinus and Rudjek travelled with the envoy of pharaoh Ptolemy to the remote oasis village of Siwa. While Ptolemy's intention was to appoint Medunamun as Oracle of Amun there in order to better control the remote, dissident town, the Order sought to unlock the Vault beneath the Temple of Amun.[3]
To achieve this, the Order members brought an Apple of Eden they had in their possession, believing it was the key to openning the Vault and acquiring the "power of the gods", with which they hoped to subude and control Egypt, then the world. However, the temple priests refused to help them, so the Ancients decided to capture the local Medjay Bayek, hoping he would know how to unlock the Vault.[3]
Septimius amongst the Order members holding Bayek and Khemu hostage
The Order members had their soldiers capture Chenzira, a friend of Bayek's son Khemu, and convinced the boy and his mother Rebecca that they only wished to speak with the Medjay. Chenzira led the soldiers to Halma Point, where Bayek was defeated in combat and knocked unconscious, after which he was brought inside the Temple of Amun and before the Vault door. Septimius held Khemu as a hostage, suggesting that Pothinus try his method of calmly asking for Bayek's help. Medunamun showed him the Apple, but the Medjay did not, in fact, know anything about the Vault.[3]
The interrogation was interrupted by the arrival of Ptolemy, and several members of the Order left to distract him. Septimius threatened Bayek, telling him that he would never see Khemu again unless he unlocked the Vault before their return. With the help of Khemu, Bayek was freed from his bindings and acquired a knife, trying desperately to fight off his captors. However, Flavius grabbed him and redirected the knife into Khemu's heart, killing him, before knocking Bayek unconscious.[3]
Around this time, Septimius and his men captured the Nubian tribeswoman Kensa, using her as their personal slave, but she eventually escaped.[4]
Attempted assassination of Cleopatra[]
After the incident at the Vault, Septimius and the Order believed Bayek dead, not knowing that he had in fact begun to hunt them down out of revenge for his son's death. In 48 BCE, Septimius and the Gabiniani launched an assassination attempt on Cleopatra, the estranged sister, wife, and rival claimant to Ptolemy. He paid his subordinate, a fellow Gabiniani named Venator, drachmae for his own pleasure and for arming his men. Venator arranged for several of his soldiers to infiltrate Cleopatra's palace in Herakleion, but Bayek and his wife Aya were able to foil the attempt, and Venator and his men were killed.[5]
At the same time, Pothinus, learning of Pompey's arrival in Egypt, sent Septimius to kill the general before he could come to Cleopatra's aid. With the help of his fellow Gabiniani, Septimius slew and beheaded the general,[2][5] bringing his head back to Ptolemy in Alexandria.[6]
Septimius torturing the Roman emissary
The Order had hoped that this would help Ptolemy to secure an alliance with Julius Caesar, allowing them to expand their operations. However, they were foiled by Cleopatra, who was smuggled into Alexandria and the royal palace by Apollodorus, Aya and Bayek. Caesar was swayed by Cleopatra to side with her over Ptolemy, causing Septimius and the Order to flee.[6]
In response, Pothinus and Septimius led Ptolemy's forces against Caesar. When Caesar sent emissaries, they were captured at the southern garrison in Alexandria, where Septimius tortured one of them in the hopes of making him betray Caesar. Pothinus eventually stopped Septimius and reminded him of Flavius' plan: to besiege the harbor and trap Caesar and Cleopatra inside the royal palace. Thanks to the efforts of Aya and Bayek, however, the siege was broken.[6]
Battle of the Nile and aftermath[]
Septimius clashing with Bayek
With the Siege of Alexandria broken, the Battle of the Nile began, in which Septimius took part. While Bayek killed Pothinus, Septimius was tracked down by Caesar's speculatores. Believing him to be responsible for the murder of Khemu, Bayek confronted and defeated him. Before Bayek could kill Septimius, the legionary punched him in the face, and the two entered a struggle. Bayek was then subdued by Roman soldiers on the orders of Caesar, who proclaimed that Septimius would be punished according to Roman law. Still furiously trying to reach Septimius to finish him off, Caesar eventually ordered his men to knock Bayek unconscious.[7]
After the battle, during which Ptolemy was also killed, the Order managed to turn Caesar and Cleopatra to their side, and Flavius, who was an advisor to Caesar, managed to have Septimius pardoned. Aya and Bayek were also dismissed from their service to Cleopatra, while Flavius and Septimius began exerting their influence over Cleopatra and Caesar, controlling both Egypt and Rome.[8]
Septimius and Flavius inside the Siwa Vault
Soon after Cleopatra's ascension to the throne, Flavius and Septimius broke into the Tomb of Alexander the Great and stole the Staff of Eden inside. They also reclaimed the Apple, which had fallen into the hands of Apollodorus, whom they killed. With the necessary Pieces of Eden in their hands, they traveled to Siwa and unlocked the Vault there. When Bayek's friend, the Medjay Hepzefa tried to stop them, he was killed, and they tore out his heart (then considered the manifestation of the soul in Egypt) as a mocking gesture.[8]
With the Vault open, Flavius put the people of Siwa under his thrall, controlling their minds. While Flavius returned to his seat of power in Cyrene, Septimius returned to Alexandria with the Staff. Bayek was able to kill Flavius, the true killer of Khemu, while Aya decided to pursue Septimius and Caesar to Rome after she and Bayek established the Hidden Ones, an organization dedicated to fighting the Order's influence.[8]
Death[]
- Aya: "The Staff..."
- Septimius: "With the Order. I served them and your beloved Egypt. And I'll be rewarded in the afterlife. An eternity of drinking and whoring with my brothers."
- Aya: "The only thing that waits for you is oblivion. For your name, your Order and the rotting corpses of your Gabiniani! Apep devour your fetid heart."
- —Aya and Septimius during the latter's final moments, 44 BCE.[src]-[m]
Septimius accompanying Caesar
By 44 BCE, Septimius had become a member of Caesar's inner circle. That year, however, his influence over the Roman Senate was about to be challenged by Aya and her fellow Hidden Ones Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, both members of the Senate. On 15 March, Caesar was preparing to officially become the undisputed ruler of Rome, and Septimius accompanied him to his meeting with the Senate.[9]
At the Theatre of Pompey, Septimius spoke with Caesar shortly before the Senate hearing, telling Caesar that he was a beloved ruler and a god. Though Caesar believed the Senate would oppose him, Septimius promised to be Caesar's "wolf" in "that parliament of clucking hens". As Caesar left, Septimius spotted Aya and leapt down into the central arena in the theatre to fight her, while Brutus and Cassius prepared to assassinate Caesar.[9]
Septimius confronting Aya in the arena
Aya swiftly killed Septimius' men and dueled him. As they fought, Septimius claimed that Caesar was the Father of Understanding, taunted Aya over Khemu's death, and suggested that she flee or submit to Caesar and the Order of the Ancients. Aya warned that with Flavius gone, there was no one to save him from her or Bayek's vengeance this time.[9]
Although Septimius was formidably armed and heavily armored, Aya was nimbler in her light armor and eventually struck a fatal blow, saying that he would die as vengeance for Khemu. Septimius revealed that the Alexander's Staff of Eden was in the hands of the Order, and claimed that he would ascend to the afterlife to drink and whore with his fellow soldiers there. Aya countered him, declaring that he, the Order, and the Gabiniani would be forgotten, after which she slit his throat.[9]
Legacy[]
Bayek denying Septimius entrance to the afterlife
In 34 BCE, a decade after his death, an apparition of Septimius was encountered by Bayek in the Duat, after having used the heart of an innocent child to cheat the scales and avoid Ammit. Bayek, serving as the medium for a ritual overseen by the Oracle Nena, confronted Septimius, who later crumbled and disappeared, presumably due to his heart being too corrupted, and was devoured by Apep.[10]
Personality and traits[]
Septimius was a rough and coarse individual. Though he loved Alexandria and his wife Nebetia, he could be extremely cruel, gleefully torturing people and taunting Aya over the death of her son. He was proud to be a Gabiniani and a commander in the Roman army, proclaiming that he would drink and whore with the Gabiniani in the afterlife. This also led to a certain degree of arrogance, as he would often mock his opponents.[1]
Septimius was suspicious of most people, constantly believing someone to be after him. This paranoia led him to suspect even his own allies, and he only trusted those he knew with certainty to be allies.[2] He could also be manipulative, helping to turn Caesar into a member for the Order of the Ancients by appealing to his lust for power and his desire of becoming a powerful ruler.[1]
Skills and equipment[]
Septimius with his flails
Septimius was a strong and imposing legionary with a large build. In combat, Septimius wielded a flail, which he used with tremendous speed and precision. He also wielded a sword and was capable enough to go toe-to toe with Bayek, a Medjay.[1]
During Septimius' final battle with Aya, he wielded a flail that was seemingly powered by a Precursor relic, which granted him a number of advanced abilities. He was able to release shockwaves into the ground, grapple onto Aya and release a deadly blow and his strikes would shatter the ground, making him an even more powerful foe than before.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Lucius Septimius is a historical character introduced in the 2017 video game Assassin's Creed: Origins, in which he was portrayed by the British actor Jonny Glynn.
In the game, Septimius wears a Corinthian helmet, though usage of this type of helmet was largely obsolete by the 1st century BCE.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- The Curse of the Pharaohs (apparition only)
- Assassin's Creed: Origins comic (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Assassin's Creed: Origins
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Assassin's Creed Origins: Official Game Guide
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Assassin's Creed: Origins – The False Oracle
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Crocodile's Jaws
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Way of the Gabiniani
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Aya: Blade of the Goddess
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Battle of the Nile
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Aftermath
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Assassin's Creed: Origins – Fall of an Empire, Rise of Another
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Curse of the Pharaohs – Shield or Blade