I, Rorius

"I became the Emperor of Rome."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: The Lone Centurion 1.03

Featuring: Rory

Synopsis

Legend tells of the Lone Centurion – a mysterious figure dressed as a Roman soldier who stood guard over the Pandora, warning off those who would attempt to open it: a constant warrior whose story appeared in the folk history of a dozen civilisations. 

Only... he seems to have misplaced it.

Travelling to Rome in search of the Pandorica, Rory finds himself forced to perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum... where he attracts the attention of the Imperial household.

Drowning in a sea of plots and conspiracies, Rory just wants his life back. But in Ancient Rome, people don't retire, they die. And that's a bit difficult when you're immortal.

Verdict

I, Rorius was a fantastic story to conclude the first volume of The Lone Centurion! I was really looking forward to this spinoff series when it was first announced and I'm really glad that it didn't let down and I'm now looking ahead to the second volume next year which I am sure will maintain the high standard set here. This rounded out the series nicely and following on from the incredible events at the end of The Unwilling Assassin, Rory was now fully integrated in the role of unwilling Emperor. That really was so much fun and hearing his quandaries over the expectations of the Roman ruler with the likes of the sacrifices and gods was excellent. I thought it was a lovely touch for him to have his own goddess created in the form of Amelia, the goddess of ponds, and I thought the comments about the statue's legs and her proportions were magnificent. Rory was clearly very fond of his loved one's legs and whilst nobody can blame him, I thought that was a great fit for the Roman period. His delving into the possibility of an alternative timeline given that there was never actually a Roman Emperor Rory was interesting and surely goes some way to legitimising these events with what would happen over the course of The Big Bang. Rory's relationship with Anna in this adventure was delightful and hearing him event admit to his goddess that he thought she was pretty was amusing because Rory is always one to test things a little! He wouldn't be able to act on his thoughts for obvious reasons pertaining to Amy, but his pondering on the lonely centuries ahead must have made it a difficult decision because the interest was clearly mutual. That was evidence in how clearly pained he was to refuse her company at the conclusion of the audio where he left Rome after passing on the Emperorship to Hilarious which was a fun little moment. Juliana was also a really good character and I liked how she was clearly annoying Rory over the course of the episode. Although to be fair, pretty much everything was annoying him when it came to being the Emperor. He was sick of being graced and honoured and announced for every little thing he did which was terrific. I did enjoy how he revelled in the authority he did posses though when it came to having his shrine of Amelia created. Before apologising. The idea of Rory being the target of an assassination attempt was fantastic and the would-be assassins were a lot of fun and they couldn't understand how their multiple methods had so far failed. Little did they know that Rory wasn't really human anymore. A scorpion, an arrow to the shoulder and even a poisoned duck couldn't do the job. Rory housing chickens and ducks in his shrine rather than sacrificing them was magnificent and him ordering them to have supplies was wonderful. Word going around regarding the Emperor's lack of eating was also a fun element of the episode and whilst this was certainly an upbeat and amusing adventure, it was also very poignant for Rory as we saw him dwelling on his decision to guard the Pandorica for so long. It was secured now which was great to know, but being Emperor certainly had its toll for the Lone Centurion, and he has a long way to go yet. Overall, a fantastic finale to a really fun boxset!

Rating: 9/10