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CHAPTER 3 — The Hatching of the Plan

Entering the Cæsar Nero’s bedchamber with the newly-refilled goblets, Livia found her new target already in bed with another of her fellow slaves, clearly in the preliminary stages of coital activity blatantly desired only by the male partner.

Thinking quickly, she instructed Marcella to check on the preparations for the banquet, subtly giving her a slight wink of the kind that meant “I’m saving you from being raped by him” in the specialised non-verbal language of the slaves of the courts of Rome.

“Afternoon, Cæsar. I brought you the extra drinks you requested. Is there anything else I can do for you currently, or would I be more useful keeping an eye on tonight’s feast?”

“Oh, er, Livia, no, no, I’m fine for now. I’ll just have a nap for a bit so I’m nice and ready for later. Don’t want the Cæsar falling asleep at his own birthday party, do we, eh?”

“No, sir. Definitely not, sir. Will you want waking when the guests arrive, sir, or should I direct them to their seats to await your arrival?”

“No! They’re my guests, so I will direct them. Come and wake me when they get here, will you?”

“Very good, sir,” responded the exasperated Livia, even more determined to implement her plan with the help of the new ring on her finger.

What she didn’t yet know is that the Ring had already started taking matters into its own hands while it was in the Imperial Bedchambers.

CHAPTER 4 — FINAL PREPARATIONS

Having reached an agreement on the plan, Livia Valeria headed to the banqueting hall ready to put it in motion later that day.

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Returning to the Cæsar Nero’s chambers to inform him of the arrival of the great Maximus Pettulian from Corinth, Livia also began hatching the plan to embarrass the fool in front of his entire court. Gently whispering to the Ring on her finger, she made his toga start tearing very slowly so as to not actually break until the requisite moment for maximum embarrassment.

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“Friends, Romans, countrymen, we hope you enjoyed our glorious feast of exquisite delicacies from all across our great empire! And now, all the way from Corinth, for a further feast of music, the spectacular lyre player, Maximus Pettulian!”

And so Maximus played his new composition in honour of the occasion: a gentle understated piece with occasional flourishes in deference to his illustrious host.

After the concert, Nero took to the stage himself for his own performance inspired by his predecessor (as was traditional of the time).

And thus the stage was set for what would forever be the most shameful event of the young Cæsar’s life.

CHAPTER 5 — NUDITAS NERONIS

Just as he had gotten himself comfortable to begin his recital, the exact second his finger first made contact with his instrument, there came an almighty rrrriiiiiipppppp from the direction of Nero’s new chair as his toga finally broke into a million separate little pieces, and completely exposing his minuscule penis to the open air of the court and the eyes of the Court.

Astonished at the sudden unprovoked disappearance of all his clothes, the audience were too gobsmacked even to describe what had happened to the Cæsar himself, who, unperturbed (and presumably unaware) merely continued the planned performance, not caring (or realising) what else he was also demonstrating, above and beyond his musical prowess.

It was only when the recital was complete that Nero’s attention was no longer too strongly focussed on his instrument to notice the change in his attire; however, as soon as he did, he ordered a thorough search of the entire palace to find the traitor and have them sent to the lions!

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A few days later, Livia Valeria having been sentenced to the same unfortunate fate as many thousands of traitorous citizens of the empire before her, Nero was examining the Ring found in her possessions shortly after her death, unusually entranced by the way its orange glow never faded by even a singular lumen.

Well, Cæsar, now you’ve seen what I can do, how would you like to make all your enemies endure the same fate?

“Who was that? Who’s there? Where are you?” asked the shocked Nero.

It’s me, the ring, in your hand! replied the Ring, getting very much fed up with the human race’s continued inability to comprehend even the basics of telepathic communication.

“I…suppose that makes sense. You’re clearly made of some foreign metal, so I should expect bizarre abilities of you. What was that you were saying about my enemies, sir?”

Only that I can help you make them suffer as you suffered at the hands of my previous Ringbearer, it replied, Well? What do you think?

“I think that you are some sort of heretical object that should really be locked away within a sealed chamber to never be opened again,” he began, “but I do have a lot of people who very much would be glad to see me dead rather than let me carry out my plans for the city, so yes, we have a deal.”

Sorry I haven’t updated this as much as I’d intended; I underestimated quite how busy I’d be with college. This will unfortunately be a significantly shorter story than intended, but I might return to it after the competition to potentially fill the largest of the gaps. Please accept this abbreviated concluding series of chapters and sections for the time being. Apologies.

CHAPTER 6 — THE VENGEANCE OF THE CÆSAR NERO AND THE PLANS FOR HIS DOWNFALL
And so the tyrannical reign of the Cæsar Nero became so riddled with public embarrassment and exposure of all kinds that the citizens simply decided to forgo clothing altogether and accept their communal nudity rather than live in constant fear of his wrath.

That was until, from the depths of his very own Prætorian Guard, there rose one man determined to avenge his own mother. His name? Tigilinus Valeria, only son of the late Livia Valeria, the woman cast to the lions for daring to expose the Cæsar and his pea-sized genitalia.

He had spent so long fine-tuning and foolproofing his plans that he would often forget to sleep for weeks at a time, but, eventually, it was decided that the first anniversary of that fateful day would be perfect for his revenge.

CHAPTER 7 — TIGILINUS’ PLAN

Having had many attempts on his life already, the Cæsar Nero had long since developped a keen sense of both hearing and sight, to the extent that he also struggled sleeping as he could never quite disengage his brain sufficiently to attain that relaxed state.

So it was with great irony that Tigilinus’ plans conveniently aligned with the first night in the last year that Nero had successfully achieved that which had eluded him for so long.

Knowing full well the punishment that would come his way for actually assassinating the sleeping figure (and having no desire to become a mere martyr for his people’s freedom), Tigilinus had instead elected to simply identify what was giving the Cæsar these preternatural powers.

Having spent the past year poring methodically over every drawing and painting of Nero’s lifetime, Tigilinus had finally identified the culprit: a small ring on his left hand, containing an orange jewel inside it; a ring that was totally absent from the art before this year, yet was never removed from his body for the whole of the current.

Sneaking quietly into the royal chambers, Tigilinus carried naught but a small pugio to gently prise the ring from the finger and end this reign of terror.

“Nearly there,” he thought, “just one… more… push!” The force of the final push sent Tigilinus sprawling across the floor, and also woke Nero from his slumber.

Terrified, but still hidden behind the curtains where he’d landed, Tigilinus dared not move nor breathe for fear of alerting the lightly-conscious Cæsar.

CHAPTER 8 — WILL TIGILINUS SURVIVE, OR WILL HE JOIN HIS LATE MOTHER?

Unfortunately, no trace of Tigilinus can be found beyond this point due to the Imperial Scribes’ long-standing tradition of never writing about the Cæsar’s personal business.

We can deduce he was either executed or banished from the complete lack of references to him beyond this point, but no sources have yet been found that could help identify which of those two options actually occurred.

AUTHOR’S NOTE (2)

And now for another large jump to the Ring’s next recorded appearance: England in the Middle Ages, with the highwayman Sam Swift the Quick.

SECTION 4 — SAM SWIFT THE QUICK, HIGHWAYMAN, ENGLAND, MIDDLE AGES (1651)

CHAPTER 1 — SAM FINDS THE RING

Short, stocky, and slight, Sam Swift the Quick’s chosen epithet could not have been more ironically tautological if he had tried, but choose it he did.

One overcast July afternoon, while perusing the items of his latest robbery, he noticed a fascinating amber-encrusted ring that looked somehow both brand new and ancient.

Hello, Sam, it broadcast into his mind, making him drop it from shock, terrible weather for the time of the year, no?

The history nerd in me is amused by the Change Ring in 1651 choosing to manifest in England, since England in 1651 was a chaotic mess of rapid-fire changes at a breakneck pace after the execution of the king.

The history nerd in me is also compelled to point out that 1651 is about 200 years AFTER the middle ages lol. England even had multiple colonies in America by then.

Should be interesting to see what shenanigans a double-named thief in the middle of chaos country could pull off with the Change Ring.

CHAPTER 2 — SAM REALISES THE RING’S POWERS

“Who’s there‽” shouted Sam, his swiftness and quickness both deserting him in his shock.

Oh, for God’s sakes, it’s me! Who else would it be‽

“Are you… a talking ring? No, that’s too much for me!” he replied, fleeing from the forest grove in fright at this unnatural object.

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A few days later, his curiosity having finally gotten the better of him, Sam returned to the forest to see whether he could discover anything else about the mysterious ring he had found.

I see you have returned for me. I knew you would. You humans are too predictable sometimes.

“Us… humans?” Sam asked, confused, “Are you… from… the stars?”

No, you silly man, of course not! I was made on Earth just like you, only thousands of years ago. I’m just not human; I really am a ring just as you see.

Here the ring elevated itself to Sam’s eye level, and then twirled on the spot.

Doesn’t a highwayman like you want all the precious jewels you can get?

“Well, ye do look precious; I’ll give ye that. But how are floating like that? What ungodly powers do you possess‽”

Well, just put me on your finger, Sam Swift the Quick (what a curious name!), and I’ll show you!

His curiosity rising, but still doubtful what a tiny ring could actually do, Sam did as instructed, and gently moved the ring towards his finger.

“Er, slight problem, ring. You’re too small to fit on my finger currently. What now?”

Oh, of course, how silly of me. Just wait one moment. The ring suddenly expanded before Sam’s eyes until it was large enough for the large fingers of the infamous Sam Swift the Quick. Is that better?

“Er, yes, but… but…” Sam spluttered, too befuddled to even complete his question.

“…How did I do that?” Sam nodded vigorously. Easily. That’s my power. I can change things about the world to suit my or my Master’s needs.

“What…else…can…you…do?” Sam asked hesitantly.

See those scars on your hand and neck? it asked, referring to the injuries he had attained during his cancelled execution a few weeks earlier. Watch!

Sam stared in awe as every little cut in his skin suddenly knitted itself back together until he was a perfect figure of health again. “Woah! You really can do anything!”

Naturally.

“Can you do naughty things as well?”

Having learnt the vocabulary of this time from its previous (as-yet-unidentified) Master, the Ring knew perfectly well what Sam meant, so could confidently reply, That is precisely my main purpose. Do you already have someone in mind for this?

“Yes. There are two people who have done this to me. One has fled, but the other still abides, a danger to the state and our person. She must be made to pay for her actions against me!”

How delicious! Pure, unadulterated vengeance once more! How shall it be done?

“The forest is not the place for this conversation. Let us return to my house and we shall hatch our plans there.”