twisted it around, felt poked, and prodded every inch of the metal surface. He twisted the end with the metal circle and found that it untwisted from the rest of the tube. This he did cautiously, only to find two smaller tubes within. These were covered with a parchment-like substance and had figures painted in a foreign language. Perhaps a message from the gods.
âGreat Caesar, this is a strange thingâ.
Quickly, he replaced the two smaller tubes to their original place, not wishing to disturb anything should he be found with this treasure. He kept fingering the tube. Suddenly his finger which was on the knob on the side of the tube slipped forward and ⦠âGreat gods!â
He dropped the tube in astonishment, bolted and ran as fast as he could toward the protection of a big rock. There he sat with a cold moisture spreading over his body, his teeth chattering, his hands shaking.
âGreat Jupiter protect me from this horrorâ. He sat where he was in the coldness of his fright for what seemed to be many minutes, not daring to stir. With no further sound, or sign from where he had dropped the tube, he timorously lifted his head above the rock to see what was there.
âGods on high, protect meâ. There in front of him, lying on the ground, was the tube he had just been holding in his hands, and emitting from the front of it, from the little eye, was a beam of light ⦠a light brighter than the sun, which illumined a path across the little knoll and rested upon a tree in a found circular patch of light.
He stood, petrified behind the rock, silently observing the phenomenon that was taking place in front of him. Certainly this, thought he to himself, was an omen or a sign from the gods. Perhaps it was meant for me to find.
He slowly moved from his hiding place to a spot directly behind the tube, opposite the tree that was being lit up by this marvelous omen from Apollo, the sun god. He crept quietly ever forward until he stood over the tube. It moved not. Now he reached down with trembling hand and picked it up. Still it moved not. He held it in his hand, and as his hand moved, so did the patch of light, now over the ground, now over the trees, making everything before him visible to the eye even though it was darkest night. His trembling fingers pushed the knob on the side again, and suddenly the darkness of the night surrounded him. A great fear overcame him as he stood there with the quietness of the night enveloping him. His curious fingers pushed forward on the knob and again a flash of light jutted out from the little eye and lit up a green fir tree. He pushed the button again; the light went out; again, the light went on; again, the light went out.
âI can control this magnificence with the touch of a finger. What a wonderful gift. Surely the gods sent this to me so that I might control it and use it for some purposeâ, he thought. âPerhaps enough power to overcome the atrocities that Father was speaking of before. Surely this must be the answer. Power from the gods to withstand the divinity of Nero. It is an omen for me to oppose Nero. Was he not only a few years older than I am when he ascended the throne? So be it, oh gods, I will follow your wishesâ.
In the days and weeks that ensued, Domitius revealed his power only to a few people, and these that he did show it to were the leaders of the tribes and groups that clustered together for protection. Each of these leaders were astounded by his magnificent gift, and were moved to agree with him as to its purpose. Slowly, a movement began to form. People would gather and Domitius would come with his âScepter of the Sunâ and shine it forth on the people so that they might receive strength from the sun.
All of these meetings were held at night, in the woods, for âThe Lightâ, being of the sun, was not stronger than the sun, and, therefore, could not shine brighter in the day-light than the light
âGreat Caesar, this is a strange thingâ.
Quickly, he replaced the two smaller tubes to their original place, not wishing to disturb anything should he be found with this treasure. He kept fingering the tube. Suddenly his finger which was on the knob on the side of the tube slipped forward and ⦠âGreat gods!â
He dropped the tube in astonishment, bolted and ran as fast as he could toward the protection of a big rock. There he sat with a cold moisture spreading over his body, his teeth chattering, his hands shaking.
âGreat Jupiter protect me from this horrorâ. He sat where he was in the coldness of his fright for what seemed to be many minutes, not daring to stir. With no further sound, or sign from where he had dropped the tube, he timorously lifted his head above the rock to see what was there.
âGods on high, protect meâ. There in front of him, lying on the ground, was the tube he had just been holding in his hands, and emitting from the front of it, from the little eye, was a beam of light ⦠a light brighter than the sun, which illumined a path across the little knoll and rested upon a tree in a found circular patch of light.
He stood, petrified behind the rock, silently observing the phenomenon that was taking place in front of him. Certainly this, thought he to himself, was an omen or a sign from the gods. Perhaps it was meant for me to find.
He slowly moved from his hiding place to a spot directly behind the tube, opposite the tree that was being lit up by this marvelous omen from Apollo, the sun god. He crept quietly ever forward until he stood over the tube. It moved not. Now he reached down with trembling hand and picked it up. Still it moved not. He held it in his hand, and as his hand moved, so did the patch of light, now over the ground, now over the trees, making everything before him visible to the eye even though it was darkest night. His trembling fingers pushed the knob on the side again, and suddenly the darkness of the night surrounded him. A great fear overcame him as he stood there with the quietness of the night enveloping him. His curious fingers pushed forward on the knob and again a flash of light jutted out from the little eye and lit up a green fir tree. He pushed the button again; the light went out; again, the light went on; again, the light went out.
âI can control this magnificence with the touch of a finger. What a wonderful gift. Surely the gods sent this to me so that I might control it and use it for some purposeâ, he thought. âPerhaps enough power to overcome the atrocities that Father was speaking of before. Surely this must be the answer. Power from the gods to withstand the divinity of Nero. It is an omen for me to oppose Nero. Was he not only a few years older than I am when he ascended the throne? So be it, oh gods, I will follow your wishesâ.
In the days and weeks that ensued, Domitius revealed his power only to a few people, and these that he did show it to were the leaders of the tribes and groups that clustered together for protection. Each of these leaders were astounded by his magnificent gift, and were moved to agree with him as to its purpose. Slowly, a movement began to form. People would gather and Domitius would come with his âScepter of the Sunâ and shine it forth on the people so that they might receive strength from the sun.
All of these meetings were held at night, in the woods, for âThe Lightâ, being of the sun, was not stronger than the sun, and, therefore, could not shine brighter in the day-light than the light
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