The First Key

"The ancient rights of the patrician class are the bedrock of the Republic!" Petronius's voice boomed through the marble-vaulted halls of the Palatine library, every syllable aimed to intimidate and rally. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment, beeswax, and the sweat of anxious intellect. Dozens of Rome's greatest legal minds crowded the long tables, red wax tablets scattered among their manuscripts, while imperial scribes hovered nearby, styluses poised to capture every word.