One of the characters for my (currently only planned) Ryse - Son of Rome project.
Created with www.dolldivine.com/rpg-heroine…

"A. Tullia Cicero, ca. 100 AD, in the guise of Legata Magistra Magi Militaria, holding the Staff of Clemency. The clavi purpurae hyacinthi (tunic rank stripes) designating her rank of Magistra Magi are covered by her lorica segmentata magia.
Mosaic found in the grand triclinium of the Imperial Villa, Rome." - Vicipedia (as if!)

Aquiliana Tullia Cicero

From Fakepedia, the free fictional encyclopaedia

Aquiliana (derived from aquila, eagle; roughly, eagle-like, eagle-feathered) Tullia Cicero (November 17, 44 AD, Rome – March 18, 179 AD ibidem) was the Empress Consort of Marius I Titius Romanus Augustus, Grand Archmage of the Roman Empire from 89 AD to 174 AD, and co-founder of the modern Roman Empire. Credited with being one of the defenders of Rome during Boudicca’s uprising, some say this great mage was touched and championed by the gods, specifically, Saturnus, deified spirit (deus) of harvest and wealth.

Background and history

Aquiliana Tullia Cicero was born in the Tullia family villa in Rome on the Palatine, as the second of three children to jurist Lucius Tullius Cato Porcianus (as by tradition of marrying a mage heir, he adopted his wife’s nomen gentile) and Magistra Magi Caesia Tullia Cicero Minora, Legate of the XII. Legion. She had an older twin brother, Marcellus, and a younger sister, Aestas, who would both come to play prominent roles in her later life as Empress. She was the great-granddaughter of famed orator, jurist and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero and his wife Lucia Terentia Varro, through Caesia, the first true Magistra Magi and Cicero’s eldest daughter and heiress, who served as the grand court mage to Augustus and established the early near-equality of men and women (women would not be allowed to take the cursus honorum for another 1000 years) if said woman was a mage. This was on the basis that a mage, regardless of gender, was fully capable of protecting the Imperium like “able-bodied men” (her life and existence also put quite a few men’s opinions on women upside down, including her father’s).

Found to have impressive magical potential, Caesia trained her as a healer and Battlemage, hoping her to join the army or serve the imperial court like herself. However, with Nero’s ascension to princeps, the freshly promoted Magistra Magi showed no desire to serve the Claudian she perceived as mentally weak or fight in the military just yet, opting to establish a private mage class for the less-privileged and remain in the military reserve.

Her world was shattered when, during a seemingly barbarian attack on Rome, her students and her parents were murdered, prompting her to join the military with the XIV. Legion under her father’s old friend, Commander Lucius Flavius Vitallion. She would later claim that, during her chase after the murderer of her parents, she encountered the deus Saturnus, who showed her the correct way.

During the campaign, she met her later-on husband Marius Titius Aquila, and fell in love with the young centurion, marrying him not even a year into it under the blessing of Saturn in Londinium. While the marriage was not performed in Rome under the Pontifex Maximus, it was later confirmed as being confarreatio, and thus not dissolvable.

During a duel with a Briton druid, she again encountered Saturnus, who revived her after an ill-timed spell had pierced her defences, calling her daughter of Rome (filia Romae) and that both Marius and her empire still needed her.
At the end of the campaign however, she learnt together with Marius that, in fact, their families had been victim to the jealousy and greed of the Claudiae: Marius’ father Leontius was murdered for his candidacy for consul while the slaughter of the elder Cicero and the students was a result of their choice of not serving Nero, who felt slighted; also, Cato had openly opposed Nero in the senate. Before they and their commander could act upon this knowledge, Eboracum was overrun, forcing the XIV. to evacuate the city and eventually leaving Marius behind to allow them to escape. Believing her husband to be dead, Aquiliana reportedly retreated into herself, until she noticed halfway between Portus Itius (Calais) and Rome that the dual pactio between them had not become invalid, proving Marius to be alive.

After her return to Rome with her Legion, Aquiliana thus began to investigate for justice, all the while looking for her husband, eventually tracking him down after he killed Basilius. After the death of Commodus, she, her brother Marcellus, Vitallion and Marius then began to plan both the defence of Rome from Boudicca and the downfall of Nero, with Vitallion musing that he could not think of a better ruler than his right and left hand.
[…still unfinished…]

Abilities

A daughter of the gens Tullia and mage master of the XIV. Legion, Aquiliana was a powerful mage, gifted in divination, combat and healing; while she was clearly trained as a traditional magus (aiming for Archmage) whose main defence were her ministers (Marius and Vitallion), she was skilled enough at shielding and close combat that she eventually earned the nickname Illa Sacrosancta (The Untouchable). She was an accomplished leader and strategist, rising from the rank of centurion to tribuna militaris within less than a year.

Her main affinity was scholastic, being restoration/healing and destruction; in combat, she favoured lightning/wind, ice and fire magic for bombardment, and had a strong sense for object manipulation, especially chains and pila. She reportedly had a tendency to store up several spells in delay (akin to ammunition), allowing her to fire them as surprise attacks, and favoured Thousand Thunderbolts over most other High Ancient spells, excluding Revitalisation, as it could be used for pinpoint attacks. Highly intelligent, she continued to expand her arsenal and knowledge over the course of her life, becoming knowledgeable in all nine schools, especially alchemy, written magic, transformation and alteration on top of her affinities, as evidenced by her Manual for the Aspiring Archmage, until today a staple for master mages seeking the title.

She wielded a bladed staff (Circle in Diamond) that was an heirloom from her grandmother, reportedly forged from metal gathered from a meteorite, giving it a blue-black colour, which is until today in the possession of the Imperial Family and symbol of the Empress/Emperor, eventually named The Staff of Clemency (virga clementiae). Later in life, she also carried a dagger with the face of Nemesis and the engraving “iudicatum” (verdict), as reminder of her having been the alleged champion of Saturnus.

Her mana was also exceptional, as she held the rank of Superiorum; historians estimate her mana capacity and intensity to be around 4-5MUM and 4.5kA/U, based upon the spells she reportedly used during the campaign to Britain (such as Thousand Thunderbolts, Blazing Heat in the Skies and Freak Wave) and her recovery time. The artefact she held as Marius’ ministra magi was the Proconsul Terrestris with the title Propugnatrix Saturnia (Champion of Saturn), while her husband’s artefact was the Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Befitting a descendant of Cicero, she was also a skilled orator, politician and trained jurist, talents she put to good use during her husband’s and her reign. She was also keenly aware of the magic of her gens, which was interwoven with many major buildings of Rome, a power she reportedly used against Nero during Boudicca’s siege to threaten him and take literal control of the palace.

Appearance
The dual statue on top of the Titian Column, which according to ancient reports was made double the size of the Imperial pair to ensure visibility and recognisability, is considered the most reliable depiction of Aquiliana Titia Cicero Romana, given that both hers and Marius’ likeness sport various scars they earned in the Britannia campaign and the Siege of Rome, the most prominent one being on her right cheek in her case. Also considered a reliable depiction is the mosaic in the grand triclinium of the Imperial Villa that shows her in military uniform, facing her husband.
She was about 1.83m (6ft) tall, indicator of her being a mage with a restoration affinity (which would ensure exceptional health) and her being of patrician birth (access to a superior diet), traits she shared with her husband. As a Master Battlemage, she cut an athletic figure that was deceptively slender, hinting at her agility but hiding her strength. She had medium-fair skin, long, dark brown hair and green-blue eyes.

Military Awards
The length of the XIV. Legion’s campaign to Britain allowed Cicero to gather many military awards, all of them betraying outstanding service.

· Grass Crown (corona graminea) – Granted by the Senate for the Defence of Rome and the Siege of York, jointly with her husband, the later Emperor Marius.

· Crown of the Silencer (corona silentia) – The highest military award below the Grass Crown which is only presented to a mage (coequal with the Civic Crown) was granted to Cicero for the Siege of Londinium in 80 CE, where her bombardment of the Britons’ defences allowed the XIV. Legion to take the city. The Siege of Londinium was also the battle she had her first real duel.

· Gold Crown (corona aurelia) – Awarded for the duel with the chief druid at Londinium.