Application: Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Spartacus : Blood and Sand)

[masteroftitans]

((WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS for Spartacus: Blood and Sand, season 1.))

A middle-aged man of unimpressive stature, dressed in the garments of a successful Roman and drenched in blood, appeared on the floor of the Sorting Room. After a moment, he stood up, looking around. There was supposed to be a river. And a ferryman. And a three-headed dog. But

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[masteroftitans]

Despite Grima's rather sickly and unkempt appearance, Batiatus begin to take an immediate liking of sorts to the man. It was something about his general demeanor, one that suggested he didn't waste time on frivolities, combined with his manner of speech. He had a brain, and it was probably a good one- he didn't miss that Grima lauded the knowledge of the weird magic school. He also noted that Grima assigned an intelligent controlling power to the Hat- a 'wizard' manged to render as a 'magus' due to the translation spell, which was a more sensible attitude than a literal talking Hat. He expected Grima might have some quality advice regarding the castle in general. Little could he know that the potentially-mad Sorting Hat had already inflicted a role of advice-giving upon Grima.

"I've been told this 'Hogwarts' is somewhere in the distant future of the world, and my nation no longer exists. It seems not long ago I had a fucking sword driven through my neck, and I haven't seen anything but this room since I got here, possibly due to the will of a fucking necromancer who disguises himself as headwear." He sounded bitter enough, but smirked with sardonic amusement as he added, "But, at least I appear to be alive, and and somewhere with wealth and knowledge. But I'm not about to be on my knees and sucking Jupiter's cock in gratitude until I've left this room." Batiatus still understood very little about Hogwarts- he'd been told a decent amount at this point, but, he was waiting to see the talking hats and the rest of his surroundings for himself before coming to any conclusions. "What sort of wealth and knowledge do you speak of?"

[g_wormtongue]

The man fascinated Grima. He talked like a soldier yet not like one of the Rohirrim. A man of the world perhaps? A city dweller?

"As for the wealth..." Grima gestured around the room at the rich tapestries. "This room proves nothing I know- there have been wretched little fleabag kingdoms that have well-decorated palaces. But believe me- the rest of the castle is the same as this and contains great storehouses of miraculously preserved food that could last any siege. The chambers are as well appointed as those of any king and they include special rooms for absolutions." Yes Grima had discovered the bathroom and sink though being immersed in a tub regularly was still too strange a custom for him.

He paused to breathe. "Now- the storehouses of books and scrolls are gathered from many nations. I have studied few so far- most were confusing but there is some strange art and a worthwhile study on tactics there.

I cannot say whether it would be appropriate to *thank Jupiter* but there certainly are worse places."

[masteroftitans]

Batiatus wasn't exactly a city dweller- he was in the city often enough on business, but, his actual villa and ludus were located outside of the city proper, along the edge of a rather formidable cliff. He was somewhat more hardened than the typical city Roman, although in proper Roman fashion, his villa was as civilized as any respectable one within the city. Thus, he couldn't consider 'rooms for absolutions' a sign of wealth- baths were an absolute necessity. But, the barbarians always did marvel over these things, and, Batiatus could respect any siege-proof construction. He could also respect a library containing storehouses of books.

"The prospect of this library is intriguing, and a siege-proof castle respectable by any standards. But I'm not going to be thanking any deity for this unexpected turn in fortune until I've seen more than this fucking room. It's a step better than dead, but I've been told it's Caldeonia." It explained the heavy construction of the building, at least from what he could see, but, Batitus was used to Mediterranean weather. Being stuck in Scotland was a somewhat dreary prospect, even with a good library.