Marius found himself in his old home in Antioch. How was this possible? He was dreaming, he knew, but why now? Then he remembered. Yes, of course, you were thinking about how Formosus was writing the way you used to write, the way all educated people used to write. He knew those times. You knew those times. Those times have passed.

These realizations took but an instant. He looked around the large living room, as always, full of books. The sound of the fountains bubbling from the gardens. Oh, that had been a splendid house. Pleasant, clean, beautiful.

He heard voices coming and instantly he recognized his boys. This dream must have been set in the early days. These were the very same boys who had protested so strenuously when Pandora, still a mortal, had made her grand assault. They appeared in the lamplight, lovely as always. They asked if there was anything he required.

"No, my sweets," he said gently, knowing he was only dreaming and there was nothing he required so much as the time to continue dreaming. The boys disappeared from view.

Marius rose from the couch. He glanced out into the garden and spied another figure. Flavius. Oh, but what had become of him! This was a dream, of course, or why else would the scholar-servant be glowing in the moonlight? He had been transformed. He was no longer mortal.

Marius had ejected Flavius from the house the very night that Pandora had made him. He had not been so much angry as hurt. He had loved Flavius, but he could not share. He had been so fragile, so needy. And what had become of Flavius? He had no idea, although he guessed he had been destroyed, either by his own choice or by Akasha.

A delightfully sad thought occurred to Marius. Flavius would have loved Formosus. He was a lover of boys, was he not? And a scholar! They could talk poetry in between kisses. Maybe it's better he's not around.

Marius approached Flavius, who stood by the fountain of Venus.

"My faithful Flavius," said Marius in greeting, using the old Latin.

"Marius!" He turned suddenly. He hadn't seen Marius until this instant. "You are here! I had thought you were gone, out with Pandora. I was merely visiting."

"Tell me, Flavius, are you well with the Dark Gift?" Marius asked. He didn't know if he spoke with a ghost, a dream, or his own fantasies.

"I am doing well enough. My courage remains. And I am so strong, no longer dying. My only wish would be…"

"That you had your missing leg?"

Flavius looked down. The ivory leg was still there, beautifully carved but a strange thing to see on an immortal. He laughed. "Yes, I wish that… although in a way, it makes me feel more human. I have something to humble me."

Marius nodded. Flavius had always been wise. He came up to him and kiss him on the cheek. "I wish you well, old friend. Now if you could perform a favor for me… Do you know where I will find Pandora?"

"Ah!" Flavius cried. "You banish me and yet you expect me to remain your servant." He laughed and waved his hand. "I do not mind. I will tell you. Pandora is at the bookstalls, looking for new poetry."

"Thank you." Marius gave Flavius a warm hug and strode towards the gate, into the old city.

In the dream, every detail of that ancient time remained. The streets, the walls, the smells, the color of the sky, the feel of the air. Even the voices of the people were the same. He heard their thoughts in his dreams. He saw the city rolling out before him toward the river. Oh, glorious that he could still see all this so clearly!

Marius walked quickly, not wanting to miss Pandora before the dream ended. He reached the bookstalls and found Pandora in an instant. She was chatting with one of their favorite dealers. As Marius looked up, Pandora smiled and held out a book excitedly.

"New poetry?" he asked.

Pandora nodded her head excitedly. "Not just new, Marius, absolutely splendid. Like Ovid! Imagine, a writer like Ovid." She placed the book in Marius' hands and laughed. "They are love poems."

Even before Marius looked down at the book, he knew the author of those poems. This had actually happened, he knew. One day Pandora had found these poems at the market in Antioch. They were new.

"Lucius Socius Cordatus" he read on the title page. Of course. Formosus' poems. He turned the pages and began to read. Oh, ye gods, but these were passionate! Thinking on Formosus' face, his beautiful shoulders, his very soul, Marius read and read.

Pandora stood by patiently. Finally Marius looked up. "I know this man."

"The author? Oh, then perhaps you should alert the scholars of the world. He is an unknown, a patrician from Maracalas. He has no history, no following, and in fact they say he is dead. The poems were found after his death. You knew him?"

"Yes," Marius replied slowly, noting the way the world was falling out of focus. The dream was ending. He held the book tightly in his hands. Goodbye, Pandora, goodbye Antioch…

The vision faded at last.