No one can tell who made the spheres of twelve faces or why or what the Romans called them: maybe Corpus Sacrum. Maybe something else. We refer to them as pentagondodecahedra. But that is a modern word, and an uncouth one, too. A hundred are known. Many have been found in France, in Belgium, they seem highly concentrated in southern England and at the middle course of the river Rhine. There are as many assumptions on their use as there are dodecahedra. None is conclusive. Alas, the classical authors have not mentioned or described them. Or have they? There is a haunting quote by a man from the second century, Marcus Valerius Martialis. He referred to mysterious items he called the Pilae Mattiacae– the Mattiacian Spheres. So what if – just if – the Pilae Mattiacae and the dodecahedra were one and the same thing? For that reason, the fundamentalist Corpus Sacrum sect has now firmly established itself in the Roman borderland. Charis, the teenage kitchen slave, has been caught in a trap during her attempts to replace her master's dodecahedron which she had unknowingly destroyed. Restitutus, the ageing priest, is facing his abductor who is more powerful than anticipated. And then a murderer is on the loose. Who may have Charis on his agenda, too.

No one can tell who made the spheres with twelve faces or why or what the Romans called them: maybe Corpus Sacrum. Maybe something else. We refer to them as pentagon-dodecahedra. But that is a modern word, and an uncouth one, too. A hundred are known. Many have been found in France, in Belgium, they seem highly concentrated in southern England and at the middle course of the river Rhine. There are as many assumptions on their use as there are dodecahedra. None is conclusive. Alas, the classical authors have not mentioned or described them. Or have they? There is a haunting quote by a man from the second century, Marcus Valerius Martialis. He referred to mysterious items he called the Pilae Mattiacae – the Mattiacian Spheres: Sapo: Si mutare paras longaevos cana capillos, Accipe Mattiacas - quo tibi calva? - pilas. Soap: If you want to change your highly aged hair, use Pilae Mattiacae - why have a bald head? No one has excavated a Pila Mattiaca or found its image, and it was never mentioned again. The only clue we have is its name. The Mattiaci were the people who lived in the Roman age at the middle Rhine, right where so many spheres of twelve faces have been found. So what if – just if – the Pilae Mattiacae and the dodecahedra were one and the same thing? And once they may have attracted the attention of a stargazer who understood how to use them. And he made them his tools of power. The tale of the numinous spheres with twelve faces is told in this and the following parts of the Corpus Sacrum trilogy!

No one can tell who made the spheres of twelve faces or why or what the Romans called them: maybe Corpus Sacrum. Maybe something else. We refer to them as pentagondodecahedra. But that is a modern word, and an uncouth one, too. A hundred are known. Many have been found in France, in Belgium, they seem highly concentrated in southern England and at the middle course of the river Rhine. There are as many assumptions on their use as there are dodecahedra. None is conclusive. Alas, the classical authors have not mentioned or described them. Or have they? There is a haunting quote by a man from the second century, Marcus Valerius Martialis. He referred to mysterious items he called the Pilae Mattiacae – the Mattiacian Spheres. No one has excavated a Pila Mattiaca or found its image, and it was never mentioned again. The only clue we have is its name. The Mattiaci were the people who lived in the Roman age at the middle Rhine, right where so many spheres of twelve faces have been found. So what if – just if – the Pilae Mattiacae and the dodecahedra were one and the same thing? For that reason, the fundamentalist Corpus Sacrum sect has firmly established itself in the Roman borderland. After Restitutus' sermon did not have the desire effect, he is granted one last chance to remedy his failure before general Rufianus unleashes his troops against the dangerous order. Even their high priest Democritus now seems to be afraid of the demons he has set free. Or has he?

Around 70 B.C., a tradeship heading for Rome foundered off the coast of Antikythera. On board was the most sophisticated device known to the classical world: The Antikythera Mechanism - a set of gears that might foretell the ways of the stars. In the sea, the Antikythera Mechanism escaped the purposeful destruction that hit its siblings a hundred years later. Save for one: The OPUS GEMINI, that has been ruined only twenty years ago. Its rightful owner, Princess Iulia Balbilla, is determined to find it, so that she may restore her power over hearts and minds of the masters of Roma. Recently, its remains have enhanced the conflict between its current holders, Adrianus and Valeriana. After the recent clash between these foster-siblings, Adrianus finds himself at a place he has never seen before. Meanwhile, the two agents of Commagene are caught in a foreign city. Sedigitus was severely wounded and is doomed to die, if Pernica cannot help him. She, though, is hardly able to survive herself on the perilous streets of Mogontiacum. The Gears of Fate are turning on – towards salvation or doom?

British Library MS Harley 2253 is one of the most important literary works to survive from the English medieval era. In rarity, quality, and abundance, its secular love lyrics comprise an unrivaled collection. Intermingled with them are contemporary political songs as well as delicate lyrics designed to inspire religious devotion.