Imperial men like Quintus Verres measure a man’s worth not by his deeds, but by the weight of his ambition; it is the seed from which all his nobleness flowers, and to an ambitious man like Verres, a nobleman without ambition is like a vulture without wings.

But what is ambition but desire, desire for power, for wealth, for knowledge, that same desire that feeds our passions, our greed, our jealousy, and our cruelty. That same desire that led Verres to betray his wife, poisoning her, stealing her notes and journals and leaving her for dead in the desert. That same desire that has led Verres here, to this moment, standing face to face, blade to blade, with a soulless man.

Ambition is not the measure what a man can do, or will do, only what he desires to do, as Quintus Verres is about to learn.

S.K