Board Thread:The Heroes of Olympus/@comment-28759193-20160724170410/@comment-25155763-20170310162343

Starsandsupernovae wrote: Commander Tool Belt wrote: Nico's comrades that he summons are veterans of the legion. Now, there are two cases of being a veteran. Number one, they died in battle after serving the legion for at least 10 years- this would qualify them for the term of being a veteran, and their family would enjoy the rights they should have had. Now, if a legionnaire has served the legion for ten years or more and decides to retire, he can also be called a veteran. Him and his family would be accepted as full citizens of Rome, and the person would get some rights, like land, a house, that sort of thing. The higher your rank, the more luxury your right was. The retired legionnaires will still be veterans when they die.

I do not believe soldiers are murderers. I will refrain from quoting the bible, but that's like saying the police are murderers. Or you are a murderer if you kill someone in self defence. Think of soldiers that way- but in country defence. Ok so if we're comparing them to one who kills in self defence then self defence isn't neccesarily a 'good act.' Nor is it a 'bad act'  it just is an act. So too being in the army was neither bad or good. It just was, therefore not ruling out the Fields of Asphodel Well no, not really. Yeah Modern-day soldiers are cool, but In Greco-Roman times, there was actual good vs. bad. Like common sense should've told Romans burning down empires is wrong and crazy af-therefore any Roman soldiers who participated in such things(which is most of them) would NOT go to The Fields of Asphodel. Nowadays war is about protection and safety, which is neither good nor bad. But back then, war was about bloodlust and carnage and stuff-those things were considered masculine(On the flip-side we have ones that may have went to Elysium-but I'm just focusing on the bad ones). So maybe current soldiers are in the gray area, but not the ones that Nico summons.