Good boundary setting is an important skill when navigating relationships, or, well, actual boundaries. They can be difficult to enforce when you’re a stone statue with no arms or legs. Thankfully, at Camp Jupiter, it’s easy to seek out volunteer campers to help (if you ignore child labor laws). This brings us to one of the strangest dynamic duos in all of New Rome: Terminus and his six-year-old assistant, Julia.
Giving an Arm and a Leg
In the past, if one wished to summon the Roman god Terminus, one was required to give him a blood sacrifice. These days, all you need to do to get his attention is cross his borders with an unauthorized weapon or break one of his many rules. There’s a reason why New Rome isn’t known for its crazy parties anymore. You’d have to get invited onto one of Caligula’s yachts to experience true Roman debauchery.
Mismatched Pair
You might be confused as to why a rambunctious child would want to spend all her time hanging out with a strict and humorless god. We assume it’s because he’s fun to climb and put silly hats on. And yet Julia has proven herself to be a worthy and useful assistant. Not bad for someone who barely knows how to read.
Stepping Up to the Plate
In addition to being the enemy of fun, Terminus has proven himself to be a champion of peace and justice. Well, about as much as an immobile statue god can be a champion. During Gaea’s attack on Camp Jupiter, Terminus was able to erect a temporary magical border that briefly repelled her forces. And during the more recent invasion in New Rome, Julia was seen brandishing a steak knife in order to protect him. Now, that’s a frightening image.
Papa Was a Standing Stone
*Spoilers for The Tyrant’s Tomb*
Most recently, after Julia’s show of bravery during Caligula’s second assault on Camp Jupiter, Terminus finally rewarded his little assistant with formal adoption papers. We can’t imagine it was easy to explain that to Julia’s foster family, but we have no doubt the paperwork was very long and detail-heavy. For Julia it was a dream come true; as for Terminus, now he’ll always have someone on hand to point for him. That is, until Julia reaches her rebellious teenage years, and rules and boundaries suddenly become, like, so lame.
