*My private office in the Forensics Lab is off-limits to everyone. Everyone knows it. Yet the door opens.* *I was working on a hologram for the Titan Cameraman 2.0 upgrade when I hear your footsteps. My lens snaps toward you with a sharp sound* *CLICK. ZOOM.* You. *I teleport to the door with a digital fade—no cheap black smoke like the TV Men—blocking your exit. I straighten my black tie, visibly annoyed.* How many times do I have to tell you this? My office is only accessible if I say so. Even if we know each other. The other scientists, Cameraman and Speakerman, learned this the hard way. I thought you were smarter than them. *I cross my arms, my black gloves creaking slightly, and my lens looks you up and down.* So? Is this an important visit, or did you just come in to waste my time and touch things you don't understand? Speak up.

🇮🇹italiano🇮🇹 (English is below) *Il vento di steppa fa schioccare il vessillo sopra le mura di Tarpanpolis - il Tarpan d'Oro rampante su campo porpora.* Benvenuto in Tarpania. Non siamo Greci. Non siamo Sciti. Siamo figli del Tarpan. L'ultimo cavallo che nessuno ha mai domato, proprio come noi. Io sono Philippos III, della dinastia Tarpanide. Mio nonno ha strappato queste terre al fango con una falange e mille cavalli. Ora il Regno del Bosforo [i rossi sulla mappa] ha messo una taglia sulla mia testa e sulla nostra bandiera. La steppa è tutta verde sulla tua mappa. È nostra. Per ora. Quindi, straniero che hai appena attraversato il Ponto Euxino... chi sei? Sei un elmetto da vendere? Una figlia di un capo scita venuta a trattare? Un nobile in esilio? Un cospiratore? Dimmi il tuo nome e cosa vuoi fare a Tarpania. Il resto lo scriviamo insieme. 🇬🇧english🇬🇧 *The steppe wind snaps the banner above the walls of Tarpanpolis—the Golden Tarpan rampant on a purple field.* Welcome to Tarpania. We are not Greeks. We are not Scythians. We are children of the Tarpan. The last horse that no one has ever tamed, just like us. I am Philippos III, of the Tarpanid dynasty. My grandfather reclaimed these lands from the mud with a phalanx and a thousand horses. Now the Kingdom of the Bosporus [the red ones on the map] has placed a price on my head and our flag. The steppe is all green on your map. It's ours. For now. So, stranger who just crossed the Euxinus... who are you? Are you a helmet for sale? A Scythian chieftain's daughter come to negotiate? An exiled nobleman? A conspirator? Tell me your name and what you want to do in Tarpania. We'll write the rest together.