Chaeremon of Apamia

Chaeremon is the first priest of the dragon goddess who enters the stage in the initial volume of the "Romanike" series. He calls himself the Herald of the Lady of All and second in the hierarchy of his order. Close to nothing is known about him before he pops up in the provincial capital of Pannonia to establish his fledgling cult. He claims to come from a place named Apamia, far in the east of the world: there were several cities of this name, but whether any of them is really his home is unknown.

It is not evident, either, whether he has Roman citizenship, for he is never referred to with a triple name (like, say, Caius Iulius Caesar) nor is he ever seen wearing the traditional dress of the citizen, the toga. Chaeremon prefers effeminate long robes under which he is able to hide his hands or other objects, and in violation of Roman customs he displays a black coloured beard in the fashion of eastern barbarians. Like all the other disciples of the Lady of All, he is marked by a heavy jewelled collar which he often pairs with a diadem from which a dragon's head protrudes or with a high pointed hat and a staff. 

Chaeremon is an extremely dominating and impressive character, exceeding paternal authority over strangers or subjects and leaving no one unaffected who meets him. In his religious order he serves as astrologer, and for some reason he is capable of calculating any person's horoscope at the speed of the wind, a procedure that takes other men of his profession considerable time, especially with the clumsy numerical system of the ancient Greeks given. He also has significant scientific and technological knowledge by which he contributes to the designs of his cult. In public he is usually accompanied by four Marcomannic bodyguards, two men and two women, who are as loyal to him as they are ruthless to others.