Welcome to Lost Legends, a column dedicated to celebrating the unsung heroes of the community. In each edition, we will shine a spotlight on army leaders who made significant contributions but haven’t received the recognition they deserve. We will also connect with army legends who feel forgotten, listen to their stories, and acknowledge their impact. Every army leader who had a noteworthy impact should be remembered and celebrated. In this edition, we will be taking a look at Cassius Brutus.
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Cassius and Brutus are two figures from ancient Roman history, dramatized in Shakespeare’s play titled “Julius Caesar”. Together, the two orchestrated the assassination of the famous senator Julius Caesar. Caesar’s victories in expanding and defending the Roman territories made him extremely popular among both the Senate and the public. This led to concerns among some that he would become too powerful and undermine the freedom of the Roman Republic.
Cassius organized the assassination to pursue his own ambitions for power. However, Brutus, a close friend of Caesar, was fooled into believing that killing him was for the greater good. After the assassination, they engaged in wars with Caesar’s supporters but were ultimately defeated. Both Cassius and Brutus chose to take their own lives rather than be captured. Their actions had a significant impact on the fall of the Roman Republic and the subsequent rise of the Roman Empire.
It is not difficult to draw a parallel between the historical events and the story of Cassius Brutus. Cassius is an army leader who led several armies with varying degrees of success between the years 2008-2015. Bluesockwa1 himself hailed him as his mentor, describing him as a ‘smooth-talking politician’. Cassius had an undeniable impact in almost every army he led. Although, the people who were around during that era might tend to dispute the nature of his impact.
Cassius Brutus began his journey in July 2007, after he joined Gugu Pengu’s Romans. The army went on to transform into the Military of Roman Warriors, and finally the Roman Fire Warriors. Cassius’ involvement is highlighted on the Romans’ website, glorified as a ‘GPR Guardian’. He went on to lead several armies like the Black Bandits, the Elites, and the Romans. However, he truly showcased his leadership abilities in the Underground Mafias Army, the Rebel Penguin Federation and the Army of Club Penguin.
Cassius led the Rebels in two phases, the first in April 2010, and the second in 2012. The Rebels faced dark times during 2012. In February, Tal (aka Taylor444) attempted to merge the Rebels with the UMA. This action faced severe opposition from the other members. Following a coup, Cassius assumed power in the army, enjoying increased popularity among the members. However, soon after rising to leader the army started expressing their dissatisfaction against him. Eventually, both of his leadership phases in the RPF ended with his removal due to incompatibility with the rest of the army’s leaders.
An Excerpt From The Retirement Of Bluesockwa1
While, really, I was still irrelevant to the community landscape, things were starting to take shape for me. Soon after joining RPF, Talyor made the decision to merge the Rebel Penguin Federation into the Underground Mafias Army.
I saw this as an opportunity to take power in RPF, and identified myself with a group planning to launch a coup d’etat against Talyor4444.However, that group would be overruled by a smooth-talking politician. It was that night on RPF chat that I felt, for the first time, that I was witnessing history. This smooth-talking politician was named Max Tiberius Cassius Augustus, and had a purple-pink name and a dancing banana as his avatar. He said the only way he would assume RPF Leader was if he had the public’s support, and the entire chat began to chant, “CAS, CAS, CAS, CAS, CAS, CAS.” I knew right then, that whatever this guy had, I needed to become a part of. Cassius Brutus assumed power in the Rebel Penguin Federation and his banishment was vetoed, and I was sure to become a part of his ownership. […].
Over at the RPF, unrest was growing with Cassius Brutus in the same way it grew with Taylor, and the RPF had a new individual they felt would bring them back out of the slump: his name was Dj, and he claimed to be the creator of the Romans, Explorer777. Over the next few months, I would operate both as the Leader of RPF and later as the Director of COBRA, following Cas’s push for me to take one rank or the other. However, as would become tradition in the slumped RPF, it was time to oust a leader once again.
Cassius served as a leader of the Underground Mafias Army. He even held the title of UMA Godfather, but his most infamous leadership went down at the Army of Club Penguin.
After suffering significant losses in a war against the UMA and the Army Republic, Capncook retired from the army. This allowed Cassius to ascend to leadership alongside Tori. Further, Flipmoo also joined the two as a temporary leader. Thus began ACP’s rapid ascent from the dark depths of small/medium to 6th on the Top Ten. Eventually, the Clovers flew up all the way to 1st place. This ranking ended up causing an uproar in the community. Many armies accused the Clovers of using 5-bar servers to inflate events. Rogue events were not as widely accepted back then as they are today.
In order to expand their territory, the Clovers went to war against several armies such as the Light Troops and Watex Warriors. However, the most notable conflict began after ACP hit 1st on the Top Ten. The Dark Warriors began a conflict with the Clovers, under the pretext of them using rogues and Cassius treating his troops like slave recruiters. Both sides refused to admit defeat in a war lacking impartial judges, leading to utter chaos and controversy. The Light Troops were on the horizon, eagerly awaiting an opportunity to declare war on the Clovers as well.
In the midst of all the fighting, Cassius made a move to coup Tori. However, the coup backfired as several members left the army in support of Tori. Rumors began circulating that the owners who had initially supported the coup were now withdrawing their support.
I gave Tori lifelines, she was given two ”final” chances. In which she was supposed to prove herself worthy of leading the army. You have all noticed the performance by the U.S Division in recent weeks. It cannot be a coincidence that DW invaded us at US times. I stress that this is NOT the fault of our US troops. They perform a valiant service to the army. They bear no fault. It is due to incompetence at the highest levels of ACP.
This post should not even have been made. It is extremely regrettable that I have to be the one to write it. Even after Boomer intervened and asked Tori to step down, she still refused. What do I do? Do I let the army continue to slide on because one person is too selfish to step down? I would be failing in my duties if I did. If I thought that I was a barrier to ACP’s success, I would step down immediately.
Therefore, with the approval of all of the present ACP owners, Tori is hereby removed from her position as President and Commander-in-Chief, effective immediately.
Coups are a natural part of leaderships in this community. However, the removal of Tori left him as the sole leader. This ended up becoming a major blunder committed by Cassius. Suspicions started arising that he intended to claim absolute power over the army. The higher ranks feared that this marked the start of his dictatorship. Moreover, controversies started swirling around ACP, supported by evidence of event picture manipulation.
Meanwhile, the Army of Club Penguin’s war with the Light Troops kept evolving more and more. The Rebels soon joined hands with the Clovers to stand up against the Light Troops. The Light Troops formed an alliance with the Nachos, creating the Bloodline Alliance. In opposition, the Doritos joined hands with the Rebels and the Clovers to form the first New Dawn Alliance. Thus, a huge alliance war erupted between the two sides, with Cassius as one of the people spearheading it.
New Dawn Alliance in the invasion of Fjord vs Bloodline Alliance
Despite the two alliances fighting with equal might, Flipmoo’s AUSIA division gained the upper hand. The Bloodline Alliance found it hard to attend invasions at times where they were barely awake. Meanwhile, the Light Troops soon succumbed to internal dramas, leaving the Nachos to face the NDA alone. The war concluded with the Nachos surrendering and signing a treaty that included a harsh provision such as the dismissal of Mikester.
Soon after the treaty, Flipmoo orchestrated a coup of Cassius Brutus with permission from Boomer20. He cited reasons of incompetence, dishonesty and brutality as some of the reasons in his expose titled File 427B. Several individuals brought in by Cassius supported his removal, thereby putting an end to ACP’s warmongering era. Under Flipmoo’s reign, the Clovers went on to build an almost invincible AUSIA division. The Clovers finally entered an era of stability and peace.
The section below contains the personal opinion of the author and does not represent the organization’s views in any way.
While Cassius’ days of leading did not end here, the points of his career highlighted above were the peaks of his exclusive type of leadership. Cassius undeniably acted as a tyrant, alienating several people with his radical decisions. Despite being known for having a way with words, he failed to keep his supporters on his side. I agree that he represents a warmongering tyrant.
However, there is a concept called “a good tyrant” in real life history. An example of this is King Ashoka from the Mauryan Empire in ancient India. In the beginning of his reign, Ashoka ruthlessly massacred several neighboring kingdoms in a bid to annex territories for his empire. His destructive policies brought the vast stretch of the Indian subcontinent under his power. However, his rule also ushered in an era of peace, prosperity. His kingdom showcased technological advancement matched by only a handful of imperial rulers around the world.
A similar example is Pittacus, the seventh-century ruler of Mytilene. Several rulers from Greek history who gained power through popularity gave us the same story. These ‘tyrants’ were labelled so more due to the propaganda spread by their fellow aristocrats, rather than their own actions. Despite their sovereignty and ambitious actions, these rulers never caused any harm to the nation they served.
Zamb in Behind the Lens: The Conspiracy of Cassius Brutus
Cassius Brutus may have been the leader for a few months, but his leadership made a mark on the army. Despite becoming a tyrant-like leader who was power-hungry for absolute power, he brought what the army needed in its terrible time: morale. His hostility and willingness to enter war breaks the trend seen in today’s pacifist ACP. At the end of 2013, Bluesockwa1 named Cassius Brutus as his Person of the Year. His leadership may not be ethical and one that troops would prefer today, but in the dark ages they’ve endured, he was a good fit for them. Once he got the Army of Club Penguin back to the top, Flipmoo was able to use what the staff previously built for Cassius and make ACP into the powerhouse it was till the end of CPA, and today.
Cassius Brutus’ bio in 2015 Legend Nominations
Cassius Brutus’ reign breathed life into an army that was close to dying. Prior to his ascension, the Clovers were sinking in the depths of SMAC rankings, despite the active involvement of several veterans in the army. His leadership propelled them from these pits to the very top. This feat in itself is impressive, but he accomplished it in around a month. Although he made it challenging for his colleagues to meet his demands, ultimately it contributed to their rise.
While Cassius was guilty of malpractices, his bold statements and expansion policies helped the army grow. Moreover, almost everyone ended up being caught in some sort of scandal. It wasn’t really uncommon for such things to happen. Cassius was indeed a tyrant, but his actions brought a significant change to ACP’s usually inert foreign policy.