BRUTAL Life of a Roman Legionary during the Conquest of Britain 43AD/CE - FULL EPISODE

have you ever wondered what it would have been like to travel back to historical events and see them unfold with your own eyes in this episode you will travel back to 43 ce when thanks to its mighty legions the roman empire stretches across vast territories surrounding the mediterranean emperor claudius has put owless platius former consul of rome in charge of raising an army to invade britain britain in 43 ce a mythical place that sat beyond rome's borders on the very edge of the known world it was frightening and rome's only contact was julius caesar's failed foray 100 years prior to put things into perspective the invasion was the equivalent of the 20th century's moon landing but mixed in with superstition of the age in the absence of much science to the common roman legionnaire britain was a land of ghoulish nightmares and mystery information for britain coming at them only in the form of legends and fairy tales you are a young roman recruit who is leaving the only home he has ever known to travel into what was perceived as another entrance to the underworld your name is gaius paulius regulus aged 18 years you were born in the small roman town of salernum and 25 ce to a small plebeian family your father publius polius regulus runs a shop selling sauces among them a locally well-known brand of the fish sauce garum you yourself worked there up until just a month ago your older brother continues to assist your father but you had since childhood along with your close friend maxis dreamed only of the far-off frontiers your father was disappointed as you had already shown an instinctive understanding of when the fish were just rotten enough to press to make the finest tasting garum but he has allowed you to follow your own path and join the exercitus romanos in fact your father has pulled some strings with the town's magistrate to secure you a letter of recommendation you then headed to nepali where your probation formally began with a medical exam where you were found fit and able you then gave your formal oath to the emperor and received your signaculum and viatikum as well as word you were to travel to northern gaul the probatio involved prospects to the roman army getting medically examined they then swore an oath to the emperor called the sacramentum which would be repeated annually usually every january next and if requiring travel to meet a legion abroad they would receive a vayatakum which was a small amount of money to cover travel expenses and almost always was in the form of three gold coins totaling 75 denarii many unscrupulous recruiters would try to pry these loose from the recruits before reaching their destination before heading out new recruits were given the signa coulomb which was a small lead medallion worn around the neck in a leather pouch similar to a modern military dog tag as a symbol also that they had passed the pre-qualifiers and were now ready for basic training your journey so far since leaving neapoli first by boat then overland through southern gallias regions of narbanensis and into belgica on the northwestern shores has taken roughly 24 days for a few miles you've been able to see the legionary fort a massive installation housing the four legions as well as the auxiliary troops that you will be training alongside also legio augusta the legion that you will be joining upon disembarking you are shown to your tourma which is your century home for the duration of your basic training your training over the next four months consisting of physical fitness and disciplinary training the close order drill to practice marching in step and maintaining formation proved extremely difficult at first but thankfully a few weeks later has become more routine they consisted of formations called the hollow and the square the wedge and the circle and the testudo which effectively gave you and your squadmates the feeling of being a giant defensive turtle but your and max's favorite training so far has been the weapons training as it brought you both back to childhood carefree days in father's shop using his equipment as mock gladius and scutum the first few sessions creating pain in your body due to their much heavier weight that took almost a week to heal however the pain the real pain you felt was reserved for the marching blisters upon blisters upon blisters solidified to a tough natural leather consistency the route marches consisting of 20 roman miles in five hours at an ordinary pace and 24 miles in five hours at the faster quick step pace have been the toughest as you did these while wearing your armor and carrying your full complement of weapons in addition to packs and extra gear that you would use to make camp as well as perform various building tasks just yesterday you were also able to witness the batavians auxiliary germanic tribesmen from just north of here drill themselves and their horses through water wearing full armor you had heard of this mythical talent from caesar's campaigns 100 years ago and yet here you were as a witness in life the legionary castro where you have been training was built by your comrades before your arrival in just a matter of weeks you can't help but be impressed having seen buildings in your small town take many months to be built the camp feels like a small town with all the necessities and even some of the luxury items available you have however been reminded that due to the less permanent nature of this camp the usual merchants that may camp outside of the fortress are not present here nor are the associated houses of ill-repute rumors have been circulating the last few days that you will be traveling in a few weeks time after roughly four months and with your basic military training now finished you are formally introduced to your decanus drusis canines magnus who leads the contubernium of eight you are assigned to you have officially started your career as one of marius's mules the creation of a professional army in rome has been mainly attributed to one individual gaius marius in 107 bce he was elected console and a request put out for him to go to numidia to replace the current roman commander marius did this despite opposition from the senate who permitted him to only raise new legions to strengthen the army in africa since he was only able to take volunteers with him he did something absolutely unprecedented and unorthodox and yet brilliant in its forward thinking he appealed to the poorest of citizens typically legionnaires were citizens with land ownership like farms marius though appealed to the poor with no possessions in return for portions of the loot required and payment from that point forward recruitment slow at first but then more steady would come primarily from the poorer citizens of rome and beyond in addition soldiers were now expected to enlist for a 16-year term which by the time of our story rose to 25 years these changes are known collectively as the marion reforms these new soldiers were also furnished with equipment at a cut of their pay whereas in the past they were expected to provide their own standardized quality weapons like the gladius and peelum complemented by equally quality armor like the lorica segmentata which was upper body protection and a large mostly rectangular shield called the scutum with one fell swoop the now professional army would for the foreseeable future provide standardized equipment for its soldiers and that point has to be emphasized because it was in stark contrast to many of the celtic and germanic tribes they fought for those tribes equipment was owned generally only by the higher-up of the tribe's hierarchy the castrum or fortress camp where the legions lived either temporarily or more long-term all followed a basic template camps were divided down the middle by the via praetorian which led straight from the port of praetorian on the other end was the porta de cumana the camp was divided laterally by the via prince of palace where once soldiers would gather during the republic now in imperial times it housed a building called the principia this was the headquarter building where the top legionary command resided as well as the legion's sacred standards the legion's top sacred standards treated as if they contained the very essence of the legion itself they were kept in a shrine near the center of camp chief among these the aquila or eagle just two years prior the last of three eagles was reclaimed by publius secundus from germania where three legions had been defeated in the tutelberg forest the camps were literally like mini cities in that they had hospitals workshops and forges and over time they would usually attract local shops outside of the camp proper these buildings housing taverns the aforementioned houses of ill repute and other commodities that the camp itself couldn't always provide rumors have of late been spreading fast around the camp word that legio augusta and the other three legions will be disembarking soon it's the where that has you and the other men very concerned for where is britain a land of horrors that you had only heard whispers of as a child a gateway to the underworld populated with people who ate each other in ghoulish rituals many of the men were frightened and there was even additional rumor and whisper of mutiny then a gathering was called where narcissus a slave of the emperor claudius himself addressed the men and said he would be a part of that journey the men adhering a slave proclaim such bravery then shouted lo sartunalia at his courage for it is on saturnalia that slaves become as masters and narcissus could have chosen to not go but instead chose to go from that day forward the mood around camp has been positive and what was once fear and uncertainty replaced with nervous energy what would crossing over into the underworld be like you asked yourself with your childhood friend and new friends and comrades at your side you were about to find out since your training's completion you and friend max's have continued to improve with weapons training and other aspects of being in the legion however maxis has not been taking news of the upcoming voyage to britain as well as you and many of the others since narcissus speech maxis has only been more vocal to you about his fears for what lies ahead despite assurances from you that you were both among the most formidable army in the world his fears linger still on the day you depart most of the eighth day is spent loading the ships with supplies and then slowly like a long snake your armada was off the site of the navy among the most awe-inspiring you've seen in your short life roughly 300 ships moving your legion thousands of auxiliary thousands of animals along the coast the ships traveling a short distance then heading west where they faced a strong headwind favonius the deity of the west wind doing his utmost to push the ships back throughout the early evening until jupiter himself threw a flash of light across the sky in the direction of your destination this was regarded as a favorable omen by all and further lifted the mood of the men there was no opposition as your ships landed on shore in the early twilight your legion the first to land tasked with the business of building the beachhead supply fort you and maxis are on trench digging detail along the lengthy exterior wall of the fort during the initial preparations the second and third legions arrive in staggered intervals over the next seven days you've had time to slowly acclimate to the new environment which doesn't look much different than the forested areas in golgia you had trained at during the eighth day eurocontubernium gets word that owlos plottius has ordered the general advance as the reconnaissance parties he'd sent out have found the way to be clear legio augusta and two other legions would be leading the advance your legget goes by the name of vespasian a family name you hadn't heard before the men though say he is equitas but comes from an unremarkable family he's in his early 30s but had fought as a young man in thrace and recently returned to the army a few years ago as leggett when augusto was stationed in germania it's clear that the men have a lot of respect for vespasian and you can see why he's been involved with the men doing many of the fortress preparation details and duties that leggetts normally wouldn't perform the historian tacitus had written about the invasion but unfortunately these years are part of the lost volumes of his history compilation there's dio's account but portions of it still hotly debated there is evidence that legio ii augusta was one of the four legions that took part in the invasion the others speculated to have taken part are nine hispania 14 gemini and legio 20 valeria victrix the most probable location for their landing in 43 ce near present-day richborough castle in the county of kent what's generally accepted is that the romans landed unopposed as the britons had supposedly left the beach area after weeks of waiting with no signs of the romans after building the beachhead supply fort the romans then marched it is believed in two paths one of those along the north downs towards what future historians would refer to as the battle of the medway one of the most important battles in britain's long history all your training to date has prepared you for this day when you will be marching out to meet the enemy other than two skirmishes further east of your location there's been no contact with the britons you and the men have yet to see them but the more experienced of your comrades say to not worry for the bigger battle still lies ahead it's been difficult keeping your nerves calmed but your comrades remind you that the gods themselves favor rome and that you will be victorious in the days to come for the omens have all been favorable legget vespasian is leading your legion along with his brother on a march that has taken hours along high ground you come finally to a stop at a marshy point the ground here uneven and the filth of the swamp has made its way through your caliguy and thick woolen socks and while it feels uncomfortable due to the events you find yourself in easily push to the back of your mind the duty of another of the legions will be to slowly mass near the opposite bank of where the main force of britons is waiting there they are to create the illusion of your troops slowly massing at that point while you and the men here wait to attack the batavians you had viewed practicing weeks earlier are to silently cross the river at yet another point and eliminate the chariot horses to prevent them from joining the future battle this is sure to not only the britons at a crucial initial stage of the battle it's likely to infuriate them you will wait until the batavians have engaged and then proceed over the marshy area and narrow bend of the river to the solid ground on the other side where you will meet the enemy head on your centurion potitis has placed you and your contubernium along the top edge of the spear that will push into any advancing enemy to preserve the beach head within an hour you hear the britons in the distance erupt in fury which seems to indicate the batavians were successful and you are given the command to attack the britons now aware of your presence are scrambling to turn away from gemini legion they had been facing and face you you remember your training hold your ground and advance calmly in the face of even this furious screaming enemy horde now descending upon you much to your surprise despite their yelling and screaming the britons seem unlike many of the descriptions you had painted of them in your mind's eye whilst appearing strong and able-bodied many were your age and apart from a different manner of dress and weaponry they didn't look much different than you but you remember the teachings during your camp well to not trust those who appear alike as they harbor their hatred of rome and the dark gods they worship deep inside only to bubble over in the chaos of battle as they close to within 30 feet you toss your pelemon q with the others in the front rank and see it sink into a britain shield where it hangs limp the briton unable to shake your peelum loose mid-stride drops his shield and continues his charge towards you along with the other britons you can barely hear the bark of your centurion but focus on the training which has been drilled into you daily you grip your scooter tight to meet the thunderous charge head on allow dull clang as the front line of britain's collides into your scutum wall and as trained you jab your gladius forward several times in alternating thrusts with your scutum to expose your enemy you hear the dull thud of cracking bone as your scutum pushes through into the briton's right shoulder startling him momentarily and this time your gladius thrust sinks into his belly you withdraw it and immediately thrust again all the while as you have been trained twisting the blade slightly as you pull it out your first slain enemy soon blurs into half a dozen others as you take turns shifting in and out of the front line you can barely feel your hands and your breaths are so heavy it feels that you simply cannot draw in enough air gasping and yet the battle rages for several more hours but morale is high as it is obvious from the ground you have taken and the britons lying dead heaped upon the dead that rome will be victorious on this day as night falls the enemy attacks become sparser and sparser still and during this pause in the battle legion 14 under hossidious getta which had moved to protect your flank has now moved into the bridgehead to leapfrog you at dawn your legion will then be responsible to cover the south and west with barely time to eat some day's old bread the britons attack again at dawn this time a wall of them that stretches as far as the trees do on either side of you as like the day prior you and the other legionaries vigorously thrust your wedge-shaped columns into the closely packed britain's ranks carving out deep channels of carnage for what seems like countless grim hours of endless battle until geta himself rallies the men in the north to give a final push guetta and his legions begin to encircle the britons geta himself narrowly avoiding capture on a few occasions another hour passes before the britons finally become fewer and fewer and the noise lessens until the only noise is the heavy fatigue breathing of you and your comrades then the yells of celebration to jupiter himself as the men finally realizing they had become victor many of them falling to their knees in exhaustion others yelling to the heavens even as they stumble the battle of the medway was fought primarily against the catavolani tribe that populated the southeast of britain after this battle owls claudius sent word back to rome for the emperor claudius to make his way to britain there are just two accounts of claudius in britain the first written by the roman historian suetonius could be interpreted as dismissive as it reads he fought no battle nor did he suffer any casualties the historian dio elaborates a bit more but what is sorely missing are the lost tacitus volumes dio writes that claudius joined his legions at the thames and led them across the river to engage the britons who had assembled there having defeated them he took camelottenum the britain's capital most historians suggest the act was mostly for show and that owls had ensured claudius's entry to be more ceremonial by nature claudius stayed just 16 days in total before he and his large retinue returned slowly to rome leaving owless to continue advancing the frontier border which now covered a portion of britain during your task to dispatch any britons still found alive on the battlefield you and the others receive word from your centurion on the enemy leaders caracticus had fled and was heading towards a major river further inland while his brother togo damnas had fallen in the battle still trembling with adrenaline you turn to look for maxis to discuss the battle and subsequent events you find maxis lying dead among the fallen the combination of this discovery and the adrenaline now finally wearing off causes your legs to tremble and you to buckle and fall forward on the soft ground head down unable to control your emotions the tears stream down your face at the realization that short of elysium you will not see maxis again in this life your comrades allow you to wallow for only a second or two before they stand you up and remind you there will be time in the future to mourn now is not that time having headed north with his three legions to prepare for emperor claudius's arrival owless claudius had vespasian take legion augusta in a sweep through the southern britain territory to quell lingering resistance there emperor claudius stayed for 16 days and if the purpose of his visit was to flaunt rome's power and presence then based on the accounts we have at our disposal that seems to have been achieved claudius arrived with a small army of assistants whose sole purpose was to add to the extravagance of his presence it was even rumored that elephants accompanied him although no evidence to date has surfaced to suggest they crossed into britain with him any military action claudius was involved in was minor and likely all but staged for the finale which was to see him get credit for invading britain this would be the source for historians undermining his role in the invasion for centuries millennia to come regardless he was heaped with the honors as if he had been there himself and that to him was most important full military credit and securing that as part of his legacy the last few weeks of rest and training for the upcoming campaign have passed in a blur between rounding up bratonic stragglers from the battle's immediate aftermath a task which the auxiliary cavalry has done the majority of you have managed to piece together maxis's will and face the inevitable challenge of writing a letter for his family back home in your town of salernum you have certainly experienced more of man's ferocity in the few days of battle than all the years of your life previous your contubernium has been there throughout and kept you distracted and on task with the training and other daily duties however within the next few hours your legion will begin its campaign and initial sweep through the southwest territory your centurion has indicated to the contaberniums that your task will be to subjugate two warlike and resistant tribes as well as capture any small towns deemed worth defending by the britons the main long-term objective to establish a fortress a naval port along the southern coast aside from that the legion's first order of business restoring varica to his throne your legion and auxiliary troops totaling almost ten thousand men begins its march in the early daylight hours heading west along the large inland river that the natives call thameses the river offering protection along your northern flank as it twists and turns through the countryside westward that first evening your legion makes camp on a large hill rumored to have been camped formerly by julius caesar himself maxis would so dearly have enjoyed this as caesar was a boyhood hero of his to the point he had memorized all of caesar's battles in galia and beyond the terrain has felt and looked like one massive never-ending heath the next stop would be restoring varric to his throne in the britain town of kaleva at rebatum before your legion heads south for the next leg in the campaign you've also learned more through whispers and camp talk about your commander vespasian it is said his grandfather was a centurion but that no other members of his family had influential positions or wealth to be found which was something vespasian had apparently not tried to hide you believe strongly that vespasian coming from a family not unlike yours and many of the others is yet another reason the men respect him so much the future emperor of espasian whose origins were much more humble than the typical upper crust of roman society was looking to make his mark and advance with senatorial ambition as his underlying objective after the battle of the medway vespasian took legion augusta on a sweep south and then west along the coastline of britain beyond putting verrica on the throne and securing ports and harbors for future resupply and trade he also annexed mines supplying tin lead and silver for the empire politically he was also to discuss terms with the 20 odd hill fortresses that dotted the southern landscape these hill forts essentially earthen castles massive mounds with moats of various obstacles and at the very top the wooded town and townsfolk that inhabited it no doubt the britons were getting or had already received word of the roman arrival and yet most were confident that they were safe in numbers and on their earth and fortifications considering they likely measured success based on their own missile weapon technology of the time slings and arrows they felt they were in safe range from harm however what the britons did not bank on was the flexibility and versatility of the roman legions the roman legion of the early imperial years a model of self-sufficiency not only could they feed clothe and arm themselves build fortifications they had within their ranks siege weapons along with the ability to build more and yet more depending on the task requirements at hand you've been waiting at your camp near the britain opida called kaleva atrebatum roman delegates from your legion have been sent out to meet with the current leadership of kaleva to discuss terms for restoring varica to the atrobadi's throne although part of you wishes to remain optimistic that terms will be agreed upon you haven't seen much indication from the britons to support that conclusion an hour later any lingering optimism you may have had shattered the britons say no and unlike the battle of a few weeks ago this one won't see you on the immediate front lines vespasian has called for deployment of your siege weaponry surely the britons had not fooled themselves in thinking that just because rome's arrows couldn't reach him that nothing else could then again you yourself have seen so much these last few months that you never guessed could exist by the early afternoon the siege weapons are in place and as is the practice no second request for peace was extended it was the belief of your legion's leaders that at this point only a display of rome's might would send the correct message to these and other britons of what it meant to slap the hand of rome from your position to the rear of the siege weapons you hear the aggressive tight twisting of the sino rope as the troops attending the weaponry turn the giant wheels and shafts into the ready position and then load them the ammunition being used hard massive stone balls some of which were covered with flame the order was soon given and roman response to the britons hurled high and onto their buildings many of which soon erupted into flame and after the staggered first wave in preparation for the second word was received that the britons had sued for peace during the discussions between roman and britain leadership your contubernium and a handful of others as well as auxiliary march to the top to survey but also ensure that weapons and armed resistance were muted the damage of just the one wave shocks you many of the larger buildings that were spared flame had been crushed and some from both leaving only smoldering debris where the buildings once stood the britons here look at you with both fear and anger and many of the young are crying over the dozens who perished in this first volley your one thought on seeing the devastation would they ever truly accept rome then you remind yourself that most of the territory you had passed through to get to your legion including galia were once says the britons and now prospering over the duration of the campaign you see surprising little fighting most of the opida you have come to have received word of what happened in kaleva the few that resist either hadn't heard or chose to think it was a capitulation due to fear when that would happen the events usually played out the same way as they did with almost immediate surrender after the first wave of siege weapons in fact the majority of the fighting you have personally done has been due to platonic skirmishers or near full deployments outside of their once vaunted fortifications still death is death and the long weeks have certainly worn on you rest always a welcome distraction you've had the opportunity to work with some of the fellow legionnaires that have building skills as they repaired britain damages and trained the locals in some of those building techniques your motive to hopefully have some additional skills that can take you away from the ditch digging which as far as building in your legion goes is pretty low on the pole of task prestige one you have enjoyed is the process of making roof tiles each of which your legion then stamps with the legion's name on the island the britons call vectus laying just off the southern shores the britons mounted an admirable attempt to prevent occupation but as with the previous cases your legion crushed them within minutes during a midday engagement in an open and recently cleared meadow as the weeks pass the outcome of each day begins to mirror the last until one of the silver mines in the far west as your group was clearing the mine a booby trap set by the britons collapsed above a handful of your comrades and yourself you narrowly missed their fate which was to be crushed and then buried beneath the debris the collapse cut you off from the exit and with no light you were somehow able to dig yourself out and rescue two men still alive one of whom had both legs broken and another a serious head wound and damage to the bones in his chest which allowed him only short shallow breaths which in the already dust-filled air caused him much discomfort and much pain after half a day of digging you at first hear then see the light of the other members of your legion digging towards you you were saved that day and due to your actions even though they were off-field you were awarded an honor by your centurion himself for now we break from gaius's story to tell of your other lives in different places and different times but fear not we shall return to gaius at a future date when during a battle against the seleuris tribe in britain tragedy again resurfaces as for vespasian he would continue the campaign with augusta for another three years and meet all its objectives his success in britain led to a consulship in 51 ce and then a temporary retirement from public life well that was the plan but rome was not yet done with vespasian he was pulled out of retirement in 63 for a governorship in africa which for many a politician normally meant the lining of pockets as corruption was rife for in these postings they were seen as a means of recouping past political expenses in 63 ce nero had him sent to quell the jewish revolt when nero died in 68 ce vespasian as wily as always waited for the other claimants to off each other before stepping in himself the legions he commanded previously like augusta 2 remained loyal to him despite a two-decade absence a clear indication of how much goodwill he had built with them that loyalty rewarded him not only with victory against the final claimant but ultimately delivered him the position of emperor in which he returned stability to rome which for the last few years had been but an elusive dream it was also a rule during which many of the iconic buildings like the coliseum were built we find that the romans owed the conquest of the world to no other cause than continual military training exact observance of discipline in their camps and unwearied cultivation of the other arts of war the year is 50 ce rome is a third of the way into the era known as the pax romana a 200-year period of inner peace within the empire which stretches from present-day syria in the east egypt in the south to the far west where the mare nostrum what the romans called the mediterranean met the atlantic which they called mare tenebrozum or sea of darkness it was here that britannia lay and decidedly large parts of it had not yet submitted to the concept of paxo romana caesar had failed in conquering these lands but the emperor claudius and his generals did not your name is gaius paulius regulus and you had left your home in salernum to join the roman legion as a new recruit you were sent to join league of two augusta in gallia your legion along with nine hispana 14 gemina and 20 valeria weaktreks in addition to over 20 000 auxiliary troops crossed the waters from gaul into britannia while the leadership were aware of britannia's role in trade and had concocted a reason to invade based loosely on restoring varica as king of the atrebates for the common roman soldier it was a mystical place and the men almost revolted however cross you did and on the other side you engaged in many battles and adventures on your march across britannia's southern shores including time spent digging into a mine and then out of it after it had collapsed receiving reward for saving many men under your legatus vespasian you conquered to the farthest south west reaches of these lands subjugating the hostile durotriges and dumnoni tribes who resided there you were surprised that these tribes along with those already encountered were far from the savages you'd previously pictured while they didn't have the full roman type construction that you grew up in they did mint coins and they lived otherwise similar lives the extent of their civilized ways however would soon give way as your legion would traverse beyond the borders of the dobuni the seleuris who lay beyond this were a tribe that would test you in ways you were not then yet prepared for much has happened in the intervening years between your arriving in britannia at the end of the events in part three the winds of change blowing strong four years after your arrival aulus plotius no longer governor of britannia replaced by a man named publius ostorius scapula your league of two augusta stationed at kaleva atrebatum had received word of the need to engage them and this is where your story resumes you are now 27 having spent the last five years with league of two at a camp outside of kaleva atrebatum which was now already beginning to resemble a roman town other small temporary camps had been set up for temporary stays but none large enough for full camps as the one at kalaeva it would over the years envelop the original britonic town and would grow into a large roman one with the typical grid layout and include most of the amenities that roman towns were known for a few of its buildings would last even until early anglo-saxon times your camp lies just outside of town and structured in the typical field fashion albeit with a bit more permanence preparations are clearly underway as moving west has been the talk of the camp for weeks now your conto bernalis and you have grown closer since the death of maxis those years ago atticus who hails from south of rome is an ox of a man approaching 30. he comes from a long line of butchers and would often assist with the killing and cutting of animals for the legio when meat was served he was also extremely protective of you and the others but with a very dark attitude which included seeing death around each and every corner marcus and cyprian both farming stock and much stronger than their appearance would suggest they were also continually homesick for the rolling hills of their native etruria in italia which lay further north of rome cornelius and lucius were as opposite as could be cornelius almost ahead taller than everyone but atticus being roughly his height but being also close friends with lucius who only just was admitted height wise was comical anytime the two walked anywhere as a pair which happened often cyprian was roughly your height neither too tall nor too short and as with you blended in nicely on marches but was fascinated with everything related to nature trees especially they would fascinate him endlessly trees that other than their ability to cast shade never provided you with much else to think about for cyprian though who could drone on and on about their various shades heights bark textures in truth it seemed everything about them fascinated him then there were the plants and shrubs he treated britannia as a playground a possibility and out of all of you was most looking forward to the march west this left but quintus who'd come to replace maxis and as a result was harassed quite a bit early on in mostly good-natured ways but that of course was from the point of view of those hurling it perhaps quintus would not have agreed but if this was the case he certainly had not led on by now though he was an integral part of your contubernium as much as any of the others each would gladly cover for the others at the risk of punishment for minor infractions although this tended to not happen frequently as the legio was what mattered most to all of you excursions into the town on formal matters though well they may have adrifted into more entertainment than formal function on occasions when not training and working at the various tasks assigned you you spent your precious free time with your latest few obsessions one of them the obsession of la trun cooley which you shared with cyprian the others though mainly played tally in tesserae which they played with dice in between the making of tiles a road building for the town with clay chalk and gravel you've been working on your second obsession learning to craft bow and arrow you were in absolute awe of how vespasian had utilized the inclusion of this weapon in ways you'd certainly not considered cyprian showing you the best wood to use for both arrow and bow and atticus providing you with the sinew enough that you've stockpiled a few bowstrings worth the day came when your centurion mustered yours and the other contubernium under his charge his name was justice and he was primus pilus or senior centurion of your first cohort a cohort that you'd been moved to after the mine incident he wore an even more detailed silvered version of the centurion armor and he was in his late 30s with not a libra of fat on his muscled body his calves hung from his legs like two large chicken breasts and his arms capable of lifting most men off the ground and assumingly also being able to crush the life out of them while doing so from a distance some might describe him as handsome upon closer inspection his face was a map of his life in the legio burns from a long ago campaign covered parts of the left side of his face and on both sides scars that were numerous and extended up and over his scalp as well as down his back and right arm what else was hidden by his clothing could only be surmised and better replaced by happier thoughts he was as most centurions a disciplinarian but compared to some of the others in the legio about as fair as they come he led through action inspiration and example whereas many of the others relied almost exclusively on fear however he would not suffer fools or cowards he would generally address you as the head of your contubernium when speaking to you and the men and seemed to have a confidence in you that extended beyond your service likely due to your past and present actions both of which he was fully aware of it was rumored that before coming to augusta he had fought on the borders of germany in the battle of baruhana wood as a member of the famed fifth legion and was one of its fiercest fighters responsible for pushing the enemy back and saving many cohorts and cavalry years later and just a few before joining augusta it was said that he had even raided against the chatty and was part of the legal that recovered the third legionary standard lost in the battle at teutelberg regardless he had the respect and obedience of all the canto brunalis optio and centurions under him men our legio begins the march after maine we face the solaris who have been launching raids into the lands we have civilized and we have brought peace to they have been beaten but their territory remains untamed and they are a danger to the other tribes and to rome they will be shown no mercy no quarter and they will learn what it means to go up against the might of our league eo we march at full pace and i've been told my men will be carrying half of the cities for camp construction gather your things and be ready to march at the sounds soon the march began as did the singing of your marching songs like urbani which featured the exploits of julius caesar and the politics of his time you were wearing one of the new types of armor that most in the first cohort were wearing while the rest mostly still wore the typical male shirts the new armor was called lorica segmentata and it hailed from the famed smiths in gaul the march to the territory of the silurus would take five days the five centurions under justice and their five options were rigid in their devotion to juice deuce and the legio to march alongside them was an honor the spatian had personally ensured each of the men who had been moved into these positions during his time were battle hardened and experienced in all senses worthy of the position and not through the familial connections in rome as so many others had been even the legatus titus was a campaign veteran of almost three decades it was on the evening of the fifth day though the things would change you'd been marching southwesterly into the silurus territory which was wooded in great portions with low rolling hills on all sides giving away only occasionally to open flat tall grass fields as the woods gave way to one of these grass plains atop a hillside where you would camp the attacks began at first they were hit-and-run attacks against the contingents of light armed auxiliary infantry and cavalry which had scouted ahead you'd been marching six abreast but when the attacks began the centurions and optios barked to move into battle-ready positions then hades itself descended upon the area seemingly aware of your presence for several days the attacks intensified on all sides word spread that a large portion of the front auxiliary and cavalry had charged the seleuris on chariots attacking them but had not returned leaving the ligo likely on impulse they would no longer be a priority the priority was now the legio and in a defensive formation on all sides with scutums raised then the full waves of attacks began your six thousand men being attacked by a force at least eight times as large the solaris like many of the other bratonic tribes rode war chariots theirs though were smaller and mobile meant for their lands and they could drive at fast speeds through even the likely wooded areas like this on the reins a warrior driving the two horses with another man on the back throwing spears all clad in blood red even the chariot they looked as bringers of death and the wind instruments that they used in the background complemented the eerie howls of their war cries driving about in all directions hurling their weapons seeking to break your ranks some leaping off with chariots at a distance after having expended their spears and now joining their infantry with sword and shield and charge an hour into the fight word that several of the other cohorts had been slaughtered but justice remained as did the legate barking orders through the ranks to hold firm and to hold fast the beginnings of all things are small your legion had marched into a wide valley pocketed by veils of what you all referred to with the contemptuous slur of bretunkalai breath this translated directly to nasty little britain's breath but the meaning was more akin to nasty little inbred britain's breath the valley which funneled into the saluri lands was lined with slopes of various inclines and elevations trees of both pine and leaf grew throughout the legion itself slithered through in a marching line some three and a half kilometers long and had just scouted a camp for the coming night upon a meadow atop one of these slopes when the attacks began the silluri colored blood red on matching war chariots armed with throwing spears accompanied by their infantry armed with sword and shield they descended like locusts upon your legion word was received that the auxiliary cavalry had charged and had not been seen again and that multiple cohorts had been lost as the fighting raged one of the tribunals angus declavius or senior officers was near your contubernium exchanging shouts with your primos pilus centurion justice you could not make out the details but if it involved the tribunal's punished posthumous it would be important for now your task was to hold the perimeter with your men a group of ciluri almost as if sensing your mixed attention let loose a volley of spears instinctively you screamed for the testudo but your men after years of fighting alongside you and only an eye blink raised their shields the spears clanged against them cornelius the tall lean comrade of lucius had a spear take out shoulder flesh but he merely grunted in response the predictable surge of siluri infantry next swarmed in but you again held them off justice was now directly behind you yelling for the archers to preserve their arrows for infantry charges only which you recognized meant your cohort was now cut off from the supply chain turning slightly during a lull in the fighting your eyes met those of justice who now stood directly behind your men men we must hold them off until darkness the legatus has sent word via tribunus punius that we are to he hesitated slightly before continuing tactfully retreat under the cover of darkness we are to meet one kilometer north of the camp we directed two nights ago he then abruptly ended his speech with a yell of testudo as another volley of spears was hurled in your direction you noted with comfort the presence of the archers and felt with what supply they still had left of arrows nightfall would be achievable but caesar had himself said no one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected and as if even destiny was on the side of the salury the rain began to pour if the mist was the putrid breath of the bratunkalai surely this was the passing of their water you knew well the problem with heavy rainfall while it could assist in slowing down a highly mobile enemy that was running on foot or on chariot it would also wet the sinew of the bows and render them near useless predictably over the next hour of fighting the arrows fired grew more and more infrequent each wave of soluri was killing more and more of your fellow soldiers you echoed the hesitation justice had in the delivery of the news to withdraw with disdain surely you thought we could have at least fought to the higher ground however discipline for some armies could be a thin blade of grass growing against the elements subject to bending with each breeze but for you romans discipline was provided a strong foundation like that of a stone wall not meant to easily give way or waver so you and your men and the others around you of the first cohort held fast and like the stone foundation did not waver the attacks lessened as knight mercifully began to stretch her dark cloak across the valley there was no sign of the tribunus but justice and roughly half of the first cohort was still holding firm the ground beneath all your feet after several quiet minutes punctuated only by the continued rainfall and heavy breathing of the men just who spoke to avoid being seen and cut down we must avoid fire to lead the way use the darkness and follow what you can of the stars when visible we will move in two large groups to the north of the camp from two nights previous as he delivered these final words you heard the thunderous sound of many hooves and then in the receding twilight the horde of chariots heading your way justice yelled to brace yourselves now standing right beside you the chariots were bearing down to your right with justice and the rest of your contemporaneum to your left they appeared to be wanting to separate justice in his discernible centurion armor from the rest of the men he threw his helmet to the ground and pivoted with his arms outstretched to either side to the left quickly with gladius only he instructed run you all dropped your scutums and turned with justice it was clear he felt the battle could have gone differently as well from the outset but that did not mean he was ready to die here in the woods on an island so far from home your group with justice ran without further words exchanged only your collective breaths led the way through the darkness for hours you ran sticking to the forests and crossing clearings only as required you'd marched sometimes for days on end but this was different your lungs burned your muscles ached and they cramped rests were short as the priority was getting as much distance between you and the silluri who were not committing massive numbers but instead sending smaller parties of several hundred men in multiple directions you'd managed to avoid two of these as both were using light and while they could cover more distance they had the disadvantage of their night vision being impacted an advantage your small group used to create more distance and edge ever further out to the perimeter of where they were sending their parties the terrain became increasingly hilly and mountainous a third saluri party had your group now heading even further west based on the stars when visible as clouds still covered much of them after an estimated five hours your group could no longer sustain the pace while you'd all dropped your shields and helmets and other unnecessary supplies within the first hundred feet of your run you did as instructed retain your gladiuses justus was the first to speak we must find a place to rest let us slow our pace and fan out a bit we need an outcropping to hide a fire the darkness will hide the smoke each man to 50 feet for an hour collect any dry wood you can find your next thought after justice finished was one of shock firewood was all good but you had all dropped your marching packs in the scramble making fire without flint and steel something you had trained for but given the conditions with the recent rain would be extremely time consuming justice swept his gaze between you all as each of you had the same look of dumbfounded realization and then he let out the most inappropriate laugh from deep within his gut a laugh that rumbled for at least 15 seconds oh my little mules surely you did not think these burns and scars were for decorative purposes only surely you believe your primus pilus hadn't wandered from battle to battle with both eyes closed with mars kicking my arse in the right direction he then placed his right club hand into his tunic and pulled out a small leather satchel of the kind you all stored flint steel and tinder in only his was tied around his waist and out of sight and as if sensing the relief on all your faces and the shame justice placed the satchel back and simply barked fan out in this direction after 30 minutes the butcher atticus found a hollow on a slope that would be a perfect location for fire and its main benefit of warmth you all pitched in to assist in digging the fire pit with what you could find and at just the right location to hide it from the site of passing eyes justice was sat by the pit in deep contemplation but no one said a word the mere thought of you all having lost your flint and steel was still providing just enough shame to continue working without worrying what justice was up to the fire was soon started however while it would be a warm night it would also be a hungry one even justice was unable to produce something edible from another hidden pouch you had found a water source nearby something these aisles were not short of cyprion the tree buff soon produced a handful of pine needles and after three of you had carved out some rudimentary wooden cups he suggested adding them to some hot water it truly was a refreshing drink and while it didn't cure the hunger it at least filled your belly with much needed refreshment sleep came quick but with your watch being the last you found it difficult to again find sleep so you stayed awake and sat with justice who again seemed deep into contemplation then after a few minutes finally spoke we will require ranged weapons gaius you've been working on creating bows and arrows have you not yes you replied before you could speak further cyprian spoke up providing valuable information but with a bunch of added not required as well gaius there are some saplings from the trees the natives call owen you could use these trees grow larger here than the similar ones in the empire and while they also have needles they are toxic to drink but the wood is strong soon the others were up with justice telling the group you would rest complete the bows and then head further into the direction before coming back north and east with the others up and assisting you within a few hours you had rudimentary bows they took a bit to finish and that was your task as the others lacked the skills you had built up they did help however with the process of hanging the bows on the trees to pull the sinew and flex the bow many times over the course of a few hours to better prepare them atticus lacking the deafness of justice was all brawn and rarely delicate with anything other than his meat cleaver he soon broke his bow during the process so you designed him a longer and stronger bow with a much heavier pull the bow almost as long as atticus at roughly six feet in length you ensured it was strong enough as you had but one sinew left atticus was able to use the bow without issue and after a few hours after midday just2 said it was time to leave i chose this route as prior expeditions into the region reported a type of hairy goat that roams in the higher elevations they are easier to hunt than deer especially given our current strength you all set out and later that day recognized trees that produced the oval-shaped hazelnuts in plentiful bounty around you you each collected as much as you could carry without your packs and when eaten on your next rest they did a decent job of at least killing the hunger pains as your group continued to head west you could see the mountains rising and soon were on the slopes ahead you spotted the peak looking like a headless neck sitting atop a set of broad shoulders as you drew closer sure enough a group of wild goats could be seen grazing on its steep green slope facing you to the peaks side a gentler slope could be seen proceeding up to its summit your group careful to walk so the breeze did not carry your smell to the goats you could see in the lower elevation below the goats a peat bog of the kind the natives would sacrifice criminals and offerings into you were considered the best shot and were thus designated to make the first and hopefully only attempt at a meal that day you approached the summit edge below which the goats were gathered and crawled the last few feet slowly so as not to make any noise peaking your head just over the edge you noted it was much steeper than you'd anticipated the goat numbered just over a dozen and were eating at the vegetation on the side the males had large thick horns that curved back like enormous drinking horns with the points almost touching their shaggy backs the females though horned but of a much thinner variety you picked what looked like an average-sized male lined up your shot and let loose and arrow it struck it deep in its neck the beast now dead collapsed and fell several dozen feet onto a ledge below and thankfully not into the peat bog the rest of the goats scattered leaving their comrade to his fate you called the rest of the group over and atticus still feeling the sting of having destroyed the first bow volunteered to fetch the future meal he handed you his lengthy bow and he took two of his arrows breaking them several times until he had a cluster of eight inch sticks gripped firmly in each of his ham hands he was descending at a decent pace and was soon down with the meal on the ledge and then appeared to lose his footing falling to his right knee with the other leg over the edge and his left arm swung behind him which caused him to release his left grip and scatter the arrow pieces into the bog below his right hand still firmly in control of the arrow pieces stabbed intuitively and quickly into the ledge stopping his slide backwards but not before his right leg was also over the edge justice seeing this yelled below so the good news is we had a kill but the bad news is we now have to prey on allege to retrieve it was a needed reprieve from the seriousness of the moment and soon you all burst in laughter well save for atticus down below who was still hanging on for dear life and slowly getting his footing back on the ledge or at least attempting to as the one who took the shot and in possession of his very long bow you scaled down in the same way he had until you were just above his ledge you took his bow from your back and reached it down to him telling him to grip it and pull himself back onto the ledge this went well initially until he began to slip again and tugged so hard on the bow that you were pulled clear over the edge and arced over him as his left arm circled over with you you stopped breathing expecting to fall into the peat bog below but instead came to a hard stop looking up you saw atticus's left arm unnaturally twisted back and could sense he was struggling to hold you both up still firmly clutching the arrow pieces in your left hand you stabbed into the side of the summit just as his grip loosed catapulting the very long bow into the peat bog below where it would likely lay for a very long time if not eternity and here we end part five of your life as a roman legionary what will happen to gaia as atticus justice cyprian and the rest will they make it back or will things continue to go tragically wrong men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure tacitus with you now hanging by your own weight on the cliffside atticus was able to lift himself back onto the ledge just as the others led by justus arrive to pull him up justus was then lowered down by the others and his strong arms grabbed you and pulled you up with ease that evening the goat was a welcome meal which put back much of your spent energy as the others went off to sleep justice was again sitting in his usual brooding and contemplative position you were determined to find out the nature of what had been troubling him as it was obviously more than just your current predicament you finally asked what had been troubling him these days he looked at you with eyes that continued to contemplate some past event so you turned to leave justice to those thoughts the legatus had asked for assistance from the other legions but assistance was not offered it is why we marched alone it is why many more men died than needed to should augustus somehow survive this it is not something we shall soon forget he drifted back to his thoughts and you left him by the fire but you now understood that it wasn't just the other legions that had failed augustus rome itself had failed your legion your group carried on in a northwestern direction until the distance between you and the solaris was sufficient for justice the terrain had become more mountainous there'd been no sign of other romans or local tribes justice stopped the group before evening fell we are now in the territory of the ordovicis who like the soluris have resisted rome we should begin to head east to avoid any chance of contact as evening fell the brothers marcus and cassius spotted a small farmstead while your group had more than enough cooked goat meat to last a few more days your travel had all been by foot the farmstead offered an opportunity for horses which would make the travel back that much quicker we must be cautious just who said where there are farmsteads there will be a hill fort nearby the hill forts are their source of military might and we would not stand a chance we must make our sole task to acquire horses and leave for the east as quickly as we can your contubernium circled wide around the farmstead with justice in the lead and approached it from a thick patch of forest the horses were uncomfortably close to the main building itself so your group decided to wait until nightfall there would be no fire only the cold meat of the goat and what hazelnuts were left to eat water was also needed as it had been almost half a day without drink the clear starlight that evening made the going quick and fairly easy your group maneuvered through the forests you wanted to get the horses while there was still a fire burning in the homestead with the occupants having bedded for the night strange noises would be quicker to alert them marcus and cassius now took the lead as farmer lads they were more natural around horses horses that were not accustomed to military use and would lead the horses to the rest of you waiting just outside the clearing your group got close to the edge of the clearing as possible to keep an eye out for marcus and cassius you could just see their outlines in the moonlight as they approach the farmstead and the horses to the side then atticus let out a concerned gasp as dozens of dark figures could be seen surrounding the two you immediately move forward to get a better grasp of the situation when you too were surrounded by dozens of what you could now see were clearly britain's you instinctively reached for your gladius but just who stayed your hand not now lad let us see if we can reason within minutes your group was bound and led towards the homestead where both marcus and cassius were also sitting with arms bound torches were being lit and you caught your first good glimpse of the britonic tribesmen unlike the soluri they were painted with various shades of gray and green and yet spoke to you what sounded much like the same britonic tongue that you'd heard near your home fort however they looked much more battle-hardened and based on appearance alone theirs was a life of almost constant conflict he who appeared to be the leader of the group moved forward and began to speak brotonic he had an aide to his left that translated what was said into a broken latin we have been watching you for the last days since you crossed into our territory it is clear you were at the battle with our neighbors to the south our leaders will want to question you pray to whatever gods watch over you romans as your time on this world will be short with the words delivered there was no pause or look for a reply the men around you simply tugged on your bindings and pushed you in the direction of the homestead you were given some water but no food and it became clear they were doing just enough to have you survive for questioning and not much else when dawn broke they marched you the two hours to their hill fort it was an impressive structure for britonic standards whereas the britons to the east had built forts on higher ground and you'd even laid sieged several the first two years upon your arrival these were built differently rather than simply sitting atop the hill they had concentric circle embankments that ringed the fort in all five such circles provided additional defenses to the structure up top the other main difference between the hill forts you'd seen in the east and these were the high stone walls and mostly stone buildings and what wooden buildings sat within its grounds were covered with dried mud so as to not easily catch fire whereas the hill forts in the east had been primarily wooden structures which did not take long for your roman siege tactics to capture as you were led up the winding path to the fort and into the structure you passed by many grim faced locals that looked upon your group with obvious disdain your group was placed in a cell with a tiny barred window through which there was no fresh air only the smell of human and animal excrement it was overwhelmingly strong but the least of your current worries or concerns cyprian quintus and the rest sad expressionless to have escaped from the silluras and survived these rugged lands to end up here it wasn't stated but you were all thinking the same all of you except justice who spoke softly through gritted teeth we will likely be interrogated in the morning and executed by evening we will have one shot and even that will likely not be successful but i'll be damned if i go to elysium without a soldier's death you would have thought reflecting back on this years later that after the flint and tinder incident your contubernium's faith in what justice was capable of would be without question but his words just echoed the hopelessness that you all felt your legs were bound at the ankles and arms behind your backs there would be no one shot no matter how hard justice willed it into being the sounds of things being thrown over the wall and landing in a splash on the hillside near the small window were heard periodically this was followed by the ever-present smell of excrement that rose and ebbed after each toss but never subsided after several hours and with darkness cutting off any natural light that had found its way through that small window footsteps could be heard coming closer guided by flickering torchlight two britons with a small bucket of water entered the cell they placed the bucket in the center of the room laughing one then began to urinate into the bucket of what was to have been drinking water for your group what happened next has played in your mind on many future restless nights perhaps the events transpired slightly differently but in those remembrances they always played out the same exact way justice had before they entered the cell moved his bound legs to his left and placed his back against the bars of the cell when the second guard who stood closest to justice began his urination just who swept his mighty legs swiftly to his right taking the feet from under the guard and sending him crashing headfirst into the bars where he crumpled to the ground still as the second guard reached for his sword justice had already squatted straight up with his bound feet centered firmly beneath him in the next instant his battle-scarred forehead smacked into the left temple of the guard with such force that bone was heard to split the briton's body swayed unnaturally to the right before falling prone headfirst onto the hard cell floor with a sickening thud instinctively but several seconds behind just two swift movements you inch towards the sword which was hanging half out at sheath on the fallen britain the first britain was now beginning to come too but justice jumping as high as he could with those still bound feet came crashing down upon the britain's head ending any recovery justice next lowered himself back against the wall and brought his bound arms under his buttocks and to the front of his body he next grabbed the sword you had by now freed but could not manipulate and sawed free your hands within minutes you were all free of the bindings but still prisoners of a sort quickly mules the excrement was being tossed from above that will be our exit quickly justice whispered forcefully the hallway from the cell led to a stairwell which wound up to the main level floor it appeared empty safe for some bratonic spears which you all grabbed your group quickly found the opening in question which in actuality was an open balcony above where the cell window had been as your group began to make its way towards the ledge overlooking the hillside a dozen more britons stormed into the building justice blocked the entryway and turned yelling run mules now none of you was going to leave justice alone here and you all rushed the doorway the next instant a britain's spear was thrust clear through justice's midsection but he continued to try and block the door frame you all pulled him clear and a disciplined rage took over your group here atop the hill fort the room became a roman battlefield and years of training took over the britons moved without discipline as individuals but your unit functioned as a group each thrust deliberate and timed after the first three britons fell the rest had the look that you men knew well the look of men no longer certain about fighting with odds turning against them a look that would lead to what happened next individual instinct for self-preservation the britons turned and you all knew as they turned and fled they could not be allowed to leave and to a man struck each down with savage ferocity while you had fought with discipline the rage was still present perhaps even a bit of this island far from home was now a part of each of you with the britons dead you turn back to justice who was now bleeding profusely and three of you tried to prop him between yourselves leave me mules i've not the strength and will only slow you down this was your centurion and there would be no counter arguments i've also not the strength myself so grant me death now quickly as the de facto leader of your contubernium you were the one tasked to send justice to elysium it was no easy feat but there was no time for any ceremony however none of you would leave him here no britons followed you as you scaled down the hill perhaps that was what was left of them with the others having gone to fetch yet another tribe or some others but it was of no consequence as you looked only forward to make as much distance as you could your group carried justice between you the plan was to return to the farmstead for the horses while it wasn't spoken of again when your group reached the farm the occupants were not spared justice would be burned as was tradition among your people you would make it to the rendezvous just under one quarter of the legion had survived while the ranks would be filled over the next few years word would spread among the survivors of the other legions abandoning augustus to their fate against the soluris this would come back to haunt rome's legions here against the icini in the decade to come it is the year 60 and 17 years have passed since you arrived on the shores of britain 17 years that have seen you as a young man venture from your home town of salernum in italy to the shores of britain where you have now spent your whole adult life in the many months after returning from the events in the lands of the you were promoted to first centurion of the third cohort while you kept in touch with your prior contubernium you are now expected to associate with the other five centurions in your cohort usually such a promotion to centurion would mean transfer to a legion depleted via attrition but your legion had gone through the very same at the hands of the seleuris home had been for so long but a distant memory rarely ever dreamed of without a reminder a reminder which came in the form of a whisper here or a smell there or a taste garum which your family had for generations made and sold had found its way to these shores in the last few years and your first bite of food coated in it brought to clarity what had been the clouded memory of your family of your former home there was both mourning and bitterness in the weeks and months following the death of justice mourning for the loss of your comrades at the hands of the seleures but also for justice your centurion the bitterness though stemmed from justice's revelation that the two other legions were to have assisted you but did not while it appeared the reasons were maybe legitimate the feelings in the legio were mixed with most viewing it as a betrayal the great wheel of time waits for no one and as the months turned into years more of britain was brought under roman control as much as many of you had wanted to return to the territory of the silures for revenge it would be legal 20 wileria weakrix that would receive the task pushing the tribe further into their territory there they would build two legionary forts in the seleuris territory rather than one fort as rebellion seemed to constantly be festering perhaps you felt you were better off without those troubles your legio ii augusta had left your old fort to build a new one in the far southwest of britain the fort was named isca dumno niyorum or watertown of the dunoni the tribe that inhabited these lands as was typical of the other forts a town began to grow near yours there were some minor engagements but most of your work had been of a civil nature and improving the infrastructure not just of the town but of your fortress it had started as a field camp but was now a bit more structured there'd been talk of this fort not being a permanent one but to date no more had been mentioned on that subject many men had even formed relationships with the local breutonic women children were of course born out of some of these unions this wasn't unusual while you men were forbidden to marry this didn't stop many from doing everything but marriage such children were technically illegitimate and the terms for such children was origo castris or born in the camp they would have no rights to their father's inheritance under roman law some of these boys though could find themselves as recruits once of age daily activities involved training and the aforementioned civil work which consisted of building construction making roof tiles and the all-important building and maintaining of roads ties with the people of the growing town were strong and unlike some of the towns to the east anti-roman feelings were not as prevalent here in the surrounding area you were also able to enjoy luxuries long not experienced like the baths that were built five years ago they were smaller compared to what you were used to back home but elegant enough and functional the hot water on your campaign weary bones always welcome after several days of hard work evenings at the week's end were available only to the centurions and those of higher rank it was on such days you could find quiet spots sit and lose yourself among the stars enjoying the precious and rare time alone alone to your thoughts when you often reflected during those occasions on your past adventures and the life here in britain but always always there was the call of home being a centurion meant training in drills for long hours each day with your wax tablet of daily orders firmly under one arm and your olivine switch for disciplining in the other the battle readiness of the men in your century fell on your and the other five centurion shoulders you were neither friend enemy nor parent you were simply the representative of the legion's universal truths and they the recruits were expected to adhere to all aspects of this truth for in a legion discipline was paramount with shield raised in battle formation one legionary lacking discipline in the face of a charging britannic horde could change the tide of battle as justice had often told you and your men we are of one mind with many limbs the strength of rome was that mind and those limbs here where even policing and patrol duty was peaceably routine marching and other drills became that much more important in the spring of the year 60 you were sent as second in command of a vexillatio or small detachment to the town of londinium a messenger from londinium had come with word that the iceni tribe had refused to pay tributes and attacked camelottenum but there was no word to what extent or if they were even successful your task was to contact the procurator catus dekianus to ascertain the situation and report back to your prefectus castorum the journey to londinium done at an accelerated pace but things would begin to change rapidly upon your arrival the governor suetonius paulinus had been hailed from his campaign up in the far northwest of wales a place called mona where he was completing the eradication of the druidic scourge the druids who in their sacred groves drenched red with blood made human sacrifices they had fled the roman advance and on the island of mona separated but by a small body of water would make their final stand or they would have had sutoni has not been summoned back south he and his escort had traveled even quicker arriving the morning of the afternoon upon which you arrived londinium was restless in fear hung everywhere suetonius gathered you and the other centurions at the temple for a war council immediately upon word of your arrival normally it would only be the primos pilu centurion and tribunes legate who would take part in such a war council but there were none present and you centurions were needed to get the word back for additional reinforcements suetonius placed both arms to either side of a large wax tablet laid out upon the large rectangular granite of the main altar of the temple and spoke the iceni bertunculi filth have raised the banner of the old king's wife boudicca the trinivantis have rallied to her banner as well and combined they've attacked camelodenum and raised it to the ground our glorious veterans in a vexillation of legion 9 all massacred and the handful of survivors that managed to escape the slaughter they've told us they've turned their gaze towards londinium i contemplated making a stand here but we don't have the men or the time to prepare adequately so i've ordered the populace out of the town and many are leaving but there are those who steadfastly refuse to leave we must prevent this buddhica from any plans she has beyond londinium for the rest of britain's sake i have my legions from the campaign grounds in the north on route under the command of agricola you hesitate briefly before mustering the courage to speak up you relayed the events against the seluras and backed the urging of the other centurions that the best course of action was to meet the rebels upon an open field that played to your strengths to rome's strengths sue tony is conferred with one of his advisors before addressing you again we agree that was our position given our experience these last campaigns as well we know the best place for such a battle we will leave to meet up with our legions in the northwest suetonius looked at you we need the rest of augusta too to head north and meet with us so we shall send some of you back the rest will accompany us one of the centurions asked about the fate of the population remaining behind suetonius replied they'll be left to their fate i will not force anyone to leave but if they believe their kin will spare them surely they are mistaken you all received word from camelottenum later that afternoon statues of the gods were toppled the populist tortured and indiscriminately slaughtered any building that was standing was put to fire so intense that the survivors checking back could see its glow for miles it was decided that the fastest riders would return to ligo two's fort to summon aid you and the rest of your few hundred men would accompany suetonius northwest for the battle to come you all rode fast and steady breaking only for brief respites of food and but the shortest of rests you contemplated what was to come boudicca was said to have many tens of thousands of britons some said over a hundred thousand under her banner yet you were confident this would not be the ambush that was delivered at the hands of the seleures this would be a battlefield of rome's choosing suetonius was said to be an able if overzealous commander eager for the glory on the frontiers of the empire but not foolish enough to squander men needlessly you arrived at the place selected for the battle within two days and would be there for several more it was a large flat plain bisected by the two roman roads one running east west and the other southeast to northwest there was a long wall of forested land to the southwest that sloped upwards running for several miles in each direction wasn't the typical light cover but thick older growth dense enough when coupled with the slope angle to make traversing it difficult suetonius had selected a rectangular almost u-shaped opening where the fields bit into the forest as the place where your forces would ready with the lookouts and defenses prepared boudicca and her britons would have no opportunity to flank or attack you from behind to the northeast the plane extended many miles into the distance this would provide your legions with more than enough room to push the britons with your unified wall of shields and deadly thrusting swords there was still no sign of your lego to augusta however soon scouts came indicating that boudicca and the britons were nearing suetonius wasted no time in forming your army into the field area or defile between the trees as mentioned your flanks were protected on both sides by these forested slopes the full legio 14 gemina and three quarters of ligio 20 valeria weaktricks in addition to your few hundred men made up the lion's center auxiliary troops made up the flanks you'd stood with your men in this formation for almost an hour before the sound of approaching war horns could be heard then twenty minutes later still under the blair of those brittunculi horns boudicca's horde made its first appearance it was a large mass and it was evident from the tens of thousands of men that it was an accurate estimate boudicca herself could only be made out as a distant blurry figure on her chariot which she stepped down from to speak to her troops rather than grouping in disciplined lines her troops marched forward in large war bands of individuals behind the war bands chariots the britons had brought and hundreds of carriages manned with supplies and their kin parking themselves in a large semicircular formation of lines that almost reached either side of boudicca's warband's flanks the chariots led the way coming close enough that their insults hurled your way could be heard the sound of their wheels on the flat ground sounding like a thundercloud filling the horizon then rather than just insults their war chariots masked and zigzagged in their approach hurling their platonic spears some of the legionaries suffered minor injuries but most managed to deflect them with their shields next came the waves of war bands drowning out the chariot wheels with their war cries stomping feet and sword to shield clanging you were experienced and disciplined enough to know that this charge had to be met defensively they would and did weighed in slashing wildly with their swords and axes but made little headway against the wall of roman shields for over an hour those of your men at the front line tested the attackers returning only well-timed thrusts with their gladiate thrusts that more often than not met exhausted britain flesh then 90 minutes into the furious fighting the advance started slowly at first like a large siege engine being pushed into position each step forward with your roman shields every bit as effective as one of those well-timed thrusts slowly the morale began to ebb from the britons you could not see buddhic at any time during the battle only her war banners as your lion continued to push the exhausted britain's battle cries began to mix with the smallest drops of despair but like a storm brewing those small drops would turn into a torrent thousands of their bodies had been trampled under foot as your lines continue to advance with your flank auxiliary troops beginning to envelop the pretense flanks still your army pushed until they began to back into their own supply chain line where they began to box up unable to flee the pace of the killing now accelerated every battle has that moment you learn to recognize where the tide was either turning with the gods in your favor or against it this was that moment that your men spirited on by the gods had the hand of victory firmly in their grasp few of the britons managed to escape boudicca and her closest among those that were able to leave the battlefield the rest britain's women children warriors all brought down by the disciplined and unstoppable momentum of your legion's wrath disciplined it may have been after the battle word spread that boudicca had killed herself shortly after you would also receive word as to why your legion never arrived the contingent that was to head to the legionary fort sent only a handful of men the rest stayed trying to protect londinium but perished with the rest the messengers had brought word to the acting commander punished posthumous to send the legio north but he refused giving no reason he would later take the sword to himself and die perhaps due to lingering bitterness at the fate experienced at the hands of the seleuris or perhaps fear with him no longer here and not having spoken to anyone else you'd never have your answers you would serve with honor for another eight years of peace time as augusta was not active in much after the battle against budaka those of you who fought managed to preserve some honor for the legion saving it from severe punishment and even disbanding but not from ridicule it would take many years for augusta to live down not answering that call the brothers marcus and cassius who had so often dreamed of returning home to their farms did but only to see their families for one last time to say goodbye before returning to britain and the women they would marry cyprian the fan of all things flora and fauna would return home to a civil position with a gaius plinius secundus known as pliny cyprian would travel for him throughout the empire collecting information on flora wherever he could find it atticus would open a butcher shop here in the town and also marry a local britain the others would marry as well and stay here in britain you you were offered a civil administrative position upon your retirement either here in britain or at home however that reintroduction to garum those few years ago had stirred in you the desire to return home and you did but you took the long route over roads through to rome rather than via sea how much had changed at home you wondered and what of rome rome was magnificent the capitoline hill filled with marvelous buildings larger and more elegant than you had ever seen but contrasted by thousands of common dwellings throughout the city more congested and filthy than you'd ever seen after so many years in the relative quiet towns of britain you dislike the noise and congestion of all those people and you made your pass through shorter than you'd intended you would travel for many months in total before finally arriving home but your timing was apt as your father was now very old and ailing and would die but a short few months after your arrival back almost as if he'd been waiting for you all these long years the reason for your return and declining these positions was the family business in your younger years you'd wanted to put as much distance between you and the business as possible and you did but again the reintroduction to garum did more than make you nostalgic for home it made you yearn to just run the family business you would join your brother and together expanded twofold after your father's death you'd meet a woman who worked for your largest supplier on the docks processing the fish she was a free woman but of a poor family yet rich in personality and spirit and she would make you happy and you her for your remaining years you would have a daughter and two sons and in your fifth decade there would be a massive eruption of mount vesuvius destroying pompeii and herculaneum weeks later you would receive word that your old friend cyprian had died attempting to save others with pliny pliny who would be known to future generations as pliny the elder in your sixth decade a visit to the finished flavian amphitheater in rome for what would be your last trip to the city it was amazing the largest you had seen could hold but thirty thousand but the flavian could hold double that and more you were witness to a magnificent naval battle fought by flooding the flavian's floor with water in your seventh decade you would die but surrounded by your wife and children while your name would be forgotten your family's garum business or rather an extension of it would be unearthed in pompeii nearly 2 000 years later and this concludes your life as a roman legionary series i want to thank you for watching if you enjoyed this video in the series please hit that like button and let me know in the comments below what your thoughts were of the series i'd love to hear it as always cheers till

Channel: Yore History

Views: 114,672

Keywords: Roman Legionary, Roman Legions, Roman Invasion of Britain, Claudian Invasion of Britain 43AD, Life Roman Legionary, Roman Military, Roman Empire

Id: 88bnw-gS9C4

Length: 104min 4sec (6244 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2020

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[u/doswell]

Rip my man Maxus