Chapter 1: Preparations
Prologue It is a dark time for the Roman empire, the senate is ruling with an iron fist. Many countries have moved in on Roman lands. The three houses of Rome are in an uneasy alliance held together only by the Senate. One of these houses, the house of Brutii, receives orders to conquer the town of segestica that is held by rebel troops.
Several men entered the forum located in the capital of Brutii lands, Tarentum. They took seats in a large room dominated by a long table and several guards. One man was already sitting in a chair at the other end of the table. He greeted them with open arms.
" Welcome to Tarentum noble men!" he said with a grin. An ambassador from the house of Skipii stepped forward and embraced him.
" It has been too long Gyricus " he replied. The ambassador presented Gyricus with a scroll detailing orders from the Roman senate. Gyricus took the parchment and read quietly to himself. He mumbled Segestica as he read. After a time, Gyricus laid the parchment down. His face was grim. He had to take Segestica before either the house of Julii or Skipii did. Gyricus bid farewell to his guests.
Rome soldiers stood at attention outside Segestica's barracks. It was a small army of Hastati and Town Watch. A few horses neighed. The garrison commander, General Kapius, relayed the Senate's orders to the men. They were to move out in only 3 hours. The army was only 400 men strong but a well trained army at that. The men moved out toward the mainland. Outside the borders of Julii lands a unit of cavalry was waiting for them. A young man hopped from his horse and greeted the men.
" My name is Marcylus, and I will be your commander!" he cried. The Romans cheered and followed the general onward. Marcylus sent a spy ahead of the army to try and sabotage any defenses Segestica had. The man moved off into the night toward his target. Marcylus knew that it would a very dangerous mission but it could help his army's chances of taking the settlement with reduced casualties.
At Segestica, the rebels inside the town were planning on assaulting the nearby Julii town. The captain of the town was having trouble keeping order in the rapidly expanding city. The citizens were already rioting in isolated parts of the city. The captain sent a dozen more swordsmen to keep peace near the blacksmith, where people were trying to get their hands on weapons. This confusion made it easy for a lone Brutii spy to infiltrate the town and sabotage the guard towers on the wooden palisade. He slipped into a small house and waited for the army to arrive.
" Soldiers! await my order! " shouted Marcylus. His troops were outside Segestica. The army inside had no hope of retreat. Marcylus quickly set up a work station for slodiers to construct a battering ram. His other troops were forming a line and setting up tents for the coming siege of the city. The general smiled. His men were listening to him. The coming battle would prove if they would stay loyal or not. Marcylus posted sentries and retired to his quarters. Once inside his tent he felt like someone was watching him. His walked to one of the curtains and unsheathed his sword. He brought his sword the the curtain in a flash.
" You always were fast my lord ". The spy stepped out of the curtains with Marcylus' sword still at his throat.
" I learned from the best Phylus ", replied the general. The men shook hands. With a bow, Phylus slinked away leaving the General to sleep. Marcylus dreamt of a battle he had fought against the Britons.
" Hold fast son, you'll live " grunted a large man beside Marcylus. The general knew he was dreaming but let himself relive the fight. Hundreds of Britons poured into the city of Canas. Marcylus was part of a group of Hastati. They were waiting for the Britons to pass them and then attack from behind. Arrows whizzed into the line of barbarians, killing several soldiers. Only 100 Town Watch and 40 hastati stood against the Britons. The archers fell back as the Town Watch cut into the line of men. " Hastati throw Spears! " ordered the captain of the town. The Hastati formed a line behind the Britons. Marcylus gripped his spear and aimed at his target. A man with a fur on his head.
" Fire! "cried the captain. 40 spears flew into the unprotected backs of the britons. Blood poured from the man Marcylus had implanted his first spear into. The Hastati threw another volley of spears into the britons before charging. Marcylus brought out his sword. The line of Hastati crashed into the Britons' line. Chaos reigned as men cut one another down. Marcylus ducked a sword swing before jabbing his sword into his enemy's ribs. Blood gushed from the wound. As the man fell, Marcylus attacked and killed another barbarian. Suddenly a line of Briton cavalry charged at the Hastati from behind. Marcylus braced himself. A volley of arrows flew into the cavalry. Marcylus saw that the archers had circled around to the middle of the Briton deathtrap. Horses fell, and the cavalry broke ranks, running away.
"Push forward!" cried the captain as he cut down an unlucky Briton. Marcylus brought his sword down on a man's head, ending his life. He then pulled a spear from his shield and threw it into the back of another soldier. The two armies fought for another ten minutes. As the dust cleared from the battle, Marcylus saw that the Britons had been defeated. The remaining men regrouped and went about rebuilding what they had lost.
" Sir! the Rebels are forming up for an attack! " hissed Phylus. Marcylus jumped out of the bed and donned his armor. He mounted his horse. The rebel army had formed up and were marching on the camp. The general smiled, knowing that they stood no chance of victory.