Chapter 9

-S.P.Q.R.-

May, 67 A.D.

On the coast of southern Askroltia

(Reikland in Latin is Askroltia)

Rome P.O.V.

"Finally, we have landed! For a while I thought that these lands were just a myth!"

The great Roman man exclaimed, hopping off of his flagship and onto the shores of the famous Askroltia. After the great fire of Rome a few years back, Emperor Nero launched an invasion upon these so called 'resource rich' lands to rally support for him and to distract the people from his past mistakes. He had gathered six of the legions who were not off fighting the Jews in their revolt and sent them across the sea.

As more ships arrived and landed on the shores, the whole contingent of the six legions that were sent (about 30,000 men) had gathered on the beaches and started to set up camps for a temporary main headquarters of operations. Some men were sent to scout out the lush and dense forests ahead of them and to map out the areas. Others were sent on hunting parties and to bring back fresh water, some ordered to chop down and clear sections of these great forests that were rumored to contain evil within them. The rest of the men set about creating the huge camp; laying out and designing where things would go, putting up tents, creating simple barricades and foundations, etc.

Rome walked around as his soldiers were hard at work, providing assistance and guidance when needed. After a couple hours, one Tribune (a Roman military officer) ran up to Rome and reported on their progress, "Romulus! We should be completely done with the camp by sunset!"

Rome put his hands on his hips triumphantly, puffing his chest outwards and raising his head high, "Excellent! Let us mark our claim upon these foreign and savage lands just like we have done with Britannia! This will be just as easy, as I hear that the native barbarians are very passive! We will carve out a province and sap these lands of their resources for the mighty Roman Empire!"

After instructing more officers on their jobs and overseeing the completion of the camp, Rome went to sleep with dreams of conquest in his mind.

*Le time skip*

It had been seven days since their landing on the Askrolitian shores, and messengers were sent back to the empire to report their successful landing and to request supplies for the future conquest of the territory. Rome had been busy in the temporary headquarters ever since and was itching to explore some of the landscapes of his soon-to-be province. The scouts that had returned reported dense and hilly forests with large numbers of ravines, cliffs, valleys, wide rivers, and distant mountains and fjords to the northeast. They also spoke of tribesmen and clans who seemed to be of a similar origin to that of the Celts in Britannia, maybe they were distant relatives. That day, Rome decided to go alone and check out these sights for himself, so he packed provisions for a couple days and set out, putting one of the Legates (a Roman military officer in charge of a legion) in charge.

A few leagues later of hiking in the forest, Rome came upon a wide stream that one of the scouts told him about, he filled his water skin and continued on to the northeast, where the land gradually became more hilly and rough. He followed one the trails that his men had carved out a few days ago and eventually came to a small and short gorge with a cliff side only about three body lengths high on the right. As Rome passed through the bottom of the gorge, he noticed the dense vegetation around him and the tranquil aura it gave off.

This would be a nice region to visit every once and awhile, and soon it will be all under my control!

As he passed further into the gorge, he heard some rustling to his right on top of the short cliff side. It sounded like a rock was being scraped against stone, so he looked up to the source of the commotion, but saw nothing.

What in Hercules is that?

When he had stopped to further examine the sound, he heard a high pitched grunt, preceded by a small boulder tumbling down right towards his face.

"AHHHHH!" The Roman man made out before being smashed in the face with the rock.

After a few moments, Romulus rose up and brushed himself off, noticing that the boulder had cracked in half upon collision with his head.

Damn that hurt like Hades. The Roman thought, rubbing the now bump on his head. He looked to where the rock had fallen from, only to see a dirty blonde child peering down onto him. But as soon as he made eye contact, the head darted back behind the cliff side, and out of his view.

"Hey! Come back here you coward! Do you know who you are dealing with?! Face me!" He yelled angrily.

A few seconds later, the dirty blonde head of a small child reappeared over the cliff and stared down at him.

How was a child able to push that boulder?

"Hey you stupid brat! What was that for?! Do you know who I am?! If I was a mere human, I would have surely died!"

The child stood up and put its hands on its hips. Its wavy hair blowing in the gentle breeze. Rome noticed the child was a boy, and that he had stormy defiant eyes. He was wearing a simple plum coloured tunic, a dark brown cloak, and the strangest thing of all… pants (Romans didn't usually wear pants and thought they were weird). The short boy pointed at Rome accusingly and shouted at him in a strange Celtic accent.

"Of course I know who you are! You are that bully Rome! You conquered my older sister Britannia! But uh… wait… what was I going to say?"

Seriously? What a poor excuse of a nation Rome thought to himself, but then he thought about it for a second… Wait, what?!

"Wait! You said that Britannia is your sister?! She never said that she had a sibling!"

"Oh yeah! I remember!" The boy said cheerfully. "But yes she is! Well, kind of, I only call her that because she was the first nation to find me. I don't know if we are actually related, but we must be because we are very alike one another! But even though you were able to take her over, don't think that you will be able to with me! I will fight you until the end of my days if I have to!"

"So you're telling me that you are the representation of Askroltia?"

"Yes you dúramán! Didn't you understand that from what I said!? I represent the various tribes and clans of these lands, and if I'm not mistaken, you are not one of them! So go away!" The boy who was apparently Askroltia shouted. He then picked up a rock and hurled it at Rome. It was a direct hit to his chest.

"GAH!" Romulus screamed in pain, "Would you stop throwing rocks at me!?"

"No! Not until you and your men go away! Now leave my lands and let my people be alone!"

"Never! Mark my words boy, I will conquer you just like your 'sister'! Your resource rich lands will be a part of the glorious Roman Empire!" Romulus proclaimed triumphantly.

Askroltia picked up another rock and tossed it in his hands, "Hah! Uh wait… um… oh yeah! We'll see about that!' He threw the rock and landed a perfect hit on Rome's crotch.

"AHHHHH! MY BALLS!" Rome screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his private areas. "How are you able to throw with such accuracy!?"

Askroltia pulled a short bow from his back and aimed it at the Roman lying on the ground below him. "I have had much practice with the bow and arrow. Now are you going to leave or not!?"

"Alright, alright, I'm going! But I will be back you hear me?!" He called, running out of the gorge.

Askroltia threw one last rock at the fleeing Roman and hit him right in the ass, producing an "AHHHH! My buttox!" from him. Askroltia laughed to himself and turned away, preparing for the worst.

*Le time skip*

Rome entered back into the camp a few hours later, bruised and battered from his encounter with the wild Askroltian boy, and from his flee through the dense woods. He rushed into the main pavilion that acted as their head-of-operations and called together the six legates assigned to each legion. When they had all finally gathered under the tent, Rome turned to the legate who had told him of the peaceful nature of the Askroltii (the largest tribe in Askroltia). "You said that they would be peaceful and carefree! I can now see that that is not the case!"

"W-Well, um, maybe not all the tribes are peaceful, and well, I did hear that while they do not fight much among themselves, t-they are willing to defend each other if the situation occurred." The legate nervously responded, avoiding Romulus' stare. "W-Why? Did something happen?"

He hesitantly retold them of his encounter with the Celtic boy, after which one of the legates laughed. Rome whipped his head around to the man and shouted at him, "You think this is funny!? I will not stand for this humiliation!"

The other legates joined in and laughed at Romulus in a chorus of chuckling, but after a while, Rome slammed his fist down on the table, "ENOUGH! No more talk of how I was soundly embarrassed!" He turned his head to look at each commander, "Now, what are your plans for the conquest of this region?"

The legate by the name of Apius Vertrocris spoke up, "Well Romulus, while you were getting your ass kicked by a little boy with stones, we have been able to find out about the various tribes and clans of Askroltia." Rome gritted his teeth, he always hated Apius, and he had always defied Romulus' authority whenever he had the chance.

"Very well, go on."

"First of all, we all know about the Askroltii, the largest tribe in the region who live farther north, but we have learned of their diplomacy with the other tribes. The Askroltii act as the protector of the other tribes in Askroltia, and thus see themselves as the leader of them. They have most of the clans under their influence and they will be loyal to the Askroltii and help them in any conflict that occurs. However there are a few tribes who resent the Askroltii and would be useful to our cause if we were to ally with them. They include the Killdainii and the Reikitani (who would eventually become the dominant group and found the Kingdom of Reikland later on). There are also the independent tribes to the east and north; they will most likely be uninvolved in any matter that arises."

Romulus was impressed on how much they had learned while he was gone, but he dared not give Apius any sense of satisfaction. "Is that all? I expected more from you."

As he said this, Apius gritted his teeth and glared at Rome. Romulus smiled at this. "Very well, we will make do with this information and send it back to the Emperor. In the meantime, let us send diplomats to appease these tribes who you have said will be beneficial to us. I want to conquer this land as soon as possible."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Apius asked, still irritated, "The tribes of Askroltia are known for their unpredictable use of battle tactics."

Rome smiled again, "By outmaneuvering that stupid brat in every way possible."

Translations:

Dúramán: Gaelic for 'Idiot'