I've done my homework on this story. The historic references are real; the quoted dates and descriptions, including the Sword of Mars, refer to things that truly happened. I've gleaned information from several sources, most of which you can view on line or at your local library, by looking up the Huns or Attila the Hun.
Summer, 451 AD
Gaul (modern France)
Blood ran in a river underfoot, with hardly an inch of ground not covered with the dead and injured. Human carnage spread for as far as the eye could see. The armies of the known world were locked in combat that would determine the outcome of history.
At the moment, no one cared about history. It was all about survival, about victory, about the elimination of the enemy.
By 5th century terms, the numbers were staggering. Estimates placed the number of the Mongolian invaders between 300,000 and 700,000. Roman general Aëtius shaded his eyes, wondering again if even the combined armies of Rome, Gaul, and the Gothic tribes were enough to halt the marauders.
Aëtius risked everything, allying Rome with their mortal enemies. The Visigoths were long-time enemies of the Empire, in two centuries of battles that had cumulatively weakened both sides. Now, faced with a common enemy of unparalleled ferocity, the border skirmishes had been relegated to the background. Only by uniting could anyone hope to overcome the Barbarian hoards led by Attila the Hun.
Meticulous planning preceded the fight: planning by Aëtius, at least. The Mongol raiders attacked with the same disorganized brutality that was their trademark, the seemingly unstoppable power that had decimated most of Europe and prompted the construction of the Great Wall of China. Here, though, in the shadow of Châlon, the tide was turning. As the sun descended in the west, Attila's mighty army was actually losing ground, a fact that served to bolster the morale of the European allies.
How ironic and tragic that in this, the enemy looked like brothers.
Over the decades, the Roman army had absorbed members from the Germanic Goths and hired mercenaries from the Huns; while the Huns conscripted members from their conquered territory, including Italy and the Visigoth homeland. Only a few members of the enormous Hunnic army retained the racial characteristics of their Mongolian origins, including the now legendary King, Attila.
When darkness arrived on this decisive day, Aëtius was faced with a choice. He could put an end to Attila and his marauders once and for all, or he could grant the invaders an egress to escape. If he permitted escape, Attila would live to wreak more destruction. But spelling an end to the Hunnic raids could open the door for the Visigoths to sweep into Gaul, further deteriorating the Roman Empire.
In a decision with consequences that would span the centuries, Aëtius chose to permit the flight of the Huns.
What history didn't record, except in fragmented legend, is that the Roman General let Attila go at a price to the powerful chieftain.
Attila dug up a rusted sword years earlier, proclaiming the ancient weapon to be the Sword of Mars. Armed with the belief that the God of War backed them, the mass invaders were ruthless, uncaring that they sacrificed their own lives. While most of the world attributed the Huns with atheism, Aëtius knew better.
As the crippled Hunnic army retreated, Aëtius holstered the blade that signified power for the most cruel of conquerors.
Attila's reign of terror wasn't over, but it would never again be the same.
"My god…"
Scully tucked a strand of titian hair behind her ear, her eyes wide with shock. In all her years with the FBI, and with the X-Files, she had never seen this kind of brutality.
She re-read the autopsy record, sickened by the report. The victim was raped and mutilated, tortured beyond words. The killer apparently had an intimate knowledge of human anatomy, and had employed it to the worst of ends. Blisters marred what little skin was still intact, burns that were calculated for pain. In other places the flesh had been stripped from the bone, skin from muscle, fingernails and toenails peeled away from their respective nail beds.
More frightening still was the fact that this level of brutality was on the upswing, spreading outward from New York City and into the heartland.
The killer taunted law enforcement, sending email manifestos from public kiosks around the country, mostly from libraries. Interviews with visitors and library personnel yielded nothing. No one could recall seeing anyone using the computers at the moment time-stamped by the server, and the email, registered to 'Attila', was set up in the dummy town of Nowhere, USA.
Experts in the FBI's Internet Crimes division were stymied; backtracking did them no good and their alarm system did nothing except alert them hours after the email was sent. It seemed that 'Attila' was equally deft with electronics. He or she was using workarounds to access email without triggering alerts, and sending emails on a time-delay basis. Experts suspected that Attila was a hacker who was merely breaking into the libraries and other public venues, but to date, they still had been unable to establish any connections.
The case came to the X-Files when Attila's last manifesto arrived. In it, the killer claimed to be Attila the Hun, reincarnated in the flesh of modern-day man. He or she also claimed to have recovered the Sword of Mars, the weapon that the original Mongol King carried with claims it gave him power.
It was a claim that might have been chalked up as the incoherent ravings of a lunatic except for two things.
Historians determined that, according to the best available records, the murders were committed in the style of the ancient warrior. And three days ago, a letter had arrived at Trinity University, addressed to a Professor Sydney Fox, with an attached photo of a 5th century sword. In its hilt was etched the Roman symbol for the God of War. It was a computer generated letter signed by Attila, and it promised to raise the army of the Huns again in the Western World.