Prelude:

Coarse rope cut into Joshua's wrists, its sharp fibres digging into his flesh like needles drawing their fill of blood. In all his life, he never imagined finding himself in this position. Then again, he never imagined that Edward Sallow, his friend, could ever turn into a power-hungry megalomaniac; but that's exactly what happened.

"You have squandered our resources, cost us the lives of our best soldiers…and worst of all, you've failed to secure the Dam", Caesar's voice was low and momentous. His troops were silent, absorbing their master's words without question, waiting for the lesson that was about to be demonstrated on what happens if you fail Him.

Somehow nothing felt real, instead it was like watching history being written and Joshua was an unwilling participant of yet another one of Caesar's atrocities. He knew the end was coming.

Caesar moved close to Joshua, leaning in next to his ear, "Have you anything to say?"

Joshua weighed his words, for they would be the last he would speak in this life. He wanted to say that Caesar had lost the greatest gift of all, that his penance will be exacted in this life and the next, and that Joshua was now paying the price for his blindness to Caesar's menace and unwillingness to stop his tyranny on the innocent. He wanted to say that he was glad to finally be free of Caesar's grasp and to accept punishment and beg the Lord's forgiveness. But the words that left his lips were more poignant in their succinctness.

"I'll see you in Hell, Edward".

Caesar's expression turned to amusement as he took several steps away and nodded to the executor who quickly poured a cauldron full of pitch and set Joshua alight.

Being engulfed in flames is not something that can be described to its full effect with words. For Joshua it was like a second baptism, only this time in flames. The world outside of his body didn't exist anymore as the flames enveloped him, making even the hardy veteran Legionaries gasp in horror. He refused to cry out in the pain and terror he felt as his hair and skin sizzled and bubbled, blindly walking over the edge of the precipice. He felt his body collide with solid ground after what felt like eternity, tumbling down the sandy and rocky depths of the Grand Canyon like a rag doll.

When he finally came to, he felt pain the likes he thought were not possible and every movement was like experiencing the flames on his flesh all over again. Joshua didn't know how long he had laid there unconscious. Hours, days or a week could have passed by; but he was still alive, and that's all that mattered. Looking down at his arms, he saw his skin was a red and blistering with some of his clothing burned into his flesh. It was then that he had a stark realisation of what had happened to him.

Joshua Graham was dead, and the Burned Man was born in the flames.


There was nothing, no sound in the world that was worse than a woman wailing in pain and despair as her body was being taken by force; at least that's what Aelius thought. The other soldiers had a different opinion on the matter though, laughing as they huddled around the campfire while the sound echoed over the Grand Canyon hauntingly, merging with the howls of the chilling December wind. The group had found her, a caravan trader in her late twenties, while out on their regular scouting mission for food and any other useful items they could come by. A caravan trader with Caesar's mark was under no circumstances to be harmed; but Caesar didn't recognise women as being anything other than slaves. He wondered who she was. Did she take a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Legion lands, or did she have a burning desire to defy Caesar? Whatever the reason was, it was hopeless now. Her brahmin was slaughtered and her caravan plundered and destroyed. There was no way of escaping.

Aelius was a Prime Legionary, not by choice mind you. He was initiated into Caesar's faction much too late for the Legion's standards, being sixteen years of age when he witnessed his tribe surrender and become absorbed by the Bull. That was seven years ago. He was separated from his mother and sisters, placed into intensive training with the other able-bodied youngsters and put through gruelling drills every day before dawn, only finishing well into the night.

"Listen to that", one of the scouts grinned, licking his lips, "I think I'll go next!" His comment was met with laughter and nods of approval. Valens was his name, a Legionary Scout seventeen years of age and already as malicious as the most weathered veteran Legionary. It was no surprise, seeing as he knew nothing of life before the Legion. It moulded him into the perfect, obedient slave. His features were so extreme and angular that the first thing that came to your mind when you saw him was…

"Snake", Aelius murmured in disgust.

"What did you say?" Valens glared at him.

"I'll go check for snakes", Aelius stood up, collecting his machete.

"You do that", Valens's grin widened, which did nothing to help hide his reptilian like features.

Aelius walked further and further away from the group until their campfire light was a dot in his vision and the only light he was bathed in was that of the full moon. It was quiet here, no laughter, no wailing, just the sounds of crickets and wind. Thoughts began to race through his mind, the idea of escape was tantalising. He began to picture himself running away full sprint into the horizon until his legs gave away. But what would he do then? Where would he go to escape the Legion? This was their land for hundreds, if not thousands of miles. If he were found he would be crucified, left to expire and rot in the hot sun while those he knew walked idly past him, casting wary glances at the example of what happens to those who try to flee the Legion. No doubt Valens would be the first to torment him as he suffered. His elation at the thought of escape deflated, and the horrifying reality of his life crept back in. Although he didn't wear a collar, he was also a slave. His collar was the Legion that broke him, keeping him from doing the right thing.

A whimpering sound broke through his hopeless reverie, making his heart skip a beat. Aelius stood still, his heart beating fast in his chest and his hand wrapped around his machete. His eyes darted around, absorbing as much of his surroundings as possible in case they detected movement; but there was nothing. He was about a dozen feet away from a precipice and there was flat land all behind him; there was no way someone could hide from or sneak up on him.

"Mommy", a faint voice called, almost inaudible. It was a child's voice, and Aelius could swear he heard it coming in front of him.

'Impossible' he thought, looking at the gaping Earth in front of him. Unless…

He cautiously walked to the edge, taking care where he placed his next step. It wasn't uncommon for these rocks to crumble, especially at the edges. He could hear faint sobbing as he drew closer.

"Hello?" he whispered, "Is anyone there?"

The sobbing stopped abruptly, followed by the clatter of pebbles falling over the cliff. Reaching the precipice, Aelius diverted his gaze downward and his eyes widened in shock and fear at the sight of a young boy barely hanging on to the cliff some three feet below him onto a tiny overhanging ledge. There was at least a hundred-foot drop onto sharp rocks below him.

"Hey! It's okay, I'm here to help", Aelius tried to comfort the distraught child. He quickly lay on his front and extended his arm, but the boy shook his head. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Reach up and take my hand. You can do it", he nodded.

"No", the boy whimpered, his little body shaking as he desperately tried to keep hold of his grip on the rocks, "Mommy… I want mommy", tears streaming down his face. He couldn't have been more than four or five years old.

"I'll take you to her", Aelius pleaded, "Come on, just reach up and you'll be safe. I promise!" Aelius looked pleadingly down at the child. Finally, the boy reached up and Aelius grasped his arm tightly, pulling him up with no trouble. He let out a sigh of relief and hugged the shaking child to calm him down. "You're okay, see? You're safe now".

Once the child stopped shaking and they both caught their breath, Aelius checked him over for injuries.

"Are you hurt? How long were you down there?"

The boy shrugged, allowing Aelius to check his arms and legs for injuries, "Mommy told me to hide. She said the bad men were coming and not to come out until she came back for me".

"Where is your mommy?" Aelius asked, but a sinking feeling in his gut was telling him that it was the woman in their tent. And sure enough, the boy pointed in the direction of their camp.

'…Shit' he thought desperately. He couldn't take him back to his camp, not with what the others were doing to his poor mother. Though he couldn't also just leave him here to fend for himself. There were wild creatures that would almost certainly make a meal of him if they spotted him.

"What's your name kid?"

"Gael", the boy replied.

"You hungry Gael?" Aelius asked, procuring some slivers of cured meat from his supply pouch. Gael nodded and accepted the food, hungrily taking bites out of the brahmin jerky. They waited for a while until Gael finished eating. Aelius was at a loss about what to do in this situation. He didn't want to take him back to the campsite with his mother being abused. No child should ever have to hear what he did.

"I'm cold, can we go?" Gael shivered.

Aelius smiled down at him and took his red cloak off to wrap around the youngster, "There, better?" he asked. Gael nodded, taking his hand. The small act of trust was wrenching at Aelius' heart. He hoped to whatever forces there were in the universe that when he returned back to camp that Drusus, their Legionary decanus, was done in the tent and that the boy could find some measure of peace with his new life in the Legion. Little did he know that this was just the beginning of a new chapter for him...