How Stories Spread

Before proceeding with the story of Aleron and Montano, it may be necessary to outline a few brief notes about the Legion structure and situation during this time in their history.

During this period, the Legion is believed to have been comprised of around 36 active centuries (The standard breakdown of mobile Legion forces) spread across the Legion's fronts, with most of them focused on the New Mexico Campaign. Started by Graham in early 2261, the bulk of the Legion's forces were diverted back towards their Arizona territories due to numerous incidents regarding their tribal allies and a series of coordinated attacks on their territories, most of which stemming from a post-war metropolis called Phoenix. With the unrest in Arizona throughout 2261, Caesar and Legate Graham eventually diverted their forces to surround the metropolis of Phoenix after dealing with a few tribal allies turned troublesome. Once Phoenix fell near the end of that year, Legate Graham, the Legion's "Legatus Imperialis" took charge of the New Mexico front again while one of only a few select minor legates took the head of the push into southern AZ.

After Phoenix fell to the Legion in such an impossible manner, the event sent a wave across the lower half of the Sonoran Wasteland that made many settlements and minor tribes bow at the first sight of Caesar's soldiers. However, there were still those tribes and raiders across the region who didn't care about that. So, the purpose of the Southern Arizona Campaign was essentially to take care of the holdouts. In a territory that was largely Legion in name only, the Ajoans had fallen, but there were still the Devil Dogs, Hidebarks, and several raider strongholds to deal with.

With the Ajoans being the smallest of the three hostile tribes, the legate head of the Southern AZ Campaign, Legate Marius, was aware that the newest hero of the Legion was being commissioned to back him up. It was because of that, Legate Marius had The Interfector of Phoenix take charge of the forces he was bringing down from Flagstaff and wipe out the Ajoans along the way. 3 Legion centuries had conquered bigger enemies, but the losses suffered by the rather inexperienced new Legion hero were unexpected. This was fine however since Legate Marius was taking things cautiously against the Hidebarks and prodding their abilities from the safety of the new Legion fort near Mica Mountain.

Given license to construct the fort by the recently Legion allied settlement of Two Sun, the headquarters of the Legion's Arizona Campaign was only a few miles from the large post-war town. With a manipular garrison of 2 maniples for security and regional patrols (Around 130 legionaries from the reserve pool), the settlers of Two Sun were enjoying the perks of a Legion alliance, despite the non-negotiable laws they were now subject to. Still, life went on, and Two Sun was more than happy to allow the Legion to build a fort nearby, especially since it was the only thing standing between them and the occasionally deadly Hidebark tribal raid. So there, Legate Marius waited, waited for the man who'd be his new subordinate on the front to arrive with backup to bolster his 6 eager centuries.

It may also be necessary to outline what exactly a Legion Century is during this time, to better understand some of the words, customs, and characters you've been reading about. Using the 6th Century as a quick example:

Each century was led by a Centurion, who had 4 members of his staff, usually all ranked Veteran Decanus who assisted the centurion in unit needs, disseminating information, and occasionally acting on his behalf. Alongside the four staff Decani, there were 10 others of different veterancy, each in charge of 10 legionaries of the same veterancy status. So a Legion century really consisted of 115 Legion soldiers. However, since most centuries sometimes had to operate independently, or had to march across wastes by themselves for days at a time, most were equipped with "Attachment Forces." The 6th for example had a standard "Explorer group attachment", 8 legionaries who specialized in and were equipped to act as runners, scouts, and standard combatants when necessary. The 6th also had a standard "Slave attachment" consisting of 15 slaves for the unit's assimilation work and to assist in unit labor tasks that would otherwise fall under the responsibility of the unit's "recruit" ranked soldiers. It should be noted that Clara and Gabriella didn't count towards the unit's slave attachment. Lastly, the 6th had an "Auxilia attachment" of 25 Twisted Hairs scouts and gunners who operated alongside the century. More on the "Auxilia" shortly.

As you can see, a century was really around 160 people all marching under the formation's banner. The unit acted as its own mobile strike force; it was small enough to live largely off the land, able to carry adequate necessities, could communicate with distant Legion forces through runners, was capable of protecting itself, and trained to assemble for offense relatively quickly. That isn't even to mention that attachments to a Legion century varied based on the objective of the unit. In this case, as the Ajoans were marched north by a bulk of the reinforcements, there was even a surplus of Auxilia troops added to The Murderer's forces. It should be noted that this little detail about the auxilia was intentional on Caesar's part when authorizing the Interfector's backup.

As the Interfector led his 3 centuries south to the fortress near Two Sun, Legate Marius sat patiently at the head of the 4th and 5th Cohorts making up the Arizona Front. Though the size of each unit again varied per situation, a typical Cohort consisted of 4-6 centuries. The 4th Cohort, for example, comprised of the 5th, 6th, 9th, and 11th Centuries, the 11th being headed by Centurion Lucania and occupying the Long Shadow Fort under Legate Marius at the time. Alternatively, the 5th Cohort comprised of 5 centuries, whose numbers aren't particularly relevant at this time. Although, both Cohorts remained under the Legate in charge of the front. Though the control of a Legion minor legate grew over time, the two Cohorts under his charge were relatively normal for the era. Since centuries were almost always moving to and from battle or returning from respite or escorting conquered people into servitude, the Cohorts were almost never manned by the chronological century sequence. With most of the Legion marching on or fighting in New Mexico under different Cohorts, the centuries that made up each Cohort always went where they were needed. Something that was constantly changing along the Legion's endless fronts. On route to Legate Marius to become his direct subordinate, The Interfector of Phoenix was moving further towards the Arizona Campaign's front with his 3 full-strength centuries and the previously mentioned auxilia in tow.

Caesar was well aware of his newest Elite's reputation in southern Arizona, which is why he dispatched the extra auxilia. This reputation was not one he earned at Phoenix, but one he earned long before he even met Caesar. Though the Interfector has his own story, Caesar was a smart man because he knew he had a unique individual who was perfectly qualified to achieve two goals of the Southern Front. That first objective was to tame the region. Not only was that being done through eradication of tribes, but also through easing tensions with people of towns like Two Sun. Caesar had no desire to have to move even more forces down south, so co-existence with towns that allied with him was essential. However, he was aware that his doctrine and soldiers tended to make certain "Citizens" in his territory upset. When white flags went up with the fall of Phoenix, so began the game of keeping them raised. This was what Caesar hoped to achieve with his Elite's old reputation. Then, that second objective was to keep losses on the front to a minimum. He hoped to accomplish this by using the auxilia whenever possible, something perfectly in line with the Elite's new reputation because since the fall of Phoenix, Caesar's ranks had been bursting at the seams with new allies and plenty of auxilia all singing the man's praise.

Before explaining how all this information is relevant to the duelists' legend, it is important to clarify who the Auxilia were exactly. Even though the Legion had plenty of tribal allies and auxiliary troops before the fall of Phoenix, the wave of surrender that event created across the wastes led to those new alliances discussed, and with that came volunteer soldiers. Many tribes, settlements, and even several raider clans watched what happened to Phoenix and offered themselves over to the Legion. Though exempt from Legion conscription and absorption into the Legion proper, many minor tribal clans and settlements sent their warriors to bolster and aid Legion forces on their campaigns for perks from Caesar. Upon summoned, an Auxiliary formation is dispatched to bolster a Legion century where they are ordered into Legion colors and fall under direct orders from the centurion on how to aid. Even though the auxilia are forced to adhere to a specific set of Legion protocol, the auxilia stood out from the Legion ranks in a number of ways.

To start, auxilia could be identified by their lack of proper Legion equipment and dress. As stated previously, the auxilia wore the Legion colors of red and black, sometimes even the standard black boots, black leather kilt, and red tunic, but auxilia could almost always be identified by the tribal armor they brought from home, usually made of wood, leather, bone, and sometimes metal. It was the auxilia's role in the Legion to offer their tribe's specialties in service to Caesar, so weapons were left up to the auxilia unit's preference as well. For example, the 6th had their attachment of Twisted Hairs warriors, a tribe from the westernmost part of Arizona known for their scouting and reconnaissance abilities. So, many of them were barely equipped with any armor, instead just wearing the Legion colors and using ranged weapons when they weren't covertly monitoring enemy movements. Another notable type of auxilia to join the Interfector's force was a band from a recent ally. The Atomic Stalkers were a huge band of raiders occupying the northernmost mountains around the former "Civilized Valley" or what was considered the wreckage of Phoenix during this time. The Atomic Stalkers were at war with the caravans of Phoenix long before the Legion destroyed the city, and some say the raiders even helped make that happen since many auxilia who came from them seemed well familiar with The Murderer of Phoenix himself. Though the auxilia came from many places and tribes, auxilia were still considered separate from the Legion, and despite being under a similarly strict set of standards, the auxilia were still very noticeable in Legion encampments.

Most of the auxilia's standards may be considered tame. However, they were still subject to harsh rules like being forbidden to speak in tribal tongue under penalty of death, during time in the field. This was an order installed after a certain tribe offered itself to Caesar, and dispatched an auxilia force to bolster a Legion century. From there, the auxilia used their language to communicate with one another to implement a plot to betray the local Legion force. The plot was discovered, but not before the auxilia attachment killed many legionaries. After that, the tribe was erased for the treachery, and the mention of their name was made a death sentence across all Legion land. Apart from strictly enforced rules like that, many auxilia allies had spent years alongside legionaries either back at home or on the fronts, all of whom spoke English, so even rules like that weren't too big an issue. Still, the auxilia might have been wearing the Legion colors and fighting beside legionaries, but they weren't Legion. That said, they had relatively normal behaviors contrary to most official legionaries.

It is because of the auxilia's unofficial behavior that our story picks up. If you looked around a century's encampment during this period, you'd see most of the legionaries going about their duties, changing guards, and even resting around the campfire in an almost machine-like way. Most legionaries, whether recruits fresh from indoctrination camp, or veterans on their 4th campaign march, are very good at adhering to the "You don't talk unless there's a specific reason for you to do so" mindset installed by brutal discipline. That isn't to say a Legion formation is some silent mass in the middle of the desert, there was always some order being given, some legionary updating his commander on something, and some were even comfortable quietly sharing war stories by a fire during an occasional relief from duty. The kind of thing you'd see in the auxilia end of the century's encampment would sound a bit different.

Provided the auxilia tent groups weren't talking in their tribal tongue or plotting against the Legion, most decani or officers of the unit left the auxilia alone, especially since the auxilia again reported directly to the centurion or his staff. It is because of that and their relative sovereignty, that the auxilia end of the encampment was usually loud. In any encampment, the auxilia were very vocal about the last battle they were in, boasting about this and that, and free to share whatever they wanted to share about what they'd done on the campaign or lie to the auxilia replacements about the extraordinary feats they'd accomplished for Caesar. With the Interfector's days of leading his forces south and the surplus of auxilia tagging along, there were many loud nights on the auxilia sections of night camps that were all about the Legion Elite they followed. Largely free from the stricter parts of Legion procedure, and knowing who was leading them, many of the auxilia were delighted or even fearful of the Murderer. Either way, auxilia who'd been there at the start of the Ajoan Campaign told all the new auxilia about serving under the Interfector. They'd talk and discuss with the new troops how they felt serving alongside the recent legend despite the week-long situation they found themselves in. With stories being shared about this and that, regarding battles and events from the start of the minor Ajoan Campaign to the end, it should be no surprise that the names of the duelists were still fresh in memory.

It was around the auxilia campfires that word began to spread about the duel. It was there that the story was born and where it would be twisted. Some auxilia were attached to the 6th during their long wait in Gold Canyon before the short campaign even started, and knew about that initial duel firsthand. Despite many of the story's events happening in private, the auxilia at least saw the public moments and heard enough word of mouth to develop their own iterations to tell their brothers in the auxilia. Of course, many legionaries in the camps would overhear the story or saw parts of it firsthand, but credit for the duelist legend spreading falls on the auxilia. As more events were witnessed in the upcoming campaign, it should also be no surprise that the Legion's Arizona Campaign eventually came to an end, and when it did, the auxilia and legionary forces who heard the duelists' story would disperse to other fronts and carry it Legion wide.

At the time however, and no matter how unreliable the auxilia storyteller was, every legionary and auxilia soldier who was on that march toward Two Sun would know the names, "Aleron" and "Montano" upon arrival. They all learned some version of how the feud began, heard about the Interfector's mercy, heard about their beating at the whipping post, then how some violent combative spirit manifested in a decanus named "Gula", and how that spirit emerged under the message "Glory to Caesar."

Many more eyes would be on Aleron and Montano in the coming months, many of whom belonged to legionaries looking for an inspiring display of pain and glory, and many from auxilia troops waiting to see how the story continues.

A/N: To any roman military nerds like me: The Legion structure and unit organization I portrayed is only Inspired by historical Legion organization, and not a word-for-word accurate explanation of Roman military structure after the Marian Reforms. I didn't want to do a 100% accurate recreation of real-world Roman military organization like some other Legion stories I've read.. I don't think this even needed to be said, but here you go anyway. Thanks for reading, you look great today btw.