Where They Went - ACT 3
With the Hidebarks defeated, it wasn't more than two days later that the Cohort began its march back to the Long Shadows fortress near Two Sun. The order for business to return to normal was given, but the Legion would never be the same. Though the change was slow, the destruction of the Hidebarks marked a new era of Legion legends and a period of enormous victories across all aspects of their rise during this period.
Caesar departed from the 4th Cohort after the fall of the Hidebarks, leaving the Elite Centurion in charge of the remainder of the Southern Arizona Campaign. Where Caesar went after his brief charge over the Hidebark Campaign is largely unknown, but most likely had him going back to the New Mexico Front with his departure east. Now there was only one more enemy in the Southern Arizona Campaign before Caesar could officially call Southern Arizona "His." The Ajoans were well on their way to becoming cogs in the Legion's machine by this point, and some even began marching into New Mexico around the fall of the Hidebarks. The Hidebarks who survived the Legion annihilation were marched under the Elite back to Long Shadows where a force from the reserve pool would take charge of their march to slave and breeding camps, something easier done with the eradication of the males and warriors.
As for the mysterious giant; like Caesar, nobody knew what exactly happened to him after the Cohort marched out and Caesar left. It is said that the monster was seen being marched by a unit of Praetorians north, but whether that meant he was headed to Flagstaff or to one of the many legion soldier camps up north is another mystery. The giant's condition and whereabouts remained uncertain for a long time after the destruction of his tribe and aid in that effort. Caesar's interest in the beast was also something that never had answers in the immediate aftermath. As the Cohort marched back west, Caesar marched east, and the beast went north, things became busier in the lives of the duelists and the day to day of the Cohort's new campaign became priority to everything else.
The southern Sonoran Wastes were tamed at least temporarily due to the Elite's reputation and sway with the people of Two Sun, and all that was left of the hostile tribes in the region was the Devil Dogs tribe inhabiting the region near Yuma Arizona. But what exactly happened on the Hidebark campaign was forgotten in time with the new enemy to face and with Caesar's departure towards New Mexico. There were still many in the Auxilia's ranks as well as legionaries that often thought about the Hidebark giant, but men like the Elite were especially curious about what came of him. The Giant was still alive after apparently turning on his own tribe, and Caesar's infatuation with the Beast became a mystery to himself and many others in those first days and during the march to the next Arizona enemy. Word began spreading from the Elite's auxilia and hired scouts, and it wasn't halfway through the new Devil Dogs campaign that many in southern Arizona knew about some sort of Legion monster that gained Caesar's favor. When those people saw what their former "Savior" had become at Caesar's side, and with news about a new Legion Beast, the region itself bowed to Caesar save for those Devil Dogs Tribals.
As stated previously, accurate news about the Hidebark campaign vanished with Caesar for many years, but still, the stories spread, and there were still enemies to fight, enemies that our duelists would fight when they weren't occupied with the other.
Yes, throughout the rest of the Arizona Campaign, the duelists gained even more recognition even after their feud was momentarily overshadowed by the peculiar incident in the Hidebark Campaign. There were still battles to fight, and ones that would lead to more battles between the two men. Though the Devil Dogs tribe fell in no more than four months after the destruction of the Hidebarks, most of it was marching to and from villages and was characterized by plenty of skirmishes and only a few full battles where the Legion won and the Elite gained even more experience leading Legion wars. Still, it is believed that the duelists fought an estimated six times during this shorter Devil Dogs Campaign. Most times were supervised by the Murderer himself and again with plentiful auxilia and legionary witnesses to each spectacle. There were other times that were in private, only seen by a few select people, and sometimes just their personal slaves.
The hate they still had for each other was fierce and not just a public event. Though many lost the reason for their feud in the first place, there were so many witnesses in the Legion ranks that could only describe each occasion as "Inspiring." The particulars were lost, but everyone who saw the battles between the two men could only see two savage men that wanted to kill the other over their love of Caesar. What was surely a contradictory idea when two Legion men tried killing each other was seen as something else when the blood was spilled and venom was spat during the twos' brutal engagements.
When the Devil Dogs eventually fell, it was nearing the end of 2263 and that was where the front dispersed and the story of the duelists ended in the eyes of the standard Legion soldier. The six known duels during the Devil Dogs Campaign were awe-inspiring to those who saw, but after the last tribal enemy in the region was conquered, most believed the feud ended there because most soldiers making up the 4th Cohort were sent in different directions. The story of Aleron and Montano would then circulate across Legion camps and into ones occupying the New Mexico Front, and Aleron and Montano were separated for the last known time in this era. Little did many know, the story was not over. The two men's blind hatred for the other was merely put on hold with their separation after the Southern Arizona Campaign, and though they went different ways, what they had between them could not be ended with time or distance. It was always destined to end in more blood, blood that Aleron and Montano needed to be the reason for.
6 Years Later
Still being part of the Interfector's personal guard, Aleron went wherever he did. It just so happened that, after the Devil Dogs were eliminated, the Interfector was reassigned to a new and unique assignment. Caesar appreciated the Interfector's work in the south and still did not intend to raise the man to Legate. This wasn't because the Murderer was unqualified, in fact, he'd actually become much better in waging war against the Legion's enemies since his handling of the Ajoans, but because there was a long line of those who'd served Caesar longer who would earn Legate first. Still, Caesar recognized the man's value, especially across Arizona, and with the end of the "Official" Arizona Campaign came the massive shift in focus on the continuing New Mexico Campaign. With this shift came an emphasis on holding the Arizona territory in general and ensuring the smooth flow of supplies and resources across the constantly expanding Legion land. This event led to strategic importance on one of only a few Legion Cities, the city of Circle Junction. A strategic importance that would be managed and run by the Interfector of Phoenix.
Circle Junction was seated almost right on top of a place that used to mark the "4 Corners" monument. Long before the world went up in flames, an enormous rail network was made in the southwest to facilitate the flow of the world's increasingly scarce resources across the United States Commonwealth. The heart of that rail network was an enormous railyard complex in the Four Corners region now called Circle Junction. A place that used to serve as the central junction for resources being moved around Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, became that again under Legion control. Once the Legion took the place from its previous inhabitants, the "Iron Rivers" tribe in mid to late 2255, it sat as a nearly vacant ruin of the old world for a couple of years until preparations were made to move into New Mexico. Those preparations began around 2260, and since then, the Legion made that place on the fringe of its territory into the central hub for Legion operations. Slave, soldier, and breeding camps were erected around those old rail yard ruins and more and more slaves were sent there as the Legion grew. With the Legion achieving several enormous victories in Arizona and New Mexico in the early 2260s, the slave population around the four corners area had officially morphed into a Legion industrial super center.
When the Interfector arrived at Circle Junction after a brief respite in 2264, he entered a place resembling the metropolis of Phoenix he aided in killing. Thousands of slaves walked the streets, working in the rail yards to dismantle the old world locomotives, melting the steel down, and forging new weapons and equipment for the hundreds of crimson soldiers shifting between fronts and campaigns. Large facilities across the city poured black smoke into the sky and the downtrodden masses of the slave population worked and worked to equip their masters and fuel the Legion's perpetual wars.
The Interfector took up his residence in the central yard of the ominous city, accompanied by his guard and directly in charge of the 500+ man Municipal Cohort that occupied the Legion city and stood watch over the 5,000 and growing slaves inhabiting and working the region. This isn't to say that was the only force watching over the industrial center. Legionaries were constantly going into and out of the city, and every soldier in red that entered the Circle Junction regional limits was under the direct control of the Interfector as needed. Though the man sat at the head of Circle Junction, the strategic importance of the city meant that the Interfector was technically in charge of the Arizona territory as a whole and any Arizona or New Mexico townships that offered themselves to the Legion. The Elite remained an Elite Centurion, but his power had grown to immeasurable levels, being able to run all of Arizona and the city of Circle Junction as he saw fit as its "Praetor" so long as he did his job ensuring the flow of resources into New Mexico and didn't give Caesar any reason to have him replaced. Aleron stood beside the Elite throughout it all, and more slaves were added to the Circle Junction populace while the wars in New Mexico continued to trail on.
As for Montano: After the end of the Devil Dog Campaign, Montano continued to serve beside Decanus Gula and under Centurion Theracos as the 6th Century's Signifer. The 6th was eventually granted a few months respite after the Campaign and assisted in policing the southern Arizona wastes when they weren't constructing fortifications across the region and maintaining the territory's stability. Though the 6th stayed predominantly in the Two Sun area, they occasionally had to battle the rare gang of raiders that betrayed the Legion or hadn't gotten the message that resistance was futile. It should be quickly noted that Montano was there for the destruction of one such raider clan that just so happened to be holding many hostages. One of those hostages miraculously ended up being the sister of Clara named "Raquel" who he did indeed purchase from his Centurion after dividing up the spoils. Though he was not keen on having to purchase her, and he did not buy her at Clara's request, he re-united the two sisters for reasons that should have been clearly hinted at in previous chapters. Still, it wasn't long after the start of 2264 that the 6th Century's respite period ended, and the 6th was moved into New Mexico.
After a couple years under different Cohorts and fighting in many battles across the slowly moving New Mexico Campaign, Montano was an inspiration to all who saw him fight. Many legionaries, even after the move to New Mexico heard of Montano and followed him into the merciless fray of tribal battles with memories and images of the man battling his rival in mind. Though nobody ever brought up his rival to him directly, and many didn't even know if Aleron was alive, the two lost touch after going their separate ways. Aleron was busy at the Interfector's side in Circle Junction, and Montano spent the next few years making a name for himself as an inspiring example of service to Caesar, independent of his legendary feud with Aleron. Montano bore the position of Signifer for the 6th Century so well and for so long that he maintained the position even after Theracos was transferred to the legendary 1st Cohort, a unit in the Legion army that will be explained later. Decanus Gula then moved up the ladder and became the 6th Century's Centurion sometime around 2267, and Montano maintained the Signifer rank as well as becoming the Senior head of Centurion Gula's staff.
The now Centurion Gula admired Montano and treated him with Legion justice and fairness for all his actions on the New Mexico Front. The two got along very well and maintained their staunch professionalism that quickly returned to the norm after the departure of the Elite. Centurion Gula rapidly forgot the days that Montano and Aleron fought and though he was too professional to truly blame one or the other for the duels in the first place, he certainly saw the feud as something that was holding back Montano's true value on the Legion's fronts. Where Montano lacked in a tactical mind like his rival, he more than made up for on the New Mexico Front where brutal wars were fought continuously with Legion forces fighting like mad for every inch of land and people they saw as theirs. This inspiring savagery in battle eventually led Montano and the 6th to the section of the front where Legate Graham was leading the Central Campaign. Montano's deeds in battle would capture the attention of Graham himself as the wars went on, and after nearly 6 years since the last time the duelists fought, their story picks up when everyone thought it was over.
A/N: I took a bit of creative liberty with the location of Circle Junction. The Van Buren information we have states that it is near Denver, but I moved it further towards Four Corners while largely maintaining its originally intended backstory simply because the place is marked as "Cut" on the lore page or wiki. I found it alright to move the location since the whole place seemed "Up for grabs" interpretation and implementation-wise by writers like myself since the place was again listed as "Cut" in a game that was never even released in the first place. Because I always say I take the lore seriously, I still deemed it alright to move it because all we really know canonically is that it did exist in the lore and Ulysses has been there before. Hope the tiny change is alright for any of you lore fans reading this! :)