Latin - Italicized
Chapter 3: The Calm Before the Storm
34 Years Before Aegon's Conquest
Lucius Cornelius Scipio POV
Lucius Cornelius Scipio looked upon his legionaries as they started to fill into the castra that was erected onto the foreign beach. He could make out men starting to move supplies from the ships to the encampment. These were strange times he was living in. He was a descendant of the legendary Roman general Scipio Africanus. His family had rose to heights unseen by most patrician families.
'We have risen high from the deeds of both Scipio Africanus and Scipio Aemilianus but were felled back to the earth with the rise of the Ostrogoths', thought Lucius sadly. The name Scipio was once admired and feared by those within and out the Empire. Yet they had fallen low as they were reduced to penniless citizens during the end of the Western Empire.
Gone were the days of his family serving the Republic and later Empire. His family had diminished in both power and status that they were only considered citizens due to the loss of much of their wealth and prestige. Their fortunes only worsened after the fall of the Western Empire and the rise of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. Years would pass till his family had been sold into slavery by people they had trusted.
Lucius could only tighten his fists at remembering the years he had toiled under the harsh rule of the Ostrogoths. He alongside many in his legion were freed from slavery by the General Belisarius during the start of the Eastern Roman Empire's wars to reclaim lost provinces. Lucius had joined readily and soon rose through the ranks till he obtained his own command. He was entrusted by Belisarius himself to sail forces to the Kingdom of the Visigoths and undertake a propping attack against them. He did not know what power that brought him here and his forces as they were sailing through a thick fog and ended up close to this strange island.
He himself did not know if this was an act of God or even the old Roman Gods. They were in a strange land, and he intended to find out what is going on. He had received a report of a small skirmish on the beach as his forces had slaughtered what appeared to be some guards by the shore. He was even more dumbfounded as after slaughtering the guards his men had heard the strangest language that was even uttered. The report had stated that to them it did not sound like any Gothic, Latin, or even Greek dialect they knew.
With a deep breath entering his chest he unfurled his hands as he continued to try and make light of their current situation. Currently he had around one legion stationed on the beach itself. He had a force of 5,600 legionnaires at his command along with some 300 – 400 auxiliary troops accompanying the Legio I Italica. His other troops were busy with acquiring sufficient food supplies such as fish and some were out scouting around the island. At the moment he had around 2,000 soldiers stationed in the castra for any offensive or defensive actions.
His light grey eyes gazed upon the small fort upon the hill on the island. It was substantially smaller than some of the smaller outposts and even walled cities he saw during the war with the Ostrogoths. From what his scouts had observed it was a small stone fort built on the highest point of the island. He could respect the native's ingenuity as it allowed them to overlook the whole of the island and provided a defensive advantage. The fort itself was small and seemed to be in disrepair but the walls look strong. The way up to the fort itself would be from paths carved into the stone from the beach up to the rock formation to the walls of the fort. He could only think it would be a pain to try and siege this down even if the defenders had lesser numbers.
Something his father said came to his thoughts, 'Even a small force could withstand a siege as long as their defenses hold'. Remembering that quote brought on a feeling of yearning in Lucius. He could still remember a time before he was enslaved. His family may have fallen far into poverty, but they were happy. His family used to own a small plot of land that they tried to farm before they fell back on their debts. Regardless of their situation Lucius was happy alongside his father, mother, and younger brother. Though that happiness turned sour once all of them were enslaved.
He could only think that the practice of slavery as a vile cancer which twisted many. He himself alongside most of his forces were once slaves and they vowed to never enslave another human being. While it was an unpopular belief even amongst many Romans they had vowed to never have another human being experienced what they had.
Lucius turned his thoughts to the what his men had observed before their landing. It would seem these people enslaved others and he would not stand for this. Many other men in positions of power had yielded their personal beliefs and morality to the siren song of greed, yet he would resist as he refused to fall for that self-destroying greed. All Romans could remember the fall of Crassus.
Crassus was once of the most powerful men in Rome during the time of the First Triumvirate. He along with Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great wielded the full might and power of Rome. He was the richest man of Rome yet craved more. He grew jealous of the prestige of both Pompey and Caesar and decided to undergo one of Rome's worst defeats. He decided to invade Parthia and only brought ruin to himself and his men.
Crassus was defeated at the Battle of Carrhae. He alongside his seven legions were lured into the desert and defeated due to the tactics of the Parthian General Surena. He used the the flat terrain against the assembled legions. They were slaughtered due to the light-horse acrhers and heavily armored cataphracts of the Parthians. The legions suffered continuous attacks from the cataphracts and the bows of the horse archers. Eventually the legions were crushed under the constant attacks and dwindling numbers of their army which could not hold out against the attacks anymore.
Lucius vowed to not make the same mistakes of Crassus. He was the invader and would not be naïve to underestimate the terrain advantage and strong fortifications of his enemy. He would need to gather more information about the defenders. And the best source of information about these people would be the former slaves. With a smirk upon his hardened face he had a plan to formulate.
Lord Eryk Farwynd POV
The Lord of Lonely Light could only gaze upon the foreign fleet with a sense of despair. The fleet assembled upon his shore was made of ships he had never seen before. All he could make out was the same golden eagle upon a field of red on each sail.
He had never believed the claims of many of his House that there were lands to the west. He could only assume that they came from the west as no Ironborn or Greenlander force would strike the Lonely Light. It was the smallest of the Iron Islands and proved no strategic value. His House could only claim to have a good source of food such as fish and seals. He slowly wrapped his sealskin cloak around him to hide the shaking of his limbs.
Eryk was terrified as this could only be a nightmare. This had to be one since no one would ever invade his island. They had nothing to offer besides stories of lands and poor lands even to Ironborn nobility. With each terror stricken thought his breathing grew erratic. His eyes moved around frantically searching for a way to wake up.
He could feel a cold sweat coming upon him as he laughed madly. This was a nightmare he would wake up soon enough. Unknown to him his fears were very much real. The men from the west were very much real and would soon seek to bring arms against those inside the castle.
His eyes soon turned quickly as he heard approaching footsteps coming towards the door of his chambers. His breathing grew even more erratic as his maddening laughter ceased. He gripped the sealskin cloak tighter to him as his panic grew. His terror-filled eyes locked onto the old, wooden frame of the door as it creaked open.
What he had assumed to be the invaders turned out to be the maester of the keep. The old, wizened form of the greybeard was fully in his sight. The crinkled and tanned skin of the maester clung to the maesters form tightly against him. The maester was old even among greybeards as Eryk could see the familiar hump of his guests back. The maester had served the Lonely Light since before Eryk was born.
The familiar hunched over form of his maester did nothing to quell Eryk's panic and terror. He could only laugh again as his terror continued to warp his mind. Eryk soon broke down into sobs and tears as the maester approached him.
"Milord shall I get some milk of the poppy. You are in no condition to see anyone", questioned the Maester.
Eryk could only burst into inane babbling as tears continued to pour from his eyes. He continued to mumble to himself as the maester continued to gaze at him in pity. Eryk could only feel his body tremble as his fear grew even more.
With a look at the Lord of Lonely Light the maester could only sigh as with great effort he moved to prepare a dosage of the milk of the poppy to calm his lord. His lord was stricken in terror as many inhabitants of the keep were. He could not understand the motives of these invaders as he had never seen ships such as there. He could not even figure out their motives even as reports came in of them creating a fortified camp alongside the shore. His thoughts would continue to grow more concerned as his lord was unable to lead. With no one to lead their defense it would only be a matter of time before the keep was sieged. With that last thought he came back to his lord with the medicine.
With great effort his shaking hands soon brought the cup to Eryk's lips. With a gusto not seen before his lord gulped it all down. It seemed once the medicine took its effect his lord grew calmer and more docile. While Eryk's body continued to unwind from the terror it would be his mind that would grow dull. There would be no orders from his lord as without the medicine he was an insane mess. The maester could only pray that he survived this ordeal.
Scipio Africanus: Was a legendary Roman general and politician who participated in the Second Punic War. He lead the Roman invasion of Hispania and performed admirable. He defeated Hasdrubal Barca at the battle of Metaurus. He, alongside his younger brother, saw the Roman victory of Hispania during the war. He was one of antiquities greatest generals as he took the fight to Carthage. He would be immortalized in history at the Battle of Zama. He would be the man who defeated the legendary general Hannibal Barca. He would continue to serve the Republic as a politician and even became Princeps Senatus until his death. He was one of Rome's greatest generals and politicians. While he had risen high many other people feared he would cease power over the Republic. Never wavering in his loyalty to the Republic he never acted as those people thought and served faithfully till his death.
Scipio Aemilianus: Was a descendant of the legendary Scipio Africanus. He served as general and statesmen for the Roman Republic during the Third Punic War. He would gain the epithet of Scipio Africanus the Younger due to his actions during the last war against Carthage. He would also serve in the army during the Numantine War.
Ostrogoths: The Ostrogoths were a Gothic people who were allowed to settle parts of the Western Empire prior to the fall. Large populations of the Ostrogoths and other gothic tribes would go on to serve in the Roman military. Originally from Dacia large populations of their people would flee their homeland due to the rise and expansion of the Hunnic Empire under Attila. Later on, the Ostrogoths would participate in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and would create a successor state called the Ostrogothic Kingdom.
Ostrogothic Kingdom: The Ostrogothic Kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Italy would arise after the fall of the Western Empire. The kingdom would encompass the entirety of Italia and even parts of the Dalmatian province. It would serve as its own independent kingdom from between 493 AD to 553 AD. The Kingdom itself would continue to use serving Roman institutions such as the Senate and even use the same roman laws and bureaucracy. The kingdom would be invaded by Belisarius under Emperor Justinian I orders. The kingdom would later end after the wars with the Eastern Roman Empire.
Belisarius: Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. He was instrumental in reclaiming the lost provinces of North Africa and Italia which were once ruled by the Ostrogoths and Vandals. He would sadly face much scrutiny and suspicious by Justian of his loyalty till his death as some feared he would betray Justinian and declare himself Emperor. Their suspicions were unfounded as Belisarius remained loyal till his death.
Visigothic Kingdom: The Visigothic Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Goths occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of Gallia Aquitania in southwest Gaul by the Roman government and then extended by conquest over all of Hispania. The Kingdom maintained independence from the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, whose attempts to re-establish Roman authority in Hispania were only partially successful and short-lived.
Legio I Italica: The reformed legion based in Italia. It was formed from former Roman slaves who were enslaved by the Ostrogoths. It was formed by General Belisarius to supplement his limited forces during his early campaign to reclaim former Roman territories from the Ostrogothic Kingdom. Currently it is led by Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
Author's Note: Hey guys sorry for the late update of the story. I have been a bit busy with work and getting ready for school the past few weeks. I have also been more focused on working on my The Old God's Fill Our Sails story. I am not abandoning this story or putting it on hiatus as I want to work on this story more. Thank you for all the positive reviews so far. I am honestly surprised about the response this story has gotten. I promise to be more active about uploading this story and flushing it out. My Greystark story will have a new chapter soon since I am just trying to finish editing it now.