Chapter 5: Fall of Lonely Light

34 Years Before Aegon's Conquest

Lucius Scipio POV

The men of the Legio I Italica had not been idle during the time it took for his scouting parties to secure the way towards the stone-walled fortress. His men had been able to fortify some guard stations which were set up between points up the stone pathway up the hill. Lucius could only give praise to Minerva and Mars as it seemed the gods looked down onto his people. The enemy must have been sufficiently cowered by the Romans for they made no move to sally forth from the stronghold. It would seem that their holed-up enemies either were cowards or had some form of intelligence to rely on the defensives of the fortress. While Lucius would agree it was the smart choice it had allowed the men of his legion to form siege lines around the fortress. It had also allowed the fabri to construct some additional siege equipment alongside the legion's onagers and ballista.

The legion had been able to form a line of wooden palisades on the side of the fortress which did not face the sea. It was a classic Roman military strategy as when besieged a fortified position, it allowed the Romans to cut off any supplies or even enemy reinforcements off. Though there were nonexistent supplies for the besieged enemy to gather, nor were there any enemy reinforcements to reinforce their surrounded enemy. It did allow his men to mostly be protected from the enemy archer fire. Lucius could remember the struggle of preparing these defensives during the first few days. It had been a struggle for the men to set up the defensive perimeter under arrow fire. Though that changed when the Romans let loose a few volleys from the onagers. It would truly seem that Minerva was looking down on him as he continued to outsmart the enemy. The patience of being cautious had paid off as his troops had spotted some weaknesses in the enemies walls.

They had learned from the freed thralls that the walls facing inward away from the sea were in a state of disrepair. It had amused Lucius greatly seeing the game of charades and drawing on the sand between his legionnaires and the freed thralls. The language barrier was still slow going though they had made some progress. The centurion he had placed in charge of the freed thralls wellbeing had been able to teach some words of Latin to them. While their butchering of the language was horrid it would seem, they were grasping some of his language as each day passed.

The fortress itself seemed formidable if he had chosen to force a heads on assault. It could be done swiftly though he could never live with himself if he sacrificed his men. He had formed a strong bond with them for their were all the blood of Rome and people he considered brothers. Lucius's hand unconsciously roamed over his SPQR marking on his shoulder. For he served not just his empire but the people as well. His light, grey eyes looked upon the besieged fortress as it seemed to help calm his nerves.

From what the Romans were able to gather both from the freed thralls and their own scouting the walls facing inland were weaker than the walls facing the sea. It seemed these people would constantly repair walls or other stonework that was constantly weathered down from the sea rather than the structures facing inland. He could see the logic in that as seawater could weather down the strongest of stone. Though he also observed that the people inhabiting this island did not seem to be prepared to be besieged themselves. From the reports of his scouting vessels it seemed the legion had landed in a chain of islands. His ships had been ordered to not scout closer to the islands to not bring attention to them. He had looked over the reports and it seemed there were a few larger islands towards the east and northeast of their current position. Once this fortress fell it would be onwards towards the next. Looking ahead he could see the enemy fortifications.

Lucius could make out the slight cracks which had appeared as the onagers had fired their loads at the walls. Even now he could hear the distant order of a centurion yelling, "Fire". With that single order the four onagers they had on hand fired their stone projectiles in unison. He could hear them whistling in the air as they curved in the air towards their target. The stones soon began their descent just as quickly as they had taken to the air. With a chorus of thunderous thuds, the stones hit their mark. The ground rumbled slightly from the impact of the stones. His eyes could make out some of the enemy defenders fleeing away from that section of the wall. Their enemy had grown smarter as they now evaded any section of the wall which the Romans used their siege engines on.

Lucius could remember the day after the siege lines had been completed that the enemy soldiers had howled with jeers or even insults in their foreign language. They had ended as soon as the first volley of stones had hit the wall. He knew how devastating a heads on hit from an onager could be. The stones would hurtle towards an enemy formation and crush some of the soldiers. Their bodies but smears upon the battlefield as panic would settle into the remaining soldiers minds. Roman siege engines were truly a terrifying sight to behold. The ballista's continuously fired as well, while the onagers were being reloaded. It was smart to bring them as well since it put pressure on the enemy archers to avoid being hit by the bolts. Now it would only be a matter of time from the walls to crumble and his forces to engage the enemy.

Lonely Light, Midday

The walls of the keep of House Farwynd shuddered as another volley of stones from the unknown enemies siege engines impacted the wall. The keep had been bombarded for so long many of the defenders had become unaware of how much time had passed. The continuous bombard had struck great fear into the Ironborn garrison as they knew when the walls fell they would be face to face with the enemy.

The five hundred strong garrison had been whittled down from the enemy artillery from the strange catapults and even stranger bolts fired from the other siege engine. The archers of House Farwynd could hardly fire any volleys in return as the enemy had constructed intricate siege lines that provided cover for the enemy soldiers. They were entrapped in their own fortress.

It did not help their wavering moral as their Lord was currently indisposed. Rumors had spread through the castle that he had gone mad. For the soldiers had seen hide nor hair or their lord during this whole ordeal. Had their Lord gone craven at the sight of these strange men? Had he abandoned them to face the fury of them alone? It had forced the senior most guard captain to take command of the remaining troops. While some found comfort in that, many did not. For they were accustomed to being led by their lord. The concerns of the men would forever be addressed as with a resounding thud the walls of Castle Farwynd collapsed.

Lucius Scipio POV

With the last volley from the onagers the walls of enemy fortress collapsed. There before the legion was the opening they were waiting for. Lucius stood with the first cohort of the legion. For if a general could not face the enemy with his men, then they deserved not to order those men around. His gaze looked upon the silent legionnaires around him and with a deep breath in he spoke.

"We stand before those who would enslave our fellow men. We who toiled under the rule of the Ostrogoths know this better than most. For a man who enslaves another is no man but a demon. Come with me men for the glory of Rome, for the freedom we wish for others, for the cries of the oppressed", yelled Lucius.

His speech roused the spirits of his men, and it echoed as each cohort yelled out in response. The men were roused to answer the command of their general for they were about to spill some slaver blood. Lucius and his cohort raised their scutums and formed one of Rome's famous formations. As one the remaining cohorts formed the renowned testudo. The force of two thousand legionnaires moved carefully across the field under the rain of arrow fire. The sight of famed testudo with the scutum shield had not been seen for a longtime. For before the fall of the Western Empire they had changed the shields used by their forefathers. It had been a choice of Lucius and his men to use as it harkened to the days when the Empire and earlier Republic stood strong.

The lines of legionnaires stood strong against the arrow fire and even stones that were hurled on them from above as they walked atop the ruins of the wall. Before the assembled warriors of Rome were the force of slavers. It would seem that the constant bombardment had taken its toil on them. The defenders were haggard and formed a sloppy shield wall in response to the discipline of the Romans. Lucius could feel his blood growing hot in his veins. The last time he had felt like this was during Belisarius campaign against the most hated Ostrogoths.

With an iron discipline the first line under Lucius command made contact with their newest enemy. The warriors before them seemed more used to fighting as a person than a cohesive unit. Lucius and his men crashed into the shield wall with a thunderous charge. Under the disciplined gaze of his soldiers, they pushed the shield wall back. Lucius and the first line would thrust or slash their weapons almost simultaneously and withdrew into the protective formation of the testudo. The enemy would be caught unaware as using their shield to guard against one legionnaire would leave them open to the swords of others. Lucius could feel his arm straining as he kept his shield up as the enemy tried desperately to overcome the Romans defense. With each missed swing Lucius and those around him would slash or thrust with their swords. His sword grew red with blood as more enemies were slaughtered. Unused to the continuous assault of the cohort the enemy shield wall soon broke. With the formation undone it did not take long for the enemy line to fall to the swords of the legion.

Lucius now not under pressure from the enemies could only gaze on proudly as his men cleaned up any pocket of resistance from the remaining defenders. His men would see to the freeing of the enslaved people and the eradication of those who sought to defy his soldiers. They had come to this strange land as strangers, but he sought they would now be liberators. He could see his soldiers spreading out with a purpose, a purpose to free those who were enslaved. Lucius could only let out a slight chuckle as his people were once slavers, but those who stood with him were former slaves themselves. He vowed there and then to conquer these islands and see the enthralled set free.

Lords Chamber, Castle Farwynd

The Maester of the keep could only look on in fear at the sight of the strange soldiers storm the walls of the keep. It seemed their defensives had not held as he had hoped. His wrinkled form could only shudder in fear as what would become of him. His gaze soon turned towards the still corpse of his former lord.

Lord Eryk Farwynd stood still upon his mattress. His form had quickly grown gaunt as he had refused to eat from his madness induced mind. Each meal had been poisoned and each drink as well. The maester held no love for his cruel Ironborn lord and a part of him was glad to be rid of him.

The maester could only pray these strange men would show mercy to him and those the Ironborn had enslaved. For these strangers must be a touch above the Ironborn. He had served the Farwynds for a long time and even though they were ostracized by their fellows they were just as cruel as any Ironborn.

Off the coast of Lonely Light

Unaware of the concluding battle before them. A fleet of similar ships to those that the Romans sailed upon the Lonely Light cut through the water. The sails bore the same golden eagle upon a field of red as their fellows. The oars of the ships cut through the water and propelled the fleet towards the small island before them. Unaware of where they were, they would soon be reunited with their fellow Romans.

Onager: a Roman torsion powered siege engine. It is commonly depicted as a catapult with a bowl, bucket, or sling at the end of its throwing arm.

Ballista: ancient missile launcher designed to hurl javelins or heavy balls.

Minerva: Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena.

Mars: In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods.

SPQR: Senātus Populusque Rōmānus and is translated as "The Senate and People of Rome

Scutum: The scutum was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formation of the hoplite phalanx of the Greeks to the formation with maniples.

Testudo: Testudo or tortoise formation was a type of shield wall formation commonly used by the Roman legions during battles, particularly sieges.

CRUDEN: I have decided to do both ideas as it will see the Romans have a comparable force to those of the Ironborn.

Perses12: I'm glad my story could catch your attention!

Felon GT: The three-eyed raven in the story is more like an amalgamation of all its previous hosts who bared the title. I like to think it is a similar existence to how RWBY wrote Ozma. Where for a time the host would still be independent from the entity, but over time would be taken over or absorbed. I think it's a very interesting idea since it makes it more exciting. And regarding Blood Raven I would say Brenden Rivers personality was strong enough to overcome it.

Ojahleon: Regarding your question I do like the idea of Lucius being an emperor though I would see how it would pan out as the story unfolds.

Mandalore the Survivor: I do like the idea of the Riverlands being the next area of expansion for the Romans after the conquest of the Iron Islands. And I do plan on making the Stormlands rivals to the Romans.

Author's Note: I plan on working on this story in my spare time between work and working on my other stories. I am amazed how well this story is doing as I did not think it would get this much attention. Thanks everyone for all the support and I plan to be more active about working on this story. So, the Romans have taken Lonely Light and the Ironborn are still unaware. Off the coast of the islands similar ships baring the Imperial Eagle are also closing into the island. What could this mean for Lucius and his legion? I am also looking for a beta reader to help me with editing and working on some stories. If anyone is interested please feel free to PM me. Please leave a review since it helps me hear everyone's feedback and helps me grow as an author.