Legion of Mars

Publius Quintilus Varus, give me back my Legions!

-Julius Caeser, upon hearing of Rome's defeat in Teutoburg Forest

The summer sun of the Roman Province of Germania Inferior shined down on Lucius Maximus Darius as is horse continued to gallop down the dirt path that laid out before him. The warmth that this season followed annoyed him to no end, as he was constantly sweating in his armor. He almost fell over from exhaustion at one point, but the constant swaying of his horse had kept him on the task at hand.

Just a little more until we make it to Colonia Augusta Treverorum. He thought. It filled him more with dread than anything else. They actually have more miles to cover before they could reach their destination. Treverorum was a pit stop for the Legion at most, where they could gather more supplies before heading out once again to Colonia Aquilina. After a little rest from this accursed heat, they could continue marching towards the colonial frontiers of the Empire, where the constant raiding of Germanic tribes on the towns was taking place.

'We should have just built a wall like the one in Britannia.' Lucius thought. He knew it was impossible to build a wall between them and the barbarians of the east, seeing as it would be more expensive to maintain. Plus, the Senate wasn't willing to send troops to guard the frontier towns when a conflict between them and the newly formed Sassanid Empire was right around the corner in the east.

Right behind him, he could hear the marching boots of the Roman soldiers, men of the 15th Legion, previously stationed in Britannia Superior. His legion was there to quell any tribal rebellions that sprang up from time to time, as well as deal with any Pictish invaders that would cross Hadrian's Wall. He counted at least five thousand Legionnaires marching along the dirt path with him, along with three thousand in reserve to the sides. That makes the total combination of his legion by a factor of eight thousand. Each man is carrying their own equipment on their soldiers, while some of those supplies were put on five wagons drawn by oxen. Three divisions of Equities were galloping alongside the legion. Several Germanic Auxiliaries from beyond the Rhine are in the back of the legion, most of them serving far longer than him in general. It was overkill to have an army march out against some poorly equipped barbarians in general, but they could never be too certain. The Germanic tribes, including the Marcomanni and the Sebui, have become attacking settlements close to their borders more than usually. The Senate in Rome thinks that the barbarians might try something extreme, like launching a full-scale invasion. They sent him and his legion in to deal with these barbarians.

He combed back his short semi-black hair back as he stared at the endless path they followed. The forty-year-old man was thankful that years of experience in the heat had tough him up from these conditions. At least he didn't have to wear his helmet during that long trip, especially in this hot weather. He already missed Northern Britannia. At least it wasn't that hot near the north.

The grassland soon gave away to some farmland nearby, which meant that they are almost at the city. He was correct when he saw a signpost up ahead that pointed in the direction he wanted to go.

Colonia Augusta Treverorum: 25 Miles

He smiled in relief as he was almost at the town. He could already see several civilians on the road gawking at the troops as the pasted by them. He saw one little boy at the corner of his eye run up to the side of the road, excitement on his face as he saw the pasting legion. He waved at the boy as he passed by, a smile creeping on his face as he saw him waving back at him. He saw a woman running up to the boy, his mother if he is right, and grabbed the boy by his ear, heading back inside.

He then reached under his tunic and took out a small Gaul-made rucksack full of water. He opened the top with his teeth and drank the water inside, the cool refreshing tasteThe taste of cool water rushing down his lips did give him some satisfaction.

"By Jupiter's fucking cock, it's hotter than Venus's tits!" Senior Centurian Validus Septimus Sextus said beside him as he used his canteen to spill water all over himself. He shook himself off like a dog, letting water fly everywhere. "Of all the place we could be, why would they send us to this fucking forsaken country?" Validus was a thirty-year-old man, much younger than Lucius. He had more muscle in him than most of his Legionnaires. He had his helmet off like him, revealing a messy brown hair on his head, with a hard face that told him that he had seen some fights in his life than Lucius ever did. His bright hazel brown eyes looked on at the road they were in. He had a scar in his left eye, and another at the bottom of his right eye. His semi-short brown beard had a bit of water dripping from it.

He glanced at Validus as they continued down the road. "We have a job to do, that's why." He said to Validus. "As it stands, we are the only legion within a hundred yards to stop these barbarians."

Validus put his Centurian helmet back on and glanced at the general. "It's more like the Senate are trying to kill us in this damned heat." Validus shook his head. "Plus, the garrisons at Nida and Aque Mattiacorium would be fit for this type of job. If you ask me, wasting an entire legion on some mud huts and stinking Germans is preposterous."

"I would agree with you on that." He shifted a little bit on his horse, trying to adjust to his weight. The brown mare he was riding on payed him no mind. "Still, we don't really know if these are just random attacks from raiders, or that they're preparing for an attack."

Validus turned his head to his commander. "You really think these Germans would actually invade us?" He questioned. "I mean, they always fight each other all the time. That's the only real reason that we are all safe."

"For now, at least." He said as a matter of fact. He once again wiped his face off of sweat with his hand. By the gods, this weather was going to be the death of him. "As it stands, these Germanic raiders are mostly poorly equipped, but they have strength in numbers. We should be able to kill them all easily and get back to the Empire before more of them show up. Worse case scenario, they're probably more smarter than us and waiting for us to attack them." He wouldn't think for a second that this was an elaborate trap by the Germans to lure them in and slaughter them.

'Why did I even think that?' Now he was having second thoughts on this mission.

"These barbarians are incapable of such things." Validus said as his chestnut brown horse neighed a little. "They only fight among themselves. I won't be surprised if the ones we are hunting have already been killed by some other shit ridden tribe."

'I really hope that happens.' Lucius thought. That would be a relief to him that some tribe had done his job for him. "Even if that was the case, and I really hope it is, we still have to show these barbarians a lesson about what happens when you raid on Rome's soil."

Validus smirked appeared on his face. "Your right. It would be nice to kill a barbarian or two. Might even take home some Germanic slaves in the process." His face turned serious when he looked at the commander. "Still, if these barbarians are mounting for an attack, then we must be very careful on the frontier." He turned his head to the back and glared. "And we also need to keep an eye on.......her. He said while pointing at the back.

Lucius looked at him at where Validus was pointing. At the rear of the Seventh Cohort was a woman of Germanic descent riding a light brown mare. She galloped along the trail with the soldiers. She had long brown hair that went all the way down to her shoulders and tied into a braided ponytail. Her bright blue eyes scanned the crowd of soldiers. Unlike the Roman soldiers, she was wearing chain mail armor that covered her entire body minus the arms. A brown wolf pelt was sitting on top of her head, its mouth wide open like it was ready to eat her whole. There was one large scar that went all the way from her left eye down to her nose, but that still didn't damage her looks. She had such fair white skin that most people would have mistaken her for a Celtic Gaul or a Briton.

He looked back at Validus. "What, you mean Oriana?" Oriana was the name of the Germanic bodyguard he purchased a while back. She never told him her real name, on account that she was a mute, someone who can't talk. It was a real annoyance that she couldn't talk, but he got used to it after a while. "Oriana can be trusted, I can assure you."

"She's a slave girl." Validus stated. "She can't be trusted where we're going." He turned to face Lucius. "I know you say you trust her, but she's a barbarian. For all we know, she would run off and warn the other tribes of us the moment we head into Germanic lands." He shook his head. "Gods forbid, she would cut your throat the moment she gets that chance. We can't afford that, not when we have the element of surprise with us."

"He does have a point you know." A new voice chimed in. He spotted a light brown old man of Iberian descent galloping next to him on a chestnut brown horse. Albinus Antonius was his loyal slave for years until he paid for his freedom like so many others before him. He was of Iberian descent, maybe from either the Lusitani tribe or the Celtiberian tribes that once dwelled in Iberia before Rome's arrive. He wore a red tunic with a sachel that held a number of scrolls. His face told him that he was in his early fifties. His hair was almost overtaken by white, with a little bit of brown left. "Oriana isn't some mercenary from Rhodes that values gold. She is a Germanic barbarian. The moment we enter the lands of Germania, she could run off to whatever cursed tribe lives near to warn them." He stated. "I know I should trust your wisdom, Master, but I think that for the benefit of the men, we leave her here."

Lucius wanted to glare at Albinus for questioning his authority. He wanted to shout at his former slave for talking out of turn. However, deep down he knew he was right. Her tribe used to raid along the Black Sea and through the Danube river until they were defeated in battle by a Marcus Verinus. Oriana, along with many other survivors were sold as gladiators in Capua. It was luck that he was there when Oriana was sold, saving her from an undesirable fate.

Lucius closed his eyes and sighed. "I know that your right in a way, but Oriana has been my loyal bodyguard ever since I bought her. She had never once betrayed me, and she is very skilled with a sword." He looked back at the commander and former slave. "She is staying with us, and that is that."

The two men looked at each other with concern on their faces, wanting to question their leader's decision on the matter. He knew in their hearts about what was right in the end, but Frejia has been his closest and loyal bodyguard in Brittania since he bought her. She had saved him a number of times before, including the one time he and his legion had to face a large Pictish raiding force that had somehow slipped pasted the wall.

He looked back at his bodyguard. He spotted her galloping up towards him, giving him a nod as she joined him by his side. He nodded at her back. 'I just hope they're not wrong about you.' He thought as the Germanic bodyguard trotted beside him. He shouldn't doubt her after all they had been through.

Colonia Augusta Treverorum was more of a fortress than anything he saw in a while.

It wasn't as massive as Rome or Athens, but it still holds its place as being the Imperial capital of the province. Its massive marble walls surrounded the settlement with numerous towers jousting out of them, watching for any raiding parties be they Germanic or regular bandits. Thought the settlement wasn't as big as Rome, it still served its purpose as being the capital city of the province of Germania Inferior. He could see several sentries along the walls of the city, their bows were hidden from sight knowing that his legion is no threat unless otherwise. A large iron gate stood in its way, a carving of Julius Caeser commanding an army against the Gauls

Lucius, Validus, Oriana, and Albinus trotted right outside the city gate. Lucius holds up his right hand, signaling the legion to stop where they are. The march stopped in unison, the soldiers now standing on the road leading into the city.

"I must say, even if we're still in Roman territory, I can smell Germanic shit from out here." Validus commented, wrinkling his nose as to stop the smell. He turned his head to Oriana. "I can't imagine that this is what you smelled like before." Oriana rolled her eyes at his comment. Lucius could tell that she was not offended by his comment.

"This city is the where we need to gather supplies before we reach Colonia Claudia Agrippinensium." He said to Validus. "Not to mention that its the next stop before we reach the frontier itself, so we need all the supplies we can carry before we reach Germania."

"Still, I wish we could go somewhere nicer beside this wretched place, like Antiochia or Athens." He said while holding his nose. "Is it just me or is the smell getting worse?"

"It's not that bad. You have been through worse with me." He said. They had served together in Brittania, putting down several tribal uprising that thought they were better than that Boudica bitch that nearly kicked them out of the Isle many years ago. His legion had managed to suppress those uprisings

"Yeah, but we were in Syria, in which the smell of sea salt is better than this barbarian shit." Validus said while gesturing in the opposite direction of the town. "Hell, I'll take the smell of Britonnic shit besides this."

Lucius rolled his eyes at Validus's judgment. "Get over it. We won't be here forever, you know." Lucius then directed his attention to the city gate. "Hello, is there anyone up there?" He yelled.

"Halt, how goes there?" A gruff voice yelled in Latin from on top of the ramparts. "State your business or I'll blow your head off from where you stand."

He was about to answer back, but Albinus was the one that answered. "This here is my master and commander, Lucius Maximus Darius, Hero of Brittania and Slaughter of Barbarians. He was the one that faced Boudica and her savage tribe, the Iceni, and lived to tell the tale." Lucius winced at the praise Albinus was giving him. He was just a soldier in Legio IX Hispania when he and the legion did face Boudica and her tribe of 100,000 men. To say that he nearly survived the battle would be saying a Thracian was walking down the street naked while singing praises to Jupiter while riding a donkey full of wine.

He was lucky that he survived at all. By the Underworld, He counted himself lucky that he even did survive.

He swept his hand over to the legion. "These are the men of the 15th Legion, otherwise known as Legio XV Caledonia. We have been tasked by the Senate to deal with a barbarian incursion near the borders of Germania. We want to talk to your governor inside the city for permission to camp and gather supplies for our journey."

Silence reigned as no one made a sound. After what felt like an eternity, the gates slowly opened, the groaning of the gears was heard.

He galloped in front of his cohorts to face them. "Validus and I will meet with the senator for supplies. The rest of you will wait for us." He moved his head to the legion. "Tell the legion they could rest for now, and start to set up camp." Albinus nodded and turned his horse around, galloping across the line while yelling in Latin. The men had taken that as an order form their Tribune and separated from their legion, choosing a nice patch of dirt to set up camp. He then turned to Oriana and Validus. "Let's go and meet with the governor."

Oriana nodded as she started to follow her master. Lucius and his company went into the Roman city, hoping to have some supplies for the doomed legion.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Julius Lexius Zeron hurried along the almost built Legionary camp as if some dark spirit was chasing him. At this point, a dark spirit taking him away is much more appealing than getting an ear full from his centurion commander.

He almost wished he was dead at this point.

Julius was a new recruit to the 15th Legion, something that was not lost on him at this point. He grew up around the town of Cenabum, making him one of the "Roman Gauls" that now inhabit the area. He had short blond hair and a fair face that some people back in his hometown would call "cute" and, when he got to his early 20's, would be considered "sexy" by the younger girls. He grew up hearing stories of great heroes like Scipio Africanus and Julius Caeser, which is where his name came from. His mother had told him that she chose the name because he wanted him to become great like Caeser. His father and his father before him were soldiers in the Roman army. So, like his fathers, he joined the Roman army and was transported to the 15th Legion in Britannia. However, before he could even find his cohort, they had orders from Tribune Lucius Maximus Darius to deal with some Germanic barbarians in the Roman frontier. He didn't even have enough time to find his cohort before they moved out.

His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into something heavy. He fell down on his butt and rubbed his now sore nose. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU MOTHERFUCKER?!?!?" Yelled someone in a gruff voice.

"Sorry about that, sir." He apologized. "I didn't mean to-" He didn't finish his sentence before he was grabbed by his collar and lifted off the ground. He yelped as he was lifted off the ground and right into the face of the angry assailant.

He had a good amount of muscle on him, at least enough for him to lift Julius off the ground. He had almost no hair on his head, making him look bald. His olive white face had some youth in them, but he could tell that this guy was much meaner than he looks. His green eyes burned into his light blue eyes, making it seem like he wanted to breathe fire from his eyes. He revealed a set of almost yellow teeth, his breath smelled of wine even though he was not drunk just yet. "Sorry isn't going to cut it, you Celtic looking motherfucker." He yelled. He pulled him right up into his face. "I'm going to fist my hand so far up your ass that I'll work you like a gods-damned puppet."

"What is going on here, Felix?" A man dressed in centurion armor came running up to them, his gladius already drawn from his waste. He was no older than the legionnaire that had him by his collar, but his face told him that he had seen more battles in his lifetime. "If you started another fight, Felix, I swear to Jupiter that I will chastise you."

The fellow named Felix looked at the centurion with an annoyance on his face. "This Celtic piece of shit bumped into me." He turned and glared at Julius. "So I'm going to teach this little shit a lesson a lesson."

"W-w-w-wait!" Julius spatted out of his mouth. Both Romans were now focusing on him. "I-I-I-I said I was s-s-s-s-sorry to him." Now Julius was beyond scared at this point. Hell, he wasn't sure that he pissed his own armor at this point. He was shaking like a leaf on a tree at the sight of the angry individual holding him and the centurion ready to cut them both. "I was actually looking for the s-s-s-s-s-s-Sixteenth Cohort!"

The centurion looked at him and then looked at Felix, before looking back at him. He then sighed. "Set him down, Felix."

Felix looked at the centurion in confusion. "But....."

"Do it now, or you'll be answering to me." He growled as he hovered over to his gladius resting along the side of his hip, gripping the handle tightly. Felix glared at what Julius assumed was his centurion. He almost thought that this "Felix" would disobey his commander and kill him anyway.

After what seemed like a tense moment, Felix threw Julius to the ground and walked away grumbling.

"Sorry about Felix." The centurion said as he held out a hand to him. "He's a little rough around the edges, but he's a good man once you get to know him." Julius looked at the hand for a second before he accepted it, grabbing onto the hand while the centurion lifted him up. "I am Centurion Gallus Tadius Rufinianus, leader of the Sixteenth Cohort." He smiled at the young boy. "I was told we were receiving a new recruit before we moved out to Germania Inferior." He looked at Julius up and down, sizing him up like a prized animal. "However, we never found you until now. You have some explaining to do."

Julius bit his lip in embarrassment. Not one day in the Roman army and he was already in trouble. He'd be lucky if he wasn't declared a deserter and crucified outside in the sun. "Well...." He struggled to find the words, already imagining himself being crucified right outside of town on a hot summers day. "I......kind of didn't have enough time to find you guys until we were called to the Roman frontier." His cheeks went red as he scratched the back of his head, almost be mistaken for a sunburn. "I was just stuck with a random company while marching here and .......yeah." He looked at the ground like it was the only most desirable thing in the world. He was totally getting crucified at this point. He hoped that they wouldn't strip him down before being nailed to a cross.

Gallus looked at him with a bemused expression, his one eyebrow raised. Julius's brain told him to run as fast as he can to save himself from embarrassment. The centurion shook his head and sighed. "I'll let this one past for now." He gave Julius a hard look. "But from now on, you'll have to be responsible for your own actions. Is that understood?"

Julius perked up the centurion's friendliness. "Yes, sir." Julius said while he pumped his fist into his chest and raised it in front of him. Perhaps he will survive for at least another day.

Gallus nodded at him. "Good. What is your name, legionnaire?"

"Julius Lexius Zeron, sir." He said while he stood at attention in front of his superior.

"Julius, eh?" Calvius gave Julius a raised eyebrow. "Your mother named you after Ceaser?"

"That is correct, sir." He told the centurion. "My mother thinks I'm going to do great things when I grow up."

The Centurian threw his head in the air and laughed. It would have been a loud one at that, due to the fact that everyone was looking in their direction. His cheek turned a light red as he kept his head down. "You are great alright, great at getting lost." Gallus joked. His head was almost red that someone would have mistaken him for a big red apple. "Ah, don't worry about that." He said while slapping his back, making him yelp in pain. "Not every great man started being great." He smiled. "Just try to remember to not do anything stupid, and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, sir." He said while rubbing his back. "I'll try to do my best."

"Good." Gallus said. "Now follow me, and we can meet the rest of the Cohort. They should be in their tents right now if anything." Julius nodded as he followed his Centurian deeper into the camp.

"Fucking Romans and their lavishing fucking tents." Ulaf muttered under his breath as he and several of his fellow Germans were sitting around a crudely made campfire. The smell of stew boiling in the water was worse than anything. "The Romans always eat the good meals while we get the shitty leftovers."

By now, the sun had already dipped into the mountain, almost painting Germania Superior in a glowing of orangish-red. The 15th Legion, otherwise known as Legio Caledonia, have started to prepare camp outside the city walls. Lavish red tents sprawl out on the horizon, campfires already illuminating the valley they were in. Banners of the legion were flying in the hot Northern Gaul air around the campsite. The camps themselves were separated between the Gaul auxiliaries and the regular Roman legionaries.

The Germanic camp, as it were, wasn't a sight to look at. To the naked eye, it would seem like another Roman legionnaire camp. It wasn't the case, seeing as how it was currently occupied by the Germans like himself. It wasn't as bad as he thought. Their tents were small compared to the tents the Roman's used, but it did its best to hold off the cold. The food wasn't bad at most, though the leftovers the Roman's sent from time to time is getting sick to look at. Besides Gannus, who knew how to hunt, most tried to cook their own meals at most.

There was an accident last week when poor Seutous tried to capture a buck and two does, only to have a horn through the stomach.

"If you don't like it, you can always complain to the general." Beloz said as he stirred the stew with a wooden ladle. "From what I heard, General Lucius is good to his auxiliary companies." He smelled the stew before wrinkling his nose in the air. "Maybe we should just go into town and get something. I'm sure those Romans wouldn't mind if we steal some meat and ale if we tell them that the legion needs them."

Ulaf turned to his companion and raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure we'll get in trouble if we did that. Remember what happened the last time?" The rest of the company laughed while Beloz face turned bright red that he was almost mistaken for a tomato. That was a memory that will stick to Ulaf until his ancestors called him back to Valhalla. While they were on the road, the legion had stopped near a small town called Cenabum. One night, while the rest of the Legion was asleep, he and several other men had decided to raid the nearby tavern for drinks and ale.

He didn't remember what happened after that. However, the raid was somewhat of a success.

When he awoke the next more with a splitting headache, he found himself in a jail cell with a few of his friends, including Beloz, and the general glaring down at him. He told him of what happened when he came to town in the morning, who it was like some barbarians raided the town while they were asleep. He almost put the legion on alert before he found him sleeping next to a ruined carriage. He demanded what happened and who's bright idea was it to raid the town without his permission. Soon all of his tribesmen, including himself, blamed Beloz.

By the next morning, before the Legion moved out, Lucius announced that he would be punishing Belocia for his disobeying of orders. At worst, he thought Lucius would crucify him or whip his back before he died of exhaustion.

That fear was soon replaced with both relief and laugher when it was revealed that Beloz would be marching without his armor, or clothes on.

"I-its not funny." He heard Beloz muttered under his breath. The laughter only increased at the embarrassing memory.

Ulaf had almost fallen off of the log he was sitting on due to his laughter. "D-did anyone remember what happened when he almost fell?" If anyone was hearing right now, someone would've thought that there were a pack of hyenas in the Gaulish camp. "I almost thought that his cock would fall off!"

The laughter soon died down as they continued to stare at the boiling pot of leftovers. "Still," Ulaf said as he watched the flames danced among the pot like a warrior engaging another warrior. "Maybe going into town won't be such a bad idea. We just going to have to ask the general where we're going."

"You all don't have to go into town, brothers," A voice rose from behind them. The surrounding Germans looked from their campfire to see a figure coming into view. The man in question had a long beard like most of the auxiliary here, except it was braided to look like a ponytail. He was big like most of the men here, like he could outweigh a bear if possible. Like most of the Germanic troops here, he wore a chainmail armor that covered his entire body. His helmet was that of a centurion, except he had a pair of raven wings on the sides of the helmet. His bright light green eyes scanned the crowd before him. On his shoulders rested a large male buck that looked impossible to lift on one's own, but Ganoz found a way to carry it with no effort at all. "For I have returned with a feast from the gods"

The gathering Germans cheered on for the big man as he walked over towards one of the large tables next to the campfires and lowered the large buck onto the ground. One of the German troopers threw the pot of shit away, eager to taste a fine meal. "I guess Ullar has blessed you with this meal, Ganoz?" Ulaf said as he examined the soon-to-be meal. He wasn't a hunting expert like Gannus, but he could tell that Ullar, god of the hunt, has blessed these pitiful mortals with a meal that would satisfy them until they moved out again.

He wondered what the rest of the gods think of the Romans. Did they tolerate them for soon desecrating their sacred land, or were they planning a way to destroy the Romans once and for all?

"More like Wodan has blessed me with a large buck." Ganoz chuckled said as he started to skin the animal with his short knife. "The gods surely took pity on us poor, hungry souls for us to have this meal."

Ulaf scoffed. "Sure. Right. Like how we are going back into our country to hunt down our kinsmen." He said sarcastically. He didn't like trying to go back to Germania to enslave his people. He loved freedom as much as the next man and god. Even so, quite a few of them would have welcomed slavery if it came with wine and whores and silver coins to make him feel important. He wasn't mad at the Romans, far from it. He, like many of his fellow Germans around him, enjoyed the civilized life of the Roman Empire, including the wine he drank and the whores he fucked occasionally.

"Ah, don't be such a downer, Ulaf." Alida said as he eyed the buck that Ganoz was skinning. The young, yet strong man from the Lombard tribe had a fair figure on him, but still, resemble that of a warrior. His dark brown eyes over his long blonde hair locked eyes with him. "Besides, once I take my silver back to my tribe, we would be rich." That was mostly the reason why most of the Germans came over to the Roman Empire. The slivers were pretty too look at, and they were extremely rare to the tribes across the Rhine. One bag can buy you a plot of land if need be.

"He's right. One day, Rome will conquer Germania." Ganoz said as he continued to skin the animal. He was already halfway done with the skinning, seeing the pink flesh and bones sticking out of the animal. "We just need to be on the winning side when that happens."

Ulaf shook his head. "Maybe your right, but the gods would have at least some pity on us if they see what has become of our people." He couldn't help but chuckle. "At least the gods gave us a meal instead of those shitty shits the Romans called food." A few of his fellow Germans chuckled at his joke.

Ganoz looked at Ulaf with an amused expression on his face. "Strange. I recalled that time when we went to the Roman frontier in Brittania that you gobbled down your food exponentially."

"Well." He had to turn his head as he stroked his braided brown beard. "I was just......curious to see what it taste like."

"Remember the look on his face when he tasted the so-called "ration"? Byzas said, causing the others to laugh at him now. Even Belocia, who not moments ago was being embarrassed by his battle brothers, was now laughing at him. Cextireo glared at Byzas with all the hate he could muster. Anyone would assume that he would pull out his sword and stabbed Byzas to death. He decided not to, praying to the gods that he would die in battle someday.

Byzas was different than most of his counterparts. For one thing, he was a Celto-Thracian man of the Scordicoi tribe that once occupied the Pannonia plains. To some, he might have looked like a Greek man from Makedonia or a Greek nobility from Egypt. He had a slightly well kept brown hair with a five-o-clock shadow under his chin. His brown eyes looked right into Cextireo's light blue eyes. His face looked to Greek for him to be Celtic, at least in his eyes. Why he was in a German auxiliary army is anyone's guess.

The laughter continued on until it died down a little while. "While I would love to make fun of Ulafs's decisions," He glared at Ganoz. Ganoz swept his hand to the now skinned animal. "we need a large enough campfire for this meat." Gannus said as he finished the skinning, his hands covered in red blood while his face only had droplets of blood. "Someone needs to go and get some more wood for the fire." They all soon turned to Ulaf.

He almost shrunk under their gaze at him. "Uhh...." He started to say, before turning to Beloz. "You heard him, Beloz. Get to-"

"Oh no you don't," Ganoz said as he glared at Ulaf. "We all have done our part in making this camp. All YOU did was lazy about like a fucking retarded rabbit. It's your turn to get us some firewood." He clapped his hands in a pose manner. "Chop chop."

The rest of his company laughed as he reluctantly started to stalk away from the warm fire. He grumbled under his breath as he grabbed a random axe and out of the camp. Two Roman guards acknowledged his presence as he went past them. He soon went into the woods. Thankfully, it wasn't as warm as it was at noon. The warm cool air assaulted his face as he went about finding a stick or small tree he could cut down.

"At least it's better than having to go out on patrol." He murmured before he found a small tree he wanted to cut down. Lifting his axe, began to chop down the tree.

"Five hundred denarii?!?!?" Validus almost shouted through the canopy of Lucius's tent as he walks back and forth. He knew that Valius loses his temper at times, a flaw that the youths of this age have. His face was so red that he almost mistook him for a talking tomato. Both of his fists slammed into the table, causing it to shake. "Five hundred fucking denarii for some fucking supplies?!?!?" Anyone within earshot would think that Validus was almost going to explode from all the shouting. Hell, Lucius almost thought that Validus was going to explode. While it would be a funny sight to see, it would make a terrible mess all around his tent. The slaves would have a hard time to clean up. "That governor was almost luck that I didn't put a sword through his heart!"

"Calm down, Validus," Lucius said as he poured himself another wine in his silver cup. "I don't like it as well, but we have to live with it." To say that he didn't like it was a bit of an understatement. Deep down, he was outrightly pissed off, but he didn't show it. Perhaps he could have just let Validus stab the fat bastard governor of Germania Inferior until innards fall out.

He hoped the fat ass rotted in Hades for all eternity.

Their official meeting with the senator and governor of the province turned out to be.........intriguing. While the governor promised them to give them the supplies they need for the journey ahead, he wanted to discuss the price for all of said supplies. It was originally one thousand denarii. These included some stockpiles of grain and fruits that would last them for a few months, meats from the surrounding area, water from the local aqueduct, and some medical supplies shipped in from the isle of Knoss. Validus almost threw a fit over these outrageous prices, but Lucius was able to haggle down the price a little bit.

Mainly because he warned him that the Germanic barbarians would come for him and that the legion would be "long gone" and "out of reach" before the Germanic raiders could mount an assault.

After the business was concluded, he and the rest of his entourage returned back to the legionary camp.

Right now, they were in Lucius tent discussing today's activities. The sun had already disappeared from the sky and the moon was now shining brightly in the sky, signifying that Luna had replaced Sol's light with her own. Lucius's tent was much bigger than any other Legionnaire tent in this camp. There was enough room for it to be considered a house to some. Lucius's desk sat at the far end of the room, the table a mess with all the paper and parchment. The banner of his legion, a griffon with one of its claws extended, stood behind the desk. A roundtable was set in the middle of the room with several slaves serving them food like roasted goose or some Cornish Ganhen. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Oriana sharpening one of her swords, which was a sword that the Germans used in battle. Not that he had seen one German wielding a sword in battle. When he was once stationed somewhere in Thrace, numerous Germanic raiders coming out of Dacia would cross the Danube river and raid numerous coastal towns, ones where he has to defend. During a battle, he noted how the Germans preferred axes over swords in the engagement, which was highly effective against an armored foe.

Validus glared at the commander. "That fat fuck should be giving us these supplies for free since we are riding the world of these bastards."

"I get why you're angry." Lucius started to say as he poured himself some wine, a front leg of a roasted pork sitting on his plate as if mocking him. "Governor Borius must have had a reason for the prices."

Validus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so he could get drunk, shit, and fuck any whore that shows him her tits." Lucius had to admit, but he sometimes likes Validus and his excessive use of language. Though he was younger than him by age and experience, he can detect that his family was either veterans or sailors in their previous lives.

"Could be." Albinus said as he held out his cup. One of the slaves, an African male, poured Albinus some wine. "He is the governor after all. He has the right to charge us for the supplies." In all honesty, Albinus was right in a way. The governor, the one that held the life and death in his hands, was charging his legions for supplies they need for their trip to Germania to protect him from the raiders.

He didn't know whether Jupiter was fucking him in the ass for this to happen.

Albinus must have sensed that he was depressed. "Master, you shouldn't be depressed by this." Albinus tried to comfort him. "If it makes you feel any better, I have something on Borius"

Now Lucius was looking at Albinus with a curious expression on his face. "Ohh," He said while eyeing the former slave. "And what is it?"

Albinus looked to his right where the slaves are. Lucius, know what Albinus means, waved his hand in dismissal. The slaves scattered out of the tent, going to god's know where. "Well," He started to say. Both generals leaned in to listen to what Albinus had to say. "I don't want to say this, but I heard that Borius likes to dress up in women's clothing."

The tent was dead quiet until it was broken by Validus's explosion into laugher. If anyone outside was hearing, they would have thought that a monkey or a donkey was in Lucius's tent somehow. He pounded one of his hands on the table so hard that he thought the metal would bend at one point. Lucius couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the rumor. Even if the governor was greedy, there was always a juicy rumor about them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could spot Oriana rolling her eyes at Varidus's laugher. "You can't be fucking serious?!?!" Validus yelled.

"Oh yes." Albinus said with a smirk on his face. "While you were busy negotiating with Governor Borius, I made my way into his estate and asked the slaves themselves. They were reluctant at first, but one of them spilled the beans of the governor."

"By Aurora's fat tits, that has got to be the funniest shit I've heard in a long time!" Validus's hands tired to cover his mouth to keep him from laughing, but it failed as he once again exploded into laugher. About several minutes later, his laughter died down. "I can't believe that the governor would wear women's clothing when no one is around." He shook his head. "How anyone would dress in women's clothing is entirely ridiculous."

"It is....strange to hear such things." Lucius noted. He looked down at his cup to see his wine was almost empty. "Then again, Rome is no stranger to the strange, as it were." He stood up and walked on over to the pitcher the slaves left on the stand. He poured himself another wine as he talked. "Hell, I've seen male slaves dressed up in women's clothing while I was once at a party in Capua." He took a sip of his wine as he looked at both Validus and Albinus. "It is not as strange as one would think."

"If anyone was to pay me five hundred denarii to dress up as a woman, I would tell them to go fuck themselves." He picked up a roasted goose leg and took a bit out of it. "Hell, I'll stick a sword so far up their ass that they would literally fuck themselves every time they sit down." He gulped down his drink before he slammed it down on the table. "Would be doing them a favor."

Lucius shook his head as he chuckled. "If people were to fuck themselves, then we wouldn't need any whores around." Validus once again burst out laughing as he joked. It put a little smile on his face, seeing his second in command in a bright mood once again. "Well, I would love to talk about.....inappropriate jokes as much as the next guy, I have something to announce." He watched as both Validus, Albinus, and Oriana turned their attention towards him. "As some of you know, we are going into a barbarian ridden country to track down a tribe among thousands." He continued. He watched the expression on each of their faces. Albinus looked incredibly worried, he was almost sure his near tan skin had almost turned white. Validus merely smirked at the chance to kill some barbarians, his smile showing a predatorial side to him that he knew for most of his time. Oriana really didn't show any emotion on her face. It was hard to tell what she was thinking most of the time. "I just wanted to let you all know that it was a pleasure serving you all these past five years together. Some of you may have questioned my leadership in the past, and some of the decisions I've made, but through it all, you have all stood by my side to the very end."

"Woah, commander" Validus said as he leaned back on his chair a bit. His short beard had a few bread crumbs on it, but he didn't notice this. "It's like you lost hope with the Legion. We're going to die tomorrow. Besides, the Legion has survived through worse."

"That is precisely the point." Lucius said as he looked at Validus. "Like I said, we are going into Germania itself to chase down a tribe that is among thousands. It's more like a death sentence from the Senate than an actual mission." His hard eyes surveyed the rest of the group as he continued. "I'm not asking you all to come with me, knowing what Germania will throw at us. You all can stay here until I've returned victorious or....." He trailed off as he tried to think of a better word for his death. "Well, I think you might know regardless." Validus was right. He almost lost hope with his entire legion. Germania was a big country, with thousands of tribes that hate the Romans. Had Germanicus been true to Rome long ago, Germania would be in Roman hands, and they wouldn't be in this mess. "So, any of you want to stay here?"

The rest of the room was silent after his statement. Lucius watched with hard, yet somber eyes as he saw as if pondering on the predicament they were in.

Validus was the first to speak up. "Commander, I don't know about you," He stood up as he gestured with his hands. "But I'm ready to fuck some Germans in the ass. It's been a while since I killed anyone. Besides," He smirked as he folded his arms. "Someone has to watch your ass while you go and kill yourself. I'm with you."

"I suppose I'll come," Albinus said. "As much as I hate going to a backwater country, I am sworn to serve you even if I'm free." Lucius smiled at his old servant's loyalty. Slave or not, he had been loyal to his family ever since he was a boy. It was good to see his old servant going with him in the face of danger.

Oriana said nothing, like usual, but she nodded at him, meaning that she would come no matter what.

"That is what I want to hear." He got up from the table and lifted his cup in the air. "Here is to our legion, and to our future victories. Ad Victorium!"

"Ad Victorium!" Validus and Albinus said as they all clashed their cups against each other. From the corner of his eye, he could see Oriana smile and rolling her eyes at the display. He couldn't help but smile to see his friends follow him to his doom. It was a burden he had to carry for himself, but he felt like the weight of doom had lifted off his shoulders.

Maybe he wouldn't die in Germania after all, as long as he has friends by his side.

Luna's moon had shined bright at the 15th Legion's camp and, by extent, the whole province of Germania Inferior. It's illuminating light bathing both the valley and everyone its eternal glow. By now, everyone in both the camp and Colonia Augusta Treverorum was now asleep, including the Gallic auxiliaries. A few sentries were stationed outside the camp to keep a vigilant eye for intruders or bandits, or any Germanic raiders that were brave enough to sneak past the Roman garrisons in the Frontier

It was all quiet and peaceful tonight. So much so that you can gaze under the stars and fall asleep right then and there.

That annoyed Kaeso Verginius Quentin to no end.

'This is so fucking boring.' Kaeso thought as he stood guard along with his partner, Lar Bruttius Iustianus, at the camp entrance. His left hand grasped a spear while his shield rested beside him. Not like he was ever going to use those tools of war.

It was times like these he wished he saw some action.

He noticed a sound coming right next to him, where his partner is at actually. Turning around, he saw his buddy leaning on his spear with his shield on the ground, his eyes closed. A soft snore coming from him. He glared at his buddy for sleeping on the job. If someone were to catch him napping, like their general for example, the only place he will be at was high on top of a cross, with his hands and arms nailed.

It doesn't sound appealing to him.

He wanted to kick the old bastard awake and yell at him for not doing his job, but he was too tired to do that. Standing guard all night does take its toll on a person, especially when one does it in.......he actually lost count, but it was a while since he rested.

In fact, just looking at Lar now made him want to close his eyes and let Somnus take him to the dreamland full of tits and wine. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to just close his eyes for a little bit..........

He slapped himself mentally in the face for thinking that way. He shook off that feeling and went back to his job, a job he doesn't to lose. If his partner is caught, too bad for him. He's not going to defend his ass when a centurion catches him.

As he turned his head, he noticed something strange in front of him. A roll of fog was coming towards the camp, like a stampede. He thought of it as strange. It was summertime in the Roman Empire, and there were no reports of fogs rolling into town. And it wasn't even cold here in Germania Inferior as well. In fact, the air was slightly warm tonight, almost making him sweat through his armor.

He turned to his partner and kicked the spear he was leaning against. "Wake up, you lazy fuck!" Lar's eye opened before he let out a yelp. He soon fell face first on the ground beneath him.

Kaeos wanted to laugh at the poor legionnaire, but he was more tired to do that.

Lar got up from the ground and glared at Kaeos. "What the fuck was that for!?!?!" He almost yelled at Kaeos, but mostly kept his voice down. The last thing he wanted was to wake the entire camp.

Kaeos pointed to the fog. "To wake up you're dumbass for this."

Lar squinted his eyes as he soon saw the fog coming in. He then glared at Kaeos. "This is what you woke me up for!??!?! A stupid fucking FOG?!?!?"

Kaeos didn't keep his eyes off the cloud of mist as it rolled closer. Now that it was closing in, he could see that something was definatly wrong about it. The fog itself was purple, which he didn't see the first time. Strange chanting that he couldn't recognize seems to come out of the mist. "Something is wrong with that fog." He pointed to the fog, which is now only a league away from them.

Lar looked at the fog one last time, and saw the strange purple mist and mysterious chanting. He soon withdrew his sword from his belt as he too eyed the strange mist. "W-what the hell is that thing?!?!?!"

"I don't know, but keep your weapon drawn. Who knows what the hell it is." Kaeos said as he drew his gladius from m his belt, his shield right beside him. He knew that there this was some kind of trick. Maybe Germanic marauders he heard about were about to attack this camp, but it would be suicide for them to do that.

The mist was already closer and closer to the camp, the strange chanting sounding louder by every minute.

"COME ON YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" Lar yelled as he readied himself in a battle stance. "BRING IT ON!" He soon charged in with a fierce battle cry. Kaeos didn't know if he was brave because he was scared or thought himself a Herkules.

"Wait!" Kaeos shouted to his friend, but it was already too late. Lar had disappeared right into the purple fog. "Damn it, Lar." He muttered to himself as he went after him, hoping to catch him inside the mist. It was not the smartest idea, but his tired mind didn't register that.

The last thing he heard when he entered the fog was a singing voice of a female.

By the next morning, the sentries on the walls of Trevorum had noticed that the entire camp was gone, like they had packed up and left without a noise. The slaves, whose tents were still there, didn't know what happened to the rest of the legion.

To this day, it remained one of histories greatest mysteries for years to come.