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17.12% Heir of Aurelian / Chapter 31: Echoes of a Forthcoming War

Chapter 31: Echoes of a Forthcoming War

Marcellus gazed at the gory scene with a stoic expression on his handsome face. He had seen much death in this life and had even put many men to the sword. However, every time he witnessed the savagery of the Goths, he felt bitter in his heart.

Word had come in the night that the goths had raided a nearby village in Illyricum. Though this village technically wasn't Marcellus' responsibility to protect, the fact that the barbarians had dared to ransack a village so close to Castra Regina meant one thing: They were testing him.

It was not a well kept secret that Marcellus had been banished from polite society, forced to look after a small stronghold at the edge of the world. As time passed, word reached the ears of the goths. Though Marcellus had never been granted the victory title of Gothicus, his past glories were worthy of such an honor.

In the hearts of many of the tribal warriors, Marcellus and his proud legions of palatini were a serious threat to their dominance in the region. They were pleased to hear that previously he had been shipped to Gaul to fight a war with another Roman. However, that relief did not last long. Now the Goth-slayer himself was sitting at the borders of their territory.

Such a thing could not be tolerated, and Alaric had decided to test the Roman General's resolve. The scene of the town was a smoldering ruin, with corpses littering the field. Among the dead, they were mostly men, undoubtedly the barbarians had kidnapped the women and children for the purpose of slavery.

Smoke filled the air, despite the fires having long since died down. Suffocating the Roman soldiers who witnessed the bloody scene of their neighbors' destruction. It was evident just by a casual glance that there were no survivors remaining in the village. However, there was one thing of notice which confirmed that this was a Gothic raid.

In the center of the village was a large zierscheibe constructed out of the severed limbs of the raiding party's victims. Such a gruesome sight was revolting to gaze upon, and surely, if one was less accustomed to death and bloodshed, they would have vomited the contents of their stomachs upon witnessing such a scene.

There was only one reason for such brutality, and that was the fact that the chieftain in charge was leaving a message for Marcellus. Soon enough, the Goths will march on Castra Regina. Such news did not bode well for the Romans. After all, Castra Regina was essentially the gateway into Italy. If the Goths wanted to invade from the east, they would either have to traverse for countless miles around the stronghold, or seize it with force.

Upon realizing the intentions of his enemies, Marcellus immediately snapped the reins of his horse and began to ride back to the village, ordering a swift withdrawal to his soldiers as he did so.

"We return to Castra Regina at once. There is nothing to salvage here..."

With their commands, the makeshift cavalry that had been assembled in the weeks following Marcellus' successful experiments followed their leader back to the frontier stronghold. Completely unaware that a pair of pale blue eyes gazed upon their actions, hidden in the thick foliage of the nearby woods.

After the Romans retreated from the area, a burly barbarian who wore the skin of a bear, and not much else, spat on the ground as he addressed his commander.

"They're retreating! Should we attack them now?"

The Commander gazed into the distance as he watched the backs of the Roman forces withdraw. He shook his head before responding to his warrior's question.

"No, they have seen our message. It is now up to Alaric to negotiate with the Romans for the promised payment."

The bearskin warrior simply nodded his head in silence as he dreamed about the spoils that he would soon enjoy. War was coming to Italy, whether or not the Romans paid the ransom, bloodshed between the two peoples was an inevitability.

----

Back in Ravenna, Stilicho stood within the senate with a stern expression on his face. Currently, he was engaged in a bitter argument with Olympius and his supporters. Honorius acted as witness to this dispute, but truthfully could not care less about the topic at hand. With a boisterous voice, the Supreme Commander made his case.

"Alaric has made his demands. If we do not pay him a ransom in gold, he will invade Italy through the borders at Illyricum. If we do not agree to his demands now, then I fear we will soon be facing an invasion in the both the East and West! When that happens, Rome can not defend itself. Our forces are dwindling. With the defeat of Marcellus in Gaul, we now have even fewer soldiers to rely upon. We must pay the man!"

Olympius scoffed when he heard the words that Stilicho Spoke. Perhaps the man was too close to his godson and was merely trying to appease the enemy so they would not claim the boy's head. Regardless of the actual reason that Stilicho may have for agreeing to the Goths demands, the senator refused to admit defeat.

"Bah! For what purpose should we hand a treasury's worth of gold over to these filthy barbarians? Did we not assign Marcellus on the border to keep Alaric and his filthy band of savages at bay? You even said it yourself. Marcellus is a rare talent. If you ask me, it was a wise decision by the Emperor to place him on the border as a deterrence against the Goths. He does have a fearsome reputation among them, does he not?"

Stilicho was furious at the mention of Marcellus' reassignment. One of his best generals was now acting as a glorified border guard. He could not fathom the stupidity in Olympius's mind to be so foolish as to compel the emperor to dispatch Marcellus to Castra Regina. He immediately began to rebuke the man for his statement.

"Do you not realize what you have just said? You are asking us to rely on the faith of the Goths and the ancient terror of the Roman name! A simple army of limitanei can not hope to hold the line against a gothic horde, even with a commander as brilliant as Marcellus at its helm!"

The two sides of the senate argued back and forth for some time. Only a small minority of the men gathered accepted Stilicho's voice of reason. The foolish senators looked towards the courage of their ancestors on how to deal with the Gothic menace, when they instead should have followed their wisdom.

Honorius, while initially unconcerned with the events that were being discussed, scowled when he heard Stilicho praise Marcellus once more. He had thought that he had gotten rid of that thorn in his side, but in the end, he still could not escape hearing praise for the man. Thus, he responded in Stilicho's favor, but for all the wrong reasons.

"Titus Claudius Marcellus is a disgrace sent to guard the border as punishment for his failures. If the Goths truly pose as severe as a threat as Stilicho implies, then we can't simply leave the region's defense to that fool. I would much rather take solace in paying a simple ransom to those filthy Goths than trusting the lives of every Roman to a man like Marcellus."

Olympius' smile grew bitter as he heard this. The Roman Treasury was dwindling each day, and inflation was at an all-time high. However, it could still afford to pay a ransom here or there, thus he sighed heavily before nodding his head in agreement.

"If that is what his majesty wishes, then we will pay off the Goths. We will just need some time to collect the funds. In the meantime, I am sure that Marcellus can handle the pressure from the Goths. Or perhaps he is as incapable as the emperor suggests, and if so, we will be facing a crisis. Only time will tell."

Honorius nodded his head in silence, while Stilicho felt like crying. Though he could not refute Olympius' words, he knew the man would deliberately take his sweet time to collect the funds. His intent was clear. Olympius wanted to get rid of Marcellus once and for all, and having the boy act as the first line of defense against a Gothic Horde was a good way to accomplish such a thing.

Though Stilicho was unaware of the recent raids on the border, he suspected such things were occurring. If Marcellus could not successfully deter the Goths long enough for their payment to be delivered, then the Italian peninsula would soon be flooded with barbarians. Ultimately, it was as Olympius had stated. Only time could tell what would transpire.


Chapter 32: Last Night on Earth

Marcellus sat inside his villa with a cup of wine in his hands. He gazed into the red pool of liquid with a sense of desperation on his face. The goths had been rampaging on his borders lately, raiding the nearby villages with brutal ferocity. Though those lands were not under his protection, he knew it was only a matter of time before a full scale invasion occurred. Try as he might, he simply lacked the strength to repel such a large force.

Perhaps if he had been sent to guard the border a year prior, he might have been able to raise a capable force that could defend Castra Regina. However, as it stood, he simply lacked the time to establish such an army. Though he had made great lengths in strengthening his troops since he first arrived at his new post, it was not enough.

Sigefrida noticed the downcast expression on her master's face and quickly approached him, where she refilled his glass with more of the alcoholic beverage. A wry smile appeared on the man's face as he thanked the woman for her efforts.

"Thank you Sigefrida, I'd be lost without you..."

The busty slave could tell something was eating at her master's soul, and quickly inquired about the details.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Marcellus looked around to see if anyone else was present, and after confirming the two of them alone, he let out a heavy sigh before revealing the truth.

"We are all going to die..."

The barbarian beauty froze on the spot as she heard this. It took her a few moments to inquire further.

"What's going to happen?"

The young general took a sip from his drink before giving the woman an explanation for his cryptic statement.

"A horde of goths lies at the border. For the past week, they have been raiding the nearby villages that aren't under my command. My army of farmers is the only thing standing between them and the Italian peninsula. Given enough time, and I'm sure I could make this plebeian rabble into a respectable army. However, I've been here for what a month? Two? It's not enough time. I always knew I would die in the service of Rome. I just never figured it would happen as a disgraced general rotting away in some godforsaken frontier town..."

Sigefrida reached out her hand and touched Marcellus' cheek. She did not have a grieving expression on her face. Instead, she seemed to be fine with it.

"If that is our fate, then so be it..."

Marcellus' chuckled when he heard this. The woman was so attached to him, and yet she would never allow him to make love to her. Maybe it was the alcohol affecting his brain, but he figured he had waited long enough. He decided to press her for an answer.

"So, the barbarians could arrive at any hour. How about we spent our last few moments doing something more pleasurable?"

An embarrassed expression appeared on Sigefrida's pretty face. She desired more than anything to be intimate with her master at least once in this life, but there were still the fears in the back of her mind that made her hesitate. When Marcellus witnessed this, he drank more from his wine before giving up on the idea.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to be, so be it..."

Sigefrida could tell Marcellus was mad at her, and the idea that they would fight shortly before their deaths terrified her more than Aeliana ever could. She quickly explained the reasoning for her hesitation.

"Marcellus, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm scared..."

Marcellus looked up from his glass and into his slave's dazzling ice-blue eyes with a curious expression on his face. This was the first time the woman had explained herself.

"Scared?"

A slight nod of the head confirmed her words. She quickly began to lay out the reasoning behind her dread.

"Marcellus, I never wanted to say this to you, but if this is really the end, then I am afraid I have to speak my mind, only if you will permit me, of course!"

The young roman general could tell his slave was being serious and silently nodded his head, giving her permission to continue.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but your mother is terrifying. She's not the woman you think she is. She may be kind and loving to you, but she also has a frightening obsession with you. On more than one occasion, she has nearly killed me for getting too close to you. The last time she strangled me was when I returned from the campaign in Gaul without you. If I were to take the final step with you and she found out about it, that woman... she would..."

It shocked Marcellus to hear this revelation, frankly it didn't make sense to him. He had taken many girls to bed over the years, and yet his mother had said nothing. He had to clarify this matter at once.

"But Sigefrida, why is it only you? I've slept with lots of women over the years, and she has never acted spiteful towards them."

Sigefrida knew the answer behind this and was quick to inform him about the woman's reasoning.

"It's because your heart belongs to me and not to those other women. Your mother doesn't desire your body, but your heart. Anyone who comes between your familial affection is seen as a threat. She's not exactly fond of Placidia either, but she would never harm the emperor's sister. At least not openly."

Marcellus was outraged. He could tell by the look in Sigefrida's eyes that she was telling the truth. His mother had clearly abused his slave without his permission. Such a violation of his trust nearly drove him mad. He had to calm himself with copious quantities of wine before responding to Sigefrida's dread. After drinking his fill, he quickly stood up from his seat and walked over to the woman, where he dragged her into his embrace and kissed her passionately.

At first the Suebi beauty resisted, however, she eventually found joy in her lover's comfort. Once the woman was compliant, Marcellus stripped her out of her ragged clothing. While kissing her on the neck, he spoke the words that were contained in his heart.

"If this is my last day on terra, then I intend to spend it with the woman I love."

After saying this, the couple moved to the villa's bed where they continued their passionate activities until the sun rose on the next day. When the two finally awoke, they were still attached to each other, as if during their unconscious state they were fearful that one another might flee the scene.

When Marcellus gazed upon his slave's beautiful face for the first time after they were joined together, he smiled, while grasping hold of her chin. He said the words to her that he had wanted to say since a young age.

"Sigefrida... I love you!"

The blonde-haired woman nodded her head slightly before kissing her man on the lips. After doing so, she responded to his confession.

"I love you too..."

Just as they were about to go for another round, the door to Marcellus' room was kicked open, causing the couple to panic. However, the general immediately calmed down when he saw it was none other than Ordius standing before him. His relief lasted for but a minute, as the first words to come out of the intruder's mouth caused an immediate since of dread to overwhelm Marcellus' soul.

"Dux, the Goths have us surrounded!"

Marcellus quickly got out of his bed and dressed himself. Sigefrida was by his side, but he gave the woman a strict command before rushing out of his Villa.

"Stay here, and bar the doors! Do not open them for anyone but myself!"

Without waiting for a response, Marcellus adorned his plumed helm and walked out the door with his scutum in his off-hand. He quickly followed Ordius to the ramparts, where he gazed upon a particularly terrifying scene. For whatever reason, the goths had not yet to enter the village below the fortifications. Instead, they surrounded it with an army of 50,000 men.

They sent forth a particularly large blonde haired man, who had a lengthy beard. This man was adorned in the finest armor a barbarian would wear and rode on horseback. Marcellus had encountered this man before during a previous campaign and immediately reacted with shock.

"Alaric..."

The Gothic King called out in a voice so loud that the entire garrison could hear him.

"Come out and face me Goth-slayer! I know you're in there! If you do not show yourself, I will flood this village with blood!"

Alaric had left him with no choice. Marcellus did not hesitate and issued a command to the soldiers below.

"Open the gate!"

Ordius immediately grabbed hold of Marcellus as the man tried to descend the stairs. He had a look of panic in his eyes as he tried to convince the general to see reason.

"You're not seriously going out there, are you?"

A look of defeat was on Marcellus' handsome face as he shook off the commander's grip. He patted the man on the shoulder before giving him one last order.

"I am afraid he has left me with few options. If he and his army take my head, make sure to defend this fortress with everything you have. Even if we all die, we must take as many of those bastards with us!"

Having said that, Marcellus did not wait for a response and calmly descended from the staircase, marching out of the gates alone and towards the Gothic King who lie in wait for him.


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