Far from Home

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.

In Ingotis (Into the Unknown)

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Blood.

There was blood everywhere on the battlefield......

"Lucius....."

The sound of clashing blades filled the battlefield as he struggled to stay alive.....

"Lucius?"

The Iceni tribesman, blood painted on his face, yelled a vicious warcry as he charged him......

"Lucius, wake up!"

One of his friends had a sword through his throat, blood dribbling from his side as his eyes twitched, begging to the gods to not take him so soon.......

"Master Lucius, you have to wake up!"

The Iceni Queen, Boudica, loomed over him with a vicious glare directly at him. With her spear in hand, she plunged it right down his-

"SIR, WAKE UP!"

Lucius opened his eyes as he shot up from his bed. He was in his red tunic, his armor standing upon a pole that made it look like a guard was stand watch over him. He was sweating, but not from the heat.

"Good sir, you're awake." He looked to where his free slave knelt beside him, a look of worry on his face. He was about to say something, but he closed his mouth when he saw the state of Lucius. His face held a sense of worry for him. "You had that dream again, haven't you?"

Lucius wiped the sweat from his forehead and brow, his mind foggy from all the drinking from last night. His servant knew him too well. "Yes." He simply answered. There was no use in lying to his old friend. He had always had that dream ever since taking command of Legio Caledonia. He didn't know whether the gods were fucking him in his dream or some demonic possession. "Though this time Bolucdia killed me in my dream."

"The gods may be telling you something." Albinus looked at him for a second. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm alway's eager to listen."

"No. It's.....fine." Lucius said as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get those accursed yellow things out of his eyes to focus. He looked to his servant. "What is it that you would want to wake me up?"

His eyes widened as if he remembered what he was about to say. "Sir, it's about Trevororium."

"If it's about governor Borius trying to trick us into another deal, tell him he can shove whatever he is offering up his fat ass." Lucius stated bluntly. If he ever saw that fat sack of shit one more time......

"That's the thing, sir." Albinus said. "There is no Trevororium."

Lucius looked at his servant with a look of annoyance. "What?" What does he mean by 'no more Trevororium?' "I am not in the mood for jokes right now, especially since I got out of a bad dream."

Albinus shook his head. "I wish that was the case, sir." He gestured towards the flap of his tent. "I really am speaking the truth. The town, the valleys, everything disappeared overnight. We are in the middle of some kind of forest." Albinus told him. He had never seen his servant freaking out before, not even when he was once a slave to his family. "The legion is in total chaos and waiting for your instructions."

Lucius got up from his bed, his servant backing away from him. "Tell them I will assess the situation."

Albinus nodded and went directly outside.

Lucius sat at the foot of his bed with groggy eyes. He rubbed them to get a more clear mind. 'The entire town disappearing overnight?' He thought as he got up and went to a stand that contained a bowl of water. 'And stuck in some forest?' He splashed his face a couple of times, feeling the cold water sweeping down his face. He grabbed a rag and wiped his face off. 'If this is some sort of sick joke, I swear I am going to castrate the man behind it.' He didn't believe for one second that the entire camp, as if by MAGIC, got transported in some gods-forsaken forest. He thought for a second that Albinus would pull a prank on him.

He then realized that Albinus was more loyal to him than a dog.

With his face washed and him being wide awake, he dawned his Legate armor passed down from his family since the days of the Roman Republic. With his gladius at his side, Lucius opened the flap to his tent and went outside.

His eyes were almost blinded by the sun that shined down on him. What was strange was that the sun itself seemed brighter than usual. He could count that out as just his imagination. He had to shield his eyes to adjust to the brightness. After a few minutes of blinking and adjusting his eyes, he finally adjusted his eyes.

The camp was in total chaos. Centurians were shouting orders left and right, some even threating their fellow soldiers. He swore he heard a centurion say that "I'm going to rip off your ass and throw it in a stew and make you eat it." The rest of his legionnaires were going left and right, most of them excited for some action. Some of them were carrying equipment or weapons in their hands. Lucius's eyes focused on the outside of the camp. Albinus was right.

All around him were strange trees that bend in ways he never felt possible. He could have sworn that there were no trees when his legionnaires set up camp. He could also feel the cold wind pressing against his skin. There was barely any wind for weeks, only the hot summer sun of Solarises. He could deduce that they were somewhere in the east. There was no desert next to them, so he ruled that one out. He could guess that they either somewhere in Germania or somewhere north of Scythia or Sarmatia, or even in Gaul or Iberia.

It was only a hunch at this point.

'We aren't attacked yet, so that is good news.' Indeed, if they were deep within enemy territory, some scouts would have found them out by now and sent for reinforcements from a local tribe. So far, nothing seems to have happened. Either the local Germanic tribes or bandits are watching them for any signs of weakness, or playing with them. 'They would have attacked us right now if that was the case.'

He saw one of the centurions giving orders to a group of legionnaires before they went on their way. He calmly walked on over to the Centurion. As if he since someone was coming, the centurion turned around to see his general coming. He soon saluted, his fist clutching his armor before releasing it in mid-air. Lucius did the same. "Statue report." He said.

"Sir, The rest of the campsite is chaos. We don't know where we are or how we got here." The centurion answered to him.

"Did anyone see anything out of the ordinary?" Lucius asked. Someone must have seen something if they were transported to some forest in the middle of gods damned nowhere.

"We suspect the guards who were stationed outside of the camp, but had fallen when we found them." He said. "They weren't dead or anything like that, sir, but they are unconscious and unable to respond. Doctors say they might be like that for some time."

"How?" Lucius was now more curious about what was going on.

"We don't know, sir." He snappily said. "We suspect that something must have happened to them."

"And the slaves?" The slaves, the ones he sent away, might have seen something that might have lead to this predicament."

The centurion shook his head. "We can't find them anywhere, sir." He said. "We suspect that they might have escaped while the guards were unconscious."

"Damn." He murmured. He was now more worried about reporting this whole incident to the Senate than staying alive. Stuck in some forest in the middle of nowhere with several guards unconscious and slaves escaping. It could be a stain on his military career if anything.

He right now wished that the Germans would just attack him now than suffer humiliation at the Senate.

"Sir, what are your orders now?" He questioned. That was the question that ran through his head; what was he going to do? They were somewhere in some forest, most likely in Germania if anything, with no way of know which way is Rome at. Worse still, the supplies he asked for hadn't even arrived yet. They had only a weeks worth of food and drink, but he didn't know how far he or his legion had gone.

In short, it was a pretty grim situation.

With a calm cast, he said. "Reorganize the legion, and tell them to wait for my orders." The centurion saluted and started to bark orders any nearby centurion he saw.

"Well isn't this just one fine fucking morning." He heard Validus say. He turned his head slightly left to see him and Oriana walking towards him, the former looked like death warn over, if death was more of a drunkard. "I can't even get a fucking shut-eye without someone kicking me in the stomach." He soon glared at Oriana, in which she just smirked at him. "Your lucky I didn't pour a sword through your gut, you Germanic whore."

"I see you're as bright as ever." He joked. Despite the grim situation they were in, Valdius was calm and collective about the whole thing. Emphasis on "calm and collective."

Validus glared at him. "I was just having a nice dream until this bitch kicked me awake." He soon glared at Oriana with all the hatred he could muster. Oriana merely rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, I hope you had enough sleep," He gazed at the camp, in which his legionnaires were already organizing themselves into a line. "because it's going to be a long day."

The sound of a horn blowing was enough to make Ulaf want to go outside and shove however was blowing that damned horn up his arse. However, he was too tired to even do that.

"Fucking Roman's and their fucking horns." He murmured as tossed and turned on his bag. He tried in vain by cover his ears with his bag, but the sound wouldn't go away. He was just having a nice dream about Fedjia coming to him and demanding to make love to her. He almost had his hands on her massive tits when the horn sounded not far from the Legionnaire camp.

"Ulaf, wake up you lazy fuck!" Ganoz shout from outside his tent. 'Now the annoyance is twofold.' He thought. "Can you get the fuck up for once?!?!"

"Piss off, Ganoz!" He said while rolling over on his sheet, opposite away from the flap of his tent. "Go fuck someone else." He tried to close his eyes and sleep once more, but the horn being sound is making it difficult,

He heard the sound of a flap being pulled open and the feeling of sunlight hitting his back. He then felt a hand shaking him awake. "This isn't the time to lazy about, so wake the fuck up!" He said, each shake feeling more violent than the last.

"Ugh, fine." Ulaf said as he swiped his hands away. He stood up from his spot, rubbing his eyes so he can focus. He then glared at Gunaz. "What the fuck do you want this time?" He asked with a grumpy voice. That horn hasn't stopped in a while. He was getting ready to kill the Roman fucker blowing it.

The one thing he noticed from Ganoz was the worried look on his face. "The legion is getting ready to march out, so you have to get ready. This place is cursed."

"What's so cursed about a Roman town?" He questioned. His muscles were still sore from chopping down trees yesterday. "Is the whores not to your liking?" He joked at him with a toothy grin.

"This isn't funny, Ulaf." He said in a serious tone. "This is so fucked up right now."

"What's happened?" Ulaf questioned. What was wrong that made Gunoz so jumpy?

"The Roman town we stopped at isn't there anymore." Ganoz finally said. "We're in some kind of forest."

Ulaf raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Your joking, right?" He said. It has to be some kind of joke. He bet on his silver earnings that Beloz put him up to this.

If so, he was going to wrangle him.

He shook his head. "I wish that were the case. Hell, I wish this was all some sort of dream." He said. "Something has transported us far away. What's worse? Walo says that there is dark magic behind this, and that the forest we're in is full of vengeful spirits that are not our own. He also said that the gods are silent. He even tried to pray to Wodan for guidance."

He blinked as he tried to take in what he just said. Walo was the German's only way of communicating with the gods. Walo had never been wrong before. Hell, he was the one that predicted Hilgar's death. If what Gannus said is true.....

"Shit." He murmured under his breath.

"I know." He said. "Shit is really fucked up right now. The rest of the Romans are reorganizing. We should join them to find out what is going on." He turned around and went to the entrance of his tent. He opened the flap of his tent before turning his head back towards him. "So get your ass in gear." He then disappeared into the brightness that is the outside.

Without a word, Ulaf started to put on his armor, hoping that this was some kind of sick joke.

"All Legionaries are accounted for except one, sir." He heard the Centurian from before said as he sat on top of his horse.

Lucius inspected the Legionnaires and the auxiliary units that are lined up before him, the show of perfectionism and discipline seen on the faces of these soldiers. At least, for those that call themselves Roman. The campsite had already be cleared, looking like some sort of storm had come in and taken everything. He was preparing to move the legion out. It wasn't the smartest idea he had, with the entire legion being stuck in the middle of gods know where. Staying here wouldn't be good either. "You said one was missing?" He questioned the Centurian.

"Yes, sir." He said. "A man by the name of Felix Gladius Calvius of the Sixteenth Cohort."

"I see." He said as he examined the long lines of his legionnaires. "Does the Sixteenth Cohort know where he is?"

"We asked Centurion Gallus Tadius Rufinianus about him. He said the last time he saw him, he was going into town for something."

"Damn." He cursed under his breath. They were down one man in a unknown territory. He turned to the centurion. "You are dismissed." The centurion saluted and went back to his cohort.

"I don't think one missing man could be that bad." Validus commented as he stood by his side, along with Oriana and Albinus.

Lucius turned to his companion. "We are in unknown territory here." He said. "We need all the manpower we can get. If anything, we could be in Germania, surrounded by tribes as we speak."

He scoffed. "Let them come, I say. I can take down at least twelve thousand of those motherless sons of whores before I go to the afterlife."

"Don't count on it too soon." Lucius said to him. Validus was.....more headstrong in some decision than he was. There was one time when his legion was transferred to Anatolia to deal with some eastern hill tribes that still roam the province. "Unless you're the son of Herkules, I'd advice to at least stay alive until we are out of this mess."

"It is.....unsettling, to say the least." Albinus said. The old man who had been around his family for years wasn't wrong. "How could we have just......appear out of a forest without us knowing?"

"I have talked to the men who were guarding the camp." Lucius remarked to Albinus. "They said that the last thing they remember was some sort of pink mist." It was ridiculous when you thought about it. He talked to some of the guard's from last night. He wanted to dismiss those ideas as preposterous, but given the circumstances, he has to believe it. "It does not matter. We'll move out right now."

"But to where?" Albinus questioned. He looked around seeing nothing but creepy trees. "We still do not know where we are."

"I know." Lucius informed him. He didn't know where he was at either, but he knew he couldn't stay here forever. "But the first thing we need to do is get out of this god's damned forest." There was something about the trees that didn't sit well with him.........

"Right on that. I was about ready to cut those fucking things off." Validus said in agreement. Oriana nodded in agreement with him.

Lucius turns to his men. "Legionnaires, listen up!" He shouted to his standing army before him. He was thankful that the clearing they were in was big enough to see his entire legion. "I know some of you are confused as to where we are at or how we got here." He examined the faces of the legion. They were stoic, though he did see a little concern in them. "To tell you the truth, I do not know either. I do know this: we are in enemy territory.

Whether its the gods mocking us for the legions existence or the cause of some cursed Germanic magic, it matters little to us. We are Legio XV: Caledonia. We have faced barbarian raids before from the Britons and the Picts before. I have faced barbarians before. We have seen some of the weird things they do. To us, this is but a minor nuisance. We will find our enemy, and we will crush them in the name of Rome. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Legate!" The entire legion yelled in unison.

"Good." He said, happy that his legion has at least a clear head after hearing his speech. At least, for now. "Now get ready to pack up. We are moving out soon." With a wave of his hand, he said: "Dismiss."

The entire legion dispersed after that little speech. The Centurions started barking orders as usual while the legionnaires did whatever they would do. Already he could see some tents being taken down and supplies being packed up. They were lucky that they found some of the oxs from before.

"So what do we do now?" Validus said as he trotted next to Lucius's side.

"Now." He looked at Valdius. "We move somewhere safe. Somewhere away from here." Validus nodded and went on his way, his horse trotting him back camp. Albinus and Orania did the same.

Lucius looked around the area they were in. Trees lined in every corner of his vision, some of them have scary faces on them like they were right out of some stories he was told at a younger age. He spotted no road or dirt path to follow on, though he might suspect that he could come along it soon. Rome is very far away from here, and tribes or whatever inhabited this forest surrounded them like wolves surrounding sheep. To make matters worse, he had this constant feeling that he was being watched. He was never wrong on his senses since he was stationed on the Brittiania Frontier and Anatolia.

To say that they are in the shitter was an understatement of the century.

'This day just keeps getting more interesting.' He thought as he heads back towards the camp.

Unkown to the Legate, two pairs of colorful eyes were watching the entire set, seeing the strange creatures before them. They soon disappeared into the bush a moment later.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how fucked are we?"

Steel Heart rolled her eyes as she continued to spy the huge army in front of her. "I'm sure it's not that bad." She said to Color Scheme, the stallion she was assigned to on this scouting mission. He had a blue coat and neon red mane and tail that made him stand out. If one were to peak at the non-conspicuous sure they were hiding behind, one could see a faint hint of blue and red. It didn't help that they were close to the camp. To her, she was just ready to punch him in the face and leave him alone in the woods.

it had been a couple of months since Equestria was taken over by a species called the caribou, led by a misogynistic leader called King Dainn. She didn't know how they had done it, but they have managed to sneak into Canterlot and overrun the city in the first hour. By Tartarus, the Royal Guard couldn't even hold their own against the caribou. She wasn't there when that happened, as she was visiting her parents at Hallow Shades when it happened. A fellow guard came to her door saying that Canterlot has fallen and that the princesses were captured. She and the rest of the guard were to mount up an assault and try to recapture Canterlot.

They would have won the battle if the brainwashing didn't start.

After capturing the Crystal Empire, they used some sort of artifact they made called the "Crystal Cock" to maximize the brainwashing spell. She didn't understand how it worked, as she was only a pegasus within the remnants of the Royal Guard, but she knew it was bad. The male members of the guard quickly turned on her female companions and started to either kill them or rape them. She barely made it out alive as it was.

Within days, they took the entirety of Equestria. Any stallions were brainwashed and every mare was enslaved. Except for a select few that escaped.

That was only a few months ago. During those months, she did everything she could to survive out in the wild and had a run in with some of her colleagues who survived Canterlot. The former guards created a resistance group in the Everfree Forest.

She and another stallion, Color Scheme, were patrolling the woods outside of the makeshift campsite the resistance was at when she heard some incoherent language being yelled at somewhere near them. She and Color Scheme went to where the voices were and saw the campsite before them. They were wearing some old guard armor they have managed to grab at a slaver campsite they were scouting earlier.

"Really, an army full of armed.....things, in the middle of the Everfree Forest, which we are AT by the way, that mysteriously came out of nowhere just as we escaped from an army of caribou soldiers last week?" Color Scheme said "Nope, its not bad at all. IT'S A HUNDRED TIMES W-" Before he could finish his rant, Steel Heart covered his mouth with her hand, shutting him up.

"Could you keep it down, Scheme." Steel Heart hissed to her partner while giving him a fierce glare. "Unless you want your head chopped off, you'll stay quiet and do as I say. Go it?" He swiftly nodded, his eyes still betray a hint of uncertainty. Honestly, who could blame him? The caribou have already overrun Equestria and taken the princesses hostage. Seeing an army already close to the resistance base is already worse enough. If they discover the location of the camp of the resistance.......

She shivered at the thought. It wouldn't be good, that was for sure. She wanted nothing more than to abandon their mission and warn the resistance what was coming.

However, looking at them, something was different about them.

For one thing, the creatures in front of her didn't look the barbaric caribou that hunted them relentlessly. The things in front of them almost look like ponies for a second, if it weren't for the furless skin they have. Indeed, they have no fur on them other than that whitish skin. She almost wondered how they would stay warm int he winter. The red armor they wore that was strangely foreign to her. A few of them wore what looked like ceremonial armor to them. They wore red capes and had their war manes sideways. They carried a rectangle shield that seemed too big for them, yet they wield it like they had been trained to before. Another company of these things were riding what she assumed was a reverted version of a pony. She felt pit for those four-legged creatures, being forced to carry around their masters without a word. She shivered as she saw them gallop on all four hooves, their eyes displaying no intelligence at all. Have they enslaved other creatures to do their bidding? If so, what would happen if they caught her?

She really, really, didn't want to find out.

The swords they had were small and would be mistaken for a knife in some cases. She noticed some of the banners that a few were carrying. One had a picture of what she assumed was an eagle with its wings outstretched. Surrounding the bird was a wreath. It's standing on some branch or something with four arrows intersecting against the talon itself. The words 'SPQR' was written on the bottom of the branch. Another banner had a picture of a Griffon on all fours with one of its claws reaching out, as if to grab something. Written on the bottom of the Griffon were the words 'Legio XV: Caledonia.' Did these creatures work for the griffons in some way? And what the fuck was a 'Caledonia'?

As they continued to watch the army forming a line around the big area they occupied, she saw what he assumed was the commander of the forces.

Like the many creatures in line, this one was riding the same pony creature as the rest of the company she saw. He wore a more fashionable helmet than the troopers, with a red war mane over its head. He wore a long red cape that came down from his shoulders. She saw some wrinkles on his skin, meaning that he was old, but not too old to lead an army. Right beside him were three other individuals. The first one was a bit younger than the commander but held an air of brashness. He had a short beard and had a fire in his eyes that many young recruits have when they join the guard. Another one didn't wear any armor but had a red tunic with a sachel around his person that was full of scrolls. He had no mane on his head. He was at least the same age as the commander but looked far older to her. The last one looked different from the others. While the other creatures looked like males, the other one had a female look to her. Her mane was blond and had a set of braids coming down her shoulder. She had a set of scars on her that looked ugly to her, but her face did retain its beauty. She wore chainmail armor and had a wolf pelt wrapped around her neck, the wolf's head showing her face.

"This is bad. Really, really bad." Color Scheme said as he looked at the army in question. "I count at least a thousand if more. We have to warn Zecora and Commander Tempest about this."

"Yeah, no kidding." She said. She saw one of the soldiers marching up to the leader. "They could outnumber us if they wanted to." He turned to his partner. "Let's go before they spot us." With that, both of them sneaked away from the bush and disappeared into the forest.

Idles of March

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"Uuuuugh.......by Jupiter's fucking cock...." Moaned Felix as his eyes opened, before being ravished by a bright light. "Fuck off, Sol!" He said as he held out as he held his head in his hands, his head pulsating more than an ox dancing on top of his head. He shook off the feeling and tried to stand up, only for him to slide back down on the ground. "Fuck." He murmured as he tried to focus his eyes on the world around him.

He was in an alleyway of some sort, though calling it an alleyway was an oversimplification. It was much cleaner than he remembers it, which was strange considering they were in some backwater shithole near Germania. The smell of shit and garbage hit him, and other things he was familiar with if he was in a brothel. He had to cover his nose just to keep the smell out.

The memory from the night before hit him like a runaway cart. He remembers his legion stopping in front of Colonia Augusta Treverorum, and trying to sneak away to get himself a drink if possible. Before he could even walk out of the camp, another person bumped into him. He saw a young blonde-haired Roman soldier that might have passed for a Celtic if anything. He tried to quickly apology to him, but Felix had already lifted the small man from the ground. He had a short temper, something that was not lost to him. He tried to control his anger sometimes, but he would just let his rage take over.

He was considered a big man in his legion, reaching up to most of his comrades in some cases. He was also built with muscles all around, a trait from his hard days of being in a blacksmith before he joined the legion. To him, the Celt weighted nothing to him than a bag of burly. Before he could even start to beat the living shit out of him, his centurion intervened and told him to put him down. be treating that Celtic looking motherfucker, he decided to head to the nearest tavern to get himself drunk and fuck a whore if possible.

He can't remember anything else, but he was pretty sure that he passed out in the tavern.

"Fucking bar keeper threw me out." He kept murmuring as he started to stumble his way out of this alleyway. "I'll give him a piece of my fucking mind and a sword up his fucking arse." He heard some screams of pleasure from inside one of the buildings.

Emerging from the dark alleyway, he rubbed his eyes when brightness suddenly hit him. It was somewhere around noon as he could tell from the brightness hitting him. "Fuck you too, Sol." He said through gritted teeth. After blinking a couple of times, he was met with a confusing and arousing site.

He knew he hadn't been drinking that much last night, and he knew that he didn't move to another city while drunk. The white and purple stone city he witnessed was much larger than he could imagine, with buildings that reached up into the skies like they are mocking the gods themselves. The streets were fairly clean for the most part, its pristine white surface almost glistening in the sunlight. There were rows of trees in the middle of the street that seemed to well kept for the most part. The city streets were clean, with no sign of dirt or grime like some big cities in the Rome Empire, even Rome itself. Most of the buildings had spires that reached out to the heavens.

The most strange thing to top it all off, was the occupants.

Humanoid creatures with animalistic features were strolling along the paths as if they are going to their day to day lives. There were horse-like creatures walking alongside what he assumed was some sort of deer humanoid creatures. What was also strange was that their coat fo fur had different colors, ranging from pink to blue to whatever else. Their plate-like eyes seemed to be focusing on the path before them, while some pasted by looking at him like they never saw a Roman in their lives. The deer creatures only had brown fur on them, so he couldn't tell which one is which if he was trying to remember names.

"Just where the fuck am I?" He mumbled as he looked at the scene before him. He shook his head. "This has to be some sort of dream." He looked around the city and spotted some celebration going on in the street next to him. There was a banner that had the words "Liberation Day Festival" on it. "If this is a dream, they better have some fucking wine." With that, he started to head to whatever tavern he could find in this large city. The occupants were giving him strange looks, but he ignored their stares and continued on his journey to get drunk again.

Hopefully, he'll wake up from this strange dream.

Lucius glanced at another tree that had another terrifying expression on it. This time its mouth was wide open, as if ready to swallow him whole as soon as he looked away. He lost count of how many trees he came across with the same sculpture as the one he saw. He knew that deep down that it was some ploy by the tribes to scare off the invading armies. It wasn't the last time he would see it. All around him were trees that mirrored the faces of monsters, almost like they were ready to come alive and eat his legion whole. He knew that the carvings weren't natural in any way and that some tribe had etched in the carvings to scare intruders off. This wasn't unnatural for the tribes to do that. Back when he was stationed in Thrace, his unit was ordered to cross the Danube river and into Dacia to destroy a nearby Dacian tribe that was relentlessly raiding several small towns along the river. Despite some ambushes and hit-and-run tactics that the Dacians were known for, his legion arrived at the village and started to burn it to the ground. They slaughtered the men and carried the women and children off with them to serve as slaves for future generations. While he was in the village, he came across a clear opening outside of the village that had several big trees that stood out from the rest. From the look of it, it looked like they were there for a very long time. There were faces of bearded men on each of these trees, with an altar and some plates of fruits and bread as an offered to their god.

This was a long time ago, and he was pretty sure that the carvings he encountered weren't as scary as the ones here in this forest. It also didn't help that the trees were starting to get on his nerves.

'Keep it together, Lucius.' He thought to himself as this mare walked along the dirt path that laid before them. 'You've been through worse than this.' The trip was silent, except for the marching of the Roman soldiers and their axillary companies in tow, their armor and weapons clinging against one another as well as the clopping of the Equities accompany way in the back. The legion left the large forest spot some time ago. It took longer to get everything fitted into the baggage wagon with the lack of slaves helping them. The supplies were secured and guarded by a contingent of guards pulled from the Sixth Cohort. Their supplies were mostly intact, but they were running low on food, and Governor Borius promise of a requisition had never come. By his calculations, they would still have enough food for two weeks, assuming they ration it properly to the rest of the legion. There might be animals in the forest that they could hunt for food.

He didn't know if there are any animals in this forest, and he had a sense that he doesn't want to find out.

At first, they hesitated to follow Lucius out of whatever fresh Hades they landed in. He encouraged his men a little and told them that he would find a way out. This wasn't far from the case. In actuality, he didn't know where or in what way he was going. It seemed like the forest would go on forever at this rate. It was out of luck that one of the scouts found a dirt path an hour earlier. That is what he has been following for the last hour. At least, he thought it was an hour ago. It was hard to tell with the forest being darker the farther he went.

He guessed was that either someone has been to this forest soo many times before, or that someone else lives here. He didn't know which way to go, so he had to rely on his instincts to take them.

His mare continued to bit the bridle that was in her mouth while her ears swiveled left and right. He patted her on the sides. "It's ok, Julianus." He whispered to her ear. "You've been in strange places before. Everything is going to be alright."

Julianus reared her head as if acknowledging him.

"This forest is as dark as a fucking Egyptos arse." Validus commented as he rode right next to him. Egyptos were the nickname of the Egyptian people that were part of the Empire. "I can barely see ten meters in front of me." He was both wrong and right in a way. While the sun did light the forest up allowing them to see, it was still dark as Hades down here. He was pretty sure that he was blind at first. "This forest is giving me the fucking creeps."

"Can't argue with that." He said as he looked from tree line to tree line, scanning the forest itself like it could grab him at any second. He had this strange feeling that he and his legion are being watched.........closely. This feeling had only increased every moment that went by. He had dealt with ambushes before, as the Picts would occasionally do to his legion from time to time. While they would go around Hadrian's Wall to plunder and raid before disappearing back to their side, some would want revenge on the Romans for invading their land so long ago. As such, there were times where he and his legion would face an ambush every now and again by the invading Picts or rouge tribes that turned to banditry. The legion would win these battle, but not without its fair share of casualties. Before he was called to the frontier of the Empire, the British frontier was relatively quiet for the most part. No Pictish raids anywhere and banditry was at an all-time low. He almost thought that he would get a break for once. However, the gods would eventually fuck him over in the arse. "We can't turn back now. We have to see where this path takes us."

"To our deaths, maybe." He heard Validus murmured under his breath.

He glared at Validus. "Unless the gods intervene, we are on our own for now." He shouldn't be mad at Valdius. There was nothing he could do to alleviate his fears and doubts. They were in a completely hostile territory with no sense of direction other than the path that was laid out before them. The most he can do is pray to Jupiter or Venus for safe passage and keep his legion from getting lost.

No one spoke for what felt like hours as the legion continued to march with their commander. The feeling from before hit Lucius like a Germanic beserker charging a walled city. He could sense that eyes were watching him and his legion. He couldn't see where they are or even know if they are there or not. He knew deep down that someone, or something, was watching their every move. For what purpose is unknown to him, but it didn't take a genius to guess. He knew that deep down, something was going to happen. The feeling of death hung at the very core of his mind, his conscious telling him that he was doom to fail. The unknown voices mocked him, telling him to run off the trail and into his death.

Perhaps that would be better than this mess he was in.......

He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head. This forest was already trying to get to him. He needed something to distract himself. He turned to Valdius. "Its getting kind of gloomy right now." He said after a moment of silence. "Vladius, is there any songs that could help lighten the mood?" He thought that a good old song of Rome would help with his insanity, as well as lift the men's spirits a little bit.

He nodded. "Aye, I know a song that could lift the spirits. I think the legion knows it too." He started to clear his throat a couple of times and started to sing a song. He sang in Latin, the traditional language that all Romans know besides Greek. The entire legion fell suite, voicing out the lyrics as Validus sang them. Their voices matched the rhythm of their marching. The faces of the legionaries turned from depression and sadness to one of joy and duty.

Lucius smiled as he watched the smiles on their faces. He even joined in on the singing at one point. At this point, the whole forest could hear the legion as it marches triumphantly across the path. In a way, he wanted whoever was watching them to know that Rome would not submit to these foolish carvings. It was there forest, Rome's forest, and he wanted them to know that.

Tempest Storm looked at the strange army marching through the forest, chanting in a language that she never heard from before. She tried to remember where she saw those creatures before, as she once served the Strom King during his campaigns of conquest to expand his empire. So far, she couldn't even remember facing them in battle before.

When she heard that Color Scheme and Steel Heart found a legion of soldiers camped inside the Everfree Forest, she assumed that the caribou had found them. There weren't any other places to hide for their little resistance other than the most dangerous forest in Equestria. Sure, the forest was big and filled with dangerous creatures known to ponykind, making it ideal to hide there until they could come up with a plan to free Equestria. The caribou won't even dare to come inside the forest itself unless they want to be eaten alive. Now that their resistance is now growing after several daring attacks, she knew that King Dainn would take notice of their resistance and started to send an army to deal with them. Once Steel Heart and Color Scheme finished their explanation, she gathered whatever fight stallions and mares she could muster and went out to the forest to deal with them. Unfortunately, she could only muster at least thirteen militia to deal with the approaching army. It was small, but it will have to do.

She had managed to find the army thanks to them shouting in their foreign language. She crouched behind a bush as she saw the passing soldiers. The rest of the rebels were either hiding in the bushes or behind the trees, they're weapons already ready to strike them at any moment. Looking at them now, it was different than what she had expected. She had expected caribou walking along the path with one of the King's sons in tow. They were more organized than what she anticipated. She counted at least eight thousand soldiers marching along the path to Zecora's hut. They were well armored and better equipped than the caribou soldiers she would usually meet on the battlefield. The'yre faces look more mare-like but had no fur on them, leaving them with a pinkish white skin. They looked gruffer and harden than the regular stallion, she was guessing that they were stallions of the species. They carry long tower-like shields that seem too big for them to hold along. They also wielded small swords that look more like big knife cutters if anything. Some of their shields had embezzled symbols on them like an eagle or some other animal. Another group of those things were riding these pony-like creatures, their hooves kicking up small dust. They were larger than her and crawled on all fours like an animal. At least, she assumed it was crawling. Their eyes showed no intelligence or emotion, devoid of any feelings they once had. She shivered as she saw the blackness in their eyes. Every one of their companies had a single creature with a lion or wolves skin with a metal mask on carrying a banner. Some of their banners had an eagle sitting on a reed with its wings outstretched. The words 'SPQR' was written at the bottom of the eagle. Another set of banners had what looked like a griffin on all fours with one of its claws reaching out. On top of the griffon was the word 'Legio XV' while the bottom had the words 'Caledonia.' She never remembered ever traveling to a place called 'Caledonia' after being redeemed by Twilight Sparkle and swearing she would spread the magic of friendship.

The one thing she noticed was that they were marching in perfect formation, with two lines separating each other while another line of infantry wearing only red tunics were occupying the center. They were carrying small shields that had javelins on the outside of their shields and were carrying one javelin in each hand. Even if they were to ambush them, the infantry would block their path while their javelin counterparts would throw them at the group. She also saw a group of what looked like creatures with beards on their faces. They looked poorly equipped than those other creatures, with some having no armor at all. They didn't sing with the soldiers but she saw the fire in their eyes as they marched. They looked deadlier even without armor on, and more intimidating.

It seems that they are well prepared for anything.

"See, I told you we are boned." Color Scheme whispered to Tempest. "Actually, more than boned. We're super boned." He only to receive a slap on the head by Steel Heart. "What? It's true."

"Shut up, Color." She hissed. "If we want advice as to how bone we are, I'll take a changeling out to a nice dinner with a knife at its throat." She then turned to her. "So, what's the plan here? We gonna ambush them?"

Tempest looked at the soldiers one last time. She could order an ambush on the forces marching up the path, try to destroy them before they reach the resistance camp. However, she only brought a small force with her, which meant they have no number in which to attack them. Even if she did order an attack, they seemed to be well equipped for anything that would come they're way.

Finally, she came to a decision. "We'll follow them. Color Scheme, go down the line and tell the rest of the ponies to quietly follow them."

Color Scheme looked at her as if she lost a horn, and he wasn't completely off with that assumption. "Are you insane?!?!" He nearly yelled. "You want to follow them so they could kill us when they-" He almost gave away their position if it wasn't for the hand she put in his mouth to shut up. He muffled something like an apology to her. She removed her hand from his mouth. "Sorry." He said.

"I know the risks we are taking, but look at them." She pointed at the legion of soldiers marching past them. "Those don't look like Dainn's thugs to me. I could be wrong, but maybe we could negotiate with them somehow." It was a stupid idea to begin with. No, it was more than stupid, it was plain idiotic. She knew there was no way that she would be able to talk to them without getting killed or captured and raped. However, there was something about those soldiers that didn't sit right with her. She expected a band of disorganized barbarians, not a full legion of professional soldiers. Besides, it appears they aren't lead by one of King Dainn's sons or one of his famous generals.

"By doing what?" Steel Heart said as she examined the legion. "It's not like we could just ask their commander to surrender."

"I think we can find a way." She said as she looked at the row of troops. At the side of one of the companies, she spotted what she assumed was their commander. He wore a helmet that had a red mane on top of it unlike the rest of the creatures. He looked much older than the other creatures, yet he saw in its face that it saw more battles than anyone else.

With a motion of her hand, she ordered her troops to follow the army. She hoped to Celestia or whatever god was watching their sorry rumps that what she had planned would work.

Lucius cupped both hands together and dunked them in the water. He lifted them up and directed it towards his dried mouth and throat. He felt the surprisingly cool water rushing down his throat. He almost resisted the urge to dunk his head in the river right now. It was tempting at first, but he had a stronger will than that.

He didn't know how long they had been on the path in the forest. Hours maybe. Time seemed to be irrelevant while in this cursed forest. He almost lost time track of time himself while his legion marched. They stopped singing a long time ago, letting the unwavering fear of silence take over once again. He didn't enjoy during the long walk, as his mind would remind him that he was still being watched by powers unknown.

Just as he was taking another sip of water, a scout he sent out a while ago said that he found a river up ahead. This was good news to him and the legion, as it would allow them to recuperate for a moment and for him to think of what to do next.

It didn't take long for them to reach the river the scout mentioned. The forest itself seemed to part out of the way for them just as they reached the river itself.

Lucius had to cover his eyes at the blindness of the sun, something that he was sorely missing during his travels. By the look of the sun, it seemed to be mid-noon. The river itself seemed beautiful to behold itself. The bright sun seemed to reflect off of the crystal clear water. He could actually see some fish in the water, trying to swim up with the current of the river. He could see a couple of deer on the other side of the river grazing on the grass that was there. There were few rocks on the river that seemed to have moss on them, the waters hitting them. He spotted a bear on the other side of the river, its head near the river as it tried to catch a fish. What was strange was that the deer didn't seem to mind a towering predator near them, like it was a part of its herd.

In short, it was beautiful to behold. It was as if they entered a sanctuary for the gods themselves.

While it was a comfort to be out of the forest for once, he knew that they couldn't stay here for much longer than necessary. He ordered his troops to rest here a moment while he orders a scout to see if there was any way across the river. After about ten minutes of waiting around, the scout returned with his findings. There was a way to get around the river, but that would require another three or four hours of backtracking into the forest. Looking back to his legion, he could see that they were all tired of all of the marching that they were doing. Plus, he didn't want the legion to go back into the forest again, including himself. Albinus suggested that they would send some hardy young men into the forest to collect some wood to make a bridge to cross the river. The engineers said that it wasn't a bad idea, but to make a large bridge to cross the river would be a tremendous task. They said it would take up to three or four days to complete the task. They have enough rope to tie the bridges together, but Lucius feared that the weight of their armor and supplies could cause the bridge to collapse in of itself. Lucius tried to weight his options. On one had, they don't have enough supplies to last them a week at most, which meant that by the time the bridge would be complete, the legion would be out of food. The forest was bountiful for them to hunt on, but he had a strange feeling that not all of the creatures in this forest are pushovers. He didn't want to go back into the forest itself.

He decided he needed to find somewhere quiet to think about the actions they need to take He ordered his legion to unpack and rest for a while.

While the legion was setting up camp, he went down a little further outside the camp to help him think. Albinus and Valdius both voiced how he needs protection and suggested that Oriana would accompany him. He had refused her protection at first and told them that he wouldn't be very far from the camp. He wanted to tell them that if something were to happen, he would call out for help if need be. However, he could see a flaw in his plans. The enemy could sneak up upon him and cut his throat out, or take him hostage. So he agreed to bring Oriana with him just in case something does happen.

He could still feel her gaze fixed on him. She was hiding behind a pair of bushes behind him not far away. The sun itself was one half of the way down, indicating that noon had somewhat pasted for some time. To him, it didn't matter in the slightest. He could already hear the trees being torn down near him to be used. He had already sent some soldiers to guard the woodcutters while they did their business. It was probably just him thinking nonsense, but he didn't like the forest one bit. He thought that the forest was cursed the moment he and his legion appeared mysteriously not too long ago. He didn't like his own woodcutters being out their alone when something was lurking beyond the forest.

He shook his head as he opened up his rucksack and started to lower it to the stream, filling it up with fresh water. The water is soon surprised clean that he could actually see his tired and weathered face reflecting on the water. Even in his mid-forties, he still looked like he hadn't aged a bit. His semi-black hair had some grey at the sides of his head, along with a few strays of grey hair on top. There were some wrinkles on his face, but not enough for him or anyone else to notice. His simmering brown eyes reflected on the clean water. He had a long scar that came down from his forehead to his left cheek, a gift from a Germanic beserker that nearly killed him with his ax.

He sighed as he looked down at his reflection, thinking that somehow it would come alive to consul him. He then thought about what to do next. It was obvious that this expedition into Germanic territory was doomed from the start, there was no doubt about it. Why the Senate sent him in with a small army is anyone's guess. Then again, he had made a name for himself during his time in the East against the various Sassanid raiders and other hill tribes that didn't submit to Roman rule. The Senate was probably scared that he would overthrow them, which was impossible because he didn't have as much influence in Rome.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. Sure, he had made a name for himself in the East, but he was hardly ever an opponent to the Senate. His family, while well respected in Rome, isn't as big as the Claudian or the Julii, and pose no threat to the Senate. Besides, he was loyal to Rome and Emperor Nero. Mostly.

The last time he was at Rome, the Senate was at odds with Nero and his......."taxes" on the middle class. There was even talk of a rebellion by some governor in Gaul. What was his name again? Galba.

The best thing they could do right now is to try and stay alive and get out of the woods alive. If they get out of the forest alive, that is.

He then felt a sharp end of a knife held against his throat and a presence lingering above him. "I didn't think it would be this easy to get you." A feminine voice said in perfect Latin. He was caught completely by surprise by this sudden ambush, as he was musing over things concerning his own legion. "Don't even think about calling for help, if you know what's good for you. Now, drop your weapon. Slowly."

He did as he was told, untying the belt that held his Gladius and laid it at the ground slowly. "Looks kind of short for a sword." The female commented. He noted that the woman had a commanding voice in her tone, leading him to believe that she must have commanded an army before in her life.

"The Gladius is short, but it can pack one hell of a punch against an armored foe." He said calmly, trying to stall for time. He wondered why Oriana hadn't done anything yet. Perhaps she didn't want to risk shooting at the women in fear of retaliation. "May I inquire on how your speaking Latin?" From his knowledge, he was pretty sure that the Germans would never learn Latin, unless it was a tribe that traded with Rome.

"Latin? I don't know this 'Latin' you speak of. I'm speaking in Equuish, and so are you." Equuish? Is that what the Germans call their own language? He mentally scoffed at the name. It was silly, to begin with. Why would they name a language out of their own horses?

"Let's say that we both speak the same language, and will leave it at that." He said. He noted that the hand gripping the sword almost felt......fuzzy. It was probably his imagination. "So, are you going to slit my throat now, or are we going to keep talking like a bunch of Jewish hagglers?"

"I just have one question for you." She said as he felt the blades touching his throat a bit more. "Do you work for King Dainn or his sons?"

That question caught him off guard. She was expecting her to ask what his legion was doing here before slitting his throat. Why was this woman asking if he was working for 'Dainn'? Who is King Dainn for that matter? Have the Germans finally stopped squabbling over each other and united under a king? If so, could Rome be in danger?

He shivered when he thought of the Germans breaking through the empire. Still, he had more pressing concerns to deal with. "I do not know who this 'King Dainn' is." He answered back honestly. He didn't want to think that the Germans would be united by a king. If so, they could have rampaged against Rome years ago.

"Then what are you doing here?" She answered in a menacing voice. "Answer me or your army is going to find you by the end of the river." She answered this by pulling the knife close to his throat. He winced when he felt a small pain at the blades, and the smell of blood touching the blade.

He wanted to scream for Oriana to take the shot, but he knew it would never work. If Oriana hadn't fired yet, then that means she would either be dead or wait for a chance to shoot the assailant. A small part of his brain wanted to defy her, to tell her that he would not answer any of her questions and that he would rather die than give information to a barbarian. However, he feels like he has no choice in the matter. "We were sent by the Senate to quell a tribe that has been raiding the frontier provinces of the Empire." He answered honestly, trying to think of a way to escape the grasp of the woman holding the knife. "We stopped at a city to gather supplies for my Legion. The next thing we know, we arrived mysteriously in this forest." Perhaps he could headbutt her with the back of his head. It could catch her off guard and disorient her, giving him enough time to grab his weapon and cut her down. However, he didn't know if she was alone or not. For all he knew, there were two other guards with her watching him. If he made a move, they could quickly cut him down before he even had a chance to defend himself. "There, I told you everything. Now, what are you going to do?"

One more question." She finally said. "Are you sure you don't work for King Dainn and his sons?" Who are you, and what are you?" She asked in a confused tone.

There was that name again. King Dainn. He must either be beloved or hated among these parts of Germania. "Like I told you before, I do not know who King Dainn is, and I don't even work for him."

"He must be lying." A small masculine voice rang out next to him. He was right. She did have guards behind her. "How can we be sure he's telling the truth?" He noted that the male had a hint of fear in his voice.

"I hate to agree with Color Scheme, but he's right." Lucis heard another female voice answer out. Lucius now knew why Oriana didn't take the shot at all: he was surrounded by hostiles. What confused him more was the name for the male next to him. Who named their own children Color Scheme? That sounded like a stupid name to behind with. "He could be lying." She didn't say anything for some time. Her grip around his throat lightened up a bit, and her dagger moving away from his throat a little, but still making contact with the skin. He half expected her to slit his throat by now. "We're going to take you back to our camp so we can get to the bottom of this."

"I'm afraid that I won't come with you to your camp." Lucius said calmly.

Before the intruders asked why, he heard a sound of an arrow launching from behind him. He then felt the intruder's hands moving away from his throat and heard a sword being sheathed, as well as a sound of steel clashing against steel indicating that the women had somehow blocked the blow with her sword. Wasting no time, he quickly grabbed his sword and turned around, grabbing the intruder and held his gladius upon her throat.

What he saw gave him pause to concern.

He must be far away from Germania or Rome that he originally thought. Three humanoid horse-like creatures, counting the one he was currently holding hostage, were standing before him. At first, he thought that they were Germanic savages hiding under their coats. They were inclined to do that before a raid or battle, probably something to do with their gods. Looking at them now, it doesn't seem like they were killed or anything. Their eyes were as wide as a dinner plate with some colors in their eyes. One of the horses human-like legs were shaking, obviously frightened of the turn of events. It's light blue eyes mirroring that of his squared face. It had a dark-blue coat that had some dirt and grime on it. It had a short mane and a short tail that had streaks of blue, red, purple, white, and yellow. Wings were sprouting out of his back, larger than any other bird he had seen in a while. Its armor seemed strange to him, but looked like it wasn't washed or repaired in a while. Another horse right next to him seemed to have some sort of warrior spirit as she glared at him. He knew it was a she due to the breast that were on her chest. She had what passed for armor like her counterpart, except her mid-drift was exposed for all to see. She had a gray charcoal coat with a black mane that was shortened at one point, passing for a man if need be. Her tail was black as well, but it had some dirt on it that wasn't washed in ages. Like her partner, she had some dirt and grime on her fur, while also smelling bad from his direction.

Looking at his captive, he could see that what he was holding was a mare as well. Her coat is a deep shade of violet red that seemed to compliment her looks. Her mane and tail were both a shade of red with her mane in a strange mohawk. He could see through the hair that there was a broken sub on her forehead. He thought he was seeing things for a second. Her blue eyes looked up to his brown eyes, glaring with defiance. He paid her no mind and pressed the blade closer. "One more step and she will meet her gods." Lucius said in a commanding voice. Oriana soon took to his left side, aiming her bow and arrow and one of the horses. They were relucent to do as he said at first as they looked at each other and then at the violent red mare. Both soon dropped their swords. "Good." he said. He then looked down at the mare he held. "Now," He announced to his captive, and to the two other horse creatures. "Perhaps you can tell me just who you people are, and just where in the gods name are we?"

An Unfortunate Event

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Lucius sat in his chair, his mind ablaze with questions and impossibilities. Never in his years of being garrisoned in Brittania, and later campaigning in Syria, Armenia, Anatolia, Greece, and Thrace, had he face a problem such as this. Don't get him wrong, he is called to be Legate of the Legion for a reason. He had proven time and time again that he was just as capable of commanding his legion as the next senator with dreams of ambition. He was not Julius Caeser, nor was he as smart as him in terms of tactics. However, he did know the difference between what to do and what his legion wants. His survival in the Roman army for so long could be chalked by the will of the gods or out of pure shitty luck. However, he knew that Fortuna's blessing would take its toll on itself and he would find himself in a situation he could not get out of. He was mentally prepared as any man to pay the toll should it come.

He had not anticipated this, however. It seems the will of the gods is more like them pissing on his head right now.

"I see." He said as calmly as one could be when faced with a situation both unsettling and impossible to explain. He was far from calm, however. The entire situation and the fact that he and his legion were far from home was most unsettling to him. Any normal man would have panicked and a domino effect would happen on his legion should he show his distress. Still, he remained calm for now. "You are to tell me that we are neither in Germania or the Roman Empire itself? Am I correct in this assumption?"

The pony in question, who called herself 'Tempest Shadow', nodded to him. "That is correct." He was afraid of the answer he was given. He knew deep down that something was wrong from the moment he and his legion appeared in the woods. He needed his suspicions confirmed of course.

They were in his tent explaining the situation with him and the rest of his company. Validus was off in the side with his left hand drawn on his sword in case the ponies tried anything. Albinus was off in the side as well listening attentively to the ponies too. Oriana was by Lucius's side glaring at the two ponies who stood next to Tempest during their attempted to take him hostage. After their entanglement against the group how called themselves "ponies", they have managed to negotiate some sort of deal, said negotiation with a sword to Tempest's throat. After some tense moments, he agreed to let Tempest go in exchange for coming back to the camp with them. Both the mares and the stallion agreed to go with him. They both walked back to the camp without incident. Validus and Albinus came at the entrance of the camp to find him and Oriana with some visitors. He explained how he met them and ordered them to meet him at his tent Every legionnaire they passed along the way gave the ponies strange looks, including the two females. Once they got settled in, he introduced himself and his constituents, where he is from, and why is here. In turn, Tempest introduced herself and her other two constituents, where they are from, and where he and his army are at.

Suffice to say, it was worse than what he had believed before.

The land he and his legion set foot upon is called Equestria. In more accurate terms, they were inside a forest called "Everfree Forest", in which the ponies tend to avoid due to all the dangerous animals and strange magic going on in there. He was skeptical when Steel Heart, the pegasus mare, told him that the clouds moved on their own in the forest. He raised an eyebrow and told her that clouds moved on their own where he came from. There was a bit of shock when he said that, but he told them to continue their explanation. The ponies, as the species call themselves, inhabited these lands for thousands of years. They were divided into three subraces: Earth ponies, Pegasi ponies, and Unicorns. Each of these races had different powers that some in Rome would call god-like, but in truth happens every day in their own world. Unicorns can cast magic ranging from "telekinesis", lifting objects off the ground, to casting destructive spells like fire and ice balls. The pegasus could manipulate weather patterns to suit their needs but simple dragging clouds away. They also have a factory that made weather clouds on a daily basis up in a place called "Cloudsdale". At first, he was skeptical that Tempest was telling the story of her species and might call her crazy, but he sat in his chair quietly while she kept on explaining. The Earth ponies, while they don't have special powers like unicorns or pegasus, they have somehow a connection to the earth itself. This meant that they could plant and grow crops faster than the average farmer in the empire. She did go on this long lecture before he cut her off midway and told her to get to the point of all this. There was also a fourth race called the Alicorns, but those were far and few in between. The only ones that they know were four princesses that go by the names Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence. The two princesses could move the sun and the moon on their own, while the other, Cadence, is the "Princess of Love". He almost laughed at the whole 'princess of love' concept.

In his mind, he was glad that Rome had not met such a species like them. He shuddered to think what would happen if they both went to war against each other. The damage itself could be catastrophic, either to the Empire or Equestria. However, those thoughts would have to be on hold as he tried to understand the grim situation he was in. His legion had mysteriously appeared in a foreign land with no way of contacting Rome, and low on supplies. To top it all off, they were in a hostile forest that, according to Tempest, were full of dangerous animals that would either rip apart or eat his legion. Or both in the matter.

And yet, It was not the worst part.

Aperantly, Equestria was invaded by another species called the "Caribou." They were lead by a king named Dainn, and set forth on a campaign of conquest. The ponies had tried to defend their homeland, but they have ultimately failed. This was because that they had been at peace for a thousand years. He scoffed at the notion of an entire species being at peace. There was no peace in this world, as he had figured out the hard way during his younger years. They had managed to overrun their capital and taken the princesses as slaves. The way Tempest describe them reminded him of the Germanic barbarians he had to deal with in Thrace once. They were wild, unchecked, and prone to violence at a quick notion. Yet, there were differences between the caribou and the Germans that seemed different. This Dainn had planned out his conquest before, unlike the Germans who just raid an pillage without a plan. He tricked a spirit of chaos called "Discord" into a parley and then stole his powers. How? The ponies themselves have no clue. Regardless, their defenses fell very quickly and Equestria surrendered in a matter of days. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle were turned into Dainn's little sex slaves. Again, he mentally scoffed at them for letting such a barbaric tribe take control of their country. If it were up to him, he could have easily defeated them with smart planning and espionage. They were no different from the Greeks when they submitted to Rome.

He then invaded another country called the Crystal Empire and instilled something called the "Crystal Cock". Again, he mentally scoffed at the name. She went on a long rant about it, some of which he didn't understand but understood what it did. Anyway, this magical artifact somehow controlled the minds of stallions, turning them into highly sexual beasts, with the exception of a few like Color Scheme who resisted them mind control. What perplexed him the most was what Dainn had done after his conquest. Instead of just enslaving the ponies as any conqueror would, he only enslaved one gender of ponies, the females. The stallions were free to go and do whatever they want while the mares themselves were submitted and used as objects of pleasure and lust. It was a strange practice to be sure. Rome was no stranger to slavery itself, as they have conquered hundreds of tribes and city-states and nations under their banner. He knew the women in the Empire lived strict indoor lives much like the mares, but they were still free to do whatever they want.

Regardless, this was bad news for him and his legion.

After her explanation was finished, Lucius rubbed his fingers on his forehead, feeling a migraine coming in. "Forgive me for not being surprised or frightened by all of this. This all seems.....far fetched." He finally said. While he was reluctant to believe any word a foreigner had to said, somehow he still believed her. It's not every day a legion ends up in a forest far from their empire and encounters a strange species that resemble bipedal horses.

"It's the truth." Tempest said, gazing her eyes into his. The posture and the look reminded him of how he would look at a legionnaire during an inspection. Attentively, calm, and fearless. Just like any soldier from Rome should be. "I know it may sound crazy to you, but that's what it is. Honestly," She continued to say. "we didn't expect anyone to be close to our position so soon, not when we were beginning to rally up the resistance."

"This 'resistance' you are gathering," He said in a more inquisitorial tone. "are you sure it is strong enough to challenge his "King Dainn" and his sons?" From what he had heard from Tempest, this Dainn is as more dangerous to the ponies resisting him as any other matter. He had already crushed any early attempts at opposition, either through brainwashing, cruel torture methods, or outright killing them. His theory was that this resistance would end very soon than what Tempest believed in.

"We have a plan in place." Tempest said. "It's very risky, but we think it would work in the long run."

"And this plan is..." He said, waiting for her to unveil her 'brilliant' plan.

"I can't say it to you." She said. "You may not be working for King Dainn, but that doesn't mean we could just suddenly trust you."

"Plus, you guys are just plain weird. You have no fur on you, you have weird sounding names, and your armor looks bad on you. I mean, red and gold don't mix well together and all." The unicorn stallion, Color Scheme, said as he pointed out. Everyone in the tent was now staring at him. "What?"

"Permission to kill this fuck?" Validus growled as he sheathed his gladius from his belt, holding it up to Color Scheme. He was asking both him and Tempest for the permission. Color Scheme looked at the sword in a wide-eye expression, his legs trembling with fear.

"Stand down, Valdius." He said, trying to make sure no one dropped any blood for one day. "No blood will be spilled this day." Tempest nodded in agreement with him. He put his sword back in his holder, letting the shaken and stricken Color Scheme live another day. Steel Heart slapped Color upside the head. "Now," He continued the conversation. "I understand why you don't trust us, and I don't blame you. We are strangers in a strange land, your lands to be exact. I'd like to make one thing clear." He leaned in. "We have no business of being here. We don't know how we got here or how it happened that we arrived in this forest, but we do not belong here. The last thing I want is to have my men being eaten by some gods damned creature that this god's damned forest is producing. All I want is to get my men out of here and back to the Empire in one piece. If you would point us to the nearest port, then we will be on our way back to Rome and you will never hear from us ever again." This was somewhat true. While he did promise he would never see them again, he couldn't say the same for the thousands of legions in Rome ready to invade if they discovered this place first.

The next time they meet, he feared, would be on the battlefield.

Tempest Shadow frowned, but he could see that she understood. This is not their war, and she would not drag some other species into the conflict. "If you really want to get out, then I'm not going to stop you."

"Like hell you are!" The pegasus mare known as Steel Heart snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "If you think you can just walk away from here like there is nothing wrong, then you got another thing coming!" He didn't faze one bit from the angry mare ranting. "You have literally an army at your disposal. A FUCKING ARMY!!! You could help us win this war against the caribou. You could help us take back Equestria. But instead, you turn tail and run like the little bitches that you are." In the corner of his eye, he could see Valdius putting his hand over the hilt of his gladius, readying him in case things escalated too quickly. "You could stay and fight with us. With you, we could finally defeat King Dainn and his monsters he calls sons!" She slammed both of her hands down on the table and leaned in close to him. "So why don't you get your finger out of your ass and FUCKING HELP US!?!?!?!" She yelled the last one right in his face.

Everything was complete and utterly silent for that few tense moments. Nobody in the room had made a sound save for the legionnaires working outside the tent. Both Lucius and Steel Heart were having a staring contest, the latter of which is glaring at him. To his credit, it was cute that she was trying to upstand him just because she was now wearing armor and thinking herself a soldier in a war. Near the corner of his eye, he could see the two legionnaires, along with Valdius, have their swords out during the shouting, ready to slaughter the intruders.

After tense moments passed before he spoke again. "Let me tell you something, girl." He started to growl in front of her face. "I don't care for your little revolution, nor your petty squabbles. I don't care if you live or die. But most importantly, I don't care if you die at all." Her glare wavered as he looked into her eyes, the fierce determination it once had now reduced to that of a child caught stealing eggs from the neighbors. "Want to know why?" She, on her part, shook her head. "It's because I have seen this happen a thousand times before. I have faced down savaged tribes in Britannia and Thrace, and faced the brunt of the Sassanid horde in Mesopotamia. Many that faced or rise up against Rome are reduced to nothing but dust in the wind. These caribous have every right to conquer you because you are all nothing more than a bunch of weaklings. For a nation to have no military is laughable at best. Perhaps they were right to conquer you." At this point, he stood up and started to lean against the table, locking eyes with Steel Heart. She was wide-eyed and shaking. "You think just because you have armor on and a sword at your hip makes you a soldier? I have seen battles where many of my fellow Romans were killed, and I barely survived one myself. Your nothing more than a dumb child playing soldier. I didn't climb to the rank of Legate just by my wealth and my connections to the Senate. My family are, and still, a family of military geniuses and soldiers. We may not have many famous generals under our belt during our existence, but we are still well respected among both the Senate, the Emperor, and the people of Rome itself." He was now eye to eye with Steel, his breath washing over her. "Your revolution will fail. It was bound to fail. I will see my men out of this nation even if it kills me in the process. I don't care if I have to burn down this entire forest just to get out!" He returned to his seat breathed in a breath of air, forcing himself to calm down. "That being said, I do not wish to join you on your revolution. I only wish for me and my men to leave this strange country and return to Rome if possible. And if you stand in out way, I'll make sure that I cut you down and throw you to the dogs as food." He wanted out of this mess as soon as possible, but he dreads the moment that he enters back into the empire without completing his mission. Most likely, he would be crucified the moment he reported back to Rome, blamed for not only completing the mission, but for some other ridiculous thing like helping the tribes.

He could tell that Steel Heart wanted to say more, but he could see into her eyes that she was shaken up by his intimidation. Perhaps that will teach her not to yell at someone more experiance in battle.

Tempest cleared her throat, all eyes on her now. "We.....respect on what you are doing. We won't stop you or your men from getting out of this forest and out of Equestria. I don't particularly blame you for wanting out of this mess. Some of us want to leave the nation as well, to go someplace else. But I'm afraid that getting out would be impossible."

Lucius looked at her with an incredulous look. "And why is that?" Surely, it could not be that hard to get out of the nation?

She bit her lip as her eyes looked at the ground like it was the most precious thing there is right now. What was surprising was that her face felt like she had made a wrong decision in life. "We.......may have kidnapped one of Dainn's sons and now he's blocked-off several port cities."

He blinked as she said the words, his mind a wind of activities. "......what?" He questioned.

"We learned that one of Dainn's son's, Higvar the Raven, was returning from the Crystal Empire on a business trip. We lay down a trap for him and took him alive. He is currently being held at our stronghold deep in this forest. We already had three whole armies coming into the forest to find us, so you could see why I questioned you at knifepoint. We managed to deal with them, but now they know where we are. Even if we managed to leave Equestria, there are still ships out there under Dainn's grasp to stop us. Dainn thinks that we might leave Equestria with his son in toll, so he set up ships to intercept others and inspect their cargo. Not to mention that they have powerful mages that can detect any kind of magic.

"What are you saying?" He said in a calm matter. Deep down, he was both angry and afraid of the answer to his question.

"What I am saying is that you are unable to leave Equestria for the time being." She said with a shrug. "You're stuck with us for the time being."

Lucius felt a wave of emotions coming to him at one like armies clashing against each other. He was relieved, for he will live another day. Anger, for the predicament he is now in. Sadness, for he may never see the Empire or his home ever again. And finally regret, for accepting the mission in the first place. He could have flat out refused to go to Germania in the first place and they could have picked someone else to go in his stead. If that were the case, he would have still been back in Brittania slewing any tribe foolish enough to rampage into Roman territory. Just one more year and he could retire back in Rome or Athens.

The gods really love fucking him in the ass.

"I....see...." He said as he slowly stood up, feeling the bones on his back crack as he stretched his back. "Then I guess we are stuck here then, with you." It was not good in the long run. Trapped in enemy territory with no way home seemed grim indeed. A thought soon came to him. "What's to stop me from joining the caribou?" He asked.

Both Steel Heart and Color Scheme gasped, surprised at his question while Tempest expression didn't change. Valdius looked at him with a mild expression on his face that says "The fuck are you talking about?" Albinus had a horrid expression on his face that tells him "you are not serious, are you?" He couldn't blame both of them for this trail of thinking. Even he was reluctant to ask these "caribou" for a way out. From what she had described of them, they would make the Germans look like weeping milksops. Sometimes, however, you have to deal with the cards you have been given with.

"We won't stop you if you do join with the caribou." Tempest said with a neutral expression on her face. There was a look in her eye that betrayed what she felt about them. An anger that needs to be quenched. "The caribou are the current rulers of Equestria, and asking them to take you back to this "Roamin Empire" would be achieved. But consider this." She leaned in close to him, though unlike Steel Heart, she kept her distance from his face. "Even if they allow you to leave and return to your empire, he would most likely invade your empire once he's finished with us."

"Then we will beat him and destroy them, like so many enemies of Rome before." He said confidently. Rome had thousands of legions under its belt. What's a king and his band of whores going to do?

"True, you might beat them in a battle, but what about magic warfare?" That question had caught him off guard. He tried to think of something. As far as he can remember, All of Rome's enemies never had any magic under there belts. "That's what I thought. You can't win against king Dainn and his sons if they find out where your empire is." Then a smile crept on her face. "But perhaps we can help you out with your predicament."

Somehow, he knew that she would take advantage of his situation. He was not mad of course. He would give her credit, she was smart, smarter than anyone else presents here. She was a soldier who had once served in the army, so she would know a thing or two situations like this. "Go on then." He said as he sat back down on his chair. "What do you want?"

"You have an army that's well trained and well equipped to deal with anything." She began. "You're a commander that knows every military tactic under your belt. Am I correct?" He nodded. "The resistance could use someone like you. We need more stallions and mares helping us fight this war." She stopped as she looked at him with a questioning look. "You are stallions, right?"

"We are referred to as males, but yes." He said. In the back, he could hear both Validus and Albinus snickering at the question.

"Good." She continued. "Anyways, we need more people and ponies in this war, particularly an assault on one of the port cities. You help us with this, and we'll help get you out of here. Do we have a deal?" She reached out with her furry hand towards his.

He looked at the hand for a second, trying to decide whether to accept her help or not. He was confident that his legion could try to find a way out of Equestria without the help of any side in this damn war. His first thought was that they could build a boat to send off into the sea. However, considering the size of his legion and how much wood they would need, it would take months, even a year, to complete this task. They could march out of Equestria and find another nation that would help them, but that would attract too much attention to him and his legion, and he suspected that the caribou would stop him before he reached the border of Equestria. Plus, he didn't have any maps of Equestria to use in his travels. He desperately wanted his legion home again, but didn't want them to be involved in a war that could come to the empire if the found out his legion was here. While Tempest's plan, whatever that was, could help him get out of Equestria, but the discovery of another species could spread quickly throughout Equestria with King Dainn sending his forces to war against the Empire. He was confident that the empire could win, since they had more men and resources at their disposal. However, since the caribou know of magic, it could be a one-sided fight. He shuddered to think what would happen if the Rome Empire fell to the caribou, and what they would do to the rest of the world.

Either way, it was not a good situation to be in. His legion would have to fight, no matter what.

He looked to the rest of his friends to see what they think. Validus shrugged when he looked over to him. Clearly, he doesn't care about what choice he made, as long as he has an enemy to fight. Albinus, his long loyal friend and servant for many years, had a look that told him that this was a bad idea in the long run, but having no choice in the matter. He looked to Oriana for her decision on the matter. While he was reluctant to even trust a slave in this matter of life and death, Oriana had fought by his side for so long. She looked at him for the moment and shrugged, approving of what he was about to do.

So Lucius Maximus Darius, son of the House of Darius, Legate of the 15th Legion, and Slayer of the Iceni Queen, shook hands with Tempest. "You have yourself a deal." He said. "Whatever it is you have planned, We'll help you with this little rebellion." He noticed the strength of her grip, which wasn't surprising to him. "However," He went on to explain. "Once we drive these caribous out of Equestria, we will leave. No exception." Both Steel Heart and Color Scheme seemed surprised by his choice to join the resistance after the lashing he brought on Steel Heart. Speaking of which...... "I am sorry for my outburst earlier." He said to Steel Heart. "I was.......not myself." He couldn't help but chuckle. "It rarely happens on occasion when I'm stressed out." In truth, this was the first time he lashed out in a while, not since he defended a settlement on the outskirts of Syria when the first wave of Sassanids came in.

Tempest, for her part, smiled at his decision. "You've made a good decision here today." She said as she relaxed her grip before letting go of his hand. "Now, we need to get you and your men back to base so that we can-"

She was interrupted when a legionnaire opened the flap of the tent and almost rushed in. He could tell that from the light armor he wore, he was one of the horse scouts he sent before to find a different path out of the forest. "Legate, sir." He pumped his fist to his chest and raised it to the middle of his chest, a salute for the Roman army. He returned it in kind. "We came back from patrol and spotted an army heading north following the path we were on." He started to say, almost out of breath like he ran all the way back to camp.

"Are they heading towards us?" Lucius said as he stood up from his chair very quickly, his head already coming up with plans and questions. Did these caribou already know his legion was here? Will he make his stand here?

"Yes sir." The scout nodded.

"How many?"

"A small force, sir. Around four or five hundred." The scout said. "They would be arriving here in less than two hours." She mentally sighed in relief at the numbers. It wasn't a big force, that was good. He could easily overrun them if he flanked them at the right time. "We also spot someone of great worth riding among them."

"Who?"

"He's massive, sir." The man spoke as he tried to describe what he saw. "He was wearing golden armor and had a massive hammer on his back. He was also riding some kind of wolf-like creature. He has a scar on his left eye and some kind of dagger for a hand."

At his description, Tempest's eyes shot wide. "H-he's here?!?!" There was an amount of fear in her voice. At the mention of "he", Steel Heart shook life a leaf while Color Scheme did nothing but start into the open space. "Damnit!" She angerly said through clenched teeth. "I thought we would have more time."

"Who are you referring to?" Lucius questioned. He wondered what this individual was that had Tempest Shadow scared.

"One of Dainn's sons, Helgrad. Otherwise known as "The Hammer" to his soldiers." She said with a grim stare. "He's responsible for crushing the earlier rebellions. It's said he tortures his slaves to death before tossing their corpse way to his warbeast for his lunch." She shook her head. "He never lost a battle in......ever."

"WE'RE FUCKED! WE ARE TOTALLY AND UTTERLY FUCK!" Color Scheme finally shouted out the words Lucius himself was thinking. "THIS WHOLE REVOLUTION WAS A MISTAKE! IT'S GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER! THE END-"

Whatever he was about to say he didn't get the chance as he fell face first on the floor with a bloody bruise behind his head. Hovering behind him was Valdius with a glare directed at the down pony. The butt-end of his sword showed a little blood. "I always hated that little fuck." He murmured as his sword found its way back to his holster. He then looked into Lucius's eyes. "Give me five hundred good men and I'll teach this fucking Hammer a lesson." He said. Lucius could tell from the look in his eye that he was eager to kill something right now.

"You'll have a chance, Valdius," Lucius said as he stood up once more. He gave this situation a little thought. While he was relucent to send out soldiers to fight against an enemy they know nothing of, he had a feeling that they had an advantage in numbers. Their soldiers may have warriors, but they were nothing against his legion. "We shall ride out and kill these caribou if it so pleases you." Both Tempest's and Steel Heart's eyes widened at his full answer. He pointed to the scout. "Legionnaire, send word to Centurion Gallus Tadius Rufinianus of the Sixteenth Cohort. I want his men ready for combat within the next ten minutes." Another thought came to his mind. "Also, send a message to Centurian Favious Comminus Sarius of the Equities, and Octavianus Dexsius Feitus of the Knossos Auxilary. We may need both calvery and fire support if the situation gets out of hand." 'Or if the men have any second thoughts.' He thought bitterly. He hadn't had a desertion since he took command of the legion, but there was always a Roman or two that thought they could escape while there was chaos, like on the battlefield. That's why every time he goes into battle, he keeps several archers in the back in case such an action happened. During his time in Brittana while facing off against several tribes who had the bright idea of skirting around the Wall, several legionnaires, who thought the battle wasn't going their way, decided to drop their weapons and run away. Instead, they were met with an archer volley in front of them. In the end, they had managed to win the day with suitable casualties. Ever since then, no one was smart enough to escape his command, and no one was the wiser for doing so.

He was cruel, but he was also fair in regards to his men.

"You must be joking." For the first time, the soldier personality he was accustomed to from Tempest Shadow dropped immediately, replaced with a look of concern. "Many have tried to take on the Hammer and failed, their bodies either six feet under or food for the vultures." She frowned at the prospect. "It's a fool's errand if there ever was one."

"They do have a point." Albinus spoke for the first time since the meeting started. "Even if we outnumber them by a margin, there is still a whole nation and a king to deal with. Maybe we should follow them to the resistance lair and formulate a plan to stop him."

"I believe there isn't enough time for such a thing." He stated as a matter of fact. "If we retreat now, then the enemy could march into the resistance lair with ease and burn it to the ground." He still needed this resistance alive if he was going to get out of Equestria. "We will distract him long enough for your kind to run somewhere else."

"What part of "six feet under" or "food for the vultures" didn't you understand?!?!?!?!" Steel Heart yelled while waving her hands in the air like a maniac. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"That is for the gods to decide." He said defiantly. "If I am to die, then I will die in the heat of battle like all true Romans. Now move! Warn your people while I get my men ready for combat." Both of the mares looked at each other before looking back at him, a concerning look on their faces. He shouldn't need for them to worry about him. He had faced off greater threats before during his service. For him, this was just another day in the Roman Frontier. "Don't worry about me. This is just another day in the shitter." He voiced his thoughts. "I already have a plan in place. Now go." He waved them away.

"I'm coming with you." Tempest Shadow said as she stepped forth. Lucius was about to argue about that being a bad idea before she beat him to the punch. "You need someone to navigate the Everfree Forest and avoid its dangers. I may not have been here long, but I do know what spots to avoid and how to get to your destination faster." She put her hands near her hips as she cocked them. "Plus, you need someone with experience in magic to help you out this fight, and to guide you back to our base when this is all finished."

He thought about her offer for a moment. He did need someone to help him guide this dangerous forest if what the ponies said about it was true. And if these caribou do know magic of their own, then he needed someone with the same experience to help them out. He looked up to her forehead where the broken horn was. From her explanation, it seems that unicorns can do magic just by using their horns. So how was she going to cast spells if she had a broken horn?

"Very well." He finally said. He didn't realize that he was already up and putting on his armor, finishing fasting the last straps in his armor. 'I knew I should have taken that promotion as a guard in Egypt.' He thought inadvertently as he finally reached for his swords. "We will march out very shortly. I suggest you say your goodbyes before we leave." With that being said, both of the mares turned around and left the tent. Steel Heart was the last one out, having to pick up Color Scheme's unconscious body and heaving it over her shoulders. He was impressed by the strength of the mare, having to pick up the stallion with ease. However, he has more important things to worry about.

He waved the two legionnaires by the entrance, dismissing them. They saluted to their Legate before marching out of the tent. "Well," Vladius said as he craned his neck, the sound of bones cracking through the tent. "This certainly was a shitfest if ever I saw one."

"Unfortunately, it is." Lucius said as he felt a migraine coming on him. The fatigue from several hours ago had managed to hit him, despite the fact that it is sunny outside. He felt like they had been walking for days in the forest, when in fact it was only sometime since they arrived. "I have a feeling that it might get worse from here on out."

The Battle of Everfree Forest: Part One

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The forest, as he would mention to himself for the hundredth time, could go fuck itself and be burnt alive by whatever gods inhabited this realm. From what he had heard, the Everfree Forest is the most dangerous place in Equestria full of dangerous beast of all sizes, including ones long thought of as mythology to his kind. He had learned a little bit of history from Tempest Shadow and company about the origins of the forest. In the past, the Princesses had a castle in this forest that allowed them to rule over the newly born nation formed by the original Three Tribes. Then, something called the "Nightmare Moon Incident" occurred, in which Princess Luna was possed by some unknown demon that turned her into a alter ego that wanted nothing but eternal night. She was defeated and imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years until about two years ago when six mares used these artifact called the "Elements of Harmony" to free Luna from her darker side. Before that, Celestia moved the capital to Canterlot, and ever since then, nature had reclaimed what was lost. Another thing that he knew from Steel Heart was that hunters from all races would come to gather here to hunt down any dangerous game there is. Before Equestria came to be, ponies of each of the Three Tribes consider themselves a "fully grown stallion or mare" if they entered and made it out alive with a beast in hand. It wasn't until much later that Celestia, the ruler of this land, soon passed laws that would prohibit any pony, or other sentient creature, form hunting in this land.

However, as he saw it now, he didn't care if this forest was burnt to a crisp. He couldn't care less of the consequences.

Whatever passes for light in this gods damned forest had already turned its lumination west. If he was correct in his assumption, then that means that it could be late afternoon. After agreeing to help the ponies deal with this "Higvar", he and the Sixteenth Cohort, along with a company of Cretan Archers, several Equities, Validus and Oriana were to intercept these caribou and prevent them from reaching his camp. He could take a whole army with him, but the scout reported that there were only five hundred or less caribou traveling. It was foolish to bring fewer men to hunt a small rebel group, but at the same time he understood why they need such numbers. He decided to take his own five hundred men and hope that the enemy is less than that. The two ponies decided to return to wherever the resistance is holding up and warn them. Tempest Shadow decided to stay behind and accompany Lucius and his legion.

The scout said that they were traveling on a large stone path that the missed earlier on. Tempest Shadow said that the caribou built a large stone path through the Everfree earlier on in the occupation. The purpose was to establish a supply line between the northern and southern reaches of Equestria, and to move the army a little quicker than normal. The path was never finished, due to the fact that Tempest's rebels killed any worker on the path, and that dangerous beasts prowl the forest. Lucius thanked the gods that none of the monsters Tempest have described where anywhere near his troops when they first arrived. The project was, in the end, abandoned. Now Dainn uses the incomplete road for his small armies to hunt down this resistance, but that didn't stop the king and his army from passing through.

It didn't take them long to find the path. They soon emerged into a large cleared out area that allowed space for his troops for the battle to come. This part of the road already had stones on its surface, which glistened in the sun. The stones themselves reminded him of the old aqueducts that stood to stand after Rome's founding.

While he ordered his legionaries to form up upon the path, Lucius looked up as he felt the warmth of the sun shoot through his skin. As he noted earlier, it was late afternoon, which meant that they were probably traveled for about an hour or so. He stood there with his eyes closed, letting the warmth of the sun take hold of his skin. It was a nice change for once. Being inside a dark and gloomy forest would take one's mind closer to insanity. By Jupiter, he would have gone insane if the ponies didn't show up to help him.

As he meditated, he heard Validus say "Oh fuck me." He opened his eyes and turned around to see Validus with his back against him, holding up his skirt as he pissed on a nearby tree. "By Jupiter's fucking cock, I was holding that in for hours."

He rolled his eyes as he turned away. "If you were holding a piss in, then Neptune or Minerva would have blessed you with such a bladder." He joked.

He heard Validus scoff. "More like Jupiter wants to fuck with me. I was almost ready to explode with that one." He finished his business by dropping his skirt back into position and turned around. "I wonder if these "caribou" would piss themselves seeing us."

"I wish that were the case." Tempest said as came up to Lucius's side. "The caribou are known to be fearless warriors that would fight to the very end. I don't think they would be scared that easily."

"Then they have not met an organized fight force like Rome." Lucius commented. "And besides, my legion has seen enough far share of barbarians. You could say we are experts in such things." His time in both Brittania and Syria, along with posts in Thracia, gave him and the legion such insight to this kind of work. He would think that these garrison posts would be boring at most. However, he was thankful that some fuck wit in a shit ridden hut decided to tell his tribe to steal from the "shining men", according to a Pictish raider he captured.

Tempest shook her head. "And what about ones with magic?" She questioned. "Have you dealt with ones that can cast magic at a whim." In her eyes, he could see that she was worried for him, a concept that was both familiar and foreign to him. It was surprising to say the least that Tempest would be worried for him and his men. They are not even of the same species as well.

"There is nothing to worry about." Lucius said as he looked into her eyes. "We have faced tougher foes before. Even if they have magic, we will find a way to defeat them." Of course, he had never seen magic in person, or even in his lifetime. From the tone of her voice, he could tell that she was worried about him and his legion. A touching sentiment, but one that was unnecessary. Plus, that is why he brought her along. Not only as insurance for in case the resistance betrays them, but also a local guide to this world.

He looked out to the vast road from which he stood. "It will be a while before they come down this road. We should prepare while there is still time." He looked back at her. "You should probably get some rest." He could tell just by the look in her eyes that she hadn't slept in days, or even weeks. He had that feeling before, both during his time serving in a legion and commanding the 15th in Britannia.

"I'm fine. I just-"

"I could tell from the bags under your eyes. You haven't rested in gods know how long. Get some shut-eye. That is an order." He talked in a way like he would at a subordinate. She may be a guest and an ally, but he would be damned if he found her fallen in battle early. As far as he was concerned, she is a valuable asset that he can not lose.

"Now hold on." Tempest turned around to face him with her own glare to match his. "You don't command me. I-"

"That is where you are wrong." He harshly answered, matching her glare with his own battle-hardened stared "As long as you are accompanying us, you are considered part of the legion. That means you follow my orders as if they were written by the gods themselves. Do I make myself clear?" He gave her a glare that would have burned a hole through her soul if need be. He had to admit, for a peace-loving species that have never seen a war in their entire lives, they were stubborn. It was times like these he wondered if the ponies are either bravely stupid or stupidly brave. Either way, he was impressed with her resilient.

She opened and closed her mouth as if to protest what he just said. After several minutes of glaring at each other and Tempest's mouth opening and closing to say something, she turned around with a huff and stomped away like a child that was sent to her room with no supper. While he was reluctant in ask Tempest to rest before a battle, knowing that the enemy was close to her home, he knew deep down that this was the best course of action there is for her.

With that out of the way, he started to shout several orders to the Sixteenth Cohort, prepping them for what is to come.

Some time has passed before the sound of galloping hooves reached his ears. His army instincts forced him to turn around and draw out his sword, but he soon saw the scout from earlier coming back. He and his fellow officers were gathered around the outside of the road, looking down on flat dirt where a plan was drawn. "Sir," He saluted his superior. "The army from earlier is coming this way soon."

"How many?" He asked.

"No least than eight hundred I counted, sir." The scout said. This meant that the army he had was slightly outnumbered two to one. However, his legion had face worst odds before in every campaign they went to so far, so they should be fine overall. Plus, he had managed to conduct a strategy should something like this happen. "I can also confirm that the leader is with the army as well."

"Good." Lucius said. He turned to the surrounding officers. "Remember the plan. We need to box them in so they won't escape. We also need their leader alive for the rebels. Dismiss." With a final salute, the officers and centurions scrambled to their units to give the order. "COMPANY, WITH ME!" He picked up his helmet off the ground and shouted for the Sixteenth Cohort to rally behind him. His centurion shouted "RALLY BEHIND THE COMMANDER, YOU SHIT-STAINED WHORES! YOU WANT TO FUCKING LIVE FOREVER!?!?!?" By the time he put on his helmet, the Sixteenth had already gotten into battle formation, ready to engage the enemy like it was another day out in the field. Validus and Oriana were waiting for him beside the infantry formation, nodding to him as he came along. He could tell that Valdius was excited to see some action for once as the big grin on his face was evidence of that. Validus was always the brass fellow when he first met him, and perhaps a little too aggressive when it came to following orders. In the end, he couldn't ask for a better officer.

"Finally, we are about to get some fucking action." Validus said as he made the final adjustments to his armor. "This whole trip was a fucking disaster from the beginning. It would be good to finally fight some fucking animals for once."

"Agree." He said. He admired his enthusiasm in the face of an unknown threat. At times, he wondered if he really had a brain in that big skull of his. "But we should be careful as well. From what Tempest said, the caribou are fearless warriors that would fight to the death if need be."

Validus blew a short raspberry. "They ain't nothing compared to the Germans or the Sassanids we face." Next to him, Oriana rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Still, we must make sure this plan goes accordingly." He said, ignoring the antics of his friend. "We must not let them know we are here." He heard footsteps in the grass and turned to see Tempest Shadow, Color Scheme, and Steel Heart walking towards him. "I thought I told you to stay away from this battle."

"Fat chance." Tempest said with a scowl on her face. "I'm not going to sit this one out because some upstart commander tells me to. You need the extra help if you ever want to defeat the caribou." He noticed that she had a number of glowing orbs on her hip.

"Hell to the Yeah!" Steel Heart said as she stood ready with a weapon in her hand. The weapon in question looked like if someone had simply put a spiked ball onto a stick. "I want to make those fuckers pay for what they did to Equestria. Ain't no one going to stop us now! Right, Color?" She turned to the pony in question next to her, but soon saw an empty space where Color Scheme used to be. Lucius was surprised as well, seeing as how Color Scheme had disappeared without him noticing. She looked at the bushes in annoyance. "Oh come on!" she yelled.

Lucius looked to where Color Scheme had fled. A rustle in the bushes confirmed his suspicions. His head popped out like a bear that has just emerged from his winter nap. "I'm just here for emotional support." He said meekly "So I'll just....."

"Oh no you don't!" Steel Heart stomped along to where Color Scheme was hiding. His eyes widened and he ducked back into the bushes. She grabbed Color Scheme by the collar of his armor. He let out a yelp as he was pulled from the bushes by an angry pegasus mare. "You're gonna start pulling your weight this time, and not hid like some scared chicken all the time."

"But the chickens know what they were doing." He whined as he was dragged by his collar. To Lucius it was considered a humorous sight to see, like something out of a comedy play he and his family used to go to when he was just a little boy. "Why do you think they stay in farms all the time?"

"How about this?" Validus started to say. "If you run and hide one more time during the battle, I will personally skin the fuck out of you alive, roast your balls over an open fire and leave the rest of your carcass to the fucking crows or whatever inhabits these gods forsaken forest." Lucius winced at the threat that Validus had made. He knew he would do exactly that if it came to it. This was mainly why his legion had almost zero desertion rates than any other legion. Validus, come hell and high water, will find any deserter no matter where they are and do things to them that the gods would turn a blind eye to.

His threat has gone through to Color Scheme as he looked at him fearfully, knowing full well what would happen should he make a mistake.

The distant sound of hooves pounding on the pavement cut any further conversation. At first, he thought the cavalry had gone a little too far from the ambush site. It was then realized that the sound wasn't coming from the calvary positioning themselves but from far away figures lurking in the distance. From very far away, they looked like little blobs of brown and grey flooding down the pavement like a river. He could tell from behind him that the men were nervous but fully ready for the task ahead. He didn't know how many were either new recruits or veterans of his previous campaigns. Whatever the reason he had full confidence that his cohort will prevail over the day, as long as they stick to the tactics his commanders had drilled into them during the long stay.

That was how Roman had conquered much of the known world during the spam of its existence. While relying on brute force was one way of achieving victory on the battlefield, most commanders would stop and think about what tactics to deploy and what terrain they are fighting in. These types of things are what helped the early Roman Republic, and later the Empire, defeat its most powerful enemies like Carthage and Macedonia, and even a Celtic kingdom that had arisen when Caeser campaigned in Gaul. His legion was no different from a thousand other legions in the Roman Empire, as they would drill everyday while on the march. However, what made his legion stand out the most was that he would personally see each company train their troops from sunrise to sundown. He would at times drill different cohorts a day to share what he had learned during his youth and other points he made. He was confident at least that the cohort will hold the line once the battle started, and the men would never waver even in the face of incredible odds.

After all, in the face of battle, you can either do two things. Run and be slaughtered, or stand your ground and be slaughtered, but take as many of the bastards with you as possible.

As the army has gotten closer, he had managed to get a visual of what he and his legion will soon be facing. To him, the look almost like the deers his legion would bring back on hunts. Some of them were wearing armor and some haven't, allowing him to view the species biology. They had brown fur that encompasses the whole face and their muzzle, which Lucius almost mistook it for a mask of sorts. The rest of the body, excluding the face, had around the same fur as that of a deer, but a little more brown. Their bodies were muscular at that, and they stood at least a little taller than the Roman standing before them. Their antlers were certainly much bigger than anything he has ever seen. Some of these soldiers were what looked like chainmail armor with a helmet on their heads, while others wearing a strange armor he had not seen before. It looked almost like the armor that the Romans are wearing, if not for the fact that it covered their forearms, legs and chest. The front of the helmet was covered in what looked like a glass-like faceplate. They were also wielding what looked like scutum made from glass like the helmet, and black sticks that emitted lightning every few seconds. This has surprised him the most. Have these caribou truly mastered the will of the gods?

The legionnaires readied themselves for combat. He too mentally prepared himself for combat.

The horde of caribou soldiers stopped at least several feet when they saw the shield wall of the legion. He could see from their faces that they were just as confused by the appearance of these strange soldiers with their large scutum and short swords. He saw a few even glaring at him. He himself glared back at them.

"OI, WHY DO YOU LOTS FUCKING STOPPED!?!?!?" A deep booming voice shouted. "WE AIN'T RESTING UNTIL THESE FUCKING REBEL WHORES ARE DEAD!" From where Lucius was at, he could see something moving across the army that had stopped. The soldiers in the front soon parted away from the new arrival that had come up. This caribou, as he had noted, was much larger than the average soldier. There were a number of scars across his chest, indicating that he had seen some battles like him. His left antler had gone missing, leaving a stump where it used to be. He was wearing no armor to speak of, other than a long skirt around his waist and a leather shoulder pad on his right shoulder. On his back is the largest hammer he has ever seen. He looked down at the collum blocking the way. "And just who the fuck are you?!?!?" He bellowed.

"I am Lucius Maximus Darius," He introduced himself by placing a hand on his chest. "Legate of the Fifteenth Legion, otherwise known as Legio XV Caledonia." He then sweeps his hand to his colleges. "This is Commander Validus, my second in command and Oriana, my bodyguard. And over is-"

"I know who she is." Hgvar said as he glared down at Tempest. He then pointed an accusing finger at her. "The bitch that took my antler when we last met and kicked me in the balls!"

Lucius looked to her for confirmation. She shrugged. He could also hear Valdius snickering.

"You rebels may have escaped father's justice, but there is nowhere for you to run now." He said with a smirk. "If you surrender now and beg for mercy, then I might not throw you to the warbeast to be used as a breeder."

"I think you are sorely mistaken for our purpose here." Lucius spoke as if he was addressing an enemy combatant before the battle. "We are not here to surrender to you. It is quite the opposite." Laying a hand on his sword, he said "You will turn your forces around and march out of this forest. If not, then we will show no mercy."

Hgvar's smiled disappeared and replaced with a confused expression. H blinked at the outrages indication that Lucius spewed out. Lucius, for his part, had to keep a straight face like any good general or Legate in the legion. If his plan worked, and if he survived this day, then the gods are surely with him.

After several minutes of intense silence, Hgvar broke into a laugh. As if a disease was spreading in a small town, the rest of his forces laughed as well.

"YOU?!?!" He bellowed as he points down at him, and then to his forces. "And your puny forces are going to stop us?!?!!?" He bent over as he continued laughing his ass off for several antagonizing minutes. Lucius was tempted to just stick a sword through his big head of a skull, when saw off his remaining horn as a trophy. It was tempting, but he needed him alive to give to the rebels as a show of good faith.

After another several minutes of him and his forces laughing, Hvgar wiped a tear from his eye and looked down at Lucius. He frowned when he saw his serious face. "You are serious about this?" Lucius nodded. "I don't know who or what you are, but if you think standing in my way of the King's justice, then you got another thing coming." He reached for the hammer on his back and grabbed it. The front end came crashing down on the ground, literally digging through the earth on its first impact. Lucius got a good look at the hammer that he wielded. It had fine exotic craftsmanship to it, with the handle having some kind of strange runes he had seen in some German villages on it. Both of the flat ends of the hammers had large spikes the size of daggers. He saw a strange blue glowing jewel on the side of his hammer, with even more of those strange runes circling around it. Lighting emitted from the hammer itself. He smirked at Lucius and his men. "I am Hvgar, one of the sons of Dainn himself. I care Thor's might with me, and with this might, I shall strike you down." The rest of the caribou in his army readied themselves for a confrontation with his legion.

For his part, he grinned as well, making sure to show his canines. After hours, if not a day of being in this fucking forest, he would finally get to kill something. He guessed that this is what Valdius feels like every time. "Well then, let me show you the might of Rome itself."

The Battle of Everfree Forest: Part Two

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When he was growing up, his father returned from service in one of Roman's might legions out near the frontiers. He rose up the ranks of the army he served under that enabled him to become centurion of his cohort. He returned just in time to see his wife give birth to him. He gave him the first name of Julius, named after the famous general that saved Rome from disaster (or a tyrant if you believe some folk.) His father always told him that he would become famous someday, which was why he gave him the name of Julius. Julius himself wanted to be like his father someday and fight for his empire. The problem was that he wasn't always good at anything; whether it be sports or some swordplay with his father. He can't practice swords with his father as he would cry over one bruise or one scrap after such confirmation. The other kids would tease him and pick on him simply because he was too weak in a fight. He would always come home with bruises and scars, crying about how the kids would pick on him. While his mother tended to him, his father would give him a disapproving stare.

One time, after they were done with chores, he asked what was it like on the battlefield. "It is a horrid thing." His father would tell him while they were seated at the small table outside the villa. "Seeing your friends die quickly without even know it is the worse thing a man could take. But I have always believed that there is something beautiful in the very first moments of the battle. It is where moments of highest emotions, the fear of mortal men, the frustrated bloodlust and screaming overconfidence of Rome's enemies. In the moments when the battle is joined, the purity of the human species is first revealed to the foe. And it is there that men decide there own fate, and the gods sort them out in the end."

Right now, his father's words would come back to haunt him.

He gulped when he saw the big caribou conversating with Lucius and his officers. He already felt intimidated by his large stature and the giant hammer he wielded. He wondered if Lucius felt the same as he did. When he first came into the legion, he had heard stories of Lucius Maximus Darius and how he was respected among the legion. He had led his men through thick and thin, and personally lead the charge himself at times. For that, he was widely respected as both a general and a soldier fighting alongside his men. In a way, Lucius probably never felt scared as he was.

He was at the front of the phalanx in which the legion had formed to slow down the caribou. In all honesty, he wanted to be in the back of the action so he wouldn't get himself harmed. Gallus didn't share his interest and insisted that he be placed on the front where the action was. He won't be alone in this. Two of his comrades, Aulus Vorenius Caecina and Titus Scribonius Pudentius, will be alongside him in this engagement.

He had briefly known both of them during his stay at the camp. Aulus had olive light skin with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. The first time he saw him, he was only wearing a tunic at his bottom, revealing a number of scars along his chest, stomach, and legs. He was a veteran of the legion for at least five years and counting. He was at least ten years older than him and outweighed him by two or three inches. Yet despite the scary appearance, he was a pretty nice guy. He shook his hand with a smile and said: "Welcome to the meatgrinder, rookie." He said with a deep voice.

Titus, on the other hand, had light brown skin that was different than Aulus's skin. He stood at least a couple of meters taller than both his commander and Aulus. He had little hair on his scalp as with all of his people. He had light blue eyes and, unlike Aulus, was moderately well built. Turns out, he came from a tribe north of Africa that did a sort of cultural exchange program with the Romans as a way to improve their relations. While Roman did control much of Africa due to the Second Punic War, there were still parts of the region that had resisted invasions for some time, while those same tribes raided Roman territory in return. After many years of back and forth, Emperor Claudius reached an agreement with the surrounding tribal leaders. Rome would leave them alone (at least for a while from his understanding) and in return, they would proving tribal warriors for their auxiliary units. Aulus was one such individual. He wasn't here because he was chosen to be here. There was a mix-up with the orders and Aulus came under Lucius's command. Nevertheless, he was a great swordsman and fearless when he came face to face with his enemies. When the time came for Aulus to transfer to a random auxiliary unit, Lucius pulled a lot of strings to make sure he stays in his legion.

Both sides were silent for a long time. It was as if the gods themselves snuffed all sound from existence save for the swaying of trees to the wind and the sound of wildlife all around them. "So are you challenging me to a battle?" The big caribou finally said with a raised eyebrow. It was as if he thought that the Legate standing before him was some sort of joke like a Syrian merchant claiming to have a foreskin of Hercules himself.

"Perhaps." Lucius spoke with a calm voice like it was a normal day at a Roman market. Julius was amazed that his commander hadn't even shited himself yet.

"Very well then." The caribou general spoke. "If you are intended to interfere with the king's justice, then you and your......things will die." He heaved his hammer from his back. It was as big as an ox from the looks of it, and the way it spews out electricity from the pallet end isn't enough to put confidence in his commander. "It's a shame that I have to kill you." The general spoke. "You seem like a fearless warrior that has seen many battles in the past. I shall make note of your bravery when I am finished with the rebels."

"We shall see." With that being said, Lucius and his officer and bodyguard turned around and went back to their cohort. The caribou general did the same, most likely preparing for the battle to come. "LEGIONARIES!" Lucius bellowed. The cohort parted ways to allow the commanding officer to come through. It took him a second to realize what was happening, but luckily his centurian was right beside him and pulled on his collar to him before he could make a fool of himself. As the Legate came through, he continued his speech. "Today, we will face the most dangerous and barbaric enemy this world has ever faced. The enemy will be relentless and without mercy. They even have an advantage with this 'magic' they have. But you all have been with me throughout my years campaigning for the glory of Rome. We faced the Picts in Britianna, the Germanic tribes north of the Daube, the desert rats of Syria and Parthia, and the barbarians of Arabia. You have all been trained and ready for this moment.

I know that there are some of you who are new to my legion, but let me assure you that you carry the blood of heroes within you! You have been trained by the finest commanders and centurions in my legion, and to some, I have trained with you myself. This is what we have prepared you for. I expect all of you to follow my instructions to the fullest. Do this, and we shall emerge victoriously." He stood at the end of the phalanx, his eyes scanning each of his cohorts. "The gods are with us this day, and we shall not disappoint them. Let us send these animals to Hades!" He drew his sword and shouted "Roma Invicta!"

"Roma Invicta!" The rest of the soldiers shouted. They returned to the standard formation from which they were moments ago. Julius himself was, for the most part, much more confident after that little speech he gave. He hadn't been there through ever land the commander said, but he was sure as Hades that he will try his damnable best to look like a fearless soldier in the face of danger.

He looked back to the caribou, in which their commander had finished doing some speech. The entire caribou army hollered and shouted in their strange language. They were even banging their shields with the weapons they had on hand. The general himself looked back at the assembled soldiers with a blood curling grin. He gulped.

A hand was soon felt in his left shoulder. He turned and saw the face of his Centurian commander, Gallus. "It will be alright." He said in a calming voice. "Just make sure to not do anything heroic, and you will be alright." For his part, Julius nodded.

"TESTUDO FORMATION!" Lucius shouted. The soldiers, including Julius, started to align their shields with others to form a packed formation covered with shields from top to bottom. Since he was in front, he raised his shield in front of him and planted it down on the ground. A shield in the back connected to his, blocking out the sun as it towered over him. He heard the shuffling and banging of shields while it was going on. In the end, once the noise died down, he and his comrades were completely covered in darkness save for the small sunlights that have pierced in many holes. They were now completely enveloped into a sea of red scales.

"BRING ME THE HEAD OF THIS COMMANDER, AND YOU WILL GET A SHARE OF MY HAREM FOR TONIGHT!" The scary caribou shouted. With that one command, the caribou army charged at them with blood-filled screams of terror.

"Just be brave. Just be brave." He repeated the mantra over and over again in his head. The confidence he had felt moments ago from Lucius's speech was now replaced with fear at what was in front of him. He had tried to be brave even when the enemy was closing in. His centurion to his left merely glared at the approaching horde coming towards them.

After what felt like an eternity, something clashed into his shield. He nearly fell off balance at the force of the impact if it wasn't for the fact that the centurion, either through premonition or instinct, grabbed onto his shoulder the moment the caribou collided with his shield. "MAKE SURE TO STAND STRONG!" His centurion said. "AND DON'T EVER THINK OF DIE RIGHT HERE AND NOW! IF YOU DO, I SWEAR BY MARS HIMSELF I WILL PERSONALLY COME DOWN TO HADES AND SKULL FUCK THE LOT OF YA!" He nearly shuddered at Gallus's little speech. He was a friendly guy when he first met him, but seeing this side of him during battle scared the shit out of him.

He would actually believe what he said.

The showdown between the Roman cohort and the caribou went on for some time. Despite the size of the caribou and the weapons they were carrying, they haven't punched through the formation the legionnaires have created. At some point, some of the caribou that attempted to grab the shields in front of them, including his own. He remembered seeing a strong caribou trying to pry the shield off of his hands. He had tried to hold his shield and fight against the strength of the caribou, but he wasn't as strong like the rest of his unit. Hell, this is his first time in combat for the gods sake! The caribou warrior, who carried a decent set of armor on him, looked at him with blood-crazed eyes, his axe ready to pierce his skull. He was frozen solid at this creature's stare. He wasn't cut out for this! Sure, he wanted to be with the legion ever since his father told him stories of his victories, but he didn't want to be thrown into the battle headfirst.

A pila was perched into the chest of the caribou, knocking him off of his shield. Despite the leather armor he was wearing, it did little to protect it from the impact of the pila. Blood was pooling around the assaulting caribou It wasn't thrown like it was made to do, but rather it looked like someone was wielding it like a pike and thrust it into the caribou. Looking behind him, he saw Aulus holding said pila like a spear. "Ain't war fucked?" He screamed, his predatorial grin revealing his almost yellow teeth. Julius can only nod.

The sound of a whistle, even in the midst of the battle, can still be heard. "FRONT LINE, THRUST!" He knew exactly what he had meant when he said that. Another caribou took his place next to his comrade the moment the whistle sounded, this one with no chest armor and two axes in each hand. With a function like a school of fish, the legionaries in the back of him placed down their shields. The front of the testudo pushed the caribou off of them. Some of the caribou fell over in surprise as they never expected the Romans to just push them away. After recovering from the sudden push from their scutum, they charged once again. Julius thrust his gladius into the approaching caribou's chest, the blade plunging deep into his abdominal. The caribous' eyes widened as he screamed in pain, blood pouring out of the wound. He froze as he saw the blood oozing out of his chest, some even landing on his face when he thrust the sword. Aulus grabbed his shoulder, pushing him out of his trance. After shaking off the shock, Julius then withdrew back as Aulus took his place, his gladius finding a home in a caribou's helm. He moved all the way to the back into the line, but nearly tripped in the process.

Titus looked behind him to see Julius coming to the back of him. "First taste of blood, eh?" He said in a slight African accent. After years of being in the legion, his accent hadn't changed much. Though he did learn at least a bit of Latin to help him follow orders and talk more often to his superiors. "You look paler than a lioness in heat."

Julius couldn't help but look at his hands to confirm what Titius had said. While there was some blood on his hands, he could clearly see what he was talking about. They were indeed more white as he was. The noise of the battle and the screams of the dying drowned out as he started at his blood-filled hands. He had just killed someone for the first time, and he felt a strange sensation as if his emotions are running wild. Sorrow, pity, anger, hatred, relieved.

But above all, he had the urge to do it again.

Tempest had been a soldier for most of her life. Since she had been picked by the Storm King when she was little, she had been trained day and night to become what she is today. Throughout her time in the army, she had personally lead campaigns against anyone the king wants to conquer. She had seen soldiers from both sides fight till the very end with brutal efficiency. Granted, there were a few things she had regretted doing under the Storm King's banner, but she had ultimately redeemed herself in the end.

Now, looking at the Roman soldiers standing in their strange formation, she was ultimately impressed.

Lucius, the so-called "Legate" of the "Roman" legion, spoke to the caribou general for a while. She had managed to pick up some chatter here and there, the words "glorious king" and "rebel" thrown around a lot. It was, for the most part, boring as the caribou boasted about his king and his "liberation of the male spirit". Lucius, for his part, kept putting on a straight face despite the big caribou near him. After some back and forth, Helgrad declared that he will kill his men. Not long after his declaration, he commented on his bravery and that he will "record it".

After that, Lucius returned to his soldiers and started a fiery speech that seemed to have an effect on the men as they stood there ready to take the brunt of the enemy force. Lucius, from her one time meeting him, was completely different from the king she served before. He really did care for his men and would do anything to make sure they come back safe from whatever nation they were from. The soldiers themselves were all willing to die for him if need be.

Helgrad shouted his command to charge and the caribou soon charged the Romans with nothing more than bloodlust in their eyes. Despite the forces being even in terms of forces, the caribou's slight heavy stature would intimidate even the bravest of creatures. Of course, she had taken down a number of them since this all started, but they were tougher than they looked. She had expected the Roman soldiers to break rank and fight to the death once the battle had started.

Then Lucius yelled out "DEFENSIVE TESTUDO!"

Almost immediately, the soldiers in the front of the line aligned their large rectangle shields, with the ones in front planting their shields to the ground while the others were connecting to the ones in front of them. This happened all in the spam of five seconds, meaning that the soldiers were more drilled in the art of war than the average Equestrian. It looked like scales from where she was at. She had never seen this type of maneuver.

The caribou barbarians soon clashed with the formation, and to her surprise it held. The caribou for their part were both confused and frustrated. They tried to chip away at the defense by hacking away at the shields but to no avail. One got the smart idea of grabbing the shield in front of the soldiers. The caribou almost succeeded, but he was soon stabbed in the chest by a Roman soldier wielding those small swords of theirs, or "gladius's" as they were called. That didn't stop the others from trying the same tactic as their fallen brethren. The Romans, for their part, either stabbed or slashed at the aggressors with little effort on their part. Piles upon piles of dead caribou littered the ground. They even moved several inches closer when the caribou started to move back. She knew they wanted to retreat, but knowing the reputation of the Hammer, it would be impossible.

"Fifteen Denari."

Turning her head, she found Lucus' second in command, Validus, beside her as he was watching the battle with a predatory look in his eyes. It was like that of a lion that had found a tasty meal all alone on the savannah. "Come again?" She asked.

"You fucking deaf?" Validus looked at her, the once predatory gaze he once held now turned to one of minor annoyance. "I said I bet you fifteen Denari that I get more kills than you." He said, his face turning into a grin. "It's always tradition within the commanders of the legion to bet on which one gets the most kill." He pointed to Lucius's bodyguard, Oriana, as she stood by his side at the end of the shield formation. "Oriana got the most kills last time when we were in Britianna. Bitch got lucky, I'd say."

Tempest still looked at him like one of those crazy preachers in Trottingham who spout out how much Celestia is a god. "I don't have what you would call a "denari"." She said. "The only thing we have close to it are gold bits." At least the gold bits were more valuable than the "Storm coins" that the Storm King issued as currency within his empire.

They were pretty much as valuable as a bottle cap.

He shrugged. "Fine. Fifteen bits say that I kill more caribou than you." He stretched out his arm towards her, his palm open. "Deal?"

"It's a deal." She shook his hand. Another thought entered her mind. "Wait, why would we be needing to kill. Your soldiers are doing fine at the moment."

As if to answer her question, the sound of a horn had been blown. She saw Oriana holding the horn right to her lips.

Validus smirked. "The real fun is about to start."

Lucius watched from the back of the testudo as the cohort kept on the defensive. They even gained several inches amidst the piles of dead bodies in their wake. He was impressed by the legion's progress so far. He had expected a considerable number of casualties on the cohorts side once the battle first began. Despite the caribou's lack of control when it came to the battle, the sheer size of the beasts was something to consider as a weakness. When he had first given the order for the testudo formation, he had thought that the caribou would throw themselves at the shield and breakthrough after some time.

To his surprise, the caribou haven't even broken through the shield wall the cohort had set up.

He would have expected something like this to happen. The caribou knew nothing of Roman tactics and defensive strategies that had forged a simple city into a powerful empire. While the caribou themselves have some numbers on their side, along with battle-hardened soldiers, the Romans themselves have fought endless wars against all foes from all sides. His legion was no different, having been in the thick of it since he started to take command of the legion. For the legion, it was just another day at the front.

The constant back and forth between the legion and the caribou had been going on for some time, with the caribou take massive casualties the first time around. They had resulted in trying and grabbing the shields of the frontline legionnaires, but their efforts would be in vain as the legion fought back by thrusting their swords or using pilas as spears towards the caribou.

In the back, he could see the caribou general barking orders in his strange language, his face contorted into rage and disbelief. A group of hooded individuals stood beside him, still almost like statues.

'This has gone on long enough' He had thought. While he wanted to continue the battle long enough to see who will stand victorious, he didn't want to be in this cursed forest as much longer as anyone else. Plus, he didn't want to get the hooded figures a chance to cast whatever magic they had under their belt. He looked over to see Oriana already loading an arrow into the notch of the bow. "Ready?" He asked. She looked over with grim determination on her face and nodded. "Good. Sound the horn." She moved her left hand behind her lower back and grasped a goat horn a moment later. She pressed it against her lips and blew it with all her might.

With the sound of the horn, the carnage began.

Arrows soon flew from every direction as the archers in his legion opened up on the horde of caribou. The archers in his company are said to be the decedents of Cretean's finest, ones that have once served Alexander the Great. Now, the deadly archers were under his command and fired with such accuracy that any existing archers within the legion would be put to shame. Several groups of caribou were slaughtered before another volley fired away. The general had a surprised look on his face.

Lucius pulled out his sword from its scabbard and yelled "CHARGE" as he started to run across the battlefield to join his soldiers. From his side, he heard two arrows flying next to him, hitting an unfortunate caribou in his head and his heart. Lucius engaged with one of the creatures that wielded a large sword. He swung the blade down towards him, but he had managed to step to the side in time. The caribou heaved it up and started to repeat the process, but he had never finished as he slashed his sword across his exposed belly and slicing it open. His guts spilled out and fell to the ground. The caribou, with pain in face, kneeled down and gripped his stomach. Lucius finished it off by thrusting his sword into his head. His body soon hit the ground facing upward as he kicked the body off of him. His sword was covered in blood and brain matter. Seeing this as an opportunity, the legion went out of its testudo formation and charged at the confused caribou soldiers. It wasn't before they threw their pilas into the caribou did they engage in bloody combat.

He looked to see Validus and Tempest joining the battle as well, while Oriana shot arrows at any soldier within her range. Validus rushed in and stabbed a caribou warrior in the sides as the creature was about to finish off a downed Roman soldier. Without hesitation, he slashed another caribou that was unfortunately in his way. His wide grin present as he gutted another caribou with a two-handed axe on him. Tempest threw strange glowing balls from somewhere, blinding any unfortunate soldier caught within its range. It hit some of his soldiers as well, but the caribou were still affected by the objects. This allowed some of the unaffected Roman soldiers to finish them off. After she ran out of said objects, she drew her sword and decapitated the head of a warrior that didn't see it coming. In the furry of battle, she slashed left and right, killing or at least wounding any caribou soldier near her. She blocked every swing and slash with a graceful ease of a Thracian dancer.

Facing an attack from all sides, the caribou soldiers started to turn and run, leaving their wounded comrades to their fate.

Lucius couldn't help but smile as the warriors retreated with tails between their legs. His legionnaires had managed to wipe out half of their forces with minimal casualties on their side. If the caribou were easy to defeat, then this war is already won. "GET BACK AND FIGHT, YOU COWARDS!" Helgrad furiously yelled as he stood at attention, his face red hot with anger and embarrassment. He started swinging his hammer at the few retreating caribou, its runes glowing brightly as each target was hit. "MAGES, DESTROY THOSE MONKEYS!"

The robed individuals, who have stood in the sidelines since the battle began now started to take action. The horns on each of their heads started to glow a bright orange. Lucius, upon seeing the pedicle, didn't take him long to connect the dots. The hooded people had something to do with this "magic" Tempest mentioned earlier. He could try to reach them and distract them long enough for his legion to rally, but the problem is that the mages were some feet away. Even if he would try to reach them, whatever magic they would cast would still hit him and his men. Plus, some of the caribou were still fighting his legion, either in hopes of stalling them until their soldiers got away or fighting to take out as many men as possible.

He cursed the gods and himself for not seeing it sooner. He wasn't a perfect commander by far. There were even times where he had miscalculated a battle that nearly got his legion wiped out. This failure, however, might be his downfall.

A caribou warrior came at him with a bellowing war cry. He barely had enough time to raise his sword to his face to defend himself. He carried only one sword in his hand as he aggressively attacked him. The caribou raised his sword over his head to slash down on his head, but it was all the opening he needed. He thrust his sword into his stomach like the last warrior he did it on. The caribou felt the pain in his abdominal region and dropped his sword. Before he could clinch it, Lucius swung he blade vertically and immediately killed him.

An explosion sounded near him. Looking to his left, he saw a scorched patch of burnt grass near the trees. Several of his legionnaires layed there withering and moaning, some of them had burnt skin across their arms and faces. Another explosion sounded off a second latter. He looked again to find another patch of scorched grass like the last one. Thankfully, it seemed like it missed some soldiers by a margin. "Where's that damn calvary at?!?!" He shouted over the carnage. He was currently that the Equites would be charging a second ago after his archers fired the first volley.

The ground under his feet exploded, and he was thrown off to the side.

He blinked as he tried to figure out what happened. Red blurry images entered his vision while his ears ringed like crazy. He blinked several times as his image returned. He could see explosions all over the place and his men lying on the ground moaning. He couldn't see any dead bodies form his direction, but he assumed the worse. Images of what happened before hit him like an ox running through an Athenian antique shop.

Before he could get up, A shadow loomed over him. He turned his head to see one of the mages was standing over him with a smirk on his face, already forming a fireball on top of his horn. His lips moved, but he couldn't hear anything. Over in the distance, he could see Oriana and Tempest running towards him. He knew it was meant for him. He cursed the gods and all that they have done to him so far.

Before the fireball was launched at him, the sound of galloping hooves on pavement sounded. The mage looked behind him just in time for a spear to plunge into his head and his lifeless body dragged through the ground as the equities charged. A legionnaire with a centurion helmet on his head rode a fair brown mare with a blonde mane and tail. His fair features, along with his sea-green eyes, looked at the Legate before him. With one fell swoop, he used his spear to thrown the lifeless mage to the sides. "Sorry we are late." Centurian Favious Comminus Sarius, leader of the Equities, said in a voice similar to the nobles living in Rome. "We had a little trouble with some ghastly creature that nearly turned one of my men into stone." He took off his helmet and comb his hair with his left hand, his short and curly blonde hair nearly shining in the daylight. "Go thing I was swift enough to decapitate it before it caused any more damage."

"Duly noted." Lucius said as he started to get up. His body screamed in protest, the burns on his legs not doing any wonders. He looked on to the battle that was still going on. His cavalry had managed to break through the foliage and charged at the remaining caribou soldiers that haven't retreated. The mages that were once in the back were reduced to a few as the charge from earlier broken their ranks. With their magical support gone, and being attacked from both sides, the caribou had decided that it wasn't worth hunting down these rebels and ran away. The cavalry pursued them without mercy. He couldn't see the general anywhere. The coward must have runoff.

The last of the caribou in his field of vision were finished off. The rest had run away in random directions. All around him, the soldiers were already cheering.

He couldn't help but smile. Victory was finally theirs. The gods were not done with him yet.

"What are our loses?" Lucius questioned Validus as he sat upon a stump. A medic was already attending to his burning wounds by applying oil and other essentials. He winced as the medical oil he had forgotten the name of stang his skin like a knife gently applying to a particular part of the skin. The wound itself wasn't too bad, as there were only burnt marks on the side of his left arm and right leg. He would be able to walk and fight again, but the medic insisted that the oil must be applied for a while before his wounds would fully heal.

The battle was over, and the Roman legion triumphed over its mysterious foe. Right now, the legion was scattering the battlefield for any wounded caribou to put down, while also scavaging the carnage for weapons and armor that may be of use. While it was against Rome law to scavage the battlefield like a pack of looters, they were in unknown territory with an unknown enemy. They need all the equipment they can get. Meanwhile, Lucius was sitting on a stump while being attended to by a local medicus. Along with Validus, Tempest was also beside him. Blood had coated her armor, almost mistaking it for her dark purple coat. She had a few scars around her neck and hands.

"None, sir." Validus spoke. "We have a dozen wounded from external burns, but other than that we don't have a single casualty." He looked up in the canopy. "Mars was definitely on our side today."

"Who is this Mars?" Tempest asked.

"The god of war." Lucius answered her as the last of the wraps were wrapped around his arm. "Every Roman commander would be a fool not to pray to Mars for glory and victory." Before the caribou had charged the cohort's lines, he made a silent prayer to Mars for a swift victory. The medicus nodded as he moved away from the group and onto the next group of soldiers in need of treatment. "In any case, it is a victory well deserve." He looked at Tempest as her opal blue eyes scanned his wrapped arm. "Don't worry. The medicus say it's a flesh wound." He said. "I can still fight if you are asking about that."

She shrugged. "It's more along the lines of if you want to fight at all." She looked at him with a hard look in her eyes. "You saw what those mages did to your men on the battlefield. You are extremely lucky that they only wounded your men."

"It was.....unexpected. I have to admit." Lucius admitted. "But I am still alive, and I can thank the gods for that." Indeed, he was lucky that the so-called "mages" had missed his men and only wounding them in the process. By Hades, he was surprised that there wasn't a single casualty on his side during the fight itself. While he would have dismissed it as what Tempest had said, he couldn't help but feel that something was watching over them. Whether it was the gods themselves or something else, he didn't care. As long as he was breathing, he couldn't complain.

After all, if anything the battle was flawless in his book.

"Regardless, what you did today was risky." Tempest continued. "The king now knows you are here, and he will likely send a huge army to find you."

"Then we will be prepared." He raised himself up from the stump. "You have already seen my men in action. Do you trust us now?"

Tempest bit her lip. "I must admit; your men were definitely professional when the battle first began. It takes a lot of discipline, even in the heat of battle. Those formations you did and the orders you gave give me the impression you lead your soldiers into war one too many times." She then gave Lucius a soft look, almost as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders; if only by a little. "So yes. I trust you and your men." Her look soon turned into a glare. "However, that doesn't mean that I won't trust you personally. I'll still keep my eye on you just in case."

He nodded. "That is fair." He rolled his shoulders, feeling the cracks and the adjustment of his joints. It hurt like Hades. Gods, he hated being old. "Validus, order the men to gather whatever supplies they could find and meet us back at the camp. We are getting ready to move out."

Validus pumped his fist to his left breast and said "Yes, sir." He turned around and started to bark orders to the cohort. The words "Fuck", "Whores", and something about chopping the heads off of any lazy soldiers and stuffing them into an ox's ass rang around the battlefield.

"He seems like a.......nice fellow." Tempest commented as she saw Validus yelling like a Suebian warrior drunk on wine.

Lucius shrugged. "You get used to him. Besides, he and Oriana got me this far." He turned to Tempest. "We should return to camp with the good news. My soldiers need some good news after this whole debacle." After being in the forest for gods know how long, his men need any good news they could get.

Tempest nodded. "We should. I'll take you to the resistance base once your men packed up everything." With a silent confirmation, she and Lucius walked towards the direction where his base was. He had to admit, this expedition was a complete disaster. They are far from home and surrounded by an enemy whose powers dwarfed that of any man. Stranded in a forest that was supposed to be dangerous, he didn't think for a second that his legion would survive the encounter. Yet they were triumphant in their battle with the caribou, a sign that the gods had not abandoned them entirely. It seemed the gods were watching him the entire time and gave him luck.

The question he had on his mind was for how long?

Reminded of his earlier conversation, he turned to the battlefield to find his bodyguard. While there were many men scrounging whatever they could find, finding a blonde Germanic woman wouldn't be that hard to find. Yet she was not here.

'Where the bloody hell is that women?' He thought.

Hunt

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How?

How could it have gotten out of hand?

How could he have lost to such inferior creatures?

The sound of galloping hooves drew near him, but it wasn't directed behind him. Already, he could hear his warriors cries of anguish as they are being run down by those strange four-legged ponies the 'Romans' rode on. He was lucky to have made it out of the slaughter alive as it was. As Helgrad kept running ahead of those strange creatures, he thought about what had gone wrong. How his warriors, veterans of a hundred battles since King Dainn's ascension, had lost to a bunch of monkeys in tin suits.

It had been routine at first. His mission was to track down the rebels and bring his brother back, along with killing and raping the leaders Tempest and Zecora. Their spies within the resistance had told them that the rebels were hiding out near the Everfree Forest. He had managed to rally his battle-hardened veterans with his speech. He promised them that this pathetic resistance will end and that the mares will be truly subjugated for the glory of all males everywhere.

He tripped on a root sticking out of the ground, losing his balance and toppling over. The ground soon entered his vision as felt pain soon hitting him. He cursed all the gods that his kind worship, even Odin the All-Father. But most of all he cursed Lucius and his army, along with the rebels. He would make them pay. He just had it with this damn forest! He hated it with every fiber of his being! He told father time and time again to burn this fucking forest to the ground, but he said it would be a waste of resources inside said forest.

Right now, he wanted to burn this forest and everyone in it.

He got up on all fours as he glared at the root. "Stupid fucking tree." He murmured under his breath as he got up and dusted himself off. "Once I get out of this forest, I-"

Crack

Helgrad's ears perked up at the sound of a twig snapping near him. What was wrong with such sound was that it didn't sound like a twig being snapped. It sounded more like a tree had been stepped on by something massive!

With a thought of a large predator near him, he took out his large hammer from his back and stood in a battle stance, the electric gem he had installed in his hammer glowed to life as lighting surrounded the hammer. He has partially injured during the battle. Several holes in his armor were the results of the arrows from Lucius's archers being flown out at him. He had taken a few hits, but he shrugged it off. Several scraps were seen from his hooves, all the way to his face. This was the result of the riders trying to kill him.

Yet, he was ready to take down the beast that dares to gaze at him like he was lunch.

He stood there for gods know how long. It seemed only like hours had passed for him, yet it was only several minutes. Perhaps he was being paranoid on his part. Maybe it was some woodland critter passing through and he thought it was something else, like one of those calvary chasing him.

After several minutes of nothing happening, he harumphed and put his hammer behind his back. "I swear to the fucking gods; I will burn this place to the ground and salt the la-"

He didn't finish as he heard something growling from beyond the treeline. He turned around and saw a pair of blue eyes watching him. He readied himself for the onslaught as the eyes vanished, and a massive paw appeared into view. Followed by another, until the beast itself was soon revealed.

And what a beast it was to behold.

A massive wolf the size of a warbeast he rode on stared back at him. Grey fur covered its massive frame from head to toe, shimmering even in the conceived sunlight. It's bright blue eyes scanned him with a sort of intelligence he had not expected in this forest. A large set of white teeth the size of a dagger made him shiver even as he stared at it. He didn't think there were any wolves that lived near the Everfree Forest beside the Timber Wolves. Even then, a wolf this size was impossible to imagine. He had heard of direwolves that once roamed the world before Whorelestia came into power, but they were all extinct.

It once again growled, its paws bend and spread out in preparation for an attack. He too did the same, readying himself for the battle ahead. He might not have won the battle today, but he needed something to pummel on to get his anger out of the way. With a smirk on his face, drew first, drawing a battle cry worthy of the gods. He had practiced with his hammer for a long time, clocking in at six hours per day of training. It weighed nothing at all to him, comparing it to only a sword. His moves were considered fast to some, while his enemies would never see such a hit coming. He charged forward and swung his hammer.....

...Only to hit nothing at all.

He blinked as he stood there, hitting nothing but air. It was impossible! He was sure he was faster than the average caribou. Was there nothing there at all? Had he finally gone mad in this accursed forest?

Before he could think of whether or not any of it was true, something pummeled into him. He was thrown down to the ground, skipping to a stop once he hit a tree with his back. The wind was knocked out of him, and pain filled his every body part like ants working under his skin. His vision started to blur. He blinked a couple of times to get his vision cleared.

He was soon faced to face with the giant wolf form before.

How could a mutt like it dodge his attacks? Not only that, but the beast managed to get the best of him when he was vulnerable.

He struggled to stay awake as the giant wolf loomed over him, it's teeth sharp enough to bit into his armor. A glint of victory was shown in its eyes, almost like it knew it won and it was merely savoring in the victory. He turned his head to see his hammer lay beside him to his right. He reached out to quickly grab it, but the wolf's giant paw barred his way, growling as it looked into its eyes with animalistic hunger.

This was it then. Helgrad, chosen son of King Dainn and the commander of his forces, would die in this gods damned forest by a giant wolf of all things. To top it all off, he was humiliated by those damn Romans. Surely, he will be punished for his cowardness and spend an eternity in Helheim.

"I fucking hate you, and everything in this fucking forest." He spat at the wolf. It glared at him and opened his jaws.

A blood curly scream echoed off across the forest. The various monsters and predators heard such a scream and scampered back to their homes, fearful of the new creature making the forest it's home. Lucius had heard the scream, along with almost every one of his cohort as they were finished rounding up surviving caribou that surrendered. "What the fuck was that?" Validus asked.

"We should move quickly, and someone find that goddamn woman!" He shouted his orders, a chill went down his spine. He hoped that Oriana is alright.

Sic Faciam Meae

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Lucis looked up at the 'painting' that was displayed at the centermost of the room he was in. Consisting of a large piece of canvas placed into a golden square, the main purpose was to show the beauty of what the artist was seeing. He had seen things similar to this only in Egypt, though it was part of their 'language' of a time long past. The picture showed three ponies, one sitting and the other two on its lap. These ponies were different from the ones he had seen during their trip. They have inherited both traits of pegasus and unicorn, which lead him to believe that they might be the 'alicorns' Tempest was talking about. He could tell that they must have been some sort of divine beings, though only a few remain. The pony sitting in the chair looked very young, but her eyes showed that she was far older than he was. Her coat was that of white snow with a blonde mane. Her golden yellow eyes stared into his own, as if the painting was alive and telling him to look upon her as any normal person. The two children (or are they foals to the ponies) were sitting on her lap. The first one had a snowy white coat like its mother. Her magna eyes shown with curiosity. Her mane and tail looked like the colors of the rainbow and almost looked like it was wavy. She was wearing a little sun-yellow dress with a large crown on top of her head, which covered up half of her left eye as she kept on smiling. The second child had a dark navy blue coat opposite to the other two. Her blue eyes looked excited to see him. Her mane and tail glittered with stars on them, almost like the entire heavens were inside that long wavy mane.

If he was not mistaken, the two children sitting on the knees of that mare were no doubt the Alicorn Sisters that Tempest and Steel Heart talked about during their first meeting with him. He didn't know about the image of the adult alicorn. Steel Heart had said that was at one point their mother known as Queen Galactica. She had mysteriously disappeared some thousands of years after the founding of Equestria. Some had said that she died while fighting another god known as 'Discord'.

The room he was in must have been suited for royalty at one point, yet had fallen to decay after years of neglection. The velvet sheets, which had once probably been silk from a foreign land, had been torn apart by moths and probably other critters that came scurrying around from time to time. The wooden bed was twice the size of normal ones, perhaps even bigger than the emperor's chambers. The wooden beams that held the roof of the bed looked fresh, but he could tell that it had been abandoned like the rest of the objects. He admired how the wood had stood the test of time even after all these years. He suspected that it must have something to do with this 'magic' that the unicorns have. There was also a small bookcase next to a desk that had seen better days. Filled with rot and a few broken pieces, it was amazing how it didn't break after all this time. The small bookcase right next to the desk had few books on it, and they started to show its age if the smell was anything to go by.

He shook his head as he stared at the painting. "I always wonder how such powerful beings, even those considered gods of all things, are brought low by barbarians?" He said. "You beings that can move the sun and moon being nothing more than whores. Perhaps even gods can make foolish decisions." He let out a cruel laugh. "If that is so, then Romulus and Roma, the ones that founded Rome, had foolishly stumbled upon the Palatine Hill and listened to the gods 'by accident'." He then looked at the tall, slender alicorn holding the two foals. "I wonder what you will think of this country now?" He muttered under his breath as he took one last look at the 'painting'. While he would admire the artistic value that this 'painting' has, he had more important matters to attend to. He walked away from the object reached toward the door that goes to the hallway.

After the battle in the Everfree Forest, the legion recuperated its losses and made a headcount on how many soldiers they lost. Thankfully, there were no casualties in the first battle with the caribou. However, several of the soldiers were injured by those mages that three fireballs. While the damage to their skin was not life-threating, they were out of action for a while until they could get better medical supplies. Tempest and Steel Heart pointed out that they have unicorns in town that can heal those

He mentally laughed at how ridiculous that sounds. Either his soldiers were lucky the first time, or the caribou were a bunch of unorganized brutes that know nothing next to warfare. How the ponies lost to these beasts is beyond him. They hunted down the survivors and took them as prisoners. Out of the five hundred that battled the Romans, about 80 were captured in the aftermath. Tempest, as promised, told him as to where the resistance was hiding and how to get there. Thankfully, it was out of the Everfree Forest and into a place known as 'Our Town'. It didn't appear in any maps of Equestria, allowing its leaders to operate without the caribou knowing where they are. He asked if this town would house his legions should he accompany them. They said no, but two unicorns by the name of Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lunamoon have invented some kind of shielding that turns the town and its surroundings invisible to only a few. The problem was that it only covered the town's limits, but it didn't bother Lucius that much. Tempest explained that they could try to adjust the spell so it can expand beyond the limits to cover his legion. He agreed to the idea and set his legion to march north to where this town was at, with Tempest and Steel Heart and Color Scheme acting as guides. They were sent to the front of the legion to not only guide them out of the forest but to talk to the leaders of the resistance and convince them that his legion were no threat.

Around the same time, just as the legion had finished packing, Oriana appeared beyond the treeline and made his way towards his camp. She was covered in blood from her chest, legs, and mouth, making it look like she had emerged from a literal blood bath. At first, he was worried that she might have serious injuries, but his fears were quickly dispelled when she walked normally. He was concerned when he saw an unhealthy amount of blood on her mouth but waved it off as an engagement gone wrong on her part.

The legion marched for what seemed like hours, and the sun was just setting over the mountains. Tempest commented that the Everfree Forest is much more dangerous at night and that they suggest they seek shelter immediately. Luckily, there is an old castle several miles from their position that would suffice as a shelter for the night. He agreed and followed the two mares to the castle. After some time, the reached what remains of this castle they spoke of. The place has obviously fallen into disrepair, mostly remaining in ruins save for a large tower that seemed in somewhat perfect shape. Moss grew in several areas around the outer exterior of the castle. Indeed, it looked more like a pile of rocks than actual ruins. Steel Heart explained that this once was a mighty castle that belonged to the Royal Sisters, the supposed "goddesses" that ruled this nation. After banishing an evil spirit called Nightmare Moon, in which Princess Luna transformed into an evil mare bend on creating an eternal night, Celestia abandoned the castle and relocated to a new city called Canterlot. Since then, it had mostly been abandoned.

A small bridge connected the ground he was standing on to the castle. Right beneath them was a wide chasm with fog near the bottom, giving it an eerie atmosphere in this depressing forest. The bridge itself looked like it could break at any moment with its rotting wood and loose ropes around other ropes. He had questioned Tempest if this was a safe place to rest for the night, she shrugged and said that it was better than nothing.

After she said that, a butterfly landed in the middle of the bridge. Once it landed, the bridge began to creak before collapsing down to the bottomless chasm below. The butterfly frantically flew away.

'"It's better than nothing" my ass.' He grimly thought as he looked on at the now collapsed bridge. He looked towards Tempest again and she shrugged. He ordered several engineers to chop down the nearby trees and assemble them into a bridge. Color Scheme, Tempest and Steel Heart helped them with the construction as well. After several hours, just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the horizon, the engineers finished constructing a wide bright for his legion to go on. While it wasn't big enough for a single legion to go through, it was strong enough to withstand pressure from several cohorts crossing. Color Scheme did most fo the work, using rudimentary mathematics similar to Greek or Roman math. His father was once a carpenter by the name of Wood Cutter. Although Color Scheme wasn't interested in carpentering like his father, he still remembers the lessons his father had taught him. This proved useful to the legion as the constructed the bridge wide enough for a single cohort to go through. He then ordered several companies to go through to the other side, five thousand in total. The rest of the three thousand legionnaires would stay near the forest and set up a perimeter around the chasm and the castle in case the caribou come back and look for them. It was unlikely considering how they eliminated and captured the remaining caribou after the battle, but one can never be too careful. If they did find the legion, they were ordered to burn the bridge and hold off the invaders while they make a quick getaway. It's shameful to run away from the enemy as the Darius family is headstrong when it came to military traditions. Circumstances change, even in a hostile and unknown land.

After about two-thirds of the legion made it across, they were soon ordered to make camp and prepare to move at first light. Lucius, Oriana, Validus, Tempest, Color Scheme and Steel Heart decided to look around the ruins as a precaution. Anything could have occupied the castle while it was abandoned. This threat ranged from bandits to wild animals to caribou "hunters", ones that specialize in hunting down escaping sex slaves and returning them to their masters. These hunters usually hunt in the Everfree Forest for them considering how big said forest is. They would occasionally camp out at the Everfree castle from time to time.

The hallway he was walking down was long, and grand at one point. Red-colored drapes that once decorated the halls had either lost their color or torn down by either the weather or animals that once lived in this castle. Stacked on the right side of the hallway were suits of armor that were held upright by a stand on the inside. The armors looked so ancient he was surprised they were still standing even after being abandoned. Though calling it armor was a bit of an understatement. These armors covered the person from head to toe in what looks like iron to the point the person looks more like a statue than anything else. One of the displays showed a strange helmet that resembles a bird's beak holding in its left metal hand a cross between a pike and a large axe. Another one held a large sword with its blade looking much like a serpent. The armors themselves had some rust on them along with some weapons they were wielding. They had seen better days, that much was clear. The doors that lead to some of the other rooms had rotted away at one point, leaving him easy access to see inside.

He kept checking each room to make sure no one was here. Apart from some furniture being ruined beyond repair, nothing has been disturbed so far. As far as he was concerned, they were all in the clear.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword he didn't know he had gripped in his hands. The last thing he needed was to deal with any bandits or scouts for the caribou. Satisfied with the emptiness of the castle and the lack of any enemy contact, he retreated back to the foyer where they promised they would meet up after they throughly check out the castle.

The foyer was considered the entrance to the castle. A large wooden door stood open so the wind can blow through. A large red carpet spammed all the way from the entrance to up at the feet of the stairs where it is climbing. Two giant banners with many smaller banners stood to the side of the column where he was coming down. One showed the sun in a yellow background while another shows a crescent moon in a dark blue background. Two mannequins with armor stood to the side of the stairs. In the center of the room, Tempest, Steel Heart, and Validus were conversing with each other. Validus was just finishing a story told to them. ".....and then the centurian said, "And from that day forward anytime a bunch animals come together in one place its called a zoo!" After finishing his rant, I asked if a farm counts as a place where animals gather. He beat me up senseless then ordered to deliver water to a nearby village with nothing but my cock hanging out." He gave a hearty laugh. "Good thing that bastard died in Germania. Rumor has it that his own men killed him. That would've been a fucking hilarious sight to see."

"That is a very.......interesting story," Tempest said before looking at Lucius approaching the bottom of the stairs. "Anything?"

"Nothing. It looks like this castle hasn't be disturbed for a long time." He concluded. "We can thank the gods for the luck so far."

Tempest nodded. "That's good. The last thing we need is Hunters looking for us after your little skirmish."

"You think we'll be safe here?" Validus questioned. "The caribou would want blood after the arse-kicking we gave them."

"The caribou are stupid, but they are not stupid as to send an army into the Everfree itself." Steel Heart said. "And they can't burn us out as well. That would undoubtedly piss off the animals of the Everfree and create an environmental disaster. Best they can do is try to surround the whole of the forest if possible."

"You think they will do that?" Lucius asked this question. It would be a waste of resources and manpower just to surround the forest. It would be idiotic, even to the caribou themselves.

She shrugged. "Maybe." She said. "Like I said, they got the entire male population on their side thanks to that damnable magic object in the Crystal Empire." Lucius didn't know what she was talking about when she mentioned a magic object in the "Crystal Empire", but he could hazard a guess that it wasn't good for the ponies. "It could take them three days to surround the forest at best."

"Then we leave at first light," Lucius said as he pointed to Validus. "Relay the message to the other centurians and commanders. Once morning hits, we pack up what we can and leave." Validus nodded and went off to inform the company commanders. "Steel Heart," He directed his gaze onto her. "You have wings, yes?" She nodded in response. "I need you to keep watch on one of the clouds. If there were any survivors that had gone back to that nearby village, then we need to know if they sent another army inside the forest."

Steel Heart puffed up her cheeks and glared at the legate. "Hold on, who died and made you a leader?" She said in an angry tone. "As far as I'm conce-"

"As far as I'M concerned, I am the Legate of this legion." He cut her off with a growl. "I didn't earn the title just by suck up to some senators. I earn mine through blood and sweat." He marched over to Steel Heart and aggressively pointed a finger at her chest." This is my legion, and whatever I say is final. If you think you can command me just because you are in charge of this little expedition, then I would live in a mud hut in the middle of fucking nowhere than be here with you." He gave her a glare so nasty that, if one can look closely, one would have seen her soul literally pop out of her body in fright. "Now, I gave you an order. You will follow that order as if it was a message from your gods or mine. Understand?" He slowly wrapped his left hand over the hilt of his sheathed gladius. "Or are we going to have a problem with that?" He didn't care if she was some high ranking member in their feeble resistance. This is his legion, his family of soldiers who have been through thick and thin in every part of the Roman world. Damn be if anyone says otherwise, whether they be caribou or pony.

The brave bravado that once appeared on Steel Heart's face had vanished completely and replaced with one of fear. She opened her mouth several times trying to come up with a retort. Instead, she turned her head around and headed out the large double doors, her stomping distributing the silent sound that once reigned in this room.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he moved his hand away from his gladius. "That went better than I expected," Tempest commented from behind him. He turned around to see her leaning her shoulders against a column. "I almost thought she would attack you for a second. Steel Heart never likes anyone taking command of her."

"Including you?" He questioned.

"She may act tough and think she's a hotshot, but she always lacks experience on the battlefield. As far as I'm concerned, I'm in command of this little scouting party. Not her." She sighed as she adjusted off the pillar and made her way to the stairs. "She doesn't trust me a lot, and I can understand why. Equestria was almost conquered because of me. Why Zecora or Starlight Glimmer gave her a commanding role I'll never know." She sat down at one of the steps. "She'll probably take the credit for finding you."

"At the very least, she should at least listen to her soldiers on advice when given an order," He said as he made his way over to her. "War is not won by one commander alone, but by the soldiers he commands. Ignore them, and you have already lost. If she can't accept a command, then she should be demoted and flayed alive."

"I guess your right. Except for the flaying alive part." Tempest said. "When she was asked to put together an expedition, both commanders appointed me as part of her team, saying I have the experience and such. I think its mainly for both of them to watch over me." She sighed as she put on of her left hands on her left cheek. "I can understand why. I nearly put Equestria in danger because of me."

"Interesting." He said. He had a suspicion from the start that Tempest Shadow wasn't a resident of Equestria, given the brief history lesson he had received. Then again, such peace-loving people can turn to arms when they are threatened, but Tempest was different from the rest. "I did forget to ask; what were you doing before meeting me?" He assumed that Tempest was on a mission before coming across his forces. His existence hadn't been known until today. He highly doubts that this resistance knew about the legion being here.

Then again, he had woken up in the middle of a gods-damned forest for who knows how long.

"We were supposed to scout out Ponyville as part of Glimmer's plan to liberate Equestria." She answered. "You may not know this, but Equestria was once protected by artifacts called the Elements of Harmony wielded by six mares."

"Artifacts, you say?" He asked. He wasn't surprised that something like this existed given his brief encounter with magic during the battle. "Are they that poweful

She nodded. "They are. They have protected Equestria for years against darker forces. They are powered by the elements of friendship. Laugher, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, and Magic are all wielded by six mares that represent those values."

"So are they powerful warriors who wielded these weapons?"

"........."

"........"

"Oh, you are serious?" She asked. "They aren't really warriors per se, but they do support each other when the going gets tough." A sad smile appeared on her face. "I learned that when the Storm King invaded."

"I assume this Storm King learned the hard way?"

"Yeah." She said. "Before I joined Equestria, I was under the command of the Storm King." A sad look in her eyes tells him that it wasn't a good experience she would want to repeat. "He was a ruthless king that kills anything and takes what he wants while making slaves out of everyone he's conquered. He promised that if I help him out," She pointed to her broken horn. "that he would repair my horn."

"Horns are important to a unicorn, I take it?" Lucius assumed. While his knowledge of Equestrian society is limited to the three ponies he met, he quickly assumed, for the most part, that horns were important to a unicorn's standing. Tempest also explained how unicorn horns were used to cast magic as well. For one to lose a horn would be devastating.

"I..........lost my horn a long time ago, and it devastated me for years." She explained in a sad tone in her voice. "You're basically a freak in everyone's eyes if you don't have a horn as a unicorn. I can't remember the last time I wasn't beat up because I was different. The Storm King came to me one day and said that he will restore my horn to what it once was. In return, I have to serve him. It was like that for" She paused as she lifted her fingers and counted them. "Goddess, I can remember. Years I guess."

"My condolences then." He said as he put his right hand over his heart and bowed. "I cannot imagine what sort of life you had lead." He can share his sympathy with her. While the Darius family had lead a more extravagant lifestyle, it didn't discourage them from interacting with the plebian population. His father once said that a soldier's upbringing can be of great importance to a legion. For example, one of his men grew up on a poor farm just south of the ruins of Carthage. He had to steal from other townsfolk, even passing merchants, so he can get his daily bread. After joining the 15th, he is considered to be the best scout in the army, able to tell the difference between a rock and a tree from a hundred miles away. He can sneak behind enemies without them noticing and take them by surprise.

"I don't need your sympathy." She said with a glare aimed directly at him. "I know what I have done and I accept that." She softened her glare. "Sorry I snapped like that. Anyway, the Storm King one day decided to invade Equestria during its celebration of Princess Twilight's coordination. We caught them by surprise and managed to capture the city within an hour, along with the three Princesses who were there. Unfortunately, I pushed the Elements, including Twilight, off of a waterfall instead of capturing them. The survived, but king was very displeased and wanted me to find her as soon as possible."

He nodded. "I can understand why. Capturing all four leaders is the best way to break any resistance movement." It wasn't uncommon for Rome to hold a leader of a tribe or rival empire hostage. There were a few times during his campaign where he threatened the barbarians by put a sword next to their chieftain's throat. While the last couple of times proved successful in acquiring supplies and "tribute", the last one didn't work out so well. Instead of just surrendering, they charged and attacked them. They had put down the would-be warriors at the cost of four legionnaires. He can still remember that chieftain's face after he had slit his throat. It was calm and collective like he had accepted his fate a long time ago.

"More or less. He wanted all four princesses for some sort of ritual that involved the Staff of Sacanas." She pointed out. "This magical artifact can absorb the magic off of any magical being and empower its user."

Once again, he wasn't surprised that such a weapon exists in this place. "Why not just this 'staff' on the already captured princesses then hunt down Twilight after?" If there was a weapon that can suck "magic" out of someone, surely the Storm King could have used it to absorb their powers before go after Twilight.

She shook her head. "The ritual precisely stated that he needed the four princesses together in one place." She answered. "I went around the entirety of the world to try and find her. In the end, I managed to capture her. During her imprisonment, she convinced me that just because I don't have a horn doesn't mean I'm different than anyone else. At first, I didn't believe her, but the more she argued, the more I think about my situation." Her eyes betrayed a bit of sadness. "All my life I wanted people to accept me. When someone said they can make it happen, I jumped in with no clear thoughts about it. I thought he would help me, but then I found out that he was using me." Her hands gripped the stone step, almost like she was commanding it to break. "Twilight said that it doesn't matter if I have a horn or not, or that I am different from everyone else. All that mattered was what I wanted in life. In the end, I helped Twilight defeat the Storm King and redeemed myself. I accepted who I am lived with that notion. However," She touched the broken tip of her horn. "there were times where I wished there was another way to become someone I'm not." She then had a fire in her eyes that indicated that she wasn't going to give up so easily. "That was the reason I was accepted into this mission. I wanted to save Twilight if possible. I owe her my life."

"You consider her a friend?" She nodded. "At least you are fighting for something you believe in." He soon moved and sat down next to her. "I'm going to be honest with you: I didn't want this life." He answered. Tempest looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "Don't be surprised about that. Yes, I wanted to be a soldier like my grandfather and his father before him, but I wanted an easy life. I wanted to see the Empire and travel all around. After my tenure is up, I would pick up a hobby that I like and live like a plebian. A normal life. At least, that is what my original dream is. Until Britannia happened."

Tempest cocked her head, which was considered cute in Lucius's eyes. "What's a 'Britannia?' I never heard of such a place before."

"It is an island north of Gaul." Lucius explained. "Well, calling it an island would be an understatement. It was another world in my eye. In ages past, Caesar, one of the greatest Roman leaders of our time, leads a campaign against the tribes in ages past. Ever since then we have been painstakingly claiming the island from the savages. We had succeeded, but only for a moment. Queen Boudica, the queen of the Iceni people, had led a rebellion against our rule. She had slaughtered many of our citizens and enslaved more. The recent governor failed to stop this uprising and fled like a coward." He looked at the open door and the colored sky beyond it. Usually, he didn't consider looking up the night sky due to how busy he was. Plus there was nothing to look at most of the time. For some reason, the night was more beautiful than he could imagine. It was as if someone had painted the sky like an artist working on a mural dedicated to the gods themselves. "As a result, we were sent in to stop this uprising.

I was a young soldier back then. A fresh recruit that didn't want to be in the army. My father insisted that I join the said legion, Legio IX Hispania, on its way to quell the uprising. "It's an easy job," my commander said "just a bunch of shit savages armed with sticks and rock. It will be over in a jiffy." That was what I kept telling myself over and over whenever I get scared.

How wrong I was that day.

We meet outside the city of Camulodunum. We were heavily outnumbered. They numbered in the hundreds of thousands while ours only numbered in the thousands. It was a massacre. We were slaughtered to the last man. I only escaped by stealing a horse from one of the Iceni tribesmen. I was not the only one. Quintus, my commander, and some cavalry escaped to a nearby fort and held there until reinforcements could relieve us.

I still remember the battle like it was yesterday. I stood in the formation, at the front while Boudica charged at us. She slaughtered so many of us that I didn't think her as human. I was scared shitless for my life. I watched as my nearby friend was cut down to meatless chunks by her men. Another one had his skull split open by an ax wielded by an Icenic warrior. Both my friends' scream and the enemies' blood thirty cries are still fresh in my mind after all these years." He shook his head as more bad memories kept coming up, his vision suddenly becoming hazy as if he was in the water. Was he crying? "And I ran like a coward without looking back. I could have helped them, but they came upon us so fast we didn't have enough time to rally our forces. I didn't stand my ground as they slaughtered us." He wasn't proud of what he did. After the battle and the defeat of the rebellion later, there were times where he wanted to kill himself. He wiped his eyes and looked at Tempest. "Sometimes I wish I died back there. The gods wouldn't forgive me for being a coward back then. Perhaps me becoming Legate was punishment enough."

She looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "That is......horrible." She finally whispered. She looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "I'm very sorry for what happened to your friends. It must be dramatizing to lose them."

"It was at first." He said. "However, I learned to move on after we crushed the rebellion. There were times where I wanted to go back and undo the mistake, even at the cost of my life." He sighed. "Unfortunately, we cannot predict the will of the gods or their minds, but what's done is done. I have moved past it." His eyes soon gazed at the broken horn. "And you should do the same as well."

She was silent as she pondered his words. He could tell that her mind was in a conflicting state, where she can either accept who she is or chase down a dream that will never come. She bit her lip as she looked back at him. "How?" She asked. "How can I just accept how I am? What if I want to be someone different?"

"......." He looked at her with concentration. He hasn't been in Equestrian society long, but he can pick up even the simplest of desires one has. The ponies were no different from any creature on Terra. She was chasing a dream, and he would give her reality. "There is a saying in my family: "Sic Faciam Meae". In your language, it means "I shall make my own way." He pointed to her horn. "For years you have spent your own life trying to fix what can not be fixed. In return, you have become a slave to your own desires.

Although you are free from your king, you still can not break the chains that are in your mind. You want perfection, but that is impossible. You must embrace your faults and strive to overcome them. I have lost my friends a long time ago and I still mourn for them, but not to the fact that it consumes my life. The same goes for my soldiers. I have lost many under my command, but I do not mourn. The only thing you can do is fight for yourself and define your expectations.

Perhaps it was the will of the gods that your horn would be lost, but they are testing you. If you fail, then you will fall into a hole no one will climb. But if you succeed, if you accept what makes you different from everyone else and use that difference to your advantage, then the world is yours." He finished his sentence as he gazed into Tempest's eyes. "So, what is it going to be?"

Tempest had a surprised look on her face once his speech was finished, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times. It was amusing, to say the least. He didn't say his speech just to make her feel better. He still cared for her, but as a soldier in need of training. The last thing he needed was someone hesitant in mind during a battle. Yet at the same time, he respected her. She had defied a king in order to achieve what she wanted. "Did you avenge your friends in the end?"

"I did. In fact, I was the one that slew Bociuda. However, that is a story for another time." He said. "But what about you? Are you going to move away from your past, or still be chained like a slave?"

She nodded. "I........I......." She was struggling to form coherent words. She then sighed. "You are right." She said. "I have been chasing a dream that may never come true, and it nearly cost me everything. I need to face reality and get back on my feet." She smiled. "Thanks for the peep talk. Never expected something like this to happen."

"Don't mention it." Lucius said. "I need you to be sound of mind before our next battle with the caribou." He got up and craned his back. "I hope this talk we had was......educational to you." He turned around and started to walk. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my men and rest up. It will be a busy day tomorrow." He had felt tired ever since coming here. After he checks the conditions of his men, he will go straight to his bed. Especially the ones that were wounded during the fight. They have enough medical supplies to ease the pain, so he shouldn't be worried about it for a while. He will need all the energy for tomorrow's journey. His limbs felt like wet towels after a day at the baths and his legs are like a tree getting ready to falling down.

"Wait." She shouted after him. He turned around to see her walk beside him. "What did you want to be besides a soldier?" She asked. "You said you wanted to pick up a hobby after you are out of the army. So what did you want to do?"

He raised an eyebrow upon hearing that question. "You won't believe me even if I told you." He answered.

"Try me." She folded her hands over her metallic breastplate.

He smirked as he answered. "I wanted to be a baker."

"......." She stood there trying to process the information before barking out a laugh. "A baker?!? Really?!?!" She had to hold her stomach as she continued laughing.

Lucius frowned upon hearing her laugher. He wanted to say that it was not as strange as she would think, but he couldn't help but chuckle alongside her. Hearing it from himself, he would say it was a bit silly. "I never expected you to be a baker of all things." She commented after she stopped laughing.

He shrugged. "Sometimes we can't have all we want." They both laughed as they went out of the castle and into the camp. It felt good, this feeling he had. It was something he had not felt in a long time. Not only had he managed to convince Tempest that wishing for a horn is useless, but he had managed to open up himself in some way. Sure, it was to teach Tempest a lesson, but for some reason, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was also teaching himself in some way.

He still misses his friends, but for the sake of the Legion, he must carry on. For their sake and those after them.

Felix felt like his head was about to explode at any moment. This was in and of itself crazy considering he could take at least several tankards of wine before falling into a drunken state. He couldn't feel his body at the moment, but he did feel like he was sleeping on something hard and cold.

"By Bacchus, kill me the fuck now." He moaned as he tried to open his eyes. "Try" being a subjective word. Every time his eyes open, they were greeted with visions of darkness that he couldn't see for miles. To top it off, his head was pounding like crazy. It almost felt like several Nicean horses tap-danced all over his head.

After several tries, he opened his eyes again. This time his vision adjusted a little as he was able to see the world once again. While it was still dark outside, he could see little flames dancing in his vision, allowing him to see where he was at.

He was lying on a hard cement floor with his left cheek touching said floor. He could see iron bars that were at the entrance to his room. There was a torch on the other side of the bars that lit up a hallway. There were two other rooms similar to his with iron bars. He groaned as he supported himself up, his head still pounding like a war drum. Looking around, he could see a small hay bed in the corner along with a bucket filled with something he didn't want to guess.

"Am I in a fucking prison?" He nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. He struggled to move for a moment and nearly fell over a couple of times, but he still made it to the iron bars. He tried to remember what had happened. He landed in some alleyway, he was in a city similar to Rome. There were some strange animal-like creatures there that walked on two was some sort of festival going on........

"Finally awake, I see." A voice said behind him. He turned around to see the same horse-like creature he encountered before. At least, it looked like one. Its skin has a dark glossy coat that seemed hard, much like that of bugs. he encountered in various places within the Roman Empire. Her yellow eyes had slits like a serpent staring back at him. Its hair was long that went past her slim shoulders with the color of red. A tail like that of a horse came out of its behind with the same color red as its hair. Two ears protrude off the sides of its head. There were fangs exposed at the top of her teeth. It was also naked save for a red collar around its neck. Her slender frame was only supported by two D-sized breasts. Even though Felix stared at the big globes of flesh, he had the impression that she didn't mind at him looking at her. "When they first dragged you in here, I thought you were dead. Looks like I was wrong."

"Who dragged me in here?" Felix asked as he stared away from the breasts. "Where in Hade's fucking balls am I?"

"You're in the funhouse, where there are sweets and treats and the caribou read stories at half-past nine." The lady said in a sarcastic tone. "Where the fuck do you think you are?!?! You're in prison. The royal guards dragged your shaved ass in this cell with me." He had to cringe at every swear, and he thought he was the one that was good at swearing.

"Prison?!?!" He nearly screamed at the top of his lungs at the mention of being in prison. "For what?!?!" He wasn't surprised to say the least. He has forgotten how many times he had been thrown into a cell for public intoxication and picking fights with random legionnaires.

She shrugged. "Public intoxication, disrupting the peace, picking random fights with strangers. Oh, and punching the king in the face."

"......"

"....."

"......What?" He gave her a questioning look.

"What are you, deaf?" She said. "You. Punched. The. King. In. The. FACE!"

"I did?" He searched his head for anything that is related to what she said. His head still hurt even as he was thinking. He did remember sitting down and drinking something. That's about it for the most part. "How did that happen?"

She shrugged. "Tarturas if I know. I only heard whispers from the guards." She answered. "There was some sort of brawl going on between you and some royal guards, then the king arrived and you beat the hell out of him. By the way, congratulations on punching that bitch in the face." She smirked. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"Thank the god of wine for that," Felix stated as he backed up against the wall and slide down to a sitting position. He had given up on trying to break down the bars even as his head kept getting pounded by the migraine. "So what happens now? Are they going to kill me?" That wouldn't be good at all. There was so much to do, so much to see. He would never tell his one true love in Iberia how he loved her. 'I will never get the chance to tell Marianus how much I love her. Or was it Greitius? Claudius? Fuck if I know. '

"They won't kill you." The bug thing explained. "What they will do is use one of there spells to turn you into a female and then mercilessly fuck you silly until you crave more."

"....."

"Then again," She put her one index finger to her chin. "I heard the king is really pissed that someone like you had managed to be the living shit out of him. If anything, he might just kill you outright."

Felix's jaws dropped upon the mention of the possibility of death. It was a big turn from what he was at moments ago. He went from being in a strange city filled with strange people to being in a cell with a bug horse thing that might rip his throat out at any moment. What's worse: the supposed king of this city will kill him or transform him into a woman and rape him silly until death.

"........fuck my life."

"It might be that way soon."

Legion of Mars

by Jack of Tales

Far from Home

In Ingotis (Into the Unknown)

Idles of March

An Unfortunate Event

The Battle of Everfree Forest: Part One

The Battle of Everfree Forest: Part Two

Hunt

Sic Faciam Meae