Bedrock of Empire

by Thomas M D Brooke

  Before we reached the parade ground, we realised something else was amiss. There was a commotion going on in front of us, raised voices, and the cavalry milling around in an agitated state. ‘What is it now?’ said Idmus in exasperation.

  Tribune Calix ran over to us from the confused muddle. ‘You’d better wait here for a moment, sir.’

  Idmus took off his helmet and threw it to the ground. ‘By all the gods, will you tell me what is going on?’

  Calix looked at me nervously, clearly not sure whether he should report his tidings in front of me. The legate wasn’t in the mood for any more delays however. ‘Out with it man. Is Centurion Flavus with them or not?’

  Calix nodded. ‘He is, sir, but we have another problem. The men under his command won’t give him up. They’re refusing to let the guards take him.’

  Idmus’ round face turned red with anger. ‘Those mutinous rebels. I’ll have the hides off the back of every one of them. Signal the first cohort to arms.’

  I raised one hand. ‘Hold on … before we get carried away, let’s think about this.’

  Idmus looked at me, fury in his eyes. ‘What’s to discuss? They’re disobeying orders and protecting a traitor.’

  I turned to his tribune. ‘Calix, has anyone told the legionaries what their centurion is wanted for yet?’

  Calix shook his head. ‘No, I was told not to.’

  I looked at Idmus. ‘It’s possible it’s just a loyal unit protecting a popular centurion. I’ve known good units to do foolish things before. Let me speak to them before we order in the men.’

  Idmus ground his teeth, clearly still angry, but relented. ‘Very well, speak to them. It will take us a while to rouse the first cohort in any case. But warn them they don’t have long. As soon as I return with the first cohort, they better have all laid down their arms.’

  I nodded to them both and walked through the milling cavalry that surrounded the parade ground in a loose circle. In the centre stood the small unit of legionaries in a tight tortoise formation, large shields protecting each side and overhead – which I thought was a touch excessive, as no one was raining missiles down on them. A hedge of pila struck out from the compact square, held firm by resolute legionaries who didn’t look ready to lay down their arms anytime soon.

  ‘Stop where you are. Don’t approach any further!’ shouted a firm voice from the tortoise.

  I had no olive branch to show them, so I opened my arms, showing that my hands were empty. ‘I just want to talk,’ I called back.

  ‘You can talk from there. Don’t get any closer!’ shouted another voice, this one higher pitched and urgent.

  I stopped where I was. I was less than twenty paces from the square, well within range of a well-thrown pilum from an impulsive legionary. ‘This is foolish. You know that. What do you expect to achieve?’

  There was a murmuring from under the wall of shields. I guessed that this small mutiny hadn’t been completely thought through, and they were arguing how to proceed. The firm voice won, and he shouted back to me, ‘You can’t have him!’

  There was more arguing from under the shields. I let it continue but couldn’t decipher any words. ‘Who is it you are protecting?’ I knew the answer, but wanted to test their resolve.

  More arguing. This time a third voice answered, one I hadn’t heard before. ‘You can’t take our centurion!’

  I squinted to see if I could see anything through the gaps in the shields, but the light was too dim. ‘Do you mean Flavus Arminius?’

  The man with the firm voice was back. ‘You can’t have him. We don’t care what he’s done. We all owe our lives to him.’

  I kept my voice calm and measured. ‘Do you know why I want to speak to him?’

  ‘Something about his brother, but we don’t care. His family is nothing to do with him any more. He is part of our family now.’ There was still defiance in his voice.

  So Flavus had told his men about Julius. I wondered if they knew the extent of his brother’s treachery. Time to tell them the truth and see the response. ‘Julius Arminius was responsible for a great betrayal on the Rhine. Three legions lay dead, their eagles taken, the province lost due to the betrayal of that man. Are you in league with them?’

  Pandemonium broke out, raised voices came from multiple sources, the cohesion of the tortoise collapsed and I saw sets of legionaries arguing. I thought that might cause a stir. ‘You understand why I must speak with him?’

  They weren’t ready to give in yet. Firm-voice shouted the others down and then turned to me. I could see him now, a grizzled optio of his middle years. ‘Flavus can’t have been part of that. He was here with us.’

  There was a commotion behind him. Someone was shuffling forward. More raised voices. ‘Just let me speak to him!’ said a deep resonant voice.

  The speaker came forward, pushing his way through the crowd of legionaries. He removed his helmet, revealing a thatch of blonde hair.

  My heart lurched.

  He looked at me. ‘Gaius? Is that you?’

  Flavus had grown tall and strong, and now stood before me in his centurion’s mail shirt and leather kilt. He had an unruly mop of blonde hair, chiselled features, and even the white teeth that I remembered from a young ten-year-old’s smile. He looked so much like his brother that for one brief moment I wanted to run over to him.

  He looked like his brother.

  That brought me up short, like a pail of cold water being dashed into my face. I felt my stomach sink, and sadness overwhelmed me. ‘Flavus,’ I greeted him.

  ‘It is you!’ he whispered in a tone of wonder.

  I felt my anger build. ‘I have come on the behest of Augustus Caesar and the Senate of the Republic of Rome. Tell your men to lay down their arms or they will all be deemed enemies of Rome and face the consequences. I won’t ask again.’

  There was more discussion between the men. The optio with the firm voice seemed to be arguing for further defiance, but Flavus was trying to placate him. Eventually, Flavus turned round to me. ‘If I come, will my men go unpunished? They hold no fault in these events. They were just trying to protect me.’

  I wasn’t here to bargain. ‘I can make no promises.’

  There was a low discussion from the legionaries. Finally, the magnitude of their mutiny was beginning to hit home. All their lives could be forfeit as a result. Flavus continued to speak to each of the ringleaders, shaking his head as they remonstrated. Finally they fell silent, and he embraced each one in turn before turning to me. ‘I’m coming out, and my men will then lay down their arms.’

  I nodded to him and watched him remove his gladius and dagger from their sheaths before walking over to me. I heard other gladii and shields hit the ground as the rest of the legionaries followed suit, but my gaze was stuck on Flavus.

  He came up to me, a nervous look on his face, unsure whether to offer a smile to his brother’s former best friend. ‘You’ve hardly changed, Gaius. I haven’t seen you since childhood, but you look as fit and strong as ever.’

  Flavus and his brother had always addressed me by my praenomen, Gaius. It was a sign of our closeness and how I had thought of them as an extension of my own family. But this time I wasn’t in the mood to reminisce. I kept my tone cool and even. ‘I’m going to pass you into the custody of Tribune Calix. He’ll ensure you are secured until I can visit you later tonight. I have questions for you.’

  Flavus lowered his eyes and answered softly, ‘Of course you do.’

  Tribune Calix walked through the cavalry riders, who parted their horses so he could lead a squad of eight legionaries through to me. ‘Take him away,’ I told them, ‘and don’t let him speak to anyone.’

  I let them go and then went to speak to Legate Idmus. He was directing his soldiers to retrieve the weapons of the rebellious legionaries. I approached and he turned to me. ‘That was well done. I didn’t want to have to resort to force. But I would have if they hadn’t complied. Never thought a unit of mine would do this.
’

  I sighed. ‘They don’t look like traitors to me. Just soldiers sticking up for one of their own.’

  Idmus gave me a hard look. ‘If you think I’m going to overlook this episode, you’re mistaken. They rebelled against my orders. That cannot be forgiven lightly.’

  I nodded solemnly. ‘I understand. I will leave you to decide what their punishment should be. When I question Flavus tonight, he might reveal something about the legionaries. But I think it unlikely to be anything sinister. Those men looked genuinely shocked when I revealed who their centurion’s brother was, and what he had done.’

  Idmus looked at his helmet, which he now held in his hands. ‘Could they just be feigning ignorance?’

  I gave a shake of my head. ‘If they were, an overt mutiny like we’ve just witnessed is a strange way to do it.’

  Idmus pursed his lips and nodded. ‘Yes, I agree. But I’ll still have those men digging out the latrine pits for a month at the very least. There can be no disorder in the Sixth Victrix. Do you want me to assign the legion questioners to assist you?’

  The legion questioners would be men used to beating or torturing answers out of captives. I wasn’t prepared to let that happen just yet. ‘No, there will be plenty of time for that later in Tarraco if necessary. I want to see what he tells me voluntarily.’

  The legionary opened the cell door and let me walk into the sparse room they were keeping Flavus in. ‘Would you like me to stay with you, sir?’ he asked me. ‘We were told he could be dangerous.’

  I shook my head. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Please shut and lock the door. I’ll knock when I want you to let me out.’

  The legionary did as he was ordered and left me alone in the cell with Flavus. He sat on the ground in one corner of the cell, unbound, and dressed in a plain military tunic. There was a small sleeping pallet in the room and a clay jug of water, otherwise the cell was bare. He looked up from staring at the ground when I entered. ‘I never thought they would send you, Gaius.’ His tone was melancholy rather than defiant. ‘Of all the people, I never expected to see you again.’

  I folded my arms over my chest. ‘So you were expecting someone?’

  He gave a bitter laugh. ‘Oh I expected someone alright. How could I not? When the news of the disaster on the Rhine came through, I was at first disbelieving. But then as reports came of a great betrayal, I knew Julius was involved.’

  I felt a surge of anger. ‘So you knew? You knew what Julius planned and you did nothing?’

  Flavus bowed his head and stared back at the ground. ‘No, Gaius. I didn’t know what he planned. But I wish I could say that his betrayal came as a surprise.’ He looked up at me, despair in his eyes. ‘It didn’t. The hatred runs deep in my brother. It’s always been there, although he hid it well for years. There is an anger in him, and a jealously that twists him. It consumes him.’

  My voice was soft, as I answered, ‘I never saw it.’

  Flavus flung back his head and gave a tearful laugh. ‘It was you he hid his true nature from most of all. He loved you, Gaius, but envied you also. His whole life he’s envied you. The patrician who deigned to befriend a homeless German Prince. Oh, how that burned him.’

  Did he expect me to feel sorry for Julius? I told him, ‘The last time I saw your brother, he ordered his men to nail me to a tree. If he loved me once, he doesn’t now.’

  Flavus looked at me in horror. ‘Has he become such a monster?’

  I nodded. ‘He is that, and a lot more.’

  Flavus stared back at the ground, tears falling openly from his face. ‘How can he have fallen so far?’

  I looked down at him but steeled my heart from sympathy. ‘What did you know, Flavus?’

  He shook his head between sobs. ‘I knew he was planning something … his letters hinted at something … but I didn’t know what.’

  I controlled my temper. ‘You knew he meant to murder Romans?’

  Again he shook his head. ‘Not as such, but I knew that he was planning something I wouldn’t like. He never said exactly what he was up to, only that it would uplift the standing of the Cherusci nation.’ He looked up at me, bright blue eyes full of tears. ‘He no longer spoke of Rome, our lives there, or anything of our shared history growing up there. Everything became about the glory of the Cherusci and how he was destined to lead them to supremacy over the other tribes.’

  I gave him a hard look. ‘Why didn’t you report what you suspected?’

  Flavus sat back against the wall to his cell. ‘And tell them what? That I suspected my brother’s secret nature was giving him foolish ideas? You forget, he was the favoured son of Rome, a military hero. He’d been given equestrian status for bravery in the field and was now part of the high command in Germany. I was just a centurion in a half-forgotten backwater.’ He paused, then admitted in a soft, croaking voice, ‘Besides, he was my brother and I still loved him. I hoped that I was wrong.’

  I needed to harden myself. I’d been fooled before. ‘You applied to join the governor’s private guard. Why?’

  He looked up at me in shock. ‘You know about that?’

  I nodded.

  He shook his head and gave a wistful smile. ‘That was foolish of me. I knew they’d say no. But I panicked. In his letters to me, Julius asked me to join him in Germany, told me that he would speak to the Roman military command and arrange it all for me. I declined, told him my men needed me here. However, in the last letter I received from him, Julius was angry that I refused him. More than angry, furious. He said he was disowning me. Said he’d use his connections to destroy my military career.’ Flavus clenched his fists in anger. ‘I knew I’d be powerless to stop him. He was placed so highly in the high command. So I thought if I joined the governor’s guard he’d find it more difficult to find me. Even if he did, he’d not be able to use his connections to interfere in my life.’

  It sounded plausible, but I was still wary. ‘So what did you do when your request was denied?’

  A small modicum of pride returned to his voice. ‘I volunteered to serve in one of the units that serve far out in the mountains. I thought that if I was out in the field, Julius couldn’t hold any influence over me. I was given my own century to command, those men you met outside, and stationed in a remote camp, with a watchtower over the northern mountains. We went through a lot together, survived many skirmishes with the bandits in the mountains.’

  Julius had used his military prowess to conceal his duplicitous nature. Was his brother doing the same? ‘When did you hear of the disaster at the Teutoburg?’

  Flavus shook his head in despair. ‘When we returned to the main camp here. When I pieced everything together, I knew Julius must have been involved. At first I thought of going to Legate Idmus and telling him everything.’

  I snapped, ‘That’s exactly what you should have done.’

  Flavus gave a half-smile and shook his head. ‘Possibly, but I knew that would probably lead to my death. I knew Rome wouldn’t believe I had nothing to do with events.’

  Hard to argue with that. Livia and Augustus had been about to order his death before even hearing his side of the story. ‘So what did you do instead?’

  He sighed. ‘I spoke to my men. I didn’t tell them what my brother had done – the shame ran too deep for that. But I told them that my brother was now a traitor and in all likelihood wanted by Rome. I told them that, before long, someone in Rome would start asking questions and they would come looking for me.’ He ran his hands through his blonde hair. ‘Some of them suggested that I desert and live out my life in the mountains.’

  I sat down on the pallet bed. ‘Then why didn’t you?’

  He shook his head. ‘All I’ve ever wanted to do is serve in the legions, Gaius. The legions are my life. I told them I wouldn’t desert and dishonour them. So instead, my optio Grappus suggested we volunteer for a long patrol. Sometimes these take us out of camp for months on end. He said that by the time we return it will have all blown over. Eve
ryone agreed. They talked me round when I was reluctant to expose them to so much danger.’

  I searched his young face for any sign of subterfuge. ‘Your plan failed when I turned up a day before you were due to leave?’

  He nodded. ‘I didn’t realise it was you then. One of my men happened to be in the headquarters when they heard that a small detachment of Praetorians were coming to the camp. We knew what it meant, so we left. Foolish, I know. I should have never dragged my men into this. They are all loyal to the core. None of them deserve punishment from the legate.’

  I sighed. ‘They disobeyed orders. Idmus is within his rights to issue whatever punishment he deems fit.’

  Flavus looked at me, fear in his eyes. ‘And what will that likely be?’

  I gave a dismissive shake of my head. ‘Nothing fatal, if that’s what you’re worried about. Idmus seems to have a hot temper, but he looks a good man nonetheless. They’ll live to serve out their years in the legions.’

  Flavus looked up at the ceiling. ‘Thank the gods for that. I could never have forgiven myself if it had led to any of their deaths.’

  I gave a grunted acknowledgement but told him, ‘It was a reckless plan and one doomed to failure. Even if you had vanished in the mountains for a few months with your men, Rome would have never forgotten about you. You might have avoided me, but they would have sent someone else, someone far more deadly.’

  He nodded. ‘I realise that now. Three legions dead, three eagles taken, and all because of my traitorous brother.’

  I stood up. I’d learned all I could for now. ‘We leave in the morning. You will accompany me to Tarraco and then be returned to Rome for trial.’

  Flavus looked up to me in hope. ‘Do you think anyone will believe me, Gaius?’

  I looked at the despair in his eyes. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘And do you?’

  I paused before answering. ‘As convincing as you seem, it is nothing different than I saw and heard from your brother. He fooled me completely and thousands died as a result. I won’t make the same mistake again.’