The Oath Breaker: A Novel of Germania and Rome (Hraban Chronicles Book 1)
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It is impossible to say how many purely Roman military establishments there were in the areas of the Germani, but there are evidence of many forts, and some surprisingly well-established civilian ones, especially after Nero Claudius Drusus started his war against the Lippe River tribes and the Chatti, evidently beating the Marcomanni as well. So was Castrum Luppia in the lands of the Matticati born.
It is also true Rome had run out of enemies, and probably true Augustus yearned for his legacy in military glory, which he lacked, as Agrippa was his sword and military mind, a fine general and many time savior. This was also the critical time for Augustus to recreate the Republic into something different, and he did indeed hope to have his own dynasty, his own children running the show after his death, and he was opposed by many, some even in his immediate family. Suffice it to say, what followed in the family of Augustus was something one might call a series of bloody and suspicious conspiracies, on par with the question on who killed JFK. So I have Maroboodus ready to fill in the gaps, serving as a Germani who was Roman, a plaything for Roman and Germani politics both. We will go into Augustus at length in book three, when Hraban enters Rome.
Maroboodus was a fascinating character. His rivalry with Rome and Arminius has always intrigued me, his service in Rome, his long life and the mighty realm he built are stuff of legends. In this book, I wanted to make him a ruthless and conniving warlord, a Roman more than Germani, a true survivor, a self-made king in the land where no kings are usually brooked, and such men, my friends, are callous. Armin, or Arminius, would hate him, Maroboodus apparently hated Armin, and to imagine what the two great leaders could have achieved together is mindboggling. I have changed many of the accepted years of these men's lives, Armin is already an established man in this book, and not a child he likely was 12 B.C.
As for the prophecy I penned down, there is little left of the verses of Ragnarök. Yes, the world would end one day, and this was a fact even the ancients knew. True, Woden and two other gods created men, and so I wanted to create a dreadful curse, one more trick amidst the many tricks by Lok, or Loki, that would haunt Woden's creations, and the rivalry of Hraban and Odo will define much of the first books. It is, of course, all my imagination, that there are men closest to Woden, and then creations of Lok, but I liked the idea.
Yes, there is sex in the book. It was a risky subject for a Germani, and one of the deeds Hraban can truly mess up his life with. How rare was the threat of death for acts of love outside the marriage? We do not know. In my book, it is serious business indeed for the stern Germani, but young men are young men, and heed the uncouth thing in their pants more than the stern vitka, or priests.
In addition, on this subject, we know there were völva and vitka as some sort of priests, but we do not really know their functions and differences from each other, if there indeed were any. In this book, I made all women priestesses völva, and male ones vitka, and the women, I am sorry, a bit sinister, since theirs is the seidr magic, magic of subtle seduction, goddess Freya's domain. It felt appropriate.
So there we have it. There will be five books, and Hraban will struggle to regain his fame and have his revenge. He will sample both Rome and Germania. It will be a story of great upheaval for Rome and Germani both, time of betrayal of the highest nobles, of struggles and deep magic, and of course, desperate love. It is Hraban's story, the story of Maroboodus, of Armin, of Drusus and Tiberius, and some others I shall not yet speak of. I hope you enjoy them.