[IB SAI:AAR] The Last Pagan Emperor (UPDATED 08/05/2021)

[Justinian Australis]

Ahoy there, for those you who followed my last AAR you will no doubt be aware that it died a horrible death at the hands of a nasty virus. I was about to post good news earlier about it been magically restored by my PC tech but the whole thing was reinfected so the game save officially died forever.

However, I did say that I'd be back, stronger and more terrible than before! (Or was that McScottish?) Anyway, now with the fresh install I can actually play the current SAI mod after EB screwed everything up previously. Completley and utterly inspired by the magnificence that is Knonfoda's Julianus, epic, I myself will be playing as Julianus, only this time I go a little further back to 355 AD just as he is proclaimed Caesar.

Not the best sounding title (and does sound rather familiar to several books written about Julianus...) however I hope it doesn't bore you too much...

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Chapter I: A Roman Walks into a Bar...

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Magnus Drusus was not normally a man to be cowered by the mere sight of another man. Yet here he stood before a giant Alamanne warrior. His stature was magnificent, his posture one of supreme confidence if not a hint of arrogance. Such greatness came from deeds in battle, with men flocking from many tribes to unite under Chnodomarius...'The Great', as it was whispered among men. In his appearance he took great pride; he was no wild uncouth savage with a flowing beard and long flowing hair. It was close cropped in all regards, he was clean and well presented. He was as Kingly as they came.

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Drusus in comparison stood before the King with scarcely any time to tidy himself. He was dusty and grimy from a long journey from Lutetia, the capital of the far western portion of the Roman Empire, in which Flavius Claudius Julianus ruled over. He had little time to wash his face before been admitted into the Kings presence. He sat inside a taverna of sorts, surrounded by his retinue and a host of rough looking brutes who had large mugs of ale before them. Alamanni scouts had spotted them half a mile from their own encampments which Drusus had followed by simply tracking towards the numerous towering clouds of smoke that stretched to the bright blue early afternoon skies.

The Alamanni had crossed just north of Argentoratum in huge, near on uncountable numbers intent on mayhem of the worst kind. These utterly fierce men were far less pliant in negotiations than their northern brethren and lived for the chaos of battle and all the glory it entailed. Normally loosely allied in times of threats and totally unpredictable, under Chnodomarius they were a far more dangerous force to be reckoned with. They now united as one and threatened Rome with all manner of ill.

'You had better have an irresistible offer for me, so that I don't have you flogged on the spot' Chnodomarius loomed above the short stature Roman. No greetings, no preambles, no pleasantries. He gestured for the lowly warriors to leave. They disappeared in a hurry. Drusus inwardly blanched but somehow managed to maintain an air of dignity. 'I am here on behalf of the Caesar, Flavius Claudius Julianus, as his representative to attempt to alleviate any fears and disagreements that we and your people may have. I come authorised to offer terms for peace and...'

The King put his hand up, which stopped Drusus mid speech. He studied the Roman and leaned in close. 'Peace you say? Your Caesar wishes to end the fighting?' He then leaned back ever so slowly and after an unsettling moment he burst out into a thunderous laugh. The King's own aides took their cue and begun laughing as well, leaving Drusus red faced and scarcely able to contain his indignation. Between fits of laughter, the King spoke 'End the fighting?! This is indeed a good joke on your part Roman. I had no idea you people had such wit! Very clever of you!'

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He suddenly stopped and lunged at the diplomat, who was too slow to move out of the way. Chnodomarius clasped his massive hands around the diplomats upper arms and hoisted him effortlessly off the ground and moved him outside.

Without even breaking into a sweat, he then tossed the Roman as if he were a child beyond the tent's opening. Drusus landed heavily onto the well trodden grass, compacted from incessant trampling. His side hurt from the impact, as did the back of his head in which the blow of hitting the ground had him seeing stars. With utmost effort he attempted to stand up and scramble away, thinking that the King was about to run him through. Instead he reached forward and lifted the Roman to his feet. 'Go tell your paymaster that there will be no peace. His lands will burn, his women shall wail in terror as they satiate my warriors lust, his men will satiate my warriors anger'

''Now go before I have you flogged into the afterlife!' The frightened and bewildered Romans turned their backs and fled to warn the authorities of the coming conflagration.

[McScottish]

I got a mention! Waaaaaaaay! Anyway, excellent start and I will be sure to sub this and keep an eye on it.

[Ganbarenippon]

I look forward to this, I'm glad I got in on the ground floor this time. Good luck.

[Knonfoda]

This I liike! Excellent stuff as usual Justinian. Mua, an inspiration to anyone? By the Gods, I never thought I would hear the day - I must be doing something right. Thanks Justinian, that really means a lot to me.

At first I was thinking lol @ the title, but then seeing the way you have described the scene and the way it played out the dignitary might as well have walked into one. I've never seen something as banal a a ceasefire/refusal negotiation so well portrayed, I found it very amusing. Also, your description of Chnodomarius was spot on. I saw his picture and was like wow, you got him to the T.

Glad to see you are on IBSAI now, and with Julian at that too! I am yet to give the 355 campaign a crack, but I am told that it is the hardest of them all, so I don't envy your position my friend. Best of luck though, it's good to have you back, and keep them coming!

[Julius Barca the Great]

Looking good so far. I'll be reading this one for sure.

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Great and dramatic opening which sets the stage for battle to come! I will be looking forward to the next updates!

Which reminds me of a joke I made up once to kick start I lecture I once gave about the End of Roman Britain:

'A Roman Centurion primus pilus, a Macedonian phalangiti and a Cretan sagittarii go into a taverna;
The publicani in charge looks up and says -
'What is this - a joke?' '

[Justinian Australis]

Thanks guys, glad you'll be sticking around.

I have played the 355 campaign before and it was tough going...just plumetting deep into financial strife, thankfully there is the occasional scripted financial gift and reinforcements. I do think though, that 361 is probably a tad harder as there is sooooo much to have to deal with on multiple fronts.

I don't really have any set plan as far as this AAR goes (aside from keeping Julianus alive and as eventual Emperor) at this stage, I'll be taking eache event as it comes until I get the hang of things. I will try and give a perspective of how things are going across the whole empire (though Julianus will obviously be the focal point) with a few side storys here and there about minor characters and all that. We will see in the end.

Without further delay....

Chapter II: Minor Details...

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Flavius Claudius Julianus would have loved nothing better than to have been able to spend some time in Lutetia, his preferred place of residence whilst acting as Caesar. The journey had been a long one from Mediolanum, where Constantius II had called him to his presence and entrusted him the formidable task of guarding the Rhine frontier and quelling savage folk beyond it and those that had spilled over it. Sleep in a proper bed would have been welcome right now, as fatigue from restless nights clutched at the fringes of his sanity. At least then he could begin the task of properly administrating the region after countless years of ineptitude, gross misconduct and outright thuggery from previous rulers. The people had suffered enough under the crushing wheels of Roman governance and the terrors of invasion and Julianus wished to set things right.

As it where, several staff members had raced off towards Lutetia ahead of him and begun bringing seemingly endless scrolls of correspondence that would need to be replied to. Requests for troops, finances, advice from governors and the like were packed into crates and at once sent to Julianus. Such necessities would be dealt with whilst on the march east; the loviani and the Herculiani legions were ready, along with the rest of the Imperial forces to engage the Frankish barbarians that had crossed the frozen Rhine and sacked Colonia Agrippina and taken it for their own ends.

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The one time military headquarters of the region had fallen into a sad state of disrepair, made worse by the marauding Franci. They trashed the old Castellum, which Julianus hoped to restore to its former glory and rebuild it as as a future base to guard against this treacherous frontier. Here he learned the unfortunate state of events from the dignitaries that had tried to entreat with the Alamanni. Well, it was worth an attempt I guess...a futile one at that Julianus mused.

The splendid might of Roman arms had halted for the evening on their inexorable march towards the river. Scouts had observed that the Franks had not made any further attempts to breach Roman territory, existing in some sort of lethargy and sloth, as an aide had said which he used as a pretext to implore Julianus to force march the army to take advantage. However Julianus was not in a great hurry, the inexperienced commander took the time to plan every detail of his advance. Once detail was the use of his agentes in rebus deep in enemy territory. Watching ever so carefully, ready to exploit any opportunities.

Julianus reached for one letter out of a pile at random and read intently even in the fading light.

'Esteemed Caesar, I salute you. I correspond with you in which I offer my most hearty congratulations on your elevation to Caesar, in which all reasonable men will should judge you as most worthy for the position. Aside from such pleasantries, I also write about serious matters such as the tumult along the limes. Whether you are aware previously or not, the tribesmen of this province are restless and forever on the move, to whatever place takes their fancy according to the situation. They appear to be of different tribes, occasionally allying with each other in times of necessity.

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I am also reliably informed, by colleagues further west, that they find themselves in the same situation in which the tribesmen appear to be agitating for an invasion under some pretext unknown to us. Who can ever know what drives on such wild, dirty and illiterate peoples?As it stands, our defences are woefully inadequate and the number of soldiers available are unacceptably low. I implore you, in your good grace, to send additional reinforcements so that we may protect what is ours from the desert dwellers. I fear that our situation would become untenable very quickly once the tribesmen pass the badly undermanned forts and they will be able to grasp our territories and entrench themselves and form themselves their own Empire of sorts.

Not only are we threatened from beyond the limes, there are struggles with the contentment of the city dwellers, whom seem ill favoured towards our governance. I am of a mind to make public examples of these malcontent’s but fear that could well exacerbate the issue. I ask of your guidance in this matter; would it be in your favour to increase the amount of entertainment in the arena available to the people, at risk of increasing the cost to the public purse?

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Julianus skimmed through the last few paragraphs, noting the usual concerns of such a young and inexperienced governor in Cornelius Marcellinus, such as petitions from citizens about the completion of certain buildings, such as the erection of shrines towards pagan deities in light of the Arian Christianity that Constantius II was pursuing and a host of other things.

One thing was certain, as Julianus penned his reply, he could not supply any troops, even the lowliest border guard for such faraway posts as Cartenna. 'Cornelius Marcellinus, greetings. I gratefully accept your warmest congratulations for been so fortunate to be considered for such a task. Regretfully, for your biggest concern, I cannot spare a single soldier to your plight. Whether you may know or not, Gallia is pressed from the east by numberless barbarians some having forded the river and begun causing foul mischief everywhere they go. I must devote all my energies and whatever man who can wield a weapon to this onerous responsibility; the preservation of the current Roman borders and to re-establish old ones in Francia.

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I therefore suggest that you correspond firstly with Flavius Verenianus, Comes Hispanarium, as to the availability of men to tend to your situation. He has with him Vibius and Marcianius who command small detachments of the regional armies. I cannot say with confidence as to his political situation in terms of internal strife, however there may be hope for you through this avenue. Whatever funds there may be within the purse, utilise them to procure more men, press them into service if you must but I urge caution as finances are incredibly restrained and according to my advisors shall get much worse.

You are best to judge the needs and wants of the people in terms of keeping them in agreement with the laws laid down by our forefathers, whether that it be by providing necessary distractions for them from their problems but not to be overly generous that they may abuse said generosity. They must be reminded of their obligations to the State, as I know that you shall fulfil your obligations faithfully.

Julianus added a few more thoughts before signing off in a flourish.

So much issues at hand, so little time to deal with them. Julianus worked well into the night and early morning, seemingly a font of natural energy and enthusiasm, before finally retiring to catch a few hours rest before the march resumed. As he did so, an aide entered his chambers and spoke quietly.

'Dominus, the agentes in rebus reports that he in position. He await your further instructions'

Julianus looked at the ground for a moment before speaking. 'Proceed...tell him to proceed as planned'. Julianus then put all further distractions from his mind and slept fitfully.

[Ferdiad]

You need to capture Italy ASAP.

[McScottish]

*Puts on Mr Burns voice and steeples fingers* Excellent...

[Knonfoda]

*Puts on Mr Burns voice and steeples fingers* Excellent...

The only thing better than that... is this:

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I'm really enjoying the way you are presenting this Justinian. Mere matters of administration, relocation of troops, building construction and so forth, usually minor details of AAR telling, are brought to life here through Julian's administration.

I'm looking forward to the first few battles, and seeing how Julian handles them!

[Justinian Australis]

What's that? Battles I hear you ask? Well...read no further.....

Chapter III: The Opening Salvo

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It was sometime in the late evening. No moon, nothing to facilitate his detection. Perfect for killing Felix thought to himself. He allowed himself a sadistic smile. He was quite certain that no one, not even the keenest Frank had spotted his presence. Far behind him a few hours before, now out of sight and hastily buried, was that of a body, a young Frank now dumped without dignity and stripped of its clothing and possessions. Felix had waited in the waning afternoon light as a large party of soldiers ambled past, clearly at ease with their situation, laughing and carrying on as soldiers did. A handful seemed to stray from the main body, lagging behind. No-one called out for them to get moving. Lax attention to detail, Felix observed keenly.

His chance came. One Frank, cleanly shaven though dirty about the face and in desperate need of a bath, wandered towards a stony outcrop and climbed over it, jumped down to the other side and dropped his pants and proceeded to urinate. He was completely surprised when a hand clasped around his mouth and just as quickly a blade cut across his neck, unleashing a torrent of crimson. Felix pushed the man to the ground, forced his victim's head into the dirt to muffle any gurgling and desperate cries. He would not be heard over the racket of the marching soldiers returning to camp. The Frank died quickly, the last thing he ever saw was the wicked face of a Roman murderer spitting in his face as his life drained away, as he was turned over and his body plundered.

Felix wasted little time. Fortunately, the clothing was more or less his size and after arranging his weaponry and garments, he smeared dirt of his face to appear more authentic, dumped the body in a shallow grave and hastily made his way towards the tail end of the army. He looked at the guards at the gate of the encampment, who showed no signs of detection of this intruder. In a camp of thousands, it was unlikely yet that he'd be missed by anyone at this stage. Any comrades of his would probably not suspect anything out of the ordinary...yet. Felix did not have a lot of time to waste.

The assassin attempted to blend as best he could, trying not to stand out like a giant amongst dwarves. Braziers provided some needed illumination through the narrow pathways between tents, allowing to roughly guess where he was and where he needed to go. He continued to meander down the alleyways looking for his destination. After a few moments, he came to the realisation that he was lost. Hopelessly lost. The camp was far, far bigger than what he had realised. Felix had seen only a fraction of it as he had approached and now, as a Roman agentes in rebus, he was wandering alone in an extremely hostile enemy camp. Damn the gods to Hades! He cursed to himself.

Then, a voice called behind him. He could scarcely make it out and whether it was actually directed at him. For a moment longer he ignored it but the voice called again, questioning this time. Felix then recognised the name ... 'Childeric!' His heart leapt into his mouth when he realised that he was Childeric. A Frankish soldier had thought this lone figure was one of his comrades. 'Where are you going? You forgotten where you tent is you old drunkard!' Do something now you fool! Felix's mind cried out. So he turned around and moved towards this Frank. ' I have...I must be drunk' Felix spoke in a guttural tone, with no idea how Childeric was supposed to sound.

The Frank cocked his head quizzically and then stood closer to Felix. He stared at him for an uncomfortably long moment. 'What, you forgotten what I look like?' Felix observed the early signs of recognition...the Frank knew that his was not Childeric. In fact, he realised he was not even Frankish. A Roman! He was about to cry out when Felix exploded into action, whipping out a dagger and with expert marksmanship, flung it towards the Frank. It buried into his neck, causing blood to spurt out. The Frank looked horrified and clutched at his bloodied neck, sank to his knees and started gurgling and hacking. This commotion caused several other Franks to curiously peer out of their tents. Several others walking by a few meters away stopped to see one of their own on his knees, about to die with another man with his arm out in a knife throwing pose.

It took a further moment for some one to blurt out 'Intruder!'

At that Felix turned around and then ran faster than he had ever done.

* * * * * * * * *
GNARRRRRRRRRRGH!

An anguished roar. Both hands clasping a sword, its end pointing downward at a heaving chest.

Crack!

The sound of bone splintering as the sword forced its way into the chest plate, slicing the heart in half and then through the back, pinning the body to the dirt. Blood oozed from the wound momentarily before the heart stopped completely and the look of enraged defiance upon Serapio's face died with him. His blood shot eyes rolled in his head and glazed over.

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The legionary then felt a splash of warmth on his face; the man next to him had swung viscously at the Alamanni warrior in front of him, disembowelling him. The barbarian collapsed into a wailing, terrified heap and clutched uselessly at his insides. His death came quickly; another blow from the sword, this time driven through his neck.

At the death of Serapio, the rest of the suebiske adalange gave up all hopes of rescuing the situation. They broke, attempting to flee the murderous 1st cohort of the Flavia Vitrix Constantina
yet they did not get far,as they were surrounded by a multitude of foes who had swarmed around the dangerous beasts in an attempt to quell them.

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Salutius Secundus came before the 1st cohort and begun heaping praise upon the unit. After several minutes, he then turned towards the 2nd cohort and his face had gone from one of delight to that of sheer rage.

His rage thundered forward like the surge of a flooding river.

'Captain!'

Quickly one man stood forward and saluted and then stood rigidly, looking over Salutius' shoulder.

Salutius inhaled deeply, gathering himself before unleashing.

'Traitors! You are scum! You are not fit to be part of the Flavia Vitrix Constantina! You disgrace the very name. Even when the battle was in our balance, you turned and fled like cowardly dogs for only reasons that the Gods may know. Only when it was evident that we had prevailed did you stop your disgusting flight away from battle! You call yourselves Romans....' Salutius shook visibly, fighting to find words through his anger. 'The very sight of you sickens me. Normally I would have you banished for your cowardice but in the present circumstances, I cannot afford the loss of even one man...no matter how much of a gutless worm he is!'

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Salutius beckoned to military guards to take hold of the Captain. He said simply 'missio ignominiosa' and then turned his back on him. The guards removed him from the scene. As for the rest of the legion, they were humiliated by been stripped to their undergarments and then forced to carry placards announcing their shame and disgrace.

The floodgates of war had been smashed open by the peoples beyond the Rhenus. Salutius had won himself a crushing victory over the Alamanni, this particular army all but wiped out. In truth, Serapio was not much of a warlord. However Salutius' forces suffered moderate casualties, ones that could not really be sustained. Yet it was a victory none the less, one that would boost flagging morale and please Julianus.

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[McScottish]

Well now...that was almost as good as my own writing!

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Great updates! I like the missio ignominiosa moment, too. This is shaping up nicely!

[Knonfoda]

Justinian Australis, how much would I have to pay you to publish this professionally? lol he thinks I am joking

Loved the tale about the assassin, and don't get me started on The Most Excellent Salutius! I will also never know why some cohorts flee like that, right in the middle of a glorious victory. And I agree with SBH, loved the missio ignominiosa moment too!

[Justinian Australis]

Well, I don't know what to say...your all too kind!

I forgot to take screenies during the second battle...so I apologise to those who need a bit of eye candy to follow what is going on.

Now, do us a favour and click on the bottom link on my signature and tell me what you think of it.

Chapter IV: Meet the Franks...

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I see...they have taken the ridge' mumurred Julianus. He could not see all of the Frankish army but he could tell it was huge. It was several thousand more than his own and contained the nasty looking francesca heriscara, what with their frankeska held menacingly in their hands and the back of their heads completely shaved. His tribunis informed him of the damage that these men could cause, as the lighter armed francesca heriban as well.

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'I've marched up worse slopes Dominus' remarked Maximianus 'it's not so severe...however I'd avoid it as their waldamanne are deadly shots. These people hunt for their existence and can skewer a tiny target at long distances' Julianus nodded. He looked up into the dark skies, faced pounded by heavy droplets fanned by gusty northerly's. Thunder cracked and rumbled all around, the sky occasionally punctuated by flashes of sheet lightning, which allowed Julianus to steal glances of the Franci. A battle between two Pagan armies; was this a sign from the Gods? Wondered Julianus.

'Very well Tribunis....we shall manoeuvre to get a better advantage then' Shouted commands and shouted acknowledgements and Julianus' men hurried over the soggy terrain keeping out of range of the Franci missile troops. Silent and brooding, the Franci just stood and waited, sodden to the bone as the enemy manouvered. In the confusion of reorganization, a canny Franci captain could have taken advantage of this, coupled with the wild conditions, yet they remained in place save for swinging the whole army around to face the Romans.

As the Romans arranged their lines....the Invincible Juliani spearmen occupied either side of the mainline with the Joviani and Herculiani legions in the centre, their respective lanciarii covered their front and the Victores luniores light infantry covered the rear. The cataphracts covered the left ring and the promoti covered the right wing...the storm abated. In fact that with in minutes the rain had stopped and weak sunshine broke through the heavy clouds, bathing the Romans in light.

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'Ah...a good sign. The Gods allow us to do our work' observed Julianus. 'Let us see if they will stand our missile fire' Up came the archers, the palatini sagitarii and a single auxillia palatini sagitarii, attached to the Victores luniores. Hundreds of arrows poured forth, their pointed barbed ends searching for victims. They buried themselves in shields or pinged off them, they thudded into flesh and bone.

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Their victims howled in agony, some of the Franci simply roared in frustrated anger, taunting the Romans to attack them. One simply ripped out the arrow from his arm, causing horrific flesh damage and charged forth and hurled it back at the Romans at let out a guttural curse. One marksman dropped the defiant Frank shortly after.

All the while the Romans fired their arrows, even a round of flaming ones, they simply stood there and took the withering storm of missiles. The Romans fired all they had, as did the mounted sagitarii off to the right.

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Then Julianus opted to commit men to engage the Frankish line. 'Victores luniores! Forward, engage the enemy at will' Julianus watched with a degree of trepidation as the light troops marched across no man's land towards the riotous Franks. Taunting and screaming, cursing and abusing. 'They appear tentative Dominus' observed Maximianus. 'As would I Tribunis' smiled Julianus. He rode just behind the heavy infantry and encouraged them onwards.

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The Franks were waiting for them. As quick as a flash, they grabbed their throwing axes and spears and threw them. The auxilia palatini, some of them no doubt fighting their own kin, did like wise. Julianus watched the sickening exchange for a distance. He could see his own men fall. Fortunately the casualties were not as bad as he thought as he ordered them to do an about face and return to the lines.

The Franks saw this as a sign of cowardice and begun hurling abuse...and the odd stray axe...at the infantry.

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'They appear disordered dominus...perhaps a general advance is in order?' queried Maximianus. 'Very well...send them in. Let us end this quickly'

The rest of the Roman infantry barrelled forward. One unit of impetuous Franks heroically charged at the Romans but were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of heavily armed Romans. They appeared intimidating clad in all that armour, with their large shields protecting them and the fierce glare of the legions from under their helmet. There were more rounds of missile throwing before the infantry were committed into the heaving mass of Franks, who appeared muddled and disordered.

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They begun dropping like flies, only able to inflict small casualties on the Romans. With the bulk of the Franci engaged, the left spearmen swarmed the flanks and around came the cataphracts to smash the rear. The promoti had chased off and routed their faramanne counterparts and with their captain making a dash for safety, they routed en masse. Their was no escaping the vengeful Romans; they were slaughtered without mercy and trampled in enormous numbers.

Men ran out gleefully running through the barbarians, hacking and slashing, stabbing and chopping at the terrified enemy. A small amount managed to escape back into Francia.

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The Caesar allowed some time for his forces to recollect themselves. The Victores luniores were able to return to full strength, the wounds of those men brought down by missile troop not serious enough to remove them from the army. Then, flush with confidence, he swept back into Roman lands, as word of Augusta Treverorum's seige reached him, to attack the next lot of Franks.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

At first the enemy retreated in face of the presence of the Romans. However it was merely a ruse. As Julianus followed the via that lead back to Colonia Agrippina, the Franks doubled back and attacked. They were as numerous as the first army that Julianus had faced.

Julianus manouvered quickly and positioned himself slightly higher than the Franks.

The Franks were not as lead footed as their compatriots that were recently annihilated, so they marched forthwith. Yet as they closed in with the Romans, fear and indecision took hold. The Romans took advantage of the closely arrayed Franks, whose fierce Frakeska heriscara held the front line.

Savage volleys of javelins stunned the Frankish charge, from the lanciarii and the palatini soldiers. This was a little easier than Julianus had thought would have been the case. Seeing indecision amongst the Franks, the cavalry were unleashed and begun mowing down the frightened enemy.

From this point, the Franks fled this way and that; the cavalry of Julianus gave chase. Once more Julianus suffered only light casualties and his troops celebrated another crushing victory.

The Romans could move no more, utterly spent from two successive battles and the forced marching. Julianus would allow some time before proceeding to Augusta Treverorum. In the mean time, he sent forth a messenger to ride with haste to the city.

[Justinian Australis]

Another update...as I've played a bit ahead and need to go through and write it all before it becomes a muddled mess.

Chapter V: Learning to Fight

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It was Julius Athanaes' very first venture onto the battlefield. He had been removed from the comfort as governor of Arelate, with Julianus placing absolutely no confidence in the loyalty of Barbatio. After all, this was an exceptional army and he could not afford having such a dubious individual in charge with elite soldiers.

He was attacked by a huge host of Alamanni. Julius presented in good order, the legio spearmen stood in front of Julius whilst the Brachiati seniores firmed the first line along with their lanciarii detachments.

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The Roman ordered his men forward to present for skirmishing, however there must have been something lost in the translation of his orders for men arranged themselves seemingly where they liked. He observed that the sagitarii were amongst the first line. Julius screamed for them to be moved back.

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Looking about with darting eyes full of concern, he ordered them to stop as the Alamanni just continued onwards. Javelins were unleashed; the Alamanni likewise did the same. Before long an unruly mass of hatred and violence erupted.

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In amongst this melee were the feared suebiske adaling, the elite warriors of the Alamane society. They caused untold devestation, so much so that a cohort of the Brachiati seniores were put to flight disgracefully.

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Their comrades were of sterner stuff. They persisted with the weight of numbers before them and begun putting to flight many of them. Even the cnihte, the heavy cavalry arm of the barbarians were routed. From there, it was mere formalities and what was to be decided was how many were able to escape with their lives.

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Julius won a decisive battle, however his leadership during the battle gave his soldiers cause for concern, for one grows decidedly jittery when lead by an inexperienced commander whose orders do not come across clearly enough.

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* * * * * * * * * * *

A man ran hard through the camp, crying out as he went. His words caused a great tumult amongst the soldiers. Julianus head this and stepped out his command centre, having perused maps relating to his continued war against the Franks and also observing the theatre of war along the upper Rhenus. He could scarcely believe what he was hearing as he stepped out with Maximianus.

'Ravenna has fallen! Ravenna has fallen!' the trooper shouted.

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'By the gods!' breathed Maximianus, as Julianus walked towards the trooper, who had found Julianus' residence. 'Soldier, speak to me...when did this happen?' Between laboured breaths, he said 'Just over a week ago dominus...there was a struggle between the Roman governor and rebellious forces. The governor fled and soon they massacred supporters of Constantius and proclaimed their own domain.'

With that, the man collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Julianus ordered the man to be taken to the infirmary. Then, completely out of nowhere, Julianus observed Felix step out between two tents. He was rather surprised to see his agentes in rebus yet he did not need to ask how his mission had gone.

'Chlodio is back in Francia, over the Rhenus I am told' said Julianus. Felix nodded. 'I was discovered whilst in his encampment but stole a horse, mounted the wooden palisade, whilst taking out two Frankish guards and rode hard...I only just arrived as you had since moved from your last position'

'I suspect you spooked the Frankish King back to his homelands...if that is the case then this war will be somewhat easier than thought' mused Maximianus. Julianus shook his head. 'It is tempting to follow those thoughts, Maximianus but it would be folly to allow any complacency now' Maximianus turned from Felix and looked squarely at his Caesar.

'This presents a golden opportunity dominus'

'I know...but we do not act yet'

'Why not? We move and capture Ravenna and the rest of Italy will see the folly in backing Constantius. They will turn to your standards in droves. The men would expect no less'

'Would they Maximianus' asked Julianus.

'Do you hear what they say amongst themselves? That you should be Emperor...that you sweep aside Constantius and restore Rome to his glory. They want you to be the restorer of the Gods'

Julianus was amazed to here such talk. 'Foolishness Maximianus....'

'Constantius murdered your family!' Maximianus hissed. Julianus put his hand up. 'Enough of this Tribune...you have over stepped your bounds. Any more you shall be court martialed. Do I make myself clear?' Maximianus appraised Julianus. 'Very well Caesar, there shall be no more'

The Caesar turned to Felix. 'In the meantime, Felix here shall travel to Italy. There he shall investigate the situation in Ravenna. We may be able to use this to our advantage soon...in the meantime, the campaign continues as planned against the Franks'. He turned on his heels and marched back into his tent.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
'They are at the walls of Nisbis and appear to be settled in for some time'

'What of Bezabde?'

'A sizeable army has crossed the river...a small detachment is blocking their pass but would be crushed in an instant if they engaged'

'Where is Antonius?'

'Approaching the main Sassanid force at Nisibis, with orders to engage as you wished'

'Good...good. Yet not nearly enough men.'

'An age old problem my lord. There is one other thing though...'

'What is it' the man said impatiently.

'The Armenians have crossed into Assyria with an army and have backed the Shanshah in the war...'

The man slammed his fist down on the trouble. 'To hell with those chameleons! One moment they pretend your friendship, the next they are stabbing you in the back! When the opportunity arises, I will march in there and burn every damned building there, sow their fields with salt and rape all their damned women! They will be subservient to me forever more'

He bit his lip hard, whilst in thought, causing blood to be drawn. He spat the blood away. 'Have word sent to Julianus...he is to proceed at once to Antioch with whatever forces he can muster'

'It will not be a popular decision dominus...no telling his reaction...or even that of his troops'

'Send members of the Scholae if you have to' the man said irritably. 'I want his men and I want them now!'

[McScottish]

First Knonfoda, and now you! I should just stop writing really, because clearly I don't need to with such AAR's about.

[Gandalfus]

Nice Chapter! But what will the great Julianus choose?

[Knonfoda]

Ooh he's a cooking something up! Justinian, I haven't had time to read your latest update, but I look forward to reading it tomorrow morning, plus the one I know you are working on now! I like the speed of your updates too! Keep em coming!

[Justinian Australis]

I think Julianus will be making some sort of decision before long. If you stop writing Mr McScottish, I will hunt you down!

Thanks mate, there may well be at least two additional more updates for you to salivate over tomorrow.

Chapter VI

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Bertgarda surveyed the massive walls of Augusta Treverorum. It was taking some time to construct the siege equipment, hampered by cold weather, poor material and poor workmanship. Such tribulations were enough to drive a man to insanity.

His scouts brought to him a lone Roman, bloodied and beaten at the hands of his captors. They showed a scroll to Bertgarda. His face darkened as he read it. The Franks mood had hardly been helped over the recent weeks by the absence of Chlodio. Some King you are! He thought angrily to himself. When the Romans invaded, he had scattered back over the Rhenus, clearly intent on preserving himself and himself only.

With a deep sigh and an order to kill the Roman, he ordered all siege works to halt and men to get moving.

He moved to deal with the threat in his rear.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
The countryside was starting to groan under the weight of all the bodies, Frankish ones at that. A foolish band had attempted to attack up hill, instead they were cut to pieces by a horrendous hail of missiles, then charged upon by the entire infantry before the cavalry simply scoured the fields for survivors.

Now, Julianus spun around at the cries of alarm that rippled through his men. 'Franks! At the top of the hill!' Julianus had frowned. Where had they come from? Why hadn't they been spotted? He surmised his scouts were probably dead. Perhaps it was Chlodio finally emerging from hiding. All just useless conjecture anyway. Julianus was more concerned at the thought of this huge horde gaining momentum on the decline, his men momentarily out of position.

His mind quickly responded, having been infused with confidence from the recent defeats over the Franks. Julianus managed to position his men on a slightly more favourable position.

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He watched impassively, speaking only to Maximianus. 'This is going to be extremely bloody' Maximianus nodded. 'That looks like Bertgarda's banner...so the King is still cowering like a beaten dog' He spat to the ground. 'What are your orders dominus?'

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Julianus thought for a moment, taking in the sight before him. 'Have the Victores luniores hide in the woods to our left and prepare a little surprise for them. As for the others, standard orders...preparatory missile barrage. We will let them come to us'

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The Faramanni cavalry came first, coming within range of the mounted archers. Little did they know that their were Romans hiding before them, however they did not appear overly concerned when they suddenly appeared and begun hurling their darts. Instead they charged at them.

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The Franks swept down the hill, so fast they came that Julianus, in between issuing additional orders, found they had suddenly descended upon his archers who were forced to battle another wing of missile cavalry.

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Still, the lanciarii units at hand routed them.

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Julianus soon found that placing his Victores luniores so far forward a mistake. The enemy swarmed towards their mainline, discovering the hidden troops along the way.

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Quickly the palatini units were surrounded by spearmen from behind and the frakeska heriban on their right. Julianus realised that the Legio armatus spearmen were idle. 'What are you waiting for?' roared Julianus. 'Engage!' The spearmen were stung into action and they clashed with the rear of the enemy heriban who had surrounded the palatini.

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The Jovii legions swung in from the left, after having routed their opponents and begun attacking the main body of the enemy with missile fire.

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The battle was evenly poised as Bertgarda's own band of elite warriors unleashed carnage where they could. He attempted to steady his warriors, who were shaken by the trauma of engaging Romes finest and suffering heavy casualties.

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Despite been surrounded, the Victores luniores stood defiantly at the mass of Franks before them.

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Julianus rode forward, standing alone in the midst of battle and gave courage to those that may hav been wavering and in doubt. The presence of their Caesar urged them onwards and they attacked with renewed vigour, before long sending the Franks on a headlong flight away.

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Bertgarda witnessed the crushing defeat and thought it best on making for safety. The Romans did not allow for this and his bodyguard was swamped by the Jovii and the Herculii. Here he was cut down most indignantly. Frankish resistance was completely and utter crushed.

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It was almost a matter of sheer suicide when another large army, equal that of Julianus, attacked. Suicidally they barged up hill and soon met the fate of others that had tried the same tactic before.

Julianus' plan to restore the limes was about to come to fruition. Before him lay the largely undefended Colonia Agrippina. He marched towards it.