Rome: Empire of Blood (Book One, Completed)

II: Rome

SPRING AD 18

ROME

AELIUS

Days after the triumph parade tribunus militum Lucius Aelius decided to take a walk at the market in southern Rome. The market was situated not far from the elite housing areas on the palatine hill, where the imperial palace was located. That morning he went out with a gladius and a pouch of around 50 denari, wearing his white tunic and brown cloak.

It was a sunny day. A sunny day was rare during his time in the Germania frontier, when he served with the legions under the command of Numerius Sempronius Tuditanus and before him, Germanicus Julius Caesar. He walked out of his very compact home in the barracks not far from the market to go to a local tavern to go there not alone. Maybe Gaius will be there. Or Cotta- won't matter.

The streets were crowded, as a Sunday morning should be. Women were on their way to shop, guards in their glaring red tunics and mail armour patrolling, plebians in their togas walking around tending their own business, and wealthy men and even senators walked around to go to a usual 'business gathering'. Though some higher nobles sat in their large walking tents stretchered by slaves doing whatever inside them.

Aelius walked through the crowds; seeing the diverse population around him. Germans, Gauls, Romans, Italians, Jews, Easterners of every level of wealth and class- everybody was there. Rome was the ultimate hub of an empire.

As he walked through he saw some men talking around the street near a small wooden step where heralds used to speak. Aelius, anxious to know, closed up on them to hear what they were talking about. Everything was quite indistinctive until a man called out the name "Germanicus"

"What happened to Germanicus?" he asked to a men next to him, who hushed him soon after.

A man, in formal toga wear stepped up the wooden step and all the men and women became silent as he lifted his hand. Theherald handed his left hand to his left when a man's hand popped out of the crowd to give him a scroll, which was taken and then opened by the toga-wearing man. Aelius smelled government business.

The man shouted firmly. "THE POPULAR EASTERN GENERAL GERMANICUS HAS DIED OF AN UNKNOWN CAUSE. IMPERATOR TIBERIUS AND THE SENATE FEAR A REBELLION MADE BY HIS FORMER MEN TO ARISE IN THE EASTERN PROVINCES." The man continued on with other public news while the people discussed in a low voice.

Some men gasped and left in fear. This isn't happening. Germanicus? Dead? Fucking im-possible...

"Is this true?" Aelius asked another man.

"You'd better ask that man, not me." he soon left the scene.

This isn't right. Lucius left the scene and continued his way to the tavern, thinking of the truth of the herald's words. It soon seemed to him that he would have to leave Rome again and campaign in the east, and reunite with the now-proconsul Tuditanus. I hope Tuditanus is still on our side. He's the best general we have for now.

Upon reaching the tavern Acerbo greeted him with a worried face. "Have you heard the news, Lucius?"

"Yes. Terrible news."

"a fucking mutiny..." Acerbo remarked.

The two took a seat in the private-owned tavern which was owned by Acerbo. His servants soon poured wine in the dim place.

"It's a rebellion" the experienced centurion drank his wine.

"Any rumours of Germanicus Caesar being poisoned?" Said Aelius.