Roman - The Fall of Britannia Read Online Free PDF Page B

who are
archers. Perhaps you may yet find a role. You may visit my
daughter, but you will not walk out alone until her sixteenth year.
Is that understood?’
    Gwydion nodded,
not quite understanding how this had turned around.
    ‘ Now, stable your horse and get washed. Tonight, you will eat
with us.’
    Erwyn turned and
walked back into the village nursing a wry smile. The poor boy did
not know what he was letting himself in for with his daughter. He
knew how tricky she could be. After all, she was exactly like her
mother.
    Gwydion watched
as Erwyn disappeared inside the stockade. He was bemused and not
sure what had just happened, but whatever it was, it felt good. He
picked up the reins and followed in his leader’s
footsteps.
    ----

Chapter
2
     
    Cassus stood
naked in the dawn’s early light, shivering slightly in the damp
morning air. His hands rested on his hips, and his feet were
planted slightly apart, the soft loam of the forest edge pushing up
between his manicured toes. A day’s stubble darkened his strong
chin and his sun-bleached hair fell about his shoulders like the
mane of a desert lion. His body was muscular, and at twenty-one
years old, he was nearing his physical peak. Strong and healthy, he
was a vision of self-awareness that bordered on arrogance as he
surveyed the world before him.
    In front of him,
the fertile hills of the farm rolled serenely away toward the
Adriatic Sea, the slopes already alive with the estate workers
making their way to the vineyards. Some were family, some were
freedmen who took their skills from farm to farm, as the harvest
demanded, but most were slaves, bought at the monthly market in
Asculum where captured foreigners or disgraced Romans were sold to
the highest bidder. If they worked hard and were loyal to the
estate they were treated fairly, however, those who rebelled, were
lazy, or tried to escape, were severely punished by the farm
prefect and risked imprisonment, beatings, or death depending on
their master’s whim.
    He recognised
the familiar frame of Karim, the ex-gladiator who ran the estate
with an unbreakable loyalty to Cassus’s family. Karim had become
the hardest worker on his father’s estate and as prefect, had run
the farm with a fair but firm hand. He earned a small income and
after he wed the nursemaid, who helped him raise the orphaned
child, had been allowed to build a stone lodge for himself and his
family. The child, Prydain, grew up alongside Cassus on the farm,
and though they were the same age, the differences in upbringing
were obvious. Cassus was well schooled and literate and his
clothing was of the best quality. He ate the best food and spent
his spare time taunting the workers of the farm.
    Prydain, on the
other hand, was the son of a slave and worked dawn until dusk in
the fields. His clothes were plain and often second hand from the
villa. It was a hard existence, yet despite this, he was a proud
young man, and over the years, had formed a close yet strained
friendship with Cassus.
    As a boy,
Prydain was often summoned from the fields to play with Cassus. At
first, he would do whatever the spoilt boy demanded, but childhood
has a way of bridging gaps of upbringing and soon, they were
roaming side by side across the estate, swinging their wooden
swords enthusiastically as they fought imaginary battles with
invading barbarians.
    As the years
passed, both boys dreamed of a future in the armies of Rome, though
in vastly different roles. Pelonius had already purchased a
commission for his son in the Ninth Hispana legion, while the best
Prydain could hope for was a place in the auxiliaries. Only true
Roman citizens could serve in Rome’s legions, but despite this,
Prydain was happy. Pelonius had granted Karim his freedom and as
Karim’s son, Prydain was officially classed as a freeman and could
enlist in the auxiliaries.
    As they grew
older, the relationship changed, and Cassus often took delight in
taunting Prydain about the differences