Fallen Legion by David Thompson

Author:David Thompson [Thompson, David]
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Indie

Chapter XI

Cologne's Temple of Venus was a small, unassuming wooden structure which stood in stark contrast to the nearby Temple of Mars. The latter was a veritable fortress of stone and a model of efficient and beautiful architechture, while the former was little more than a hastily erected one-room wooden hut capable of holding ceremonies involving up to twenty people. The price of living on the frontier,Marcus reflected as he strode through the door of the tiny temple. Love tends to take a backseat to war, and the architecture reflects that. Just as well, I suppose. If we were to hold the wedding in a temple the size of Mars', we would draw unneeded attention.

The wedding had taken only three days to arrange; the local Priestess of Venus was more than pleased to conduct the ceremony, though she had insisted on the inclusion of the city's Priest of Eros. A wedding was, as she had said, a joint venture between the Goddess of Love and her son, and the ceremony should reflect that relationship appropriately. Domitian, who had planned the affair, was not pleased at the thought of including more people than absolutely necessary; any wedding was bound to draw attention, and the fewer people involved, the less attention the wedding was likely to draw. Still, since the ceremony could not be conducted properly without the assent of the Priestess of Venus, Domitian was forced to assent to the plan. Nonetheless, he did manage to keep the attendance at the ceremony to an absolute minimum - the only invitees beyond the clergy and bride and groom were himself, Vito, and the High Priest of Mars. Domitian had not even been eager to invite the latter guest, but had done so at Alexandra's insistence. Since the Priest had been her closest friend for most of her adult life, Alexandra had no intention of having a wedding without him present. In fact, she had told Domitian that she would have preferred Monale to perform the ceremony, but Monale had refused - wedding ceremonies were not exactly the specialty of a priest of the War-God.

The inside of the temple was as unassuming and sparse as the outside. Three rows of simple wooden benches flanked both sides of a path leading from the temple's door to the simple altar at the opposite end of the room. A three-foot tall marble icon of Venus decorated the altar, along with an open leatherbound tome, which presumably contained all the pertinent rituals for the Goddess of Love. The Priestess, a shapely brunette with piercing green eyes, was already present, content with biding her time until the ceremony by uttering quiet invocations to Venus from behind the altar. She was so utterly engrossed in her prayer that she did not even acknowledge Marcus as he walked through the temple doors, looking extremely uncomfortable in his formal legionary uniform. He had not worn the dress uniform in several years, and the added stress of wearing the uniform under a

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