Saint-Germain 23: Burning Shadows: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (St. Germain) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Author:Chelsea Quinn Yarbro [Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Historical Fiction, Vampires, Saint-Germain
ISBN: 9780765319821
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2009-12-08T05:00:00+00:00

Text of a letter from Gnaccus Tortulla, Praetor Custodis at Viminacium in the Province of Moesia, to Octavianus Honorius Regulus, recorder to the Imperial Court of the Roman Empire in the West at Ravenna, written in code with fixed ink on polished linen, carried by Imperial courier and delivered twelve days after it was written.

To the most august Octavianus Honorius Regulus, Ave! The Praetor Custodis at Viminacium in the Province of Moesia, Gnaccus Tortulla, greets you with respect and esteem on this fourth day of April, in the official year of 439.

It is my duty to inform you that in spite of continuing rumors and new bands of refugees, there has been no direct attack on this side of the Danuvius farther west than Odessus. I am certain there may come a time when this is not the case, but at present I see no proof to justify the constant alarm that I hear everywhere. You may inform the Imperial Treasurer that this region will continue to provide revenue from taxes and other payments, such as from customs and assessments for defense. I have imposed a tax upon those refugees arriving here to cover the increased cost of provisions and more hired soldiers to man the defenses here.

From what I have been able to ascertain of his work, the newly appointed Praetor-General of Drobetae in old Dacia, Verus Flautens, has taken his task to heart. He has heard reports from merchants regarding the movements of the Huns, and transmitted them to me. He has sent his own men to the north to determine the amount of damage the Huns have done, and the present areas of their activities. He has compiled a list of towns that have been emptied and the current locations of many groups of refugees. He has also consulted the refugees coming to Drobetae to ferry over the Danuvius, and has made a record of their accounts, a copy of which he has provided for me, and which I will have a true copy enclosed with this. While I commend his thoroughness, it is my belief that he has placed too much trust in the descriptions of these unfortunates, for he has not yet learned that those who flee count three men as twenty, and twenty as an army.

My next communication will require an escort, for it will accompany the accounts of the last six months as well as the readiness reports of my Tribunes.

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