The Rise of Caratacus by K. M. Ashman

Author:K. M. Ashman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Up in the fort, hundreds of warriors lined the palisades, each armed with a variety of weapons from swords to bows, and each waiting for the onslaught they knew would surely come. Heaps of small stones suitable for slings lay piled against the ramparts and though the Durotriges army had some archers, their strength lay in their courage and skill in hand to hand fighting. Behind them in the village, hundreds of women and children crouched in the dust, looking nervously up at their men, confident in their ability yet apprehensive about the battle they knew was coming.

The whole clan had believed the promises of their young chieftain Eadric. For the past two years he had led them against other clans of their tribe and they had emerged undefeated against every one, gaining strength and tribute from those they dominated with their ferocity. Village after village had followed his call and when he had heard the Romans had invaded their lands, he had promised to swipe them as he did a fly. The tribe had followed him blindly and fully expected him to deliver a crushing blow on the invaders, but when they had been humiliated on the battlefield days earlier, they knew that this was no ordinary enemy.

Eadric strutted along the ramparts, staring at the deployment of the Roman army. Never had he seen such organisation. Hundreds of men marched as one, each giant square flowing across the field like rivers of blood as their red cloaks blew in the wind. Each side of the fort was surrounded by troops as every avenue of escape was closed and Eadric knew this was going to be a battle to the last. Despite this, his arrogance knew no bounds and he saw no other outcome except a glorious and bloody victory, raising him up as the true chieftain of the Durotriges. He also knew that a triumph over the Romans here would add argument to the need of one chieftain to rule all the tribes and who better than the one who defeated them here.

‘Look at them,’ he sneered to one of the men at the palisade. ‘Prancing around like women in their solstice robes. Let them have their moments of pathetic ceremony. Their posturing fills me with mirth, not fear and I grow impatient for their attack. Despite their number these walls have never been breached since the time of my grandfather’s grandfather.’

The old man at his side stayed silent; he knew better than to offer conflicting viewpoint to Eadric – his ears were closed to any but his favoured advisors who shared the benefits of youthful leadership.

‘Look at the machines they have brought,’ continued Eadric. ‘What honour is there in fighting from afar? Where is their courage to meet us man on man? I’ll tell you where, they have left it in that far off place they call Rome. Well they can fire their arrows if they like for our walls are made of stout oak, not horse flesh.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.