Legionary

After the mighty Roman Legion Vindicta emerged out of the darkness from a 2,000 year hibernation in Gaul, Legatus Lucius Cassius Aquilius has at last returned to the land of his enemies, seeking revenge. But the world has changed. They are now the hunted and time is their deadliest enemy.

The saga of Lucius Cassius begins on an olive orchard on the banks of the Tiber River. While his parents hope their only son will remain on the land, Lucius has only one ambition: He wants to be a legionary in the army of Emperor Augustus.

Leaving his home and the only life he has known, Lucius travels to Rome where he is formally inducted into the army. From there he is taken to northern Gaul where he begins the four-months’ brutal training to become a legionary.

When Lucius is finally permitted to don the armor of a legionary in the Eighteenth Legion, he joins his comrades on campaigns and battles across the region. In less than ten years Lucius has reached the rank of centurion. His closest friends are Septimus and Marcus. The trio are inseparable and amity and battle.

Falling in love with Livia Romania, the beautiful daughter of a senior officer, Lucius has all he could want. He and Livia are the parents of a strong and bright boy named Cornelius Cassius.

The legion receives orders to move across the Rhenus River into Roman-occupied Germania to join an army commanded by a ruthless Praetor named Quinctillius Varus. The army will march east into barbarian Germania to collect taxes and quell revolts among the tribes. Lucius leads his centuria in the huge column while his family follows in the baggage train. Varus’s mighty army is being led into a deadly trap set by a German prince named Arminius. Against the counsel of his generals, Varus leads them into a dense forest and the savage massacre of all three legions and thousands of innocent civilians. Lucius and his men fight to survive and escape the slaughter. Among the slain are Livia and little Cornelius.

As the senior living officer Lucius leads the ragtag band of survivors to safety. Deep in his heart grows an intense ember of hatred. Somehow Lucius will find a way to return to Germania and kill the barbarians that slaughtered so many. He will not rest until he has had his revenge.