Last week on Reunion in Legio I: The Roman first legion prepares to besiege a Celtic fortress.


And now episode one: “Aeneas”


Aeneas came from a family of great soldiers. His father had
commanded the sixth legion; his grandfather had commanded the twentieth
legion, and there were many more in his family line. Aeneas didn’t like
that if he enlisted he would be given his first command within a week of
leaving training camp. He was young and wanted to prove himself on the
front lines. So when he enlisted he went under the name of Augustinus
Antius. He had imagined working up through the ranks and becoming a hero
of Rome riding a magnificent black steed into battle with a legion
behind him, his armor glinting in the mid-day sun, his sword as sharp as
an Eagle’s talon

Yet two years later he was still just Aeneas. Not a legate charging
into battle. Not even a Decanus, the lowest ranking officer in a legion.
He had imagined himself having dinner parties with the emperor, making
public appearances, and leading victory parades. Instead he always was
assigned the least desirable jobs like mucking out the stables and
digging trenches. He was always on the night watch where if he fell
asleep he would be executed. He always got the worst seat possible
during plays and gladiator matches. He had had a few friends in basic
training but they were reassigned to other legions.


One night as he was on the night watch half asleep
contemplating his life and the beautiful soft bed he would be in right
now had he used his real name, he prayed to the gods for something
interesting to happen within the next week. He had no idea what he had
gotten himself into…


The next day the legion had set up camp a few hundred yards
away from the fort they were to besiege. The engineers had already set
up massive siege ballistae, machines larger than houses ready to hurl
huge stones at the walls of the enemy fort. The siege crews were all set
to fire the first volley. Everything was primed and tensioned. The
wooden monsters creaked and groaned as their massive arms were cranked
back into position. With the flick of a lever the siege would begin.


A scroll with the words “Surrender or be obliterated” was
loaded into one of the smaller siege ballistae in a small clay pot. The
siege crew took aim and fired the weapon. The arms made a loud clack as
they hit the padded stoppers. The clay pot soared through the sky and
landed in the middle of the enemy’s court yard. One of the barbarian
warriors took the message to the chief of the fortress. Within a few
minutes the huge iron gates clanged shut. The siege had begun.


The entire valley was ready to erupt into chaos at any moment.
The siege engines were ready to rain stone upon the enemy. The
legionary’s weapons had been sharpened and their armor polished.
Tomorrow the gates of the legion’s fort would open and the attack would
commence. The officers were making a speech to their troops. The senior
centurion of Aeneas’s cohort had stepped up to the podium. His elaborate
bronze armor glinted in the morning sunlight, just as Aeneas had
imagined himself. This moment struck him hard as he knew it could have
been him on top of that podium right now had he used his real name.
Aeneas looked hard at the senior centurion. He looked familiar somehow
as if Aeneas knew him. Aeneas dismissed the thought and formed ranks
with his fellow legionarys.