by Griff Hosker
His farewell with Frann was brief but poignant. “I will return when I can but this is the season for fighting on the wall. Just let me know that you and the child are well when he is born.”
Frann was too upset to speak but Ailis put her arm around her son’s wife. “She will be cared for here so do not worry.” She smiled a nod at Drugi, “And we have our giant to protect us now.”
Drugi grinned. “It will be an honour!”
The return to the northern frontier was something of an anti-climax for it was incident free. The Prefect at Coriosopitum merely inclined his head when Marcus gave him his report. “You horse warriors seem to do things the hardest way but the Legate and your Prefect will be glad to see the recruits and at least we know that they are bloodied.”
The recruits were all keen to see Rocky Point having heard so much about it. Once they reached the wooden fort it seemed to be smaller than they had imagined it. Marcus had laughed at their reaction. “Compared with your new homes this is a palace. But I would like to thank you gentlemen. I am in your debt. You helped to save my family.”
Marius rode forwards. He had become the one who spoke for the recruits since returning from his patrol. “No sir we would like to thank you for having the confidence in us and we too will swear allegiance to the Sword of Cartimandua.”
******
Drugi saw the hawk as it circled the farm. He had seen it every day for a week since the battle. Each day it had come closer. He decided to speak with Ailis about it. When he reached the farm he could see that Frann was even bigger. In another two moons she would give birth. Drugi had seen many animals give birth and he had a sense about that sort of thing. Frann’s face always lit up when he entered for he was at once familiar to her and a close connection to her husband. As he sat in the kitchen drinking the weak beer he looked seriously at Ailis.
“The hawk is the spirit of your son.”
“My adopted son, yes.”
“Would your heart be sad if it was tamed?”
Ailis thought about that for she too had seen the hawk flying over the farm and wondered why it was not watching over Marcus.”I believe that Macro’s spirit is in the bird but if it came to you and allowed you to train it then it would not be tame for taming suggests control and Macro could never be controlled. If he comes to your hand then it is his choice. You have, for what it is worth, my blessing.”
“I have wondered why it has not flown north with your son and I believe it watches for his child. It means Marcus is not in danger if the hawk stays here. I will make a glove and see if it chooses me.”
A week later and the glove was ready. Drugi had killed a dove and held the piece of choice meat in his hand. The hawk circled above, lazily and then swooped down to sit astride the glove. It picked lazily at the meat as though that was not its main concern. Now that he was this close to the bird he saw what a magnificent creature it was. Its bright yellow eyes were sharp with interest, the head constantly turning to take in all that it saw. Its plumage was magnificent and its claws, razor sharp. When the head swivelled and the yellow eyes bored into him Drugi felt a connection and he smiled. “Your brother has told me much about you and we shall hunt together. I know that I can learn much from you and, hopefully, you will learn a little from me.”
Epilogue
On the wall the legionaries were feeling marginally safer. They now had at least one fort on the wall and they could sleep easier at night without the worry of having their throats slit. They were less happy about the order they had just received from the Emperor. They were to paint the plaster running along the face of the wall, white. They understood that it was to make a statement to the barbarians that this was a line they could not cross but as First Spear Vibius said, “There is no reason to totally piss them off is there? They don’t like it at all but to make it stand out… I think we are in for more fighting here lads not less.”
The defenders of the workers, the ala and the auxiliaries knew that their summer would be a hard one as the massive construction spread like a white snake westwards. Although not a continuous barrier, large sections had been built and, even now, the Emperor Hadrian was making subtle changes. His experience on the frontier had shown him that this was not an easy place to defend and, unless he was prepared to keep a massive standing army then he would need to make the wall a real barrier to the barbarians. If that meant more money now then in the long run it would be worth it. The plans made so long ago in Rome were now being changed and altered to suit the circumstance. He would have to delay his departure a little longer.
******
The huge villa at Capua was surrounded by guards. As the brother in law of the Emperor, Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus demanded such protection but they were also there to protect the meeting. The Senators, who had arrived clandestinely, hooded and with no sign or rank were there to sound out a possible new Emperor. The fact that Hadrian’s brother in law had agreed to see them went some way to allaying their fears that this might be a devious trap created by Hadrian. During the meal they had dropped vague hints about what they wanted without committing themselves and, perhaps, incurring a sojourn in the Praetorian prison.
“Gentlemen,” Servianus had a deep and rich voice which sounded as though it had been drenched in honey. “The Emperor is performing a fine job in Britannia defending that province from raiders, renegades and rebels. I fail to see why you need to meet with me.” He knew, of course, precisely why they were there but he was intrigued to discover how they would persuade him.
“We understand the valuable work your brother in law is carrying out but the expense is exorbitant. The taxes in Britannia will not cover the cost of the building of his limes. If you could persuade him to cut back on some of his ideas…”
Spreading his hands he said, sympathetically, “By the time a letter reaches him in that forsaken frontier he may well have finished his wall or moved on. I am not sure how I can help you. It isn’t as though I have any power myself.”
“But if you did have power…”
“The things might be different. I will do as you suggest and write to my brother in law but until I have real power my hands are tied.” The smile which spread across Servianus’ face reminded one of the Senators of a Nile crocodile.”
“It may be that the Senate can use you skills, perhaps in Egypt?”
Servianus’ eyes lit up. Egypt was somewhere where he could become even richer and more powerful for corruption was rife. All he needed was a power base and then? Who knew? “Thank you kind sirs, I will sleep on that.” As long as his brother in law stayed away from Rome then Servianus would continue to build up both his power and his riches. When he did return…
******
There was a stunned silence as the solitary boat pulled into Hjarno-by. Women looked beyond the ship to see other slower boats who they hoped would be following; there were none. As the handful of survivors trudged from the dragon ship they wondered what disaster had befallen their men. Women and children began to wail and to weep as they saw that their man was not amongst those weary eyed and haunted men who stepped gratefully on to dry land.
Finally Trygg stepped on to the jetty. He did not need to hold his hand for silence as there was only the gentle keening of crying women. “Odin was not with us on this journey. My pride was too great and we have all paid the price but I tell you this, people of the Tencteri, we will emerge stronger from this. We have seen weapons of such power that to own one would be to be as a god. When we have perfected such weapons and learned to fight as the Romans do then we will conquer the whole of Uiteland and drive the Suebi from our land.”
The cheer from his men did nothing to disguise the silence from the people. He had lost, in a few short weeks all the power and honour he had spent years building. He cursed the day that he had seen the sword, found the Roman and heard the hawk.
******
Orm had spent the last three months surviving in the woods and forests. Since he had buried his son he ha
d little left to live for. He had tried to get back to the sea but the increased Roman patrols along the road had forced him to constantly hide and change his direction of travel. He had become a bandit, preying on those who travelled alone. He hated himself for it but his heart burned with a desire for revenge. Either the Roman with the sword or the slave who helped them to escape would die and then Orm would be content; he would have avenged his own dishonour and made up a little for his failure to protect his son. Now two months after the death of his heir he was back in the place of the battle. The cairn of rocks above the grave of Ormsson and Sigurd was undisturbed. If he could have seen himself he would have been shocked at the sight, a thin, emaciated scarecrow of a man with a short seax, a bow and handful of arrows. He ate his food raw, when he could get it and slept under the trees. He was no longer a warrior, he was barely a man, and he was a carrion creature, feeding off the dead. Now he was back seeking revenged once more.
Drugi and the hawk were close by the river. The hawk appeared to enjoy the taste of wild ducks and, when he could get one, a goose. A brave bird, he would attack the bigger goose but if there was a pair then he would always have to beat a hasty although still dignified retreat. Still, he always looked for another chance to get the bird he relished eating. Drugi could speak Brigante like a native and all of his conversations with the hawk were in Brigante. “Well Macro, I have seen your brother’s wife this morning and her waters have broken. By the setting sun he will have a son.” The hawk fluttered its wings and half raised itself up. “Soon you will have to find a mate and have chicks of your own. Come we will see if we can catch a squirrel for supper.” Drugi contentedly led the bird up the trail through the forest to the farm.
Orm heard the voices and hid in the bushes. He fitted an arrow. He had learned over the past two months that every man he met was his enemy; it made life easier. When he saw the huge figure of Drugi wander into the clearing he knew that his prayers had been answered. He pulled the bow back and sighted along the arrow. He would need two to kill such a big man but, as Drugi was fifty paces away he would easily have time for three shots and then he could finish him with his knife. He sighed with the joy of an end to a journey as he released the arrow.
Drugi sensed the movement as did the hawk; suddenly before Drugi could react the bird had spread its wings, taken flight towards the hidden man and taken the arrow to the chest. With a roar of rage Drugi ran towards the spot from whence the arrow had come. Orm hurriedly fired a second with thudded into Drugi’s leg. The giant merely snapped it off with his left hand, his right drawing the Roman sword he used as a knife. Orm had no chance for a third shot as Drugi plunged the blade up through his stomach, twisting as the blade went on to pierce the heart of Orm. As he withdrew the blade, shiny with blood and entrails he saw the strange smile of happiness on the dead Tencteri. Racing back to the hawk he picked it up. Its heart was still beating weakly and there was defiance in its eyes. He began to head back to the farm as quickly as he could. When he was within sight of the buildings he heard a loud cry from inside and then the unmistakeable wailing of a new born baby. He glanced down at the hawk and saw the light of life pass from its eyes. The Spirit of Macro had gone to reside elsewhere.
The End
Author’s Notes
The idea for this book came when I was researching Hadrian’s Wall. I discovered that whilst the wall was being constructed there were barbarian raids from across the sea. I also watched the Neil Oliver television programme, “The Vikings” and discovered that the lives of the people of Scandinavia were the same in the Iron Age as in the medieval period. As the Vikings, as they became known, did not colonise the lands they raided until the seventh and eighth century it seemed likely that they would just plunder. The Eudose tribe, of which the Tencteri were a clan, did indeed live in what is now Jutland but they had come from Norway originally. As the Scandinavians had an oral rather than a written tradition then I have had to make many assumptions to create the world of Trygg Tryggvasson. At the end of the day it is a world out of my own head but I have tried to make it as realistic as possible.
I have used the generic name for the bird as a hawk rather than a specific type. This is partly because it is a better title but also the people of the time would all have had a different name for each species of bird. The days of falconry were still to come. The evidence for ports and buildings in Denmark is sketchy, mainly because Iron Age people did not build in stone and wood rots away. The places I describe are from my imagination and the research into Iron Age peoples.
The Emperor did indeed modify his plans for the wall when he was in Britannia and saw the difficulties with both the terrain and the natives. Even after he left the concept of the wall was still his but the later modifications came as a result of the Governors and Legates in the Province. The wall was painted white as it was plastered and this was deliberate to show the native population that this was Rome. Needless to say the natives did not like it. While the wall was being built there were constant raids both from north of the wall and the east and west. The Brigante also began to rebel more frequently.
There will be more books to follow, mainly because I like the people who inhabit the world of Northern Britannia at this time. I thoroughly enjoy the research and talking to others, who like me, love Hadrian’s Wall and the country which surround it.
Griff Hosker
October 2012
People and places mentioned in the story.
Fictional characters are in italics
Ailis
Gaius' wife
Alavna
Ardoch in Perthshire
Alro
Eudose island
Angus
Manavian warrior
Appius Sabinus
Quartermaster of the ala
aureus (plural aurei)
A gold coin worth 25 denarii
bairns
children
breeks
Brigante trousers
Bremenium
High Rochester Northumberland
Brocavum
Brougham
Brynna
daughter of Morwenna
Capreae
Capri
capsarius
medical orderly
Caronwyn
daughter of Morwenna
Cassius
Decurion Princeps
Castra Vetera
Fortress of the 1st Germanica
Clota Fluvium
River Clyde
Coriosopitum (Corio)
Corbridge
corvus
a ramp lowered from a Roman ship
Decius Lucullus Sallustius
Brother of Livius Sallustius
Derventio
Malton
Deva
Chester
Din Eidyn
Edinburgh
domina
The mistress of a house
dominus
The master of a house
Dumnonii
Scottish tribe
Dunum Fluvius
River Tees
Eabrycg
Stockton on Tees
Eboracum
York
Eilwen
daughter of Morwenna
Eudoses
Germanic tribe living in Jutland
First Spear
The senior centurion in any unit
frumentarii
Roman Secret Service
Furax
Street urchin
Gaius Brutus
Son of Antoninus
Gaius Saturninus
Regular Roman Decurion
Glanibanta
Ambleside
Gnaeus Turpius
Camp Prefect Corio
groma
surveying equipment
Gudrun Gudrunsson
Headman of a port in Uiteland.
Gurt
Pirate from East Uiteland
Habitancum
Risingham Northumberland
Hadrian
Roman Emperor
Hercules
Captain of The Swan
Hjarno
Trygg's capital
Hjarno
Eudose island
Hjarno-by
Settlement of the Eudose
Itunocelum
Ravenglass
Julius Demetrius
Senator and Legate
Julius Longinus
ala clerk
Keltoi
Irish tribes
liburnian
small Roman ship
limes
Roman frontier defences
Livius Lucullus Sallustius
Prefect of the ala
Luguvalium
Carlisle
Lupanar
The red light district( in Rome)
Mamucium
Manchester
Manavia
Isle of Man
Marcus Gaius Aurelius
Decurion
Marius Arvina
Camp Prefect Morbium.