Invasion (Tales of the Empire Book 5)
Page 37
Bellacon let out a slow sigh and sheathed his sword, opening his hand and looking into the palm as though it belonged to someone else.
‘I’m glad I have you,’ he said, and meant it.
The two stepped back into the gloom of the bedroom and paused to let their eyes adjust to the interior. ‘What do we do now, then?’ he said.
‘Exactly what is expected,’ Lissa replied. ‘You will take up your governorship, settling in a new imperial colony in Alba, and I will be with you. We will watch it grow and flourish in concert with King Suolceno’s own world. And you will bring peace and security to Alba for generations.’
‘Is that ever truly going to happen?’
‘Of course it is,’ she laughed. ‘Don’t you think I know these things?’
Bellacon reached out for the door handle that would take him out, away from his vengeance and into an uncertain future. Somehow it didn’t seem so uncertain with Lissa beside him, though.
He smiled.
And behind them, across the dark room, there was a sudden scream and a quiet, distant thud.
The gods had spoken.
Author’s Note
While this is a work of fantasy, one of a series of such books, and not a historical novel per se, there are veins of Roman and Late Roman history hidden within all the Tales of the Empire, and Invasion is far from different in that regard. The basic premise of this book can be seen perhaps to parallel the Roman invasion of Britain. While this event is famously fixed at 43AD under the emperor Claudius, the truth of the Roman conquest is far different.
Rome had had contact with the British tribes long before any thought was given to conquest. Then, finally, in 55BC (and then also the following year) Julius Caesar crossed the channel, perhaps as a publicity stunt, perhaps for political reasons connected with his war in Gaul or for fabled riches, perhaps even partially from curiosity. Likely all these things and more. Following Caesar there were various contemplations of invasion, including Gaius Caligula, who reached the shore of Northern France with his legions before turning away. Even when Claudius came in 43, it was not a simple matter; not a landing of troops and planting of a flag. The initial invasion only took the south. Twenty years later they only had true control as far north as Lincoln, where a legion was based. Then in the 80s, under the Flavians, a new frontier was drawn where in the future Hadrian’s Wall would be. Scotland was invaded, but abandoned. It would be invaded repeatedly from this point until the end of Roman influence in Britain. So, you see, the invasion was a stop-start, ongoing thing for centuries, even once they had a strong foothold on the island.
Thus was born the idea for Invasion. Like the island that was seen to have resisted Caesar and Caligula, my Alba has resisted imperial intervention for decades. And just as happened with the Roman move into Britain, as much use was made of potentially allied tribes as of direct military action.
One thing that may seem unrealistic in this work is the number of internecine political and underhanded moves being carried out by generals and senators, but the truth is closer than you might think. Even in the empire’s early days, the greatest governor of Britain – Gnaeus Julius Agricola – was pulled out of Britain on the cusp of truly controlling the whole island ostensibly because he had become too successful and powerful for his own good. Such was the fate of numerous Roman and Byzantine generals and statesmen (Corbulo and Belisarius for example). And as for underhanded deeds on campaign, I will just point you at the 3rd century and say ‘look up the fates of most of the emperors’, since many of Rome’s rulers during that century came to power in the field as a result of their predecessor taking an unexpected blade in the back, mid-campaign.
And like the Britannia of Roman times, I have Alba dominated by one tribe in the north. The Albantes are my facsimile of the Brigantes, whose control and influence spread from the east coast to the west and from the Peak District to north of Hadrian’s Wall and almost into Scotland. I have clearly given more credit to my Albantes than perhaps the Brigantes deserve, making them the crucial linchpin of Alba. Saying that, the Brigantes were an important political factor in late first century Roman politics of the island. The division between king and queen in this tale is partially based upon the stories of King Venutius and Queen Cartimandua (who famously sold out Caratacus to the Romans), though their roles have been reversed. Similarly, the fortress of Steinvic is based upon Stanwick Camp in County Durham, believed to have been the fortress-settlement of either Cartimandua or Venutius.
Which leads me to the matter of locations. A quick glance at the map for this island will make its parallel to Britain clear. Almost every location used here is based on a real place, with the exception of the fen town in Part Two. The fens still exist in eastern England, but their appearance now must be far different from the time of the Romans, given the amount of drainage and work they have had. Now, they are low arable farmland. Before the many centuries of work, they might have been the odd landscape I describe. If not, well, this is a fantasy novel, after all.
But if you live in, or are visiting England and wish to visit the sites I used as inspiration for the location of some of my important scenes, I would direct you to Maiden Castle in Dorset, which was supposedly the site of a siege maintained by the future emperor Vespasian and his 2nd legion. Roman artillery bolts were found here that had been fired from some distance into the fort and one had pinned a man to his door frame! Then, in part one, you might look at Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire, where in Invasion Bellacon confronts his general. The site between the river and the escarpment where the first major battle takes place is an area called Hell Wath on the edge of Ripon in North Yorkshire, while the basis for my battle at the bridge is the River Swale by Catterick racecourse. Finally, you can do far worse than visit Stanwick Camp.
I have done my best, within the bounds of the tale, to stay true to the historical camp and its archaeology. Its interior is something of a mystery, having barely been touched, and its main western gate is odd, in that it encloses a hill, or possible skirts – rather non-defensively – around the inside of it. But the inner enclosure was there in an area now known as Tofts Hill, behind a rather splendid church. The lake is my own creation, but there is some suggestion that the Mary Wild Beck which ran across the site, east-west, was dammed to form a lake there. There is no answer as to how the walls were made defensible where the stream passed through them, and they would most definitely be a weak spot, which I have exploited in my tale. There is no actual evidence that Stanwick Camp was ever besieged or fell, since Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s theory that the fallen north walls suggested just that, might easily be explained away in terms of time and nature. If there was a siege, though, the south-west looks like a potential site, since there are no signs of the rampart or ditch for some distance there.
In short, if you are able, I urge you to spend a day exploring Stanwick Camp.
I have, in this series, tried to keep each volume fresh and moving in new and unexpected directions. Hopefully I have achieved that with this latest foray, and I hope you enjoyed it. The empire’s potential for tales is nowhere near fully plumbed yet, so look out in the future for more works. In the meantime, I down tools on this land and return to the ancient world. I hope to see you there.
Simon Turney
November 2016
First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Canelo
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Copyright © S.J.A. Turney, 2017
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ISBN 9781911420613
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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