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By Septim

Garelum, Brujark Alliance

1289 AC

Gaius Manius Cidellus, 71, now known as Emperor Gaius I, was mounted on his horse, staring out across the snow-covered plains with a massive stronghold in the center. A large gold helmet with a white plume covered his once-brown white hair, and gold armor and furs protected his old, frail body. However, one thing that hadn’t left him in his old age was his mind, and as his green eyes stared out, his mind was at work, it was always at work.

The Brujark Alliance had once been a strong ally of the Cidellian Empire, with Emperor Gaius granting them independence after his victory over the Serillians, but after the death of King Mukos two years before, that could not longer be said. His son, Brennos, had hated how the Cidellian Empire had used them for victory, and after he was declared King, he began preparing for war.

Six months before, Brennos had led an assault on Bertrol, a city in the north of the Cidellian Empire. The attack would have succeeded had Crown Prince Caius, oldest son of Emperor Gaius, not arrived with a relief army. After hearing news of the attack, Emperor Gaius declared war on the Brujark Alliance and travelled west from Cidel (the new capitol) with ten legions, meeting with two armies, one led by Caius Cidellus, his oldest son, and the other led by Severus Cidellus, his youngest son.

With the sixteen legions, Gaius led the armies into the Brujark Alliance and met with an army of two hundred thousand warriors under King Brennos. It was an intense battle, but due to the military genius of Gaius Cidellus, along with the command ability of his sons, they managed to win a heroic victory and destroy most of Brennos’s army.

Brennos retreated to Garelum, Gaius followed him and besieged the stronghold and all of the soldiers inside. The walls were high and sturdy, and the warriors inside were tough and brave, there would be no surrender, he would have to starve them out.

Caius, 29, Gaius’s oldest son, and Severus, 24, Gaius’s youngest son, were sitting on horses on both sides of their father, awaiting orders. Caius was around 5’11", and looked almost exactly like his father did at 29 years old, Severus was six feet tall, and looked for like his grandfather, with his father’s green eyes and brown hair. Severus was a great swordsman, and was made even greater by his extreme tolerance to pain. He felt almost nothing, Gaius thought it to be some sort of disorder, but no doctor had ever found anything physically wrong with him that they knew about.

"Severus, take six legions and go north, capture Bukarm," said Gaius.
"Yes sir," said Severus before saluting and riding off.
"Caius, you will lead the troops here," said Gaius, "I would, but I’m too damn old."
"Yes, father," said Caius.
"Domus will be arriving soon with a legion out of Bertrol, he’ll probably flank them when they sally forth to attack, which they will do," said Gaius.
"I know," said Caius with a smile.
"Good," said Gaius as he looked at Caius before looking back at the stronghold.

***

Gaius was seated in his tent, he had heard news of Severus’s victory at Bukarm days before, it had been a simple battle, and he only lost around fifty men. Gaius was proud, and he hoped that Caius would win a similar victory. He looked up, hearing footsteps against the snow outside, and saw one of his Altorian guards step into the tent.
"Your majesty, they are sallying forth to attack us," said the guard.
"About time they did, it’s been two damn weeks," said Gaius as he got up, "Inform my son, he is the Commander this time."
"Yes sir," said the guard as he saluted and walked out of the tent. Gaius then looked down at the philosophy and thoughts he was writing down. He then sighed, and leaned back, looking up at the tent’s ceiling. After a few minutes, Gaius stood up, walked over to his armor stand, and began putting on his armor. After his armor was on, he buckled his spatha and walked out into the camp as his son was riding out with his Altorian cavalry riding around him.
"Good luck, son!" said Gaius with a proud smile before turning to his own guard, who were already prepared with their horses and Gaius’s. The Captain of his guard turned his head to one of the guard’s and gestured to Gaius’s horse. The guard jumped from his horse and got on his hands and knees at the side of Gaius’s horse. Gaius then walked forward, stepped onto the guard’s back, and up onto his horse. The guard walked back to his horse and jumped onto his horse.

Emperor Gaius I did not spur his horse for several minutes, he simply looked around, and up at the birds circling in the sky. Then, with a sigh, he gave his order.

"Move out!" he ordered.
Gaius then rode forward and out of the camp, towards the battlefield.

***

"Advance!" roared Caius.
The Centurions relayed the order, and they moved forward towards the advancing barbarians with great unity. As the barbarians rushed forward, the onagers, archers, and the ballistae opened fire, and when the barbarians were in range, the legionnaires threw their javelins and drew their gladii, holding their shields at the ready. The barbarians crashed against the shields, and the intense melee began.

***

The cavalry rushed around, crashing into the flanks of the unorganized barbarians, the cavalry then rushed out and into the barbarians again before drawing their spathas and striking down at the barbarians. When the shock wore off, the cavalry repeated the process, and kept the barbarians from focusing too much on the front, where the real threat was.

***

"Forward!" exclaimed Patriarch Domus Deallus of the Dealli as his legionnaires began marching across the fields. As they marched, Deallus’s ballistae opened fire as well, and when the archers were in range, they began bombarding the enemy with arrows.

***

King Brennos of the Brujark Alliance rode out on his horse, his axe in hand. He was a fierce warrior, and would not be brought down easily, especially with his personal guard of twenty elite warriors. His small cavalry rode out the gate and through his men, with his guard calling "MOVE!" very loudly as he rode. After a minute of riding, he crashed into the Cidellian shield wall, causing it to be broken. He then jumped off his injured horse and swung his axe around with great strength, causing the Cidellians to give him some room. One jumped forward and made a stab, only to have his arm chopped off by one of Brennos’s twenty guards. They moved with great strength, crushing many Cidellian legionnaires in a berserk rampage, but even with the strength of the Gods, they would be unable to withstand the might of the many soldiers around them. It was the dream of all great warriors to die in this fashion, and Brennos was ready to die. He crushed a soldier’s helm with his axe, and the axe was stuck. He picked up a fallen soldier’s gladius and ran forward, stabbing it into a shield with great strength. The gladius went through and through the soldier’s arm. The soldier was tough, and he stabbed his own gladius through Brennos’s chest. Brennos gasped, punched the soldier in the head, and felt his hand break as it smashed into the metal helmet, the soldier pulled his sword out and stabbed again, and again, and again, and Brennos’s two remaining guards were helpless as they fought their own battles. King Brennos, son of King Mukos and last King of the Brujark Alliance, fell to the floor with several great stab wounds, many going through his body. His blood came from his body and stained the snow red, the warmth melting some of it. And the legionnaire pulled his sword from the body before retreating and allowing another legionnaire to take his place.

***

"The battle is over, they had only a thousand left, and those men routed when their King fell," said Caius to his father.
"Casualties?" asked Gaius.
"Two thousand estimated to their thirty-eight thousand estimated," reported Caius.
"Good, send Brennos’s body to Bukarm to be buried with his family," said Gaius.
"Yes father," said Caius.
"It was a great victory you won today, I congratulate you, both as the Emperor and as your father," claimed Gaius proudly, "Let us hold a feast tonight, tomorrow I return to Cidel, I don’t like the cold."

The city of Cidel, founded by Gaius Cidellus as a fort in 1267 to guard the lost herd, had grown to become the only major city in the East, with a massive palace in the center of the city to easily dwarf the Palace of Seris. Soon after Cidellus’s conquest of the Serillians, massive gold, iron, and silver deposits were discovered in the Lone Mountain, and that supply allowed Cidel to flourish, changing a fort of sweat and iron into a city of gold and marble.

It had grown rapidly, and in 1282, the Imperial Capitol was moved from Seris to Cidel, with Seris becoming the Birein, a "back-up capitol" that would be governed by the heir to the Cidellian Empire.

The metal was mined, refined, and exported via a highway to a large wharf several leagues south, where they would be sent via ships throughout the Empire. The highway was well guarded, robbery was a rare occurrence.

The city itself was built in a very organized manner, with stone streets going through all sections of the city. Throughout the city were plazas and forums, with musicians playing at the plazas and goods being sold at the forums. At the Great Forum, the wealthier traders sold their wares, from geese to swords, if the Great Forum didn’t have it, chances are it didn’t exist.

All of the great wonders of Cidel were designed by one of the world’s greatest architects, Herius Sidonius Momus, who designed the Grand Theater, the Cidellian Amphitheater, the Grand Pantheon, and the Palace of Cidel. He lived only to see the Theater reach completion, as he died in 1285 AC.

One of the most impressive buildings in the city, the Grand Pantheon of Cidel, occupied a massive piece of land in the Western part of the city, and was a temple dedicated to every God and Goddess of the Cidellian Temple.

Another wonderous building, the Grand Theater of Cidel, occupied a large chunk of land close to the palace. In the theater, plays and musical performances occurred, entertaining the wealthier men and women in the city.

For the poorer masses, the Arena, officially called the Cidellian Amphitheater, allowed the bloodthirsty mob to witness battles between highly trained gladiators. Occasionally, there would be a series of games, which would be hosted by the wealthier men and women of Cidel. The games were very expensive, and would only be held in the honor of great events.

The greatest of the great Herius Sidonius Momus’s designs came in the form of the Grand Palace of Cidel. The palace’s design allowed for an excellent plumbing system, making flowing fountains possible. The sturdy design also made it resistant to earthquakes. The crowning feature, however, was the Imperial Garden, a massive garden in the front of the palace with waterworks and a grand statue of Mastros, the King of the Cidellian Gods.

Cidel’s story was, in all ways, amazing. In 34 years it had changed from a fort into one of the largest known cities on the planet, and was the pumping heart of the Cidellian Empire.

It was ten in the morning, and Emperor Gaius I was still asleep. A strange occurance, the Captain of the Altorian Guard thought to himself. The Emperor was old, however, he rarely slept past eight, let alone ten, no matter how late he stayed up.
"Sir?" asked the Captain, knocking.
There was no answer.
"Your majesty!?" he asked, knocking louder.
Still no answer.
The Captain opened the door, and saw the Emperor, lying peacefully on the bed, as if still asleep. There was no mistake, the Emperor had gone into the afterlife. Emperor Gaius the Great, founder of the Cidellian Empire and one of the greatest leaders the world had ever known, had died in his sleep at the age of eighty-three.

***

The usually loud city of Cidel was silent as the body of the first Emperor of Cidel was carried through the city by his sons, daughter, and close friends. The body was taken from the palace, down the main street, along the larger side streets, and to the Imperial Mausoleum of Cidel, where it was laid down on a pile of wood. A massive crowd of people gathered around the plaza, everybody trying to catch a glimpse of Gaius the Great’s body, as Caius began delivering the funeral oration. After it was complete, he made a gesture, and the funeral pyre was lit. In a blaze of fire, Emperor Gaius the Great’s body was burnt to ash. After the burning ceased, Caius collected the ashes into an urn and walked them into the Mausoleum with his two brothers, his widowed mother, and his sister. He placed the ashes on a pedestal in front of a grand statue of his father and looked up into the statue’s stone face.
"Goodbye, father," said Caius sadly before turning and walking out into the sunlight, leaving his family inside to pay their respects. When they came out, the feast in dedication to Gaius the Great, first of the Cidellian Emperors, began.