57 BC
Caesar was able to defeat Galba, the king of the Suessions, in the battle of the Axona River. The Suessions were a tribe of Belgian origin and had deployed three hundred six thousand soldiers against the thirty six thousand Roman legionaries. The battle was long and exhausting but in the end Caesar forced Galba to retreat. The Romans continued to advance now driven by the desire to conquer rather than to defend the Aedui.
Divitiacus, she met Caesar in her camp, she was alone reading a letter from the Senate.
"Caesar, what are you doing? Why attack the Belgians?"
"They are possible enemies, Divitiacus, you know that. The Aedui cannot defend themselves without Rome and now I am taking precautions."
"But Galba ... he never threatened us."
"Where do you want to go, Divitiacus? I'm just doing what's right for my people and for your people. I'm defending the borders of Rome and the Aedui tribe. Are you implying that it's wrong to fight for the people?"
"No, Caesar, but I perceive an evil energy in your battles. It's as if you're not really interested in the good of the people but only in conquest."
"Divitiacus," she turned "listen, I'm not-"
Caesar saw a girl behind Divitiacus, she had a humble aspect and was dirty with dust; she had no footwear and her blond hair was smeared with mud. That frail girl was hiding behind the Druid as if to avoid being seen.
"Who's that girl? Your slave?"
"Aria. One of Ariovistus' two daughters. Her sister was killed in Alsace, she was abandoned by her father and I decided to protect her."
"Why is she here?"
"She wanted to see you."
"Divitiacus, take her away, you know perfectly well that I don't need a slave. If you want you can give her to some of my men, I bet a pastime could suit them."
"She's not a slave, Caesar ... she's a princess."
"The princess of the Barbarians can become either the slave of the Romans or the dinner of the wolves, Divitiacus. Believe it or not I'm a bit busy at the moment and I'm not going to-"
Aria threw herself at Caesar's feet, with her head bowed she begged for mercy and pleaded:
"Take me with you, Caesar, do with me what you want, but leave me by your side. I've seen, I have seen druids evoke evil, the devouring serpent, my father ignored my fears but Rome must intervene! Caesar, with the holy sword, fight evil. The earth has roared, the sky has darkened and only your blade can defeat that evil. "
Caesar got up and ignored the girl's requests; then, turning to Divitiacus, he said:
"Take her away. You Aedui hate Ariovistus, don't you? Now you have his daughter as a slave. The Aedui will be able to do whatever they want with her, as long as they take her away from me. I have no time to waste on some nonsense."
"Caesar, listen to her, I know what she is talking about. I felt the same thing," Divitiacus said, worried.
"You're all crazy."
Aria blocked Caesar's path, threw herself in tears and begged her to listen. Caesar was getting nervous, she was about to use the sword but Divitiacus ordered her to restrain herself, innocent blood should not be shed.
"Well, brat, do you believe in the power of this sword?" Caesar asked Aria.
"Yes, I believe in it. It's a divine sword. The Gods protect you. You, the chosen one, have the right to decide on my life but listen to my words, I beg you: evil is rising and you must stop it."
"You're pathetic. If you really are the princess of the Germans you should behave like one. It's the fault of people like you that people like me will always be seen as weak. Grow a backbone or get out of my way, you are just in my way."
Caesar refused to be followed by Aria and entrusted her to Divitiacus. The Romans moved along the Sabis river, meanwhile winter came and Caesar set up a camp on a hill hoping not to be attacked by the Belgians but the commander of the enemy forces, Boduognatus, when he saw the Romans didn't miss the opportunity to attack them with his eighty-five thousand soldiers. The Romans were caught unprepared, many were killed and others tried to resist the enemy attack, Caesar ordered Divitiacus to secure Aria and then joined Titus Labienus to organize the counterattack.
Some legionaries were already retreating and the Belgians did not stop attacking. Caesar then took the shield of one of his legionaries and the sword of another, killed the first enemy, then the second and also the third. Parrying and striking, the young woman made her way towards the legionaries who were resisting and then, when they saw her coming, they were excited. She raised the weapon and shouted:
"We will not fall! My fate is in your hands and yours is in my hands! Together we will demonstrate the strength of Rome!"
The legionaries, with a new energy, managed to repel the constant enemy attacks. The Belgians and Viromandui went on to attack and the Romans resisted as they could. Caesar saw Boduognatus arrive with his huge ax and with that size similar to that of a bull. The girl, without hesitation, began a duel with that man but without thinking about the risks. Boduognatus with one hand tore off her shield and gave her a kick in the stomach; the girl fell to the ground, rolled in the mud and stood on the river bank. She picked up the sword and tried to wound the enemy but Boduognatus seemed invincible. He, grabbing the girl by her throat, exclaimed, amused:
"Rome will never defeat my army! Ariovistus was weak but I can defeat your little men as if they were ants!"
Caesar was thrown to the ground, stood up, Boduognatus struck a blow with his ax that broke her sword; now she, in addition to being exhausted, was also unarmed.
"Roman weapons are really fragile!" he exclaimed, laughing.
"THE SWORD!" It was Aria, on a hill with Divitiacus. "USE THE SWORD!"
Caesar pretended not to listen, she preferred to fight unarmed rather than rely on divine power. She dodged the first blows of the ax and then, with great agility, jumped on the enemy's shoulders and began to punch his head; yet that muscular monster was able to free himself from the girl's grip.
"CAESAR!" Aria screamed, frightened.
"BE QUIET!"
Caesar was distracted only for a moment and when she turned she saw the ax blade go against her. An oak suddenly rose from the ground and stopped Boduognatus' blow. The girl turned and saw Divitiacus approaching. She knew immediately that it was he who had performed that miracle.
"There's no embarrassment to admit you need Crocea Mors to win," he said.
"But yes. I've no intention of relying on divine power to win this battle."
"Would you rather die?"
"I won't die."
"Your road will end today if you don't use that weapon."
"Are you threatening me, Druid?"
"I'm telling you what will happen if you refuse divine help. What is more important to you, Gaius Julius Caesar? Your stupid pride or your dream?"
The girl didn't look Divitiacusin the face, she pushed him away with one hand and with the other she helped herself to get back on her feet. Boduognatus was still trying to remove the ax that had stuck in the tree trunk. She heaved an annoyed but resigned sigh.
"I hate this," she murmured.
Caesar, then, decided to unsheathe Crocea Mors and with a single blow he cut Boduognatus in two. The other Belgians saw their commander die but this did not frighten them, on the contrary, they were even more angry and the girl, in a moment of anger, decided to use the sword again. A magical slash that shone like the sun killed ten thousand Viromandui in one blow. The Belgians withdrew, frightened by the power of that magical weapon.
The legionaries celebrated but Caesar was just happy to have survived not to have used that weapon.
"You did the right thing, Caesar," Divitiacus said with a satisfied smile.
"You only say that because you don't have this burden."
"No. I say this because I know that having that weapon makes you the hero we all need."
After the battle of the Sabis river, the Romans conquered Namur and managed to gain control of present-day Belgium. Caesar, proud of her military success, let the Senate know of her victories and while many senators were happy one, Caesar's rival, suspected that those campaigns were only a means of obtaining power: Cato the Younger.
Caesar was aware of her popularity in Rome but instead of stopping and returning home, she decided to send large quantities of slaves to the capital just to win the favor of the aristocrats and the Senate; Caesar's purpose was clearly to silence any possible criticism, she wanted to crush the opposition by giving those power-hungry men what they wanted. But while the aristocrats were pleased with Caesar's goodness, they were unaware that she was gaining more and more success among the people and also among her legionaries. Cato, incorruptible, tried several times to denounce the girl but without success.
Caesar was able to defeat Galba, the king of the Suessions, in the battle of the Axona River. The Suessions were a tribe of Belgian origin and had deployed three hundred six thousand soldiers against the thirty six thousand Roman legionaries. The battle was long and exhausting but in the end Caesar forced Galba to retreat. The Romans continued to advance now driven by the desire to conquer rather than to defend the Aedui.
Divitiacus, she met Caesar in her camp, she was alone reading a letter from the Senate.
"Caesar, what are you doing? Why attack the Belgians?"
"They are possible enemies, Divitiacus, you know that. The Aedui cannot defend themselves without Rome and now I am taking precautions."
"But Galba ... he never threatened us."
"Where do you want to go, Divitiacus? I'm just doing what's right for my people and for your people. I'm defending the borders of Rome and the Aedui tribe. Are you implying that it's wrong to fight for the people?"
"No, Caesar, but I perceive an evil energy in your battles. It's as if you're not really interested in the good of the people but only in conquest."
"Divitiacus," she turned "listen, I'm not-"
Caesar saw a girl behind Divitiacus, she had a humble aspect and was dirty with dust; she had no footwear and her blond hair was smeared with mud. That frail girl was hiding behind the Druid as if to avoid being seen.
"Who's that girl? Your slave?"
"Aria. One of Ariovistus' two daughters. Her sister was killed in Alsace, she was abandoned by her father and I decided to protect her."
"Why is she here?"
"She wanted to see you."
"Divitiacus, take her away, you know perfectly well that I don't need a slave. If you want you can give her to some of my men, I bet a pastime could suit them."
"She's not a slave, Caesar ... she's a princess."
"The princess of the Barbarians can become either the slave of the Romans or the dinner of the wolves, Divitiacus. Believe it or not I'm a bit busy at the moment and I'm not going to-"
Aria threw herself at Caesar's feet, with her head bowed she begged for mercy and pleaded:
"Take me with you, Caesar, do with me what you want, but leave me by your side. I've seen, I have seen druids evoke evil, the devouring serpent, my father ignored my fears but Rome must intervene! Caesar, with the holy sword, fight evil. The earth has roared, the sky has darkened and only your blade can defeat that evil. "
Caesar got up and ignored the girl's requests; then, turning to Divitiacus, he said:
"Take her away. You Aedui hate Ariovistus, don't you? Now you have his daughter as a slave. The Aedui will be able to do whatever they want with her, as long as they take her away from me. I have no time to waste on some nonsense."
"Caesar, listen to her, I know what she is talking about. I felt the same thing," Divitiacus said, worried.
"You're all crazy."
Aria blocked Caesar's path, threw herself in tears and begged her to listen. Caesar was getting nervous, she was about to use the sword but Divitiacus ordered her to restrain herself, innocent blood should not be shed.
"Well, brat, do you believe in the power of this sword?" Caesar asked Aria.
"Yes, I believe in it. It's a divine sword. The Gods protect you. You, the chosen one, have the right to decide on my life but listen to my words, I beg you: evil is rising and you must stop it."
"You're pathetic. If you really are the princess of the Germans you should behave like one. It's the fault of people like you that people like me will always be seen as weak. Grow a backbone or get out of my way, you are just in my way."
Caesar refused to be followed by Aria and entrusted her to Divitiacus. The Romans moved along the Sabis river, meanwhile winter came and Caesar set up a camp on a hill hoping not to be attacked by the Belgians but the commander of the enemy forces, Boduognatus, when he saw the Romans didn't miss the opportunity to attack them with his eighty-five thousand soldiers. The Romans were caught unprepared, many were killed and others tried to resist the enemy attack, Caesar ordered Divitiacus to secure Aria and then joined Titus Labienus to organize the counterattack.
Some legionaries were already retreating and the Belgians did not stop attacking. Caesar then took the shield of one of his legionaries and the sword of another, killed the first enemy, then the second and also the third. Parrying and striking, the young woman made her way towards the legionaries who were resisting and then, when they saw her coming, they were excited. She raised the weapon and shouted:
"We will not fall! My fate is in your hands and yours is in my hands! Together we will demonstrate the strength of Rome!"
The legionaries, with a new energy, managed to repel the constant enemy attacks. The Belgians and Viromandui went on to attack and the Romans resisted as they could. Caesar saw Boduognatus arrive with his huge ax and with that size similar to that of a bull. The girl, without hesitation, began a duel with that man but without thinking about the risks. Boduognatus with one hand tore off her shield and gave her a kick in the stomach; the girl fell to the ground, rolled in the mud and stood on the river bank. She picked up the sword and tried to wound the enemy but Boduognatus seemed invincible. He, grabbing the girl by her throat, exclaimed, amused:
"Rome will never defeat my army! Ariovistus was weak but I can defeat your little men as if they were ants!"
Caesar was thrown to the ground, stood up, Boduognatus struck a blow with his ax that broke her sword; now she, in addition to being exhausted, was also unarmed.
"Roman weapons are really fragile!" he exclaimed, laughing.
"THE SWORD!" It was Aria, on a hill with Divitiacus. "USE THE SWORD!"
Caesar pretended not to listen, she preferred to fight unarmed rather than rely on divine power. She dodged the first blows of the ax and then, with great agility, jumped on the enemy's shoulders and began to punch his head; yet that muscular monster was able to free himself from the girl's grip.
"CAESAR!" Aria screamed, frightened.
"BE QUIET!"
Caesar was distracted only for a moment and when she turned she saw the ax blade go against her. An oak suddenly rose from the ground and stopped Boduognatus' blow. The girl turned and saw Divitiacus approaching. She knew immediately that it was he who had performed that miracle.
"There's no embarrassment to admit you need Crocea Mors to win," he said.
"But yes. I've no intention of relying on divine power to win this battle."
"Would you rather die?"
"I won't die."
"Your road will end today if you don't use that weapon."
"Are you threatening me, Druid?"
"I'm telling you what will happen if you refuse divine help. What is more important to you, Gaius Julius Caesar? Your stupid pride or your dream?"
The girl didn't look Divitiacusin the face, she pushed him away with one hand and with the other she helped herself to get back on her feet. Boduognatus was still trying to remove the ax that had stuck in the tree trunk. She heaved an annoyed but resigned sigh.
"I hate this," she murmured.
Caesar, then, decided to unsheathe Crocea Mors and with a single blow he cut Boduognatus in two. The other Belgians saw their commander die but this did not frighten them, on the contrary, they were even more angry and the girl, in a moment of anger, decided to use the sword again. A magical slash that shone like the sun killed ten thousand Viromandui in one blow. The Belgians withdrew, frightened by the power of that magical weapon.
The legionaries celebrated but Caesar was just happy to have survived not to have used that weapon.
"You did the right thing, Caesar," Divitiacus said with a satisfied smile.
"You only say that because you don't have this burden."
"No. I say this because I know that having that weapon makes you the hero we all need."
After the battle of the Sabis river, the Romans conquered Namur and managed to gain control of present-day Belgium. Caesar, proud of her military success, let the Senate know of her victories and while many senators were happy one, Caesar's rival, suspected that those campaigns were only a means of obtaining power: Cato the Younger.
Caesar was aware of her popularity in Rome but instead of stopping and returning home, she decided to send large quantities of slaves to the capital just to win the favor of the aristocrats and the Senate; Caesar's purpose was clearly to silence any possible criticism, she wanted to crush the opposition by giving those power-hungry men what they wanted. But while the aristocrats were pleased with Caesar's goodness, they were unaware that she was gaining more and more success among the people and also among her legionaries. Cato, incorruptible, tried several times to denounce the girl but without success.
In Gaul, meanwhile, in the Roman camp of Caesar, the girl had just come out of her tent when she was intercepted by this young boy with short brown hair and green eyes, armed with a spear.
"Caesar, it happened again!"
"What happened, Little Crassus?" she asked with a sigh.
"Fabatus insulted my mother!"
"Okay ... now follow me." Caesar set off followed by the young Publius Licinius Crassus, the son of Marcus Licinius Crassus.
The two reached this small bonfire around which four men were seated. Caesar questioned the one who had very dark blue eyes who wore goatskin that also covered his head. When this saw the girl, set aside his bowl of food, he stood up and happily exclaimed:
"Boss, how nice to see you again!"
"Fabatus, honey, did you by chance insult the mother of Little Crassus? "
"I didn't insult anyone, I swear."
"Come on, we both know you did."
"You did, admit it!" Crassus exclaimed staying behind Caesar.
"But why do you treat Caesar as if she were your mother? Do you always have to go and cry to her?" Fabatus asked, unnerved.
"Can you please stop making children? Fabatus, what did you say about the Little Crassus's mother?"
"I just said she's a she-wolf *."
"Poor Tertulla," Caesar said, patting Crassus lightly on the shoulder, "but now that I think about it, she's one who hasn't had much trouble using her mouth with me." She winked.
"No, no! You're lying, aren't you?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no ... this can only be known to me and your mother, Little Crassus."
Fabatus and the other men laughed. Together with Lucius Roscius Fabatus there were Lucius Munatius Plancus, Publius Sextius Baculus and Gaius Crastinus. These were among the most valiant and loyal soldiers to Caesar.
A man with long black hair, green eyes and a strong build arrived; with him was a man with short red hair, a well-groomed beard and eyes of the same color as the wood. The first addressed Caesar:
"We have received news of the enemy movements. The local Barbarians have spoken of some peoples who are organizing armies to attack us."
Caesar, with a shocked look, looked at that man.
"No. Kidding. They can't fight yet. We have subdued most of the peoples of Gaul, the great kings have been defeated, all the tribes have sworn allegiance to Rome, why fight us?"
"They don't accept our presence in these lands."
"Marcus Antonius, you're the most trusted of my men, you know that I consider you one of my best soldiers, but if you come and tell me some nonsense, I can't-"
"They are the Venetians, Caesar."
"The Venetians?"
"Just them. Their leader has decreed that all peoples allied to Romans will have to be destroyed if they dare to reach their territory. They are organizing the ships. According to our calculations, they will be ready for the summer with a fleet of nearly three hundred ships."
"No. No!" the girl exclaimed, taken by anxiety. "We're not ready! We have no ships! We don't have a fleet to fight the Venetians! They have the advantage ..."
The man behind Marcus Antonius, whose name was Quintus Atius Varus, said:
"But we can ask the tribes of Gaul to provide us with ships."
"And how many of these tribes have experience in navigation?" Caesar asked, perplexed.
No one answered.
"None of them," said Divitiacus, who arrived in the camp with Aria. "The Venetians are the best navigators known. No people of Britain, Gaul or Germany can compete with their ships."
"Then let's attack their cities!" Fabatus exclaimed, seized with anger.
"Useless, their cities are defended by high walls and also by the tide that makes access virtually impossible. A siege would be insane," Divitiacus explained.
"But what do you know, Druid?"
"Shut up, Fabatus!" stated, Caesar.
The young man calmed down and went back to eat with the others. The girl turned to Divitiacus.
"I have no intention of abandoning Gaul. If the Venetians want war then I will give them war. I will kill them all, their women and children will be slaves and men will be slaughtered from first to last. We will burn their cities and we will sprinkle their land with salt. Nobody faces Gaius Julius Caesar and lives to brag about it! "
Those words thrilled the legionaries who launched a battle cry while Divitiacus and Aria were traumatized by her wickedness. There was nothing divine in Caesar's words, there was nothing good, nothing honest ... how could the Gods have chosen her?
56 BC
Several populations of Gaul didn't accept Roman rule and sided with the Venetians only to kill Caesar. Thanks to Publius Sextius Baculus, the girl learned how the ships of her enemies were built and she prepared for the naval battle.
The Venetian fleet was made up of three hundred ships while the Roman one was made up of one hundred and twenty ships built by the Gauls. The ships of the Venetians were large, very resistant, reinforced with iron while those of the Romans were lighter and more fragile; the tactic of Caesar's enemies was usually to make the ship collide with the enemy in order to destroy it, a suicidal but at the same time extremely effective tactic. The only way to avoid the collision was to make the ship impossible to maneuver and the only way to do this was to use very large scythes with which to destroy the flagpoles of enemy ships; with this simple tool the heavy ships of the Venetians lost control and could easily be surrounded.
The Romans, who preferred hand-to-hand combat, started boarding and killed the enemies.
In this way Caesar defeated the Venetians but decided not to destroy the cities, nevertheless she took many women and many children who she sold as slaves.
After the long battle, Caesar went to her tent where Aria was waiting for her, alone; Aria was washing herself. Caesar moved calmly, put down her weapon and sat down in front of the table on which there was the map of Gaul drawn by her.
"It's not nice to wash in someone else's tent."
Aria put her feet out of the basin and without answering Caesar she put on her brown robe and put on her sandals.
"I got tired of waiting for you."
"Nobody asked you to do that."
"I wanted to talk to you, and then I thought that the 'great' Caesar would defeat the Venetians in less time."
"I don't like the way you talk, brat. What do you want?"
"How many people will have to suffer for you? For your stupid dream? How many women and how many children will have to be subjected to the most terrible torments? When will your thirst for power end?"
"What if I decide to continue until my death? What could you possibly do? Who has the power to stop me? Since I came here, I have done nothing but win. I've defeated any enemy, all the tribes who have dared to confront me have been subjugated and all those who have tried to rebel have been destroyed. Tell me, then, what would you do if I decided to continue the conquest to the end of the world? "
"You're crazy, Caesar, this attitude is crazy." Aria was visibly frightened.
"Who do you think you're talking to, brat? It's only through my kindness that you're still alive. I'm not like you, I'm superior to you. You wallow in your weakness, I've become powerful and I can become even more! so powerful that the whole world will have to remember me!"
* 'she-wolf' in Ancient Rome was the 'lupa' or 'prostitute'; in Ancient Rome the 'lupanari' were the places dedicated to sexual pleasure, in other words: houses of tolerance.
