Showing results by author "J. Clifton Slater" in All Categories

The heart and life of a battle is the center of the combat line. A dark, throbbing, and terrifying place. A place where death prowls between enemy shields, waiting for sharp blades to carve out an advantage. Welcome to 262 B.C. A single Legion is rushed into combat to stop a fortified army. The clash between Empire and Republic thrusts thousands of Legionaries into a nasty epicenter of conflict.

Welcome to 263 B.C. Between clashes of the Qart Hadasht Empire and the upstart Republic, men died. Whether from sharp blades held by strong arms or stones and bolts launched by ancient artillery, the hand of death grabbed souls from both sides of the battle line. Alerio Sisera will need more than an iron constitution, sharp steel, and a sturdy shield. To survive, he'll need his wits, luck, and infinite courage.

Savage Birthright is the plight of Princes, usurpers, and those who inherit the burdens of powerful fathers. When extortion draws Alerio Sisera to an Illyrian capital, the Legion officer finds an old adversary who needs his help, a poison kiss from a masked woman during a street festival, and a city full of people who want him dead.

"Jealousy is but one road to the preordained," Hektor offered. "Are you a seer, now?" Alerio challenged. "No, sir. I'm a youth who worries about how you're being treated." "Colonel, we're all apprehensive about what fate their jealousy is driving you towards," Centurion Pelle added. "I've sworn a Tribune's Oath to a God and a General," Alerio informed them. He tugged the crested helmet down over his head before saying. "We can sit with bowls of camp stew and talk about our feelings later. Right now, I have a battle to win." Welcome to 255 B.C.

Alerio neither rushed Phobos nor reined him in. Rather, he allowed the animal to move at a steady pace towards the Consuls' headquarters. Senior Tribune Sisera could have delayed the retribution, but honor demanded the killing take place before sunrise.

Alerio Sisera had made killers out of a handful of guardsmen to win over one Captain. The other three Captains were in their regions and hundreds of miles away. And each would require a different task to give Alerio an endorsement as a Military Attaché. Tribune Sisera prayed for an opportunity to get all four Captains in one place. He should have remembered Aesop's warning, "Be careful what you wished for, lest you get it."

Welcome to summer 258 B.C.

Welcome to 259 B.C. By law, all debts must be paid by the Ides of March. For men like them, sharp steel was the only acceptable currency. Unless something changed, one would emerge a winner and the other the guest of honor at a funeral. Blood payment might not have been the official objective. But it would not matter to an enraged Alerio Sisera as he clutched a gladius and held a temple voucher aloft.

Infantry tactics at a sea battle offer dangerous options. Run the boarding ramp into the tips of the enemy's blades. Or fall into the gap between warships. Welcome to 260 B.C. Death waits at both, but if you make it to the enemy's deck you have a fighting chance. With the sea, you are doomed by the weight of your armor as soon as you splash down. There is another option: Be the first Legionary to board an enemy ship. You might surprise and disrupt the Empire soldiers. And win medals and accolades. Or you might die as an unjust sacrifice.

Welcome to the spring of 258 BC. The expanding war with the Qart Hadasht Empire is changing the Republic's military supply structure. Supplying scattered Legions and far-flung naval squadrons is overextending the provincial quartermaster system. Growing awkwardly to handle the needs, the military organizations are evolving, slowly. Now evil men have found a way to profit from the disorganization.