Cato 03 - When the Eagle Hunts (45 page)
Read Cato 03 - When the Eagle Hunts Online
Authors: Simon Scarrow
Cato frowned, not yet understanding. Vespasian flicked back the last fold of wool to reveal a helmet, with a transverse crest, and a vine stick.
'Got them from the supplies this morning,' Vespasian explained. 'As soon as Plautius confirmed the promotion. I'll put them over in the corner with the rest of your kit, if that's all right.'
'No, sir,' replied Cato. 'Pass them to me, please, sir. I'd like to see them.'
The legate smiled as he handed them over. 'Of course you would.'
Cato raised the helmet up in both hands and stared at it, swelling with pride and emotion. So much so that he had to cuff away a tear that was moistening in the corner of his eye.
'Hope it fits,' said Vespasian. 'But if it doesn't, take it back to stores and demand one that does. I doubt those officious clerks will be giving you much grief from now on, Centurion Cato.'
Author's Note
One of the most enduring symbols of pre-Roman Britain is the huge complex of earthworks at Maiden Castle in Dorset. It impresses the eye of any visitor and stirs an imaginative empathy towards those who would have had to assault such apparently daunting defences. Yet Maiden Castle, and many other hill forts, were no match for the legions and were stormed and reduced within a short space of time. One wonders why the Durotriges continued to cling to their belief in the defensive properties of hill forts even as they were being systematically destroyed by the Romans. It was not as if they lacked the example of a more effective method of defying the legions. Caratacus was enjoying far more success with his guerrilla tactics. Despite such evidence, the Durotriges remained bottled up in their hill forts when the Second Legion was unleashed upon them. Perhaps blind faith in the promise of ultimate salvation given by their spiritual leaders kept them there.
Compared to the voluminous evidence of Roman history, not much is known about the ancient Britons and their Druids. With almost nothing by way of a written heritage, knowledge of these people has passed down to us through legend, archaeological evidence and the partisan writings of more literary races. What can be surmised is that the Druids were held in great respect and not a little awe. They bestrode the Celtic kingdoms and were frequently approached for advice, and for arbitration between disputing tribes. The Druids were the guardians of the cultural heritage and memorised vast quantities of epic verse, folklore and legal precedents, which were passed down through successive generations of Druids. They formed a kind of social cement between the fractious small kingdoms that, at one time, sprawled right across Europe. Small wonder that the Druids were a prime target for Roman propaganda and were harshly repressed whenever Celtic lands were added to the burgeoning Roman Empire.
Yet there may have been a darker side to the Druids, if we can believe some of the ancient sources. If human sacrifice took place, then it did so in the context of a culture that took great pride in collecting and preserving the heads of their enemies; a culture that had devised methods of torture and execution that repulsed even the Romans, whose love of the carnage of the arena is well-documented.
With their geographical spread and cultural peculiarities, the Druids were not a homogenous body, and would have had their factions, much like contemporary religions are riven by competing interpretations of dogma. The Dark Moon Druids are fictional, but they represent the extremist fringe that exists within any religious movement. They stand as a corrective to that naive and nostalgic re-invention of Druid culture that parades around Stonehenge at certain times of the year. And, as I complete this work, they stand as a timely reminder of the extremities to which religious fanaticism can be taken.
Simon Scarrow 12th September 2001
THE EAGLE'S CONQUEST
Simon Scarrow
When Centurion Lucius Cornelius Macro arrives on the shores of Britain as part of the Emperor Claudius's invasion in the summer of ad 43, he knows he is facing one of the toughest campaigns of his long, battle-scarred career. But nothing could have prepared him for the ferocious brutality and tenacious bravery of the British warriors.
In a series of bloody battles, under the eagle of the Second Legion, Macro and his young subordinate, Optio Cato, and the desperately outnumbered Roman army must find and defeat the enemy before he can grow strong enough to overwhelm the legions.
But the Britons are not the only danger facing Macro and Cato. An enemy far more ruthless than their acknowledged foe is plotting against them. As Claudius's glorious victory looks set to turn to disaster, they know they must act quickly. But time is running out…
Don't miss Simon Scarrow's previous Roman tale of military adventure:
UNDER THE EAGLE:
'A thoroughly enjoyable read… The engrossing storyline is full of teeth-clenching battles, political machinations, treachery, honour, love and death' Elizabeth Chadwick
'A rip-roaring read' Mail on Sunday
0 7472 6630 1
UNDER THE EAGLE
Simon Scarrow
It is 42 AD, and Quintus Licinius Cato has just arrived in Germany as a new recruit to the Second Legion, the toughest in the Roman army. If adjusting to the rigours of military life isn't difficult enough for the bookish young man, he also has to contend with the disgust of his colleagues when they discover that, because of his imperial connections, he is to be appointed a rank above them. As second-in-command to Macro, the fearless, battle-scarred centurion who leads them, Cato will have more to prove than most in the adventures that lie ahead.
In a bloody skirmish with the local German tribes, Cato gets his chance to show that he's more than a callow youth. But then the men discover that the army's next campaign will take them to a land of unparalleled barbarity — Britain. After the long march west, Cato and Macro undertake a special mission that will thrust them headlong into a conspiracy that threatens to topple the Emperor himself…
'A thoroughly enjoyable read. The characters are so lifelike they almost spring off the page. An engrossing storyline, full of teeth-clenching battles, political machinations, treachery, honour, love and death… More please!' Elizabeth Chadwick
0 7472 6629 8
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