Heir of Aurelian

Marcellus gulped the saliva that had pooled in his mouth as he approached the Gothic Warlord by his lonesome. The man had spent years invading Rome, and despite the ferocity of his barbarian warriors, he had been trounced time and again. Even though Alaric had lost the wars, the devastation that he and his army had left across the Empire was no laughing matter.

Alaric gazed fiercely at Marcellus. It had been several years since their last encounter, and the roman General seemed as resilient as ever. The Gothic king stood before Marcellus alone in between the village and the stronghold where the Roman soldiers lie in wait of a siege. The man chuckled when he found that the once proud General of Rome's finest armies had been reduced to a glorified border guard. He could not help but mock the man for his fall from grace.

"Titus Claudius Marcellus, General of Rome, and slayer of my people, standing here on the frontier of the empire, acting as nothing more than a commander among plebs. Who did you piss off to have such a lowly position thrust upon you?"

Marcellus merely sneered in disdain as he countered with a snarky remark of his own.

"Alaric? Have you grown shorter since we last met? For some reason, I remember you being more impressive."

Alaric remained silent, but if looks could kill, then Marcellus would be a dead man. There was no doubt about it. The animosity between the two was fierce. Ultimately, the awkward silence that existed between the two was cut short by Marcellus, who raised his doubts as to what it was the Gothic King had planned.

"Honestly, do you seriously believe you can invade the Empire and be successful this time? What is this your third attempt at taking Italy? Why don't your people just stay in Illyricum, where the East has recognized your rule?"

Despite the mockery of his previous failed invasions, Alaric remained adamant about invading through Raetia. It was because of this that he provoked Marcellus, pinning the blame on the man for this conflict.

"My army has already taken Noricum. I was initially going to wait until your emperor responded to my demands before invading the rest of the Empire. However, I heard a rumor that the Goth-slayer was in Raetia and I simply could not resist the idea of showing off my army to you. Surrender Marcellus, and I will spare your life. After all, if my forces were to see you as a slave, then it would surely be a boost to their morale!"

A hint of disgust was in Marcellus' eyes as he heard these words. He could only respond with a vulgar gesture. He rudely spat on the ground in front of Alaric, invoking his fury as he did so.

"I am a Roman, a free man. I would rather die than wear the yoke of servitude. You should return to Illyricum Alaric. Only death awaits you here..."

When the gothic king heard these words, he broke out into a fit of laughter, however eventually he became dead quiet, it was clear that he was enraged by Marcellus' response. He immediately prodded the young general's chest with his finger as he began to lecture the man about what would transpire should they come to arms.

"I advise you to think twice about my offer, for If I bring my army into your lands, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your stronghold to the ground!"

However, despite the threat to Marcellus and his people, the young general only had a smug expression on his face as he responded with a single word.

"If..."

It took the gothic king a moment to realize what Marcellus was saying, and when he finally came to an understanding, he once more bellowed with laughter. He could hardly believe Marcellus would make such a confident statement despite his position. However, Marcellus's gaze turned into a murderous glare as he clarified his stance.

"If you march your army into this village, I will make sure that for every one of my soldiers that you send to the afterlife, ten of yours will follow. Sure, you may seize Castra Regina, but I promise you I will break your army before I am defeated.

By the time the battle if over and we are all dead, you will not have the forces necessary to conquer Italy, I swear to my god Sol Invictus, I will make this a reality if you dare to advance a single warrior into my territory. Return to Noricum Alaric, and await your payment. I am sure Stilicho will convince the senate to give you your ransom."

Alaric gazed into the olive green eyes of Marcellus and knew he was not joking when he made such a boast. The man would rather die than surrender, and with the Marcellus' death it was certain that many of the Gothic warriors would follow him into the grave.

When faced with a such a reality, Alaric could only relent. Thus, the man snarled like a wild beast before turning around and walking back to his forces. After taking a few steps, he stopped before parting some final words with his rival.

"If I am not paid in full by the end of the year, I will march into Raetia, regardless of your resolve. Be prepared, because with your circumstances, I doubt you have many friends left in Ravenna who will come to your aid."

Marcellus merely smirked before responding to the man's threats with another one of his snarky comments.

"You know where to find me Alaric, I'll be here defending the border until I am commanded otherwise. Should you desire to send your men to an early grave, I would be happy to oblige!"

Upon hearing this, Alaric merely scoffed before returning his army. As for Marcellus, he slowly walked back to the gates, cautious that Alaric might really attack the moment he turned his back. It was only after the barbarian hordes had retreated from the scene that the gates were opened and the Roman general could return to his fortress. The first to question Marcellus was the man named Ordius, who gazed at his general in shock.

"Dux, what the hell did you say to Alaric to get him to withdraw?"

Marcellus responded with a nonchalant gesture as she shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I told him the truth. If he were to attack this stronghold, we would fight to the last man, and his army would be ruined before he could ever step foot into Italy."

The officer's jaw dropped in response to the general's remark, he could hardly believe that a simple tactic of intimidation worked on one of Rome's mightiest enemies, in fact he had to ask for clarification on the matter to see if such a thing was reality.

"He believed that?"

Despite Ordius' disbelief, Marcellus had a proud smile on his face as he rested the palm of his hand on the man's shoulder while declaring his victory.

"Of course, you are my men after all..."

After saying this, Marcellus departed from the courtyard and returned to his villa, leaving behind a single comment to the soldiers who garrisoned the fortress.

"Secure the village and make sure the Goths have left the vicinity before resuming daily activities!"

After saying this, he knocked on the barred door of the villa and called out to his lover, who was hiding fiercely in a corner of the building with a knife in her hand.

"Sigefrida, it's me. Everything is fine. Open the door!"

Marcellus overheard the sound of the objects being removed from the entrance before the thick wooden doors opened, revealing a worried expression on the beautiful barbarian slave's face. She immediately hugged her man after seeing he was okay and kissed him passionately. She could hardly believe things had been resolved so quickly.

"Are you alright? What happened!?!"

Marcellus grabbed hold of the beauty's hand and led her inside the villa, assuring her that everything was fine for the time being.

"The Goths have withdrawn. They may be back in some time, but for the time being, we are safe."

Upon hearing this, Sigefrida let out a heavy sigh of relief before asking for clarification on what her master had planned.

"What are we going to do now?"

With a confident expression on his face, Marcellus gazed out the window to the village below and uttered his plans for the future.

"Now, we build an army capable of defending these lands from the barbarians."

With that said, Marcellus had entered a new phase of development. One that would secure the future of his territory against the neighboring barbarian hordes who sought to overwhelm it. He may not be living the glory of the past, but the future waited for no man. If he did not work hard to build a capable stronghold, then surely the people would bleed.

Of course Marcellus was entirely unaware of what schemes were transpiring in the Senate, and the uncertain future that awaited the Empire. While Alaric withdrew from Raetia, Stilicho struggled to get the payment for the Goth's ransom.