I - Come and Sit by the Fire...

'Come and sit by the fire and I will tell you my story'

 'I am old now and my bones are cold, but the warmth from the fire gives me enough strength and in it there is a light, there is a memory and a tale to tell. Looking into the flames, my eyes are taken away and I am in the world of the past. Although it was many years ago, it is a clear and unerring place and it is as though it was only yesterday. First of all, I will always remember the place of my birth.'

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The southern British kingdom of Arun was all too aware of the imminent invasion from mainland Europa and so prepared itself for war. Its king, Duerra had three sons and he used each for a different aspect of the preparation. The eldest son, Alfos was to make ready for war and so spent much of his time amassing an army and constructing defences. The second son, Bezon was given the task of gathering information and was sent abroad as a spy, under the guise of a peace envoy offering a truce. The third son, Caratacos, who was considered a fool and a weakling was in charge of the elderly king's escape route; should it be necessary.

 

In Rome, at the heart of the empire of Italia a new emperor named Cicero had been appointed and as all emperors before him he needed to find a way to prove himself, to prove he had been in office, to make a permanent mark so he would be remembered in the pages of history. He had come to power when the empire had grown to its fullest, quite naturally, over a period of several centuries. All the countries in the known world that could provide benefit to Rome were conquered and part of a huge supply chain. It seemed there was nothing more to do, but looking over at the map of the world again, his eyes were in some desperation drawn to the outlying extremities of the empire. There was the cold and desolate island, sub-continent of Briton, that according to most recent surveillance was inhabited only by savages and feuding tribes. It had nothing to offer in terms of produce and certainly posed no threat, but it would make a morale boosting victory and expansion, if conquered. Further up the map, to the north of already colonised Germania, the icy Norselands sat, waiting to be plucked. They also posed no threat, but would nicely complete the Italia map of its empire. Then to the west the recent uprising in already colonised Spania needed to be quashed; it was unacceptable and could not be seen to be allowed to continue. These three remaining areas of Europa would be perfect for Cicero’s opening address, all he had to do was sell the benefit of expansion to the fickle masses in the main arena as part of his inauguration ceremony.

 

‘Now you are sat in the warm let the story go on’ 

 

Author's Note

Story of 34 chapters. Completed Saturday 1/1/22, being released as an E-book on Amazon

Reviews

[Michael Keyes]

In interesting opening, certainly has me curious and wanting to read more. Only a couple of things I want to mention with this chapter:

. "He had come to power at a time when the empire had grown to its fullest, quite naturally over a period of time". I don't think you need to use "time" twice in this sentence. Also, perhaps you could specify how long the Empire has been growing?

. "Further up the map the Norselands sat, waiting to be plucked, they also posed no threat, but would complete the Italia map of Europa." I think this sentence would be better as two. "...waiting to be plucked. They also posed no..."

Besides that, this is a good opening chapter and I'm curious to read on.

[Steven]

BL,
im a big history fan. may i ask why you picked this setting and time period? my only reason i ask is the limitation historical fantasies have.

[Eric]

I love this! I like how you explain all three sons and their tasks. For some reason the middle child, Bezon got my attention. How he would serve as a spy in disguise is kool. Thanks for sharing this.

[augustus]

I enjoyed the look into the past. It was easy reading!

[Betty Hermelee]

I am learning something and all is interesting… my college major was American History, so this to me is great…a fine start…please continue… only point to make is I may not get to nest one’s right away….
Best, B

[andrew mitchell]

An interesting intro on the Roman Empire. Keep on writing.

[shadrach hah]

Hi BL, I found the opening to this story to hold my attention. I am rather a history buff so I enjoyed this write. My attention was held from the first words to the last. Ancient Rome is one of my favourite times, always has been. Hope to read more of this idea....Mike.

[Allen Smuckler]

I know this is dated, and I can only assume you have finished and published this extremely interesting and well written book... Have you? You really have talent and your well scripted words caught my interest instantly. Well done, BL. I will begin reading in earnest...If I were you...I'd stop posting unless you're looking for editing from us and look for a publisher... It's that good.

[Audie G. Couch]

Even though, I have only started to read this story, already I feel myself wanting to know what happens next.
This is very good. An easy to follow, but complete story; the characters and era are great.
A book I will finish reading for sure.

[Chris]

This read well... and the next will draw more eyes.

[Mitchell J.U.]

I plan to be involved with the whole thing. It's awesome to see you have so much work on this. Sure, there might be some edits needed here or there. Getting Beta readers is always very helpful and keeps you looking forwards while others point out corrections. Look forward to reading more of your works!