Marching With Caesar-Birth of the 10th Legion Read online

  Also by R.W Peake

  Marching with Caesar®-Conquest of Gaul

  Marching with Caesar-Civil War

  Marching with Caesar-Antony and Cleopatra, Parts I & II

  Marching With Caesar-Rise of Augustus

  Marching With Caesar-Last Campaign

  Caesar Triumphant

  Critical praise for the Marching with Caesar series:

  Marching With Caesar-Antony and Cleopatra: Part I-Antony

  “Peake has become a master of depicting Roman military life and action, and in this latest novel he proves adept at evoking the subtleties of his characters, often with an understated humour and surprising pathos. Very highly recommended.”

  Marching With Caesar-Civil War

  "Fans of the author will be delighted that Peake’s writing has gone from strength to strength in this, the second volume...Peake manages to portray Pullus and all his fellow soldiers with a marvelous feeling of reality quite apart from the star historical name... There’s history here, and character, and action enough for three novels, and all of it can be enjoyed even if readers haven’t seen the first volume yet. Very highly recommended."

  ~The Historical Novel Society

  “The hinge of history pivoted on the career of Julius Caesar, as Rome’s Republic became an Empire, but the muscle to swing that gateway came from soldiers like Titus Pullus. What an amazing story from a student now become the master of historical fiction at its best.”

  ~Professor Frank Holt, University of Houston

  MARCHING WITH CAESAR

  Birth of the 10th Legion

  By R.W. Peake

  Marching with Caesar® –Birth of the 10th Legion by R.W. Peake

  Copyright © 2014 by R.W. Peake

  Smashwords Edition

  Cover Artwork by Marina Shipova

  Illustrations by Marina Shipova

  Cover Artwork Copyright © 2013 by R.W. Peake

  Maps of Hispania reprinted with permission from "The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World"; Richard J.A. Talbert (Editor); © 2000 Princeton University Press

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2014

  Foreword

  My, what a strange but wonderful trip it’s been since I decided to ignore the obvious signs, in the form of around 25 rejections, and self-publish what is now the first book of the six-part Marching with Caesar ® series in March of 2012, Marching with Caesar-Conquest of Gaul. I had no idea what to expect, but what I can simply say is that even in my secret imaginings, I never, ever conjured up what has turned out to be a reality, in the form of several bestsellers. But even now, as of this writing, the first book that’s just short of its second anniversary spent more than 30 days back at the top of the Ancient Rome genre on Amazon, dropping out of that spot just two days ago now. Little by little, reader by reader, the story of Titus Pullus is reaching more people every day, and I owe it all to you readers who have helped spread the word about this grunt’s tale.

  What is even more astonishing, at least to me, is how quickly it’s all happened, and again, I owe it to the readers for giving me the validation and the freedom to continue pursuing what has now become my fifth, and definitely final career. I receive a lot of comments about how “prolific” I am, and I suppose that’s true; what I know is that I love my “job,” and I think nothing of spending 10 to 12 hours a day visiting Ancient Rome. It’s a subject of endless fascination for me, and I’m thankful that there are so many people like me who love Rome as much as I do.

  Which brings us to this book, Marching with Caesar-Birth of the 10th Legion, and why it exists. Although it’s true that it contains previously released material that is currently in Conquest of Gaul, it’s equally true that there is new material, in the form of the origin of the Titus Pullus story.

  When I decided to publish Conquest of Gaul on my own, I faced a number of challenges and even more questions. Being a complete unknown, with no audience, my thought process was that I needed to let the reader get to the “good stuff” more quickly, leading me to cut out this part of Titus’ story that didn’t have a direct connection to his career in the Legions. In addition, as one critic has pointed out, I have a problem with “prolixity” and, considering that in its current form, Conquest of Gaul comes in at 660 printed pages, the length of the book was also an issue. Hence, readers only learned of how Titus and Vibius Domitius met indirectly, or the tension between Titus and his best friend that was caused by their mutual love of Juno. No, I reasoned, I needed to get the readers to the part where the pair, and their comrades of the Legions were lopping off barbarian heads. In fact, I was so worried that some readers wouldn’t be interested enough in the training of the Legions that, literally two days before I published, I added what is now the prologue of Conquest of Gaul, the dream sequence involving the Usipetes and Tencteri.

  But a funny thing happened on the way to Gaul. Although the vast majority of readers have responded positively, and enjoyed the first book in its current form, there was a fair number of readers who complained that they didn’t feel like they really knew Titus. Very early in the process of turning myself into a full-time, bestselling author (sorry for repeating that, but I just really like the sound of it!), I made what has become the beginning of this book available as a download on Smashwords for free. Much to my surprise, it was downloaded some 400 times before I made the decision that culminates in what you’re reading right now. Even more surprising, at least to me, is the high percentage of female readers I have; according to what data I have available, it appears that almost forty percent of my readership are female. And they have been instrumental in alerting me that a large proportion of the readers of this series view Titus’ story as more than just a “sword and sandals” tale, that they invested themselves in Titus the man, not just Titus the Roman killing machine.

  Another factor in my decision is the knowledge that there are readers who are scared off by the length of Conquest of Gaul in its current form. It is the longest book of the entire series, none of which, as those of you who have read them can attest, are lightweights by themselves. Also, for those readers who need a bit of transition before jumping straight to the blood and guts, I hope that this will suffice. More than anything, though, although I’ve always viewed Titus’ story as more than straightforward action fiction set in Ancient Rome, the response from all you readers has confirmed that belief, that this is a story about a man’s life and all that comes with that. Titus Pullus isn’t just a man of the Legions; he’s a brother, an uncle, a husband, and a father.

  Perhaps the biggest change lies in the fact that I am undoing what I can only call a rookie mistake, and that’s my shamefaced admission that the editor of Conquest of Gaul was…me. Yes, I violated what I’ve determined is the only thing that the indie author community agrees on as far as being a foundation for success, and that is paying a professional editor. I know that Beth Lynne, who has been my editor since the second book, has been dying to get her hands on Conquest, so I’m sure
readers will be just as happy as she is that the many mistakes that have caused a fair amount of comment will be corrected.

  This leads me to something that I’ve debated in bringing up. However, I want to set expectations for all readers from the start. When it comes to critical comments, one of the most common complaints is in the stilted language and somewhat awkward phrasing. That, dear reader, is intentional, and while I’m more than happy to correct errors in things like subject-verb agreement, there are going to be “whos” that are supposed to be “whoms,” and I will use “lie” instead of “lay.” And although I have no intention of changing this, allow me to explain why. (Note from RW's Editor: It is true. My master has forbidden me from changing "who" to "whom" and has threatened to use the scourge if I change Titus' voice in any way.)

  From the very first day on March 29, 2008, when I typed the first words of what would become this series, I have strived to maintain a fidelity and authenticity that even the most critical reviewers have acknowledged. And part of that is to be faithful to who I believe Titus is: an uneducated, but very intelligent man who may lack formal schooling, but because of his abilities has elevated himself to a status where his counterparts are generally more learned than he is, and received more tutoring than he did, which is virtually nonexistent, except for what he learns from first Scribonius, then Diocles. He’s acutely aware of this, and it colors every part of this story, from beginning to end. Even now, at the beginning that’s really the end, Titus’ Pullus still has a chip on his shoulder. And since this is, in essence, a verbal account, albeit transcribed by his servant, scribe, and friend, Diocles, I wanted the story to read that way, as if you are listening to someone tell a story in your head. So for those new readers who are expecting something other than this, I apologize in advance, but it ain’t changing. My hope is that if you are a stickler for perfect grammar and syntax that the power of the story enables you to suspend that requirement. Additionally, there have been some questions about Titus’ “bragging” a lot; one reader compared him to John Wayne, but not in a good way. Again, this is intentional and isn’t going to change, mainly for the same reason Titus’ grammar is what it is, and that is for the sake of authenticity. This concept of false modesty, where one is supposed to kick at the dirt and say, “Aw shucks, I got lucky” is a modern one, and it has no place in the ancient world. As proof, I would point out to “Veni, vidi, vici.” In the ancient world, if a man accomplished something, noteworthy or not, he proclaimed it for the world to hear.

  Again, I want to thank you, the reader, for embracing Titus’ story, and for validating my belief that his story is timeless. In particular, I want to express my gratitude to my fellow veterans, who make up a substantial proportion of the readership of the Marching with Caesar series, and who have expressed to me their appreciation that, in telling Titus’ story, I am also telling theirs. Of all the accolades and positive comments I receive, those mean the most to me, for reasons that are probably obvious. Because of them, Titus Pullus Vivit!

  Semper Fidelis,

  R.W. Peake

  January, 2014

  Historical Note

  Of all the campaigns conducted by Gaius Julius Caesar, the first one he led as sole commander of an army in Hispania is the least documented by the ancient sources. There is very little mention made of it in any source, although Napoleon III in his History of Julius Caesar, published in 1865, does devote perhaps three or four pages to it.

  As an author of historical fiction, that’s a double-edged sword. While it gives an author more latitude than one might otherwise have when dealing with the campaign in Gaul, for example, for someone who wants to strive to be as historically accurate as possible, it makes matters extremely difficult.

  What is known is that the campaign originated in Scallabis, or modern day Santarem, Portugal, which the newly designated Praetor of the province, Gaius Julius Caesar, named as the new provincial capital. From Scallabis, Caesar and his army moved northward, moving more or less along the coast. As far as landmarks go, the most prominently mentioned are the rivers that he and his army cross, and in Marching with Caesar®-Birth of the 10th Legion, you will see the ancient names, except for the first time they are mentioned, when I put the modern name in parentheses. I do this as well for those settlements and towns that have a modern-day counterpart. After this first mention, I use the ancient names in all cases.

  I have also made a change from the current series, although in the spirit of full disclosure, I am actually reverting back to my original conception of Marching with Caesar, and that is referring to the weapons and equipment by their original Latin terms. But not only am I including a glossary, thanks to my superb cover artist Marina Shipova, there are line drawings of each item, in the form that they would have appeared to the Legionaries of the late Republican era, in 61 B.C., and each one is labeled with the Latin term.

  Finally, in order to help readers visualize the progress of this first campaign of Caesar’s and, more specifically, Titus and the 10th Legion, I am including a map from the superb Barrington Atlas Of The Greek And Roman World, published by the Princeton Press. For those of you with a serious passion for Rome, or Greece for that matter, and who have extra cash on hand, I can’t recommend this outstanding resource highly enough. Despite its steep price (around four hundred dollars), for me it was worth every penny, and in a very short time, it’s become my most valuable resource, especially when I couple it with Google Earth, which allows me to “walk” the ground and get a sense of what it’s like.

  And with that, I hope you enjoy Marching with Caesar-Birth of the 10th Legion.

  Marching with Caesar: Birth of the 10th Legion

  Prologue

  Chapter 1- Who Is Titus Pullus?

  Chapter 2: Joining the Legion

  Chapter 3: Tirones

  Chapter 4- Campaign in Lusitania

  Prologue

  I have always been intrigued by the way a man’s memory works. I learned fairly early in my life that I seem to be blessed with one that surpasses that of most people’s, yet even I cannot possibly remember every conversation or action that I have taken in my sixty-plus years. The aspect of memory that intrigues me is how a man’s inner mind chooses what to remember, and what to forget. Because every moment of my life that I desperately want to forget, I remember, and yet there are events in my life that I distinctly recall at the time telling myself I would remember, but my only recollection of it is that I thought it noteworthy at the time. These memories, usually more pleasant ones, I am barely able to get a sense of, as if I’m peering through a dense fog at a dark shape that is tantalizingly close, but just not enough to recognize. How can a man’s mind dictate to his will that the events he wants to record in his memory are, in fact, the ones he will forget, no matter how much he wants to retain them? Yet, there are moments that reappear with a frequency that I would give almost anything to stop altogether, horrible moments of my life that I cannot seem to stop from playing over and over in my mind. No matter how much I try to banish them, these memories keep showing up, like an unwanted toothache from a tooth that is slowly rotting away.

  Fortunately, at least so I believe, there are still a substantial number of good memories, and the fact that so many of them are of moments that I thought neither important nor worth remembering at the time, is just another example of what keeps me awake at night as I try to solve the riddle of why this is so. I suppose that it is understandable, here near the end of the strand of life that has been given me by the Fates, a great number of these concern my earliest days, of my childhood. In particular, I recall with great fondness adventures with my then-best friend Vibius Domitius, moments that I believed I had long since forgotten, but for whatever reason I now remember with great clarity.

  I cannot say that I had a happy childhood, but many of those moments of joy I did experience revolve around my times with Vibius. He was my fellow adventurer, and sometime partner in crime as we managed to get into the kind of mischief
that I believe only boys can conjure up. Roaming around the countryside outside of Astigi, the town nearest to my farm, in the province of Baetica in Hispania, I do not believe there was a fold of ground or nook that we did not explore. And naturally, in doing so, we sometimes found ourselves in situations where I suppose one could say we were trespassing. Not that it meant much to us; when you are a boy, concepts of property lines and ownership have very little meaning. Unless, of course, it is your property. Still, I cannot say that we were malicious in our snooping, nor did we set out with larceny in our hearts; for the most part, we were just exceedingly curious about any and all manner of things. It was a trait that both Vibius and I shared, and I suppose that is one reason we had become such good friends.

  One of those adventures that come back to me fairly regularly concerns a two-boy campaign that we planned against the man whose farm bordered the one owned by my father. His name was Aulus Gabinius Plancus, and he was the only person I knew who came close to my father when it came to being disagreeable. And I was not the only one who held this opinion; he held the distinction of being the most disliked man in our area. And while my father Lucius Pomponius Pullus was a contender for that prize, unlike him, Plancus was a sharp dealer when it came to business. In fact, if the gossip around the forum of Astigi were to be believed, he was a bit too sharp, if one takes my meaning. In fact, there was a long line of men who, to this day, I am sure would have applauded the planned efforts of Vibius and me to take him down a notch had they been made aware of our identities. He was also very high-handed, and quick to point out the flaws of others, and even as a boy, I saw that, his other failings aside, he was an astute judge of character. Now, in the fullness of my age and whatever wisdom I have acquired over the years, I can see that at least part of the ill will that most inhabitants of Astigi held towards Plancus was due to the fact that he was, simply put, smarter than the majority of its citizens. And if the truth were known, it was not until an incident in the forum of Astigi that my own enmity towards Plancus began, when he committed what was, even now, an unpardonable sin in my eyes. He compared me to my father.