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Prologue Part 2
POD – During Caesar’s second Invasion of Britain, there was one major plan from the Celts which could have derailed the entire Roman invasion. Had the Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, and Cassi not surrendered to Caesar and the 4 kings of Kent; Cingetorix, Carvillius, Taximagulus, and Segovax initiated the attack on Caesar’s foothold on Dover, Caesar’s entire campaign would have had come down tumbling hard. Caesar himself would have been captured and the tribes such as the Trinovantes who sided with him would have been subjugated for betraying the Britons. This timeline is here to explore this POD
Prologue Part 2
Julius Caesar sat down in his war tent looking at the maps and scrolls his military advisors had brought with them regarding Britannia. The multitude of tribes located in Britannia was astounding and almost equivalent to Germania itself with its fragmented states. Julius sighed and rubbed his foreheads. He might seem confident and jolly in front of his troops outside but his campaign was holding itself together by a thin thread. Should the fates prove to be in a mood of folly, the island of Britannia would come tumbling down against him.
He jerked his head as his advisor from outside asked permission to enter.
“You may.” Julius replied.
The advisor entered the small tent nervously as he saluted the Imperator and said “Imperator!”
“Stand at ease. What is the news?”
“Imperator…..I am sorry to say that the infidel Cassivellaunus has seemed to have bribed the tribes." The Advisor mumbled.“Cennimagni, Cassi and the other tribes will not surrender…in the name of…..Morrigan?”
Julius sighed again and rubbed his forehead again. Damn it all! He sighed and smiled wanly at his advisor. “So this Morrigan? I hear she is this mysterious goddess of war and fate here in Britannia.”
“Uh, yes Imperator. They consider her to be a fickle goddess, messing and interfering in mortal lives now and then.” The advisor replied in an unsure voice.
“Indeed. I wonder…..is this the work of a god or goddess?” Julius murmured. “The Greeks believed that all pantheons were true and that the Persian and Egyptian pantheons were just as true as the Olympian pantheon. Could a Celt Pantheon exist as well? Interfere in mortal affairs and repulse invaders?”
“Imperator, if such a thing were true then those gods would have interfered already in the Gallic Wars, which you won! This obviously shows that the Celtic barbarian faiths aren’t true. Our faith is stronger!” The advisor replied in a stricken tone.
“Perhaps.” Julius replied. “Thank you. You may leave.”
The advisor nodded, saluted and left. Julius sat down on his makeshift bed and rubbed his entire face. He looked upwards towards the upside of his tent and murmured “What is true? Olympus, Zoroastrianism, Isis? Or this…..Morrigan? What in the world is true? This invasion is going on barely held by a sliver of a thread. Only one smart move by Cassibellaunus can change the tide totally against the campaign.”
He didn’t know that his words would come true back then.
***
Segovax, one of the famed 4 Kings of Ceint was standing at the ready about 15 miles away from Dover with his army of 1000 men as he remained still waiting for his messenger to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, a small man scurried across the field and said “Your Majesty! A letter! For you!”
Segovax nodded and took the letter from the man. He opened the letter and as he read the letter he started to smile. The tribes had refused to surrender. This was great news!
He laughed and in a high voice addressed his men. “Men of Prittani. The tribes have refused to surrender! They are willing to commit the last of their men for the defense of Pritanni. This a sign! A sign from Morrigan! We are to win today! We win today and tomorrow and we shall push the Roman invaders out of our lands! To arms men!”
His men roared in warlust in return as they banged their shields and rapped their swords and axes. Segovax laughed. He kicked his horse and galloped across the field. His three other contemporaries were probably doing the same and whipping up their own men in a frenzy to attack the Roman beachheads.
He needn’t had worried. About 20 minutes after whipping his men into a frenzy the war cry of Carvillius roared across the field. Segovax tightened his grip on his horse and whipped around “That is our signal men! We attack the Romans now! Forward men!”
He men roared and began to advance. Segovax unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the distant roman camps.
“For Pritanni!” Segovax shouted.
“For Pritanni!” His men roared and charged down towards the beach. The Romans clearly caught by surprise scrambled into defensive lines as his men began to hack into the lines of the Romans. The Roman centurion galloped across the field making the lines coherent. Segovax frowned as he saw the centurion being able to make the lines sturdier.
“That centurion needs to die.” Segovax murmured and charged. He leveled his sword and attacked. The centurion who clearly saw him coming ducked and reared his horse towards his left and tried to stab him. Thankfully, Segovax had been able to turn his horse away as well. In one clean motion, Segovax’s sword hit the neck of the centurion and he crumbled down.
As the blood dripped from his sword, Segovax saw a peculiar sight in the distance. In the trees, among the very periphery of the battlefield, a pale faced woman wearing dark robes. Her eyes……Her eyes were as red as the fabled rubies of the east. She smiled and Segovax blinked. The next moment she was gone. The cry of the crow pierced the skies as Segovax jerked his sword out of the neck of the dead centurion.
“Morrigan is with us!” He roared.
His men roared with him. Segovax dismounted his horse and charged as one with his men.
History would be made today.
***
Prologue Part 2
Julius Caesar sat down in his war tent looking at the maps and scrolls his military advisors had brought with them regarding Britannia. The multitude of tribes located in Britannia was astounding and almost equivalent to Germania itself with its fragmented states. Julius sighed and rubbed his foreheads. He might seem confident and jolly in front of his troops outside but his campaign was holding itself together by a thin thread. Should the fates prove to be in a mood of folly, the island of Britannia would come tumbling down against him.
He jerked his head as his advisor from outside asked permission to enter.
“You may.” Julius replied.
The advisor entered the small tent nervously as he saluted the Imperator and said “Imperator!”
“Stand at ease. What is the news?”
“Imperator…..I am sorry to say that the infidel Cassivellaunus has seemed to have bribed the tribes." The Advisor mumbled.“Cennimagni, Cassi and the other tribes will not surrender…in the name of…..Morrigan?”
Julius sighed again and rubbed his forehead again. Damn it all! He sighed and smiled wanly at his advisor. “So this Morrigan? I hear she is this mysterious goddess of war and fate here in Britannia.”
“Uh, yes Imperator. They consider her to be a fickle goddess, messing and interfering in mortal lives now and then.” The advisor replied in an unsure voice.
“Indeed. I wonder…..is this the work of a god or goddess?” Julius murmured. “The Greeks believed that all pantheons were true and that the Persian and Egyptian pantheons were just as true as the Olympian pantheon. Could a Celt Pantheon exist as well? Interfere in mortal affairs and repulse invaders?”
“Imperator, if such a thing were true then those gods would have interfered already in the Gallic Wars, which you won! This obviously shows that the Celtic barbarian faiths aren’t true. Our faith is stronger!” The advisor replied in a stricken tone.
“Perhaps.” Julius replied. “Thank you. You may leave.”
The advisor nodded, saluted and left. Julius sat down on his makeshift bed and rubbed his entire face. He looked upwards towards the upside of his tent and murmured “What is true? Olympus, Zoroastrianism, Isis? Or this…..Morrigan? What in the world is true? This invasion is going on barely held by a sliver of a thread. Only one smart move by Cassibellaunus can change the tide totally against the campaign.”
He didn’t know that his words would come true back then.
***
Segovax, one of the famed 4 Kings of Ceint was standing at the ready about 15 miles away from Dover with his army of 1000 men as he remained still waiting for his messenger to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, a small man scurried across the field and said “Your Majesty! A letter! For you!”
Segovax nodded and took the letter from the man. He opened the letter and as he read the letter he started to smile. The tribes had refused to surrender. This was great news!
He laughed and in a high voice addressed his men. “Men of Prittani. The tribes have refused to surrender! They are willing to commit the last of their men for the defense of Pritanni. This a sign! A sign from Morrigan! We are to win today! We win today and tomorrow and we shall push the Roman invaders out of our lands! To arms men!”
His men roared in warlust in return as they banged their shields and rapped their swords and axes. Segovax laughed. He kicked his horse and galloped across the field. His three other contemporaries were probably doing the same and whipping up their own men in a frenzy to attack the Roman beachheads.
He needn’t had worried. About 20 minutes after whipping his men into a frenzy the war cry of Carvillius roared across the field. Segovax tightened his grip on his horse and whipped around “That is our signal men! We attack the Romans now! Forward men!”
He men roared and began to advance. Segovax unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the distant roman camps.
“For Pritanni!” Segovax shouted.
“For Pritanni!” His men roared and charged down towards the beach. The Romans clearly caught by surprise scrambled into defensive lines as his men began to hack into the lines of the Romans. The Roman centurion galloped across the field making the lines coherent. Segovax frowned as he saw the centurion being able to make the lines sturdier.
“That centurion needs to die.” Segovax murmured and charged. He leveled his sword and attacked. The centurion who clearly saw him coming ducked and reared his horse towards his left and tried to stab him. Thankfully, Segovax had been able to turn his horse away as well. In one clean motion, Segovax’s sword hit the neck of the centurion and he crumbled down.
As the blood dripped from his sword, Segovax saw a peculiar sight in the distance. In the trees, among the very periphery of the battlefield, a pale faced woman wearing dark robes. Her eyes……Her eyes were as red as the fabled rubies of the east. She smiled and Segovax blinked. The next moment she was gone. The cry of the crow pierced the skies as Segovax jerked his sword out of the neck of the dead centurion.
“Morrigan is with us!” He roared.
His men roared with him. Segovax dismounted his horse and charged as one with his men.
History would be made today.
***
- Sārthākā
- Word Count: 1k