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Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Cassibellanus sat down in front of Segovax and Carvillius in his room in his fort on the banks of Tamesas, the place where a brutal siege had taken place a mere few days earlier.
“Segovax, Carvillius, I would like to personally thank you for your contribution, without your attacks at the beachhead, my position would have been lost.” Cassibellanus thanked the two Kings of Ceint.
“Ah, old friend, no need to worry.” Segovax replied in good humor while Carvillius simply nodded.
“Carvillius, anything disturbing you my old friend?” Cassibellanus asked in slight concern over the man’s stoic face.
“Why didn’t you annul our tribute to Rome?” Carvillius asked sternly.
Cassibellanus sighed. “My friend, doing so would have signed our death warrants to the Romans.”
“What do you mean?”
“We won, true. But if Rome brought their full strength to bear, I do not think we would have won, far from it, we would have been crushed.” Cassibellanus replied in a somber tone. “If we annulled our tribute to Rome, they would do just that my friend, we were devastated by this sideshow war for the Romans, what do you think would happen if their full force came on our island?”
Carvillius snorted before nodding reluctantly.
“Onto other matters, what do we do about the Trinovantes?” Segovax questioned as he ate a piece of fried lamb.
“Well, I was going to give them to Taximagulus because he did have the dynastic right to it, however he is dead so I think we should divide them up between my realm, the Iceni and you two.” Cassibellanus replied thoughtfully.
“I agree. The Trinovante lands are fertile and strong for population growth and economic recovery.” Carvillius answered.
“True indeed my friend.” Cassibellanus replied with a smile before becoming serious. “However we have other things to do as well.”
“Such as…..?” Segovax questioned.
“We need to unite politically. This war was close strung thing. If the Romans intervene in the future to find us divided, it would be catastrophic for us.” Cassibellanus said as he looked at a map detailing the entire Roman Empire from Gaul to Greece.
“Unite?” Carvillius snorted. “Surely you mean alliance?”
“No. I mean unite. Alliance will never last. The Ordvices, for example, were my enemies before the Roman Invasion, but now they are my allies. Allies can become enemies and vice versa in the blink of an eye.” Cassibellanus replied. “I was thinking of a confederation.”
“A confederation…..hmmmm….” Segovax murmured as he leaned back on his chair.
“Are you bloody mad Cassibellanus?” Carvillius looked at him in incredulity. “The idea of a confederation is purely theoretical (AN: It was at this point of time). There is no bloody way it is practical or pragmatic in the real world.”
“Carvillius, the idea of a republic was theoretical on a large scale other than small city states. However look at Rome. No such idea can remain theoretical if we can implement them in a good manner.” Cassibellanus soothed Carvillius.
“And who would lead this confederation, you?” Carvillius asked with contempt.
“What is wrong with you today Carvillius?” Segovax questioned slightly angry. “At least hear the man out.”
“My friends, my comrades and my army died that’s what!” Carvillius exploded. “Never have I lost so many men, and we get a half arsed peace in return and then we have Cassibellanus proposing a ridiculous plan. I don’t see why you’re blaming me for being hard!”
“Carvillius, I propose a compromise then. I have spoken with the other chieftains and kings, they are in agreement that we need a confederation of sorts. However this was simple planning and we have no real diagnosis and basis to go on. How about an elected leader for the confederation from among the Kings and Chieftains? That does sound like a good compromise no?” Cassibellanus asked as he looked at the red bearded King of Ceint.
Carvillius hesitated before nodding slowly. “Perhaps. However if this confederation becomes an idiots purpose, my Kingdom will secede immediately, do you understand, Cassibellanus?”
“Yes I do. Crystal clear old friend.” Cassibellanus answered as Carvillius stood up and exited the room.
“Well, that went over nicely didn’t it old friend?” Segovax rumbled as he continued to eat.
“Your ability to understate things never ceases to amaze me Segovax.” Cassibellanus said in a dry tone before continuing in a somber tone. “I am sorry for your loss Segovax.”
Segovax waved it away. “My cousin brother Taximagulus was a man who knew what he was getting into. I am proud of him.”
“Still, he was your brother and you have my condolences.” Cassibellanus murmured as he stared at the fire in the small fireplace.
“True true….” Segovax mumbled. “We fought side by side for 25 years you know, ever since we were 7 year old young boys.”
“Yes I know. I joined your gang of idiots when I was ten.” Cassibellanus replied dryly.
“The five of us against the world!” Segovax chuckled. “We were naïve then weren’t we?”
“Indeed…” Cassibellanus replied as his eyes went glassy remembering old days.
“You know Cassibellanus, I saw a very peculiar omen in the battle.” Segovax mumbled.
“Really, what kind of omen?”
“I believe I saw Morrigan during the battle.” Segovax muttered.
“Morrigan, the goddess? And you won the battle. Perhaps she has blessed you.” Cassibellanus answered as he clasped his hands on Segovax.
“Perhaps. She was……was the palest woman I ever saw. Lips as red as blood, robes as black as night…..and eyes like the fabled rubies of the east. She smiled…..” Segovax shuddered. “And she disappeared. Then I heard the cry of a crow. Perhaps she was there with us during that battle.”
“Then you saw something rarely ever seen Segovax.” Cassibellanus said joyfully. “Your battle is the battle that turned the tide. Perhaps it was Morrigan all along. You gave me a splendid idea indeed!”
“An idea?” Segovax asked looking at Cassibellanus questioningly.
“I still didn’t have an idea what the hell to name the confederation. It is obvious now that we won due to the blessing of Morrigan. It shall be named the Confederation of Genti-Morriganvantes or The Confederation of the Children of Morrigan!”
“Well you certainly have a flair for the dramatic, old friend.” Segovax murmured. “Well what tribes and kingdoms are joining this confederation?”
“Well obviously your, mine and Carivllius’s. The Iceni, Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, Cassi, Dumnonia, Durotriga and Dobbunia have agreed to join the confederation.”
“I see, so all the kingdoms and tribes directly affected by the invasion and located in the south….” Segovax muttered.
“Indeed. I hope we can expand it further, but for now it is a good starting position.” Cassibellanus replied.
“Indeed.”
***
That evening, Cassibellanus sat down on his throne overseeing the other kings and chiefs on their thrones. As everyone quieted down, he stood up. “My friends and comrades, we have won!”
A loud cheer grew among the people as they cheered at his proclamation. “However it is won at great cost. It is becoming evidently obvious that in the future, if we remain fractured, we will not be able to defeat the Romans again. Thus the idea of this confederation took root. We are all kings of domains hit hardest by the invasion. It is time we looked past our rivalries and look forward for our future. We are here to write the charter that will define the confederation. We have already decided upon a name; Genti-Morriganvantes. Now we need to lay out the rules. According to my friends, the Kings of Ceint, they wish the confederation to be led by a leader amongst us. When that leader dies, a vote will be held for the new leader amongst us. The leaders cannot vote for themselves. Today we vote!”
Segovax stood up and said “I choose the candidate Cassibellanus, Ruler of the Catuvellauni. The one who led us to victory!”
“Hear hear!” The leader of the segontiaci cried. “I vote for Cassibellanus as well!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
The kings of the tribes that had refused to surrender all threw their support behind him. Cassibellanus looked bemused before he coughed and said “I vote for, Aodhan Dumnonii, the King of Dumnonia, perhaps one of the greatest kingdoms in our island, and one of the most experienced.”
Aodhan bowed to Cassibellanus in gratitude as his greying hair swayed in the candle lit darkness. “I am sorry Lord Catuvellauni, but while it is true I am much more experienced than other man here, you led us to victory, not me. I vote for you.”
Evan Durtrogii, of Durotriga smiled and said “I concur with my rival here. I vote for you as well, Lord Catuvellauni.”
The last person left to vote was now Carvillius. Cassibellanus narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Carvillius seem a little nervous before he slowly nodded and said “Ye-yes. I vote for Cassibellanus, my old friend.”
Segovax clapped in approval. “Then it is done. Cassibellanus, you are High King of Genti-Morriganvantes.”
Cassibellanus coughed to gain the attention of the men again before speaking up. “Well I must say I am deeply honored for you all to elect me. Now however we must forward. I believe our dear scribe writing the charter is bored to no ends with our cheering and mocking.”
All the kings turned their heads to the scribe who was snoring with a trail of drool running down his chin. Laughter erupted all around as Aodhan stood up and slapped the back of the scribe waking him up. The scribe looked at the laughing kings and his face went red with embarrassment.
“Dear scribe, we are sorry if we bored you.” Cassibellanus laughed. “However we need you to write. I have been elected High King of Genti-Morriganvantes. We are about to decide upon the major points of this confederation.”
“Yes…Yes Milord. I am sorry milord.” The Scribe muttered as he scribbled away on the parchment.
“Now we need to discuss our internal structure. From this moment on, we will not have any internal wars between us, doing so would make this confederation obsolete.” Cassibellanus stated.
“True….However how will we decide our problems regarding each other?” Aodhan asked as he swirled wine in his goblet.
“Every year we will meet in this fort, Fort Tamesas to gather and put forth our grievances. We will hear out both cases and put forward a vote amongst us. It is only fair.” Cassibellanus replied. Aodhan shrugged and nodded. “Indeed. That does sound like a good compromise.”
“I also believe that we should have the same military structure to prevent confusion during wars. War Bands need to be same.” Bodica, the Queen of the matriarchal Iceni Queendom put forward.
“Indeed, such confusions could lead us to defeat in any kind of war.” Segovax concurred.
“Very well.” Cassibellanus clasped his hands. “Further than that, the final issue is economics. Lord Dumnonii, I believe this is the stage for you.”
Aodhan nodded and stood up to speak. “The southern Kingdoms have always used minted coins for economics since Rome appeared on the opposite ends of our shores. However Dumnonia is the only one which uses them permanently, the others use them and throw them away. However my economists have determined that the use of the coinage is far better than our old barter system. It would be a massive boon to our finances to utilize the coinage system.”
“Indeed. Like Lord Dumnonii said, we need to utilize the coinage system in a more permanent manner. However the coins we use are the Denarii, the Roman coins, we cannot allow that. We have the resources to mint our own coins. And we shall do so. We shall name it Cernunii after the Cernuunos, our god of Wealth, in his honor.” Cassibellanus replied.
“Other than that, do we have anything else to discuss?” Cassibellanus asked.
None of the other Kings and the Queen spoke up and shook their heads. Cassibellanus nodded and then said “Then what are you waiting for? Your men are partying outside like the end of the world is coming! Its about time we joined the festivities!”
The council cheered.
Cassibellanus sat down in front of Segovax and Carvillius in his room in his fort on the banks of Tamesas, the place where a brutal siege had taken place a mere few days earlier.
“Segovax, Carvillius, I would like to personally thank you for your contribution, without your attacks at the beachhead, my position would have been lost.” Cassibellanus thanked the two Kings of Ceint.
“Ah, old friend, no need to worry.” Segovax replied in good humor while Carvillius simply nodded.
“Carvillius, anything disturbing you my old friend?” Cassibellanus asked in slight concern over the man’s stoic face.
“Why didn’t you annul our tribute to Rome?” Carvillius asked sternly.
Cassibellanus sighed. “My friend, doing so would have signed our death warrants to the Romans.”
“What do you mean?”
“We won, true. But if Rome brought their full strength to bear, I do not think we would have won, far from it, we would have been crushed.” Cassibellanus replied in a somber tone. “If we annulled our tribute to Rome, they would do just that my friend, we were devastated by this sideshow war for the Romans, what do you think would happen if their full force came on our island?”
Carvillius snorted before nodding reluctantly.
“Onto other matters, what do we do about the Trinovantes?” Segovax questioned as he ate a piece of fried lamb.
“Well, I was going to give them to Taximagulus because he did have the dynastic right to it, however he is dead so I think we should divide them up between my realm, the Iceni and you two.” Cassibellanus replied thoughtfully.
“I agree. The Trinovante lands are fertile and strong for population growth and economic recovery.” Carvillius answered.
“True indeed my friend.” Cassibellanus replied with a smile before becoming serious. “However we have other things to do as well.”
“Such as…..?” Segovax questioned.
“We need to unite politically. This war was close strung thing. If the Romans intervene in the future to find us divided, it would be catastrophic for us.” Cassibellanus said as he looked at a map detailing the entire Roman Empire from Gaul to Greece.
“Unite?” Carvillius snorted. “Surely you mean alliance?”
“No. I mean unite. Alliance will never last. The Ordvices, for example, were my enemies before the Roman Invasion, but now they are my allies. Allies can become enemies and vice versa in the blink of an eye.” Cassibellanus replied. “I was thinking of a confederation.”
“A confederation…..hmmmm….” Segovax murmured as he leaned back on his chair.
“Are you bloody mad Cassibellanus?” Carvillius looked at him in incredulity. “The idea of a confederation is purely theoretical (AN: It was at this point of time). There is no bloody way it is practical or pragmatic in the real world.”
“Carvillius, the idea of a republic was theoretical on a large scale other than small city states. However look at Rome. No such idea can remain theoretical if we can implement them in a good manner.” Cassibellanus soothed Carvillius.
“And who would lead this confederation, you?” Carvillius asked with contempt.
“What is wrong with you today Carvillius?” Segovax questioned slightly angry. “At least hear the man out.”
“My friends, my comrades and my army died that’s what!” Carvillius exploded. “Never have I lost so many men, and we get a half arsed peace in return and then we have Cassibellanus proposing a ridiculous plan. I don’t see why you’re blaming me for being hard!”
“Carvillius, I propose a compromise then. I have spoken with the other chieftains and kings, they are in agreement that we need a confederation of sorts. However this was simple planning and we have no real diagnosis and basis to go on. How about an elected leader for the confederation from among the Kings and Chieftains? That does sound like a good compromise no?” Cassibellanus asked as he looked at the red bearded King of Ceint.
Carvillius hesitated before nodding slowly. “Perhaps. However if this confederation becomes an idiots purpose, my Kingdom will secede immediately, do you understand, Cassibellanus?”
“Yes I do. Crystal clear old friend.” Cassibellanus answered as Carvillius stood up and exited the room.
“Well, that went over nicely didn’t it old friend?” Segovax rumbled as he continued to eat.
“Your ability to understate things never ceases to amaze me Segovax.” Cassibellanus said in a dry tone before continuing in a somber tone. “I am sorry for your loss Segovax.”
Segovax waved it away. “My cousin brother Taximagulus was a man who knew what he was getting into. I am proud of him.”
“Still, he was your brother and you have my condolences.” Cassibellanus murmured as he stared at the fire in the small fireplace.
“True true….” Segovax mumbled. “We fought side by side for 25 years you know, ever since we were 7 year old young boys.”
“Yes I know. I joined your gang of idiots when I was ten.” Cassibellanus replied dryly.
“The five of us against the world!” Segovax chuckled. “We were naïve then weren’t we?”
“Indeed…” Cassibellanus replied as his eyes went glassy remembering old days.
“You know Cassibellanus, I saw a very peculiar omen in the battle.” Segovax mumbled.
“Really, what kind of omen?”
“I believe I saw Morrigan during the battle.” Segovax muttered.
“Morrigan, the goddess? And you won the battle. Perhaps she has blessed you.” Cassibellanus answered as he clasped his hands on Segovax.
“Perhaps. She was……was the palest woman I ever saw. Lips as red as blood, robes as black as night…..and eyes like the fabled rubies of the east. She smiled…..” Segovax shuddered. “And she disappeared. Then I heard the cry of a crow. Perhaps she was there with us during that battle.”
“Then you saw something rarely ever seen Segovax.” Cassibellanus said joyfully. “Your battle is the battle that turned the tide. Perhaps it was Morrigan all along. You gave me a splendid idea indeed!”
“An idea?” Segovax asked looking at Cassibellanus questioningly.
“I still didn’t have an idea what the hell to name the confederation. It is obvious now that we won due to the blessing of Morrigan. It shall be named the Confederation of Genti-Morriganvantes or The Confederation of the Children of Morrigan!”
“Well you certainly have a flair for the dramatic, old friend.” Segovax murmured. “Well what tribes and kingdoms are joining this confederation?”
“Well obviously your, mine and Carivllius’s. The Iceni, Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, Cassi, Dumnonia, Durotriga and Dobbunia have agreed to join the confederation.”
“I see, so all the kingdoms and tribes directly affected by the invasion and located in the south….” Segovax muttered.
“Indeed. I hope we can expand it further, but for now it is a good starting position.” Cassibellanus replied.
“Indeed.”
***
That evening, Cassibellanus sat down on his throne overseeing the other kings and chiefs on their thrones. As everyone quieted down, he stood up. “My friends and comrades, we have won!”
A loud cheer grew among the people as they cheered at his proclamation. “However it is won at great cost. It is becoming evidently obvious that in the future, if we remain fractured, we will not be able to defeat the Romans again. Thus the idea of this confederation took root. We are all kings of domains hit hardest by the invasion. It is time we looked past our rivalries and look forward for our future. We are here to write the charter that will define the confederation. We have already decided upon a name; Genti-Morriganvantes. Now we need to lay out the rules. According to my friends, the Kings of Ceint, they wish the confederation to be led by a leader amongst us. When that leader dies, a vote will be held for the new leader amongst us. The leaders cannot vote for themselves. Today we vote!”
Segovax stood up and said “I choose the candidate Cassibellanus, Ruler of the Catuvellauni. The one who led us to victory!”
“Hear hear!” The leader of the segontiaci cried. “I vote for Cassibellanus as well!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
“So do I!”
The kings of the tribes that had refused to surrender all threw their support behind him. Cassibellanus looked bemused before he coughed and said “I vote for, Aodhan Dumnonii, the King of Dumnonia, perhaps one of the greatest kingdoms in our island, and one of the most experienced.”
Aodhan bowed to Cassibellanus in gratitude as his greying hair swayed in the candle lit darkness. “I am sorry Lord Catuvellauni, but while it is true I am much more experienced than other man here, you led us to victory, not me. I vote for you.”
Evan Durtrogii, of Durotriga smiled and said “I concur with my rival here. I vote for you as well, Lord Catuvellauni.”
The last person left to vote was now Carvillius. Cassibellanus narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Carvillius seem a little nervous before he slowly nodded and said “Ye-yes. I vote for Cassibellanus, my old friend.”
Segovax clapped in approval. “Then it is done. Cassibellanus, you are High King of Genti-Morriganvantes.”
Cassibellanus coughed to gain the attention of the men again before speaking up. “Well I must say I am deeply honored for you all to elect me. Now however we must forward. I believe our dear scribe writing the charter is bored to no ends with our cheering and mocking.”
All the kings turned their heads to the scribe who was snoring with a trail of drool running down his chin. Laughter erupted all around as Aodhan stood up and slapped the back of the scribe waking him up. The scribe looked at the laughing kings and his face went red with embarrassment.
“Dear scribe, we are sorry if we bored you.” Cassibellanus laughed. “However we need you to write. I have been elected High King of Genti-Morriganvantes. We are about to decide upon the major points of this confederation.”
“Yes…Yes Milord. I am sorry milord.” The Scribe muttered as he scribbled away on the parchment.
“Now we need to discuss our internal structure. From this moment on, we will not have any internal wars between us, doing so would make this confederation obsolete.” Cassibellanus stated.
“True….However how will we decide our problems regarding each other?” Aodhan asked as he swirled wine in his goblet.
“Every year we will meet in this fort, Fort Tamesas to gather and put forth our grievances. We will hear out both cases and put forward a vote amongst us. It is only fair.” Cassibellanus replied. Aodhan shrugged and nodded. “Indeed. That does sound like a good compromise.”
“I also believe that we should have the same military structure to prevent confusion during wars. War Bands need to be same.” Bodica, the Queen of the matriarchal Iceni Queendom put forward.
“Indeed, such confusions could lead us to defeat in any kind of war.” Segovax concurred.
“Very well.” Cassibellanus clasped his hands. “Further than that, the final issue is economics. Lord Dumnonii, I believe this is the stage for you.”
Aodhan nodded and stood up to speak. “The southern Kingdoms have always used minted coins for economics since Rome appeared on the opposite ends of our shores. However Dumnonia is the only one which uses them permanently, the others use them and throw them away. However my economists have determined that the use of the coinage is far better than our old barter system. It would be a massive boon to our finances to utilize the coinage system.”
“Indeed. Like Lord Dumnonii said, we need to utilize the coinage system in a more permanent manner. However the coins we use are the Denarii, the Roman coins, we cannot allow that. We have the resources to mint our own coins. And we shall do so. We shall name it Cernunii after the Cernuunos, our god of Wealth, in his honor.” Cassibellanus replied.
“Other than that, do we have anything else to discuss?” Cassibellanus asked.
None of the other Kings and the Queen spoke up and shook their heads. Cassibellanus nodded and then said “Then what are you waiting for? Your men are partying outside like the end of the world is coming! Its about time we joined the festivities!”
The council cheered.
- Sārthākā
- Word Count: 2.1k