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As the King of the Visigoths leads his men in the counterattack he slips on his saddle and almost falls off his horse. Only the staying hand of his son keeps him from sliding off and falling underneath the onrushing feet of his men. The counterattack is a success and the Huns are pushed back and Attila is forced to his camp which has been fortified with wagons. A victory has been won but all is not over yet. During the following night Aetius is separated from his men and ends up in the Gothic camp fearing the worst. During his stay their Aetius and Theodoric become good friends. In the morning Aetius is reunited with his men and his fears of of defeat are swept aside. The Huns have been badly beaten and are currently unable to attack. Aetius and Theodoric agree to besiege the Hunnic camp. The Huns try to break the siege with a calvary charge made up of primarily Gepids; the attack is a disaster and almost none of the Gepids return. Around noon Theodoric learns of his son, Thorismunds death. Thorismund was found after he had gone missing and the Visigoths had gone through their dead. The Germanics buried him right on the battlefield, with a tomb filled with Hunnic weapons, all lying at the warrior’s feet. After that Theodoric wants to attack and destroy the weakened Huns as soon as possible. Aetius disagrees for awhile, knowing that the Visigoths are probably only his allies because of the Hunnic threat; if the threat were gone then no one would know what the Goths would do. But after awhile he finally agrees, what changed his mind is lost to history. The allies attack the next day. Meanwhile Attila had created a funeral pyre, vowing to throw himself in rather than let the Romans capture or kill him. The feeble wagon based are effortlessly breached and in the short ensuing battle the Huns and their allies are all but destroyed. The victory is made even better for the allies when Attila is brought before the allied commanders. The Hunnic King was taken as he was about to jump into the fire. Theodoric allows Aetius to keep Attila for a victory parade through the streets of Ravenna and Roma. For his help Aetius recognizes the Visigoths kingdom as an equal to the Roman Empire, something which he didn’t have the authority to do. They divide the battles spoils between themselves. Theodoric returns home happy that he has finally achieved the independence of his people yet saddened by the death of a son. Aetius returns to Italy after refreshing his depleted army and giving them large amounts of plunder. Aetius
He enters Ravenna riding a chariot with Attila and other Huns in tow behind him. The Hunnic King is executed publicly at the end of the parade. The people of Ravenna fill the streets cheering their new hero on. Valentinian of course gets jealous and paranoid, only a few words are needed and Valentinian is ready to kill Aetius. At night Valentinian orders a detachment of his guards to kill Aetius. The Imperial men are repulsed by Aetius personal guards foiling Valentinians plan. Once the Ravennan people get word of this, which they do quickly enough, they attack the palace, probably with some of Aetius men leading them, and kill all the Imperial staff. In the morning the mob gives and Aetius the head of Valentinian and parade Aetius throughout the streets. Aeitus knowing that the people would never accept him as Emperor puts his son Gaudentius on the throne, only 14 years old, Aetius acts as regent over the young Emperor. Gaudentius an energetic and somehwat uncontrollabe boy immediatly becomes popular with his subjects especially the army.
The Mob Attacking the Palace
He first consolidates his rule by killing off and all of Valentinians supporters, which are few and bribing those generals whose allegiance to him is in doubt. He also creates a new army of Italy, made up of only Italians and four legions in strength it is Aetius greatest tool in keeping himself behind the Roman throne. The Eastern Roman Emperor, Marcian doesn’t do anything besides send a small gift to the new Western Roman Emperor. All he wants is for Aetius to stay in his realm and he in his. The threat to the Romans in Aetius reign is a Suebic raid on the Ebro River Valley again. Aetius quickly gets his army and marches to Hispania. Rechiar, the Suebic King also speedily readies his army and prepares for war. The Suebi continue raiding northern Hispania till the Romans get there. The first clash occurs in October near the small town of modern day Sebastin. A small Roman calvary group meets with a Suebi foraging party. The Romans gain victory after a short but fierce battle. Though rather unimportant, the chronicling of the battle the name of the future Emperor Sebastius of Rome is heard for the first time. The next battle is far more important for it will quickly end the short war. There Aetius and Rechiar face off in a decisive battle, a battle which will decide the fate of the roman presence in Hispania and the Imperial career of Aetius. Both sides are equal in numbers, the Romans 30,000 Italian legionnaires and 20,000 Burgundi warriors, the Suebi have 50,000 men. The battlefield is a flat plan with a small hill dominating the center. Aetius deploys his men in a formation which makes his center weak and the flanks extra strong. From the Suebi side of the battle it looks like one equally strong straight line. Rechiar falls for the trap and launches the bulk of his forces into the Roman center hoping to break their lines. But things go differently, though the Roman center does at one time almost break the flanks manage to save the day and encircle the Suebi army. The rest is history the Suebi are destroyed, their king with them, and the road into Galicia is open. Aetius quickly puts Roman rule back into northern Hispania and the Suebi disappear from history, besides one small uprising in 481. Aetius returns to Rome (where he usually resides) laden with spoils and is once again greeted as a hero. With the plunder he renovates or rebuild the crumbling aqueducts of Italy as well as spending gold in beautifying Rome, which was not as grand and glorious as it had once been. He also begins to prepare for a campaign to subdue the Vandals in Africa. The Year is 453 AD and the Western Roman Empire has made a comeback.