Roma Renovata est: A Roman TL

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Well, we're at the penultimate Chapter of Arc 1.5. The final march to Caralis begins. The battle to tetake the islands is upon us. Will Gunthur be ready? Will Majorian? Only one way to find out.

Journey to Caralis

461 AD

On the 2nd January, Majorian and his forces would reach the shores of Olbia. It had be arduous for the fleet but finally they arrived at the city of Olbia. However, awiting them at the shores was something painfully familiar to the army, the beach defense. The soldiers were waiting for them, just like Caralis.

However, they had made sure not to repeat their previous mistakes. They had made sure to build as many seige weapons as possible, as well as reinforcing their ships to better withstand the defensive measures.

The ships launched a volley at the defensive team, matching their ferocity. This time they managed to successfilly land some of the ships on to the beach. Now being surronded with Roman warriors to their flanks on top of the ships bombarding the beaches, they had no choice but to retreat to the city, bringing as many of the siege weapons with them as possible.

The soldiers would land on the beach, beginning the chase after the Vandal soldiers. Finally they would reach Olbia, where the battle of Olbia would begin.

The Vandals would start out by charging the main force into the Roman army, using the beach patrol as a decoy. This worked well, as the Vandal warriors crashed into the Roman army, allowing them to take the initiative by driving the Romans back. Despite this, the Romans held strong with Majorian personally joining the frontlines to rally the soldiers. After hours of struggle, the Romans were finally able to push the Vandals back when the cavalry broke theough the Vandal cavalry. The Vandals broke, beginning their retreat southward. Many more Vandals were shot down in the carnage. 13,000 Vandals and 17,000 Romans took part in the battle, with 2,000 Romans and 4,000 Vandals being lost that day.

The Romans then turned to the city, demanding its surrender. The city however, refused to back down. Only after 2 days of seigeing were the Romans able to bust in, looting the city, but avoiding killing innocent citizens per Majorians orders, only executing those who actively resisted. 3,000 citizen lay dead from the street battles. The city would finally give in to Majorians demands for surrender. For this Majorian would spare the remaining citizens, even giving back some of the wealth. This show of good faith would keep the citizens neutral for the time being, however they would not forget what had happened. Something that a Visigothic-Vandal leader would take advantage of decades later.

Following the battle and subseqent siege, Majorian and his forces would persue the Vandal forces to Caralis. However, their efforts would be repeatedly blocked by civilians, distrusting of the Roman forces due to Gunthur's propaganda. Some had even taken to fighting in guerilla warfare against the Roman. Over the span of this journey, 1,000 more Roman soldiers would die in thes skirmishes.

The news of these recent events would reach Caralis, the new Vandal Capital, to the ears of its new leader, Gunthur. Gunthur looked on and laughed. His work in convincing the citizens of Sardinia to follow his lead had paid off. Now, he had finally weakened the Romans enough. He had trained many soldiers to make up his forces. Now he finally had the ability to stop the Roman forces for good. As he looked over his capital he thought to himself, the Romans may have gotten their hands on North Africa, but they would never taken Sardinia. He had already began to make plans for after his victory. Arrogant, perhaps, but everything had gone according to plan so far, why would he not be. This upcoming battle, one of the biggest of the whole war, would be his finest moment.

He could see it now, himself, the new king, the new Geiseric. But unlike Geiseric, his Vandal empire would be eternal. He invisioned an empire that stretched across Mediterranean North Africa, from the Iberian Penninsula all the way to Egypt. He saw him and his army crushing all enemies. Romans, Berbers and Visigoths, all under the Vandal boot. It was a distant reality, especially in it's current state, but a possible one. He already had his son, Hunther as his successor. He certainly liked his chances in the upcoming battle. The Romans had taken the bait, hook, line and sicker. Now, the fruits of his effort finally looked set to pay off, and he would revel in it when the day came.

A/N: And that's it for Chapter 16, I hope you all enjoyed. Next chapter will finish off the battle for the islands, as well as bring an end to the Vandalic war. Let me know if any thing could be improved for the next arc (secret). See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

So here is an update to the structure of the TL so far

PART 1: MAJORIAN
ARC 1: VANDALIC WAR
- Prologue
- The Invasion Begins
- Arrival
- The Battle of Hippo Regius
- The March Continues
- Things Back Home
- Back at Sea
- Journey to Carthage
- The Ambush at Thuburbo Maius
- Finale: The Seige of Carthage

ARC 1.5: BATTLE AT THE VANDAL ISLANDS
- Recieving the News
- What Lies Ahead
- To the Islands!
- Shores of Sardinia
- Taking Corsica
- Sicily
- Journey to Caralis
- Finale: The Final Battle of Caralis

ARC 2:???

 

[Sarufiyyun]

I hope the Vandals are crushed by the Roman war machine!

 

[Panzerlied]

I hope the Vandals are crushed by the Roman war machine!

Wish we can turn back time...

To the good old days...

Also, V*ndals Delenda Est

 

[FLAYvian1310]

Wish we can turn back time...
View attachment 598015

To the good old days...
View attachment 598014

Also, V*ndals Delenda Est

There won't be a Vandal Delenda Est, but a Delenda Est will be coming eventually, both a good one and a very, VERY bad (attempted) one for Rome.

But those are a while away.

 

[Vinization]

He could see it now, himself, the new king, the new Geiseric. But unlike Geiseric, his Vandal empire would be eternal. He invisioned an empire that stretched across Mediterranean North Africa, from the Iberian Penninsula all the way to Egypt. He saw him and his army crushing all enemies. Romans, Berbers and Visigoths, all under the Vandal boot. It was a distant reality, especially in it's current state, but a possible one. He already had his son, Hunther as his successor. He certainly liked his chances in the upcoming battle. The Romans had taken the bait, hook, line and sicker. Now, the fruits of his effort finally looked set to pay off, and he would revel in it when the day came.

And then Majorian realizes what's up and crushes him. Hopefully...

 

[Lord Of Tacos]

There won't be a Vandal Delenda Est, but a Delenda Est will be coming eventually, both a good one and a very, VERY bad (attempted) one for Rome.

But those are a while away.

Probably the Visigoths. The Unknown child that survived the Roman attack at Sicily will become the second coming of Hannibal. It would be appropriate as Goths IOTL sacked Rome and Hispania played an important role in Punic Wars and maybe ITTL as well. Goths delenda est.

 

[FLAYvian1310]

Probably the Visigoths. The Unknown child that survived the Roman attack at Sicily will become the second coming of Hannibal. It would be appropriate as Goths IOTL sacked Rome and Hispania played an important role in Punic Wars and maybe ITTL as well. Goths delenda est.

I will say that you did get one thing wrong. It was at Corsica where 'The Unknown Child' had their home destroyed.

As for the rest, I won't tell.

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Well, we're finally here, the final battle of the Vandalic War, The Second Battle of Caralis! It's been a long road for both sides, but it's finally come to this. I hope everyone has enjoyed this TL so far, I know I have. Enjoy the show!

The Final Battle of Caralis

Majorian and his forces had gone through so much on the islands, battling through hordes of resistent Vandals, determined to keep Rome away from the island, but they would not be stopped. They had a mission, to keep Rome safe from anyone that would dare to hurt her majesty.

It had taken more than two weeks of relentless battle, but on the 18th January, the Roman forces woukd finally reach the city of Caralis for the second time. They had already endured a humiliating failure in The First Battle of Caralis. They were intent not to repeat it.

But on the other side were a people intent on protecting their last sanctuary. The Vandals had already lost their capital to the Romans, now Corsica and Sicily have also been taken. Sardinia was their last hope of being independent. They refused to lose it at all cost.

The final battle had begun.

15,000 Romans and 13,500 Vandals would clash for the fate of Sardinia. At 12:47, The Roman Army charged with furious vigour, the Vandal army did not move. The Romans suddenly stopped, retreating back a few metres in order to get a better picture of the situation. Something was wrong, the Vandals were planning something and they knew it.

The Vandals followed up with a rain of arrows upon the Romans. The Romans were able to block this however. Neither side moved to attack directly, simply trying to catch their opponents with arrows.

This stalemate was broken when the Roman forces were attacked, the Vandal cavalry had crossed over to the Roman side and was now attacking the Roman flanks. Majorian countered with his own cavalry. The Vandals pulled away, using hit and run tactics to draw the Romans into giving chase.

The Romans realised that if the Vandal Cavalry could get to the Roman forces, there must have been a gap to get through. The Roma force began to spread out in order to look for the illusive gap.

For hours more, the dead heat continued, with the Roman forces trying to look for a way through. It was finally broken when newly promoted, Procopius Soranus looked at the small differences in the ground, noting that one bit of earth along the line between Romans and Vandals was more level with the ground. He ordered his force across this line. This would finally begin a clash with the Vandal forces.

What followed next was chaos, a mad rush to this land, whoever control the entrance way comtrolled the battle field. This battle would last the rest of the day, neither cavalry having returned yet.

As night set, Majorian began to think on his plan. He couldn't come directly at them, as Romans would be stuck between the Vandals and the traps. If they were to have an advantage they would have to push through and around. It would be risky, but would force the Vandals onto the back foot if it succeeded.

The battle continued the next day, this time the new battle plan was put into motion. The Romans would go in 3 main lines, with others on the sides to keep the Vandals locked in. The centre line would have the job of carving through Vandal lines. The left and right lines would support the centre line. The battle continued over several more hours, morale on both sides beginning to crack. Eventually, a breakthrough was made, the Roman cavalry, who despite being led into a forest, had managed to defeat their Vandal counterparts, though heavily damaged, they had made it through beginning their attack on the Vandal infantry. Archer pelted the Vandal closest to them, while the Cavalry reinforced the Roman infantry. Now able to concentrate all infantry to getting through the Vandal line.

It was at this point a second breakthough was made, as Marcellinus and his army finally arrived at Sardinia. They had gotten caught up in a storm that had delayed their efforts a few day, but now they had finally arrived. They began pelting the shore petrols with heavy fire. The Vandals were quickly overwhelmed, fleeing inwards, with Marcellinus and his forces in hot persuit.

The forces of Marcellinus, 10,000 strong, crashed into the Vandal backline, allowing the Romans to finally push through the Vandals. They then began pushing the Vandals back into their own traps, the ground gave in around the new backline, thousands of Vandals across the line fell into holes 12 foot deep, covered only by thin wooden planks. The Vandals that fell in were crushed by their comrades. By the time the Romans reached the holes, most were able to walk over the bodies of the Vandal warriors packed into the holes.

The final showdown had begun, no tricks armies, clashing head to head. Both sides were nearing the end of their rope, although Marcellinus's reinforcements had given the Roman a renewed confidence. The armies clashed, Romans and Vandals hacking into eachother until the soil was forever stained red with the blood of fallen soldiers.

After hours of endless fighting, the Vandals finally broke. They dashed past the Romans for the gate, many killed in the attempt. The Romans persued them, not wanting to have to go through a siege. Vandals and Romans poured into the gates, beginning a major street battle between Roman, Vandals and regular citizens.

In the carnage, one man would escape the battle to reach the palace, the Vandal leader, Gunthur. As he ran towards his throne room, he wondered how it all went so wrong. He paused to consider his next course of action. He could stay and fight, but that would be a sure way to be captured and humiliated. He could take his life, but that would be a waste. He wanted veangence for this day, Rome would pay for all they had done to the Vandals. It was then he spotted a small boat, left unguarded, near the coast. It was risky, but it was his only chance of freedom. He would be going alone however. Hunther had died in battle and Gunthur had seen it with his own eyes. However, unlike Geiseric, whos resolve have been broken by the loss of his son, Gunthur's had only been strengthened. Gunthur disguised himself as a begger, got to the boat and sailed away. The lack of a keen eye in the carnage would bring about a curse upon Rome, though not by his hands.

Meanwhile in the carnage, Romans and Vandals would continue fighting. This was until the Vandal citizens finally gave up, begging for their lives. Majorian called off his forces, showing clemency to his enemies as he had done so many times in the past.

And just like that, the Vandalic War was finally over. In this battle alone, 6,000 Romans and 9,000 Vandals ended up dead by the end. But after all the carnage, Rome was finally safe, Mare Nostrum was theirs.

All that was left was to head back to Italy.

A/N: And that's it for the Vandalic War. Next Chapter will see Majorian return to Italy after so long away. One door has closed, although it's effect continue to echo. Now a new door opens. Prepare for Arc 2! Thank you all for reading! See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all! Back with another Chapter of 'Roma Renovata est'! We are finally going back to Rome. Their is still so much to be done, what will Majorian do next? Only one way to find out.

Return to Rome

It felt good to step back onto Roman soil, Majorian thought to himself. It had been almost half a year since the North African Campaign began. Now that North Africa was back in the fold, Majorian could focus on the issues within the system itself.

For so long, external threats and civil wars had distracted everyone from the core of the issues plaguing Rome; the corruption that had been festering in the empire for centuries. Majorian knew he would never rid corruption entirely from the empire, the hearts of men were too drawn to the power of status. But Majorian hoped to reduce it to a manageable level, where it could be contained. The moment of relative peace for the empire would grant him the possibility to put his plans into motion.

He would wait for a month, before issuing Novella Maioriani 13, The Settlement of Land. In this, Majorian would state that land was to be kept to roughly 6 acres of land (modern day standards), and that all men could control land, regardless of background. He then issued Novella Maioriani 14, The Right to Join the Army, in it he stated that the emperor was not to directly take farmers from the lands, but that those who owned the land couldn't prevent the workers from joining the army if they so choosed. This law was later amended to say that there would have to be a certain percentage of farmers that stayed to tend to the land (25% under Majorian), this percentage changed from emperor to emperor, some as low as 5%, some as high as 70%. Majorian would then reward his soldiers with a pay bonus for their efforts.

Majorian would then go on a campaign to galvanise people into joining the armies and/ or working farmland. Majorian hoped that this would allow Rome to be more self sustaining. He had looked at the damage done, how the reliance on Foederati led to sackings by Visigoths and Vandals, and how reliance on North Africa had led to Rome starving without it. He knew he had to make sure what had happen over the past half century could not be repeated.

These proved to be relatively successful from the off. It would take a while before they truly took hold, but the effects could be seen in the short term. Competition in farming gradually increased, and food production with it. However, the army was what got the bigger boost, as people began to flock to it. The efforts of Majorian had increased the patriotism of Rome. This, combined with the promise of a higher standing in society enticed many into joining the army. For the first time in a long time, Rome now had enough Roman forces to make up true legions. Majorian would take these new recruits alongside Roman several Roman Veterans, molding them into three legions; Legio I Augusta, Legio II Traiana and Legio III Aureliana.

Whilst the people loved this, only furthering their love for their emperor, this only further angered the Senators. To counter this, Majorian would give them some of their old powers from the days of the Republic. These were only small privilages, ones that would allow some control over the system whilst not taking anything serious from him. A majority were calmed down by this show of faith and appeasement. This would result in the senate bestowing him with the epithet 'Restitutor Occidentalis' (Restorer of the West).

This power-sharing also had another purpose. He desired to restore the empire to its full glory of the Late Republic and the Pax Romana that proceeded it. He wanted to restore all of Rome, the senate included, so that it could be prosperous once again.

Majorian knew that if he wanted to restore Rome to the glory days, he would have to mix old and new. One of the areas of his rule that showed this most was Religion. We wished to restore religious tolerance, so that both Christianity and Paganism could work together for the empire's security. He issued Novella Maioriani 15, Religious Freedoms, stating that all religions within the empire were legal to be practiced, although only Christianity would be practiced publicly. This made some Christians upset, but was ultimately accepted, as it wouldn't change much about the status quo. He also worked extensively with Pope Leo in order to ensure that a peaceful resolution was made on the law. Leo would preach on religious tolerance, in return Majorian built several Cathedrals across the empire.

The Pope was also included in Majorian's plans for the coming year. He was to christen the upcoming wedding between Majorian and Eudocia. More importantly, Majorian and Pope Leo would collaborate on Majorian's Triumph. Planning out the entire thing to be as pleasing to all parties as possible.

Months would go by as Majorian would spend his time collaborating with the Pope, administering his reforms and spending time with his bride to be.

Finally, on the 22nd of May 461, The wedding of Majorian and Eudocia would take place at the Cathedral of Rome, as 10,000 would gather, many of Majorian's closest friend stood beside him, Marcellinus, Aegidius and Nepotianus all were involved in the preparations. The day was one of grand celebration, of Rome's restoration, of the imperial ladies and their return, and of what was to come. Feasts were held for days on end following the event.

However, not everything was ok. Ricimer's anger was threatening to boil over. He knew he couldn't attack now, not while Majorian victory was in the minds of everyone. He would have to wait for that right moment.

He had begun to collude with some of the senator to either depose or kill Majorian. Whilst most had kept their issues to themselves after Majorian granted them privilages, some were still bitter of having their power stripped from them. They knew that it would not go well for them to attack now, it would be political suicide. They would agree that their would be a grace period for 461 AD. Majorian would not be harmed for the remainder of the year, not by their hands, not while Majorian was on top of the world. But once 462 AD hit, the conspiracy would put its plans into motion. Doomsday was coming.

A/N: And that's it for this newest Chapter. Alot of new things post- Africa. Next Chapter will be about Majorian's Triumph. I hope you have all enjoyed. Let me hear what you have to say. See you next Chapter!

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Back again with another chapter. Majorian has returned victorious, now he intends to show it. Hope everyone enjoys this newest chapter.

Majorian's Triumph

Majorian had been planning for several months.

After so long of moving away from the traditions that had made Rome great, Majorian wished to return some of that back into the fold. He had already, creating legions for the army, reclaiming Roman territories and returning (some) power to the senate. Now it was time to reintroduce an old tradition that had been abandoned over the centuries; the Roman Triumph.

But Majorian knew it would not be as simple as having the triumph. The original triumph has many connections to paganism, as that was Rome's state religion. Time's had drastically changed, now Christianity was the State religion. Though freedom of religion had been re-introduced by Majorian, having a triumph as it originally was would have been akin to sacrilege to most.

For this reason, he had been working with the Pope in order to ensure that the triumph would be conducted in a way that would still please the Christian majority, while still allowing the indulgence of a piece of Roman history.

Majorian hoped for this to have another effect on the populace. By having such a grand showing of Rome's recent glory, he hoped to increase patriotism for Rome amongst the people, something he had already begun doing.

He actually considered holding three triumphs; one for Hispania, one for Gaul and one for North Africa. However he decided that that would be overkill for the newly reintroduced event. Instead, it would be one event with three parts, one part for each conquest.

It had been planned and prepared for several months following his return. Finally the day would come on the 26th August, roughly a year after Majorian had left for North Africa. Many gathered from all across the empire in order to participate in the event.

At 7:00 AM in the morning, the soldiers, generals and Emperor gathered outside of Rome near to the old Circus Flaminius, were previous triumphs began. They would spend the next two hours organising the event. Eventually, at 9:00 AM, Majorian would mount his new golden chariot with the white horses and set off to Rome. The procession made its way to the gates of Rome.

Thousands packed the streets of Rome, cheering on the procession. The event began with the Gaullic section of the Triumph, scenery and battles were shown of Majorian fighting Burgundians at Lugdunum and around Gaul. It would then show treasures and wealth attained from Gaul, as well as captured enemies.

A similar process would occour for the next part, The Hispanian section of the Roman Triumph, scenery and battles of Hispania were shown, depicting Majorian and his army fighting the Visigoths and Suebi. The spoils were shown alongside captured enemies.

Lastly, the North African section was shown. Scenery and battles from the Vandalic War were shown, such as the Battle of Hippo Regius and The Siege of Carthage. The spoils of war came out, the same treasure that had been stolen by the Vandals years ago, now reclaimed for all to see. At the same time, free bread was handed out to the audience, a symbol of how Romes breadbasket had been returned. To begin showing the people, the Imperial ladies were shown first, rescued from the Vandal clutches. They were on a chariot, much like the emperors. People cheered in approval at this sight. The prisoners of war were brought out, among them were two of the Vandal princes, and at the front was the former Vandal King, Geiseric. Geiseric along the way was smiling and waving to the crowd, not entirely sure why he was here.

After the displays of Romes conquest came Emperor Majorian himself, wearing a cross and a crown of thorns, invoking the image of Jesus Christ. The crowd roared in their approval at the Restitutor Occidentalis.

After his, his generals and army would follow. Romans and barbarians alike joined in on the jovial festivities. They would sing many songs on their journey, getting to simply enjoy life for once.

The march would continue throughout the day, before eventually reaching the Grand Cathedral, where Leo and his bishops had been waiting. Majorian was then stripped of his ceremonnial garb, down to only a plain clock, a showing of humility. He then stepped onto a pool that had been created for this ceremony. He was then baptised by Pope Leo, a showing that recieved great approval from the crowds.

Following this, many feasts, games and other such were held in honour of Rome, personally paid for by Majorian. It was also during this time that news of Eudocia being pregnant with Majorian's child would reach the people of Rome. This was were the Majorian Dynasty would begin, a dynasty that would change the fate of Rome forever.

A/N: And that's it for this Chapter, hope you all enjoyed. Let me know what you think of this series so far, I always appreciate the comments. See you next Chapter!

 

[Kaiko]

Let's hope that Majorian can last more than the 4 years he did in OTL and stays clear of Ricimer.

At this point anything he can do to stabilize the line of succession and keep emperors from being picked off like in the third century would be great.

Does Majorian have a plan to keep Rome safe from the gothic kingdoms now that the Vandals were dealt with?

 

[Asonia]

nice chaps, try not to make the senators Darth Sidious level of scheming, or atleast not all of 'em.
and yeah, surviving until his (hopefully) son gets older and into a reasonable level of competency is vital imo.

 

[FLAYvian1310]

nice chaps, try not to make the senators Darth Sidious level of scheming, or atleast not all of 'em.
and yeah, surviving until his (hopefully) son gets older and into a reasonable level of competency is vital imo.

Yeah, I get that, but the senators are more bitter and angry, Ricimer is the scheming one.

As for his child/ren, I won't tell.

 

[Vinization]

Following this, many feasts, games and other such were held in honour of Rome, personally paid for by Majorian. It was also during this time that news of Eudocia being pregnant with Majorian's child would reach the people of Rome. This was were the Majorian Dynasty would begin, a dynasty that would change the fate of Rome forever.

Hooray, hooray!

 

[Lexijag]

On board nice start

 

[FLAYvian1310]

A/N: Hello all! Here is another Chapter for everyone! Majorian has secured the empire, but has he secured his throne? We shall see...

Lies and Conspiracy

462 AD

For the first time in nearly a century, there was a feeling of peace and prosperity within the empire. People began to settle down, feeling at ease. Among them were the veterans, given bonuses and land for their hard work taking back Roman land, the eldest anong them allowed to retire to their estates. This would include Foederati as well.

To further this, Majorian started his newest plan, later called The Grand Migration Initiative. First, all the families of the foederati were to be settled inside the empire. Second, the army and their families would be redistributed throughout the empire, to make sure ensure large scale rebellion of a single tribe was impossible.

It was during this program that the first child of Majorian and Eudocia was born (5th April 462), named Julius Valerius Theodosius. Now, Majorian had an imperial heir, as well as a true connection to the Theodosian Dynasty. Their was much celebration over the birth of an imperial successor. The coming years looked good for Rome.

However, it was at this moment that Ricimer and the conspiracy put their plans into motion. With the knowledge that Eudocia was pregnant, they waited until the baby was born. They did not want to risk a succession crisis if not nessesary. Now that they had an imperial successor their was now someone that could be groomed into a puppet by the conspirators, in particular Ricimer.

Ricimer was very close to the Imperial family, especially Majorian, who considered Ricimer his greatest friend, even letting Ricimer be in the same room when Eudocia gave birth. Ricimer kept himself emotionally distant from Majorian however; in his mind, there was no room to be having personal attachment, putting trust in others only got an individual a knife in the back. Trust was a weakness in other, a weakness in Majorian, something he could exploit.

On the 7th April 462, the conspiracy would set it's first plot into motion. Ricimer had bought a small vial of poison, slow acting but deadly. It would surely off the Emperor, but give the conspiracy an alibi. They could claim it was illness, or that someone else had killed the emperor.

From their Ricimer would mold the new emperor into his puppet from his position as Magister Militum, it would be like Stilicho and Honorius, or Aetius and Valentinian III. The rest of the conspiracy would work their way into the emperors good graces along the way.

From their they could use Majorian's legacy to legitimise themselves, especially Ricimer, as he was Majorian's "right hand man".

That night, their was a party held by Majorian, between those close to Majorian and their families, as well as many of his generals. Marcellinus, Julius Nepos, Aegidius, Syagrius and Nepotianus were all their. Among them was Ricimer.

One of the servants at the party had been bribed by Ricimer to put the poison into Majorian's drink and deliver it to him. When Majorian finished his first drink, he ordered a second, the servent added this poison to the drink. The plan was going exactly as intended.

However, right before the servent headed to give Majorian the poisoned drink, the servent was called by his boss to do another task. The servent grew nervous as a result, he could risk the wrath of Ricimer, or draw suspicion. He decided to leave the drinks and go do as he was told, this led to another servent being left to serve drinks. This servent was not in on the plot.

When the drinks were handed out Majorian recieved the wrong drink. The poisoned drink instead went to one of Marcellinus's generals instead.

When the party was over everyone returned home, none the wiser. In the morning, the general was dead. He had died in his sleep from the poison. This was chalked up to most as illness, but the soldiers close to him were suspicious; he showed no signs of being ill, something was up.

When the conspiracy met up the next day, they were informed of the failure by Ricimer. Majorian was still alive. Their was alot of shouting and finger-pointing, mainly at Ricimer, it had been HIS plan after all.

The meeting ended with a bitter taste in everyones mouths, Ricimers most of all. He hated working with a bunch of stuffy know-it-alls who thought that because they were of "pure blood" that they were better than everyone else. Ricimer wanted nothing more than to get rid of all of them. But he also knew they were vital to getting Majorian off the throne, as well as securing his base of power.

"It will be a long road for me", Ricimer thought, "but one that will see me as the master of all Rome!"

A/N: And that's it for today! I hope all of you enjoyed it. It has been refreshing to finally get away from the Vandalic War. Thank you all for reading this TL so far and please let me know your thoughts, I love hearing what people have to say. See you next Chapter!

 

[Panzerlied]

I hope once Majorian found out of Ricimer's treachery, he would invent the breaking wheel to sufficiently punish the traitorous barbarian.

 

[Asonia]

I hope he is cautios enough to notice something wrong, I mean with the bs that allready happened he should be more paranoid imo.

 

[Lord Of Tacos]

That one general died at the party would make me suspicious enough to question the house staff. Majorian could try it as well