We both leave the tent, then surprisingly we approach the south facing wall. There I discover gates, not as impressive as the ones from earlier but five men could still go through at the same time.

  What lie behind are more than a hundred caravans set up in a large meadow. The place is packed with people: civilians, soldiers, workers, artisans etc. Next to almost every caravan a small shop is set up selling a range of items, and services.

  Seeing all this agitation I almost smile, remembering the town's marketplace during big events.

  There are also several tents and small pavilions, a red one catches my eyes, I notice women hanging out in front of the entrance and before I have to the time to understand who they are Vicos sees what I am looking at and grunts:

  "So young and already interested in women. I hope you won’t spend all your first pay there."

  Figuring out what he means, I suddenly turn red and advert my eyes from the pavilion. Too embarrassed to answer I only nod.

  'Magnus never told me about that!!"

  The whole settlement is like a town of its own, we advance through streets formed by tents and caravans.

  At some point I start to pick up a repetitive sound amidst the cacophony of sounds: metal hitting against metal. We get closer to where the sound is coming and at some point, we stand in front of the only permanent building of the settlement.

  Made from black stone, the structure does not stand too tall but is quite wide.

  After examining the walls, I realize that it was not originally black but white, and I recognize the covered in charcoal look of a building that burned before.

  Barn doors on the front are wide open, and we can see most of the inside, the structure holds a singular room that takes up most of the space.

  The most notable thing inside is the fireplace that sits right in the middle of the forge, it produces so much heat that I can feel the hair on my skin curl up even when standing outside.

  Other pieces of equipment are spread around the room, but I also catch the shine of a mountain of weapons and armor pieces set on shelves at the back of the room. The sound is almost deafening this close.

  Three people busy themselves inside: two young men, a bit older than me I gather both glistening from their sweat, and ...

  'Is that a gnome??'

  The man responsible for the loud hammering is exceptionally short, the top of his head not higher than my hips and his thick beard only adds to my confusion.

  I feel like I just walked in a fairytale, facing a creature not supposed to exist. Dwarfs are creatures of folklore, known for their mischievous tendencies and their love of gold.

  He notices us standing and stops working on what looks like the head of a spear.

  "Vicos my friend, what are you up to?"

  I expected his voice to be high and squeaky like in the tales, but what comes out is a normal voice with a slight accent that I do not recognize.

  " Immos, do you have a recruit set laying around? I need one for this guy." He nods towards me.

  One look at me and the blacksmith is already choosing the amour and weapons I'll be using for the next few years.

  In the end I leave the smith shop with a standard issued lorica, two sets of grey military clothes, studded shoes, a gladius a bit worn but still sharp it's blade as long as my forearm and hand, a rectangular shield reinforced with iron studs big enough for me to hide my whole body behind it, two javelin with a long wooden body and a menacing steel head and a long dagger in case I cannot use my gladius.

  The set weighs a ton, and I almost fall to the ground when one of the apprentices drops it in my arms. We make several more stops along the way getting basic supplies for everyday life.

  When we are done, we go back to the camp. I meet my squad in one of the tents reserved for the tenth cohort. There are six beds laying on the ground and five young men.

  One is laying in the bed closest to the entrance of the tent, surprisingly he is reading a booklet, a pretty rare item usually owned by the wealthy, another is sitting on the bed next to him, carving a emblem out of wood using his knife, two guy are in the middle of a heated argument, and the last one is sleeping through the noise somehow.

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  "Like hell I am going to let you touch the food again, the goo you made last time almost killed us."

  "Your palate is just not used to it yet; it gets better with time trust me."

  "Yeah, like I believe y..."

  Out of nowhere Vicos shouts.

  "Attention !!!"

  Everyone freezes, and only the guy who I thought was sleeping gets up and salutes.

  "At ease Beorht. Looks like everyone else here still needs a bit of discipline work. I believe the stalls need some cleaning, and get the job done by sundown. Now!!"

  And just like that the whole squad suddenly unfreezes and scurry out of the tent.

  Only the sergeant and I are left. He turns to me:

  "That order included you recruit, leave your stuff here and go join them and fast."

  I do as I am told, place my equipment on the unused bed and jog to the stalls. The rest of my squad has already started cleaning when I arrive, so I grab a shovel and start working.

  I am cleaning the paddock of the mule that transported me here when I hear a voice behind me:

  "Hey new guy, you got some money that you could lend me?"

  It is one of the recruits that was arguing in the tent and that supposedly does not know how to cook. He is a bit older than me but still my height and on the skinner side.

  His chestnut brown messy hair and his vibrant green eyes give him a crazy look, as if constantly over energized.

  'Even if I had any, I definitely would not give it to you!'

  "I'm sorry bu..." I am interrupted by the reader.

  "I would advise you not to give him anything, you will never see this money again. Cenric here is an avid gambler, he already has lost his first pay."

  Cenric, unhappy that his comrade intervened, pouts, clearly not taking the situation too seriously.

  "Hey not cool Leof, I just need a bit, and I will win it all back you'll see!!"

  Ignoring the comments of the gambler, the young man asks me:

  "What's your name? We didn't take the time to ask you earlier."

  " I am Scypion."

  " Hello Scypion, my name is Leof and here is Cenric."

  The latter waves quickly and leaves, clearly interested in continuing the conversation and looking for someone else to borrow money from.

  Leof watches him take off and sighs.

  "Sorry about that, he is nice, just a bit intense sometimes. Anyway, we better get to it now or we'll be here tomorrow morning still, we will welcome you properly when we are done if you don't mind."

  I give a nod of approval and go back to shoveling.

  While there are six of us, there are a lot of horses and mules and it takes us about half a day to clean everything properly, get the manure to the waste pit, and replace the bedding.

  When we get back to our tent, we are exhausted and the sun is setting. I just want to crash into my bed and sleep but everyone else in my squad sits down around the small fire in front of the tent.

  Leof is already preparing and setting ingredients inside a pot hanging above the fire. I join them and sit next to Cenric. The recruit that was arguing with him earlier is sitting across from me:

  "Hey, didn't have time to talk to you earlier. What's your name again?"

  He is quite the sight, broad shoulders, thick deep brown hair and a confident smile that probably broke several hearts already.

  " I am Scypion."

  " I am Gaius, nice to meet you. You already met Leof and Cenric I believe."

  "This here is Beorht, and that's Godric."

  He points successively to the one that was sleeping when I arrived, he is tall, has hands that look like they could crush a rock and his blond hair is cut short; and to the young man who was carving wood.

  He looks a bit taller than me, but I notice he keeps looking at the sky now almost completely dark.

  "Anyway, I know you just arrived, but why did you join the Legion?"

  "It is a bit hard to explain."

  Gaius, clearly not satisfied by my answer, wants to add something but Leof cuts him off:

  "It's alright if you're not comfortable with telling us. Can you tell us where you are from?"

  I thank him with a nod: I am not ready to share what happened, even less with total strangers.

  " I am from Oblivis a town in the Southeast not too far from the border with Maros."

  " Alright don't know the town though. Both Leof and I are from Fluminae."

  "You guys are from the capital? Is it as big as everybody says?"

  Gaius gives me a smile full of teeth.

  "Bigger even!! Leof, tell them your poem about Fluminae."

  Leof cheeks turn red for a bit, but he obliges.

  "Fluminae, Fluminae

  Taller than the peaks of Rocta,

  Vaster than the plains of Maros,

  Calmer than the trees of Silvana,

  Stronger than the rocks of the Isles,"

  He almost whispers the last line.

  "Brighter than the flame of Initium."

  A short silence follows his word, everyone pondering his poem.

  Beorht is the first one to speak again:

  "You should be careful saying those words, especially here in the camp, someone could call that dissident against the Empire and get you arrested."

  As Leof drops his head from shame, Gaius confronts Beorht:

  " Is that a threat?"

  Beorht shrugs.

  "I don't give rat's ass about that, but some people do, and if our squad is down one person because of that, it is going to be harder on us when we eventually fight."

  Cenric laughs at his statement.

  "That's what you are worrying about? Really?"

  The tension dissipates a bit, and I take the opportunity to continue the previous conversation. I learn that Cenric is from a small village near the sea, Godric, who stayed silent the rest of the time, only tells me that he lived in a small settlement lost in the middle of a forest. Finally, I also learn that Beorht was born in the Legion, his mother being one of the merchants that follows the Legion around, his father, a legionnaire unfortunately died when he was younger.

  Quickly after the food is ready, we engulf our plates and go to bed right after. Sleep doesn't come to me however and my mind starts to wander. In the end I go through the recent events, trying to figure out how I feel about the whole thing. At first, I was distressed both by the trick that Antonia pulled and how I was abandoned by my father, I calmed down during the journey to the camp, and there I discovered a completely new and somewhat exiting new place.

  'I guess I will figure it out at some point.'

  On this thought I finally fall asleep.