IV – Journal Of A Confused Roman

Hello Journal:

Well, I took a day off to recover from the Forum incident. Also, I heard that my brother, the legionnaire, was in town. When in Rome, he always comes to visit me, so I cleaned up the place. I was also kind of anxious to hear his take on this Parthia situation.

Sure enough, this morning there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, there was my little brother (six foot gawdawful huge) in full gear with a big grin on his face. I dragged him in, sat him down, and shoved a large goblet of wine in his hand. While we talked he kept that grin on his face. It was starting to creep me out. The last time he had that look was when we were kids and he demolished the bully who was beating me up. My brother always did enjoy his work.

As we talked, I got the uncomfortable feeling he was trying to hide something from me. When we got to the subject of Parthia, that grin vanished. Then I got it. He was being sent to the Parthian frontier.

It seems that Caesar was pulling out all the stops and throwing every available legion at the Parthians. The rank and file of the legions was getting terribly confused. The Parthians had been our allies for many years. What was with this going to war business? My brother loved war. Lived for it. Rapine and slaughter were his stock in trade. However, he couldn’t see attacking a former friend without cause. Besides, he had fought the Parthians, and they were as tough as Romans. This was NOT going to be a cakewalk. Rumor had it (cautiously, of course) in the legions that this war was being waged to boost the Emperor’s image and give him the Triumph he so desperately wanted and needed. After all, the last two Caesars had been real go getters. At war a good portion of their reigns. The current incumbent was looking rather weak by comparison.

So, off to war we go, regardless of the fact that we could get our collective teeth kicked in. Defeating Parthia would be hard enough. Holding on to the country would be next to impossible. Those Parthians sure knew how to hold a grudge. Well, for the better part of the day we tried to talk about trivial things. Very difficult. His smile only returned briefly when he said goodbye. Seems he could only stay a short while as the legions were moving out the next day.

Y’know Journal – I’m beginning to dislike this situation more and more.

Chapter V

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