Chapter I: The Fountainhead

"The City which had taken the whole world was itself taken." - Saint Jerome.

The Tiber River, Rome, 410 A.D.                                           

Imperial Fleet Ship Bireme Sarra

"Christ in Heaven"

I followed the gaze of the words' owner and immediately felt as if an iced dagger had been plunged into my stomach.

Rome was burning.

Catapults stationed outside the cities walls hurled burning masses through the remaining ebbing darkness of the night, creating streaks of shooting stars silhouetting backdrops of hundreds of desperate legionaries and unarmed civilian defenders of the city, grasping vainly at the last vestiges of the cities defenses as civilization crumbled around them.

The Capital of the World, which had for so long supported with strong hands freedom, commerce and Christendom could no longer support even itself under the weighty hands of the invading barbarians.

I crossed over the small deck to the narrow railing where the armored man who had spoken stood and placed what I hoped would be a reassuring hand on my friends shoulder. I could see Alexius' dark eyes searching through the nascent dawn for something familiar to him that was still standing. Refusing to, or incapable of, looking away from the smoke filled destruction that was the Eternal City.

"I was born here. Now I can't even tell where half the city is," he said, whispering as loudly as he dared and not wanting to be heard over the gentle lapping of river against the slowly advancing ship's hull. The bireme, a comparatively small naval vessel of the Roman fleet, only held a compliment of an 80 Soldier century but fitted perfectly with the covert insertion mission that we were tasked with. "The dusk won't mask us for much longer. I called for the centurion once I saw the fires. We should get ready to dock soon. Whatever is coming, it's going to happen soon," I said. 

I heard the soft padding of footsteps behind me and turned to see the centurion. "The men are ready and provisions have been made for any civilians we find. It won't be long before we're in their catapults range, but that also means the docks aren't far," he said. 

Before he could say anything else, one of the flaming masses from the catapults caught a glancing blow to the ships port side, immediately exploding outwards and spewing red-hot ash and resin onto the gathered soldiers there. Soldiers and sailors screamed as they themselves became combustibles and their comrades tried desperately to douse their shipmates, working in equal fervency to maintain the buoyancy of the ship as the hull began to take on water from the impact. The wounded vessel began to list in the water, caught in the rivers current as the remaining bank of rows on the ship began to lose the battle against the ever continuing current. 

"Brace for impact!" the centurion yelled, and soon all confusion from the cause of his words was replaced by the dread of an imminent impact from another flaming volley from the catapults.

"Oh, this is going to hurt," I managed to myself through clenched teeth, raising with my hands on the remaining ships railing and kicking with both feet outward towards Alexius, using the momentum to kick both of us clear of the ship into the now swiftly-moving river below, a flaming pit of pitched tar and splintered teakwood taking place of the positions we had stood mere seconds before.

Immediately upon landing into the frigid river I quickly realized just how bad of an idea this probably was.

I managed to take one desperately quick gulp of air before the weight of my white armored curiass began to exert its gravity and pull me beneath the frothy waves.

"Oh, not good not good notgoodnotgoodnotgood," I thought as I clung desperately at the leather strings looped around my armor plating, undoing as little as I could and still free myself of the weighted mass. Shrugging off the main torso plates I was able to wrest myself of the rest, pushing off with my feet from the bulky armor while it slid effortlessly through the water and I propelled myself to the surface just as my lungs began to burn with the lack of oxygen within them.

Gasping as I crested the rivers waves, I craned my neck quickly in all directions in an attempt to find Alexius and any survivors. The ship, now simply a burning husk of its former self, disintegrated quickly as the river began to swallow it in its entirety and the days dawn quickly replacing the brightness that the fire created.

Many had survived, thankfully, though not as many as I would have thought. I immediately felt the weight of guilt over this was over me, and reminded myself that I should've expected they all survived. Put hope first always, then whatever the results may bring second.

This was not the time to begin to balance lives.

As the remaining soldiers and sailors bobbed in the ebb and flow of the river, all trying to reach the shore, I swam towards the burning hulk. As I glided through the water I kept an eye out for survivors. I reached the dilapidated bireme just as the sounds of the crew reaching the shore line danced over the surface of the rippling water.

"Everyone! Behind the Aventine Hill there should be an old trading merchants collegia. Through there we can find a way into the city! Centurion, take your men through there. We'll find another route." I noticed that it was Alexius who spoke, somehow already making it to the shore and with his armor not only intact but seemingly cleaner.

Well, I'm sure I'll hear about that later.

The centurion quickly responded to Alexius' orders, gathering his and rallying them toward the old collegia Alexius mentioned. I wrested my gaze from the shore and focused on what remained of the ship, which was quickly becoming nothing more than a buoy with oars. Unfortunately for my lungs, there was something critical to the mission that was stored in the remnants of the ships hold.  I inhaled deeply another deep breath of crisp air and flipped forwards into the water, diving underneath the surface once again in an attempt to find the hold of the ship. It didn't take long, the hole that the catapults ordinance made within the ship leaving ample room with which to maneuver.

Once inside the hold, I scanned what I could of its contents. Food stores, sand for balancing and various material effects of the crew dotted my vision. And then I saw what I was looking for: A small, oddly shaped dark metal cube with brightly etched ancient runes scratched deeply into its surface. Grabbing its frame I quickly swung around the hold and began swimming back to the surface and to the shore.

By the time I crawled onto the sandy shore, white robes dripping and my torso conspicuously absent of armor, only Alexius remained, the rest of the crew's compliment rallying around their centurion and making their way into the city.

"Did you get it?" he asked pointedly.

"I'm fine, yes, you're to kind to ask"

"You kicked me. In the kidneys. Into a river."

"Ah. Right. Did you know I found this in the ship?"

I handed the box to him, watching as he rolled it over in his palms. A few of the runes etched into its surface glinting readably in the brightening sunlight as he inspected it to make sure it was in once piece.

"So what now?" he asked, placing the cube into a satchel and turning around to face the city aflame with the chaos of combat.

"We still have a mission. We have to find the priest that holds the liquid fire prototype. Whatever it is, both emperors want it. So, we go into there, first," I said, nodding my head towards an unused and evacuated watchtower as I drew my gladius out of its scabbard on my back, feeling the familiar and welcoming weight and feel of the double-edged sword.

"Fair enough," he said, drawing both of his own gladius' as well and a wry smirk settling on his face.

"Here we go".