The Importance of Captains
Britain had always been a place where ships came and went in great numbers. Being an island, that was only natural, right? Even before Caesar of Rome pulled off the greatest tit-for-tat in history—launching his invasion of Gaul to pay off his debts during the Republic and Empire eras—the original inhabitants of this island, the Caledonians, Hibernians, and Iceni before them, must have been sailing long before they even set foot here. The people who truly first touched this land probably took to boats ages ago.
Every now and then, wandering through this Romano-British land, you'd spot piles of stones that make you think, There's no way Romans built that. And up north, there are those massive stones set up in strange formations, said to mean something profound. Not even the Romans knew what they were, nor do the natives we call the island's original people today. No one knows when they were made. But I, revived from the 21st century, knew. This island had Neolithic and Paleolithic civilizations too! Humans had been dominating the world and roaming far and wide since they first swung chipped stone tools.
So what we're doing now isn't really foreign to this island of Britain at all—that's the point I wanted to make.
[---!]
"Over there! Ships incoming! Water drop below the chi-rho flag! It's Comes Beduerus's fleet!"
Factoring in cargo space, a small ship of average size could carry twenty legionaries. We grouped them in tens of ships—two hundred men per unit—forming five fleets in total. A bit embarrassing to call them fleets, sure, but aren't we supposed to aim big? Someday we'll proudly sail massive triple-, quadruple-, or quinqueremes as flagships, commanding a hundred vessels each. But not now. We didn't have the means, nor the need for such overwhelming force. The barbarians' coastlines were basically unclaimed wilderness anyway.
[- -]
Just a month ago, Manavia Island had been gloomy and rain-soaked amid quelling a fresh rebellion. Now it bustled nonstop: ships docking and departing, soldiers and merchants streaming in and out, reborn as the hub of a grand pirate era.
The island's natives, who could barely speak a word of Latin before, had transformed into rough-but-serviceable Romans under Peredir's guidance. Watching them adapt to our culture and language day by day made me rethink the line between Roman citizens and barbarians. Not that it would happen, but... maybe the boundary between civilization and savagery isn't so wide after all?
[!]
"Magister militum, my report."
"Beduerus."
My most trusted blade, Beduerus, had taken two hundred legionaries and Peredir to the roughest sector. A string of islands stretching north. As our pirate raids from Manavia showed, islands practically forced you into plundering. Strip away the tear-jerking excuses and be blunt: raiding from islands was easy. No fuel needed, storm-proof—like an aircraft carrier. Using this base, we'd relentlessly hit the western and northern barbarian coasts, recharging fast.
It had only been ten days, two weeks since we started these grand pirate ops, and the haul—in gold and slaves—was already insane.
"Dominus Aril's intel on our forces has been spot-on so far. The western barbarians' coasts, barring Muwa, lack proper defenses. Galbaginus will have more details when he returns, but the northern isles resist even less."
"Is that so? Ha... unbelievable."
Purely from barbarian lands, without extra rampaging, we'd piled gold into small hills. Caesar paid off huge debts conquering Gaul—turns out barbarians weren't so barbaric. Well, they were: chopping heads for trees or burying foes upside-down in bogs. But their wealth? Not barbaric at all. Rich in precious metals, at least.
"Don't you prepare countermeasures when attacking? This defenseless?"
"They tried, but it wasn't enough. Didn't you drown or recruit their best warriors, Magister militum?"
"True, but..."
Peeling back the layers, they were better off than expected—made me angrier. Why not just trade for food? We'd planned meticulously with my lieutenants, day and night, for blitz raids assuming tough foes. But this? We were torching their coasts before I even needed to step in.
Beduerus's 1st Fleet with Frankish mercenaries wasn't just raiding the northern isles—they were conquering them. Galbaginus's 2nd, Caius's 3rd, and Wolfmaer's 4th had pushed past western coasts into rivers. At this rate, we'd hit the interior. Hereward's 5th with his 200 auxilia stayed as reserves—still green—guarded by my personal guard, Marcellus and thirty cataphracts. Training nonstop for deployment, but I had a feeling we wouldn't need ships much longer this year. Was this Zhuge Liang's vibe facing Zhou Yu? Why did heaven give such a fool...? Joke—I'm a Zhou Yu fanboy. Someday I'll unleash epic fire tactics to honor his soul.
"This expedition yielded metals like gold, iron, and brass on one ship. Slaves on three. Magister militum. One ship's worth were our Romano-Britons kidnapped last year."
"As expected. Not surprised."
"No standard coinage among barbarians, so they hoarded Roman gold or hid baubles everywhere. Some dubious, like golden crosses."
"Faith finds its way. The Lord's grace?"
"A miracle."
Beduerus cracking lame jokes meant things were that smooth. This war machine only thought battle—or wait, secret romance?
"..."
"...?"
Lecherous middle-ager.
"Enough on cross miracles. How're the Frankish pals?"
"...As expected. They fight well."
"And?"
"More disciplined than thought. Solid chain of command. Merowig knows warfare."
"Details."
"No reckless moves. Scouts first. No hesitation in assault, no needless slaughter. Always some on watch—never ambushed by reinforcements. Synced well with me."
"Usable."
"Yes, Dominus. Also dangerous."
This Frankish prince fights sharp. Centuries fighting alongside Rome, still holding the Rhine. Franks. A mere hundred showing that efficiency? Time to consider expanding foederati formally. If they block eastern Angles and Saxons...
"Keep watching. We knew they fight well. Curious how they hold in prolonged ops, harsh conditions."
"Three days' rest, then push farther north than cooperating isles. Peredir's recruited locals—no issues. We'll test then."
"Good. Let's."
Franks sorted, my mind turned to barbarians. We'd stripped western coasts bare, but pushing up rivers meant real tribes baring teeth. They'd rally warriors, fight or fortify. Advance? Or pause and watch?
"I'd love to crush them all, but..."
Problem: barbarians everywhere—west, north, east.
"Best moderate for now."
"Shouldn't we push Wall barbarians too, Dominus?"
"Right."
No reclaiming every Wall fort. Key ones, expand influence, secure Eboracum under my banner. Then north.
"Beduerus, after 1st Fleet wraps in three days, regroup. Leave garrison here, three fleets?"
"Wise, Dominus. Western powers linger—keep 600 legionaries ready."
"Rotate from Deva Victrix base, patrol Wall."
"As you wish, Magister militum. Discuss with Galbaginus, Caius, Wolfmaer on return."
"I'll write Comes Eturnus, Merlinus, and Comes Lot of Eboracum."
While we rampaged forward, rear wasn't idle. Barracks, training grounds, arms left empty—now churning fresh recruits as economy revived. Even few, our legions moved, Britain stirred.
Source: Hand-drawn. Copyright free... Late spring, early summer. A rough diagram of Romano-Britain's grand counteroffensive! This sequence kinda mirrors those Scandinavian Viking pals from original history 300-400 years later, but starting south instead of north.
Source: Also hand-drawn. Copyright free... Cute eagle under water drop emblem. That's roughly Avalonia's flag. The eagle below the drop becomes chi-rho or laurels in variants—legions will grow!