Domina Victrix

Chapter 65: 29 AD, Antioch, Alexandria, Capri, and Ceasarea

Bricius approached the stone altar in the little chapel to Epona near the stables. A crowd was gathered outside. Men from two Legions, three full Auxillia, and supporting units clustered around the building, many praying audibly, others queueing to light lamps or candles, or make offerings. A kneading trough and jug were near the door. The platter was filling with peas, beans, grains, bits of bread or cheese. The jug held wine, milk, oil, beer, and other liquids. Food offerings were a common means to appease most gods, but he had no doubt that these items were sending a different message tonight.

Men depended on their units for three main things, pay, food, and medical care. A man's pay provided for his family and helped to make his life more bearable. Dysentery and food poisoning could fell an entire army, so wholesome food was vital. Medical attention in case of an accident, illness, or injury was a life need. In speaking up, Junior helped safeguard all three. Anerin brought a small leather bag.

"What's left of his hair and adornments," the Arverni whispered. "He asked if I would burn it on the altar or give it to you or Camalus to do it if I couldn't. He thought the pieces of his earrings and the hair ornaments should be placed in the River but Gallinus thinks they can be reworked."

Bricius took the pouch and lifted out parts of braids, strands of hair, and fragments of jewelry. Appia had had dark, wine-red hair, but she had loved her son's red-gold curls. She would be pissed right now. Shearing a Celtic man's hair was a sign of domination and servitude if done against his will, as this had had to be. Thankfully, at the infirmary, Anerin and Marius had been in the room and explained to Junior why his hair had to be shorn to treat his injuries. Marius gave Junior the bag as a firm but kind signal of what would be happening, and he had the almost impossible task of clipping the twisted wires of the broken earrings and removing them from swollen, bleeding skin, then inserting smaller rings to keep the holes open. Junior put the jewelry pieces and hair in the bag as Anerin worked the shears. Dazed with a severe concussion and in terrible humiliation, fear, and pain, he remained polite and cooperative with Miklos and Decius Crispinus as they treated him, defying the notions of a hostile and out-of-control Celt.

"How is he now?" Bricius asked.

"He knows those two men didn't make it," Anerin said. "The man with the broken arm died in the next bed over as we were working on Junior. He took it really hard. But he's just glad his ears aren't torn and he's not ruptured down there."

That, too, would have been another humiliation. Celts taken into slavery often had earrings or torqs ripped out of or away from their bodies, and remained maimed their entire lives. The resulting scars were seen as yet more evidence of their wild nature, which had to be broken out of them by any means possible, including mutilation. Celtic men in particular were looked upon as oversexed, vain braggarts who cared too much about their looks and they were often stripped in this way, as Vercingetorix had been during Caesar's triumph, violating their dignity and cultural beliefs. Disfigurement followed them to the afterlife, so it was not just about vanity, but few people understood the distinction.

Bricius placed the hair on the flames of the altar and watched it burn. The ceremony was long over but the men contined to line up. Anerin brought the two containers in and poured their contents on the fire of the altar. Bricius carried another jug and plate outside and encountered Primus Pilus Rufio.

"There's a bigger crowd at the main chapel," the old man said.

They both knew why. In taking the eagle feathers and bringing Bolt's name into the inquiry hearing and the attack, Polcher and Poplicola had insulted the warrior who embodied the sacred Aquila of the Twelfth, Young Marcus himself. Eagles were revered by Celts, as well, but a man of uncommon renown and bravery was someone directly in touch with the divine in both cultures. Given his encounters with eagles and his ability with horses, Bolt would have been seen as a type of shaman or seer back home. To the men of his first Legion, he was simply a legend. Bricius went to the main chapel and made an offering to the honors of the various units before going to the infirmary.