Marius' Mules

It is 58 BC and the mighty Tenth Legion, camped in Northern Italy, prepare for the arrival of the most notorious general in Roman history: Julius Caesar.Marcus Falerius Fronto, commander of the Tenth is a career soldier and long-time companion of Caesar's. Despite his desire for the simplicity of the military life, he cannot help but be drawn into intrigue and politics as Caesar engineers a motive to invade the lands of Gaul.Fronto is about to discover that politics can be as dangerous as battle, that old enemies can be trusted more than new friends, and that standing close to such a shining figure as Caesar, even the most ethical of men risk being burned.

57BC. The fearsome Belgae have gathered a great army to oppose Rome, and Fronto and the legions assemble once more to take Caesar's war against the most dangerous tribes in the northern world. While the legions battle the Celts in the fiercest war of Caesar's career, the plots and conspiracies against him, both at Rome and among his own army, become ever deeper and more dangerous.

It is 56bc. As Fronto and his friends winter in Rome and Caesar in Illyricum, trouble is brewing in the north. The tribes of Armorica, driven to desperate action by the harsh rule of Crassus, raise their standards in defiance of the Roman eagle, causing a chain reaction that threatens everything the legions of Caesar have achieved. Can the general's commanders stamp out the fires of rebellion before the whole of Gaul is ablaze?Meanwhile, in Rome, the conspiracies against Caesar take an unexpected turn, plunging Fronto and his friends into a world of crime, violence and intrigue that threaten everything the legate cares about. The city is in turmoil and the republic is teetering on the brink of disaster.In a year that takes the legions and their commanders to the heaving Atlantic Ocean, the treacherous valleys of the Pyrenees, and the seething underbelly of the greatest city in the world, everything is about to change for Marcus Falerius Fronto.

55BC and Caesar's army gathers in the north of Gaul, preparing to drive invading Germanic peoples from Gaul and to traverse the dangerous northern ocean bringing punishment to the tribes of Britannia for their assistance of Gaulish rebels.But Fronto's troubles don't stop there. As his burgeoning relationship with Lucilia steps to a new level, so do his responsibilities at home, a situation exacerbated by the disruptive influence of the villainous Clodius in the city, causing trouble and endangering those about whom Fronto cares most.With two troublesome new centurions, a selection of worthless and argumentative senior officers and the suspicious deaths of a number of notables, Fronto's year is about to take a turn for the unexpected.

54bc. As tensions build in Gaul and the druids manoeuvre the tribes towards general rebellion, Priscus and the diminishing senior staff of Caesar's army prepare to return to Britannia, this time with a vast army and a will to crush the tribes of that mysterious island.Meanwhile in Rome and with his ties to the general severed, Fronto contemplates a non-military future as he settles into the life of a married nobleman, socialising with Rome's elite and coming to terms with the decline in his fitness in recent months.In this year of rising troubles, Priscus will miss his former commander's presence more than ever, while Fronto will learn more than he wishes to of the great Pompey. With rebellious Gauls, defiant Britons, vengeful giants, veteran gladiators and dangerous criminals, Fronto is pushed to the limits, driving him to a decision he dreads and a battle for his very life at the steaming, hellish land of Hades' Gate.

It is the eve of destruction.Gaul seethes and bucks more than ever in revolt against the Roman invader, with even Caesar's allies beginning to question their loyalty. A conspiracy of Druids and Kings move the pieces into position in their great game of independence, all led by the powerful Arverni exile Vercingetorix. The lands of the Belgae burn in the vengeful aftermath of a winter that saw countless Romans butchered by the rebel Eburone King: Ambiorix.As Rome similarly begins to show its cracks and the triumvirate of powerful men that have held together the crumbling Republic move ever further apart, so Fronto returns to the army, once more seeking his command under the great general.But Caesar has made a vow to men and Gods alike to end the life of Ambiorix, and naught will stand in the way of that vow's completion - not Gaul, nor Roman, nor reason itself. As the world climbs towards the impending cataclysm, Fronto finds himself thrust with a small group of companions into the gloomy and dangerous sacred forest of his enemy in a hunt for the one man who can halt the general's wrath and fulfill Caesar's vow.

It is the winter of 53/52BC and while Caesar struggles with the chaos of a failing republic and recruits troops in Aquileia, Gaul's freedom fighters emerge, with a desire for Roman blood.This collection of three tales presents a sequence of events that takes place in the winter between Marius' Mules books six and seven... events that, while peripheral to the saga itself, will shape events to come, shake the republic, and herald the one thing Caesar's army have feared most: a full-scale revolt.Cenabum: The fire arrow - Caesar's chief quartermaster, Cita, encounters trouble with supply lines.Bovillae: The fallen eagle - Former prefect Paetus leaves Rome with revenge on his mind.Gergovia: Rise of kings - Priscus and his companions witness tumultuous events firsthand.

The pieces are in place. After many months of clandestine organisation, Vercingetorix, backed by the druids and leading an army of rebellious tribes, is ready to make his first moves towards independence for his people and the annihilation of Rome's presence in Gaul.Meanwhile, Caesar tends to business in Aquileia, unaware that he is cut off from the bulk of his army in the north by the rebellion. A desperate message brought to Fronto at Massilia spurs the forces of Rome into movement and Caesar is compelled to act in cunning and unexpected ways in order to recover the initiative.Fronto and his friends are heading for a clash of armies the likes of which the north has never seen, and the Tenth's legate is about to face his most trying year yet facing his opposite number - a chieftain of the Arverni - across the fields and hills of Gaul towards the greatest siege he's ever experienced: Alesia.

51 BC. In the aftermath of the dreadful siege of Alesia the tribes of Gaul lie broken and sparse, and yet the fires of rebellion still burn in the hearts of a few. As Caesar and his army continue to pacify the land wherever revolt can be found, a new conspiracy is rising.Lucterius of the Cadurci, survivor of Alesia, seeks to raise a new great revolt, building an army in his homeland while a small group of dangerous warriors embark upon a secret and dangerous mission to rebuild all that was lost in that great siege.Meanwhile, Marcus Falerius Fronto tries to adjust to life as a wine merchant in Massilia, little suspecting that old friends and new will soon be fighting alongside him as the last great threat from Gaul is brought right to his door.The final battle for Gaul is about to begin.

It is 50BC and Caesar winters with his legions in the north, all Gaul conquered but a triumphant return to Rome denied him by the senate who seek his blood. Yet unrest stirs in unknown lands as the tribes of mountainous Aquitania rise under a terrifying new leader and drive out their Roman occupiers.Marcus Falerius Fronto, exiled from Rome, seeks out his former commander in an effort to build a future and soon finds himself in command of a most unusual legion with a remit to restore peace in Aquitania. Accompanied by his friend Galronus and his closest companions, and as part of a deal with Caesar to help restore the Falerii, Fronto marches southwest to battle with mountain tribes who have remained largely untouched by Roman conquest and the revolt in Gaul.But sometimes the past casts long shadows, and Fronto is about to come face to face with enemies old and new; enemies who will bring him to the brink of destruction and force him to confront personal demons long buried.The legion is marching. The war for Gaul is over, but the war for Aquitania has begun.

The war in Gaul is over, but the fight for Rome is only just beginning. Denied his consulship by the senate and nearing the end of his term as governor, Caesar waits at Ravenna with one legion, making a last attempt at reconciliation. Threatened with prosecution if he returns to Rome, just one path is becoming clear: war against the senate.Fronto and Galronus are bound to the service of the Proconsul, facing a war against other Romans, and able neither to prevent nor avoid it. Caesar's path to safety will take them the length of Italy, and to familiar old lands in southern Gaul and Spain, where their friends and family now wait, believing themselves safe from hostilities.With a new officer stirring up trouble, Pompey and the senate defying them, a father-in-law busily incriminating himself and powerful Roman generals consolidating positions against them, Fronto and his friend are bound for that worst of all conflicts: Civil War.

It is 48 BC and Caesar is master of Rome, but Pompey is at large in the huge recruiting grounds of the east with a core of powerful officers, nominally representing the senate in absentia. As the general deals with matters in the city his army gathers at the coast, waiting to cross the sea and fight that worst of all conflicts: civil war.This will be no easy campaign for Caesar and his officers. Fronto and Galronus, both preparing to join the campaign, know that they will face appalling odds right from the outset, for Pompey's immense navy controls the seas, and the force he has gathered in the east will dwarf that of Caesar, commanded by shrewd officers like the great Scipio and the turncoat Labienus.From the bitter Adriatic Sea to the mountains and valleys of the Balkans, Fronto and his men strive to stop Pompey and bring the war to an end, heading for a conflict the likes of which none have ever seen. Hades awaits the legions of Rome on the plains of Pharsalus.

Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small force are trapped in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Caught up in the dynastic struggles of the House of Ptolemy, the consul has sided with the clever and ruthless Queen Cleopatra. Her brother and fellow monarch Ptolemy XIII languishes in the palace, a hostage of Caesar's, while a huge army under the command of the Egyptian general Achillas closes on the city to free him.With both the future of this ancient land and the safety of Caesar and his men at stake, Fronto and his friends face the terrible task of holding an unfamiliar city under siege, in the desperate hope that reinforcements will reach them before the enemy break in.But Egyptian reinforcements gather too, and with the interference of the youngest princess, Arsinoë, the future is far from written. Trapped, besieged and outnumbered, time is running out for the Romans, as shadows loom across the sands of Egypt

46 BC. Pompey is dead, Egypt is settled, and Rome is controlled by the loyal Marcus Antonius. As the new year looms, Rome's greatest general and dictator Julius Caesar moves precipitously to take on the last stronghold of the rebel faction: Africa.Crossing against all advice in the middle of winter, with minimal forces and little forward planning, the campaign almost dies before it begins, legions scattered across the sea by vicious storms, the general putting ashore with just a single legion and his most trusted veteran commander: Marcus Falerius Fronto.But the war in Africa is no easy task. Scipio, Cato and Caesar's one-time lieutenant Labienus have gathered an enormous force to counter him, and are prepared to fight to the death. With few troops, no supplies, little foreknowledge, and all the problems of a winter campaign, Fronto and Caesar face a monumental struggle, yet they know they must win for the prize in this campaign is nothing less than control of the republic itself. Rome hangs in the balance.

The war in Africa is over and the rebel cause hangs by a thread. With opposition to Caesar now led by Labienus and by Pompey's sons in Hispania, Caesar is one step from ending the civil war that has plagued Rome for years.Before the war can be pursued, though, Caesar has matters to attend to in Rome. And against a backdrop of glorious triumphs and civil friction, the general's old warhorse Marcus Falerius Fronto begins to uncover a series of events that may have a cause in common. Investigation, however, is sidelined as necessity finally draws everyone across the sea to the crucible of war once again.In Hispania the clouds gather, for though the rebels may have been pushed into a corner, they are far from beaten. With the great name of Pompey and the tactical genius of Labienus on their side, Caesar must fight hard to win the day. Fronto and his friends must give all they have now, for the prize for this campaign is the ultimate one: the republic itself.

The war in Gaul is over.The rebels are defeated.Now the battle for Rome has begun.