The Eagle of the Ninth

Finally, Marcus, Esca, and Guern reach Guern’s family’s huts. Stepping around a toddler in the doorway, Marcus greets Guern’s wife, who says that nobody needs an oculist here. He sits by the fire and notices details suggesting Guern is very well-off, namely his wife’s big bronze cauldron. Things still seem somewhat odd to Marcus, and the next day, he confirms that Guern isn’t all he seems. Guern announces he plans to shave, which the children watch, making Marcus smile—children everywhere are much the same. But as Guern shaves his chin, Marcus notices the unmistakable scar left by a Roman helmet.

Later, Marcus suggests he’d like to head west. The nearest village is two days away, so Guern offers to accompany Marcus and Esca, camp with them that night, and then return home. Sitting by the fire after their day of travel, Marcus asks about Guern’s service with the Eagles. Guern is gruff and clearly nervous, but he confirms Marcus’s suspicions. Marcus assures Guern he won’t tell any commanders and reveals his own brand of Mithras. Guern admits he recognizes Marcus—or rather, Marcus’s father. Briefly, Marcus explains his history and asks what happened to the Ninth Legion and the Eagle.

Speaking in Latin now, Guern explains that the Hispana had been cursed 60 years ago. They were tasked with taking down the Queen of the Iceni, and perhaps when she poisoned herself, it cursed the Hispana. Following this, it “never prospered” due to the rumor it was cursed. Everyone attributed misfortune to the curse, and eventually, nobody wanted to join. By the time he joined, Guern says, “the heart was rotten.” Emperor Trajan split up the Legion, asked too much of them, and then sent several thousand north to deal with the Caledonians. Those who went north figured they were doomed from the start, and the constant mist didn’t help anything. Tribesmen picked men off constantly, and the Legate didn’t fully understand the complexity of the situation.

By the time they reached an abandoned fort, Guern continues, they’d lost a thousand men. The tribesmen massed around the walls, killing more, until the soldiers asked the Legate to let them negotiate a truce and return home. When he refused, half the soldiers mutinied. Finally, the Legate tried to work with his men, promising to make a fair report to the Senate. But the soldiers knew the punishment would be “decimation,” or randomly choosing one man out of ten to be executed by the other nine. Angry soldiers killed the Legate and then began killing others with the tribes’ help. The remaining loyal soldiers, including Guern and led by Marcus’s father, raced south while the Painted People hunted them. Guern was injured and ended up in a hut, where his now-wife, Murna, cared for him. Nobody cared he was once a Roman soldier.

The Eagle, Guern says, went north with the tribesmen. It was with Marcus’s father the last time Guern saw it in Roman hands, and he saw no prisoners heading north. Marcus asks where the Eagle is now, and Guern agrees to give Marcus directions in the morning. Marcus lies down to sleep, feeling foolish for believing without evidence that his father’s Legion was good and righteous. Still, the Eagle is out there, and Marcus plans to recover it. The next morning, Guern points north and says that two or three days north, the coastal Epidaii tribe has the Eagle. He reiterates that Marcus and Esca will die if they go, and he asks why Marcus is going at all. Marcus insists it’s how he can honor his father, and he notes that he doesn’t think he can judge Guern for his actions. He and Esca ride away.