After he finished his speech, the general unsheathed and raised his parazonium that was one of the two he carried and shouted to his men below, “For the glory of Rome!” As the iron carving of the boar hung in the air for a moment, the general grew quiet, for he could hear the Caledonians war cries in the distance.
Though the war cries of the Caledonians were growing closer and closer, the soldiers only heard the echoes of their leader’s speech. Moments afterward, in unison Gaius and the men all raised their weapons and the Auxiliary bellowed, “For the glory of Rome!”
With that, the soldiers dispersed to where they were best suited. As the clamoring of the legionaries’ armor began to bombard the fortification, the men in iron gathered near the gate and prepared for the general to assign what formation they would utilize. The legionnaires in fur on the other hand, elevated to the walkways via the set of stone stairs. Hadrian noticed, as he rushed up the stairs, and toward his station, the fear in the eyes of the archers. When he arrived at his post, he stared down at the main gate, and saw the look on some of the men, some were calm, some held a face ensnared with fear. The centurions relaying the orders of the general held a calm resolve. He thought to himself, upon seeing the centurions, “Exactly what you would expect from individuals who had seen so much conflict, and bloodshed.” On the walkways of the wall, there were the oil barrels for coating cloths onto their arrows. With the piercing power of the arrows alone, and the added flames that would be ignited made for a truly deadly combination.
The men were all in position and awaited the command of General Tacitus. The archers readied their arrows from their quivers, and dipped them into the oil barrels that were nearby. The men below, with their swords drawn and armor gleaming, stood ready at the gate. After a moment that was riddled with the war cries of the Caledonians, the general raised his arm with a fist clenching his parazonium, and yelled to the archers, “Archers, unleash the barrage!”
With the aid of the torches that illuminated the fortress, they ignited their oil coated arrows. With a quick motion of their bows, the archers began shouting the flame tipped arrows at the Caledonians. With his bow drawn, Gaius readied himself for the counter-assault that he and his fellow archers enacted.
Igniting the night sky in a shade of red, the arrows failed to decimate the invaders. As they approached, more enraged than before, the general ordered the soldiers stationed at the gate to prepare to attack. As they gathered together in a group, with both gladius and shield in hand for every soldier, save for the general who wielded two gladius. In an instant, the iron of the legionaries was tested against the Caledonians.
The general bellowed to his men, “Wedge formation men!” At this, the men began to form a triangle with one man in the front with his shield raised and gladius raised towards the gate. After the men were in formation, the general shouted an order to the gatekeeper, “Raise the gate on my signal!”
