The Die Is Cast--OR--How A Single Birth Changed History

Alea iacta est-"The Die Is Cast"
--OR--
How A Single Birth Changed History


Rome, August 20th, 700 AVC


“Is she alright? Is the baby alright?”a distraught Gnaeus Pompeius asked the doctor as he approached him. The screams and moans had finally subsided into a tense quiet. The women gathered in the atrium stopped their chatter. All waited to hear the answer from Athenaeus. Childbirth was a risky thing, and even if the baby came out healthy, there was no guarantee the mother would survive. It was for this reason that Pompeius had always made sure to hire the finest doctor in Rome. Athenaeus had learned his craft in Alexandria, and Pompeius had relied on him now for all three of his childbirth's and so he was fairly confident that nothing would go wrong. Still, even the best doctors could sometimes not prevent death, and Pompeius' tense nervousness showed on his face.




Pompeius had reason enough to be feareful. Julia had gone into labor earlier than expected. More worrisome however was that the cries had ended fairly quickly. This was unusual considering this would be Julia's first child, and her hips were not very wide. Given the context, the birth being over so shortly often spelled bad things.


Athenaeus, remaining calm and composed, addressed everyone, “Why don't you all go see for yourself? My dear friend Pompeius, I am happy to say that your wife's labor was easier than most, and both her and the baby boy are perfectly healthy”. At that moment, as if to confirm Athenaeus' assurances, little cries could be heard from the room. Athenaeus patted Pompeius on the shoulder, and began looking for a towel to wipe the sweat off his body.


“I must thank you, Athenaeus. You always come through.”


“Well with how much you are paying me, I figure I better come through or I'll soon be out of business in this city,” Athenaeus joked, wiping sweat off his face.


Pompeius made his way to the bedroom to see Julia. By now most of the Roman matrons present had already made their way to the room, eager to see the new baby and congratulate Julia. He overheard Cornelia Metella, daughter of Q. Caecilius Metellus Scipio Nasica (Metellus Scipio), wife of Publius Licinius Crassus, and friend of Julia from their youth, fawning over the baby.


“He's so beautiful”, she beamed as she took the baby into her hands and smiled at him.


“He is. Just try not to crush him,” Julia chuckled as she took him back.


She hardly finished her sentence before she was the victim of a tight hug from her aunt Julia. “You did a fine job my dear niece” she proclaimed proudly. “Your father will be proud of you when he hears the good news. He'll be even happier to know that now he has a grandson”.


“Thanks, auntie” Julia forced a smile. She'd rather not think of her father, Gaius Julius Caesar. Everything she did seemed to be in his shadow and for his benefit. She was first engaged to Quintus Servilius Caepio and then married to Pompeius to assist in moving along his political career. She was to deliver a son because it would secure his line would continue into the next generation. Her feelings or opinions never counted. Julia rightfully felt like nothing but a tool in her father's political machinations. She had never been allowed much freedom while living with her grandmother Aurelia Cotta, and had resented them for it. While she didn't particularly care much for her husband, at least Pompeius allowed her a decent amount of personal freedom, and truly cared about and loved her. That was more than she was willing to say for her father, and, from what she saw around Rome, more than most wives were able to say.


Pompeius made his way over through the crowd of matrons and kissed Julia. “How is he?” he asked affectionately.

“See for yourself,” she replied, handing him the boy. Pompeius gave the baby a warm gaze. The baby's brown eyes blinked back at him. The crying had died down by now and the baby gave a small smile as Pompeius whisked away his auburn hair. Soon Julius Caesar would adopt him, and while he would almost certainly be raised with Julia for awhile, there was a small sadness in knowing the child would belong to Caesar, and not him. He completely understood and backed the reasoning; he had two sons to carry on his name, while Caesar had none, but that didn't change the attachment he felt.



Dispelling his negative thoughts in what was supposed to be a joyful time, he instead turned to everyone else and held the baby up for them to see. There was a lot of oohing and ahhing as they fawned over the cute ball in front of them. The baby was perhaps a bit discomforted, for he began to cry again, which didn't make for a pretty sight. Pompeius brought him back down and handed him back to his mother, joking, “He'll make a good Roman I'm sure, but first he has to get rid of that shyness”

 
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Why hello there folks. SlyFox here! I'm back with another timeline. So before you start asking questions and berating me about my other timelines, my alter ego here would like to grill me first. Also, for those who don't know, AVC means "Ab Urbe Condita" or "From The Founding of Rome", which for this timeline is ascribed to 754 BCE (Others use 753 BCE as the start date for AVC)

What the fuck dude, you have two other active timelines!!

And this changes none of that.

Don't give me that crap man, you always say that!

Except this time, I mean it. I actually set up a schedule of what days I write which timeline and everything. I even already have updates for this and the other two timelines written up!

Fine, fine. Then why haven't they been posted yet?

Their time on the schedule hasn't arrived yet!

Whatever. Such a buzzkill.

That isn't a question...

Well anyway, what is this?

You can read you know that? Ugh. The POD is Julia and Pompey's child being born alive and Julia not dying either.

A child being born? That's your big POD?! Give me a break!

I'm done with you. Now shut up and read before I purge you from my mind.
 
Interesting idea looking forward to more.

What the fuck dude, you have two other active timelines!!

And this changes none of that.

Oh no you've come down with corditemanitus, its a highly contagious disease that spreads through reviews, symptoms include creation of multiple timelines at once and in a select few cases, obsession with the island of Heligoland.;)
 
Interesting idea looking forward to more.



Oh no you've come down with corditemanitus, its a highly contagious disease that spreads through reviews, symptoms include creation of multiple timelines at once and in a select few cases, obsession with the island of Heligoland.;)

Well it's a good thing I don't here an obsession with Heligoland. It would have been a lot of trouble fitting it in here.
 
Caesar having a biological grandson would be a huge POD.It's certain that Octavian wouldn't have ever been adopted by Caesar if this was the case.
 
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Caesar having a biological grandson would be a huge POD.It's certain tthat Octavian wouldn't have ever be adopted by Caesar if this was the case.

Oh but the effects are so much more than that and much more inmediate.;) I should also mention that there are two sub pods that will reveal themselves shortly.
 
Another question: Was Julius Caesar living too boring for you? :p

(I will nevertheless anticipate this.)
 
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Alea iacta est-"The Die Is Cast"


--OR--
How A Single Birth Changed History



Rome, August 20th, 700 AVC




“Is she alright? Is the baby alright?”a distraught Gnaeus Pompeius asked the doctor as he approached him. The screams and moans had finally subsided into a tense quiet. The women gathered in the atrium stopped their chatter. All waited to hear the answer from Athenaeus. Childbirth was a risky thing, and even if the baby came out healthy, there was no guarantee the mother would survive. It was for this reason that Pompeius had always made sure to hire the finest doctor in Rome. Athenaeus had learned his craft in Alexandria, and Pompeius had relied on him now for all three of his childbirth's and so he was fairly confident that nothing would go wrong. Still, even the best doctors could sometimes not prevent death, and Pompeius' tense nervousness showed on his face.






Pompeius had reason enough to be feareful. Julia had gone into labor earlier than expected. More worrisome however was that the cries had ended fairly quickly. This was unusual considering this would be Julia's first child, and her hips were not very wide. Given the context, the birth being over so shortly often spelled bad things.




Athenaeus, remaining calm and composed, addressed everyone, “Why don't you all go see for yourself? My dear friend Pompeius, I am happy to say that your wife's labor was easier than most, and both her and the baby boy are perfectly healthy”. At that moment, as if to confirm Athenaeus' assurances, little cries could be heard from the room. Athenaeus patted Pompeius on the shoulder, and began looking for a towel to wipe the sweat off his body.




“I must thank you, Athenaeus. You always come through.”




“Well with how much you are paying me, I figure I better come through or I'll soon be out of business in this city,” Athenaeus joked, wiping sweat off his face.




Pompeius made his way to the bedroom to see Julia. By now most of the Roman matrons present had already made their way to the room, eager to see the new baby and congratulate Julia. He overheard Cornelia Metella, daughter of Q. Caecilius Metellus Scipio Nasica (Metellus Scipio), wife of Publius Licinius Crassus, and friend of Julia from their youth, fawning over the baby.




“He's so beautiful”, she beamed as she took the baby into her hands and smiled at him.




“He is. Just try not to crush him,” Julia chuckled as she took him back.




She hardly finished her sentence before she was the victim of a tight hug from her aunt Julia. “You did a fine job my dear niece” she proclaimed proudly. “Your father will be proud of you when he hears the good news. He'll be even happier to know that now he has a grandson”.




“Thanks, auntie” Julia forced a smile. She'd rather not think of her father, Gaius Julius Caesar. Everything she did seemed to be in his shadow and for his benefit. She was first engaged to Quintus Servilius Caepio and then married to Pompeius to assist in moving along his political career. She was to deliver a son because it would secure his line would continue into the next generation. Her feelings or opinions never counted. Julia rightfully felt like nothing but a tool in her father's political machinations. She had never been allowed much freedom while living with her grandmother Aurelia Cotta, and had resented them for it. While she didn't particularly care much for her husband, at least Pompeius allowed her a decent amount of personal freedom, and truly cared about and loved her. That was more than she was willing to say for her father, and, from what she saw around Rome, more than most wives were able to say.




Pompeius made his way over through the crowd of matrons and kissed Julia. “How is he?” he asked affectionately.



“See for yourself,” she replied, handing him the boy. Pompeius gave the baby a warm gaze. The baby's brown eyes blinked back at him. The crying had died down by now and the baby gave a small smile as Pompeius whisked away his auburn hair. Soon Julius Caesar would adopt him, and while he would almost certainly be raised with Julia for awhile, there was a small sadness in knowing the child would belong to Caesar, and not him. He completely understood and backed the reasoning; he had two sons to carry on his name, while Caesar had none, but that didn't change the attachment he felt.




Dispelling his negative thoughts in what was supposed to be a joyful time, he instead turned to everyone else and held the baby up for them to see. There was a lot of oohing and ahhing as they fawned over the cute ball in front of them. The baby was perhaps a bit discomforted, for he began to cry again, which didn't make for a pretty sight. Pompeius brought him back down and handed him back to his mother, joking, “He'll make a good Roman I'm sure, but first he has to get rid of that shyness”


Gorgeous ! ;)

I would just dive you the advice not to have the adoption occur too soon. Remember that Caesar was then married to Calpurnia who was about the same age as his daughter Julia. So I think that Caesar would wait a few years Calpurnia not giving him a son before adopting his baby grandson.

But you are perfectly right in the principle. Pompey already had 2 grown-up adult sons. He, like other roman aristocrats, had interest in not having too many sons. Aristocrats who had too many sons often gave a son for adoption to another friendly sonless aristocrat.

This adoption could occur by 48/47 when the kid is grown to 6/7 years old, which was the age when boys left the custody of women.

Caesar could be peacefully back to Italy in the spring of 49. He could campaign in absentia with the support of Pompey and be elected to a second consulship with Labienus. And after 1 or 2 years, he and doctors could find out that Calpurnia could not give him sons and lead him to adopt his grandson.

You could also have an other kind of political mess than OTL. For example, Pompey could be murdered in violences opposing optimate supporters and Pompeian/caesarian supporters in Rome at the time, in late 50, when Pompey would back the election of Caesar. There would be a civil war, but without Pompey on the optimates's side.
 
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Another question: Was Julius Caesar living too boring for you? :p

(I will nevertheless anticipate this.)
Perhaps. :p More seriously, I can do a lot more with a POD this early.
...hasn't this been written already? With this exactly POD for another TL? :confused:
Has it?
Will be following this. (Incidentally, did this thread have a hand in this, by chance? If so, I'm glad to be of some small inspiration.)
Partially. It was also me having recently finished Adrian Goldsworthy's biography of Augustus, and currently reading The Last Generation of the Roman Republicagain. And it helped that my computer being down allowed me to work on another project while I tried to recover the files from my other two TLs
Very interesting subscribed
Why thank you. :)

Gorgeous ! ;)
:D
 
Alea Iacta Est

Syria, June, 701 AVC

The scorching summer sun beat down on Marcus Licinius Crassus as his horse trotted along, kicking up dust as it went. He wiped the sweat streaming down from his forehead, futilely it would turn out, since it was almost immediately replaced by more, almost like a soldier stepping into the open spot where his now dead comrade once stood, to prevent a hole opening up in the line. The heat was unbearable here, and he longed for time when he could return to the beautiful summers in his villa in Etruria. If only to exasperate his plight, there was no shade to take cover from the un-relenting sun. Just miles and miles of flat plains. There weren't even any clouds in the sky to give them some respite from the heat. At least he had the luxury of being able to take his helmet off; he shuddered at the thought of what it must feel like inside the helmets of those soldiers who kept them on. Most of them—well the smart ones anyway—kept them off, but they few insane ones who did must be getting their heads cooked in there.


Crassus squinted as he peered ahead. It was as much the massive dust clouds the army kicked up as it was the bright sun that forced him to to squint.


“It's the scouts,” his son, Publius Licinius Crassus, informed him, after squinting as well.


“Good. Hopefully this time the scouts actually have something useful to report to me” Crassus remarked. The scouting Egnatius had been doing had so far came upon nothing but sand, sand, and more sand. He figured he'd send them out another scouting party in a couple hours, and then another before dusk, just to make sure nothing was missed, or at the very least to find a decent position to set up camp for the night. He didn't expect Egnatius would have anything useful to tell him.


Egnatius and his scouts slowed their gallop to a trot as they traveled along the side of the marching column towards Crassus. They were a motley bunch. Loose fitting clothing prevailed on all of them, and not a single one was wearing armor. Crassus didn't have much of a problem with that—they were doing a good service to him and he understood as much as everyone here the hot conditions they were all suffering from.


“What's the report Egnatius?” Crassus addressed his military tribune. He had no care for pleasantries on the march and preferred to get right to the point.


“You'll find I have something important to say for the first time on march”


“Is that so? ” Crassus raised an eyebrow.


“Indeed it is. We spotted a Parthian army, all cavalry about a few miles from here. We estimate it's about ten thousand strong.”


“This is the same force whose tracks you came upon a few days ago, yes? Did you get into any trouble with them?” Crassus wanted to know if the Parthians were aware of his presence. If they weren't, then he had the advantage and could deal a blow to the Parthians before they knew he was even around.


“Nope, no trouble at alldominus. You can see them from half a mile out easy, they aren't that hard to miss. Though if you're wondering if they saw us, it would have been pretty hard for anyone looking in our direction not to”


“It must be Surena's men,” the Osrhoene King Ariamnes intervened. “It's an advance force, they won't be much trouble if we pounce on them.”


Crassus sighed. Publius andthe quaestor. Gaius
Cassius Longinus wanted to ask more questions, but Crassus dismissed the scouts. He was relieved to see that there was at least some Parthian army in the vicinity. That might mean Orodes abandoned his invasion of Armenia. This might be the advance force, as Ariamnes suggested. If that was the case, they probably weren't prepared to meet him.


“Now that we know where the Parthians are,” Cassius interrupted his train of thought, “We should set up camp and call it a day. We need to make sure our men are rested and cooled off. We have the advantage here, so we can afford to take our time”. Before Crassus could reply, Publius shot back at him.


“And lose the initiative? If they are only 10,000 men, they aren't prepared to fight us. Tomorrow there might be 30,000 more men that joined them, and then our advantage is lost.”


“And if that is the case, then we should march north to join up Artavasdes and move on Parthia from there.” He turned to Crassus, who was carefully listening to the debate unfolding, adding, “You read the letter from Artavasdes. Why should we not heed his call to stick to the hills and mitigate the effectiveness of their cavalry?” Ariamnes chose this moment to enter the argument.


“Leave the military planning to those who know how to command an army, quaestor. Your commander was right when he called Artavasdes a traitor for backtracking on his promise to join us with his full force. You so readily trust this Armenian, who has never given on ounce of service to your state, yet you are unwilling to trust my judgement, despite my serving Rome since the days when Pompeius Magnus made his name in the east”Cassius opened his mouth to reply, but Crassus cut him off.




“Enough men. This isn't up for debate. Do you see me giving orders to the army to stop? No? Good. Now unless you know anyone else here who has the authority to do so, then I believe we are continuing to march. That settles that debate rather nicely, doesn't it?” Crassus paused, waiting for anyone to challenge him. “Well then. Cassius, Octavius, start going down the line, give directions to the tribunes and centurions to prepare to halt and file into battle formation about a mile from here. Nothing fancy, just simple battle formation. Thank you, now get out of my hair.” Ariamnes sat still for a moment, before declaring his intentions.


“I'll go ahead with my men to get a better look at the army ahead of us. Surena is not aware that I am in your camp, so I can get closer than any of your men can. I might be able to lead them into a trap too, if you so wish.”


“That won't be necessary,” Crassus responded, looking at him with a slight bit of suspicion. Something seemed off about the man, and after Artavasdes' treachery, he began to question his loyalty too. For now though he had nothing more than his gut feeling, and he could use more reliable and detailed information right now.“An ambush, I mean. Go ahead and do some scouting of your own, just don't get into any trouble”

Ariamnes let loose a small smile before trotting off to gather his own small retainer force. Before he could reach them however, Cassius pulled up beside him.



“Do you not think I don't know what you are doing?” Cassius questioned him.


“You'd be best to address a King as is proper.”


“I pay no heed to monarchs. It is degrading enough that I am forced to address you as an equal and not as the small bug you are in relation to the power and might that is Rome”


“Rome may have all the armies, but I do not believe you are in command of any of them, quaestor”--he enjoyed degrading him by emphasizing his low status-- “and so you'd do best to treat me as the superior I am. I am after all, the one guiding this army”


Cassius by now had had enough and ripped into him.


“Guiding our army? You have been nothing but a menace to this army, persuading Crassus to pour his army into a great yawning wilderness and to follow a route that is better fitted for a captain of Arabian robbers than for a Roman imperator?”


“Do you think that you are marching through Campania, quaestor?” Ariamnes chided him as a father might talk down to his son; “ Are you longing for the fountains and streams there, and the shady places, yes, and the baths and the taverns?” Cassius kept quiet as Ariamnes continued; “Oh, no, you must remember that the country you are going through the border land between the deserts of Assyria and Arabia. And last time I checked, I am the only person here who knows every last detail of this land.”

Cassius moved to open his mouth, but Ariamnes shut him down.



“I'm not finished quaestor. You act like you know this land better than I, like I am purposely leading you astray. This isn't Campania anymore quaestor, there aren't waterways streaming everywhere you go. I am advising your commander in the best way I know how, providing him with the best path to Seleucia I know. You'd do best to let me do my job and follow the directions of a man who actually knows where he's going.” Ariamnes stared Cassius down, practically daring him to attempt a rebuttal. The Roman quaestor was on to him, but he hoped with his impassioned and patronizing tirade he had led him astray.


Cassius, for his part, knew he was beaten. He still didn't trust Ariamnes in the slightest. That suspicion would only leave when he came through on his promises and the campaign was a success. There was not much that he could say in response however, and after lingering for a few moments, he angrily galloped off to fulfill Crassus' orders. Ariamnes, satisfied at his deception, gathered his men and slipped away to join Surena.


---------------

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Lucius Tremellius and Quintus Ennius

Centurion Lucius Tremellius began strapping on his helmet as he prepared to give the orders for the 3rd cohort to form up once more. He had avoided doing so for the entire march. The air was too hot as it was without it, but there was no way to get around wearing it now. It was a bit perplexing, for they had already formed up in the center of the second line only an hour before. Now they were being ordered along across the line to form up on the left flank, facing not towards the front but to the flank. From the looks of it, they appeared to be forming a sort of hollow square. Tremellius didn't much care what they were doing, as long as it worked. He trusted his superiors enough to believe that whatever it was they had planned, it would work. His optio Quintus Ennius on the other hand...


“The commanders always know best right?” Ennius proclaimed sarcastically.


“I'm sure Crassus knows what he's doing. You heard what the locals said, perhaps he's taking precautions to guard against” Tremellius responded, trying his best to ignore him.


“I'm certain too that forming an immobile box is the best method to make us mobile enough to adapt to what we've been told”. Was he really the only one in this whole damned army who didn't trust the military capabilities of a sixty year old man who hadn't seen combat—and even then, merely against slaves no less—in two decades? He wasn't even charismatic like Caesar. Come to think of it, serving under Crassus wasn't anything like serving under Caesar. It was like serving under a lion and then having that lion replaced with fox. Except in this case, the fox was old and had outlived his usefulness.


“Enough, Ennius, you're out of line.” Ennius opened his mouth to say more, but decided against it. Tremellius wondered daily how the man ever ended up becoming an optio almost as much as he wondered why he was the one stuck with him. The man was a drunkard with no discipline to speak of. He didn't even enjoy ordering people around, something Tremellius would have expected from someone of his character. His only saving grace was he was one hell of a fighter. Tremellius would be hard pressed to find anyone in the IIIrd who'd be willing to take him on in a fight, much less one that could actually beat him. That was why he was stuck with him now that he thought about it. The man simply was un-killable. It wasn't all so bad he guessed. It was that one positive quality in the sea of bad that had kept both of them alive in Gaul after all. Ennius had saved his life on a few occasions in the heat of battle.


That was not important right now. What was important was that not too long from now, they'd all be in battle and nothing else will matter except everyone's fighting prowess. With that in mind, Tremellius took comfort in knowing that he had a fighter like Ennius on his side.


Tremellius stared out across the dust plain as the troops gathered. It truly was a remarkable sight, seeing the soldiers all line up, thousands upon thousands of them, armor glistening in the sunlight, kicking up dust.


“Beautiful isn't it?” he commented to Ennius.


“You know what I think is beautiful?” Ennius turned to him with a devious expression.


“No, Ennius, I don't believe I don't.”

“The sight of my enemy's guts spilling out on the ground in front of me.” He chuckled before adding, “And of course...a naked woman.” Tremellius tried his best to ignore him, merely turning his head towards the sky, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction. Not that it mattered since a couple of the legionaries standing next to them grunted their approval.



“What, too much for you?” Ennius smiled, giving Tremellius a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Lighten up, Tremellius, you might as well have some fun right before you're about to die”


“BUM! BUM BUM BUM! BUM!”

“What in Hades?” Tremellius heard a soldier near him say. Tremellius had the same question.



“BUM! BUM BUM BUM! BUM!....BUM! BUM BUM BUM! BUM!”


“War drums!” Tremellius heard one of the staff officers yelling out.


“Leave it to the officers to state the obvious,” Ennius muttered.
“Perk up men, we are Romans! Only cowards let a little loud noise rattle them!” the staff officer continued.

“I bet this man was quite the orator back in Rome” Ennius commented.



“Must have learned his craft from Cicero himself,” another added. That got a few nervous laughs. It was the least the soldiers could do to keep from shitting themselves in the run up to battle. Tremellius even chuckled a bit at the remark.


Neither Tremellius nor his men could see the Parthian cavalry from their flank, and they could only guess at what was going on. Far from helping, that only made them more nervous. At least the people at the front could see what was going on, even if they had to face it first. Though it didn't take long before he heard what was going on.


“They're charging! They're charging!”

“Romans, brace for impact! Shields at the ready!”



The soldiers looked around nervously, many turning their glances towards Tremellius to see if he would also order them to brace. Tremellius himself wasn't sure what to do, since the charge was likely coming at the front of the line by the sound of it, and his cohort was on the flank. He glanced around at the other cohorts, who seemed equally unsure. Then, one by one he saw them bracing too.


“Legionaries, shields forwaaaarrrd!” he shouted, loud enough for all to hear. “Pila at the ready!” If they were going up against cavalry, a gladius would be pretty useless.


At that moment, he saw horse, followed by a massive dust cloud, galloping past, merely 200 yards from his line. He immediately recognized what was happening.


“Brace for arrows!” he shouted. He could hear some of the other centurions—well the ones smart enough to know what was going on—warning their legionaries of the same danger. Some of them didn't heed the warnings-he heard cries of pain as some of the arrows found their target.


“What was it that the Spartans said at Thermopylae?” Ennius asked, huddled behind his shield.


“Tonight we dined in the shade,” Tremellius replied, understanding the connection.


“I'm not sure if they can blot out this sun, but they're damn well gonna try”

“Advance legionaries!” Tremellius paused a second to make sure he heard right. They wanted them to advance?


“They must be fucking joking,” Ennius spoke exactly what Tremellius was thinking. Tremellius paused before giving the order—a volley hit hime—and then he reluctantly ordered his legionaries to advance.


“God damned, our commanders are stupider than I thought if they think we can chase them away.”


“For once, Ennius, you said something intelligent”


“Everything I say is intelligent.” Ennius commented without a shred of irony.


Predictably, the horsemen withdrew. Much to Tremellius' surprise, they fired at them as they retreated. The first time this occurred, Tremellius was caught completely off guard, and many of his men got caught with their shields down, still jogging forward. Those who didn't die quickly wised up.


This continued for what felt like hours, but was likely no more than one, before they were finally ordered to sit still once more.


“Great, now we're back to being sitting ducks,” one of the soldiers commented.


“Better sitting ducks than a deer running towards a hunter” Ennius retorted sharply. That shut the man up for awhile until the poor sod took an arrow to the leg, and after collapsing, took another in his neck. Ennius did him a favor and put him out of his misery at his request. Now nobody had to hear his cringing cries.


“How many fucking arrows can they carry?” Ennius commented out of frustration after doing doing the bloody deed.


“1st, 2nd, and 3rd cohorts of the third legion, pull back to the center, you're being relieved!” an officer, probably a military tribune, shouted. A horn sounded, and Tremellius gave the order to open lanes in their ranks for the cohorts from the center to move forward while they cautiously backed up, shields still pointed forward as the arrows rained down. Many of the soldiers—Tremellius was certainly among them—were happy to finally be relieved. Tremellius expected ulterior motives. It didn't take long for his suspicions to be confirmed.


What Tremellius did not expect, however, was to see Publius Crassus himself address the men from the head of his cavalry.


“You, brave Romans, are with my cavalry. We are going to head out and chase away the Parthians reigning down arrows on us to give our comrades some relief and hopefully end this battle! Follow me men!” Publius pointed his lance forward and galloped out at the head of his cavalry, with Tremellius and the other infantry following behind.


“They're conjuring up all kinds of bloody ways to kill us today aren't they”


“Well then today is your lucky day Ennius,” Tremellius commented. Ennius looked at him perplexed. “You might just get to see the beautiful sight of your own guts.” Tremellius chuckled at his own joke.

“It's a shame we probably won't live long enough for me to teach you some better jokes.”



By now, as he marched out of the safety of the square and his walk turned to a jog, Tremellius figured how much longer he could last under this heat. He was almost more worried about heat exhaustion killing him at this point than a Parthian arrow.


That quickly changed when an arrow whistled past his him. Others weren't lucky enough to get the second chance to shift their shields over to deal with the threat for the second volley. Tremellius counted himself lucky.


“Shields! Shields on your right!” Tremellius felt he didn't even need to say it, as anybody who hadn't already put up their shield was probably dead or writhing in pain right about now.


“They're fucking shadowing up from the flank!” Ennius observed.


“Thanks, I couldn't tell” a soldier intervened sarcastically.


They continued marching forward, and then Tremellius saw a disturbing sight in front of him. Behind a cloud of dust came what appeared to be Roman cavalry with the Parthians hot on their tails. Tremellius reacted quickly.


“Halt! Halt! Brace for the charge!”the legionaries halted at once and braced for what was to come.


“Fall back, fall back!” Tremellius could hear someone, perhaps Publius, shouting from up ahead.


“Hold the line men, we can start backtracking after they hit us!” Tremellius calmed them. The charge through many men back a few feet or flat on their backs, but the Roman line held. Many of the Roman cavalrymen couldn't get out of the way, and what ensued was a massive brawl. It was hard to keep formation, but the Parthians appeared to be pulling back, having not intended to getting into such a melee with Roman infantry. Tremellius himself was slowly pacing backwards with the rest of the men when he spotted a man on a horse dressed in officer garb struggling to fend off a few cataphracts surrounding him. Always quick thinking, Tremellius jumped into action.


“Ennius, with me!” he grabbed his optio and broke rank to rescue the officer. Immediately Tremellius realized how bad of an idea this was. A mace whirred over his head as he ducked in time to avoid it. Ennius had his back, grabbing the man on the horse and pulling him down, dispatching him while he lay on the ground. By now they were joined by others who had also broken rank, if only to save what must have seen like their now insane centurion and his equally insane optio. The officer himself was now fighting on foot, his horse whinnying in pain next to him. Tremellius and Ennius fought their way too him. He had a slash on his shoulder but was otherwise fine. Ennius jerked him behind them and together, now with the help of at least a dozen others, they fought their way back to their main line.


“I owe you one comrades,” the officer thanked them. Tremellius took a quick glance at him before returning his attention to the fighting retreat. It was only then that he realized what he had done.


“No trouble at all, Publius Licinius Crassus,” apparently Ennius had also recognized the officer they just saved.

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Gorgeous ! ;)

I would just dive you the advice not to have the adoption occur too soon. Remember that Caesar was then married to Calpurnia who was about the same age as his daughter Julia. So I think that Caesar would wait a few years Calpurnia not giving him a son before adopting his baby grandson.

But you are perfectly right in the principle. Pompey already had 2 grown-up adult sons. He, like other roman aristocrats, had interest in not having too many sons. Aristocrats who had too many sons often gave a son for adoption to another friendly sonless aristocrat.

This adoption could occur by 48/47 when the kid is grown to 6/7 years old, which was the age when boys left the custody of women.

Caesar could be peacefully back to Italy in the spring of 49. He could campaign in absentia with the support of Pompey and be elected to a second consulship with Labienus. And after 1 or 2 years, he and doctors could find out that Calpurnia could not give him sons and lead him to adopt his grandson.

You could also have an other kind of political mess than OTL. For example, Pompey could be murdered in violences opposing optimate supporters and Pompeian/caesarian supporters in Rome at the time, in late 50, when Pompey would back the election of Caesar. There would be a civil war, but without Pompey on the optimates's side.
All good points that I'll be sure to keep in mind. Thanks for the info, particularly on Roman adoption. I think you'll be pleased with what I have in store for this timeline.
 

takerma

Banned
So Publius Licinius Crassus lives. Roman Cavalry is wiped out but now Crassus will not act stupid and formation should hold. Tactical Parthian victory but Romans should be able to retreat in good order.
 
interesting.
Though I would ask who is throwing Alia? ;)
Fortuna herself of course.
Interesting so far.
:)
So Publius Licinius Crassus lives. Roman Cavalry is wiped out but now Crassus will not act stupid and formation should hold. Tactical Parthian victory but Romans should be able to retreat in good order.
Weeeelll...the Romans did retreat in good order OTL. The disaster came during the scruffle at the ceasefire meeting with Surena. The effects of Publius' survival are more...a little down the road rather than immediate.
 

takerma

Banned
Ack my bad. So either the meeting goes differently or does not happen otherwise he will be dead there anyway. Perhaps he can take control of the army once Crassus is killed
 
Ack my bad. So either the meeting goes differently or does not happen otherwise he will be dead there anyway. Perhaps he can take control of the army once Crassus is killed
I'll say this because I don't want to give too much away: The Romans lamented the death of Publius perhaps moreso than Crassus because it was widely believed that he was slated for a very successful political career.
 
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