Valgus led them on a jog around the inside of the fortress wall. The pace felt good at first to Artorius. He thought he was in excellent condition, but as they made each turn along the wall the pace quickened. On the final stretch, they were nearly at a sprint. Artorius was gasping for breath by the end of the run. He looked over to see that his fellow recruits fared little better. Though Valgus was laughing out loud, he did not look pleased.
“By Apollo, how is it that you sorry lot can be winded after a mild jog? You are pathetic. Now get on your feet and start acting like legionaries, instead of like a bunch of whipped puppies.”
Without giving them time to rest, he had them run over to the parade grounds. There were several heavy balls made out of hide lying off to one side, each weighing about thirty pounds. He paired them up and had them throw the balls back and forth to each other as hard as they could. Artorius found this to his liking. He paired up with Magnus, and he found it amusing that he almost knocked him down several times with the force of his throws. Of course, he soon began to tire and several times dropped the ball. This, in turn, brought a sharp rap across the back from Valgus’ staff. He never said anything, he would simply smack a recruit sharply each time one of them dropped their ball. Finally, when it seemed like none of them could even hold their arms up anymore, he gave the order for them to stop and rest. Artorius’ arms felt weak and his legs wobbly. He was strong, but he did not possess the conditioning he thought.
Valgus ordered them to form up and marched them back over to the barracks. He ushered them into the main office. Each of them had just sat down when Signifier Camillus walked in.
“Good morning, recruits,” he said. “Today you will learn a bit about the history of the Twentieth Legion, our rank structure, and where your place will be within her.
“The Twentieth was first mustered more than forty-six years ago by the Divine Augustus. It was first stationed in Hispania and took part in the campaigns against the Cantabrians. Later it served under Tiberius in the Pannonia insurrection. During this campaign, the legion found itself cut off and surrounded. In spite of heavy odds, they managed to rout the enemy and make their way back to friendly lines.” He continued to lecture them on the history of their legion for a couple hours, at the end of which, in walked a man they knew immediately to be their centurion.
“On your feet!” Camillus called out, as he immediately stood up.
“At ease,” the centurion said.
On Camillus’ cue, they all took their seats.
The centurion was not very old, perhaps thirty. There was something about his demeanor, though, that commanded respect. He was not overly large in the frame, but one could tell just by his very aura he possessed incredible strength. His face bore several scars, as did his hands and forearms. Artorius thought, he probably has many more body scars, though I doubt if any are on his back. He also carried a short vine stick in his hand. Like the pole that Valgus carried, it was one of the symbols of his rank.
“Men, I am Centurion Platorius Macro, Commanding Officer of the Second Century. Currently there are seventy soldiers assigned to this century. Once you get through your training, that number will raise to seventy-four. You may or may not have heard about the upcoming spring campaign, and right now, we need every soldier we can muster. Therefore, your training will be accelerated in order that you may be able to accompany us. However, do not think this means your training will be any easier, or that you will be given less than the full measure of what you are expected to learn.
“I expect my legionaries to be fit, both physically as well as mentally. I need soldiers who can make tough decisions instantly on the battlefield and be physically able to carry them out repeatedly. I accept only the highest standards of discipline and conduct while you are on duty. In addition, know that I will hold you accountable for all of your actions, be they right or wrong.” He smacked the vine stick across the palm of his hand to emphasize the point. “Optio Valgus, they’re all yours,” he said as he left the room.
“Alright recruits, head back to your billets. Supper should be waiting for you. I also highly recommend that you each hit the bathhouse tonight; I don’t want you stinking up my parade field in the morning.”
Artorius looked outside and saw that the sun was setting. He did not realize how late in the day it was. He remembered they had not eaten all day, and he was very hungry. When they arrived back at their billets, he saw Statorius and the others had already made their dinner.
“Hey, here’s our babes back from their first day of training,” Praxus said as he motioned them towards where their food was cooking. There was the usual staple of wheat cakes, but there were also strips of meat, fresh fruit, vegetables, and wine. Artorius grabbed his tin plate and immediately started to pile on the food. He looked down and saw that his hand was trembling; he was so tired and hungry. Just being able to eat would be a joy and a relief.
“That’s one nice thing about the Roman army, you never go hungry,” said Valens, who was looking a lot more lively than the night before.
“Could have fooled us.” retorted Magnus. “This is the first we’ve eaten all day.”
“Oh, I don’t think that was intentional,” replied Statorius with a grin. “But with your training having to be accelerated, they have to cram a lot more into each day to make the most of it. I guess today they just forgot about breakfast.”
“You mean they don’t intentionally starve us to make us stronger?” Gavius asked.
“What a stupid concept,” Praxus retorted.
“Come off it, man, this isn’t Sparta.” Carbo piped in. He also was looking better than he did the night before. He was a bit pudgier than the other legionaries were and was red in the face, as if out of breath. He definitely did not look the part of a legionary.
“I thought the Spartans were the toughest people in the ancient world,” Gavius said.
“They were overrated,” Statorius said through a mouth full of food.
“You’re not kidding,” Carbo continued. “I mean, think about it. They starved their soldiers because they thought it would make them tougher. They even forced them to go on long marches without so much as shoes. Their only means of motivation was through fear. You screw up once and they cut your throat. Talk about an army with morale problems. Now look at us. Yes, there is the discipline that is required if we are going to succeed in battle. Believe me, I have felt the centurion’s vine stick more times than I can remember. However, there are also many benefits of being a soldier. Our pay, even at the lowest ranks, is certainly no meager wage. Moreover, it is consistent. Plus shares of any plunder. And they feed us pretty damned well.”
“Some of us more than others,” Praxus said, as he poked Carbo in the stomach.
“Hey, feed on my ass, you scrawny little sewage rat.” Carbo retorted as everyone laughed.
Just then, there was a knock at the door and Flaccus, the tesserarius walked in. “Statorius, just wanted to let you know your section has rampart repair tomorrow.”
“Where?” Statorius asked.
“Over by the North wall, there’s a section of wall on the rampart that’s falling apart. Vitruvius’ gang took care of all the stone cutting today.”
“No problem. We’ll get it done.”
As soon as Flaccus left, Artorius asked, “Do we get to help you with this detail tomorrow?”
“No,” Statorius replied. “You get to do more physical conditioning and training with Optio Valgus tomorrow. No need to worry, you will get plenty of time to build walls and roads and dig ditches soon enough. Alright, lads, it looks like we all have an early day tomorrow, so we’d better get some rest.”