Unedited
‘Longinus’
Chapter one: Welcome to history
The wheat is dry
In a corner of the world a man focuses on his father’s field, on leave from the Praetorian Guard in Rome. Cassius Lepidus a soldier who has elevated through the ranks and has obtained the title of Tesserarius, a watch commander for the Roman Army. His work has been strenuous as the hours of duty increased over the past two years with the garrison forward north of Rome on a campaign to increase the Roman wealth.
The Praetorian Guard was created after the battle of Actium, the great Augustus retained five permanent brigades in and around Rome. They were valuable to the established power and senators in and around Rome. With all the legions deployed in far-off provinces, Augustus believed that these soldiers in Rome would deter any potential uprising or attack from outside or within Rome.
Keeping the city of Rome safe and his men on watch during this time has weighed on his mind, Cassius however enjoyed the moments home at his father’s villa. The wheat was stretching to the sun and turning gold, his father had taught him to farm, not to soldier. The divide between he and his father has caused many arguments, his father wants him to resign at the end of his contract with the army but Cassius has aspirations to become more than just a Tesserarius.
The pay was beneficial to Cassius’s family, he was paid one and a half times that of the customary legionary pay. Cassius was handpicked by Pontius Pilate for the honor and believed if he performed well that Pilate would promote him further through the ranks. He enjoyed the service even through the painful moments and the separation from his family. The constant troubles between him and his father didn’t help him mentally but he believed in a strong financial future and the pay was greater than earnings from his father’s villa.
Regardless of the army or his father’s desires, Cassius loved the warm feel of the sun on his face, the smell of the wheat in the fields and watching his son Decimus run through the vines of the grapes growing on the south side of the villa. Cassius kept his internal feelings about the love of the villa to himself. Cassius didn’t want his wife, son or father to use the truth and his feelings to convince him to leave the army. Cassius had a vision of life and in his retirement would enjoy the villa after he became a mighty general.
Cassius had proven himself in battle alongside of Pilate and Cesar as well. He was a loyal officer who understood the value of taking care of his soldiers. In his mind he was a gladiator in battle and a political master as he had learned the proper methods from both Pilate and Cesar. Cassius planned to return and govern the area after he retired and his father had passed. He concealed his aspirations for others as he did the love for the villa, Cassius was secretive about many things.
This year had been hard on the villa and the price of grain had been changed by the Senate in Rome. The need for the grain for the soldiers deployed was great and Cassius’ father Tiberius was being forced to sell eighty percent to the army and could not sell his grain on the open market as he had in the past. The control of the government over prices and commodities didn’t help the animosity he had toward Cassius.
