sifax
Senator
I have decided to make an illustrated version of the story that I published a few years ago and that Hangnail kindly translated into English: The Sacrifice .
https://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/the-sacrifice-by-sifaxnumida.7105/
Maybe there are some small changes. I hope you like it.
The Sacrifice by Sifaxnumida
translated by Hangnail using Google
Our story begins on the German frontier, in the year 29 B.C. In response to continual barbarian incursions, the Legate Antoninus was given command of seven cohorts and ordered to cross the Rhine on a punitive expedition.
Antoninus knew it was a hopeless task, but he relentlessly destroyed everything in his path. Small farms and villages were razed and the survivors were crucified. It hardly mattered whether they were men or women, guilty or innocent. Antoninus was ruthless and gave his soldiers carte blanche to carry out mass killings.
After two weeks in enemy territory, Antoninus's troops came across a larger fortified settlement. Antoninus reckoned it held three or four hundred Germans and their families. Hoping for a good haul of plunder he ordered his men to attack, but the defenders fought valiantly. The Romans, tired out by weeks of marching, mounted several unsuccessful assaults and suffered the loss of several dozen men, dead and wounded.
Antoninus refused to retreat. He sent a request for reinforcements and while waiting for them to arrive he ordered the construction of assault towers, ballistae and catapults to lay siege to the settlement.
Days later, as the Romans were running low on provisions, the reinforcements arrived. The town's defenders watched in dismay from the battlements. That afternoon another seven or eight hundred legionnaires arrived, fresh and rested. Soon the siege machinery was ready for the assault. The Roman attack was imminent. Ardovistus, the German leader, decided it was time to sue for peace and requested a meeting with the Legate. With a truce agreed he issued the order to open the gates of the town.
"I will go alone," he declared.
The Legate Antoninus, surrounded by his banners and his officers, waited for him a hundred yards from the walls. He watched as the German leader approached him with no sign of fear.
"Have you come to surrender?"
"No, Roman, I am here to negotiate."
"You are in no position to negotiate. Tomorrow at dawn we will destroy your town. There will be no prisoners and if we capture anyone alive, my men will see to it that they regret having been born. However, if you surrender now, I promise to spare the lives of your people."
"I do not trust you, Roman. As soon as I let you in you will sell my people as slaves or worse! I know what you have done in other places."
"Impudent bastard! How dare you!"
"I know you can destroy us if you want to, but in the battle you will lose many of your soldiers. That will not please your superiors, Roman. It is better for you to reach an agreement with me."
Antoninus suppressed his rage. Ardovistus was right.
"What do you propose?"
"My people will submit to Rome and swear not to attack the Romans for twenty years. We will pay you tribute, up to a reasonable amount, but under no circumstances will we open our gates. The tribute will be deposited outside the walls. You will take it and you will leave with your troops."
Antoninus would have liked to kill the arrogant German right there, but again he was right. The weak point of the Romans was their provisioning. Feeding an army of more than a thousand men in enemy territory was not going to be an easy task.
"Very well, German," he said, swallowing his pride. "If you want me to spare your people you will have to pay fifty sacks of wheat, thirty barrels of salted meat and twenty barrels of beer."
"That is too much. Without those provisions we will die of hunger. We will not be able to survive this winter."
"You choose, German. Either you pay or you will all die tomorrow."
Ardovistus did not have many options left either, so he accepted the offer.
"Very well, we will give you what you ask," he said resignedly, and turned to go back to the stockade. But Antoninus continued to speak.
"Wait there, German, I haven't finished with you yet!"
"What else do you want, are you still not satisfied?"
"Oh yes, I am. The tribute satisfies Rome and therefore satisfies me. But my men also deserve a reward. They have fought fiercely and have lost many of their companions. They are terribly agitated and only one thing can satisfy them."
"I do not understand you, Roman."
Antoninus smiled cruelly. "For weeks they have not seen a woman. They are dying to conquer your village, and you can imagine why."
Ardovistus struggled to control himself. "Well, they will have to restrain themselves. Your soldiers are not going to touch our women."
"Certainly, not all of them. I'll be satisfied with only twenty."
"What?"
"Now you listen to me to me, German. Tomorrow at dawn I want you to leave tribute next to the gates, and along with it you will provide twenty young virgins for my men."
Ardovistus's blood boiled at this, but Antoninus went on talking, detailing his cruel demands.
"I want them to be handed over completely naked and with their hands tied behind their backs. And they'd better be pretty. If I don't like one, I'll give her back and I'll demand another five instead.
"You must be crazy, Legate. I told you you're not enslaving anyone in my town."
"Oh, they won't be slaves for long, I'll just keep them for twenty-four hours for my officers and soldiers. Each one will have to satisfy fifty of my men but at the end of the day I'll give them back alive... and satisfied."
Antoninus's retinue laughed.
Ardovistus was red-faced with anger, but he thought twice before answering. He had to save his people no matter the cost.
"How about more tribute," he said desperately. "Anyway the parents will not allow their daughters to be handed over to you. The girls themselves will not agree to it..."
"Oh yes, I'm sure they will. German women are sluts and never reject a Roman cock, I know from experience. Hey, some of them may get lucky and end up with a little Roman growing inside them!"
Again there was a roar of laughter from the Legate's men.
"I hope for your own good that you can convince them. You yourself will choose the eighteen girls."
"Eighteen? You said twenty before."
A cruel smile crossed Antoninus's face. "I've been told that you have two beautiful daughters. I want them for myself."
This time Ardovistus could not contain himself. He drew his sword and shouting with rage rushed at the Legate. Antoninus just barely evaded him and several soldiers caught Ardovistus and grabbed his sword. Ardovistus struggled furiously, restrained by four men, snorting like an animal.
"I'll make you pay for this! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"
Antoninus remained unperturbed.
"The girls of your tribe will satisfy my soldiers and your daughters will give me pleasure but there is one more thing. We also have to satisfy the honor of Rome and its gods and for that we have to make a human sacrifice."
As he spoke, the Legate took Ardovistus's sword and held it to his cheek, pressing until it drew forth a drop of blood.
"When I have enjoyed your two daughters I will decide which of the two will be sacrificed to Mars. The chosen one will die on the cross. The other one will be returned to you... almost intact."
Antoninus said all this through gritted teeth, and finished by slashing Ardovistus's cheek with his sword. Ardovistus uttered a cry of rage and pain.
"And now return this scum to his people."
The soldiers dragged Ardovistus back to the settlement while Antoninus admired the German's sword. The hilt was adorned with two coarse snakes intertwined. However, he did not want to separate a warrior from his weapon because that could be bad luck.
"Wait," he said, "give him back his sword. When he sees what we do with his daughters, he may want to take his own life."
The soldiers took the sword and the German chief to his village and threw him on the ground in front of the gates. Several Germans rushed to pick him up.
To be continued
https://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/the-sacrifice-by-sifaxnumida.7105/
Maybe there are some small changes. I hope you like it.
The Sacrifice by Sifaxnumida
translated by Hangnail using Google
Our story begins on the German frontier, in the year 29 B.C. In response to continual barbarian incursions, the Legate Antoninus was given command of seven cohorts and ordered to cross the Rhine on a punitive expedition.
Antoninus knew it was a hopeless task, but he relentlessly destroyed everything in his path. Small farms and villages were razed and the survivors were crucified. It hardly mattered whether they were men or women, guilty or innocent. Antoninus was ruthless and gave his soldiers carte blanche to carry out mass killings.
After two weeks in enemy territory, Antoninus's troops came across a larger fortified settlement. Antoninus reckoned it held three or four hundred Germans and their families. Hoping for a good haul of plunder he ordered his men to attack, but the defenders fought valiantly. The Romans, tired out by weeks of marching, mounted several unsuccessful assaults and suffered the loss of several dozen men, dead and wounded.
Antoninus refused to retreat. He sent a request for reinforcements and while waiting for them to arrive he ordered the construction of assault towers, ballistae and catapults to lay siege to the settlement.
Days later, as the Romans were running low on provisions, the reinforcements arrived. The town's defenders watched in dismay from the battlements. That afternoon another seven or eight hundred legionnaires arrived, fresh and rested. Soon the siege machinery was ready for the assault. The Roman attack was imminent. Ardovistus, the German leader, decided it was time to sue for peace and requested a meeting with the Legate. With a truce agreed he issued the order to open the gates of the town.
"I will go alone," he declared.
The Legate Antoninus, surrounded by his banners and his officers, waited for him a hundred yards from the walls. He watched as the German leader approached him with no sign of fear.
"Have you come to surrender?"
"No, Roman, I am here to negotiate."
"You are in no position to negotiate. Tomorrow at dawn we will destroy your town. There will be no prisoners and if we capture anyone alive, my men will see to it that they regret having been born. However, if you surrender now, I promise to spare the lives of your people."
"I do not trust you, Roman. As soon as I let you in you will sell my people as slaves or worse! I know what you have done in other places."
"Impudent bastard! How dare you!"
"I know you can destroy us if you want to, but in the battle you will lose many of your soldiers. That will not please your superiors, Roman. It is better for you to reach an agreement with me."
Antoninus suppressed his rage. Ardovistus was right.
"What do you propose?"
"My people will submit to Rome and swear not to attack the Romans for twenty years. We will pay you tribute, up to a reasonable amount, but under no circumstances will we open our gates. The tribute will be deposited outside the walls. You will take it and you will leave with your troops."
Antoninus would have liked to kill the arrogant German right there, but again he was right. The weak point of the Romans was their provisioning. Feeding an army of more than a thousand men in enemy territory was not going to be an easy task.
"Very well, German," he said, swallowing his pride. "If you want me to spare your people you will have to pay fifty sacks of wheat, thirty barrels of salted meat and twenty barrels of beer."
"That is too much. Without those provisions we will die of hunger. We will not be able to survive this winter."
"You choose, German. Either you pay or you will all die tomorrow."
Ardovistus did not have many options left either, so he accepted the offer.
"Very well, we will give you what you ask," he said resignedly, and turned to go back to the stockade. But Antoninus continued to speak.
"Wait there, German, I haven't finished with you yet!"
"What else do you want, are you still not satisfied?"
"Oh yes, I am. The tribute satisfies Rome and therefore satisfies me. But my men also deserve a reward. They have fought fiercely and have lost many of their companions. They are terribly agitated and only one thing can satisfy them."
"I do not understand you, Roman."
Antoninus smiled cruelly. "For weeks they have not seen a woman. They are dying to conquer your village, and you can imagine why."
Ardovistus struggled to control himself. "Well, they will have to restrain themselves. Your soldiers are not going to touch our women."
"Certainly, not all of them. I'll be satisfied with only twenty."
"What?"
"Now you listen to me to me, German. Tomorrow at dawn I want you to leave tribute next to the gates, and along with it you will provide twenty young virgins for my men."
Ardovistus's blood boiled at this, but Antoninus went on talking, detailing his cruel demands.
"I want them to be handed over completely naked and with their hands tied behind their backs. And they'd better be pretty. If I don't like one, I'll give her back and I'll demand another five instead.
"You must be crazy, Legate. I told you you're not enslaving anyone in my town."
"Oh, they won't be slaves for long, I'll just keep them for twenty-four hours for my officers and soldiers. Each one will have to satisfy fifty of my men but at the end of the day I'll give them back alive... and satisfied."
Antoninus's retinue laughed.
Ardovistus was red-faced with anger, but he thought twice before answering. He had to save his people no matter the cost.
"How about more tribute," he said desperately. "Anyway the parents will not allow their daughters to be handed over to you. The girls themselves will not agree to it..."
"Oh yes, I'm sure they will. German women are sluts and never reject a Roman cock, I know from experience. Hey, some of them may get lucky and end up with a little Roman growing inside them!"
Again there was a roar of laughter from the Legate's men.
"I hope for your own good that you can convince them. You yourself will choose the eighteen girls."
"Eighteen? You said twenty before."
A cruel smile crossed Antoninus's face. "I've been told that you have two beautiful daughters. I want them for myself."
This time Ardovistus could not contain himself. He drew his sword and shouting with rage rushed at the Legate. Antoninus just barely evaded him and several soldiers caught Ardovistus and grabbed his sword. Ardovistus struggled furiously, restrained by four men, snorting like an animal.
"I'll make you pay for this! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"
Antoninus remained unperturbed.
"The girls of your tribe will satisfy my soldiers and your daughters will give me pleasure but there is one more thing. We also have to satisfy the honor of Rome and its gods and for that we have to make a human sacrifice."
As he spoke, the Legate took Ardovistus's sword and held it to his cheek, pressing until it drew forth a drop of blood.
"When I have enjoyed your two daughters I will decide which of the two will be sacrificed to Mars. The chosen one will die on the cross. The other one will be returned to you... almost intact."
Antoninus said all this through gritted teeth, and finished by slashing Ardovistus's cheek with his sword. Ardovistus uttered a cry of rage and pain.
"And now return this scum to his people."
The soldiers dragged Ardovistus back to the settlement while Antoninus admired the German's sword. The hilt was adorned with two coarse snakes intertwined. However, he did not want to separate a warrior from his weapon because that could be bad luck.
"Wait," he said, "give him back his sword. When he sees what we do with his daughters, he may want to take his own life."
The soldiers took the sword and the German chief to his village and threw him on the ground in front of the gates. Several Germans rushed to pick him up.
To be continued