The wind echoed in the legionari camp. The hour of nightmares had arrived as the half moon set it itself firmly in the sky.

Of in the far away distance of the cosmos, hundreds of stars lit the night sky as periodical clouds passed by and obscured the distant celestial spheres.

Mirius stood by the auxiliari tent, after all he had a duty to fulfill. The rest of the legion might have been brutes but if there was to be any sort of change it had to start at the individual level. He would lead them by example.

Besides, if any tent was at most danger it was the auxiliari. If the enemy camp did indeed attack, the legionaries could defend themselves. Not so much the band of seven slaves, all bundled next to each other in the cramped tent.

Mirius waited, he sat by the entrance of the tent scanning the horizon for any possible hostiles. Out in the rest of the camp everyone was soundly asleep, except for the Mastri's tent, whose legionaries walked about and patrolled the edges of the camp.

The other three equestri too seemed sleepless, as they meandered about close to their horses.

“Cowards.” Mirius said under his breath as he stared to three equestri, preparing their horses for an eventual emergency retreat from the camp, standing in a higher alert than the now sleeping legionary atop the shoddily built watchtower.

“Still awake?” A voice quietly asked from behind Mirius.

“Oh, hello Enna. Here to spit at my face again?” Mirius asked as Enna sat opposite to him in the ground.

“No, I just can't sleep.”

“You and me both.”

The duo said as both of them looked upwards to the starry sky and its distant nebulae and galaxies.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them as they both stared up, and against her better instinct Enna asked. “ So, think we are all gonna die?”

He let out a laugh as he heard her. “Nah, not while I'm here”

“Oh please” She rolled her eyes as she heard him. “Don't give me any of that righteous guardian crap. I know you legionari lot.”

“Think whatever you want. I'll still be here to protect you all if anything happens.” The equestri sat himself in a composed manner, looking far away into the distance as opposite to him, the auxiliari woman merely sighed.

The air was cold between them, the night had truly reached its zenith and under the dark clouds they could feel as if something was coming.

Enna crossed her legs as she turned to ask. “So...you said you were an auxiliari once. How did you get snatched?” A heavy tone permeated her voice as she tried to push away the thoughts of her own abduction.

“I don't...I don't really remember.” A crack formed in his composure as his pristine decorum began to slip away. “It was so long ago, I don't really remember anything from before the legion.”

“Were you taken as a child?” She asked in a rare showing of worry to a legionari.

“Yes. All I remember from before is...mountains and a village by a lake.” A chortle escaped from him. “I remember a comfy bed and a fluffy pillow and...I remember someone.”

She leaned forwards entranced by the memory of luxuries lost.

“I don't remember her name...” His voice cracked and his breathing became labored, as he tried to recall what he had lost. “Godsdamnit...I can't even remember her face.”

Tears began to form under his eyes as he tried to muster his focus to bring back the memory of love, but it was too much to bear. He brought his arms to his eyes and wiped them clean, swallowing the air as he brushed it all aside.

“It doesn't matter anymore.” He said as he quickly tried to change the subject. “I was taken as a child by the legion. And I was groomed and educated to one day lead.

To maybe even be a comandri one day.” He quickly recomposed himself and straightened his back.

“Is that so?” Enna said with an unusually soft voice. “How come you are just a jockey then?” A soft voice that quickly rearranged to her more scornful self.

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“Because my training isn't over yet, its rare for the legion to get young recruits. Most die or desert after a certain point.

Maybe once I have proven myself, I will get the chance to lead.”

Enna quickly turned herself around. “And I'm sure once you are leading you will do all those honorable changes you want to make...I'll believe it when I see it.”

“Hopefully sooner than later.” Mirius added with a slight smile, as Enna merely dismissed him.

They both returned to their nightwatch with each scanning the horizon, either for danger or opportunity but it all seemed unusually quiet, even for the silent plains.

“Didn't you say that there was an army coming?” Enna asked, unsure if losing sleep had actually been worth it.

“Not an army, a camp. And yes they should be here by now.” Mirius firmly grasped onto the side knife on his belt.

A cold wind ran down their spines. “Maybe you were wrong...” A noise ruptured throughout the entire camp and as they stood guard, both Mirius and Enna felt as a quick blur sped past them.

Both of them quickly rose up as they felt the cold wind crashing against them and as the blur moved away into the distance towards outside the camp, both Enna and Mirius realized it was a riderless horse.

“Something is wrong.” Mirius spoke as he quickly raised up and looked towards the stables where the other three equestri had been preparing to leave. “Oh no...”

Enna gasped as the grizzly scene revealed itself to them, horse and equestri now lay dead by the stables floor, the growing puddle of blood soaking the grass below them.

“They are already inside.”

“That's impossible, I don't see them anywhere.” Enna said as the clouds vanished and through the light of the moon, they saw the enemy legionaries scurrying about. Their profiles contrasting against the canvas of the tents, as the throats of the sleeping legionaries were sliced open. A few more quietly made their way while they stepped over the wooden fence and to their horror they saw as the mastris tent legionaries lay down in the floor strangled to death.

As they looked to the scene, a legionary looked up towards the two standing figures. His black and blue scarf flowed in the wind as Mirius became aware of his grave mistake.

It seemed to last an eternity, he wanted to talk to urge him to lay down his arms, but he knew better. He breathed in, mustered all of his focus, resolve and strength and as he quickly pulled Enna to duck down with him he screamed to the heavens.

“Alarm! We are being attacked! Alarm! Alarm!”

The camp erupted into a frenzy, as the alarm from the last remaining equestri quickly woke up the legionaries. The assassins flinched and took out their shortswords as throughout the camp legionari began to clash with legionari.

“To arms brothers!” The invaders screamed, as yelps and grunts left from the rudely awoken soldiers.

Tents were broken, torn and ripped apart as legionaries leaped to attack and fend off the surprise offensive. Pans, tools and all manner of varied assortments flew through the camp as they scrambled to push off their would be assassins.

“Come!” Mirius urged as he pulled on Enna's arm to the auxiliari tent

He threw open the tent flapps as the auxiliaries now too began to emerge into a dazed state as he quickly pulled and helped all seven slaves to their feet.

“C'mon, c'mon, c'mon quickly on your feet!” He urged them as the auxiliari quickly rose up and stood outside the tent, only for Mirius to re-emerge again and before any of them had even a chance to speak, he commanded them. “Everyone grab something, anything!”

Each of the auxiliaries quickly moved as they grabbed anything they could get within close reach: knives, pans, hammers, even sticks. As they did this, to his horror Mirius saw as two legionaries began to run towards them preparing to strike at the defenseless slaves.

His vision focused, the background became blurry and without even thinking, his left arm lowered towards his belt and from his side, he plucked his side knife and threw it at the face of the right sided assassin.

The blade pierced his forehead, lodging itself deeply into the now empty vessel as it collapsed into the ground, blood pooling from the helmet.

The right wing attacker launched himself forwards, descending down with a fierce and quick strike like a meteor piercing the sky. Yet the equestri was quicker, his right hand had already moved to his scabbard and he pulled it upwards, swiftly defending and blocking against the would be comet.

He struck again from the left, it failed, he struck from the right, it failed, he struck from below and he was parried away.

Mirius held his ground, always expertly holding the slaves behind him and blocking the assassin from reaching them. The wailing of his opponent became labored as he exerted himself and then, there it was, the opening.

As Mirius blocked, the enemy's grip diminished and the equestri expertly guided him extending his arm outwards as far as it could go, so that Mirius then quickly reeled himself in bringing his sword back, slicing and cutting against the exposed neck of the legionari.

The blade glided against the metal shoulder, cutting deep into the flesh and leaving a gushing trail of blood, as the legionari spirit left with it spreading itself onto the grass below.

Mirius looked behind for one second, making sure the slaves were still safe and seeing as they gathered behind him: tool, stick and rock in hand he raised his hand and screamed. “Three by three! Behind me! Men on the side flanks, young and old inside, back row watch behind!” The auxiliari fell in line as they entered into their emergency formation and once they were ready Mirius proclaimed. “With me!”

In the rest of the camp, the melee had begun to solidify as the surviving waking legionaries began to push back against the invaders.

The main entrance was overun, the left side of the camp struggled to fight back as they grouped under the shoddy watchtower, defending themselves with a hastily erected shield wall, while the right side had completely collapsed as the enemy forces regrouped.

Of the original twenty legionaries of the camp, twelve were now dead, only eight remaining together as well as with Mirius and the seven auxiliaries. While the enemy seemed to be down to about sixteen men.

The shield wall would not last forever, soon enough the enemy would finish their regrouping and they would collapse on the defenders.

A choice, had to be made.