Chapter 1: Thunder in the Distance
194 BC. Emerita Augusta (Present day Merida, Spain) The sound of approaching drums in the distance. Thunder. On a clear day. The farmer paused from his work, wiping the sweat from his brow. Only now that he had put down his rake could he clearly hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Faintly. Though it was nearing. Such a clear day, with a nice cool breeze, not much humidity. There was nothing in the air to make the farmer expect a thunder storm or even a rain shower. But his ears were telling him there was thunder somewhere off... "Durius! Go to Avos, now! Tell him to bring in the goats straight away!" "Yes, papa!" the boy cried as he ran towards the meadow. He noted a sense of urgency in his father's voice he had not heard before. "And fetch the Falcata!" Down the hill he ran, towards the river where his brother was tending to the goats. The Falcata. He cant remember the last time he had seen his dad's...