Legionary

Chapter 39

Valens waved away his candidati as they rushed to his side. They looked on anxiously as their emperor strode to the palace stables in non-ceremonial full battle gear.

‘No, wait a few moments, then follow behind me,’ he barked. He mounted his prize stallion, his functional if rather unbeautiful armour clanking as he did so. As he made to ride out of the palace grounds, he stopped in thought, before turning again to the candidati. ‘Muster a fifty and bring them to the senate building, but give me a head start.’

Spurring his horse into a trot, the candidati hastily opened the front gates of the palace to reveal the Augusteum — the ornate square punctuating the heart of the city. A continuous roar rippled overhead from the nearby Hippodrome where the spring games had begun. The crowds swarming at the square-side markets outside parted. As he cantered through them, his people either stared up at him in awe or pumped a fist in the air, crying a salute. Valens had no business with the people of Rome today. Today the senate would be the focus of his attentions. By dusk they would know that one man alone ruled the empire.

He looked up as they approached the senate basilica on the eastern side of the Augusteum; one senator was lazily sipping wine by the marbled doorway, laughing as he watched two beggars fighting over scraps of bread. When the rabble of the citizens following Valens reached him, he glanced up. His eyes grew saucer-like as they locked with those of Valens and he hurled his half-empty cup to the floor and bolted off back into the senate chambers. Two urban guards shuffled quickly to their posts by the door, their chins and chests thrust out.

Valens chuckled, slowing as he approached the doorway. ‘At ease, men,’ he spoke gently, eyeing the cracks in the marbled arch of the doorway as he dismounted. Much to be repaired, he mused. His footsteps echoed in the cool entrance hall as he walked under the languid gaze of busts of emperors past. Then he set his eyes on the chapped and scarred timber door ahead — the senate hall. Valens stopped short of pushing the door open in his stride; he could hear the echoing babble of approval and disapproval. In a moment, they would be louder than a pack of carrion birds.

He shoved both huge doors and they boomed as they crashed open into the hall. Valens marched to the centre of the senate floor.

The hall still echoed with the current speaker’s half-finished sentence. Valens scanned the rest of the room; he saw a sea of stunned faces, open mouths and bulging eyes.

The interrupted speaker felt the weight of obligation to speak first; ‘Emperor,’ he uttered. ‘What brings your honourable presence to our floor today?’

Valens gazed into the stunned audience stonily. ‘Today, my senate, I bring you an announcement which is overdue, and entirely necessary. For the good of the empire itself, I will afford no debate on the matter.’ Valens allowed the ripple of murmuring to break before continuing. ‘As of this moment, The Senate of Constantinople is suspended.’

Like a pack of vultures seeing their scraps disappear, the senators rose to their feet. The outraged roars rattled through the hall. The senator whom he had interrupted mid-speech dropped his veil of obedience and launched into a similar tirade, stepping backwards to merge himself into the advancing crowd of angry senators.

Valens stood motionless and completely alone in the centre of the floor, allowing his gaze to wander to the opening at the top of the hall where a disc of crisp blue sky peeked in. Far more emperors had been slain in hot and cold blood in the name of the senate than had died at the hands of the barbarians over the centuries. Nevertheless, Valens held his nerve until he heard the reassuring clatter of the candidati pouring into the room behind him. He breathed a disguised sigh of relief as the fifty filed in to form a circle around him. Then it all happened in a blur; one zealous senator lurched forward, unarmed, and three spears perforated his torso. Blood showered the rabble of toga-clad men and a tortured scream filled the hall. Valens closed his eyes. Why did it always come down to blood, he despaired. He waited for the chamber to fall back into silence.

‘This measure will be in place until the empire has re-established firm control over its borders. This building is to be abandoned by sunset today. Any member of the senate who is found in political practice within the city,’ he hesitated, this was where the hard line would be drawn, ‘will be executed.’

The silence was intensified by the sea of gawping faces. With that, Valens turned on the spot and walked out as he had entered the chamber, head held high, and eyes set firmly forwards. The candidati poured out in reverse formation, the last two pulling the chamber doors shut. The members of the disbanded senate looked to one another for a voice, all the while the body on the floor cooled in its own blood. Moments passed like this before they erupted in a fit of anxious squabbling again. All except one.

Senator Tarquitius remained still amongst the mayhem, his eyes fixed on the blood-stained floor. Until now, the emperor had always had an air of malaise in his dealings with the senate. A soft touch, even. This, together with Tarquitius’ senatorial status had been a fine foothold in the power ladder. In one motion, that had been torn from him, like a sandstorm stripping an oasis. His eyes narrowed as a bitter taste swirled in his mouth. His services were now on offer to the highest bidder. Sod the emperor, to Hades with the bishop; nothing would stop him from regaining power.