The heart and life of a battle is the center of the combat line.
A dark, throbbing, and terrifying place.
A place where death prowls between enemy shields, waiting for sharp blades to carve out an advantage.
Welcome to 262 B.C.
A single Legion is rushed into combat to stop a fortified army. The clash between Empire and Republic thrusts thousands of Legionaries into a nasty epicenter of conflict.
In the slaughter yard of a failing shield wall, Alerio Sisera and his infantrymen are cut-off and outnumbered. They will need sacrifice, discipline, and deceptive valor to survive the final assault.
When a Legionary pushes the boundaries, he draws a crowd. Either to watch him collect a medal or collect lashes. And if it's really bad, an eighty-foot drop from Tarpeian Rock.
Welcome to 261 B.C.
There are anxious words to describe being in unfathomable trouble. A feeling of pressure, an emotion of being in over-your-head, and a sense of being smothered.
Legion Centurion Alerio Sisera was drowning in the sea and experiencing all of them.
From black, to gray, to green water overhead, Alerio transitioned through the ocean layers as he swam upward. Lungs screaming for air, and his chest heaving, his body threatened to take in a breath. It became a competition between the urges of his lungs and the control of his mind.
Then, the green filtered sunlight was blotted out. Given any air in his lungs, Alerio would have swum away from the keel of the enemy warship. But the competition for his body was in the final stages. His options were to surface and breathe or, to die.
Some depths are not water but intrigue. Both can overwhelm, suffocate, and drown the average man. For Alerio Sisera, he'll need his gladius, several magnitudes of audacity, and his wits to survive Neptune's fury.
The two Legionaries appeared to be locked in an embrace.
They flew off the top of the slope. Their plunge, however, wasn't voluntary.
They were pinned together by a long iron barb protruding through their stomachs.
Welcome to 263 B.C.
Between clashes of the Qart Hadasht Empire and the upstart Republic, men died. Whether from sharp blades held by strong arms or stones and bolts launched by ancient artillery, the hand of death grabbed souls from both sides of the battle line.
Alerio Sisera will need more than an iron constitution, sharp steel, and a sturdy shield. To survive, he'll need his wits, luck, and infinite courage.
Alerio hurled the spear.
Immediately regretting the loss of his second weapon, he prayed.
'Nenia, Goddess of Death, if it's my time, come for me quickly.'
Welcome to January 263 B.C.
Attacking a pair of long spears with his short dagger was going to hurt and add to Alerio's collection of combat scars. And only leave him injured, if Fortuna smiled on him. If not? That's why he prayed to the other Goddess.
This should have been the easiest, most luxurious duty a heavy infantryman could ever imagine. It didn't turn out that way and, at the moment, he regretted throwing the spear.
These are the adventures of Alerio Sisera, Corporal of the Republic's Legions, Weapons Instructor, experienced Raider, Combat Rower, and protege of a powerful Roman Senator.
A tale of war, tactics, subterfuge, and luck.
And one man's struggle to resurrect his reputation.
Welcome to late 264 B.C.
The Legion is a machine of war. When the gears are turning, those not in sync with the machine get pulverized in the cogs. Most of the time, it's the enemy.
Unfortunately, for Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera, the gears have political and egotistical parts that are just as sharp as gladius blades. Caught in the wrong place by vindictive officers, he is sentenced to a session on the punishment post and is badly injured. Wounded and disgraced, he must now save the same Legion that sentenced him to the harsh discipline.
Where an average man might falter on the journey, Lance Corporal Sisera charges headlong into the fray. The fates have thrown down the challenges and Alerio faces each with his shield and gladius as he fights and prays that Fortune Reigns.
The tide of soldiers washed over the Legion shields
Buried, the ranks of Legionaries sagged.
'Push!' the Legion NCO yelled.
Welcome to 264 B.C.
Over the grunts and cries of men struggling against the mass of bodies pressing down on them, the Optio bellowed again, 'Push!'
And the Legion shields rose, rolling back the tide. The higher the shields, the more soldiers slid off, and the straighter the Legionaries stood. One shield tilted back, and a mercenary soldier tumbled behind the ranks. An infantryman stepped back and drove his blade between the soldier's ribs. Once the breach was sealed, he returned to his place in Legion combat line.
With the Qart Hadasht Empire controlling the port of Messina and the shipping lanes, one Legionary is sent across the Messina Strait to do the impossible. Open the harbor for the Legion. Once behind enemy lines, Alerio Sisera relies on his style of physical negotiations and brutal diplomacy to complete the mission.
A battlefield covered with dead Legionaries
An Empire encroaching on the Republic
A Senate in turmoil
Welcome to 265 B.C.
Alerio Sisera will need all of his skills as a heavy infantryman, a scout and a weapon's instructor to survive. Standing with two gladii in a river of blood, the Legionary will battle for his life in the Reluctant Siege.
Ho ho... oh hell!
Is that sleigh bells ringing in your ears or a few rounds from an M60?
You wanted the jolly fat man to bring Yuletide joy, but the season has gifted you with a heart breaker and a life taker — Badass Santa.
Grab your eggnog and camouflage candy canes, strap on your bulletproof holiday stockings, and prepare for thrills and kills.
From blood-stained rebellion at the north pole to a black ops raid on a distant planet, these eighteen action-packed tales will show you Saint Nick as you've never seen him before.
It's all you'll want for Christmas.
It only takes one player in the secrets, surrogates, and spies game to go rogue. Then greed exceeds rationality and Legionaries die.
Welcome to the world of 265 BC
When a patrol boat of butchered Legionaries washes up on a beach, Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera volunteers to be the scout for the Legion's response. But, he runs into complications and is forced to exceed his assignment. Suddenly, he finds himself in a blood feud with a powerful enemy, posted at a besieged harbor garrison, and fighting for his life against overwhelming odds.
Reinforcements are not coming. Surrounded by enemies, it's up to Alerio to battle with his gladius while standing in bloody water.
In the capital of the Republic, politics and scandal are normal. When a powerful citizen conspires with outside forces, normal becomes treason.
Welcome to the world of 266 BC.
Lance Corporal Alerio Sisera is in transit to the southern Legion. When thugs from a protection racket grab his travel bag, Alerio's plan is simple. Locate the gang leader and negotiate with him.
Unexpectedly, the hunt leads Alerio to a conspiracy, the murder of two Senators, and a treaty that threatens to destroy the Republic.
Resolutions in the capital take many forms. For Alerio Sisera, it's a gladius and spilled blood.
A gladius is a short sword. A prodigy is a talented youth. Put them together and people die
Welcome to 271 BC
This is not the full-time professional Legion of Imperial Rome. This is the levied Legion of the mid-Republic and it is messy.
If you like Roman adventure and 3rd Century military historical fiction, you will love the Clay Warrior Stories series.
Going further than historical fiction, the Clay Warrior Stories are adventure books designed to make you want to strap on a shield, draw a gladius, and join a Legion battle line.
Set in the years before and during the 1st Punic War, the series follows the exploits of a young, hot-headed swordsman. From a lad on his father's farm, to a Legion training camp, to the Capital of the Republic, Alerio Sisera learns that sharp steel and quick reflexes are not always a Legionary's best assets.
