The Crown of the Usurper by Gav Thorpe Read Free Book Online Page B

others. "It can't come to that. Folks have only just got used to having Ullsaard as king, they won't take kindly to Urikh. And most of the legions are in Salphoria, there's nobody here to fight a war."
      "If war breaks out, we might find ourselves on the wrong side in the Twenty-first when we should be in the Thirteenth," said Gebriun. "I don't reckon our new commander's going to be as trusting as King Ullsaard."
      " If Asuhas is for Urikh and not Ullsaard," said Muuril.
      "We'll know soon enough," said Gelthius. "Let's just make sure we get everything in order before we set out."
      "Yes, captain." The dutiful response was given by the legionnaires without any mockery or irony, and Gelthius realised that the others would be looking to him to continue being leader once they reached Marradan.
      He walked in silence as they started to chatter again. It was one thing to be a third captain in a legion, basically chasing the legionnaires to make sure the second captain's orders and rota were put into practice. Now they would be looking for real leadership, and Gelthius had no experience of that.
      I'm in charge, he thought. Spirits help us.

MARRADAN, ERSUA
    Late autumn, 213th year of Askh
     

I
    Marradan was home to a strange atmosphere, and it pervaded the legion that was stationed there; or perhaps it was something about the Twenty-first that had an effect on the city. It was hard for Gelthius to put his finger on, because the city itself was a dismal place. Grey clouds unleashed a constant drizzle on grey, cobbled streets that wound between grey, stone buildings with grey, slate rooftops. The people wore drab clothes of grey and brown and beige, perhaps so as not to stand out in their grey world. The only colour Gelthius had seen since arriving was the green that was paired with a light grey on the flags flying from the walls and the shields of the growing Twenty-first Legion; grey and green being the colours of Ersua.
      Gelthius and his companions had been welcomed into the ranks as soon as they had presented themselves and their papers to First Captain Lutaan. The legion commander was young for his position, animated and enthusiastic to welcome the men of the Thirteenth under his command. Gelthius had seen him before, though only from a distance. Lutaan was nephew to Donar, first captain of the Fifth who had campaigned alongside Ullsaard in his bid for the throne and had fought frequently next to the Thirteenth during the invasion of Salphoria. It had been the Fifth, along with the Seventh, that had been caught in a Salphorian ambush with the Thirteenth during the march to Carantathi, and who had been with the king when he reached the Salphors' capital.
      From personal experience and reputation, Gelthius knew that Donar was a sound, sensible commander and though Lutaan lacked age and experience, the men of the Fifth had spoken well of him during his time as a second captain. To Gelthius that boded well, and he hoped that Lutaan would be loyal to the king rather than the governor. Lutaan was certainly facing a challenge, having to create a legion from nothing in the face of local apathy.
      Gelthius and Muuril had been kept together, to form the core of a new company being added to the legion; Gebriun, Loordin and Faasil had been made sergeants in other companies. The first impressions of the Ersuans who made up the bulk of the legion – nearly all of them from Marradan and the surrounding towns – was of a surly, tight-lipped bunch. They were not outright hostile to the newcomers, but there was no obvious comradeship or extension of friendship from the locals either.
      In the first couple of days after arriving in Marradan, Gelthius picked up on one reason for the cloud that hung over the newly re-formed legion. If legions were destroyed or disbanded their number became available for the next body of men to be founded. The last Twenty-first legion had been renamed the First Magilnadan by the