13 Before DawnAs he lay in the darkness, Gemellus’ mind turned again and again to the lecture which he and the other young Decurions of the Imperial Guard had received before they were posted to the Provinces.
Their lecturer was a young Staff Officer, with a fresh childish face and a lisp. Prancing about on the dais he had said, ‘You are the envoys of a great Power, you men. The greatest Power the world has ever known. You will go out among the barbarians and they will respect you; they will recognise you as being the representatives of Rome, the Great Mother of the world. They will look on you as elder brothers, who will praise them, or rebuke them, according to their deserts. Make no mistake, men, you are the holders of a great position among the men of the barbarian world. See that you
