I stood atop the wooden parapet. I squinted through the dark at the trees that stretched endlessly before me. It was bitterly cold, the wind pushed into my shield. The exposed parts of me recoiled further against the relentlessness of the night. I bundled myself into my cloak and rested my arms on top of my shield, flitting my eyes back and forth for any sign of movement. I felt myself slump further onto my shield embracing the warmth I had created. My eyes grew heavy. The night engulfed me.

THOK!

I grunted and blearily shook the snow from my face.

THOK!

I prised open my eyes and was greeted with a snow covered wood in front of me.

THOK!

I raised my head slightly, alert now to the unfamiliar noise.

THOK!

I put my head up still further, I saw one of the watch men on the ground.

THOK!

Something buzzed past my head, I raised my shield to my neck and looked around panicked.

THOK!

I crashed to the ground a glinting arrow head, protruded from the underside of my shield. I looked around my shield carefully. A hook lay in the side of the wood. A hand rested itself on the top of the parapet.

I scrabbled to my feet, away from whatever nightmare I had awoken to. Disorientated I fell from the walkway and into the mud on the street below. The wind knocked out of me I gasped for air and rolled onto my front.

The gates ahead of me were wrenched open and pale men dressed in animal furs were stood hunched around a single figure with an axe. He gestured to his comrades and they moved into a crouched run. A watchman emerged from the gate house. He let out a choked yelp as a sword was punched through his chest. I writhed in the slick mud, gaining enough purchase to get to my feet and flee this nightmare. I did not look back to see if I had been noticed. Shedding my cloak I rounded the corner and was shouldered hard to the ground.

‘Cicero’ the Centurion looked at me with a hard face. He braced the eagle standard against his shoulder. The other soldier’s chanced looks at me splattered in mud, a coward. 'Why aren't you at your post?' he said, fixing me with a stare. A scream echoed from one of the towers. The men noisily braced themselves behind their shields. They moved forward ready for the threat.

Behind them now, I dragged myself through the mud. Bracing myself against a trough, I heaved myself to my feet. I began running; sliding and slipping on the muddy surface, my sandals slapping into the wet earth. Shedding my armour as I left I exited the fortress as the screams and sounds of metal on metal began. I chanced one look back at the hell I was leaving. I saw hundreds of pale figures clad in animal skins pouring out of the towers and through the mud. The Legionaries hacking at the frail bodies. I saw the eagle waver.

I ran. From my sins, I ran.