EPISODE 7: THE SUCCESSION ## CHAPTER 1: THE QUESTION Quintus asked it first. "What happens when you're gone?" They were walking the wall at sunset, their old routine restored after the plague's end. Marcus didn't answer immediately. "I'm not that old." "You're fifty-two. In this climate, with this life, that's old enough." Quintus's voice was serious. "The alliance depends on you, Marcus. You're the one everyone trusts. The one who brought Picts and Romans together." "Drest—" "Drest trusts you. The Brigantes trust you. Even the Saxons trust you. But if you died tomorrow, what would hold this together?" It was a question Marcus had been avoiding. The alliance was still fragile, held together by personal relationships more than institutional bonds. If he fell in battle, if the plague had taken him, if any of a hundred possibilities... "We need a succession plan," he admitted. "We need more than that. We need to make this alliance survive without you." --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE CANDIDATES The council convened to discuss the future. Marcus presented the problem starkly: the alliance had no formal structure for leadership transition. Everything depended on personal authority, personal trust, personal relationships. "When I die," he said, "this council needs to function without me. We need a process for choosing leaders. A way to resolve disputes. A...