EPISODE 8: THE RECKONING ## CHAPTER 1: THE MESSENGER They came from the south on a spring morning—thirty soldiers in polished armor, bearing standards Marcus hadn't seen in years. The eagles of Rome. Not the old legions, but something new: the field army of Constantine III, finally turning attention to the island they'd abandoned. Their commander rode at the front, his cloak crimson, his bearing unmistakably imperial. "Tribunus Flavius Stilicho," the officer announced when they reached the gate. "Here on behalf of His Imperial Majesty Constantine, rightful Emperor of the West." Marcus met him at the wall, Bran and Quintus at his side. "I'm Marcus Flavius Severus. What does the Empire want with us?" The tribune's eyes swept over the settlement—the mixed architecture, the Pictish banners flying alongside Roman standards, the obvious integration of peoples Rome had spent centuries trying to separate. "The Emperor has heard... rumors. About developments on the northern frontier." "What kind of rumors?" "That a Roman garrison has allied with barbarians. That the chain of command has been abandoned. That treason has taken root at Hadrian's Wall." "Treason?" Marcus kept his voice even. "We've held this wall when Rome abandoned us. We've defeated Saxon invaders Rome ignored. We've built something that might actually survive." "You've built something without authorization." The tribune's voice hardened. "The Emperor...