The Lost Knights. William Speir

the raiders.

      Gaius Valerius, Titus Aurelius, and the translator walked out to meet with the Caledonians unarmed. Several Legionnaire archers kept them covered from the walls of the fort, just in case the meeting didn’t go well.

      “You will teach us ways of fighting?” the Caledonian leaders asked once the warriors and Romans were together.

      “Yes.”

      “You have weapons?”

      “Yes.”

      “What you want in return?”

      “We want to live here safely. We need food and supplies. We’ll train you and help defend you if you’ll guarantee our safety and help feed us. We promise that we’ll work with you as long as you work with us. We want to be able to sell our services to others as well, but only if it’s understood that no one we work with is to attack anyone else we work with. Is this agreeable?”

      “Yes.”

      “When do you want to start?”

      “Tomorrow.”

      “That’s good for us. Would you like to join us for a meal?”

      “Yes, we bring food.”

      The Caledonian leader raised both arms, and Gaius Valerius saw a much larger group of Caledonians appear in the distance, bringing food, animal skins for clothing, and horses, in addition to their women and children. Evidently, the entire village had turned out to welcome their new neighbors. Gaius Valerius motioned for the Legionnaires to come out and greet the Caledonians. For a few moments, both sides stood silently, staring at each other. Then they moved forward with hands outstretched in greeting.

      Gaius Valerius smiled as he looked around. This is going to work after all.

      That’s how it all began. Gaius Valerius’ men became known as “Il Nona,” which means “The Ninth” in the Roman language. They helped protect their neighbors from raiders many times, and eventually they were allowed to begin marrying into the tribes. They sold their services to many of the local tribes, providing protection as well as training their warriors in the arts of war. Over time, they abandoned the fort, building a larger settlement closer to the tribal village where they could live, train, teach, and raise families. As more and more tribes wanted to barter for their services, Il Nona started accepting Caledonians who showed the most skills in warfare into their ranks. Over the years, Il Nona returned to Legion strength and preserved the Legion structure for their organization. Gaius Valerius took the title of Legate, and Titus Aurelius took the title of Prefect.

      A mithraeum was built at the new settlement so the worship of Mithras could continue. The Aquila, Vexilla, Signum, and Imago of the Legion and each Cohort were moved to the new mithraeum in a ceremony to dedicate the temple. New Legionnaires were initiated into the practice of Mithras worship, which became the only link to Rome preserved by Il Nona.

      Over the years, Il Nona continued to expand its operations. When the Roman Legions returned to the Caledonian territories, they faced an enemy with much better organization and fighting skills. Eventually, the Caledonian tribes were subdued by Rome, but Il Nona survived. When the Romans left Britannia and the island was overrun by the Saxons and Angles, Il Nona survived. When the Normans and the Danes conquered Britain, Il Nona survived. There were always people who needed to be trained to fight, needed people to help them fight, and needed weapons with which to fight. Il Nona provided this to whoever could pay.

      Over time, Il Nona expanded its operations onto the European continent. As weapons improved, fighting styles changed, and Il Nona was there to help people learn those new styles. Il Nona took no sides in a conflict. They were politically neutral. They sold to whoever paid, but if someone failed to make the promised payment, then Il Nona provided services to the opposition. There were a number of conflicts in Europe during the Middle Ages where Il Nona worked with both sides. The leaders of Il Nona knew that, to ensure a steady stream of new business, you had to sometimes create demand. Arming and training one side of a conflict had short-term financial gain, but no long-term benefits unless the arms and training were put to use. Sometimes, conflict had to be initiated to ensure a steady revenue stream. Il Nona had no problems doing this; it was just good business.

      Il Nona’s reputation across Europe was legendary. In fact, most people thought that Il Nona was only a legend, and Il Nona preferred it that way. It wasn’t good for a highly trained, highly professional private army to be too well known – especially during the Inquisition and the Protestant Wars.

      Il Nona’s professional references were impressive. Il Nona was actively involved in the Scottish wars for independence, as well as the Irish wars for independence and the English civil wars. They were involved in a number of uprisings in Spain, including the Eighty Years War. They were involved in the Greek War of Independence and the Belgium revolution. They supplied both sides during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. They had originally provided assistance for the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II in Russia, but when Vladimir Lenin failed to make payment, Il Nona decided to support the rebels and criminal organizations in Russia who plagued the Soviet government until its eventual demise.

      Prior to World War I, Il Nona had been supplying several European states, but in the absence of conflict, Il Nona wasn’t making money. A well-aimed shot from a rifle started a chain reaction that plunged Europe into war and increased Il Nona’s revenues considerably. During World War II, Il Nona helped the resistance fighters against the Nazi regime by supplying arms, training fighters, and leading revolts and insurrections to pin down German troops needed on the fronts.

      As the Soviet Union and Iron Curtain collapsed, Il Nona found most Europeans tired of war and conflict, creating a potential cash flow problem. The organization had decided centuries earlier not to spread itself into areas outside of Europe, where most conflicts were based on ideology rather than the traditional causes, such as greed.

      However, a situation was beginning to occur in Europe that could potentially create the greatest business opportunity for Il Nona in the almost two thousand years of its existence. The conflict knew no geographic or political boundaries. If handled correctly, it could easily engulf all of Europe in just a few years. Il Nona decided to put all of its efforts into this one initiative, feeling confident that the outcome would be greater than anything that the previous leaders of Il Nona had ever imagined.

      5

      Present Day – Musselburgh, East Lothian

      Near Edinburgh, Scotland

      The 15th Century castle near Old Craighall in Musselburgh was a well-secluded, stately manor house/castle with immense grounds and high walls surrounding the property. No one driving past the gates would imagine that the headquarters of Il Nona was in a large complex underneath the castle.

      The small building near the castle was the main entrance to Il Nona’s offices, which included an ancient mithraeum, but there was another entrance to the underground complex from the castle. The corridor between the entrance from the castle and the Legate’s office and the mithraeum were lined with displays behind protective glass. Included in these displays were the Aquila, Vexilla, Signum, and Imago of the Ninth Roman Legion and each Cohort – carefully preserved for almost two thousand years by the descendants of the Third Cohort.

      The current Legate of Il Nona was a man named Gaius Valerius Constantine, and he was a direct descendent of the Tribune who had commanded the Third Cohort centuries earlier. He was tall, fit, and quite handsome in a rugged way that many women liked. He didn’t have any of the Roman features of his illustrious ancestor, but he was definitely a son of the original Gaius Valerius. He was a tactical genius, as well as a pragmatic businessman. He held degrees in law and international business, but the science and business of war were his specialties. He saw it as his business to do three simple things: provide fighters, train fighters, and arm fighters. He was very good at his business.

      As the Legate, the castle was Constantine’s personal residence, and there were dozens of members of Il Nona who also lived and worked on the estate. A number of buildings on the estate served as