This story is about a young mage in ancient Rome with some little changes in history. The story takes place in about 300BC.
According to your comments, I will try to write longer chapters. I thank you for your feedback and advise. I am a new writer, so I will take any constructive critic very seriously. Meanwhile here are two chapters. Enjoy...
Note: All characters are over 18 in the story.
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The week of training and Eugenia's motivation every night kept me training to the maximum. I got kind a little addicted to this wonderful ass. Also I liked to have some fighting practice with her. My best weapon was the bastard staff, but also the spear was a good weapon for me. It nearly broke my heart when my week of special training was over and I returned to the academy.
My father talked to my teachers and asked them to check the results with spear and bastard staff. Their surprise was worth it. Now I was one of the top students with the weapons but not in the club like staff. Every other weapon was better.
The other students got very excited when I told them that I had an additional training at a ludus. I did not tell them which ludus and with whom I had trained, but they saw my improvement. Sometime later I did my exams.
I got good grates everywhere but I got outstanding grates for destructive fire spells. Even the older legion mages were impressed by the easiness which I could set a whole area on fire. The Igniplano-spell was a very advanced spell which most of the older mages did not really perfect in all their career time. The focused more on the fireball spell Ignisphero or the flame ray Ignifaxius. For me I could handle all three spells without problem.
With these good grades in fire I was assigned to the second legion. For my graduation I got arm and leg protection of black iron. This is a very expensive material because it is very rare. The big advantage of it is that it does not disturb any magic like bronze or normal iron. Unexpected from me the teachers had some influence in the senate, so they gave me a bastard staff which a blade of black iron.
This was a special gift for me and showed me which high expectations my teachers had about my time in the army. The legion I - Latinium was the guard of the republics officials. My father was part of this legion. I was sent to legion II - Italia. This is the legion which was used for real battles and not only guarding and ceremonial purposes. I liked it this way.
When I was going to leave the academy the tribune of the legion came personally to pick me up. We were going to the legions headquarters outside of Rome. There I was introduced to the people and was introduced to my new work. Usually the main parts were training and sometimes checking of a magical phenomenon in the area. The times were easy and the military was not in direct war state. We had a nice summer and it came near to Jupiter day celebration.
I wanted to celebrate with my unit and as the fresh man I wanted to do a good impression. For the celebration I thought that I should bring some booze, so I went to our legions alchemists. When I asked the alchemists they told me that I should talk to Agrippa. She is producing good booze for a price that is within my budget. I went to her room and knocked.
"Who disturbs?" asked a woman's voice.
"Darius Marcius Censorius of the second legion," was my answer.
"My dear legionary... It is not allowed for common soldiers to disturb the alchemists while they are busy," she said in a repelling tone. "We have no time for the plebeians' problems. The legion needs special elixirs which we need to produce. Please go back to your duties."
While she said this I could feel magical waves in her words that tried to send me back to headquarters. For usual people this would be a strong urge to go now, but not for me. I simply ignored the words and entered the door. She was very surprised by seeing me opening the door.
"Donna Agrippa, may I say that I am not a simple legionary?"I said with a little pride.
She started at me end checked my appearance. She asked a little overwhelmed, "You are a mage, but how? I do not know the family of Marcius in Rome."
I took a look at her. She was a very pavonine about her appearance. Her hair was combed really carefully and also her clothing style was from expensive materials. Except of that she had a very beautiful face and also her body shape was very good with nice a little bigger breasts.
"I am a gifted guy who got a chance on the academy and I made it. I am here to ask you for a favor," I explained.
"Since you are a legion mage I think we can do a deal. I need something and want you to get it for me. They I will brew for you what you want if the ingredients are not too hard to get," she suggested.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"I want from you that you are getting a harpies egg and some feathers. I need that for a special experiment with a new elixir I am creating. What is your wish?" she replied.
"Since you are asking for a more difficult task then me, I would like to have some very good booze in order to celebrate the bosses from the legion in order to have a better influence in the legion. And now I also want you to accompany me at the celebration. Having a beautiful lady like you at the celebration would also be good for the impression in the legion. Also the contacts there could be useful to you when you got in touch with the officers of the second legion. Think about it!" I recommended.
"Hmmm, when I think about the legate of the second legion you would be right. Gaius Fabius Pictor is hard to get otherwise. So you are also offering a ticket to this celebration?" she asked.
"Yes, I do. All you have to do in return is to give me the best booze that the alchemists are producing in Rome. I think if Fabius likes it, you would be better in a position to talk to him."
"Then it is settled. Go get me some harpy eggs and I will create the best booze you ever tasted," she said.
"Sound's good. I am on my way. See you soon," I replied and left.
I reported and explained my centurion what I planned and left Rome the same day with his approval. Just grabbed some supplies and used a horse to go to the Apennines. I heard stories of harpies in the east of Rome in the mountains so I went to the small city of Frusna.
When I tried talking to the local people they seem very frightened of me. This was maybe due to the events of the revolt of Frusna against Rome some years ago. They were relieved when I asked them about the harpies and did not threaten them or asking them for anything else. They sent me to the village of Sora deeper in the mountains. Before I reached the village I could see harpies flying in the mountains in the east. I paid a local farmer to take care of my horse while I am going to the mountains and went deeper into the mountains.
After about two hours of walking up a pass path I saw a group of goblins following a small path to the north. I followed them in some distance. They guided me to a harpy's nest, which was accessible without big trouble. Coming more near I saw what they were doing. They were stealing eggs and put them in a bag.
I showed myself to the goblins and commanded them, "Give me those eggs!"
"No, human! We will not. This is our food. Go away!" said the goblin with the bag.
The goblin holding the eggs seems to be their leader, so I casted an Igniqueris spell on him. Flames appeared around his neck and started to tighten slowly burning his flesh. The other goblins were shocked about the flames and ran away as fast as they could.
I heard a harpy cry in the air above me. I went to the goblin and grabbed the bag with the eggs. The goblin did not want to release the bag so I tightened the flames around his neck. He screamed in pain but still did not release the eggs, so I let the flames cut off his head. The harpies were coming nearer so I went to their nest and put some eggs back into the nest. The harpies stopped their aggressive crying and their combat preparations and landed next to me. I read about harpies, but I never saw them before.
They were a hybrid of a naked woman and an eagle. They had a human head and front torso, but at the legs were that of an eagle. Also their arms started to have feathers directly at the shoulders for their wings. Only on the angle of the wings they had some claws which could be considered as hands. Their head was nearly human except the small feathers that they had instead of human hair. On their back there were only feathers visible with very long feathers at the end of the back bone. Below these long feathers there was a human hip, but not half way down to the knee the feathers had returned.
"You are a good human. You saved our eggs from bad stealing goblins. Are you one of our friends from Sora?" they asked.
"Sorry I come from a city more in the west," I answered.
"So you are not allied with us yet. Do you want to have an alliance?" one of them asked.
"This depends on the terms. What do you offer and what do I need to do in return?"
"We offer guidance and protection during your passage through the mountains. In return you will help us breeding," has the harpies offereing.
"Breeding?" I asked a little confused. Did they want me to cuddle their eggs in order to hedge?
"Yes, we need you for breeding. We are not many here in the mountains and the local goblins are a big problem for us because of our little number. Even today the goblins have killed one of our sisters in order to get our eggs for food. Therefore we made alliances with humans for their seeds," the harpy explained.
This was better than expected. "We can form an alliance, but do not need your protection. I need from you other things. I need some of your feathers and an egg."
"Why do you want an egg?" the harpy asked.
"I need it for magical medicine. It is needed for it like some of your feathers."