Lesser Tribune Marcus Venandus, Legion officer exemplar, was exiled to the disease-ridden hell hole known as the Fire Islands as punishment for the failed political machinations of his father. While the days of the powerful witchdoctor kings throwing skeletal armies against the shields of the legion have faded into history, all is not right at the edge of the world. Unrest is boiling once again as long dead darkness seeps back into the islands. With the legion more concerned with its personal rivalries than with its duty, it will fall to Marcus and his small, highly disciplined, command to put the horrors of the past back in their graves and literally save Aquila from a fate worse than death.
Forbidden from returning to Aquila, Marcus Venandus responds to a plea from a half-brother he has never met to aid him in the far away land called the Jeweled Hills. When pirates shut down the sea routes the legion officer and his two trusted companions are forced to join a caravan to make the slower journey north across the treacherous Sea of Grass. Yet this may not prove to be the safer choice. A mysterious shaman has sworn to drench the plains in the blood of foreigners and his mastery over storms gives him the teeth to fulfill his oath. As chaos envelopes the trail, it will fall to Marcus to organize the defense and try to shepherd the frightened civilians of the caravan to safety again.
Tribune Marcus Venandus and his two trusted officers have gone through hell in their journey north from the Fire Islands and across the Sea of Grass. Arriving at Amatista in the Jeweled Hills, Marcus is looking forward to a much deserved rest in the home of his half-brother, but fate has other plans for the legionnaire. Soon he will be wishing he’d never heard of his brother’s city. Surrounded by enemies and crippled by internal divisions, Amatista is already on its knees and ready to fall. Marcus must act decisively to save everything his brother has built, but without his beloved legions behind him, can Marcus and his friends survive their visit to the Jeweled Hills?
This boxed set contains the first three volumes of the Legionnaire series.
With the passes to Ópalo forced open again, Prefect Marcus Venandus hoped to gain a respite to build his army for the war he knows is coming in the spring. Unfortunately, his enemies understand all too well the threat he poses to them and are taking steps to kill him before he reaches next year’s battlefields. Assassins, both mundane and magical, step out of the shadows to strike at him, while other conspirators take advantage of the intense divisions within the city to spark riots to bring the government down. Unable to differentiate between friend and foe, will Marcus and his few trusted comrades be able to win the Battle for Amatista?
Surrounded by enemies, Prefect Marcus Venandus launches a bold stroke to eliminate one opponent in the coming war. The key to his plan is the fortified border town of Centinela—the Sentinel of Southern Morganita. Its fortified walls are strong enough to delay conventional forces for weeks, giving the other enemy city-states plenty of time to invade Amatista from the east. Yet, one thing Marcus has learned in the Jeweled Hills is that the locals do not understand the full capabilities of legion-style infantry. Can he take advantage of their ignorance to neutralize Centinela? Or will his risky gambit cost Marcus and his allies the war?
The long-feared war has erupted and Prefect Marcus Venandus and his newly raised legion are on the front lines of the fighting. After the successful conquest of a fortified border town, Marcus leads his men deep into Morganitan territory, part of a daring plan to secure Amatista’s rear by eliminating its major northern opponent before its other foes can join in the fighting. Yet will his new infantry prove up to the task? Despite new weapons and the strategies of far off Aquila to direct them, Marcus’ men are badly inexperienced and riven with the same deep-seated racial prejudices that embroil all of the peoples of the north. With just as many enemies within as without, can Marcus find the path to victory?
This boxed sets contains volumes 4, 5, and 6 of the Legionnaire series.
Marcus has defeated the smaller half of the army of Thegn Chilperic by the skin of his teeth, but now he must rally his legion and its allies to stop the Thegn’s main force from rolling back all of his victories. Yet even as he fights for control of the strategic bridges on the Rio Rocoso, Marcus’ allies remain as fractious as ever. The rebellious Gente of Morganita continue to fight among themselves for leadership of their cause, while the Gota also violently question the leadership of Marcus’ friend, Evorik. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, the mighty Thegn of Granate still tries to walk the middle path in this war, telling both Marcus and his enemies that he is loyal to them. Too soon now, Marcus will find out which side Granate betrays at the Bridges of Morganita.
While Prefect Marcus Venandus struggles with the Curse of Madre Tierra, the Gente of Morganita betray their alliance with the Black Hat Legion and launch a surprise attack on Fort Prime. With all the senior officers in the fort dead, the most junior of officers, Acting Magus Seneca Liberus, finds himself in charge. With thousands of Gente massing to continue the assault backed by the powerful mago House of Victor, it falls to Seneca to measure up to the proud traditions of Aquila and lead his green legionnaires to victory.
Days of rain force sane armies to hunker down to wait for dry weather. Yet, no one in the Jeweled Hills would accuse Prefect Marcus Venandus of being sane. Not only has he united the bickering Qing, Gente and Gota in his Black Hat Legion, he rarely embraces conventional military tactics. With three days of drenching weather turning roads to mud, flooding creeks, and bogging down his enemies’ carts and wagons, Marcus seizes the initiative and leads one thousand of his Black Hats on their most daring campaign yet. Can he use the Flood of War to sink the treacherous Thegn of Granate? Or will the rains wash away any chance he has of winning this war?
This boxed set contains volumes 7, 8, and 9 of the Legionnaire series.
With Prefect Marcus and the Black Hat Legion still trapped in Morganita fighting against the treacherous Thegn Hathus of Granate, it falls to Calidus Vulpes, Red Vigil of the Aquilan legions, to take a thousand quiet Qing infantry men and fifteen hundred unruly Gente archers to hold off the full might of Diamonte at Angosto Pass. The odds are thirty-to-one against them. Can the Aquilan junior officer hold back the enemy until Marcus and the veterans return, or will this prove to be Calidus’ final stand?
Despite their impressive victories in the north, Prefect Marcus and the Black hat Legion stand alone against the full might of Diamonte and Aquamarina. With their home city under siege and the cowardly Lord Totila refusing to lead his host out from behind the walls of Centinela, it falls once again to Marcus to protect his adopted homeland by himself. His only hope is to thread the needle, maneuvering his legion across enemy-occupied Amatista to the one location that might enable him to recapture the initiative in this war. It’s a risky gamble. With multiple armies afield and none of them knowing where the others are, the fate of Amatista will depend on Marcus’ ability to navigate the Fog of War.
Marcus and his legion have knocked Morgantia and Granate out of the war, but that didn’t stop Diamonte from laying siege to his adopted home of Amatista. The invading army is simply too large to confront directly, so Marcus has determined to invade Diamonte itself to force his enemies to break their siege and come defend their own homes. There’s only one problem with the plan. Diamonte has an army of reinforcements heading through Angosto Pass toward Amatista and a second army trailing after the legion trying to catch it from behind. Can Marcus blaze his way through the opposition or will he and his brave men be trapped in a fire storm of their own making?
After a long and grueling fight in Angosto Pass, Marcus and his legionnaires finally catch a break. The Diamonte city of Malaquita is not only badly under garrisoned, it has no idea that the legion is on its doorstep. Yet driving out the Gota and capturing the city only creates more problems for the legion. The city is barren of supplies and could easily turn into a deathtrap if Marcus and his men remain to defend it, but if they can hold it through the coming harvests its strategic location will greatly bolster Amatista’s chances in the war. His only hope is to build an alliance with the most influential Gente in the city as he tried and failed to do in Morganita. His one tenuous asset to make this alliance happen is the cousin of the wife of his trusted friend, Senior Mago Efraín Estudioso, who married into the powerful Astrónomo family—but the Astrónomos have a terrible secret of their own that could transform them into Marcus’ vehement enemies. And now Marcus has accidentally spurned the high priest of Madre Tierra, making this one political seduction that seems destined to go very wrong!
As word of the Legion’s lightning conquest of Malaquita echoes across Diamonte, the Black Hat commander plans an even more audacious move. Rather than consolidate his gains in the west, Marcus launches a surprise strike downriver on Hessonita—the forward rallying point for Diamonte’s attempted counterattack. The key to his plan is speed and surprise—how close can they get before the city realizes its danger? If Hessonita has time to prepare a river defense, Marcus could lose the entire legion. Yet this time, the fog of war conceals dangers beyond human comprehension. Will the Camino de Gemas prove to be the route to victory or a river of death?
While Marcus Venandus and his legion pluck a second jewel from the crown of Thegn Clovis in Diamonte, Lord Unwen’s army moves in for the kill in Amatista. He has assembled the greatest military force ever seen in the Southern Jeweled Hills and he is determined to crack Amatista wide open with it. Faced with siege engines, scaling ladders, magic, and treachery, while its own legion is far away in Diamonte, how can Amatista hope to survive? Were all of the legion’s valiant efforts for naught? Can anything stop the Fall of Amatista?
Thegns Beremund and Alaric have done the impossible. Following a plan constructed by Prefect Marcus Venandus the previous winter, they secretly led a couple of thousand people out of Amatista under the very noses of the Diamonte invaders. But now they have to get all of their refugees past the enemy patrols, through the countryside, and safely into the lands of Topacio. If they succeed, they can continue resisting Diamonte’s conquest well into the next year. If they fail, Marcus and his legion will be alone in enemy territory without support and without a home to return to. Amatista has fallen, but does that mean it’s out of the war?
After capturing the cities of Malaquita and Hessonita in a surprise invasion of Diamonte, Marcus and his legionnaires now have to face a Diamonte host that dwarfs the legion and its cavalry. To defeat it, he develops an audacious plan to wear down the enemy soldiers while preparing to deliver Diamonte its most humiliating loss yet. His only problem is that his allies are less trustworthy than his enemies. Can Marcus and his legionnaires outwit friend and foe alike to win their most important victory yet?
For months, Prefect Marcus Venandus and his legionnaires have handed Diamonte a series of setbacks and defeats. They have crushed armies on the field of battle and captured cities and towns. But they have yet to face Thegn Clovis and the awesome might of his high mago with his Qing amulet of power. With victory at stake, even the smallest misjudgment could prove devastating. Did Marcus make a mistake when he decided to harrow Diamonte?
After winning a costly clash with Diamonte’s Thegn Clovis and High Mago Deverel, Marcus must find a way to press the attack even though more than half of his Black Hat legionnaires are unable to take the field. Thegn Clovis cannot afford another costly battle so he must turn to High Mago Deverel to conjure victory from defeat. But a lot of magos have been playing with the weather in the past year and succeed or fail, the consequences of Deverel’s efforts could prove devastating for the Jeweled Hills.
Long before Prefect Marcus Venandus directed the defense of the Jeweled Hills, Green Vigil Marcus led his first command into the treacherous jungles of Ekángá. As if the jungle itself wasn’t deadly enough, native warriors and shamans strike from its shadows with magic, spear and dart, while the forcibly transplanted Graeci population seethes with unrest in the supposedly civilized regions of the province. Deep in the jungle, young Marcus is about to discover how little lycee combat exercises have to do with surviving the Jungles of Ekángá.