[@Rune_Alchemist] Decimus marched along the street leading the column of soldiers through the ancient city. He'd read about Alexandria back home when he was a boy, a city built by Alexander the Great of Macedon a mighty hellenic warrior. He smiled, even back then his people had been the world's dominant power and they remained so, his mere presence here proved as much.

He continued down the street the various soldiers with him were singing and joking as usual as they marched. At the head of the column he laughed to himself. [i]How strange we must sound[/i] he thought, he was obviously use to Latin cadence, but the people of this land were used to songs that were much older. [i]Ahh well[/i] he thought [i]they'll get used to it soon enough[/i].

He turned a corner and his men followed, they'd been marching since sun-up. Though not a mandatory part of Legion drill Decimus preferred to keep the men fresh and ready for anything. Both his fathers had taught him the importance of regular drill, and the importance of setting a better example to one's troops. He thought of his divine father as he marched. Mars the Roman god of war, second only to Jupiter in power, was surely smiling upon them today. The heat was exhausting to most people, but Decimus knew harsh conditions made for harsh men, and he barely noticed the heat himself.

Then he heard some commotion at the back of the column, he raised a single fist and the entire unit came to a halt in perfect unison. Decimus marched back down the line to where the disturbance had come from and saw what appeared to be a young girl standing there addressing some of his troops. At first Decimus was going to pay it little mind and move on, many civilians spoke to the soldiers, especially children, although usually it was young boys that asked them about their home. Then the girl said something she'd swiftly come to regret, [color=a187be]"Like this really old white haired man that throws lightning at people because he's too much of a coward to fight them!"[/color]

When Decimus heard that his entire body tensed, to insult Jupiter was no small crime, especially as it simultaneously mocked the entire pantheon of Rome. He marched towards the small figure, [color=9e0b0f]'Clearly then girl you know nothing of war if you think striking from a distance to be cowardice'[/color] he laughed and looked to the men stood around him before turning back to her. [color=9e0b0f]'It is a foolish man who fights in melee without attacking at range first'[/color] having said this he drew a pilum from where it rested inside the arc of his shield holding it so the girl could see. [color=9e0b0f]'Hit a man with one of these before he gets close enough to hit you and even if you don't kill him you've got the advantage. Mighty Jupiter clearly understands the same logic that any soldier does.'[/color]