[center][h3]Caesar's Legion[/h3][/center]
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[img]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X2ZhdpV73lY/maxresdefault.jpg[/img]


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[u]Name:[/u] Caesar’s Legion

[u]Flag (picture or description):[/u] The Legion standard (golden bull against a crimson background)

[u]Territory (picture or description) and Geography:[/u] Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and of most southern Utah. The Legion's territory is mostly arid and dry, especially in the areas of New Mexico and Arizona. Much of the Legion's agricultural capacity comes from its eastern-most lands. The overall hostility of the regions geography and the ruggedness of the terrain has led to a lower overall population than, say, The NCR or The Midwest. However, those who are able to carve out a life here have become exceptionally rugged and resilient. 

[u]History (if using a pre-existing faction, recent history will due):[/u] Following the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the Legion was left in disarray. With Caesar and the Legatus both now dead, they’d lost their commanders and their purpose, and the survivors from the battle fled back to Legion territory piecemeal. Many deserted, some committed ritual suicide out of despair for their failure, and many others split off to reform tribal groups or communities that the Legion had previously smashed and assimilated. 

The core of the Legion, Caesar’s most experienced and loyal veterans, remained loyal however and some 5,000 legionaries limped back to Flagstaff to regroup. It was there that a war-council of Caesar’s greatest remaining commanders met to decide who would take up their master’s legacy. After several days of debate, they reached a unanimous decision. Head of the Praetorian Guard Lucius was elevated to the crimson, and was hailed by all as ‘Caesar’. Lucius was the obvious choice to the men present, having been one of Caesar’s closest and most loyal advisors. He was also an adept military commander and veteran soldier, and no-one could doubt his skills as a fighter and leader. 

The new Caesar immediately set to work rebuilding the shattered remains of The Legion, and the threat was dire indeed. The NCR began pushing into Legion territory intent on eliminating the remains of The Legion once and for all. Lucius gathered what remained of his military, not even a full strength legion, and marched to face them. Knowing full well he could never defeat the NCR in battle with what few troops he had, Lucius waged a brutal guerilla campaign and pursued a policy of scorched earth. Poisoning wells and desert water sources, burning crops in the path of the NCR,  spreading disease, and harassing NCR supply lines whenever possible. Gradually more troops began to fill his ranks as former legionaries and groups that had been separated after the battle of Hoover Dam flocked to Caesar’s banner. 

However, all of this wasn’t enough to turn the NCR tide, and eventually they pushed right to Flagstaff, where they captured the city. Lucius had left them little to toast their victory on however, as he’d already burned his own capital to the ground and fouled the vital water supply to the city so as to prevent its use by the thirsty NCR troopers. In addition he’d left a surprise for the NCR soldiery: hundreds of their fellows crucified around the perimeter of the city. 

The war raged on following the fall of Flagstaff, and the NCR army chased Lucius from Flagstaff back east, almost to the border of Legion territory. It was there that Caesar Lucius received much needed help from a distinctly unexpected source. The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel, weary of NCR expansion, mobilized its power armored knights and sent them westwards, plowing straight into the NCR’s expeditionary army with an unexpected violence. Not one to question Mars’ will, Lucius cooperated with his newfound temporary allies and together they pushed the NCR west until they threw them back across the Colorado. It was here that the NCR offered a peace agreement, and Lucius, seeing the tattered state of his army and the tenuous position of his alliance with The Brotherhood, agreed to sign a peace accord. Current borders were agreed to remain static, a ceasefire was declared, and the war ended. 

Now Lucius has set his sights on rebuilding the Legion and it to this is the task he’s poured in all his effort for the past five years. He has waged a ceaseless campaign to reconquer Legion territory in Utah and Colorado and shore up the border along Arizona. He’s also ordered countless raids and incursions into nearby unincorporated territories for slaves and wealth and reintegrated errant tribes and splinter factions that had broken off following Hoover Dam. 

Unlike his predecessor, the new Caesar prefers to lead from the front: often saddled astride a New Mexican mustang. During a battle he’s usually seen riding up and down the lines, extolling his men to greater acts of bravery and reassuring his men by placing himself where the fighting is thickest so that his men know that their leader is with them. It's a dangerous business, but Lucius is a soldier first and foremost, and Caesar of The Legion second.  

After endless campaigns across the south west, The Legion has finally returned to something resembling its former state before Hoover Dam. And it's a good thing too, as the expiration date set on the armistice is coming due any day now, and no-one really knows what that might mean. 
 

[u]Population:[/u] Roughly 600,000. 

[u]Government/Domestic Politics: [/u]The Legion is led and commanded by ‘Caesar’, the mantle of which has now been taken up by Lucius, former head of the old Caesar’s Praetorian guard. He is considered a demi-god of sorts and his will is unquestioned, ruling from a position of absolute power as ‘dictator perpetuo’. The Legion is entirely militaristic and authoritarian, with virtually nothing in the way of representation or democratic ideals. It is, in some sense, an army with a state rather than a state with an army. 

[u]Notable People:[/u]

Caesar Lucius: Commander of The Legion and worshiped as a demi-god by the Cult of Mars. He's a veteran soldier and skilled tactician with years of experience under his belt, having previously served as Edward Sallow's Head of The Praetorian guard. He has spent much of his reign as Caesar fighting off the NCR following Hoover Dam and expanding Legion territory in Colorado and Utah, filling Legion coffers with new slaves, wealth, and fresh recruits from the north and east.  

Vulpes Inculta: One of Lucius's most valued advisers and head of The Legion's Frumentarii, highly trained spies and assassins that work to undermine The Legion's foes. Vulpes, along with Aurelius of Phoenix is one of the few top Legion commanders left from Edward Sallow's rule. As such, he is an important member of Lucius's inner circle. He is tasked with feeding Lucius information about the Legion's adversaries and potential threats. 

Legatus Aurelius of Phoenix: Lucius's right hand man and Legate of the Legion. Aurelius is perhaps the Legion's second most experienced commander after Lucius himself, and formerly commanded Legion troops stationed across the Colorado during the reign of Sallow. Aurelius has since been raised to the rank of Legatus, and commanded the legions that captured Denver during the reconquest of Colorado.

Hannah of New Canaan: Lucius's wife and beloved. She is formerly a New Canaanite missionary who was captured during The Legion's campaigns in Utah. Her intelligence and calm demeanor caught Lucius's attention and he was soon smitten with her. Despite her initial reservations about loving the Caesar of The Legion, she soon fell for him him as well, and agreed to be his wife. Hannah is continuously a source of sage advise, feminine wisdom, and mercy on her husband. For her sake, Lucius has outlawed actions against the New Canaanites and allowed them to practice their religion freely in Legion lands. 

[u]Military:[/u] The Legion, being particularly militaristic and conquest-centric has an unusually high percentage of its population serving in its armies. With nearly 1 in 4 males serving as soldiers. Which means a total Legion strength of some 75,000 soldiers. With the ability to conscript roughly 25,000 more if the need is very dire. The Legion continues to follow the military traditions of Caesar, and by extension, a tradition loosely based on that of ancient Rome. The Legion’s military structure, organization, logistics, and tactics mirror those of Rome with some obvious adjustments and changes. One notable example includes using multiple lines of battle much like in the polybian system. With the youngest and least experienced recruits heading up the front line, more experienced soldiers following up in the second attack wave (legionary primes) and the hardened legionary veterans acting as a final wave if the first two waves have failed. 

Due to the losses suffered at Hoover Dam and the recent campaigning by Lucius. Many of the legionaries are now fresh recruits or only have a few years experience at most. And many of The Legion’s officers lack the knowledge and experience of their predecessors. The days of Caesar’s numberless battle-hardened veterans are over, but those that have spent their years campaigning with Lucius are still a force to be reckoned with. 

[u]Economy:[/u] The Legion’s economy is still heavily based around slavery and forced labor, the majority of which work in agriculture and industry or in support roles for the Legion’s military. Each contubernia of 8 men in the Legion, for instance, is assigned exactly two support slaves as camp followers. Since Lucius’s changes to the system have come into effect, slavery tends to be less a division between men and women, and more a division of ‘Legion’ and ‘non-Legion’. Lucius’s recent conquests have brought in a glut of fresh slaves to Legion pens and has helped to repair their severely damaged economy, although much work still remains. 

The Legion trades odd goods with neighboring peoples, although they’ve yet to establish any kind of official trade network with peoples west of the Colorado for obvious reasons. Although smugglers and independent caravaners do run between both, leading to a sort of ‘unofficial’ exchange of goods between West and East. 

[u]Culture and Technology (include views towards slavery and mutants):[/u] Slavery is openly practiced, tolerated, and a central part of The Legion’s economic system. Mutants are tolerated insofar as they are of service to the state as slaves. Mutants and ghouls are barred from service in the Legion itself however. Although certain exceptions could potentially be granted. 

While much of The Legion’s culture has remained as Edward Sallow left it with Lucius now the new Caesar some important changes have occurred. With regards to technology, Lucius has lessened the strictness of Edward’s previous bans on medical and other such technology that he thought ‘weakened’ the humans that used them. Having been privy to Caesar’s hypocrisy when it came to his own medical needs, Lucius has opted to allow for some medical technology to work its way into Legion life: not seeing it as a betrayal of Caesar’s ideals (or rather justifying it with Caesar’s own example). While recreational chems are still banned and strictly controlled, the use of medical chems has been allowed with some restrictions to prevent overuse and dependence. In addition, The Legion has taken to scavenging medical equipment and items such as auto-docs to help keep their legionaries trim and in fit condition and to lessen the burden on Legion camp surgeons. 

The Legion’s views on women have also changed drastically in one important respect, namely that of the “Legion woman”. Legionaries are now allowed to keep wives and have children of their own, a result of Lucius’s own conversion to this most basic idea when he met the woman who is now his wife and close confidant. Legion women, wives and daughters, are not treated or kept as slaves but instead enjoy a position of greater respect than they would have previously under Sallow. While their role is still restricted to that of mother, caretaker, and supporter of their Legionnaire and children, they cannot be touched by any other man and the harshest of punishments exists for those that assault or violate a Legion woman in any way. It is perhaps a small improvement when compared to nations like the NCR who extend full rights to their women, but an improvement never-the-less.

Female, and male as well, slaves are not given the same sort of respect however. And the life of a Legion slave has not changed much since the days of Edward Sallow. Female slaves at least can take some small comfort in knowing that they might now escape their bondage if they catch the eye of a Legionnaire and become his wife.


[u]Religion:[/u] The primary religion of The Legion remains the Cult of Mars, the Legion God of War, and Caesar is venerated as a son-of-mars. Effectively making whoever holds the title a demi-god. The cult is organized around various Legion priestesses who tend to the necessary religious rituals of the cult. Each soldier dedicates himself and his kills on the field of battle to the God of War. 

Other religions, especially those of tribal cultures, are outlawed and generally purged from The Legion, with one notable exception...

When Lucius was campaigning in Utah, he became quickly infatuated with a recently captured New Canaanite slave named Hannah. Having been unable to have a wife or female companion of any lasting status of his own while he’d been enslaved to Caesar’s will, Lucius found himself taking advantage of his new found authority when he’d declared his marriage to her. A previously unheard of function in The Legion and one which set an important precedent. Hannah, unlike many slaves before her, was not an unwilling partner in this relationship either and found herself smitten by the handsome and intelligent ‘Caesar’ as much as he was with her, and she’d soon agreed to the match despite her initial reservations about becoming what amounted to the Legion’s queen. 

Hannah’s presence has been both a calming and changing influence on Lucius’s rule as Caesar.  Her words can often temper his rage and stay his brutality as none other can. In addition, she has kept her New Canaanite faith and as a result has influenced her husband into allowing her people’s religion to be tolerated in Legion territories, where it has been slowly, but quite steadily spreading. She has encouraged her husband on several occasions to convert, but Lucius remains unconvinced. He finds the New Canaanite faith intriguing, and indulges his beloved in her lengthy readings from scripture, but remains a steadfast follower of Mars. And provided his Legionaries continue to publicly venerate Mars, he has agreed to turn a blind eye to whatever private worship they or their wives might take up where the faith of New Canaan is concerned.  

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