[h3][i]Auxilio Mauritanius[/i][/h3]

He had always wanted to see Rome, ever since he heard his masters praise the city during his earlier life as a slave in Africa. But that was a life Auxilio rarely permitted himself to think about, and now was not a good time to start. And alas, Rome had been a complete disappointment. Maybe it was unfair to judge the city on the impression it made during a plague of undeath, but still - [i]what a shithole.[/i]

Auxilio had arrived during the early days of the plague. The people of Rome were dying of illness, their scouts and guards included. Times came when able-bodied men became scarcer by the day, and the Senate had sent for the best men from all the colonies and vassal-states as reinforcements. Auxilio was among these men, and at first he felt great pride in this. When the boat docked at Rome's harbor and he smelled the smoke, the panic and the miasma, the pride shrivelled back into nothing. What was he going to do here? How was he going to help? The only way he knew how - following orders. 

The nature of the new sickness of the Romans was surprising, and even Auxilio could not help but be afraid. The dead walking, growling and eating flesh was the most unnatural thing he could imagine. And so, as the others did, he fled to the Palatine Hill, as they were told. And now, Auxilio found himself within the ranks of the remaining Romans, in the very center of this city of wonder, which had turned out to be a city of death and decay. 

A whistle rang in Auxilio's ear. He turned to face where the sound came from, it was one of the few military veterans among them, a natural leader in these times of strife. The horse at Auxilio's side, a young mare, tall and elegant with a black hide, found the noise alarming and was obviously stressed. Auxilio put a hand on her forehead and shushed carefully, soothing her. Most people hadn't even questioned the fact that Auxilio brought a horse with him to the bastion during the escape, probably because of the color of his skin and the curls of his hair. The Mauri and their steeds belonged together, everyone knew that. And if Auxilio was to be of use against the undead, he better have his horse.