Lucius

Prefectus **Lucius** is Aulus Plautius' second-in-command, having served with him for a long time. A strict but cruel commander, he will brook no indignation against him or his men. Lucius is distrustful of the Druids, and Aulus' fixation with them shake Lucius' faith in his command. As Aulus appears to drift further away from the Roman Empire, and Lucius' own fears about being in the cursed land of Britannia grow, he begins to worry about a conflict of loyalties.

## Life after the assassination attempt

Lucius is cautious about if his actions were his own or by someone else's doing. Whatever he does has a major impact on proceedings.

Having attempted to kill Aulus, Lucius is forced to hide away, working as a fisherman. Pretending to be mute, he sells the fish to the local people to earn a living. He is also a heavy drinker. This life he leads is interrupted by a traveller who Lucius recognises as an old friend, where he is forced to remember the things he did in the name of the Roman Empire, at the command of Aulus. Forgiveness is offered by the traveller but Lucius is concerned about his old friend's real agenda, knowing him to be a follower of the messiah Lucius killed in Golgotha with the Spear of the Silver Dawn.

This reminded him of his encounter with Sawyer who he had blinded when he ransacked the village, killed Cait's grandfather, and stole money. He meets the blind man again as he comes to realise he has a part to play in the prophecy, and he has to defeat the very thing that afforded him his current position.

Three years after the Roman invasion of Britannia, Lucius is watching as Aulus leaves the Roman fort to meet with Veran, and he follows him to this meeting, listening in. Shortly before this, he was allowed into the Roman Fort by his successor, Prefectus Vitus, where he stole Aulus' sword and wedged it in a tree stump for Hemple to find. When Hemple was alone with Aulus, she asked what had happened of Lucius, but Aulus lied and told her he was injured in the landing and sent home.

Lucius observes Cait performing 'miracles' at a fair and decides to talk to her. He mentions his past and how he's been a soldier, fisherman, salt farmer, and a great many things. He is able to see through Cait's lies about her own past, and calls her out on it before she recognises Lucius as the one who blinded her father and ran off from him. Lucius tries to follow her but she loses him.

Lucius later finds Cait leaving a bar with Antedia. Cait sees her father travelling with Lucius and reunites with him. Lucius and Antedia talk about what made him leave the Romans, why he didn't return to Rome, and why he decided to stay in Britannia chasing the Druid's prophecies. He tells her about blinding Sawyer and meeting with him on the beach two years later and receiving forgiveness, and accepting his path and position in the prophecy. The Roman prisoners Rufus and Felix recognise their former Prefectus and tell their commanding Legionary, who with the aid of his comrades surrounds Lucius and kidnaps him. Antedia starts to fight off the Romans but is dragged away by Cait for being outnumbered. As they make their escape on a horsecart, they witness a Roman cart run down Sawyer, killing him.

Lucius is taken to a holding camp for deserters in the west of Britannia, but his captors are unaware that he used to be a prefectus and Aulus' righthand man. Locked in a cage, he is recognised again by Rufus and Felix, who tell him they served with him while he was still prefectus, and that also they were due to be executed on that day. Lucius believes he won't die with them, because only he knows where the Spear of the Silver Dawn is. After he starts explaining the prophecy of Veran, he realises Rufus and Felix weren't listening to him. Soon, Aulus arrives at the holding camp and visits Lucius in prison. Aulus takes Lucius with him and they leave the holding camp. Aboard Aulus' cart, Lucius is asked about the location of the spear. As Lucius refuses to tell Aulus what he wants, he is made to walk chained behind the cart.

As they are crossing the viaduct bridge, Lucius is brought into Aulus' cart, and Aulus tells him he's the best prefectus he's ever had. Cait climbs on top of the cart, and gestures to Lucius to be quiet. Aulus also tells Lucius that he lost Cyrus, but Hemple brought him back to him. After the chaos that ensued after Cait was spotted by Aulus, Lucius remained with Aulus where he was made to walk behind Aulus' own horse on the way back to the Roman stronghold. After arriving, Aulus throws Lucius in prison.

After Hemple and Amena make their way back to the Roman stronghold, Hemple visits Lucius in prison. She starts torturing him to get him to tell her where he has hidden the spear. Lucius begs her to stop, and admits he's a coward and a monster.

Cait manages to find Lucius in prison, and he tells her where he has hidden the spear. But Hemple walks in and shoots Lucius with a crossbow, killing him. As she prepares to shoot Cait, Amena ambushes her from behind and slits her throat, but Cait gets non-lethally shot anyway.

Aulus later comes down to the prison to find Lucius' dead body.