Paul Anthony: Septimus

SEPTIMUS

This book is inspired by the life story of my great uncle who was born in 1859. His name was William Septimus Scougal. He was the seventh child of ten.

When he became an adult, he emigrated to America where he worked with my great-grandfather in Yankton, South Dakota. A short time later, Septimus, was one of the first recorded white men to cross the ‘Sioux River Complex’ and survey the lands for the military. He was a surveyor, a scout, and a spy for the cavalry. Who would have thought we had ancestors who were spies?

The Sioux River Complex is a collection of watercourses that are prominent in the South Dakota area. The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River. It is 419 miles long and now defines the border with the state of Iowa. The river was named after the Lakota people (Sioux Indians).

His story bears many similarities to the tale you are about to read.

Septimus is from the Latin – the language of Rome and its mighty empire. It means seventh.

The family name Scougal, however, is rooted in the South Jutland Peninsula, an Iron Age tribe living in the British Borderlands called the Votadini, the Anglo-Saxon invasion, and a presence in Britannia during the Roman conquest.

Thirty years after the Romans invaded Britannia, they reached the Lake District and the lands we now call Cumbria. They planned to dominate the area with their language, culture, and lifestyle. Presuming unfettered success, they would then make plans to extend their empire and journey further north into the wilds of Caledonia, which we now know as Scotland.

A cohort of the Ninth Roman Legion is on the shores of Ullswater.

They, like my great uncle Septimus, are the unwanted invaders.

One man will stand in their way.

Surrounded by high mountains, deep valleys, and a multitude of lakes, tarns and sheep, the Romans speculate on whether the inhabitants are an illiterate band of semi-neolithic individuals or an affluent tribe of significant status. Perhaps they will prove to be rich in gold, silver, and other treasures mined from the rocky environment where they live. Or do the locals survive on the edge of starvation existing on a daily diet of basic nourishment that is below normal living standards? Where is their army, the Romans ask? Will they run and hide in the caves with the first flight of an arrow? Are the natives naïve or cultured? Can they be trusted? How long will it take to destroy them?

The way ahead for Rome is simple and uncompromising – to conquer and move on. Once this minor obstruction is dispensed with, they will journey further north where the Picts, Caledonii, and a scattering of smaller tribes live out their humble lives. Yet the natives intend to preserve their identity, safeguard their culture and beliefs, and deny the Roman Conquest.

A cohort of the Ninth Roman Legion under the command of Sextus Maximus is on the shores of Ullswater. They are the unwanted intruders. One man stands alone against them. His name is Hallin, King of the Hallinii, leader of the Vitaminic tribes, and a member of the Carvetti Alliance. This is his story. The story of Hallin, his battle, his beliefs, and how war and peace are often entangled in a complex web of love, hate, jealousy, loyalty and treachery.