Alaric stood in the villa of Castra Regina. The stronghold had been abandoned, and as a personal slight to the man who ran away from his duties, the Gothic King had made it his personal abode during his stay in Raetia. The area had been evacuated, and thus there were no women for him and his men to enjoy.

While Alaric sat back and feasted upon some salted pork, a messenger walked in through the door. He was a Roman who was escorted by Alaric’s elite Gothic warriors. When the barbarian King gazed upon the man, he broke out into a fit of laughter.

“So, Honorius finally has come to his senses and sent someone to negotiate with me. Come, sit down, enjoy my fire, and my boar!”

Despite the welcoming gesture, the Roman messenger did not accept, instead he had a stern expression on his face as he informed Alaric of a shocking revelation.

“The False Emperor Honorius is dead, betrayed by his own Magister Militum, in his place Titus Claudius Marcellus has proclaimed himself emperor. The new Emperor requests to meet with you on the borders of Italia. He intends to negotiate with you and your people about permanent settlement of the lands you currently occupy.”

The room was filled with silence after the messenger had said these words. The Goths were in a state of disbelief. For many reasons, firstly Honorius had so suddenly been deposed, but second, the idea that the infamous Goth-slayer had risen to the position of Emperor and was now requesting to settle their disputes peacefully was mind blowing.

Alaric could hardly believe it. He stood up from his seat, towering above the Roman messenger while staring at him with an intimidating glare, before interrogating the man on whether he was lying._.

“You come into my abode, and tell me that Marcellus the Goth-slayer is now the Emperor, and that he wishes to negotiate with me and my people for settlement of the lands we have conquered? Why? He has put tens of thousands of my people to sword, men, women, and children have all died by his hands, and now he wishes to extend an olive branch to us? I’m not buying it! This has to be a trick!”

The Roman messenger bowed his head, too afraid to look into the Barbarian King’s eyes. He mumbled a single name as he tried to convince the man of his emperor’s genuine interest in ending their squabble.

“Sarus…”

When Alaric heard this, he roared, before striking the messenger across the face with a furious backhand.

“Sarus? That petty coward! He has long since bent the knee towards his Roman masters. Does he think I will do the same!?!”

After receiving a firm slap to the cheek. The Roman messenger calmed himself as he tried to explain the full situation to the best of his ability.

“Sarus and his men have pledged their allegiance to the new emperor! Thirty thousand goths follow Marcellus and his legions into battle! The Emperor has promised them lands to settle in Noricum and Illyricum. He wishes to extend that offer to you, and your people as well.”

Alaric chuckled. He could hardly believe his ears. If Marcellus of all people was willing to negotiate with the Goths, then he was truly desperate. However, he knew the Goth-slayer well enough to know that he was not doing this out of the kindness of his heart. There had to be some underlying conditions. Thus, the barbarian King was quick to voice his concerns.

“What exactly does Marcellus ask of me, in exchange for this newfound kindness of his?”

The Roman Messenger did not have an answer to this, and quickly voiced what he had been told.

“I don’t know. I’m just a messenger, not a diplomat. He requests you meet him at the borders of Italia and Raetia. He has given you the location of the meeting ground on this map. Negotiations will take place there.

The Emperor requests that you arrive with a delegation of your choosing and he will do the same. Both parties will maintain security, with five hundred men each. Whether or not you choose to show up is up to you!”

After saying this, the man was escorted out of the room and back to his horse, where he and his convoy rode back to the city of Ravenna. As for Alaric, he was standing next to his advisors. He gazed at the map and the location where the meeting was supposed to take place. He was convinced that this was a trap, but was keen on the insight of the men by his side.

“What do you think? Is the Goth-slayer being sincere with this request? Or does he seek to eliminate us in one fell swoop?”

A goth who wore the skin of a wolf was the first to voice his opinion on the matter after carefully thinking about it.

“If Marcellus is the new emperor, then it means he laid siege to Ravenna and deposed Honorius. This would explain why he and his forces withdrew from Raetia and abandoned the province to our conquest. It would appear that he was fighting a rebellion, though what madness convinced him to march to Ravenna without preparations is beyond me.

By usurping the Western Roman Throne, he has created many enemies. Even if he were to do something desperate, like a widespread mandatory conscription, his forces would not have enough time to become proficient in warfare before his enemies marched on him. If what the messenger said is true, he is relying on his Gothic Foederati to maintain order over his crumbling Empire, and to dissuade hostiles from approaching the Italian heartland.

If all of this is accurate, then I believe he is acting in good faith towards us. Simply because he has no other options, once news of his successful rebellion reaches the East, the Eastern Roman Empire will want his head, and if it spreads west, Constantine will press his claim against a weakened Empire. If I had to guess, he intends to make peace with us, in order to rope us into his foederati.

With Sarus’ and your forces combined, he would have a sufficient force of battle-hardened veterans to keep the enemy at bay long enough to restore his forces. It’s a bold move and relies entirely on whether or not you will keep your word.”

Alaric scoffed when he heard these words, condemning Marcellus for his foolishness.

“Does that little boy really think we will obey the whims of the Romans as if we were some trained hounds? We are the wolves of Germania. It is not in our blood to be bound to a master! Sarus is a coward for obeying the Romans. It is clear that their time has come to an end!”

The same warrior who wore the wolf-skin was quick to interject with Alaric’s thinking and provided a voice of reason when it was desperately needed.

“With all due respect, my liege. I think you should reflect on our position. With each passing year, the winters grow colder, and with it, the north becomes more difficult to survive in. In addition to this, you know of what menace lies to the east, and is pressing forward towards Rome as we speak. If we wish to survive these troubling times, it might be in our best interest to temporarily align with the Romans.

Marcellus sounds keen on allowing us to settle Noricum. He will probably use us to take Illyricum back from the East. He will also be relying on us to defend the territory we are given to settle. As long as he doesn’t force us to become Romanized like the other subjects of the empire, we can practically become our own client state.

I think we should at least meet with him to see what he has to offer us.  We can always scout out the location beforehand to ensure that we are not walking into a trap. If you think there is the slightest sign of a ploy against us, we can leave before we become ensnared.”

Alaric thought about these words deeply, before asking the rest of his advisors for their opinions.

“What do you all think about this?”

The various advisors to the Gothic King spoke their pieces, but after extensive debate, they all agreed that perhaps they should entertain the negotiations. After all, they shuddered to think of what would happen to them when the eastern menace finally caught up with them. With this Alaric had decided, he would meet with Marcellus and see just what this new self-proclaimed emperor had planned for him and his people.

Time healed all wounds, and sometimes necessity was the harbinger of powerful alliances. Both Marcellus and Alaric found themselves in desperate situations. It was because of this that Marcellus had put his faith in the goths, rather than in the rebel Constantine. If he could come to an agreement with Alaric, perhaps he could prevent the cruel fate that awaited Rome, at least for a little longer.