The world is dying. That much is certain. The only question is: who will rule over the ashes?
Rome has been reclaimed. Against all odds, Belisarius has triumphed. But peace is fleeting, and glory only whets the Empire’s appetite for more.
As the Gothic War rages on, Belisarius and his weary veterans are driven north, tasked with shattering the last defenses of King Witiges. Vast Gothic armies rally to resist them, yet rumors swirl in every camp and village—whispers that Belisarius, not Witiges nor even faraway Justinian, is the man destined to wear the crown. Others within the Gothic ranks look to distant tribes, questioning whether domination by a foreign warlord might be kinder than vengeance from Constantinople.
Northern Italy burns. The walls of Mediolanum and Ravenna tremble beneath the clash of empires. But as blood soaks the soil, a darker shadow spreads.
It begins in the east—with hushed reports of a creeping affliction. A merciless scourge, striking faster than any sword, deadlier than any siege. Towns are emptied in days. Fields are left fallow, choked not by war, but by the afflicted. Some call it divine retribution. For others, the final revelation, borne atop a pale horse.
And still the Empire demands more.
While Justinian dreams of a Roman world reborn, his forces are stretched thin—caught between the fury of the Ostrogoths, rebellion smoldering in Africa, and a plague that devours all in its path. Belisarius and Varus must hold the line against chaos itself, even as the foundations of the Empire begin to crack beneath their feet.
Italy teeters between rebirth and ruin. And in the ashes of a crumbling world, only one truth remains:
The Empire will be united—or it will burn.
Available June 2025
War is evil. It spares nothing. And, inevitably, it is the innocent who suffer.
Returning victorious from Carthage, Belisarius and Varus encounter Constantinople riven by religious strife, and slavering for grander spoils than those seized from the Vandal Kingdom. An opportunity arises upon the death of the Ostrogothic Queen Amalasuntha – a friend of Justinian, murdered in mysterious circumstances. Incensed, Justinian dispatches Belisarius and Varus, charged with leading a few thousand hardened veterans against the collective might of the Ostrogoths.
To the men of the Empire, Italy is shrouded in mystery, laced with tragic grandeur. To seize Rome again after centuries of isolation will fulfill a generations-old dream – if they can survive long enough.
For it is not only innumerable Gothic spears that the Imperial expedition must face, but zealotry, betrayal, and even the heavens themselves. As famine stalks the land and pestilence ravages their camps, some amongst the Imperial devout whisper of the end of days. Those whispers swell as a veil of darkness cloaks the skies, diminishing the light of the life-giving Sun into a cold, unrecognizable orb.
Bloodied, bereft of supplies, and stymied of reinforcements, Belisarius and Varus struggle to keep order amidst growing unrest. Surrounded and besieged, the beleaguered Imperial warriors race to pacify a blighted land, finding that there are far worse fates than death by an enemy sword.
The great prize beckons. Justinian shall make the Eternal City Roman once more, or doom millions in the attempt. Rome awaits, in all of its splendor.
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There will never be an end to war.
Fresh off his victory at Tricamarum, Belisarius encounters a task even more daunting than conquest: governing a land riven by war, famine, and blood feuds. All of which must be settled by an understrength army exhausted from battle.
Yet, to safeguard the fledgling Imperial government in Carthage, the liberation of the African coastline must continue. While Belisarius dispatches peacekeepers throughout the region, the distant fortress of Septem stands as the key to security for the reclaimed Roman province. Far to the west, Septem marks the mythical coastal terminus of the known world, and a one-time respite for the immortal Herakles.
Varus, dispatched to claim Septem for Belisarius, finds a city in turmoil. Battle-hardened enemies stalk the fabled Pillars, resentful of a resurgent Roman Empire and eager to claim Vandal spoils. Thrust into command far from support, Varus must learn to lead a motley collection of warriors apt to fight each other as they are this new adversary.
Meanwhile, Carthage festers with spies and turncoats. And even as the people of Constantinople yearn to welcome their victorious conqueror home in glorious triumph, danger lurks in a jealous Imperial Palace, mistrustful of the Empire’s most beloved general in a century.
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Honor is secondary to survival.
Reeling from their losses at Callinicum, the Roman army has repulsed the Persians from Mesopotamia, but at horrendous cost. Belisarius’ improbable triumph at Dara is cast aside by a vengeful legate, condemning Constantinople’s vaunted general to ignominious imprisonment. With his last order, Belisarius pleads with Varus to lead the army to safety and to bring peace to a shattered land.
Yet conflict flares along other corners of the Empire, with the merciless Vandal hordes pillaging the African coastline. Emperor Justinian snatches at the opportunity, instructing his battered armies to seize the city of Carthage and triumph against a tribe fabled for their appetite for destruction. Undefeated in a century of war against the Romans, the Vandal warrior class understands only one law: strength conquers all.
During preparations for war against the Vandals, the Emperor funds a glorious spectacle of chariot racing, drawing tens of thousands to Constantinople’s Hippodrome. However, just as an unbowed enemy occupies the fabled city of Carthage, so too have Justinian’s foes multiplied within the walls of Constantinople. Overtaxed, starving, and brutalized by the Emperor’s lawgivers, the Hippodrome’s innumerable sea of Green and Blue racing supporters are like kindling, awaiting the faintest spark to ignite in revolt against the heir to Caesar.
From civil strife to distant war, the Eastern Empire shall never be the same. And, in his moment of greatest need, the Emperor seeks the aid of Belisarius not only to achieve dreams of Roman glory along the distant African coast, but to save the lives of the Imperial court amidst the most disastrous rebellion in living memory.
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The eastern provinces burn, and few dare to save them.
Suffering invasions, riots, and hunger, the decaying Roman Empire staggers against its most ancient enemy – Persia. Undefeated in over a century, the Shahanshah’s vast armies cross the Tigris, hungry to reclaim lands that once had been the jewel of their heritage. Driving Persia’s invasion are the vaunted Immortals, an elite band of Persian warriors unmatched in prowess.
Set against the invading forces are the undermanned and ill-equipped forces of Flavius Belisarius. Reeling from a pyrrhic triumph in Tauris, the Roman armies draw upon barbarian tribes and untested recruits to defend the Empire’s rich Mesopotamian provinces. Ordered to join them is Varus, a young Herulian freedman with little more than broken armor, an oathbound servant, and a mysterious connection to the Imperial Palace.
Though defeat is inevitable, the Emperor insists upon one course of action – cede not a grain of Roman territory, no matter the cost in lives or gold. Wary but loyal, Belisarius’ patchwork forces fight their way to Dara, a distant fortress-city along the Empire’s borders. Yet Persia’s commanders also have their designs upon Dara, and are eager to finally vanquish their hated Roman enemies. For Belisarius and Varus, resisting the Persian assault is not only a matter of personal survival, but shall determine the very fate of a dying Roman world.
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Faint hope arises as a new dynasty ascends the throne of
Caesar. Bearing witness to such events is Varus, a young Herulian slave to the
aging yet powerful Justin, who unveils a bold plan held by two generations of
Romans – to retake the West and reclaim their homeland.
Following Justin’s dream, Varus enlists with the Roman Army and discovers the carnage of 6th Century warfare. As a mysterious horde of black-shielded invaders devastates the Empire’s northern provinces, Varus’ unit is called upon to defend under the leadership of Belisarius, one of Justin’s most promising commanders.
While Varus prepares for the sacrifices to come, however, he begins to question Justin’s secrets, seeking answers regarding his true identity and place as a pivotal figure in the Empire’s survival.