Centurion of the XIX Legion

Lucius was thrilled when he learned of his father's plan to send him to the Legion to become a Centurion. When his father then engaged Pertinax, a former gladiator, to serve as Lucius' sword-fighting tutor, he could hardly believe his luck. On a business trip to Massilia (Marseille), Lucius gets lost in the harbor district, where a gang of street urchins assails him, beating and robbing him. Gnaeus, Lucius' father, is in such a fury over his son's weakness and public humiliation that he bans him to the family vineyards, located close to Arausio. There, Saxum, a retired Legionnaire, and Pertinax are to toughen him up, body and soul, in preparation for the Legion. Should Lucius fail to gain the rank of Centurion, he will be condemned to working on the winery for the rest of his life. After two years of torture, ridicule and hardship, Lucius survives training and enters the Legion. Now his problems begin in earnest. Soon, Lucius cannot be certain which threat to his life is more imminent, the one outside or the one inside the Legion encampment. While fighting for the Roman Empire against the Raeti, Vindlicans and Germani, the devious Centurion Titus Valens makes his life within the Legion a living hell.

Klaus Pollmann was born 1966 in Cologne, Germany. He went on to become an industrial sales representative. As a state certified business economist, he is currently a software distributor for an American software enterprise. Among his numerous hobbies are soccer, politics and history. He was an active basketball player over twelve years, before becoming a coach, referee and referee trainer. His career as a referee has mostly played out in the first regional league, with excursions to the second national league and premier national league for women's basketball. He has curbed these activities somewhat since 2008. His interest in Roman history has accompanied him since his earliest childhood. Schon seit seiner frühesten Kindheit interessiert er sich für die römische Geschichte.