It was now the largest force that he had ever commanded. Everyone had been baptised and every shield, every weapon, every piece of armour had been painted with the chi-ro. Aureliana, Ambrosius and Drustans looked aghast and disgusted; Lupus did not react, though Severianus greatly approved. He told Germanus over the dinner that they shared in Lactodurum how useful he had found this Christianity;l how it had enabled him to unify all the disparate groups in the north. It was almost like the old days of the Empire at its best, when there was a loyalty to Roma that transcended local and tribal loyalties. Now, it was this religion that bound people together in a way that the Bishop of Eboracum had found surprising.

‘I even sort of believe it, you know, Germanus. The idea that we are forgiven; that ther...

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