Lucius looked at his master standing there in all his finery, ready to be hailed by the crowds. He had never seen purple and gold robes before. It was the first time he had seen Germanus wear a wreath on his head; Lucius was more used to seeing his lord and master wear either the plumed headdress of a senior general or, when he had been baptising his followers, the mitre that signified his rank as Archbishop of Britannia. Lucius recalled how his father had entertained him and Nonus with tales of how, long ago, he had seen an Imperator crowned. Now, here Lucius was, standing on the steps at the head of the forum in Londinium, waiting for the new leader of the west to be acclaimed. He relished the thought of helping Germanus to march on Roma, seizing both the throne and the papacy. O for this c...

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