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the entire Imperium in jeopardy.” With a snarl, his father’s voice rose in fury. “You are no longer my son! You are nothing to me!”
    Turning away from Tiberius, his father began bellowing orders to the Praetorian Guards in the square. “Commander Brutus, you are to escort this traitor to his residence and place him under house arrest.” Pausing next to the Commander, Tiberius’s heard his father’s whispered command from where he stood. “You know what to do.”
    As a hundred bulls from the Praetorian Guard’s First Cohort suddenly surrounded Tiberius and his bulls with their weapons drawn, there was a growling rumble of dissent from the crowd of citizens at the far end of the plaza. Striding to the center of the plaza, the Emperor continued bellowing out orders. “Praetorians, on the order of your Emperor you are to clear the streets of the capital of these cattle by any means necessary!”
    Around the massive square, there was a great answering bellow as four cohorts of the Emperors Praetorian Guards slammed their mailed fists to their armored chests. A second later, battle horns rang out as two thousand bulls began moving in unison. Forming up into battle lines, the Praetorian Guards faced the outraged citizens of the city with their spears held at the ready.
    Tiberius staggered as a spear butt slammed across his back propelling him forward. Whipping his head around, he saw Commander Brutus’s cruel face daring him to fight back. “Get moving traitor!”
    Seething inside, Tiberius began following the guard escort in front of him as he and his soldiers were led out the far side of the plaza. He heard the fearful screams of the citizens crying out behind him a second later as they entered the small avenue heading towards Tiberius’s residence deeper within the city. As they walked, Tiberius felt Centurion Aquila’s rough hands grip his shoulder as his mind reeled at his father’s insanity. The dissolution of the Alliance, his mother’s death, the war with the Elves and now even the slaughter their own people, it all made no sense! Hanging his head low, Tiberius struggled to make sense of his turbulent thoughts.
    A year ago, Tiberius had been shocked when his mother had preordained her death at the hands of her husband. At first, he had refused to believe his mother’s warning, but when he found her throat ripped out and her guards disemboweled at the center of her residence in the heart of the Imperial residence. He knew then that something was terribly wrong. Switching to the Legion’s battle-speak, Tiberius began issuing orders in a low whisper.
    “On my command, form up on me. Formation Beta, double-lined staggered!”
    Without breaking stride, Decanus Cornisus passed the orders to the eight legionnaires behind him. In turn, they passed the message to Decanus Marcellus, who did the same for the legionnaires that followed him.
    Grim-faced, Tiberius’ legionnaires began secretly preparing for battle as Centurion Aquila’s bushy eyebrows rise in consternation at the order. Without comment, the older bull loosened the shoulder strap to the large double-headed battle-axe slung across his back. Tiberius knew the order itself was treason, but he had no other choice left to him.
    For the Imperium, the “Rule of Law” was sacred as any religion. Without laws and the order it brought to their civilization, there would be nothing to distinguish Minotaurs from the beasts that lived in the wild. It was the precepts of all civilization, and even the Emperor was beholden to its tenets.
    Since his mother’s death, Tiberius had been forced into a deadly game of hunter and prey. Attempts on his life had become daily occurrences within the capital and the more he sought for proof of his father’s complicity the more death seemed to follow him at every turn. The mounting evidence had become a point of contention between the citizens of the Imperium and the Emperor. It was a delicate issue, but as long as Tiberius