EST - Part I

In the 3rd Century C.E. (or A.D.), the inhabitants of a small village in the northern Roman province of Raetia are coming to terms with unforeseen changes in their way of life. After the Roman legions are called away to fight wars in other parts of the Empire, they are left to fend for themselves, all while a tide of barbarians threatens to spill over the northern border. A ragtag militia made up of young men is doing its best to keep a semblance of order, stability, and safety in their village. The Roman Empire has left them, but they are by no means ready to abandon the Empire and their place within it. Making the most of the crumbling Roman infrastructure, including a toll bridge over the local river, a road, a bathhouse, and a watchtower, the villagers try their best to negotiate their own identity amid the arrival of new people from within and outside the crumbling Empire. When violence, prejudice, jealousy, passion, and fear threaten to tear the small community apart, Montanus, the young militia leader is faced with a series of difficult decisions.  

This is the first installment of a substantial work of fiction in progress.