Redsand Canyon quilibet

"it is not."

the two walked on. he focused his attentions ahead, ears attuned for the summons he both welcomed and dreaded.

was it fear growing within him or only a great unsurety? fear, terror; any of those bedfellows were not something that germanicus had remained accustomed. he had thought those sensations controlled if not fully excised.

"it is not a difficult choice for me to see you honored. both the praefectus and i have a vested faith in your abilities, scutarius."

there was a gravid pause.

"but i will not be glad to lose you from mereo, kallik." it was the way of things. fighters transitioned ranks. they were lost to battle. they were placed at the head of their own legions.

he had always envisioned the last for kallik. the irony lay in the fact that now it would happen outside his own ranks. "i wanted to discuss with you the role of a military liasion while you and arsenio build the vale. it would grant a higher rank but require more traveling." the medicus would give birth to children of their own. germanicus did not suspect that kallik meant to be gone overmuch.