He trained alongside the legionaries that had been left to him in the fortress, aware that his mere proximity was enough to please his warriors. He saw the way they behaved around him. These grizzled, battle-hardened men stuttered and stumbled under his gaze. They beamed absurdly if he chose to speak to one of them, offered him their water-skins, flattered him, and asked if he might recount the tale of how King Offa had died. Unlike Roper, Uvoren did not seek to earn loyalty through service, but through insisting on service to him. He knew that if men performed a favour for a gracious lord, it
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