Banks of the Rhône, near Genava — Two days later
The legion had left the thick forest behind and now advanced over harder terrain, dotted with fast rivers. In the distance, snow-covered mountains etched the horizon.
Sextus didn't know it yet, but he was already looking at Helvetian lands.
Caesar marched not far from the cohorts, though he was rarely seen among the ranks. Since the second day, however, something had changed: messengers rode in and out constantly. The orders were brief, firm, and pointed toward one goal: to block the Helvetii from crossing at Genava.
By midmorning, as the XIII descended a hill toward the Rhône's edge, a rider in a red cloak halted next to a group of optiones.
"They've arrived," he said. "The Helvetian envoys are in the general's tent."
Sextus heard the words in passing, not fully grasping their weight. Only hours later, when the legion stopped near a fortified village and began digging defensive ditches, did he understand:they were no longer on the move. They were holding ground.
That afternoon, Caesar summoned the centurions of each cohort.
Scaeva was among those called.
When he returned, already at nightfall, he approached the fire where Sextus and his group sat.
"What did they say, centurion?" asked Nerva.
Scaeva sat down without removing his helmet.
"The Helvetii have asked for permission to cross the Rhône," he said, voice heavy. "They want to march through Roman territory. With their wagons, their families... and their spears."
No one spoke. Only the fire crackled.
"And Caesar?" Veturius asked.
Scaeva stared into the flames.
"He said no.And he ordered the bridge burned."
That night, for the first time, there was no sense of marching forward.Only silence.Thick, like the air before a storm.
The soldiers understood they weren't intercepting anyone in open terrain.They were here to block passage.To hold back thousands.And if needed… to strike first.
Sextus looked up at the starlit sky. There was no wind. No insects. Only the distant crackle of torches… and a bridge that no longer existed.