Julius stored the two relics with deliberate care.
The Chalice of Concordia he wrapped in oiled cloth and secured within the blackwood vault alongside the Codex.
The Seal of the Mediator he simply locked within his personal chest, beneath three layers of iron clasps reinforced with thick rope to secure it.
He'd use the Chalice later—perhaps upon returning to Romanus.
The Seal… perhaps not at all, unless truly needed.
He was not a man who valued the tool of compromise.
But war was changing.
So must he.
For now, both relics would remain unseen.
Safe.
He retired to his cot at last, letting exhaustion swallow him, sleep coming not as rest but as strategy—a brief pause before the next march.
~
The following morning, the legions moved as one.
Julius returned to the rhythm that soothed him.
Columns of crimson and steel cut through the northern reaches of Germania like veins through earth.
His Praetorians rode at his flanks, scouts filtering ahead in long, silent lines.
