History Literature / TheLastLegion

* TheCakeIsALie: Odoacer's ''casus belli'' with Orestes was that Odoacer's was promised a piece of the former empire where the Goths would settle in exchange for backing Orestes' son as emperor. Orestes never meant to keep his word, and tragedy ensues.

* DecoyAntagonist: Odoacer seemed to be the main antagonist during the first part, until he sends Wulfila on his quest for Romulus (and partially to [[UriahGambit get rid of Wulfila himself]]) and never appears again on page. Wulfila takes over as the real villain.

* IronicName: Romulus the last Roman emperor was named after the founder of Rome. TruthInTelevision.

* TokenMinority: Batiatus is black, and Ambrosinus is a Celtic Briton.

* YouKilledMyFather: Wulfila killed Romulus's parents , Romulus vows to avenge them [[spoiler: and succeeds]]. [[spoiler: Wulfila ALSO killed Aurelius’ parents, after brutal torture, during Siege of Aquileia(452)]]

* GildedCage: Romulus' life is spared and he's sent to the beautiful island of Capri, in an ancient and luxurious ''villa''. Obviously he can't ever leave the place.

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Ambrosinus has a scar on his chest shaped like a pentacle, which adds to his mysterious air. Vortgyn, who gave him that scar, hides his diseased or burned face behind a gold mask. Wulfila gets his face scarred after Aurelius slams it onto his own axe.

** Flavius Orestes is the father of Romulus, the kid protagonist, seemingly AFatherToHisMen and a good husband and father, he did some cutthroat plotting to seize power putting his son in a dangerous situation. Also Odoacer claims that Orestes deceived him by making promises that he did not intend to keep, and Orestes' conversation with his wife implies that Odoacer was telling the truth.
* GrimUpNorth: The protagonists travel from sunny, decadent Naples to war-torn Britannia, crossing un unstable continent during a particularly cold winter.

* UriahGambit: Odoacer sends Wulfila to his quest for Romolus hoping that if he fails he won't come back, as Wulfila disapproves his increasing [[NoTrueScotsman assimilation to Roman ways]] and Odoacer wants to get rid of that noise.

--->''‘I know you
now, Roman! Time has passed, but you haven’t changed enough. You’re the
one who opened the gates of Aquileia to me!’'' - Wulfila to [[spoiler: Aurelius]] , chapter 26

* YouKilledMyFather: Wulfila killed Romulus's parents , Romulus vows to avenge them [[spoiler: and succeeds]]. [[Spoiler: Wulfila ALSO killed Aurelius’ parents during Hunnic Siege of Aquileia]]

* YouKilledMyFather: Wulfila killed Romulus's parents , Romulus vows to avenge them [[spoiler: and succeeds]]. [[Spoiler: Wulfila ALSO killed Aurelius’ parents during Hunnic Siege of Aquileia. ]]

* WeCanRuleTogether: Odoacer, King of the Goths, offers to Romulus' mother Flavia Serena ([[VillainousCrush whom he has admired for years]]) to become his queen, but since he has killed her husband and annihilated her home she flatly refuses.

* YouKilledMyFather: Wulfila killed Romulus's parents , Romulus vows to avenge them [[spoiler: and succeeds]].

Now the title of Caesar, highest office in Rome, must fall to the shoulders of a young boy, Romulus Augustus. Scared, naive, and unprepared, he is barely on the throne for a few days when the dreaded [[HordesFromTheEast Goths]] supporting the chieftain Odoacer descend upon Ravenna and kill everyone except the Emperor, his mother Flavia and his tutor, the Briton druid Meridius Ambrosius, AKA [[{{Myth/Merlin}} Myrdin Emreis]]. Deposed and exiled to the island of Capri, Romulus is rescued by a small band of loyal soldiers, the only survivors of the legion Nova Invicta, an elite force recruited by his father Orestes. But not before uncovering an ancient sword and the prophecy attached to it. Pursued by the Goths, the heroes are led by the prophecy to the faraway lands of Britain where Romulus must find his destiny.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: {{Zigzagged}}. Aurelius and Livia are attracted to each other and make love in the woods halfway in the book believing that they will be separated, but they haven't resolved yet their divergences about Aurelius' past. [[spoiler: TheyDo just before the final battle.]]

%%* AnAxeToGrind: Wulfila, the Barbarian villain, obviously carries one.

* ArchEnemy: Wulfila to Aurelius, and Odoacer to Orestes.
* AnAxeToGrind: Wulfila, the Barbarian villain, obviously carries one.

** It's VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory since the the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was indeed a boy who did disappear from history. [[spoiler:But then it ends up being a prequel to the [[KingArthur Arthurian legend.]]]]

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Constantinople. They start with sending a rescuing mission for the deposed child emperor Romulus, [[spoiler: but end up settling in an agreement with Odoacer instead and actively hunting for the main heroes.]] Ambrosinus also fears that in Constantinople, Romulus will be held as a glorified hostage to be sacrificed as soon as it benefits the court, and wants him to get as far as possible from that place.

** Ambrosinus theorises that Constantinople would be another GildedCage for Romolus, living in luxury but at the mercy of a DeadlyDecadentCourt that would sacrifice him the time he's not useful anymore.

* GildedCage: Romulus' life is spared and he's sent to the beautiful island of Capri, in an ancient and luxurious ''villa''. Obviously he's can't ever leave the place.
** Ambrosinus theorises that Constantinople would be another GildedCage, even more luxurious but at the mercy of a DeadlyDecadentCourt that would sacrifice his life at the first chance.

** Also the entire scheme [[spoiler: of smuggling Romulus to Constantinople. They finally saved the boy when the Eastern emperor decided that after all, it's more convenient letting Odoacer ruling Italy, so he won't protect Romolus. The crew decides ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight and flees to Britain with the boy.]]

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Zigzagged. Aurelius and Livia are attracted to each other and make love in the woods halfway in the book believing that they will be separated, but they haven't resolved yet their divergences about Aurelius' past. [[spoiler: TheyDo just before the final battle.]]

* [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 Apocalypse How: Class 0]]: The novel depicts the troubled times of the final death.of the Western Empire. Western Europe is torn apart by wars and famine, the Roman infrastructures are dilapidated or faded into oblivion, Germanic tribes have all but divided a former empire into smaller kingdoms.

* UriahGambit: Odoacer sends Wulfila to his quest for Romolus hoping that if he fails he won't come back, as Wulfila disapproves his increasing [[NoTrueScotman assimilation to Roman ways]] and Odoacer wants to get rid of that noise.

* GentleGiant: Batiatus. One of the very few barbarians admitted on Nova Invicta, and one of the most feared soldiers in it.

** Also the entire scheme [[spoiler: of smuggling Romulus to Constantinople. They finally saved the boy when the Eastern emperor decided that after all, he trusted Odoacer more with ruling Italy. The crew decides ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight and flees to Britain with the boy.]]

** At first, you can easily stereotype the Roman protagonists as the good guys and the barbaric Goths as the villains. Then you learn that there are Germanic people who are willing to adapt to Roman customs and that the Eastern Roman empire (along with the Western, to tell the truth) is corrupt, greedy and suffers heavily from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.

* GrimUpNorth: The protagonists travel from warm, decadent Naples to war-torn Britannia, crossing un unstable continent during a particularky cold winter.

* EndOfAnAge: The novel depicts the final Naik in the coffin of the Western Roman empire. Rome is no longer capitol and after Romulus is deposed, there won't be another Emperor again and in the following centuries, the former empire will be ruled by one Germanic tribe after the other.

* HordesFromTheEast: Livia recalls the destruction of Aquileia by the Guns. Also the Goths can qualify since they came Eastern Europe (and according to History, they were escaping the Huns as well).

* WeCanRuleTogether: Odoacer, King of the Goths, offers to Romulus' mother Flavia Serena ([[VillainousCrush whom he has admired for years]]) to become his queen, but since he has killed her husband and annihilated her home she flatly refuses.l

** Beyond this, numerous details on the nature of the Roman Empire during its twilight years (and for that matter, its hereditary nature or lack thereof) are right, as with the conflict between the official Christian bishops and the dying pagan religion still present in the countryside the intrigue around Constantinopla and their nomineés to the Occident throne, and the tension between the barbarian forces of Odoacer and the Eastern Empire.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: It's VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory since the the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was indeed a boy who did disappear from history. [[spoiler:But then it ends up being a prequel to the [[KingArthur Arthurian legend.]]]]
** Beyond this, numerous details on the nature of the Roman Empire during its twilight years (and for that matter, its hereditary nature or lack thereof) are right, as the conflict between the official Christian bishops and the dying pagan religion still present on the countryside; the intrigue around Constantinopla and their nomineés to the Occident throne, and the tension between the barbarian forces of Odoacer and the Eastern Empire.

* BadassGrandpa: Ambrosinus is pretty spry for an elderly man, he pulls off Houdini tricks, as the Greek Fire in the waters of Capri. Also Ursinus, who guides TheSquad by the Alps being an elderly, veteran '''miles''' who fought for Aezius in the Catalaunian Plains.

[[caption-width-right:236:The eagle flies for one last time]]The Roman Empire is falling, crumbling into disrepair. In the last five years there have been five Caesars, and every one was murdered. Now the title of Caesar, highest office in Rome, must fall to the shoulders of a young boy, Romulus Augustus. Scared, naive, and unprepared, he is barely on the throne for a few days when the dreaded [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Goths]] supporting the chieftain Odoacer descend upon Ravenna and kill everyone except the emperor, his mother Flavia and his tutor, the Briton druid Meridius Ambrosius, AKA [[{{Myth/Merlin}} Myrdin Emreis]]. Deposed and exiled to the island of Capri, Romulus is rescued by a small band of loyal soldiers, the only survivors of the legion Nova Invicta, an elite force recruited by his father Orestes. But not before uncovering an ancient sword and the prophecy attached to it. Pursued by the Goths, the heroes are led by the prophecy to the faraway lands of Britain where Romulus must find his destiny.

* WeCanRuleTogether: Odoacer, King of the Heules, offers to Romulus' mother Flavia Serena ([[VillainousCrush whom he has admired for years]]) to become his queen, but since he has killed her husband and annihilated her home she flatly refuses.l

* DarkAgeEurope: Being set at the final death of the Roman Empire, the novel does a good job in depicting how culture was steadily shifting towards proto-medieval ways:
** Latin language is starting to fragment in vulgar dialects, as the characters note traveling from Southern to Northern Italy;
** Breeches wore by the Barbarians are actually more comfortable for horse-riding, and the pattern would keep going in the following centuries;
** Barbarians are not one-sided characters (save for Wulfila, maybe) but some like Odoacer are willing to adapt to Roman customs and do understand that they need to compromise with the Church and the Roman institution if they want to rule in the long run.
* DecoyAntagonist: Odoacer seemed to be the main antagonist during the first part, until he sends Wulfila on his quest for Romulus (and partially to get rid of him) and never appears again on page. Wulfila fills the shoes of the real villain.

* GrimUpNorth: The protagonists travel from warm, congenial Naples to war-torn Britannia, crossing un unstable continent during a particularky cold winter.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: TheSquad consist of [[OldSoldier some veterans]], an ActionGirl, a Scary Blackman, an old guy and the boy emperor. They know they are easy recognizable and avoid traveling all together for a while.

* RescueRomance: Livia believes Aurelio was the man who saved her life during the Sack of Aquileia, and it's partially the reason why she fell for him. [[spoiler: She's right, but for most of the plot he's amnesiac about those events, out of guilt and trauma as it turns out.]]