After the bloodshed comes the calm. Aware that the lack of organised resistance indicates an island already preoccupied by internal strife, Aulus intends to form an alliance to make Rome’s victory in Britannia that much easier. He sends ambassadors to the Cantii and Regni to parlay. King Pellenor, King of the Cantii, vehemently rebuffs the Roman’s attempt at diplomacy. His message received, Rome sends a brutal message back. Kerra, daughter of Pellenor and fearless warrior, defies her father to speak with Aulus herself in an attempt to end further bloodshed. However, her actions do not go unnoticed. Phelan’s wife and Cantii queen-in-waiting, Amena, seeing Kerra as an obstacle to her ascent to the throne, uses this knowledge to sow seeds of distrust between Pellenor and his daughter. Roman negotiations with the Regni’s queen, the fierce Antedia, appear more fruitful. Although Antedia has some demands of her own. Meanwhile, Aulus learns more of the Druids – those who deal in magic and speak for the gods themselves. Undeterred by the fear of the myths of the island that has begun to infect his army’s ranks, he seeks out the Druids’ leader – the mysterious Veran.