Prefect and Palatine Cavalry

The prefect of the Late Roman army sits his horse in silence atop the ridge, flanked by two stern palatini guards whose armour glints dully in the grey light. Below them, a barbarian host churns the river into mud and foam, standards bobbing like dark weeds in the current. The prefect studies every column, every wagon, weighing distance, numbers and the time it will take them to form on the far bank. His guards shift in the saddle, hands resting on spear and sword, waiting for a single word to r