The Romans Never Left

Summary:

This SCP is about Immortal Roman Legionnaires who's souls are bound to Hadrian's Wall.

The Romans Never Left

Azzamon 08 Jan 2020 22:22

My SCP idea is about 10 immortal Roman Legionnaires who's immortality is connected to Hadrian’s Wall, the Legionnaires immortality however is connected by a small thread of about 50 metres which the point begins at Hadrian’s Wall and ends outside the perimeter of 50 metres. If a Legionnaire were to step out of that said perimeter his soul would disconnect from the wall and he’d rapidly age until he became nothing but ashes, by reason of the wall acts as an anchor to the souls of the Legionnaires, like a ball and chain, if one Legionnaire were to step out of that perimeter the chain snaps releasing the soul and killing the Legionnaire. Due to this the Legionnaires are quite territorially aggressive, so much so that if anything comes in too deep in the wall’s surrounding area they immediately attack it with their gladiuses while shouting at each other in Latin, they don’t understand any other language other than Latin, because they’ve isolated themselves in their own little enclave for a millennia constantly on guard and perceiving everything as a threat to the wall’s safety including animals, and because of that territorial attitude this part of the wall they occupy has stayed in mint condition since it was built only ever being touched by them and them alone.

The Legionnaires are remnants of the Roman Empire who still believe they can withhold the glory of Rome if they hold this last vantage point as long as they can, so determined that they’re souls bound to the wall for as long as the wall stays up and for as long as they still defend it, so bound by duty they live on immortally bound to the wall to defend it until they’re defeated or the wall is destroyed.

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Azzamon

Re: The Romans Never Left

Doctor Fullham 09 Jan 2020 02:25

A Legionnaire's loyalty...

I have two major issues with this

The first (from Wikipedia, emphasis is mine): Regarded as a British cultural icon, Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

How the heck has The Foundation kept these guys out of public knowledge if this wall is A. a major tourist attraction and B. has been a World Heritage Site for 32 years? And what part of the wall? Is it the entire remaining section? Because that's 73 miles long.

The second:

because of that territorial attitude this part of the wall they occupy has stayed in mint condition since it was built only ever being touched by them and them alone.

Human interaction would not have been the main cause of a wall being worn down over time. Were they able to stop the rain and snow? The sheer passage of time and how it affects stone structures? Is this part of the anomaly - that their connection to it is so powerful that the immortality aspect affects the wall itself to stop these effects?

If you can get me a good answer for those, I like what you have so far. The idea of "undying loyalty" taken to a literal extreme tickles me, and this wall does seem to be one of the last remaining significant structures of the Roman empire in Britain. What is the narrative you plan on telling? The ten remaining legionnaires (you go into depth about how they die so I assume some of the remaining ones witnessed it happen) and their struggle to protect this last bastion of the empire to which they swore loyalty? I see that making for some interesting (and possibly heart-wrenching) conversations as modern researchers explain to them that the Roman Empire is long gone.

The main struggle I see you facing here is keeping the language consistent in conversations with these legionnaires (if there are any) as they would probably speak only Latin and Greek. Not saying you have to write Latin, but to keep in mind how much language has changed in the last 1900~ish years.

I'm not a huge history buff, in-universe or out, so I am unsure if an SCP like this already exists or not. But what you have here sounds unique to me and reminds me of the Lone Centurion plot from Doctor Who, which I loved, so you have my interest. If you can give an idea of what story you want to tell with this, we can help you develop this a bit more.

Re: The Romans Never Left

Azzamon 09 Jan 2020 07:18

Thanks for the feedback, I'll answer some of those questions. The wall itself is a cut off part of the wall, that through anomalous means has made itself stand for so long and if damaged it can repair itself, however this would attract people so the wall's 50 metre barrier puts an illusion around itself to make it seem like nothing is there but fields, furthermore the Legionnaires would know if something enters the zone as they're constantly on look out, if they spot someone who isn't in their group they'd kill on site, unless if someone dressed up completely in a Roman Centurion's armour and spoke Latin with a Northern Italian accent, who's appearance is one with tanned skin, brown eyes and curly black hair, the Legionnaires will try to seek leadership from that said person, believing them to be their lost Centurion leader who they swore an oath of loyalty to never leave their posts at the wall for, but obviously the Centurion is long gone, the wall grants the Legionnaires immortality but has repercussions on their mental state making them semi-deluded and believing anyone who has the appearance of their leader, despite personality differences, believes that the person is the Centurion, they also don't realise Rome has fallen but they made a promise and they try to keep it even though they're going mad in the process for the last millennia.

The Foundation keep the wall and Legionnaires a secret via patrolling just outside the zone, dressed as agricultural workers, the Foundation deter other civilian visitors by constructing, through their observations of the wall, replicas of it away from the actual part of the wall the Legionnaires stem from, by making it look like Hadrian's Wall curves in and out like a zig zag in the middle of the wall, when in reality the wall is actually on big bulge that comes into Scotland and because of this the Foundation have kept the wall a secret for many years, but it doesn't mean they don't get the odd civilian that explores the Scottish wild lowlands, if anyone is caught near this area, which is registered as the Foundation's private property, as under guise of being an agricultural industry they'll be promptly arrested by Police or worse, as if they enter the zone the Legionnaires will immediately kill them, however if they survive this encounter the Foundation will apprehend the civilian and give them a Class-A Amnestic.

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Azzamon

Last edited on 09 Jan 2020 07:41 by Azzamon Show more

Re: The Romans Never Left

Doctor Fullham 09 Jan 2020 16:31

+ show block

unless if someone dressed up completely in a Roman Centurion's armour and spoke Latin with a Northern Italian accent, who's appearance is one with tanned skin, brown eyes and curly black hair, the Legionnaires will try to seek leadership from that said person, believing them to be their lost Centurion leader who they swore an oath of loyalty to never leave their posts at the wall for,

See, now you're running into another problem: How does the Foundation find this out? You as the author know this, but how in the world does the Foundation get this exact list of traits necessary for someone to not be killed on sight? If this is going to be in the article, you have to explain how the Foundation got this information.

they'll be promptly arrested by Police or worse, as if they enter the zone the Legionnaires will immediately kill them,

I feel like the Foundation would have a perimeter large enough that a civilian getting close enough would be nearly impossible. Remember that the Foundation's goal is to Secure, Contain, and Protect. Can the Legionnaires not be disarmed or incapacitated? The Foundation has pepper spray, tear gas, tasers, all kinds of ways to take someone down, both regular and anomalous. Immortal does not necessarily mean invulnerable.

as under guise of being an agricultural industry

I doubt they have agricultural industry that close to a registered historical landmark. That would honestly be more suspicious. Maybe just "an archaeological/anthropological study zone" or "ongoing restoration efforts".