The First Law is Survival, by Magnus Baikie
(We Have a Few More)
In the aftermath of a Barbarian invasion that had only been defeated at the walls of the Capital, the Empire benevolently establish an orphanage for boys – an orphanage run by the Legions. Marcus d ’Ostia is aging out and is signing up as a military engineer. He believes this is the best path to realize his ambition of becoming a master architect. His oldest friend, Septimus, thinks his brilliant friend is making the biggest mistake of his life (Septimus is not wrong). Septimus is signing up with a criminal syndicate (no one thinks he is making a mistake). The third friend, Timolen, is giving nothing away as he plots vengeance.
Our young Triumvirate belong to a cruel and dangerous world. A world where the powerful strive for glory: the most privileged girl in the Empire struggles to escape her gilded cage and achieve real power, the third son of the Emperor plots to move up in the ranking, and a Barbarian Witch initiates her plans of conquest.
The common people have a more practical outlook and live by their first law – survival. The boys from the orphanage have added a few of their own laws – laws that will have unintended consequences for the Empire.
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