Men of the Shadows
"Men of the Shadows" is the title of a poem by American writer Robert E. Howard, published sometimes in itself and sometimes at the beginning of a 1926 story with the same title, dealing with the Pictish King Bran Mak Morn. The poem was first published in 1957 in Always Comes Evening, a collection of Howard poems. The story was included in Bran Mak Morn, Dell Books (1969), and in Worms of the Earth, Ace Books (1979). Summary Men of the Shadows consists of several very loosely connected elements. The poem "Men of the Shadows", in which the Picts tell of themselves and their history while taking pride in having been "The First Great Nation". A narrative told by a Norse warrior who took up service in a Roman Legion and gained Roman citizenship. He had been among 500 Roman soldiers who traveled north of Hadrian's Wall on a foolhardy mission known only to their commander. The commander and most of his cavalry are killed in repeated Pict ambushes. The narrative begins when thirty surviving Legionaries, of varied ethnic origins, are cornered by a horde of Picts and fight furiously. Though outnumbered, they manage to kill all their adversaries, but