“…and may Rehala watch over these proceedings and guide them to a fruitful conclusion,” the priestess said, bowing to the anax.

Memnostis accepted the obeisance and excused her with a gesture of his hand. When the priestess had stepped aside, he rose from his elevated chair and looked around the assembly. More than thirty men were gathered in the hall. The leaders sat in chairs along the sites of the room, their followers standing behind them. The middle was left empty for the speakers.

“Friends of Riadnos”, Memnostis said, his voice carrying easily through the hall, “fellow Helcenaean, I thank you for heeding our call.” He looked around nodding to individual leaders. “I glad to see old comrades that stood next to me, more than a decade ago when Helcenaean last stood against invaders from the south. I see the sons of those heroes, eager and ready to continue their fathers’ legacy.” He gave a fatherly smile to a young war leader from the mainland. The young man beamed, being publicly acknowledged by the legendary anax of Riadnos.

That one is ready to die for you now, Delia thought, easily reading the young man. At least for today.

She stood with the priestesses and priests to the side of the anax’s elevated platform. From here she could easily study the council without bringing attention to herself.

So far there had been nothing interesting to see. The young men were eager to make a name for themselves. To them, a war like this was a chance for glory. The old basileus were guarded, warily watching each other. The war meant the loss of warriors but also a chance to increase their influence. Who lost and who gained would affect the balance between them. Many of these men were rivals. Some outright enemies.

Menas, an older basileis from the islands, rose. “Thank you, anax, for your warm welcome. We are ready and eager to stand with you again.”

Lie.

It was Delia’s task to read the leaders and inform Memnostis of what she saw. Being able to see through the people coming to negotiate with him, was a big part of the anax’s successful rule. And it kept him alive. Over the years, Delia’s Gift had uncovered several plots from both foreign rulers and from within. Her father and Ajaxos had gone after their enemies with ruthless brutality.

“Some of us, myself included, just arrived today,” Menas said. “Could you tell us of the current situation?” A murmur of agreement rose around him.

Memnostis raised his hand to quiet the room.

Delia watched her father. She knew he’d intended to speak longer. Honoring your guests was an important way to win allies and to create unity before the debate. Menas now forced him to move on.

“It is good to see you, old friend,” Memnostis said. “I am glad to have you by my site this time.”

Menas’ face hardened. He hadn’t participated in the last war and people knew it. Lusting for the dominion over the islands, he and his father before him had always seen Riadnos as an obstacle. It wasn’t in the city’s interest to allow any of the islands to subjugate their neighbors. Many battles and skirmishes had been fought, with Riadnos sometimes supporting this site, sometimes the other.

The basileus was no friend. But was he an enemy right now? Delia couldn’t see the answer yet.

Memnostis pointed at a senior scribe. “Tell us what we know about the enemy.”

The scribe stepped forward flanked by a junior, carrying several clay tablets.

“Hmph”, the scribe said, “I will now report everything we have learned since the sage Mar’Doug first brought us news of the threat.”

While the senior scribe gave his report, Delia observed the assembled men. Who here would support a defense of the city and who would favor a bolder plan? It was hard to say. Many would like to see Riadnos weakened. But losing a Helcenaean city to the Assanaten was hopefully too extreme a prize even for their hardest rivals.

Every so often the scribe handed a tablet back to his junior in exchange for another. He seemed to know the contents by heart as he always only took a quick glance at the new tablet before continuing.

Only partially listening, Delia's attention wandered to her brother. From the corner of her eyes, she could see him standing on the other side of her father’s chair. On the outside, he seemed calm enough.

His moment would come soon.

Surprisingly it hadn’t taken much to convince the anax to keep his word and let Delios present his plan to the council. Delia knew that Memnostis didn’t expect much from him. The two were too different and he’d never paid much attention to his younger son.

Dorios had been his heir for years. A strong healthy warrior and a man of great appetite. Just like his father.

Delios on the other hand had always been happy to do his duty in his brother’s shadow. Now that wasn’t an option anymore. He had to either establish himself as the successor or leave Riadnos forever. Whoever became the next anax then wouldn’t let a direct descendant of Memnostis alive.

“…we assume that the troop estimates vary because the Assanaten sent their men in groups through the mountains. The merchants could only give us numbers for the time they stayed in Piro.” The senior scribe handed the last clay tablet back and bowed to the anax.

Memnostis dismissed the man with a nod.

“It seems as if we don’t know much,” Menas said, crossing his arms. “Somehow an Assanaten army, strong enough to take Piro in days, managed to sneak around Riadnos defenses without anybody noticing.” He mostly succeeded in keeping the derision from his voice.

“We don’t know if it is the whole army,” Acanthos, a leader from the mainland, not much older than Delios, said. “The Assanaten also need to hold Piro, as well as defend their back against the Saggabian.”

Menas lifted an eyebrow at the younger man. “They will have enough to take the city, or they would not have sent them at all. We just heard that the mountains are already crawling with them!”

“Enemies have stood before the city’s wall before and they were thrown back,” Acanthos said confidently. “Riadnos’ famous seawall was breached then as well. But in the end, the invaders fell to Helcenaean spears. I grew up with tales from that battle. You might have heard the same?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Menas glared at him but was met with an easy smile.

Acanthos was twenty-six at the most. But having proven himself in battle at a young age, he’d led two full crews to the city’s defense. All of them young men, eager to test themselves. Delia saw that for them fighting not just the enemies of their home city, but of all Helcenaean was a romantic and glorious proposition.

Their leader rose and turned to Memnostis. “Anax, we should meet them at the bottom of the mountains. Let’s attack them before they can line up.” He punched his fist into his palm. “If we can hurt them bad enough, we can push them all the way back through the mountains and free our people.”

“Ha!” Menas shouted, leaning back in his chair. “You want to climb those slopes while Assanaten archers rain arrows down on us? Our men will break and run before they are halfway up the first peak.”

Without losing his straight, Acanthos nodded to Menas. “I am sure the basileus is right. At least his own men, he will know better than I.”

“You!”

“I think Menas is right,” a basileus sitting further back said. “We cannot attack them. A battle in the open field would be suicide.”

“That is easy for you to say!” another shouted. “Your home is on the coast. My village is right at the foot of the mountains. When the Assanaten come down, our houses will be the first to burn.”

“As were ours during the last war!” the former said. “We still let our people through the seawall and fought in the defense of the city.”

A back-and-forth ensued. The lines between the different factions were pretty much drawn as expected. Nobody wanted Riadnos to fall to the Assanaten, but the cost of a defeat differed for each group. Thus, what they were willing to risk in the city’s defense varied as well.

Menas’ faction’s position was the most complicated. They wanted to see Riadnos weakened but had no interest in the Assanaten taking the city. Their islands would be the next target if the enemy ever decided to take to the sea. Until then they could look forward to pirate ships sailing where currently Riadnos’ galleys patrolled.

It took Delia a while to guess what Menas had in mind. When she did her eyes widened. She quickly made a sign, invisible to all but two people in the hall.

“Daughter,” the anax said, never taking his eyes off the heated debate in front of him.

Delia walked to a side table and picked up the wine jar placed there so that Memnostis might wet his throat. Displaying the demeanor of the dutiful daughter she joined her father’s site to fill his cup.

“I believe Menos wants a bloody siege,” Delia whispered, her back turned to the hall. “He thinks he can take or retake the city once we and the Assanaten have weakened each other enough.”

Without ever looking at her, Memnostis brought the cup to his mouth. Delia returned the jar to the table and retreated into the background again.

An old fool with big dreams, she thought, watching Menos shout at Acanthos. His anger was real. The younger man’s taunts bit deep into his pride. But they, together with the general disagreement, would give him an excuse not to join the defense.

In his mind he already saw himself leading a fleet of island galleys into Riadnos’ bay, freeing the city. Sadly, they’ll be too late to save its leading families, she thought.

Delia was sure that the basileus’ sons were currently busy gathering men and equipping ships. Menos had only brought four galleys. If he called on all his allies and hired any mercenary, he could get his hands on, he might be able to muster between a thousand and fifteen hundred men. Of course, if he failed, his family would be ruined.

After watching the spectacle below him for a while, Memnostis rose once more. He took a step forward and raised his hand. “Please,” he said in a calm but strong voice.

Those that supported the anax fell silent first and turned in his direction. Losing his opponents’ attention Menos and his faction had no choice but to cede the floor.

“I have listened to your thoughts”, Memnostis said slowly looking from man to man, “and I agree. The situation is dire. Do we face the Assanaten in the field or do we defend the city? We asked the gods, but we received no clear answer.” That started murmurs from the crowd.

Again, Memnostis raised his hand. “My son Delios has thought up a plan which he wants to present to the council today. In this hall, many of the most accomplished warriors of our time are gathered. I ask you to listen to his words and give him your judgment.”

Returning to his seat, the anax nodded to his son.

Confusion.

Some of the men frowned. A few exchanged glances. Memnostis' announcement had both those who considered themselves his supporters, as well as Menos’ site, confused. He gave his son permission to speak in front of the council, without so much as hinting his support.

Delia was the only one who saw the truth. The anax simply didn’t care.

He allowed Delios to speak because he didn’t want to offend the sage. Memnostis knew without his support, Delios would never be able to unify the council enough to realize his plan.

If it had been her oldest brother, it would have been a different matter. Dorios possessed a reputation. Some of the people in this room might not even have known that the anax had a second son until now.

If Delios felt pressure from any of these facts, he didn’t show it to the audience. He stepped in front of the council, meeting the measuring eyes with a straight back. “I am Delios, son of Memnostis. I am honored to stand in front of you today.” His voice was strong and calm. “My city is in grave danger. Just like back then, a strong enemy is coming to push the Helcenaean from this continent. I have studied the stories of the last war. The heroic deeds and the sacrifices made by our warriors.” Delios met the eyes of some of the grizzled veterans in the room, showing his respect. “Our wisest leaders and most experienced veterans have listened and discussed the same reports that you have heard today. And they agree that our situation is worse than last time.” He paused.

Low whispers ran through the hall.

Delia was impressed. She knew her brother had spent much of the previous day and most of the night with master Mar’Doug. So far, their preparation paid off. Delios appeared serious and capable without pretension.

“When Saggab attacked us, they came with overwhelming force. With their numbers and their siege engines, they took the seawall, which everybody believed to be impregnable. Today, those walls stand even higher.” Delios paused again. “But the Assanaten are a different breed from the Saggabian. They are stronger and more ruthless. Their army is made up of veterans who can fight in all seasons. Indeed, every time they fought Saggab, the Assanaten beat them with a smaller force.”

At this point, all whispers had died down. Everybody was listening intently to the young man standing in their midst.

“Like back then”, Delios said, gesturing into the distance behind him, “the enemy outnumbers us. But the Assanaten are more cunning than the Saggabian. They decided not to march up the Golden Road where we could have seen them coming from far away. Instead, they snuck into our back, bypassing the seawall altogether.”

“Nothing you have said so far is new to any of us,” Menos said, interrupting Delios’ speech. “Why don’t you come to the point, boy.”

Whispering stirred up. Some in his support, others criticizing his rudeness.

Delios stayed unfaced. Delia saw that he’d expected interruptions. He’d come prepared.

Her brother turned to Menos, acknowledging the man’s interjection. “The basileus is correct. The point is this. If master Mar’Doug had not come to warn us, we might only have learned of the threat when the enemy’s warriors were already pouring down the mountains. We need to expect the Assanaten to have the cunning to have planned even further ahead.”

Frowns appeared. Where was Delios going?

Now you have everybody’s attention, Delia thought. Don’t squander this moment.

“Master Mar’Doug asked us many questions,” Delios said. “He pushed us to put ourselves into the enemy’s position. What would we do if we were in the Assanaten’s sandals?” Delios turned facing the gathered leader individually. “The Saggabian made their camp at the pass, allowing my father a breakout and organized assault of their camp. The Assanaten will not repeat that mistake. They will push us back to the city and trap us. Then they will assault the seawall from this side and easily take it. With the seawall and its forts in their hands, they control the canal that connects the three lakes to the sea. The city will be cut off, while the Assanaten can supply themselves by ship.” Delios made another pause giving his words time to sink in.

“The Assanaten don’t have a fleet,” a leader from the island faction said.

“They took Piro,” Menos said, thoughtfully.

There was a finality to his statement. Delia could see that the basileus was shaken. If things came to be as Delios described, his dreams of taking Riadnos from both the Assanaten and Memnostis were dead. The islanders couldn’t hope to challenge a seawall manned by Assanaten archers.

But he hadn’t given up yet. “You cannot know this. That this is what they plan to do!”

“No,” Delios said. “I cannot. But it is the worst scenario. And that is what we need to prepare for!”