We were in the middle of the column towards the front. Women, children, and men who were too old stood on the rooftops of houses we passed, cheering us on. The procession culminated with us passing under the eastern gate. Petals of purple, yellow, white, and blue rained down on us from those standing on the wooden gatehouse. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It made me think that the fields and gardens around our town must have been completely barren of flowers now.
There were about twenty lightly equipped horsemen that we saw waiting outside on the plain just outside of the town. Further ahead in the line, Klysestes shouted something to them and the men rode off ahead of the column.
Estrianes nudged me with his elbow. “Do you think we will be rich enough to afford horses some day?” he asked. It’s not as uncommon to see horses in Demepolis today but at the time, few noble families could bear the cost of keeping them. With how rocky and mountainous our land is, there would not be much of a point for keeping many horses. The fact that Klysestes had over twenty sent a message.
I looked over. “If the gods favor our endeavor, maybe you can own some of the spoils are divided,” I said to my brother. “Besides, you’re a man now. You can purchase some.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Purchase?” The word was said as if he failed to remember its meaning. “I’d sooner claim one in a wager with that arrogant fuck, Kyron. Gods know he has enough of them.” I grinned when he told me that. I always had a tendency to feel wiser because of my slight advantage in age but he would always be quick to remind me of the shrewd mind he carried on his shoulders.
The entire column marched on and eventually cleared the gate. The younger men around me were in high spirits and spoke to each other about how many men they would kill and how women would beg them to tell the stories of their battle glory. The faces of the older men around me were more resolute, not unhappy but set to purpose. They tended to be more stoic in nature. It almost felt as if we were expecting to travel to two different destinations.
Not all of the older men were of dour disposition. Some laughed and joked. Others contented themselves by having wine from a skin they brought. Father and Estriadites marched closer to the front of the column while Estrianes and I slowed our pace to sink back into the column, looking for others near our own age we might want to talk to.
Life in Demepolis, being only a large town depending on who you asked, meant that many faces were familiar. I recognized many sons of the nobility from my brief time at The Academy back in town. I still hold firm in my belief that Kyron threw the first punch that led to the end of my days there, in the end, it mattered not.
The stonemason that helped repair our mill marched nearby with two of his sons, both older than us by many years. Kamenes, the disgraced acolyte of Arresus marched solemnly with his helmet pushed back on his head, drinking from a wineskin with downcast eyes. Hastaeaphus, the local wine merchant, cracked jokes and was surrounded by intermitted laughter while we walked. I wondered if it was too late to purchase wine from him.
Finally, we found Helion marching with his father, Heliodoras the potter, who had been my friend since I had first taken steps. His father was a friend of our family whom we hadn’t seen in what seemed like years. He would usually come to our estate outside of the city, when we were young and still lived outside of the city, and work on various items father had commissioned. Our family’s descent into hard times had prevented such commissions from being placed. Years of war took their toll on Heliodoras’ hands leading to Helion spending most of his time learning the intricacies of his family's trade.
“Helion!” I shouted across the stream of hoplites and slaves. Estrianes and I took our helmets off and held them in the air so he could find us. Helion took is off and raised it signaling he heard the call. Pushing his way through the line of annoyed men, he squeezed in next to Estrianes.
“Estrios!” he called to me. “Can you believe this? We finally get to march with our fathers into a great battle!” His voice was elated and his eyes soaked in the sights around us, the mass of men moving towards a single purpose. “I’ve seen this moment in my dreams.”
“So this begins the legend of Helion the Spear of the West?” said Estrianes. We all laughed and imagined our glory to come.
“I make no joke,” replied Helion. “For every Elahkarian I fell, I’ll remove one ear. That way I’ll prove how many men I kill. I bet you anything that number will be greater than yours.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Without hesitation, Estrianes replied, “Do you have any horses?” He and I laughed while Helion looked on with a raised eyebrow.
****
We marched for another hour, discussing the various ways we would kill our enemies and about how we would spend our earnings after taking their loot and selling prisoners into slavery. It was around this time when I noticed Kyron looking back at us from further in the line. He had the same short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes of his father, only his beard was a mockery of his father’s, though still somehow superior to mine.
Kyron looked back at us and made a comment to the boys next to him who boomed with laughter. Only later did it occur to me that he may not even have noticed us, but I took it as a slight in that moment. “That cock-eater mocks us,” I observed in protest.
“He fights for the same cause,” replied Estrianes. “Give pause to your hatred and see the score settled when we return.” Helion nodded in begrudging agreement.
“It matters not,” I replied with a wink. “Kythenes favors me.”
That comment took a moment to sink in but when it did, both their faces lit up. “Kythenes? As in Kyron’s sister, Kythenes?!”
“The very one.”
“How do you know she favors you?” asked Estrianes.
“Yeah, what would a beautiful girl see in a fuck like you?” asked Helion.
I did little to contain my smile, “How does any man know a woman favors him…when her lips are wrapped around his cock?”
We all laughed wildly and when Kyron looked back, I met his eyes defiantly. The grown men around us didn’t seem to take much notice of us. “Stand clear of Estrios’ mouth,” said Estrianes, “lest the smell of horseshit turns your stomach.”
“You accuse me of lying?” I asked.
“Naturally,” replied Estrianes. “What would such a beauty see in you when the worthy brother stands beside you,” he pointed to himself. An older man walking next to us scoffed.
“Something to add?” I questioned.
The man remained quiet like he was figuring out how to word something. “You’re young. In your mind there’s no possibility of failure,” he said. “Enjoy the memory of a girl’s mouth while you have the time. We’re all going to die the day after next.
I almost ran into the men in front of me, not realizing the column was stopping. I looked up and saw plumes of dark smoke rising into the air. All three of us stood on our toes to see but could not make out what was ahead through the forest of horsehair crests on polished helmets. After a few minutes, the chatter around me grew deafening but the line started moving again.
The column moved forward and the smell of smoke got stronger. Helion, Estrianes, and I made our way closer to the edge of our column to get a better view. We approached the small village of Leoniki. It was a smoldering wreck of buildings and bodies. Marching through the village center, corpses were strewn about, their blood discoloring the ground beneath them.
A man lay in front of a freshly burnt house, with two arrows sticking out of his chest. A woman and little boy were collapsed in the doorway. Both had arrows sticking out of them. A beautiful woman lay on her back with her dress ripped and bearing both breasts. Her throat was cut. I quickly averted my eyes.
We had to walk over several more brutalized corpses as we passed through the village, most of which had arrows stuck in them. The roof of a house collapsed and made everyone near it jump and level their spears towards it. I stood there, shield raised and spear ready in hand as the house fire smoldered. Estrianes, Helion, and I traded glances and moved on with the column.
At the other end of the town, there was a pile of around twenty bodies in an arrow ridden pile. All were armed as hoplites. I gawked as we marched past them. All of their heads had been taken, though the helmets remained, and a large pool of blood stained the ground under the pile. Their shields reminded me of the spiked backs of porcupines, each one having no less than five shafts in it. Tracks from the horses circled the pile of corpses.
I remember my hands feeling cold shaky despite the sweat on my brow. Someone in the line shouted. I looked up and saw a few men run out of the column. Father and Klysestes stood next to our tyrant, Ankarithesos. They all looked to the hill about three-four hundred paces from us. Four horsemen were observing us from the hill. Too far away to hear, I saw my father point to the hill with his spear. Ten of our scouts rode off towards the hill at a good speed and the four enemy riders calmly rode away. Moments later I could hear more shouting.
A man was running down the line yelling for skirmishers. Men squeezed their way out of various points in the line after the man passed. Slingers, archers, and javelin throwers gathered into a group next to our line. They seemed over two hundred strong. They stood our opposite. Where our hoplites were heavily armored, they were not. Where they were highly mobile, we were not.
“Follow me,” I ordered. Helion and Estrianes jogged with me to where my father had been standing. “How can we be of service?”
My father looked at us like one might look at a child that is slow in the head, “Return to the line. They’re on horseback, you’d never catch them,” he admonished with a wave of his hand. We slowly moved back into the line nearest to us.
“We should send the riders out in front of us,” father said to the nobles.
“To what end?” replied Klysestes. “It’s open country until we reach the mountains. They can come from any direction. We’ll send the remaining riders in groups of two towards different directions ahead and keep the skirmishers as a vanguard.” The rest of the nobles nodded, some begrudgingly.
The Tyrant of Demepolis stood almost a head taller than those in his presence. He looked around carefully at the faces of his nobles. “Then that is what we will do,” said Ankarithesos. “My decision is made.”
“Very well,” replied father. “Let us not waste more time. If we arrive late, that means death for all.”