CHAPTER
ONE
The horn was
blown three times for the Amazon warriors to amass in the centre of the
village. Each warrior was standing by their horse ready to mount and counter
attack any invading army. A small command of Hun warriors were riding along the
eastern side of the village firing arrows indiscriminately into the buildings.
They travelled the whole length of the stone wall on the eastern side. Some of
the arrows struck an accidental target killing the odd warrior but injuring
many.
They had appeared
from the only dead area that the watchtower could not see, and that was behind a
small forest to the rear of the mountains in the south east. The Hun had found
a pass through the Caucasus Mountains and was attacking the Amazons from the
rear. Danilo had been the first to respond to the horn by running over to the
young Hippolyte to shield her from danger. She was four years old, and Danilo
could see the fear in her eyes as she stood outside the door of Hippolyta’s
palace. There had been no time to take her in and out of danger before the
arrows started to fall around them. He placed her near the tablet of the fallen
heroes before he stood three steel shields in front of her. “Stay there and
don’t move,” he said as he picked up a shield for his own protection, but not
before an arrow struck him in his left arm.
Hippolyta had
run out the door to see what had taken place before mounting her waiting horse
to lead warriors out of the village in pursuit. The Amazon warriors on the
walkways near the wall had fired back with their own arrows leaving several Hun
lay on the ground either dead or wounded. As Hippolyta rode out the village
some of the remaining Amazon warriors jumped over the wall to check the dead
and dying. Those that were wounded were marched back into the village and
thrown into the keep.
By the time
Hippolyta returned, the village was quiet once more. Danilo was sitting next to
the tablet with Hippolyte on his lap with the arrow still sticking in his upper
arm. After dismounting, Hippolyta walked over and took hold of the young
Hippolyte’s hand looking at Danilo. “Thank you, my wolf and hunter. You thought
of my daughter before your own well being, and that will not go unrewarded.”
“I seek no
reward, my Lady. I am your daughters protector as well as yours. Might I say
something, my Lady?”
“Yes of course,
Danilo.”
“I know that you
have already realised it, but these attacks cannot go on unpunished. This Hun general
called Edico has no idea of your worth, and he is thinking that you are weak
because you are a woman. That is the third attack in less than ten days. I ask
for you to let me find his camp so that you can turn his attacks into your
attacks? I know this land like the back of my hand that will help me to travel
by night.” He pushed his arm forward showing her the arrow sticking out.
“Edico
has now made his battle personal.”
Hippolyta knew
all that Danilo had told her was correct. The Hun was thinking that she and her
army of Amazons was an easy target. “Thraso, fix my hunters wound and then we
will talk of warring against the Hun once more.”
Hippolyta and
her commanders walked over to the council fire that was always alight. It was
around this fire where all the orders for the daily running of the village were
made. Once there Phoebe put her knife tip in the red hot embers while Thraso
turned his arm towards her. Thraso snapped the flight of the arrow off just
above where it entered his arm, and the tip had gone right through to show. She
then placed a thick leather gag in his mouth and told him to bite on it. When
he nodded she pulled the arrow through and out. Phoebe had walked up and
pressed the knife tip over the wound both sides to stop the flow of blood.
The pain was
worse than the arrow striking him and he could feel the tears in his eyes.
Thraso looked at his tear filled eyes and said, “That hurt me more doing that
than it hurt you, Danilo.”
He took the gag
from his mouth to get close to her face looking intently. “What are you staring
at, Danilo?”
“If that was
hurting you more than me, I was just wondering why I see no tears in your eyes.”
The commanders and Hippolyta burst out laughing along with most of the warriors
that had rode against the Hun.
A warrior walked
over to take Hippolyte away from her mother before she and the commanders began
to talk. “My hunter is correct because this Edico is beginning to be a thorn in
our side. We have had peace with the Hun since the death of Bataar, and now
Edico has ventured south. We have no idea how big his army is but I am going to
find out.”
“There has been
word from the traders, Hippolyta. They are saying that this Edico has been
attacking and pillaging the villages. These attacks started ten days ago, but until
this morning when one of the village elders arrived here we had no idea. The
story from the village elder was that Edico has a big army to the north-east of
the Mountains.”
“I can say for
sure, Thraso. Edico will not be staying in my realm much longer to keep mounting
his attacks. Danilo, I grant you your favour. You may go in the morning once
you have rested your arm, and find his camp. Do you need a horse to cover the
eastern side of my realm?”
“No, my Lady, a
horse would only slow the wolf down.”
Hippolyta
laughed, “You amuse me, Danilo.”
Scyleia then said,
“We have three Hun captives, Hippolyta.”
“Are the wolf
pits full?”
“Yes, they were
filled in advance of this attack, Hippolyta.”
“Then bring them
out and they will die for our dead.”
The three men were
led out with one being no older than Danilo. There was no mistaking the fear in
their eyes as they looked at this queen who was known for not showing mercy to
Hun warriors. “You have reason to fear me,” she spoke harsh. “You are about to
die for invading my realm and disturbing my peace. You and your foolish general
think that you can come to my realm and attack me in my own village.”
“I have laws saying
that all invaders must die, and that is you.” She pointed at each one in turn
showing them her face of anger. “There is no time to build a fire outside the
gates so I am afraid you will be thrown to the wolves. I am a merciful queen,
and if I think that you have put up a good fight and kill the wolves. I will
give you your freedom. If you die you will have in the back of your minds that
Edico will be joining you in hell very soon”
Just as they
were about to start Danilo asked, “Can I say something to you, my Lady. It is
important to what you are about to do.”
“Yes come here
and tell me.” Danilo walked over and spoke to her quietly. “What a good idea, I
love torturing the Hun’s minds.”
She then looked
at the three Hun and spoke as she pointed to the youngest Hun. “You are going
to be spared the wolves until we capture you once more. You are going to take a
message to Edico. Phoebe, walk him to the other side of the pit so that he can
see his friends fight for their life.”
When it was done
and he was looking down into the pit, and even though he was being spared his
body was still trembling with fear. The wolves on seeing him were jumping up
trying to get at him, and he pushed back at Phoebe and the other warrior a
little. The sharp teeth of the wolves were shining as the sun struck them.
There could also be seen the saliva hanging from the corner of their mouths. As
their feet pressed against the walls of the pit, their sharp nails could be
seen spread out. The Hun warrior knew that only the lucky would survive this
type of death.
The first Hun was
given a knife and pushed into the pit, and the wolves gave him no chance to
touch the ground before they were on him. His scream got louder as he descended
and within a short moment there was silence except for the tearing of flesh. It
was the same at the second pit, and after the silence the young Hun was walked
back to Hippolyta.
“You have been
shown a short mercy and are the lucky one. It is late now, but in the morning
you will be released. I want you to take a message to that pig Edico. You will
tell him of what you have seen, and because he has now attacked me and my
warriors I will destroy him. I will not rest until he is in one of my pits of
death. You can tell him that I will throw him in the same pit that I hung
Churnobog and Bataar. Throw him back in the keep, Phoebe. Give him food as I
don’t want him dying before he gives the message to Edico and I have the chance
of killing him.”
Phoebe led him
back to the keep and closed the door. Then returning to the fire where
Hippolyta and the commanders were sitting. It was Thraso that asked, “What is
all that about messages, Hippolyta? Why are you letting this Hun go free to
attack us once more?”
“My hunter asked
me to do it. When we release the Hun tomorrow he will follow him back to Edico.
We could have tortured him, but we would still be unsure if he told us the
truth before we threw him to the wolves.”
Thraso laughed
and said, “It looks like you have another hunter that thinks ahead, Hippolyta.”
“We have to find
out how big his army is before we can do battle with him. Nor do we have any
idea where he is at the moment. I don’t want to chase him all over my realm as
I did with Bataar because it takes a lot of time. What is the strength of our
army, Thraso?”
“We now have
four-thousand in the village and another two-thousand patrolling the villages.
Queen Andromache in the south has roughly the same. The army has grown over the
last four years since we had the trouble with Bataar. Attila has expanded his
army east a little, but thankfully he is attacking the Romans in the west and
is somewhere north of Rome.”
There was a
little more small talk that went on late into the evening. By the time
Hippolyta stood up to go in the palace Danilo was near the fire asleep under a
deer skin. She stepped over him after saying good night to the commanders.
The following
morning Danilo built up the council fire before taking meat out of an oven on
the edge that was his. The meat he killed for Hippolyta and the commanders was
cooked on this same fire. It was around this fire where the commanders ate
their meals and discussed the days working. It was as he was eating he watched
Thraso walk up to the keep to open the door. The young Hun walked out and
Thraso handed him his sword.
“You have a
message to deliver,” she told him. As she spoke she was looking at Danilo who
nodded. “Go now, and make sure you tell Edico all that Queen Hippolyta has told
you.”
They watched him
run north out of the village, but Danilo still stay seated eating his meat.
“Are you not going to run after him, Danilo?”
“I will wait
until he is out of our sight and then I will leave. I know from the land about
us that he only has one way to travel. It is to the north until he gets to the
edge of the mountain. I will catch him up before he gets there because I notice
that he has been lazy riding horses.”
It was a long
time before the lookout shouted down that he was now out of sight. Danilo put
his axe in the sling on his back and placed a bow on his shoulder with a spear
in his hand. He then ran the same way, but Thraso could see that he was running
a lot faster than the Hun.
It was almost
mid day before Hippolyta came out of her palace to walk over to the fire. “The
Hun has gone and your hunter left a short time later.”
It was at that
same time when the lookout shouted, “There is a legion of Romans coming from
the south.”
Hippolyta jumped
up at the same time as the commanders. “Sound the alarm and get the defences
ready for attack.”
The horn was
blown three times and the Amazon warriors were ready and mounted in no time. There
where warriors with bows and spears at the ready all along the eastern wall. It
was at the same time that the lookout shouted down, “Queen Andromache is with
the Roman General, and she has a small amount of her army with her. Her army
are still armed, Hippolyta.”
It was a little
while longer before the legion stopped almost three hundred paces away, and a
small group rode forward with Andromache. The group was let through the
entrance to the village following Andromache. She led them over to the fire,
and as she did her slave jumped off a horse behind her and took hold of the
reins on her horse. She dismounted and the slave helped her to keep her
balance. Once both of her feet were on the ground she told the slave, “Look
after the horses.”
“Yes, my Lady,”
and he ran off leading the horses.
“Hippolyta,” she
pointed to the Roman officer, “This is a friend of mine from the old days. His
name is Alexius and he has some important things to tell you.”
The officer
dismounted and looked about at all the arrows pointing at him, “You have no
reason to be in fear of me, as I am here to help you destroy a Hun army. I know
that they have most likely attacked you, and more than once.”
“Tell the
archers to rest, Thraso.”
While she went
over and spoke to the army Hippolyta walked over to the fire. The commanders
were already there, and the Roman officer with Andromache walked over. There
were three junior officers standing behind him.
“Queen
Hippolyta, I have known you were here for over thirty years.” He was smiling as
he was talking. “We the Romans have allowed you to stay here unhindered because
I know the history of your people. I was a young captain in charge of the Roman
army escorting your mother and Queen Andromache to where you are now. It was me
that gave your mother and Queen Andromache this land with the full knowledge of
Rome, and we have no intention of taking it from you.”
“There is a Hun
army to the north-east with a leader called Edico. He along with Attila has
been a thorn in Emperor Arcadius’s side for a very long time. He is a very
dangerous Hun that must be destroyed. His army consists of over five thousand
warriors that are battle toughened. I would think that he is no fool or he
would not have stayed alive for so long. I have been given the task of destroying
him, and hold this side of the Black Sea against the Hun. However, unlike you I
have no large amount of mounted soldiers that I can call on.”
“I think that
you are able to draw six thousand mounted warriors if you were in need. The
Emperor is offering you one-thousand gold coins to fight for Rome and destroy
this mad Hun. As you see I have a legion of soldiers with me and they are with
me for a reason other than fighting you. I want you to call your army together
and destroy Edico.” The officer took a pouch off of one of the younger officers
and gave it to Hippolyta. “That is two-hundred gold coins in that pouch. I will
give you four more if you agree to fight for Rome.”
The officer
stopped talking while looking like he was thinking. After a short while he
said, “There is another army to the north west. At the moment they are not
concerned with this area, but it is that army that the Romans fear and so too
should you. There is over ten thousand in their army and they are still
deciding which way to go. Attila is moving west to warmer climates, and the
Emperor is hoping this large army will follow their leader. If there is no
Edico and no army, then there is no reason to come south east.”
Hippolyta looked
at the officer and said, “If we take all of the warriors from both realms,
there would be no one left to protect the villages or the realms.”
“That is correct
and that is why I have a legion with me. If you allow my legion to enter your
village we will protect it from the Hun? You will then only have to leave a
small army to look after your slaves and property. My soldiers will be sleeping
in shelters that will be brought here later today. There is the same amount of
soldiers in Queen Andromache’s village that is almost obsolete and empty now.
On completion of the task that Rome asks, there will be a further one thousand
gold coins. If you will allow me, Queen Hippolyta, then I will go back to my army
and wait for you to talk with your commanders.”
“Yes, I think
that my commanders and I have a lot to talk about General.”
“Please, call me
Alexius?”
The Roman
officers rode away and Hippolyta waited until he went out of the village.
“Andromache, give me your views.”
“I don’t really
think that we have a lot of choice, Hippolyta. The last thing we want is
another ten-thousand Hun to fight. I think this Edico is going to be a battle
to remember for a long time. There is a legion of soldiers sitting outside my
village, and I have sent word out to the outskirts of the realm for my
warriors. We have never been in fear of the Romans as they knew we were
fighting the Hun. All the time we were holding the Hun at bay they had a boundary
they never needed to look after.”
“As soon as
Echephyle arrives with my army she will talk with you to make plans for this
war.”
“Are you not
leading your army, Andromache?”
“No, Hippolyta,
I am too old for all that riding. I will stay here in your palace and entertain
Alexius, as we have a lot to talk about. It has been twenty-five years since he
and I spent some time together.”
While she was
talking Hippolyta could see the knowing smile on the face of Andromache. Hippolyta
burst out laughing, “Echephyle is twenty-five, Andromache.
Andromache
laughed before she replied, “Yes, so she is,” and laughed out loud once more.
“Thraso, as my
second in command you had better ride over and tell the Roman officer to fetch
his army to just outside the entrance, and then we will talk again.”
It was a long
age before Hippolyta was sitting near the fire once more with the Roman
officer. “It is in our interest to do as you ask and remove Edico from my realm.
While your army is here they are not to go inside the dwellings, as they are
out of your boundaries.”
“Queen
Andromache will be staying here in charge of the village while I am away. It is
obvious that there will be some contact with our armies, but my warriors are
not whores. They will be on guard along with your men on the walls, and they
are there for a reason.”
“There is enough
room just inside the gates for your army to camp, staying out of our way. There
will be a large amount of my army here at all times unless Edico gets
reinforcements. I have no intention of committing all of my army until I think
there is a reasonable chance of a successful encounter. There will be groups of
warriors going out at intervals trying to destroy small sections of Edico’s
army.”
“The Centurions
will be keeping the Roman army under control, my Lady. They will also be very
busy during the day building up your defences, because this Edico is powerful
enough to attack the village in force. The amount of men I said were in his
army is only an estimate. Queen Andromache’s village is in a better position
than this one and the Soldiers will remain camped outside. Their Legatus
Legionis is Basilus, and he will be keeping the two armies apart while helping
to protect the village.”
“Why are you so
concerned with this Hun, they have never moved south to where you are?”
“Attila is
moving west, and he has left this powerful leader to look after the east. We
the Romans think that Edico is ambitious and impatient. If anything happens to
Attila he and one other of Attila’s generals would be in the correct place to take
over. If Edico pulled in all of his army that are spread about Attila’s empire
he would have over thirty-thousand. Queen Andromache knows that we have a
garrison fortress in Lazica, it is very low on soldiers, but we wish to keep it
there. We also have a garrison fort in Theodosia that because of its size would
be soon overwhelmed by the force of the Hun.”
Hippolyta looked
up to say, “One thing that you must remember. How we send the guilty Hun to
their God is of no concern of yours. Our ways are hard but it is justice for
the attacking and pillaging of my villages along with the killing of my
subjects.”
“The Roman army
will not interfere with your daily running of the village and realm. There is
also a cohort of mounted Romans that might be of help to go with your local
patrols. They should also be arriving at the same time as Queen Echephyle, as I
believe they are travelling together.”
“Then I must
send riders out to collect my army from the boundaries. It will take a few days
before we can move, as I am waiting for my hunter to get back with the
whereabouts of Edico and his army. He will also have news of the real strength
of Edico’s army.”
“See to sending
riders out, Thraso, we still have time while we wait for Echephyle to get here
with her army.”
While the
meeting had been taking place, the Roman legion had come through the gates. They had left the entrance clear for the
patrols to go in and out. There was a large section walking the inside of the
perimeter placing a Roman soldier every ten paces on the wall. They all had a
pilum [spear] along with their personal shield, and short sword hanging at
their side. The carts with their tents and equipment were being unloaded and
the empty carts were going out the gate once more.
Alexius could
see where Hippolyta was looking and said, “You will not be getting any attacks
from the south or east any more. The trail the Hun was using to come out of the
mountain has been closed by a giant landslide on the southern end. All attacks
by the Hun now will come from the north. You have the natural defence of the
sea to the west so with your permission my men will strengthen your defences to
the north. It is to your advantage as Edico will send armies to test your
defence.”
The Amazons
called home the village, but it was a lot more than that. It had an arena where
they put on shows of fighting skill. There was a grazing area for their horses,
with enough fodder and hay to last through the winter months. The peasants and
villagers brought them the hay in payment for the Amazons patrolling their
villages.
The area was some
twenty hectares with a ten foot stone wall going all the way around. On the
walkway behind the wall Amazon warriors walked the length, each having forty
paces to walk back and forth. They had a bow for firing at attacking forces and
a sword if the battle got personal. There were cashes of arrows and spear all
along walkway resting against the wall.
Hippolyta saw
men digging a hole in the ground either side of the entrance and asked, “What are
they doing?”
“We are going to
put heavy gates at the entrance. At the moment the Hun could walk in as if
invited. When I take my army back to Lazica they and your defences will
remain.”
It wasn’t until
Alexius pointed these things out that Hippolyta realised just how weak her
defences were. She had seen what the Romans had built in Lazica in a short
amount of time, and it was impressive. She had not ventured into the town, but
she had looked at it from a distance.
It was as she was
still looking out the gate when the lookout shouted, “Scyleia with her army
riding in from the south.” Hippolyta and Alexius watched as the army rode along
the eastern wall slowly then a short moment later ride through the entrance.
She stopped by Hippolyta as her army carried on to the centre of the village.
“I have with me six hundred warriors, Hippolyta. We would have been here sooner
but we were chasing fifty Hun away from a village. They will never attack and
pillage our villages again.”
She then looked
at the Roman officer, “I see that you have been making new friends, Hippolyta.
He is a friend isn’t he?”
“Yes, Scyleia,
we are going to war against the Hun once more. This time we are getting help
from the Roman Emperor himself. This is Alexius, and he is in charge of this
legion.” Alexius walked down the hill towards the army in the north of the
village at the same time Hippolyta walked into her palace.
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