Atlas Of Megaras

Greeks!

"Is that an Olive estate! It also has some Olives left on them! Did you know Olive trees don't give Olives until after twenty years of growth?" Eda craned her neck to see better.

"Drive a bit slow." She exclaimed slapping my arm. Travelling was better when you had chariots. Walking was the norm. But chariots were faster, safer and comfortable. Travelling was worse when you had a sister who wanted to stop every 500 paces to see new things.

"I'm not stopping for Olive estates." We were already late. The cavalry was already ahead of us by half a day. And we had to catch up to them. Arriving late would not make a good impression on my fellow allies.

"You can just leave me here! I'll walk rather than miss seeing the oil press." Eda pouted.

"No. Absolutely not." Balius and Xanthos sped up as I pulled the reins. "I'm not going to get caught in the middle of a skirmish because you wanted to see an Oil Press. I swear I'll take you there when we return."

But Eda was already distracted by an Apple Orchard. Dust was starting to rise. We were close enough. Chariots also kicked up a whole lot of dust and dirt. We weren't further than 100 hundred paces from Cassadia.

"Wait aren't those your men." Eda pulled on her veil. It was. We had managed to gather 400 soldiers in total with 100 chariots. As usual the cavalry left first, led by Aeneas for a change and me. The infantry was accompanied by our fathers and the supplies we needed to set up camp.

Aeneas had ridden on with them, while Eda and I were delayed by her constant urge to see everything. But right now, they were all lined up in a square box formation with Aeneas at the front. Dressed in their leather armour, it was as much of an impressive sight a small kingdom like Megaras could conjure.

The faint should of metal clashing and yells were already penetrating my ears. Pulling my chariot to a stop right beside Aeneas, he jumped right on as soon as Eda got off. "You're running extremely late."

"My servants will lead you to safety, Lady Eda." He handed over the reins to his servants.

"Well the Greeks are here." He said. Pulling on my Greeves, Aeneas was busy tying the bronze Cuirass.

"They were fast." Finally, I pulled on my helmet. Worst part about the helmet was you couldn't hear properly.

"Not all of them are here. Some are still on their way." I looked back at the soldiers. We were hidden right around the bend from the wide plain where the battle was going on. Cassadian forces were getting pushed back slowly. We could not delay any longer. The plan was simple. They wouldn't think about us ambushing them on the sides, where there were no chariots nor strongly armoured men.

I pulled out my sword. I prayed to the Gods. 'Let me survive this, one more time.'

"Charge!" Aeneas turned the horses around and we sped off towards the battle field. Calling it a battle field was a bit of exaggeration. It was a stretch of land where the earth was a mixture of sand and mud which lay before the beach.

We rounded the corner at full speed. Both sides were a bit confused as to who we would attack. But as soon as we crashed in the Greek lines, cheers went up on the Cassadian side.

Aeneas and I got down from our chariot. I was immediately confronted by a spear flying towards me. Dodging it, I went straight for the man who threw it. He was wearing a green cloak with a boar tusk helmet. He tried to run. Bad choice. I grabbed the corner of his cloak and pulled hard. He tumbled out of the chariot on his back. He scrambled to get up. I slashed upward, cutting cleanly across his neck.

He slumped over, light disappearing from his eyes. Arrows were flying. I hide behind the shield of another man. As soon as the volley stopped he threw his spear. It meets its mark, passing straight through the right eye.

My ears were hurting. The sounds of armour clanging and men screaming filled my ears. There were broken chariots strewn everywhere. I had lost count of how many people died by my sword. There was no time to think. There was blood everywhere. On the ground, on my armour, dripping from the sword.

"Look out." Aeneas screamed. His spear flew over my shoulder and went straight through the torso of a young man. He lay there. Pinned to the ground. Gasping for breath. The wound was too deep. He wouldn't survive. Even in those last moments, he picked up a rock and flicked it at me. It hit my forehead, right above my eye. I stumbled backwards. It hurt a lot. I looked up as he gasped for his last breath as life left him.

A trumpet sounded thrice. Another huge cheer went up on the Cassadian side. The Greeks had decided to retreat. I stood, my feet grounded. Watching people flee.

"Should we give chase?" Aeneas asked as he gently took off my helmet.

"Let the Cassadians do that." I muttered. "We saved them today." Head wounds, even shallow would bleed a lot. And hurt even worse. There wasn't a doctor within our ranks. Aeneas helped me get into our chariot. I was wiping away blood, to prevent it from dripping into my eye.

He hurried us over to the other side. As we drove through the ranks, people gave way. Ilomenalas meet us at the gates of the city. The only thing I could tell, they were tall. I don't remember much. Must be because of the head ache.

Eda and Aeneas were there. "Could you be a bit careful. The doctor said that if the rock hit you a bit lower, you could lose your eye." There was a lot of worry in her voice.

I cracked a smile. It was painful to do so. "But I didn't."

Machon the doctor admonished me. "That kind of attitude can get you killed." He quite ruthlessly powered something into my wound. I gritted my teeth. It hurt more than getting the wound.

Machon wrapped a cloth bandage around my head. "Rest now." He said, moving on to other patients.

Eda muttered, "Father is here." Internally I groaned. Obviously resting wasn't in my destiny. I swear as soon as I would get comfortable he would appear.

"Your son, is quite talented." Ilomenalas clapped my father on his back. He didn't like that. "Pretty soon he will be a general. Won't you like that?" My father nodded. Ilomenalas walked away. His younger brother was here too. I had heard that the young prince's arm twisted when he fell from his chariot.

"Get up, and stop embarrassing me." He muttered. I could tell Eda was muttering under her veil. But there was no fighting father.

"The others are building the camp. Go help them. I'll take Eda to our home." Eda rubbed my shoulder. I would be seeing her later. If it wasn't too late in the night.

I got up from my cot. The sunlight outside the tent was too bright. Was Lord Apollo trying to burn out my eyes. I shook my head, but it made it worse. I got over to my chariot. Balius neighed. "I'm fine. I'm fine." I muttered, getting on.

I tugged on the reins. Balius and Xanthos had enough sense to trot slowly. We passed through the gate where they gave me brass tally. It was issued to those who needed to get in and out frequently. Generals and Captains.

The area in front of the city walls were getting cleared of bodies. We had to build more defensive structures. While the city was huge. There won't be enough space to have everyone live inside the walls. That would be too congested.

I stopped beside Aeneas who was setting up a tent. "What are you doing here?" he asked. His tone was admonishing. "Father sent me." I shrugged my shoulders.

Aeneas looked as if he could strangle my father if given the chance. He took a deep breath. "I'm done setting up your tent." I really preferred being a captain. I didn't have to share with ten others stinky, snoring soldiers.

"You can rest. I won't let your father know." I nodded my head. He lifted the piece of cloth hanging in front of the door. It could use a lot of work. But that was for later. I stumbled right over to the bed. It was covered with furs, looking warm and cosy.

Aeneas was still saying something. I was already unceremoniously asleep.

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