Remanent or Supremacy? - A Pontos AAR

[Korlon]

Chapter One: Tribulations of a Fallen General

The last thing I felt was a xyston stabbing me in the back. It penetrated my armor and punctured my right lung in a split second. I died soon after. However, what’s this I see then? I looked around me to see scores upon scores of people. Some of them are sleeping while others seem to be in a pit of sorrow. I then realized that I was in Hades. Moments earlier I had been fighting for the lives of my men and for the men, women, and children of Nikaia, including my own wife and two sons. I had no doubt that we had lost. Last I saw, a major contingent of our soldiers was being destroyed while their side only lost a few men. The only hope I have is that my wife and sons were alright.



Ahead I see a river. So beautiful that it must be the Acheron itself. You would never have imagined that this was the underworld. Nearby was Charon with his signature hammer, ferrying those that had the required offering.. With those who did not have the offering, they were doomed to wonder the banks of the Acheron for a hundred years.

Then, by a stroke of luck, I saw one of the men walking around, looking as confused as myself. I immediately ran up to him. It was Astrabakos. We liked to call him the crab as one night while we gathered around a campfire drinking some wine, he had this somewhat amusing story about a dozen crabs scattered about a beach. He told us about how he caught every single one of them, each time making a walking motion like that of a crab. Our spirits were high that day. On the day of battle, which was only moments ago, I had set him, as well as a few other soldiers, to guard the town square. After we exchanged greetings, he immediately wanted to ask me about the battle. Although he could hear the screams and cries of men echoing throughout the town, he could not see due to the houses that blocked his sight. Since I realized it would be a while before my family could properly bury me as well as the aureus so that I may gain passage on Charon’s boat, I might as well speak with a few people to pass the time.

The enemy general appeared to be the Basileus of Pontos. He and his bodyguard were demons; their armor was strong, very strong, stronger than that which I have ever seen or imagined; their skill in battle was also unrivaled. Pontos had in his contingency four sarissa brigades, a unit of skirmishers and a unit of slingers. It was like the Battle of Chaeronea once more. Our shorter doru and swords had absolutely no chance against their longer sarissas, especially within the city streets where you could not effectively flank a phalangites.

Our army mostly consisted of skirmishers, some light, though mostly heavy. We only had one unit of men that could truly use the spear well. All of my other men were cavalry, which are not effective in the city.

The battle started out with the enemy ramming down the two walls adjacent to our gates. We had expected them to ram down our gates instead so most of our men were guarding the gate rather than the walls. We spent most of our javelins as they proceeded to ram down the walls. Once the walls were down, we quickly sent a few men to guard the entrances. However, these men, who have not fought nearly as much as I would had liked them to, ran blindly once the enemy started slinging their lead balls at us. Somehow, the enemy managed to sneak one of their phalangites inside the city while we were confused. The younger ones, aching to prove their worth in battle, charged at the long, six meter pikes. I yelled at them to not go, but by then they were already engaged. At that moment, I noticed a small opening in their formation at the left and right sides. That’s when I took my chance and started hacking away at the enemy’s flanks. However, I am not a general, nor am I a smart man. I was simply chosen to be the general of the defending army as there was no one else better. I had forgotten about the rest of the enemy’s army. At that same moment, I saw the enemy cavalry crash into my rear. We were trapped between a field of sarissas and a field of xystons. Moments later, I was on the ground, bleeding internally from my wound and died soon after.

Astrabakos listened on, patiently, as I revealed my tale. I asked him what had happened at the end of the battle. He simply told me what I already knew. We had lost. It was a defeat of devastating proportions. No soldier was left alive as far as he could tell. He was one of the last to fall.

Over the course of a couple hours, which felt like eternity, we began talking about our lives. We even found some more of our fellow comrades in arms while down here. The area was huge, large enough that it was impossible to find anybody you wished to. If you wanted to find somebody, you'd probably have better chance going against phalangitai head on. Then one day, I felt something beneath my tongue. It was the obolus, the coin required for crossing the river. I said my goodbyes to my fellow friends and set out to Charon’s ferry. I had to step aside my life and look to the future, whichever that may be. The next area would be the judging ground, and I only hope my life was worthy.

- Moskon – Leader of the garrison of Nikaia