Re: The Banners of Sab'yn
Magic Beans
My name is Amira. I am the wife of Kaldi and we are new settlers of Ethiopia from across the Red Sea. We were not soldiers, but just farmers. I tend to the sweet potatoes while Kaldi experiments in growing various sorts of beans. He is obsessed with these dark brown beans that he claims were magical and can make warriors fight for days without tiring. He gave some to a patrol of slingers who passed by our village who enjoyed the taste of it and bought several bags from him.
We fled from our village when news came of invaders. We took all that we could carry and entered the walled city of Axum for safety. There were many soldiers guarding the walls, but it was said that other than the Arabian soldiers who have garrisoned the city for many years, the rest were fresh recruits with only a few days of training.
We also heard rumors that the great army that left for conquest many years ago was returning, but they did not arrive in time.
I was still resting by the wall with the other refugees when the soldiers suddenly started to yell and told us to get out of the way. The captain of the garrison was on horseback and he pointed at me, telling me to help bring water up to the soldiers.
There was a lot of shouting as I ran back and forth from the fountain with a large urn filled with water balanced on my head. I climbed up to the top and delivered water to a band of Ethiopian archers who shot fire at a tall wooden tower that rolled towards the wall.
I was fearful at the sight of it and I froze, but suddenly, just when it seemed as if nothing could stop it, the tower burst into flames and the archers cheered with joy. I hurried back down the stairs to bring more water.
I made my way to another part of the wall and found the band of slingers who visited my husbands farm a few days ago. To my surprise, they recognized me and seemed very excited. They were also eating handfuls of the beans that my husband gave them. They flung their stones with so much speed that it seemed to be raining rocks. However, the enemy was well armored and they were able to reach the walls with their ladders. Soon, I saw the first warrior, covered in yellow-bronze metal, jump over and attack while I stood with my back against the tower. It seemed so cruel that these young boys would fight with only a knife against such an enemy. Even with the help of some other Arabians with spears, it seemed to be a hopeless struggle.
Yet even as the enemy poured over and threw many of those young boys off the walls, the slingers fought on as if they knew no fear. At one point, it seemed as if they would be overwhelmed.
I looked away and saw one of the towers reach the walls. Spearmen poured out but the strongest of the garrison, the Red Sea Hoplites, met them head on and pushed them back.
Down on the plains below me, I saw a band of Ethiopian swordsmen charge out and attack an enemy band of Ethiopians.
It was so hard to distinguish who fought on which side that I did not know who was winning.
I heard a sound on the other side of the tower and suddenly saw a large number of the bronze armored enemy climb onto the wall unopposed and headed in my direction.
I spun back around to see if any of those young slingers were still alive, expecting to see piles of their dead bodies, but instead, there were only four of those fierce enemy warriors fight for their lives as the untiring young men closed in for the kill. I shouted for them to run for their lives, for another band of fresh armored warriors have breached the wall, but instead, they shouted with joy and charged to meet the enemy. I curled up into a ball against the tower as scream and cries went up behind me. I could not watch anymore. I just couldn't bear to see these boys fight to their deaths.
And then, it was over. A man patted me on the shoulder and told me we won a heroic victory.
He said it was because of that group of slingers who fight from the beginning to end with no rest who helped save the city from destruction. He said they were blessed by the gods with such great stamina that when all others could not lift their swords, they still fought on until the last of them died, dragging the last of the enemy with him off the wall and plunging to their deaths.
For some reason, as he said this, I just couldn't get my mind off of the smiles on their faces as they chewed on handfuls of my husband's magic beans.
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Originally Posted by KukriKhan
My last one tracked Spear and Shield all too well.
- Machinor
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