Down From Africa (An AAR Sidestory)

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Great chapter, MAA! Do you mean Ktesiphon?

[NickTheGreek]

YEAH

[Dutchhoplite]

Seems the first rounds went to the Macedonians

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Yep, first year of combat goes to the Arche. The next year is a bit slow, I may cover the whole thing in one entry.

I purposely avoided the Ktesiphon spelling so as not to draw a direct comparison between the historic city and the one in my AAR. In my campaign, the Parthians never expanded to Mesopotamia and built the Cteisphon of history. This was a city built by the Median army when they besieged Seleukeia. Since I'm terrible at coming up with names on my own, I used a alternate spelling of Ktesiphon, though it may not be an accurate spelling of anything.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Haha!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Winter Snows

Our general, Antigonos, son and heir to the King of all the Hellenes, had
taken his army to the mountains that separated the lands of the Hellenes and
the lands of the Persians. We had not moved all the way up the pass, but
had set up our camp to block any Persian armies just on the western side.

We waited in the pass for an expected counterattack, but it did not come.
Our scouts reported Persian armies moving in the valley in on the other side
of the mountains, but we never saw them. Our army waited in the pass but
saw no combat. Back down at the rivers, the other armies of the kingdom of
the Hellenes besieged all of the Persian garrisons that had not escaped and
no longer could escape.

The army that we had twice fought and twice defeated down by the river Tigris
had still not given up. From our camp, we received word that the army
barracaded within the city of Seleukeia had joined up with the army outside the
walls when they attacked Antigonos' brother's army.

They say the army had to move away from the city and made it's battlefield
along a roadway. Antigonos' brother had in his army many elephants. These
were not the same type of elephant that the kingdom of Meroe had fielded
against us. These were elephants from Syria. I was told that those beasts live
only within the city of Demetreia. Since the army had never entered the city
when we were in Syria, I hadn't seen these elephants and cannot say how they
differed from those I have seen.



It is safe to assume that the battle began with a Persian cavalry charge. That
seems to be the main tactic of the Persians. It does work at times, but usually
only costs the lives of many Persian horsemen.



They say the elephants were the heroes of the battle. They tore through the
Persian troops and scarred them from the field. I have seen what elephants can
do and wish that I could have seen the sight from the other side just once.



Once the battle was over, both Persian armies were ready to surrender. The
city of Seleukeia fell back into the hands of the kingdom of the Hellenes and
the Persian armies disbanded. During that winter, the city of Babylon was
taken by mercenary forces and the remaining Persians to our west
surrendered.

The Hellenes I knew in the army said that this pushed the borders back to
their previous point before the war with the Persians. For a time I thought the
war was going to end and I would be free to go home. I had mixed emotions
at this thought. I had grown tired of warfare, but there was only poverty awaiting
me back on the shores of the river where I was born. All confusion over the
subject was dispelled when General Antigonos announced that the war would
continue and the Persians would be punished. His speech to the men was
quite inspiring. For a man who seemed so separate and different from his
men, he still had the ability to get them to follow him.

We spent that winter in our camp, halfway up the mountains. When the first
cold came, I saw my first snow. By the height of winter, I not longer enjoyed the
sight of snow. There was so much of it. It covered the grown and refused to go
away. I would often volunteer to assist the scouts just to get the chance to ride
down into the dry lands below. Most of the time we would actually go up over
the mountians into Persian territory. Even in the valley on the far side of the
mountains, snow covered the ground.

It was around the time when the winter was drawing to a close and the snows
were beginning to melt that my life once again changed. We had set up our
camp back in the end days of the hottest season and it was now the end of the
cold season. We had been in the area for almost half a year without a battle.
Many locals and traders from the cities down below came to our camp to sell
things to us. Some of them brought food for the army to purchase, some
brought simple items or games for the soldiers to buy, and some brought
women. At first, the traders were not allowed to enter the camp, but as the
months passed, the guards at the gates relaxed.

On this particular day, I had just returned from a mission with the scouts.
General Antigonos was busy with something so he came to meet us at the
camp's gate. There, the scout leader gave his report, which was nothing
significant, while the rest of us stood and waited.

While we waited, a small man came around trying to sell some worthless
trinkets to us. We just ignored him and he moved around to each of us. He
seemed out of his mind and his items were all worthless. But this, as it
turns out, was just an act. Each time he pestered a man, he moved closer
to Antigonos. He was right next to the commander of the scouts when I
noticed him draw a knife from his pile of junk. I screemed, I believe it was
something in my native tongue, and ran forward. The lone guard that was
with Antigonos lunged at the man, but the man was quick with his knife and
it was in the throat of the guard before he could even draw his sword. The
attacker then turn towards Antigonos.

Everything was a blur to me, I acted without thinking. Before I knew what had
happened, I had jumped on top of the man. He turned around and struck his
knife at my throat. I dodged it to save my life, but it landed in my upper right
arm. A managed to grab his knife arm with my right hand and grabbed for
something with my left hand. I did not remember at the time that there was a
knife strapped to my belt. Instead I found a rock on the ground and swung it
with full speed at the side of the man's head. He went still.

I slowly sat up and looked around me. Only Antigonos had drawn his sword.
Everyone else just stared in disbelief. In a moment a huge group of
Antiogonos' companions had arrived. They surrounded the general, the
attacker, and me. One of them helped me to my feet while another inspected
the attacker. He was still alive and they carried him off. The remaining
companions escorted Antigonos back to his tent.

I dropped the rock, picked up my bow, and walked slowly toward my own tent.
I noticed there was blood coming down my right arm and turned to head for
the medical tent.

[Chirurgeon]

Nice! Did you have an assasin try to kill him or is that something you just added to the story? Nice touch by the way. Reminds me of Theodotus a bit :)

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Nice twist! I see a great career before our Nile dweller.

[SwissBarbar]

Yeah, great chapter again

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks.

The assassination attempt and failure actually happened. In fact, just about every turn since that time there has been one or two assassins doing their animation toward the army. Fortunately, they must not be very good assassins.

[Reverend Joe]

In that case you really ought to stick a couple assassins/spies in your armies to be safe. You never know when one will get lucky.

[Chaotix]

Awesome job, MAA, keep it up!

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Be careful with those assassins or the heir to the Arche Makedonia might go mad with paranoia. Although that could be very interesting to role-play.

And of course excellent update as always

[Antinous]

Looks like the archer might get special treatment soon.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for the comments.

I did immediately move a spy to the army after the first attempt. I thought about not sending a spy and letting them try their best to kill him for roleplaying. I decided not to do that since it would probably lead to another civil war and I didn't feel like doing that again so soon. With a very old Philippos and an infant Hippostratus (Alypios' son), there would be a power vaccuum that would probably lead to civil war.

I'm having dental problems right now, so I haven't been in the right mood to write, so the next chapter is delayed a bit.

EDIT : Dang! I played about three years worth today, including two crucial battles that were both very close. I just checked and it turns out that none of my screenshots were saved. I don't know why either. FRAPS was on and it said it was saving, but no new pics in the folder.

EDIT 2 : Scratch that. I found them. My computer had crashed and reset the date to 2007. The pictures were thus dated wrong and back near the beginning of my AAR pictures.

[Roka]

finally caught up with this, great AAR

its my favourite AAR of the moment

here, have a balloon for the full AAR (including the two previous threads)

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks, Roka.

Next chapter soon. Although it is mostly story and little gameplay. I started writing and got on a roll.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

The Basilikon Agema

The gash in my arm was stitched back together like a torn robe. The old
veteran Hellene who had done it told me that too much use of the arm would
probably tear it open and should be avoided. He alsos said to watch it and
make sure it didn't change color or start releasing puss. I was then sent out.
I headed to the other side of the camp. I knew drawing my bow would
impossible in my condition. For the first time in months, I hoped that things
would remain quite for a while so as to give me time to heal.

I took my time and walked very slowly. It was just passed midday when the
merchant had tried to attack on Antigonos. It was by that time approaching
dusk. When came within sight of my tent, I noticed several of Antigonos'
"companions" talking to some of my fellow archers. As I approached, one of
my friends pointed at me and the Hellenic nobles ran up to me. My first
instinct was to turn and run from them, fearing I was to be punished for going
beyond my role as a soldier. I did not run. If I had crossed some line and
done something I should not have, I would accept the fate they had for me.

"Come with us," one of them said in the Hellenes' language. They said some
name or title I did not recognize, "...demands you appear before him." I knew
they spoke of General Antigonos. He went by many names and titles. Most
of the titles I never bothered to remember.

I nodded and we walked back across the camp once more. The men said
nothing more to me as we walked.

I had thought we were headed to the general's tent but instead we came to an
area near the center of the camp. In a large open area, guarded by Antigonos'
companions and royal guards, I saw the man I had fougth with earlier that day.
He was on an upright beam, tied there above the ground. He was much more
bloodied than the last time I had seen him. I do not know what happened
before I got to the open area but as we entered the area, I noticed General
Antigonos. He waved his arm to a Hellene standing just below the suspended
assassin. That Hellene swiftly trust a spear upward and into the assassin.
The man screamed and then fell limp.

General Antigonos turned and for the first time noticed I had walked up. He
smiled, in his way, and drew near to me. "What is your name, soldier?" he
said, demanding more than asking.

"I am called Tabriqo, I am from Nubia," I responded softly, in the language of
the Hellenes. I was still unsure of my fate. Nubia is the name given by the
Hellenes to the province in which I was trained and the answer to the second
question often asked of me by officers. This time, I volunteered the answer
before it was asked.

"My father likes to say 'Every good barbarian is a Hellene, and every bad
Hellene a barbarian'," the general said without a pause, as though I had not
even spoken. "I like to believe that this is true as well. By that statement, you
proved yourself to be a true Hellene today." I stood silently. I did not know if
that was a complement, an insult, or just his way of thanking me. He
continued, "Today I lost a good man who loyaly stood by my side and defended
me for many years. You have proven that you are capible of that job, and it is
unlikely you have connections or sympathies to the Persians." General
Antigonos made his aristocratic smile once more, turned, and walked away.

The captain of Antigonos' guard walked up to me as the general and the majority
of the Hellenes walked out of the great open area at the center of the camp.
This man was very old but still looked as though he could easily fight off any man
half his age. "He's taken a liking to you," he began. "You didn't even think, did
you? You just jumped that guy and saved the prince?" His manner of speech
was much less formal than most of the Hellene nobles I had spoken to. In fact,
he seemed almost less formal than the basic Hellene soldiers with whom I had
spoken and befriended in the army over the years. "My name is Damatrios and
I'll be in charge of you from here. Thanks to the prince, that is." He seemed
annoyed to have to talk to me. "I am captain of the prince's division of the Royal
Guard, which you are now a part of." He paused for a second then abruptly
added, "Follow me," before turning and walking across the opening. I followed,
quietly. As we were leaving the open area, I turned and looked back one last
time at the man whom I had helped capture and was now hanging lifeless in the
center of the camp.

I had not been asked if I wanted this new position, and I assume I could not have
turned it down. I thought Antigonos may have given me this position as a reward,
but at that moment it was all overwhelming to me.

We walked to the collection of tents that made up the command area of the camp.
We entered one of the side tents, Damatrios' tent. I stood near the entrance while
Damatrios sat down next to a table covered in maps and letters. He began to
speak once more in his very informal manner, "The man you killed was just an
agent. He told us that he was working for a man named Mitrozaban. This
Mitrozaban works directly for the Persian king and is nicknamed 'the killer' in their l
anguage. Apparently he is very good. And he is still out there! Since you were
able to handle the last assassin, part of your job will be to look out for and stop
future assassins. The prince has sent for an expert of sorts. You'll be working with
him. That's all." Damatrios called for another guard and I was taken to my new
living space.



General Antigonos had two kinds of men who guarded him. His companions were
nobles from Hellas that rode with him into battle, while the royal guards where those
responsible for his protection outside of battle. The companions would often serve
as guards in time of trouble, such as eariler that day or when meeting with enemy
diplomats, but they were not the ones responsible for his life. Captain Damatrios
lead the royal guards and we were tasked with keeping our general alive.

It was from my fellow guards that I learned most of what I needed to know about my
new job. Some of the Hellenes in the guards did not like me, but many became my
new friends. One of the guards, a man named Duratios, came up to me on the
second day and asked me about my ring. I told him where I had found it and what I
knew about it. I thought the man a Hellene, but he told me his father had come
from Thraikia and that he recognized the design on the ring as from his homeland.
Duratios and I became friends and he helped me greatly in adjusting to all that was
new. For my first week, my friends in the guards showed me what I needed to
know and gave me some training.

I was given a new robe, shoes, and cloak. They were all well made and worth more
than I could have ever been able to purchase on my own. Along with them, I was
given a sword. It was one of the Hellenes' sword, a "kopis" they called it. Since I
could not use my bow until my wound healed, this would be my primary weapon. I
was not given armor, like many of the other royal guards wore, but I would not have
wanted it. Armor would just weight me down and restrict my movements. Months
later, I was given a bow made by the Syrians and taught myself how to use it. Armor
surely would have gotten in the way of drawing my bow.



About a week after being assigned to the royal guards, a man arrived in camp and I
was told to meet with him. Captain Damatrios, my friend Duratios, and I meet with
this old man in Captain Damatrios' tent. His name was Alys Iolkios and he was the
expert who had been sent to catch the assassins. In this first meeting with him,
Captain Damatrios told him all he knew of the assassins and the situation. Alys
remained silent.

In all the time I knew him, Alys Iolkios spoke very little, and when he spoke it was
always and order or about the mission. I did learn, much later, that he had been
the "spymaster" of the city of Edessa and had been assigned there by the king of
the Hellenes. His job had been not only to protect the city but also to watch over
Antigonos' cousin, who the Hellenes feared would betray their king. About a year
after first meeting him, Alys expressed to me, in an way that was very unlike him,
his anger that his warnings of Antigonos' cousin building up an army had been
ignored several years prior.

Captain Damatrios told Alys that Duratios and myself would be under his command
and left the mission to us. Over the next month, the three of us spent most of our
time visiting local villages and collecting information. In all this time, Alys never
opened up to us and always seemed very distant and mysterious.

Just when we were beginning to assume that Mitrozaban "the Killer" had left the
region, another merchant was caught with a weapon at the gates of the camp. This
time, he killed himself before he could be captured.

By this time, winter long over and the hot season was quickly approaching. Since
the the Persians would not come over the mountains and fight us, General Antigonos
decided to take the fight to them. The camp was torn down and we began our march
over the mountains and into their homeland. Since Antigonos was more volunerable
while we marched, the entire guard was tasked with protecting him, forcing Duratios
and I to do a double duty. I spent many days inside or just outside of Antignos' tent
as he planned his actions and meet with his generals.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I had planned this to be the intro to the next chapter, but I wrote too much and never managed to get to the bulk of the chapter. That gameplay content will be in the next chapter. If you don't feel like reading the story and are only interesting in how my campaign is progressing, don't read this chapter.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I found it very entertaining. Oddly, I like the seemingly "tedious" parts best.

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Same here. This little story about the assassins might not be in the game but it makes the whole AAR much much more interesting. All AAR's have gameplay in them but only the best go beyond that. So congratulations on another very interesting update

[Dutchhoplite]

Great update!

[Cyrus]

Great update
i loved it!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thank you.

[CaesarAugustus]

Great update, The story is just as interesting as the gameplay, if not more so!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

A Wasted Year

It happened when the army was over the mountains and nearly
down to the valley floor below. I was riding near General
Antigonos, and we were near the center of the army's marching
column. It was actually Duratios who first noticed them. He
yelled something and pointed up at a ridge to the south, our right.
There were several men up alone the edge. I was unsure of what
they were doing at first, but one of the older guardsmen must have
immediately recognized what they were doing. He was near
Antigonos and quickly jumped from his own horse to knock
General Antigonos from his. Just as he did it, several lead bullets
came flying down, just over the top of the general's horse.

Once again, I took to action without thinking. I turned the horse I
riding and raced back toward an area where it looked as though I
could get up the ridge, all while grabbing my new bow and stringing
it. I caught my thoughts for a moment and looked back. I saw
Captain Damatrios looking my way, but he gave no signal for me to
return, so I rushed on ahead.

The ridge to our south was mostly a shear cliff, but I backtracked a
bit to the west and found an area I thought I could use to get up.
The area I came to was a steep but dry stream bed that had cut a
groove in the ridge that was quite deep. The horse stumbled on the
loose rocks, but it had been trained to carry soldiers and equipment
over rough terrain and soon found its footing.

When I came to the top of the draw, I saw that the area atop the ridge
was flat and had no large trees, though there were many rock and
boulders scattered around. I looked to where I had seen the men with
slings earlier. There I saw five men standing. Three had slings and
were still trying to attack the men in the valley down below, one stood
near a couple horses, and the fifth, armed with a shield and
shortsword, was running towards me.

I galloped the horse forward, drew my new sword, and lept from the
horse and towards the man coming at me. I wish I could say I landing
on top of him and heroically slew him without much effort. I cannot.
The horse was not trained for battle and my leg was tangled in the
baggage I had opened to get to my bow. The horse was scared and
slowed just as I lept, and my leg tried to stay with the horse. The
baggage and my leg were easily freed from the horse, but I missed the
man I lept for. I landed on some rocks, just short of the Persian, but
fortunately had managed to knock him from his feet as well.

My horse ran off, and left me alone to face this Persian. Both me and
the Persian rose to our feet and raises our swords at eachother. He
stabbed his sword at me, which missed its mark. The dramatic lunge
forward left him open and I stabbed at him, hitting him in the chest and
ending his life right there.

As he fell, I moved to rush forward and toward the other four men.
Once again was tripped by the baggage still tied to my foot. I was
fortunate of this event, for the men with slings had turned and released
their shots at me. Because I had unexpectively fallen, them missed.

I rolled sideways and hid myself behind a large boulder. It was a size
about large enough to hide a lying horse. While behind this rock, I
noticed my new bow, which I had already strung up, was still attached
to the baggage at my feet. I untied the baggage from the bow and my
foot and pulled out the arrows which were still in the case at my belt.
I found three undamaged.

I heard the remaining Persians slowly moving forward and could hear
the sound of a sling being swung through the air. I drew my bow and
stood quickly. It would take a while for a slinger to release his shot,
but I could release my arrow as soon as I aimed. As I rose, I saw three
of the men had drawn nearer. Two had drawns swords, but one still
swung his sling above his head. I let my first arrow fly and it hit its mark.
The Persian with the sling fell. I quickly strung a second arrow and hit
the sword-bearing Persian closest to me. The last man with a sword
turned and fled towards the Persian man near the horses. I aimed low
and hit the fleeing man in the leg, for I knew Captain Damatrios and Alys
would want a prisoner. I was now out of arrows.

I turned to look at the final man who had been near the horses. He was
now atop one of them and had scared the others away. He drew a sword
and raced towards me. I reached for the sword at my belt, but realized I
had left it behind the rock when I had picked up my bow. The man with
the arrow in his leg was still standing, screaming in pain, between me
and the man on the horse. As the horseman rode passed the man I had
shot, he swung his sword, freeing the injured man's head from his body.
Before the head had hit the ground, the Persian was riding passed me.
I looked up into his eyes and he swung his sword once more. Rather
than killing me, he simply hit me atop my head with the flat side of the
blade and rode off.

I was frozen. I thought I was dead, but I had been spared. My mind
repeated that last moment over in my head many times. I continued to
see the face of that Persian. He was an old man. He looked battle worn
but still had the appearance of a noble about him. He wore a cloak over
his head and shoulders, but I remember seeing an elaberate armor under
his cloak. As it will turn out, this man was the very Mitrozaban "the killer"
that we had been seeking for months.

I do not know how long I stood there, but it must have only been a moment,
for Mitrozaban was still in sight when I came to my senses. By then, a
group of Antigonos' companions had ridden up to the site of the battle.
They had come up an easier area and from the opposite direction as me in
the east. They paused a moment, looked at me and the dead. They saw
also Mitrozaban escaping. I pointed toward him without saying a word, and
they rushed off after him.

As I was gathering my weapons and baggage, the stupid horse I had been
riding came back. It just stood there and watched me. Had it not run off, I
may have been able to chase after Mitrozaban. I cursed the horse and
retied my baggage and weapons to it before tying it to a small tree.

By this time, both Duratios and Alys Iolkios had arrived and were
inspecting the dead. Captain Damatrios had ordered them to figure out
who the attackers were and interegate any survivors. The three of us
inspected the dead but found nothing of importance. Alys told us that the
fact each of the men carried the same exact amount of Median coins
amoungst their Hellenic coins showed that they were most likely hired
mercenaries and not Persian soldiers. There was nothing of great value
that would help us predict the movement of or stop any assassins.

When we returned to the army, everything had returned to normal and the
army was once again moving forward. We reported everything to Captain
Damatrios, while General Antigonos listened. Captain Damatrios
complimented me for my actions, but General Antigonos remained silent.
After Captain Damatrios and Antigonos spoke for a moment, all of us
were back on our horses and rushing to retake our position near the
center of the column. That night, the companion horsemen returned.
They had found Mitrozaban's horse abandoned, but there was no sign of
the expert assassin. Alys said that he had mostly likely had a fresh
horse ready and had switched horses at some point.

The army moved down from the hills and to a river valley. We moved up
the valley, looting villages, attacking towns, and burning bridges, but the
Persians refused to meet us in open battle. Slowly we moved upriver, but
there was little resistance. If we had continued up the river, we would have
come to one of the Persian capitals. Although we could not have taken it,
for we still lacked the equipment to attack walls. After several weeks of
this, we halted and moved uphill and away from the river. General
Antigonos had the army set up a temporary camp so that they could
gather together and rest.



Finally, while resting at this camp, a Persian army attacked us. It was
a very insignificant force, less than ten thousand.

The Persians divided into two groups. Their armored cavalry, lead by
their general, attacked from out of a forest, while the rest of their forces
came up along an open ridge. Antigonos divided our army similarly, so
that cavarly would fight cavalry and infantry would fight infantry.

Antigonos waited with his cavalary on top of a hill for the Persian cavlary to
come out from the forest. Once they were in the open, he ordered a charge.



A division of lighter Persian cavalry charge into the infantry line around the
same time, followed by the Persian infantry.



Both Persian cavalry and Persian infantry fought for only a short time. Soon
they were panicing and running from the battlefield. The infantry gave pursuit
and the majority of the Persians were killed or captured.

We waited for another month in that camp and saw no signs of Persian attack.
In Antigonos' tent, his generals urged him to push forward and take the nearby
Persian capital, but Antigonos knew he had no chance of taking the city and
pushing that far into Persian territory was too dangerous. Antigonos ordered
the army to go out on larger raiding missions, trying to devastate trade and
draw the Persians into a fight, but still there was silence from our enemy.

Alys Iolkios once again heard rumors that Mitrozaban was nearby. Alys,
Duratios, and myself once again tried to gather information from the locals.
Due to the raiding mission we were only met with hostility and we came no
closer to finding him. We do not know if he made any attempts on General
Antigonos at this camp site, but nothing came close enough to succeeding so
that we would have noticed it.

After more than two months in that location, Antigonos once again moved the
army. This time we moved downriver. Along the way we destroyed as many
bridges as we could and tried to block all trade. Near the base of the pass we
had come over, we took control of the few remaining bridges and blocked all trade
from the area called Media to the area called Elymais. Still the Persians refused
to face us.



While we waited at those bridges, Antigonos received word from his uncle.
Antigonos' uncle [Laandros, youngest brother of Basileus Philippos V] had taken
an army down the two desert rivers around the same time we had crossed over
the mountains. He had taken control of all the regions along those rivers and
had cornered one last Persian garrison inside a city near the sea. The Persians
had sent forces to lift this siege and Antigonos uncle had fought a large battle.

This army of the Hellenes had been armed in the old fashion. Duratios explained
that this was in the style of carrying huge spears, much as the way the Aigyptoi
had fought during the time of my grandfather. I have never seen this kind of army
fight, so I can only imagine what it looked like. I wonder though, if the style was
so effective, why the Hellenes had almost entirely abandoned it?

I was guarding Antigonos when the messenger arrived and delivered the
report of the battle. The report given to General Antigonos said the his
uncle had lined up his troops and taken the first attack. Their lines held.



Once the battle was underway, Antigonos' uncle lead the cavalry around
the flanks and disorganized the enemy reserves. During this attack, the
cavalry confronted the men under the command of a relative to the king of
Persia. He and his men fell to the Hellenes.




A second wave attacked from the city, but when the Hellenes in the line
began to give, Antigonos' uncle sent in his reserves and pushed the enemy
back.



From that point onward, the line of spearmen slowly marched forward and
pushed the Persians back across the battlefield. During the fight another
relative to the king of Persia fell dead and his army was destroyed.



Antigonos was quite happy to hear this news. The city had surrendered
and his uncle had managed to gain access to the sea. Now, both river
valleys, from source to sea were back in the hands of the Hellenes. Once
again the soldiers of the army began to wonder if the war was drawing to
a close.

These assumptions only grew when rumors began to spread that Antigonos
was getting depressed. It was true. He had expected to cross the
mountains, approach the Persians' regional capital, fight a large battle, and
end the war on his terms. This had not happened and we had wasted a
year wander up and down this valley. Antigonos was tired and fustrated.
As the cold season once again seemed to settle into Persia, Antigonos
ordered the army to burn the last bridges and raise the camp.

Once again, we crossed over the mountain pass. This time, however, we did
not set up camp on either side. Once over the mountains, Antigonos ordered
the army to continue marching until we came to the river Tigris and the city of
Seleukeia. Antigonos orderd the army to set up camp just outside the walls
and gave permission to all men to do as they please during the winter months.
Antigonos spent his time with his family at the great palace in the center of
the town.

[Belisarius12]

fantastic keep up the good work xd

[strategos roma]

great work, btw, when are you going to reopen your old thread.

[Africanvs]

I just found this and read it through. I really like how you are doing this from the point of view of a single soldier. I was thinking about doing something like that from the point of view of a Roman legionary. I hope you wouldn't mind if I used your idea? Anyway, excellent story!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks.

I've been busy with Spring Break, but classes have started again. I started the next chapter about a week ago then didn't get back to it. I'll probably start working on the next chapter tonight, if I feel like it.

There's probably about three to five chapters left in this story (though I could extend it), then I'll get back to my old thread an old AAR overview style.

The style isn't my invention. It would be cool if you did an AAR with a similar style. I get alot of my inspiration for this AAR sidestory from the AARs of "Count Arach", who did a series of Romani AARs from the point of view of a common soldier (through letters to his family) about a year or two ago. (For those of you who like AARs, if you can find them in the backlog, they are a nice read.)

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Beginning Again, Fresh

My days during the cold season of that year were spent within the
walls of the city of Seleukeia. This city was named for a long
dead Hellene whose family had been friends then enemies to the
current kingdom of the Hellenes. It was a large city, similar to
Alexandreia in Aigyptos or Demetreia in Syria. It was not as
clean or orderly as Demetreia and there were still many signs of
the Persian occupation within the city.

Antigonos was forced to spent his much of his time dealing with
the complex issues of management and government. I stood
guard over many meetings but I rarely knew what his advisors
were talking about. There were many mentions of Antigonos'
father, the king of the Hellenes, and his building projects back in
the Hellenes' homeland. Antigonos did not enjoy these matters
of management. He left most of the minor tasks to his advisors
or his sister's husband.

Many members of Antigonos' family were in the city or came to
visit him there. When we arrived, his sister and her husband, the
man who had taken the city from the Persians, were in the city.
They had taken to the task managing the newly conquered city.
After only a few days in the city, General Antigonos was joined by
his wife and young son, whom he had written to telling of his
intent of wintering the army at Seleukeia. When the war had
started, his son had just been born. By this time he was already
two years of age and had spent little time with his father.

Antigonos spent as much of his time he could with this wife and
son. He preferred privacy when with his family and often order all
of the royal guards out of his private quarters. When I did see him
with his family, he was like a completely different man from the
one I had known. While campaigning, he was a strong leader who
seemed almost unbreakable. He rarely spoke with the men of the
army or even his guard. He had no friends and spoke only of
business. He seemed to be at all times a soldier and a leader,
who would do whatever was necessary to win no matter the cost.

When he was with his family, he acted entirely different. He was
still the vain nobleman, but he seemed much softer and weaker.
He was like any other man that loved his family and wanted to
spend his time with them. He played with this child, spoke at
length with his wife, and spent his time relaxing and avoiding the
problems that were often just outside his door.

I was reminded of my father, back when I was a child and my
mother still lived. Antigonos had the same look in his eyes I had
seen in my father's when he and my mother had watched me play
along the banks of the great river back at my village. With all the
marching, suffering, death, and war I had seen over the
preceeding years, it was nice to be reminded of the peaceful
times in this world.

When I saw General Antigonos' weaker side when with his family,
I did not loose respect for him. I felt that this man was even more
worth defending.

When I was not working for Captain Damatrios and the royal guards,
or doing my fair share of relaxing, I spent my time with Alys and
Duratios looking for signs of spies and assassins in the city. Alys
had heard from his contacts within the city that Mitrozaban himself
had entered the city and was making another plan against Antigonos'
life.

The city had its own network of spies that had been set up when the
city fell to the Hellenes, but Alys prefered not to rely on them. We
worked independant of them and did all our own work. Alys insisted
on avoiding contact with the spy network or sharing information. I
wondered if this was due to some kind of rivalry Alys had with
Seleukeia's spymaster? It did not matter. We were always several
steps ahead of the spy network, though alway one or two behind
Mitrozaban.

Everyday we searched the city, from the palace to the slums, from
the desert to the river. For the first month, we found very little, only
whispers and rumors. From what we heard, Mitrozaban and his
agents were within the city but we knew not where.

Mitrozaban had taken to hiding somewhere within the Persian quarter
of the city, where he was hidden by the locals. With this information,
Captain Damatrios advised sending in troops and harshly punishing
those who helped any Persian spies or assassins. Antigonos was did
not wish to be disturbed during this time. His sister's husband was
convinced that such an act would only cause greater troubles for the
Hellenes from the Persian settlers and locals peoples.

It was the deep of winter but we saw no snow here. Around this
time, Duratios got a lead of an assassin plot against Antigonos.
With much effort and initiative, Duratios had found a location where
a Persian agent was said to be hiding within the city. Once again
we took this information to Antigonos' brother-in-law. We requested
additional guards to take the man by force but instead the
information was passed on to the city's spymaster. He sent one of
his own men into the Persian quarter and quietly had the man killed
without even questioning him.

The body was brought to us. Though angry over not being able to
deal with the situation ourselves, we inspected the body. He was a
young man, and I did not recognize him. Alys was able to identify
him as an agent of the Persian army, though he was not Mitrozaban.
This was a younger, inexperienced assassin who may not have
even been connected to the man we sought. Still, a man who
wished harm on our leader was dead, and that is a victory. However,
the local city spies got all of the credit for the kill.

There were continued rumors of Mitrozaban and his agents, but they
made no visable move. Once a servant of the palace was found to
be plotting to poison the food, but failed. Other than the "normal"
security problem a "prince" has, there were no major attempts on
Antigonos' life made that winter. Rumors were building that
Mitrozaban had a plan and would strike some time in the spring
or summer.

As that spring came, Antigonos made a short trip north. He visited
his rebellious cousin [Euktimenos Idomeneus] in the city of Arbela.
There, he recognized the coming of age of his cousin's son.
Rumors were that this cousin's son was more like his grandfather
[Pefkolaos Idomeneus, the man who had started the Makedonian
Civil War] than his father. They said he sought power and had
claimed that he was the rightful king. I do not know any of the men
in that family, so I cannot judge. Duratios was convinced there
would be another war amoungst the Hellenes if this young man
came to power. Although Duratios jumps at any shadow and sees
trouble where there is none. Perhaps this fear... or should it be
called insight? Perhaps this insight of his was why he was
assigned to work with Alys and I hunting assassins.



While we were in Arbela, we encountered no problems with
Persian agents. Antigonos' cousin had his own spies and royal
guards protecting him and the city was quite secure. I found it
odd that the general's cousin had more royal guards around him
then he had.

We recieved word, in Arbela, that the Persians were starting the
campaign season early. After defending for two years, the
Persians finally made a effort to attack. An army lead personally,
by the Persian king, Koyroun, attacked the Hellenic garrison,
commanded by Antigonos' uncle, down by the coast where the
two rivers met the sea.



So far, this war had been fought by the sons of the Persian king
and the son of the Hellenic king. The old king of Persia [in the west]
now was personally leading his men into battle against us. From
what I overheard from Antigonos' advisors, the Persian king was not
a great fighter and was best left to administration. They said this
was a symbolic act and if placed in a test of wits, he would make
mistakes. Soon we would see if this was true.



Since spring had arrived, the army was already preparing for
campaign. Antigonos sent word to Seleukeia to prepar the army.
By the time we had returned to the city, his generals had prepared
the army to march.

Because of the losses the army had taken in the first two years,
this spring saw fresh replacements in the ranks. Some of the new
soldiers were loyalist troops from the fallen Kingdom of Babylon
and some mercenary archers from Persia. I was unsure if foreign
troops would fight well alongside the Hellenes, but my old unit was
still in the army and we had been quite successful.

I do not know what happened to the plans of Mitrozaban within the
city of Seleukeia. Antigonos only spent a couple days in the city
before marching out with the army. Had there been any plans, there
was now know target for them.

The army marched eastward along the far bank of the river Tigris then
crossed over to the old royal roadway. News came to us that a
Persian army was on the royal road to our east. Antigonos ordered
the army to slow its march and to wait and see what the Persians
would do.



With us delayed, the garrison to the south would have to hold out on
their own. Only one other army was in the area and it was an army of
veterans from Aigyptos and new recruits from Arabia. As the dry
season approached, this army would have to fight a battle with
Persians trying to reinforce their king.

News arrived of their battle while we were still marching eastward.
The Persian army nearer to us had retreated back into their own
lands and we pushed forward slowly. But our delay meant that the
Aigyptoi and Arabians would have to fight without us. The report said
that they had choosen to attack the Persian reinforcements as they
tried to cross a river ford.



They held their ground and used the river to prevent the Persians
from flanking them or overwhelming them with greater numbers. As
the Persians crossed, they were there to meet them on the banks.



The result of the battle was a complete success. The Aigyptoi and
Arabians held back the Persians. Those Persians who survived the
battle either drown in the river or surrendered.

With his reinforcements wiped out, the Persian king broke his siege
down by the sea and retreated back into Persia. Antigonos
considered giving chase to the Persian king and his army, but the
Persians retreated into the mountains. Antigonos did not wish to
wander the mountains for a second year and instead chose to head
northwards.



We headed north. Before we crossed into enemy territory,
Antigonos received another messenger. This time he was from the
far south. A kingdom in Arabia had fought a battle against another
one. The friendly kingdom had won but lost most of its army. The
messenger requested aid from Antigonos. The Arabians wanted
troops to defend their city. Antigonos gave them only money to raise
a new army of their own. The messenger was unhappy but took the
money and returned to his home. I recall Antigonos' advisors telling
him that the friendly kingdom was doomed to fall, but Antigonos
chose not to divert troops from the war against the Persians.



By the time the hottest part of the year was over, we were at the
walls of a Persian city. We still did not have the equipment to take
a city, but Antigonos was convinced he could get the Persians to
come out and fight him. Our army surrounded the city and we
began the siege. All around us there were Persian armies, but
Antigonos was confident of a victory. His vigor and strength had
truely returned. The army saw his confidence and morale grew. We
would be marching toward victory once again.