Diplomacy (Part II)
General Antigonos and King Aram were to meet and discuss the
end of the war that we had been waging for more than ten years.
The two leaders would meet in a small town north of the Persian
capital we then controlled. We prepared to ride north with a
portion of the army but only the royal guard would join Antigonos
in the city when he meet with the Persian king. Our scouts
would search the city first.
We were all concerned for the safety of General Antigonos. Last
time he had attempt a peacefully meeting with a Persian leader,
he had barely survived the encounter. Antigonos said he trusted
the honor of the new Persian king. We could not argue with our
leader, we could only protect him.
General Antigonos had lead us for many long years. We had
come through hard times, but our general always brought us
victory. He was born around the same time as I was, though our
births were very far from eachother, in a great many ways. He is
son of the king and will one day, himself, be king of the Hellenes.
He is a great leader of men. He could get any man to follow his
lead and then win victories when he took him into battle. The
only weakness I saw was when he was in the cities. He disliked
the jobs of managing cities and left much of that work to his
advisors. His advisors seemed pleased when he did little of this
work. They did not wish the power for themselves, but prefered
not to argue with their general when he chose to make decisions.
They often disagreed with his choices and often had to openly
appose them to prevent a grave mistake. Fortunately, Antigonos
was surrounded by loyal and skilled followers.
On the other side was King Aram, ruler of the Persian Empire.
They say that it was Aram who lead the war against the Kingdom
of Babylon during his father's rule. This had started the great war
we were then still fighting. Aram was said to be a noble leader but
at times was unable to prevent his generals' horrible acts, such as
the slaughter of Hellenes when Persia took the great city of
Seleukeia. When Arams' father died by our army, he did not
become king of Persia. It was not until his relative and that man's
son also died by our army that Aram was able to become king.
In a way, Aram owed his throne to Antigonos, though he also
owed the loss of his father to Antigonos. Our spies reported that
King Aram was a wise and well liked leader, but his people were
growing tired of the war.
Several days before we to leave Captain Theodas spoke with
Duratios and I. He told us that we would not be joining the guards
and would stay behind in the Persian capital. He did not tell us
why he had chosen this. Later, we talked with another member
of the guards who had been told the same thing. He was also
from the land of Thraikia.
It was natural for Duratios and I to investigate and we asked other
members of the guards. We found that yet another man had been
told to say as well. This man was a Hellene, though. We
discovered that only those who were the Hellenes called
Makedones had been ordered to accompany the general. It was
clear that these orders came from Captain Theodas. He did not
like any person who was not a Makedone, even fellow Hellenes.
Duratios began to talk of Captain Theodas and was convinced that
we would soon be forced to leave the royal guard by his orders. I
did not understand Captain Theodas at that time and decided to
not worry like Duratios. Duratios later told Kallistratos and he
agreed with him. Even though Kallistratos was an agent working
directly for General Antigonos, Captain Theodas had let it be
known that he wished him replaced. Even though Kallistratos
was a Hellene, Captain Theodas did not like him.
The problem came to a quick end by the word of Antigonos.
General Antigonos did not know of Captain Theodas' orders to the
guards but ended those orders quickly. A day before he was to
leave, General Antigonos spoke to me while I on guard. He
suddenly stopped what he was doing and thought a moment. He
turned to me and said, "I want you to stay close to me when we
meet with the Persian king, Tabriqo." He then quickly returned
to the papers he had on the table. I was honored he personally
trusted me with his safety, though I had proved I was capible.
Captain Theodas was in the room and hear this and was not
happy, but he could no longer order me to remain in the city. All
of the guard joined Antigonos when we travelled the next day.
We travelled north across the lands of Persis. When we came
within sight of the town, the scouting group approached the army
and reported that there was only a handful of Persian guards in
the town and no other forces nearby. The scouts left to patrol
the hills and the small army set up camp where we had stopped.
Antigonos, his aids, and the royal guards moved forward. There
were just under twenty of us in the guards. There had been
several more, but we had not filled our numbers since that time
a negotiation turned into a fight and Captain Damatrios had died.
We entered the small town; I forgot what it was named. The city
was bare. It looked as though no person had lived there for many
months. In the center of the town, the largest building had several
Persian guards near it. Captain Theodas and a couple others
entered the building and came out soon after. Captian Theodas
reported that there was nobody inside but it had been cleaned up.
Antigonos, his aids, myself, Captain Theodas, and another guard
entered the building while the others spread out.
We sat and waited. "Should the Persian king have not been
waiting for us here?" one aid asked.
"Perhaps it is a trap," another suggested.
"They would not be that stupid," Captian Theodas said brazenly.
"He seeks to establish an upper hand by having the power over
the meeting's beginning," Antigonos confidently said. "We shall
let him have this," he said, taking a drink of wine.
We waited until midday. One of the royal guards entered the
room and reported that a small army had approached and a
small group of men on horses were coming towards the town.
I checked my sword, bow, and arrows. I was ready for a fight.
One of the Persian guards entered and confirmed that it was
King Aram.
A group of Persian men entered the building shortly. A short
bearded man wearing an odd hat sat in the center. This man
was introduced as King Aram, "first king" of the Persian Empire.
I did not think much of him at first but soon learned he was
worthy of the great respect he commanded. He proved to be a
worthy challenge even for the charisma of Antigonos.
The story of that day and the one that followed is not a story I am
suited to tell. I spent my time watching every man's slightest
movement and never letting my guard down. General Antigonos
and King Aram spoke in the Hellene tongue at great length. I did
not bother trying to follow what they spoke of. On the first day the
two men spoke with eachother as though they were two fighters
circling the other looking for an opening to strike at. By the
second day they spoke as though they were long time friends.
Although this friendliness covered a tension even I was aware of.
It was clear that both sides wished peace but also wished to be
seen as the victor in this war.
From what I understood, both the Persians and our forces were
weakened but both men played as though they had all the power.
I did not know it, but we were weaker than I had thought that day.
The reinforcements coming to join us were weak, and the lands of
Persis, away from the capital, were rioting under our control.
By dusk on the second day, the two leaders had come to a decision.
We spent a second night in the army camp outside the city and the
following day returned the the Persian capital of Persepolis. In the
city, Antigonos gave a speech to the army, reporting that the war
was over. The Persian Empire had accepted peace. King Aram
would end the war and would even convince his fellow Persian king to
pull back his troops that were marching on Persepolis.
Antigonos did not believe we could hold the lands of Persis. In order
to achieve peace, these lands would be returned to King Aram. The
Hellenes gained some land to the north, though I do not remember
all of the names of the lands there. The city of Sousa would become
part of the Kingdom of the Hellenes. I do not recall all of the details,
I was simply happy that the war was over. I did not know then what
I was going to do, or if General Antigonos would still need my service.
But I would soon learn my job was not yet completed.
Re: Down From Africa (An AAR Sidestory)
Originally Posted by Horatius Flaccus
Now how long did that peace last?
7x
3x
).
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