Tythias smiled at the soldier. “Go back and get your wine soldier, or you’ll miss it. Velutio won’t do anything today. By the time they line up the light’ll be starting to fail, so he won’t make a move until morning.”
The soldier saluted, still glowing furiously, and turned to head back to his unit. Tythias smiled weakly at his new wife. “You realise we’re going to have to break our wedding celebration in the middle.”
Sathina nodded. Her smile was riveted to her face as though she were afraid it might fall away. “I knew you were a soldier, Tythias; if I’d wanted safe, I’d have married a grocer. Just be careful.”
Tythias nodded as Kiva approached them. The general gave a sad little smile. “We can spare an hour for the meal before we do anything.” He winked at the girl. “And he won’t be needed overnight, you know…”
Sathina smiled. “I know, but I’m entitled to worry, general.”
“Of course you are, but there’s nothing on earth’s been made by man can get rid of your husband. He’s been wounded by every type of weapon I could name and probably most of the animals and he’s still here.”
For a moment Sathina’s smile faltered and then she looked back up at the general. “He’ll be fine. Now let’s celebrate.”
“Indeed.” Sarios walked past them and intoned a prayer to various gods before they began. The staff waited patiently for a few minutes until he fell silent and then made their way to the various seats around the heavy wooden table.
The meal began with toasts and jokes and then bread was broken and wine drunk as every man and the few women at the celebration tried their hardest to have a good time, despite the foreboding feeling triggered by the nearby sounds of an army making ready for brutal war.
It was perhaps an hour from sunset when Tythias finally stood and turned his glass upside down. “No more for me now until I return. I don’t think infantry support is necessary, general. This is just a teaser, so I’ll take the cavalry.”
He leaned down and kissed his wife for a long moment before standing straight once more. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Sathina watched as Tythias gave a slight bow to his friends and peers and then turned from the table and strode away toward the stables. Three of the celebratory party, all ex-members of Tythias’ company, stood and adjusted their tunics before following their commander. Despite the Lion Riders having been split up into more useful roles, many of the cavalry officers originated from the that unit.
She sighed and swallowed hard, forcing the tears welling in her eyes to stay there.
“I wish he’d stop saying things like that. Tempting the fates is never good.”
Athas, two seats down the table, reached across where Tythias had been sitting and squeezed her wrist. “It’s alright, Sathina. Kiva here’s the only one the Gods have got it in for.”
It wasn’t exactly a joke, but it certainly turned their thoughts away from Tythias’ immediate danger.
Down at the stables, Tythias prepared his horse as his commanders donned their armour and weapons. The prefect’s plans had been well known by the cavalry since before they’d arrived in the valley and officers were already present in the makeshift stable, while their units were formed and waiting by the front line.
As he and the other commanders finally mounted up in the dusky light with a deep blue-grey sky showing through the cracks between the wooden walls, he smiled at them and hefted his sword.
“Let’s get out there. I want to be out ahead of our front line and see what we’ve got. Then I’ll know how best to hit them.”
There were murmurs of assent from the other officers and the six riders made their way out of the hastily constructed officer’s stable and past the corral that held most of the remaining steeds, down toward the front line at a steady walk. Five units of cavalry milled around close to one of the stockades guarding a crossing of the ditch, waiting for their commanders. Three were light, skirmishing cavalry of the style the Imperial army had traditionally used for harassing the flanks of the enemy, but the other two were equipped after the fashion of the more civilised of the eastern horse tribes; their horses were armoured with chain mail and the riders wore a suit of chain interspersed with steel plates that promised good protection but also extreme weight. They held spears and shields, with their swords attached to the horns of their saddles. All in all, they were the heaviest cavalry Tythias had ever seen fielded within the empire. He’d made the decision to train heavy horse units, but had passed the responsibility itself down to Peris, the best horseman of the Lion Riders, who even now was approaching them and eyeing them critically.
“You!” the officer called out. “Straighten up in that saddle and hold your shield like you might want to use if you daft bastard.”
Tythias smiled. “Officers to me!” he called loudly as he walked his horse across the ditch crossing. Behind him the five unit commanders followed him into the no man’s land, watching the distant lines of the enemy. Peris pulled alongside as they walked their horses and addressed his commander in a low voice.
“You do realise, sir, that you can just tell us where to go and what to do. You don’t actually need to come along. You’re a senior commander and we’re not daft.”
Tythias raised an eyebrow and Peris sighed.
“You’ve a wife back there, sir and you’ve been married less than two hours. Don’t you think you should be with her?”
The prefect smiled. “I will be shortly, but I’m not passing up the opportunity to find out what we’re up against.” He squinted into the distance. “I see they’re still not properly set up. We know what their army comprised a few days ago, but they may have picked up others now. They’ve passed the lands of several of his allies now. I want to have a look at the rear ranks that are still arriving.”
With a smile, he turned to Peris. “Here’s a chance to test the mettle of the heavy cavalry. Peris and Crucio, take your two units to the right hand side of the valley. I want you to make your way right to the slope at the other side and then make a charge against the end of their line. Hit ‘em really hard. I want you to frighten the shit out of them and draw all attention there. Once you’ve finished your charge, rally and pull back across the field. As soon as you’re a good distance away, turn and do it again. You know what to you’re doing.”
Peris nodded. “I doubt we’ll get three charges in before they’re prepared and the shock’ll have gone.”
“That’s fine,” Tythias nodded. “Try for three if you can. Just keep them busy and give them something to think about. Meantime, the rest of us are heading up over this hill on the left hand side and we’re going to go round and hit them from the back. I want to see the support that’s coming up now and harass them a little.”
Peris squared his shoulders and peered across to the enemy’s left flank. I’ll give it ten minutes once we’re over there before we charge. We don’t want to go too early or our attack’ll be over before you even reach position.”
The prefect nodded and, turning his horse, led the light cavalry along the line behind the front ranks of men, heading for a farm house low on the slopes of the valley side where they could enter an orchard and cross the brow of the hill relatively unobtrusively. Peris watched him go and then nodded to his fellow officer.
“Well, Crucio. Time we went too, eh?.”
Tythias frowned. From their vantage point on the lowest slope of the hill among sparse fruit trees, he could see everything that was happening at the rear of the enemy force. Something was wrong here. They must have already fielded half as many men again as Darius’ army, and yet there were still long columns of troops coming in. More than that, there were huge wagons bearing catapults and bolt throwers being escorted by strange unidentifiable low-grade infantry. Where had all these extra men and machines come from?