I had, but decided to keep my council.
‘I concur with your decision, highness.’
Phraates looked puzzled. ‘But I have made no decision as yet. Come, speak freely.’
And so I did. ‘I believe, highness, that talking to the rebels is a waste of time. We should march out to meet Narses and defeat him, for every day that he and his army exists is a gross insult to you and to the ancient laws of Parthia.’
I was aware at once that my father was fuming at my reply, though he said nothing.
‘Well,’ said Gotarzes, ‘he may be half our age but Pacorus has twice the wisdom. I agree with him. We should put an end to this rebellion here and now.’
Chosroes had gone very pale while Vardan looked contemplative. ‘But can we defeat such a host?’
‘We can beat him,’ I replied, ‘if we have the will.’
‘And do you agree with your son, Varaz?’ asked Phraates.
‘The army of Hatra stands ready to obey your orders, highness,’ replied my father evasively.
‘We cannot remain at Ctesiphon, highness,’ I continued. ‘There are too many men and beasts to feed and water. Narses knows this. That is why he is marching here. He is forcing your hand.’
‘You should not talk to your lord, thus,’ said my father. ‘It is not your place.’
‘It is my duty to speak the truth, father.’
My father rounded on me. ‘Is it? Or do you seek a battle for your own ends, to achieve more glory for yourself?’
Enius looked alarmed, Phraates was speechless.
‘We should not argue thus,’ said Vardan. ‘It is for the high king to decide our course of action.’
‘We look to you, highness,’ added my father.
I purposely ignored my father and looked at Phraates, then Enius. He at least knew what I was saying was true. There were thousands of men, mules, camels and horses camped in and around Ctesiphon. Food and forage were in short supply as it was. We could not withdraw for we could not abandon Ctesiphon, the capital of all Parthia, to Narses. At a stroke that would make us all appear feeble. We had only achieved half of what we had set out to accomplish. We had relieved Ctesiphon, but it would all be for nothing unless we beat Narses. And Narses knew this. Phraates must also have known this. He was no fool, but now he had to show his mettle. He smiled to himself.
‘Very well. We will assemble our forces and march east to intercept Narses. This matter must be brought to an end once and for all.’
My father said nothing to me after the meeting ended. He was infuriated with me, but Gotarzes had only praise.
‘You did well, Pacorus. We need to give that bastard Narses a good beating, otherwise he’ll pick us off one by one.’
‘My father doesn’t see it as you do.’
‘Yes he does. He’s angry with himself, not you. He knows that Phraates is lacking as a King of Kings, but what can he do? What can any of us do?’
‘Stay true to our oaths of loyalty,’ I said.
The area around the palace and the along the east bank of the Tigris resounded with the noise of forges making new arrowheads, sharpening blades and mending armour. Farriers shod horses and veterinaries attended to their health. That afternoon I rode with Byrd and Malik to the east. We travelled twenty miles into the desert and then halted. All around was a barren expanse of flat, parched red earth, upon which nothing grew aside from a few shrubs. The terrain was featureless — perfect for cavalry. In the far distance stood the Zagros Mountains, the direction from where Narses was marching. But here there were no mountains, no hills, not even a hillock.
‘Narses is clever,’ I said. ‘He intends to make his superiority in numbers count, and this is the perfect spot.’
‘In what way?’ asked Malik.
‘If Narses had continued to march north along the Tigris, then we could have anchored one flank of our army on the river, as we did when we fought Porus. But here, in the desert, there is nothing to anchor a flank on, no river, wadi, forest or high ground. That means that we will have to match the extent of his line lest we be outflanked. And that will make our line very thin.’
‘You think there will be a battle?’
‘Oh yes, Malik, there will be a battle. Narses has not come this far to talk. He did that at the Council of Kings.’
‘He expects to win,’ said Byrd.
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘And if he does, and manages to kill all the kings who are arrayed against him, then the empire falls into his lap like ripe fruit. What is this place called?’
‘Nomads we spoke to call it Surkh,’ replied Byrd, ‘not know what it means.’
I knelt down and scooped up some of the dry earth. ‘It means redness.’ I let it fall from my hand. The name was very apt, for this patch of ground would soon be running red with blood.
‘Odds not good, Pacorus.’ Byrd always did have a knack of summing things up succinctly. We stood in silence for a while. And to the east Narses and his army advanced towards Ctesiphon.
I rode straight to my father’s camp when we returned, a vast sprawling collection of tents along the Tigris. He had made sure that he was upstream from the armies of the other kings, especially that of Chosroes. His tent was a great round affair, its roof supported by four giant poles. I left my horse with a servant and was escorted inside by two sentries. I found my father in a conference with Vistaspa and half a dozen of his officers all standing in front of my father’s desk. As soon as they saw me the officers bowed their heads, prompting my father to dismiss them. As they bowed once more and filed out, my father indicated to Vistaspa that he should sit in one of the wicker chairs that were placed by one of the tent poles. My father’s second-in-command nodded his head slightly at me but said nothing.
‘So, the wanderer returns,’ said my father, noticing my dust-covered apparel, my shirt tainted red. He gestured to a water jug on a small table to one side. ‘You must be thirsty.’
I walked over to the table and drank a cup of lukewarm water.
‘Are you well?’ asked my father.
‘Yes, father.’
‘And is this a social visit?’
I slumped down in one of the chairs. ‘I need your cataphracts, father.’
He looked at Vistaspa and they both laughed.
‘Did I hear you right, Pacorus? You want me to give you my cataphracts, the finest heavy cavalry in the known world?’
‘Yes, father.’
‘And you wish Lord Vistaspa to command them?’
‘Of course.’
My father placed his hands behind his head and stared at the roof of the tent.
‘So, not only do you want my cataphracts, you also want the commander of my troops, the man who has forged Hatra’s army into the sword of the Parthian Empire?’
‘Yes.’
‘And am I allowed to know the reason why you make such heavy demands upon me?’
‘To defeat Narses.’
He slowly rose from his chair and started pacing up and down.
‘Of course, that’s where you have been isn’t it, mapping out the ground upon which you will fight your battle?’
I must have looked surprised.
‘You may be a king, Pacorus, a man whose fame has spread far and wide, but you are still my son. The answer is no.’
Disappointment swept over me, though I tried to remain composed. ‘You know that there will be a battle.’
He was still pacing. ‘You wish there to be a battle. I wish for the rebellion to be brought to an end.’
I held out my hands. ‘Are they not one and the same thing?’
My father stopped pacing and banged his fist on the table. ‘No, they are not! Narses has to defeat us to win this war. When he sees the might of Hatra, Babylon, Mesene and Dura arrayed against him, his nerve will falter.’
I stood up and placed the cup back on the table. ‘You are wrong,’ I said.
I left then without saying another word. But I was not finished yet. I rode to the palace and asked for a private audience with Phraates. In his study once more I requested that Enius and his five hundred cataphracts be placed under my command during the coming march. If it came to a fight I promised Phraates victory, just like the one over Porus. I knew that he regarded me highly at this time and I played on that. When he reminded me that his son, Mithridates, who had been ‘tricked’ by Narses, was with the enemy army, I lied and told him that I would make it my priority to rescue his son, if I could but borrow his heavy horsemen. And so he gave me Enius and five hundred cataphracts. Gotarzes did not need any convincing and so readily agreed to add his two hundred cataphracts to my own, on the condition that he would fight by my side. He too wanted to find Mithridates, ‘So I can chop off the little bastard’s head.’ I readily agreed to his offer.