The horsemen swept round our flanks, one group led by Vata the other by Atrax. They did not shoot their bows but instead first used their spears to kill the Armenians. Each wing wheeled inwards to trap the Armenians and went to work with their swords, hacking left and right at men trying to escape back to the tree line. But they were too far away from the safety of the forest and were being hunted by men on horseback, and so soon the plain was covered with more dead as Vata’s men, working in their companies, charged, reformed and then charged again to cut down the enemy.
The legionaries leaned on their shields and the archers unstrung their bows as the horsemen finished their slaughter at the tree line.
Not all the enemy warriors were killed, a few escaped into the forest to tell the tale of their defeat to their tribes, while those who had been wounded by arrows at the beginning of the engagement had managed to hobble into the trees. Whether those men would live depended on how quickly they reached their villages and the skill of their healers.
A quick roll call revealed that our own casualties were ten dead and fifteen wounded. Most of the camels had taken themselves off to avoid the battle and so Vata sent out patrols to get them back. It had been a very satisfactory ambush.
We burned our own dead, left the Armenian corpses to the vultures and retraced our steps back to Nisibus. That night we celebrated our victory and toasted the forthcoming marriage of Orodes and Axsen.
‘But she has not accepted,’ he protested as we stood round a raging fire, ‘she does not even know that I am going to ask for her hand in marriage.’
I slapped him on the shoulder. ‘She will know soon enough and will accept, I promise you.’
Word had spread of his intentions and soon a great crowd had gathered behind us and began chanting ‘Orodes, Orodes’ as the Prince of Susiana grinned sheepishly and a drunken Thumelicus nearly crushed the life out of him when he locked him in a bear hug. Atrax, having spent the whole afternoon hunting down and slaughtering Armenian stragglers to ‘atone’ for his having deserted us earlier in the day, was the happiest I had seen him, and even Vata resembled my old carefree friend once more. It had been a good day for them and for Hatra, and I felt satisfied that I had given the Armenians a bloody nose. Perhaps Tigranes would now think twice before antagonising Hatra.
The next morning we made our way back to Nisibus in high spirits. But our mood soon darkened when we received news that the Armenians were the least of our problems.
Chapter 12
The empire was fortunate in having an excellent courier system whereby every kingdom maintained a system of post stations along every major road at intervals of thirty miles or so. Comprising nothing more than a one-storey building with stables and barn attached, when a courier arrived he left his mount behind and rode a fresh horse to the next station. In this way letters could travel up to ninety miles a day in extreme circumstances, though it was usual for a courier to travel sixty miles a day. In this way a letter could travel the breadth of the empire — a thousand miles — in around seventeen days. In Dura it was slightly different as the forts that I had built up and down the kingdom also acted as post stations, but the result was the same. It was a curious thing that even in times of civil strife the communications system was respected by all sides and not interfered with, no doubt because couriers were an excellent way of transmitting threats and abuse.
I thanked Shamash that we had such a system, for when we returned to Nisibus I found that there had been a flurry of letters sent to the city, all of them conveying ill tidings. I also arrived to find my father had returned to the city with Vistaspa, neither of them being in particularly good moods. It was late afternoon when we rode through the city’s two surrounding brick walls, between which was a deep moat spanned by several bridges. We left our horses at the palace stables. The wagons and camels carried on south back to camp. I had written a short note to Domitus informing him of our victory over the Armenians and recommending Thumelicus for promotion.
Vata had pointed to my father’s banner flying over the palace when we entered the palace grounds, signalling that the king was in residence.
‘Bad sign that your father is back so quickly. Something must be awry.’
I asked him, Atrax and Orodes not to say anything concerning Surena’s expedition into Gordyene.
‘Perhaps he knows already,’ mused Orodes as we walked into the palace’s main hall.
My father watched us enter and walk to the dais as the doors were closed behind us. He was sitting in a great wooden chair with the black-eyed Vistaspa standing beside him. My father had his elbow resting on the arm of the chair, his chin on his palm. He resembled a brooding wolf.
We stood before him and bowed our heads. He began tapping his fingers on the chair’s other arm.
‘Who rules in Hatra?’ he said at length.
I looked at Vata and then Orodes in confusion.
‘You do, father, of course,’ I replied.
He leaned back in the chair, bringing his hands together in front of his chest.
‘Are you certain of that?’
I spread out my hands. ‘I do not understand, father.’
He stood up slowly. ‘Do you not? Then tell me, Pacorus, what would you say of a king who allows another king into his realm to fight his own private war? How is your war with the Armenians going, by the way?’
Orodes and Vata shifted uneasily while Atrax looked shamefaced.
‘I was merely trying to reinforce the safety of your kingdom, father, by sending a clear message to the Armenians,’ I said.
My father looked at Vata. ‘Did you not have enough soldiers at your disposal to protect the caravan, Vata?’
‘Yes, majesty,’ he replied, ‘but Pacorus, that is King Pacorus, suggested that we might lay a trap for the Armenians.’
‘I see,’ said my father, ‘and as the governor of the north you thought that you would obey the King of Dura instead of me?’
Vata was squirming now. ‘Of course not, majesty, but we had an opportunity to inflict losses on the Armenians that would make the road to Edessa safer.’
‘Whether the road to Edessa is now safer than before remains to be seen, but your decision to support my son in his folly would normally have cost you your command.’
Vata blinked and the colour drained from his cheeks.
‘Father,’ I protested, but he held up his hand to still me.
‘I said normally because events in the east are more pressing and I cannot yet afford to dispense with his services, or yours.’
‘Events in the east?’ I enquired.
An ironic smile crept across his face. ‘Five days ago word reached me at Hatra that a great army has passed through the Caspian Gates and is advancing west.’
Atrax cast me a concerned glance, which was spotted by my father. ‘You are right to be alarmed, Prince Atrax, for a message arrived for you here at Nisibus this very morning.’
My father snapped his fingers and pointed to a servant standing by a pillar to the side of the dais. The man, who held a silver tray in front of him on which was a letter, walked briskly over to Atrax and bowed his head, holding out the tray to my friend. Atrax took the letter and opened it.
‘The seal was unbroken,’ said my father, ‘but if I was to guess I would say that it is from your father urgently requesting your presence at Irbil.’
Atrax read the letter and looked at my father, who leaned back in his chair.
‘You are correct, majesty,’ he said. ‘My father requires me back in Media.’
‘A more serious challenge than killing a few mountain bandits I assume, lord prince.’