Empathy

March On, Or Perish

Romania...

"Captain , how in the gods name are we supposed to fight that thing?"

"Well its not going to fight itself and that's two month of Barack clean duty for you. Amath,now get your shield to the front lines and be useful" Replied Centurion Corinth. Even though he was a Centurion his men fondly called him captain and that made it easy to relate with them on a more equal level although there have been rumors....

He watched the poor lad run back into the battlefield, he couldn't have been more than 26. An unearthly roar shook the earth beneath him and screams erupted from the line of men clad in bronze armor.

"For romania ..." and the battle continued.

He watched all hell break loose and his men die at the claws of one of the legendary Empathors. The beasts bestowed upon mortals by the gods.
Though their main goal was to drive the greeks back it was more than difficult to do that with the presence of the greek empaths and the absence of the Romanian ones.

And nothing was more unnerving than the cloaked figure atop the 6 foot tall lion covered with golden fur and a snaked tail with majestic horns that shone like emeralds atop its fore head.

It was truly a terrifying and beautiful sight to behold.

Empath were not allowed to directly interfere with mortal battles but the beast was doing otherwise and its master was doing nothing about it.

As beautiful as the beast was he couldn't help but wonder if the gods were as wise as they ought to be , all they did was gift chaos and destruction.

He then wondered what life would have been like if he hadn't made the cut in the training camp, see where diligence got him.

The Romans were losing this war badly and this was because of the absence of the Romanian empathors, where were they ?
As the captain all he could do was watch as the greek soldiers decimate their ranks, he could not afford to die as that will kill the morale of the already reluctant soldiers.

"Captain you have a message sir, from the Consul". jolting him out of his reveree.
Those damn robed Patricians he thought as he opened the parchment.

"Din scaunul ordinului consulilor li se datorează cei înzestrați pe care ni le-au dăruit zeii....".

"From the seat of the order of consuls the gifted ones bestowed upon us by the gods are due to arrive at the battlefield soon extract your men from the battlefield to avoid further blood shed of our brothers

_
. ..Din ordinul senatului.

"With pleasure" he muttered under his breath.
"Men fall back, din empathors".

The rank of sweat and injury covered men with the sorrow of what they had just been through and the anticipation of what they were about to witness fell back with orderliness one would expect of the 5th legion , no sooner had they fallen back that a mighty shriek was heard and thunderous hoof sounds that shook the very earth.

"Din empathors" his men chanted and praised.
Watching the empaths and their beasts battle was a legendary experience which mortals were not supposed to experience for the warriors and their beasts were aware of nothing else but the enemy before them.

"March on those of you who want to see their families and sleep on warm beds tonight, nothing but death awaits those who look upon the empaths battle, march on, march on " urged the captain. He looked back one more time and saw his worst nightmare conjured from the depth of tartarus. One of the three romanian Empath beasts; The basilisk

The figure atop it looked back and nooded at him even though they were miles apart, he had no idea how his son picked him out of the mass of soldiers

****

Entering the camp was more demoralising than the battlefield, groans and swears erupted from tents. Men moved around carrying different tools;from broken swords in need of repairs to injured horses to cauldrons used in preparing the day's meal;.

"Get the injured to the infirmary, and ensure all the horses are ready we march at day break".

The makeshift camp had become their home for the last two weeks since they were deployed to confront the greek army numbering 60 000 foot soldiers,30 000 calvary men and 10 000 archers with one of the three greek empaths in tow.
The camp was a mile in diameter numbering 40 tents plus the general infirmary and weapons shed, the tents were arranged according to rank with the captain of the legion at the very centre. As Corinth walked passed the infirmary to his tent he couldn't help but silently cringe at the painful groans coming from within.

The captain's tent - though a tad bit larger than the rest of the tents in the camp- was lined with battle maps drawn around the tent wall, a round table for strategy meetings and a corner tent for sleeping.
Corinth sighed as he took of his armour and hung them up when he heard the tent cover flip open.
"How was the battlefield , captain".
"How else, june?" He replied
"Well I would know if you didn't keep me in camp, to brush horses and wash cooking cauldrons". June retorted bitterly.

June was one of the odd women who couldn't accept their position in the society, she was of noble blood (patrician) and therefore had privileges that other females wouldn't dare ask for. Corinth sighed and turned back to look at those blue sets that shone with passion.
"You know how it is, June."
She shook her head and objected, "but you know I can always..."
"No, June," Corinth cut her off, "No, you can't always disguise. That's a silly idea and you know it. All the soldiers in the army are well-known. It won't be easy to hide a stranger especially an odd looking patrician like you, though I still can't imagine why you'd choose to be here . "

This girl was beyond him, it was getting harder to tell her no every time thankfully they'd soon leave this place.

He went to the edge of the tent and searched for his old-time favorite whiskey. It always made him calm after a battle like this. Immediately he found it, he took a chug of the intoxicating drink without thinking twice.
"How does it feel?" June spoke up again.
"What?"
"How does it feel seeing the basilisk, Corinth?"She asked.
He hated where the conversation was heading and he snapped, "it's Centurion to you. I'm sure there are things you ought to be doing. Those horses won't brush themselves."
He watched her fierce blue eyes widen as she tried to object before she finally let it go and exited the tent.

As June walked out of the tent. She had no intention of scrubbing the horses, she was heading to her tent. Most of the soldiers shared tents, however, she was alone in her tent. It wasn't her choice though, the captain made that decision and that was one choice she could agree with.

As she walked past one of the tents, she heard a voice, "I must agree with you. The captain doesn't..." That was enough to grab her attention. She pulled her long beige hair into a bun. She crept into the tent. These were the kind things she enjoyed.

****

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