Young Iptacens found himself presented with something quite out of the ordinary when he went to fetch his father for council. It was becoming rather worrying that Thrace was at war with Macedonia without any ceasefire agreement between their neighbors, what with the possibility of a barbarian horde crashing down upon the walls of Campus Getae. Being presented with Sheb squeezing into his armour did not put him at ease either, Sheb had often said that the Dacians were an irritation that would soon prove troublesome if left unchecked.
"Father what are you..."
"Macedonia has allied with Dacia and Scythia. It's time for a little excursion" Came the muffled reply as Sheb pulled on a helmet that had not been worn in some time. It was one that he'd received as a gift when he came of age although he had nearly forgotten about its existence.
"Impossible, I would have been informed of these alliances" Iptacens murmured as he thought of this. He had feared that this may happen but no Macedonian diplomats had passed through the area. The guard towers on the border would have let him know of them before this had happened.
"We employ spies for a reason" Sheb spat as he dropped a scroll in front of his son. It was marked with the seal of the man who had infiltrated Byzantium so there was little reason to doubt its authenticity.
It was as his father had said, Thrace was now surrounded by dangerous enemies on all sides. At any time, an alliance could possibly strike Thrace from the face of the earth. There was only one thing that could be done though, a preemptive strike against Dacia while it was underdeveloped in its east would weaken this alliance.
Sheb and his two sons set off the following day; Sheb having been raising and training an army for a year in advance, knowing that this would happen. It was a chance for Ziles and Iptacens to gain some experience in the field while a successful campaign would silence any critics of Sheb and his status as heir of the Thracian nation.
The army was comprised largely of the falxmen under the command of a man known as Zrk2 while also supplemented by nearly 300 mercenaries from the area. An army of a thousand warriors marched upon Dacia at an impossible pace, every man knew that for Thracia to succeed that Dacia would have to crumble.
As their father made his speech, Ziles took a place next to his younger brother. He was a peaceful and intelligent man, quite different from the majority of Thracian warriors. He also had aspirations to rule but he knew that aspirations often never come to be.
"You were worried about a horde, eh little brother?" Ziles muttered to his brother as preparations for the attack were completed. Iptacens let his grim facade crack for a moment and let a smile cross his face before it quickly faded; reports were that their army doubled the garrison of the Dacians which both of the young princes of Thrace saw as a good sign.
The ram was sent to the gates and the battle was on. The Cavalry peppered the warband behind the walls with their javelins, weakening their formation before the Infantry even engaged their forces.
The gate was smashed and the enemy warband lost its will to fight and fled to the town center. They could not run far before the militia cavalry crashed into their rear and began their deed. Dacians fell in droves as the lightly armed cavalry ran roughshod on the barbarian cowards.
"Look at them run!" Sheb roared as he pulled his men to a halt. He was not stupid enough to charge his bodyguards into a fairly heavily defended area. That was what the Samaritan cavalry were for.
He was overtaken by all of the horsemen in their army, they were charging the captain of the Dacian army and his falxmen unit at his side.
Thracian Cavalry surrounded the captain before he had a chance to steady his men. Their war-cry only lasted a few seconds before they were drowned out by the screams of blood-lust from the Thracians and the screams of defiance of the Dacians.
Captain Ion of Dacia remained defiant to the end. He was pierced in the side by a spear as his men were killed but he still refused to bow his head to any man besides his chieftain.
The battle was simple after this. The Dacians had lost the will to fight with any form of discipline. Their strikes were sloppy and began to slow thanks to despair.
The remaining members of the Warband were able to form a defensive rank and fought well. They actually were able to rout the militia cavalry and had killed all of the Samaritans. That had to be applauded.
But of course, the Zrk2s men were yet to wet their blades. They were fresh and ready to fight, the remaining Dacians were nearly finished.
And then there were no more men to defend Porrolissom. They had fought to the man but it was to no avail. Thrace had taken the city and the people within her walls were lost.
"A fine battle lads" stated Sheb as he wiped some blood from his arm. Ziles nodded quietly while Iptacens had a heavy feeling in his stomach although he hid this from his father with a grim smile before walking his horse away to find some privacy. once he was out of sight, he sunk to his knees and sighed loudly as he paid thanks to whatever god had watched over him during that battle. He couldn't let any of the men see a prince of Thrace look weak so he picked himself up and joined the men who were searching the town for any mead or meat.
They were going to celebrate and Iptacens could not blame them for this. He vowed under his breath that he wouldn't be so weak the next time he had to don his armor.
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Topic: Thrace Total War (a Rome TW LP) (Read 7170 times)