By the Sword

by Christian Kachel

  Vettias performed his familiar routine of being purposely vague for the effect of his audience. Ox was not amused and was too tired for theatrics. “What are you getting at,” he asked, slightly annoyed.

  “Queen Adea is to address the Macedonian Army tomorrow after the morning muster and sacrifice to the Gods,” Vettias announced with a satisfied tone.

  “You aren’t serious,” Ox replied with shock. “She’s only a girl, Vettias, this isn’t a game. You’re playing with our lives and will get us all killed- including her!” Ox caught himself before graduating to an outright yell for fear of being heard and lowered his voice to a hushed roar. “I hope there is a greater plan behind this looming blasphemy. A girl, addressing the Macedonian Army; are you mad?”

  “Brother, I understand your misgivings but you yourself know what she is capable of. You know the blood she bears and the loyalty she inspires with the army. I would not recommend this course had I not met with her and witnessed for myself her beauty, her oratory, her passion. As we speak, Davos is eliminating a number of Orontes’ operatives, the Silver Shield officers are with us if she can deliver a rousing speech. All that is left is for you to rally Perdiccas’ former officers tonight and convince them to support the Queen tomorrow. The Perdiccan contingent, combined with the Silver Shields, will be more than enough to sway the requisite number of soldiers within the army to support her- all before Antipater arrives. I need to know that you’re with me, brother. The hour draws near and we will need to cease all communication after tonight. If she fails in her discourse, you can decide to remain silent and we will find another road to achieve our goals. But for now, the Fates have delivered this young Argead to us and we must act before our enemies are too powerful and entrenched to remove. Can I count on you to rally the Perdiccan officers?”

  Ox was not fully convinced but begrudgingly acquiesced to Vettias’ impassioned plea. “I’ll rally the officers, but we will not make a move unless she can pull it off. See you tomorrow, brother.”

  “Just one more thing, my friend,” Vettias added. “I will require use of your safe house within the staff quarters. My current apartment will not be safe after tonight.”

  “Instruct Davos to show you the way tonight. It has a line of sight to the boy’s quarters and will suit your purposes.” The three of us departed the tent set to our purposes- Ox to rally the Perdiccans, Vettias and I to meet Davos and move our prisoners to my quarters.

  Returning to our makeshift prison, we knocked on Vettias’ door and were let in by Ox’s sentries. Both captives were asleep and appeared to have fresh blood running down their faces. “You didn’t rough them up too much did you?” Vettias whispered.

  “Just the amount we were told,” one of the goons replied.

  “Good, are you ready to begin?” I was confused by the conversation until Vettias loudly walked in the room, waking the prisoners and berating the two guards for mistreating our ‘guests.’ The sentries apologized profusely as they obsequiously slunk into the corner of the room and Vettias tended to the victims’ facial wounds with a wet rag. Our two guests seemed genuinely happy to see their former torturer-turned saviour, which caused me to remember my initial doubts about Vettias’ promise they would become very close in a short while.

  “Get some sleep until Davos returns,” Vettias suggested. My eyelids were heavy and I fell rapidly to sleep in the corner of the apartment curled up on a thin blanket on the floor near the fireplace. Father was standing in the corner of the room looking at our two prisoners.

  “What are your thoughts regarding these two poor bastards?” he asked.

  “I find I don’t enjoy inflicting such pain on prisoners, if that’s what you mean,” I replied.

  “But to Vettias’ earlier point, you could be moved to such acts if properly motivated. If the life of your mother or sister was involved. Maybe Mara as well. Do not be too quick to judge Vettias on his apparent eagerness in this matter. For him, his oath and that half-breed King may evoke similar emotions as would someone who was close to you being in danger.” I remained silent while my father’s words sunk in until I was awoken by the entrance of Davos to our room.

  He had several stains of blood on his clothes and bore several red marks over his body and face. It was clear he met some resistance during his purge. His demeanour was calm and his face remained expressionless. Vettias called me over and the three of us quietly conversed just outside the apartment.

  “Were you successful?” Vettias asked in a serious tone.

  “For the most part,” Davos replied without emotion. “The names we were given have been eliminated, some more discreetly than others. Not all were alone however due to our time constraint, so we made sure to kill those with them as well. A couple of unknown associates got lucky and escaped. There’s no way of knowing whether they were part of Orontes’ network but we must assume he knows by now. Some of the situations got a little ugly; I lost three of my men tonight. We took care to dispose of their bodies, however, so Orontes will not know their identities.”

  “And what of those that lived? Were any of you seen by anyone that survived?”

  “I can’t say for certain, so again, we must assume Orontes knows the identities of at least one of our men.”

  “I agree. Alright Davos, you did well tonight. From now on we will enter a new phase of our operations. We can no longer operate with the anonymity we enjoyed the past week. We are going to ground. First we will move these two to Andrikos’ quarters. I suspect Pirus may be of further use, but Shifty is approaching the end of his utility. Davos, do you have a place we can securely dump him?”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem; tomorrow evening will present the earliest opportunity to do so.”

  “Good, now I’m going to go over how we move forward after this morning. The Queen’s speech is going to set the army encampment on fire. Large fissures will open and tensions are going to be high. The ensuing chaos will provide us opportunities as well as challenges to successfully operate. Davos, I will need to meet with you twice a day going forward. You will be my conduit to Ox. You will pass messages between us as well as receive new instructions from me. Once in the morning, once in the early evening. The location of our first meeting will take place at the small wine vendor’s tent closest to the main army’s encampment. During the meeting you will communicate any news from Ox, receive new instructions, and I will inform you of the next meeting location. In case of an emergency where one of us needs to set a meeting immediately, either of us, Andrikos included, will tie a white scarf on the window of the butchery where you two picked up Pirus. This means we will need to ensure we pass by this landmark a few times each day while accomplishing our tasks. The initiator of the emergency will wait for us at this apartment since Ox has found me a new one. Do you understand your instructions?”

  “Um hmm,” Davos answered dryly.

  “Alright, let’s move these two over to Andrikos’ quarters.”

  We wrapped the detainees in separate rugs and loaded them into a small cart while Davos squatted in between them with a dagger pressed to each of their heads. They were informed if either of them screamed out, both would be killed instantly by Davos. Vettias and I each took one handle of the cart while Ox’s two goons walked several paces in front and behind us for security. The circumstances reminded me of uncle Argos and I pulling our merchant cart back from the Ilandran road market. Our current cargo made me think of how far from that reality I was.

  Our short trek was without incident as both victims complied with their instructions either out of fear, capitulation, or both. Upon arriving, we carried our captives up the small flight of stairs to my quarters and tied them to two separate chairs on opposite sides of the room. Vettias instructed the sentries to resume watch over the prisoners while Davos guided us to Ox’s safe house and slinked away into the dark night like a hungry viper looking for its next prey.

  “We’ll make our way to the army encampment a little after an hour past daw
n,” Vettias instructed. “I’m getting some sleep until then; I suggest you do the same.”

  We both shut our eyes in separate corners of the sparsely furnished room and stole a precious few hours of sleep before our big day.

  Chapter 31

  I woke to the callous shaking of Vettias, who hurried me out the door as we made our way to the morning army formation. The temperature was cool and the activity within the staff quarters finally died down with nothing to show for it but debris in the streets and burned-out fire pits. We arrived at the end of the ritualistic sacrifices and managed to get lost in the throng of thousands observing the rites. Some soldiers were paying close attention and mentally trying to connect to the Gods through the ceremony. Others were in attendance because their presence was mandated by their officers. A large wooden platform had been erected several feet in the air to enable all observers a line of sight to the events. Several men sat on the shoulders of others or on makeshift stands to echo what was being said to the rest of the audience too far away to hear the ceremony. Vettias and I maneuvered our way close enough to readily see the activities taking place on the platform and were just in ear shot of what was being said directly. The many relay men aided our comprehension if a word or two could not be discerned over the low din of thousands of soldiers engaged in quiet small talk. Standing on my toes I could just make out the polished armour of the Silver Shield formation standing prominently in the front rows to the right of the stage.

  As the sacrifice wound down, the low din of conversation increased in volume so that Vettias and I could no longer hear words spoken from the wooden platform. I strained to see and hear what was transpiring while Vettias appeared less interested. At this moment the sun poked through the clouds to illuminate the grey morning sky and a slender figure dressed in full battle armour, combining Macedonian and Illyrian styles, ascended the platform. Those soldiers whose attention was not in the direction of the platform continued their casual conversations, while a wave of silence eventually washed over the army as everyone became aware of the Queen’s presence. She wore polished bronze greaves reserved only for the wealthiest of Illyrian warriors. Her tunic was pure white with bright purple stitching along the hem and sleeves. Over her tunic was a bronze cuirass in the Greek hoplite style, except it was cut for a female. A purple cloak flowed over the shoulders of her cuirass down to the back of her calves. Her bronze helmet was in the style of Illyrian elite hoplites with mandibles covering her ears and cheeks and a blood-red plume standing straight up from its crest. Borrowing from the God King himself, two large feathers, dyed in purple, adorned her helmet, adding to her royal air. A curved Thracian sword was sheathed at her hip and she held an Illyrian curved throwing axe in her right hand. She maneuvered up the platform dexterously, despite wearing heavy armour for so young a girl, and wore her equipment as aptly as any phalangite. The able first impression her appearance made on the army could not be overstated. I looked over to Vettias, who had a half-smile denoting immense pride in the young Argead. She clearly passed the first test and no one in the army dared criticize her right to stand in front of them. All remained silent as she motioned to speak.

  “Fellow Macedonians,” she began with a soft and unsure voice, “Many of you here have travelled from the plains of Anatolia, to the sands of Egypt. From the palaces of Mesopotamia to the harsh lands of Bactria. From the exotic Kingdoms of India back through the arid deserts of Persia.” Her voice did not travel far but was echoed by the many criers repeating her words. Thus far no passions had been stirred within her audience, however.

  “You conquered all that opposed you and showed the enfeebled Achaemenid Satraps how real men slay their enemies on the battlefield.” These bold words struck the right tone and elicited strong shouts and applause from the army. She deftly waited for the outburst to subside before continuing. “You fought as one during the unbelievable triumphs of the greatest campaign of conquest in history: The Granicus, Issus, Tyre, Gaugemela, The Jaxartes, and The Hydaspes. You did so not for bloodlust, although vanquishing one’s enemy in combat is invigorating, you fought for my kin, Alexander, and you fought for the glory of Macedonia and Greece.” Again, the army broke out into loud applause- our Queen knew her audience and was playing them like a lyre.

  “My fellow Macedonians, it pains me to see the fractures that have emerged since Alexander’s death. Just weeks ago the army that I stand before was split on opposite sides, ready to combat each other in open conflict. Other battles have already been fought to the north and many good Greeks have been killed. What a shame it is to have survived Alexander’s world conquest only to be run through by a fellow Greek on territory that was already spear-won.” The army grew quiet as the weight of her words resonated with all in attendance. “It is this very reason that I, a mere woman, take this unprecedented step of addressing the greatest army ever to be assembled. But, my fellow countrymen, as you know, I am no mere woman. Macedon does not create mere women; for we are the only women in the world that give birth to true men!” Shouts and yells reigned out as she made this last point and several in the crowd started chanting her name. She played off this well by taking her speech into a loud crescendo. “The blood of Alexander flows through my veins. The blood of his father, Philip II, my grandfather, flows through my veins. And Alexander’s brother, Philip III, I call husband.” The army burst into a loud roar, which Adea waited several minutes to subside before continuing.

  “The family history I give is already known to most of you. Allow me to speak briefly about the other side of my lineage- one not known to most Macedonians. My mother’s mother hailed from lands north of Macedon in the untamed hills and forests of Illyria. Illyrians have a proud warrior history and proved bitter foes of my grandfather Phillip II. The blood of Illyria flowed through Philip II by virtue of his mother and served him well during his fight against them. Those of you old enough to remember the Macedonian campaigns in Illyria know I speak the truth. In Illyria our women are expected to fight alongside our men and my mother’s mother, Audata was no exception. Audata, daughter of the great Illyrian King Bardyllis, was a fierce warrior princess before she was given as a bride to Philip II. My grandfather, father of Alexander, a legendary Macedonian warrior in his own right, and his warrior princess Audata, gave birth to my mother Cynane. Cynane was unmistakably raised a Macedonian but Audata always instilled in her the Illyrian warrior ethos.” The audience remained silent, in rapt attention to the story being so expertly told by such a young girl. Vettias nodded his head like a father watching his daughter bring honour to the family in her own right. “Cynane was given to Philip II’s nephew, my father, Amyntas IV. Since my birth, my mother instilled in me the Illyrian warrior ethos just as her mother had done with her.”

  “I tell you these things not to impress you but to impress upon you that the Argead Queen that stands before you is no mere woman and certainly no stranger to the skills of war.” At the conclusion of this sentence, she took the Illyrian throwing axe she had been using as a speech aid and raised it in a throwing position. All eyes of the army now focused directly on the Queen as she threw the axe with incredible agility directly at an upright wooden support beam of the platform approximately twenty five feet away. No one could believe what they had witnessed. There was no arc to the axe’s trajectory. It was thrown in a deadly straight line throughout its flight. The axe seemed to twirl through the air at reduced speed until it was buried deep within the wooden beam. None spoke for a second as her spectacle was processed by the army. The stillness remained until a shout finally rang out, “All hail Queen Adea!” which provoked wild applause and shouts of encouragement.

  Vettias looked to me and exclaimed, “She has them! This is the moment, come on girl, take them now!” Adea again waited for the excitement she had ginned up to subside before revealing her true purpose for addressing the army.

  “Countrymen, there are those who think me unworthy of the charge I now hold as Queen of Macedonia.” Jeers and boos wer
e yelled towards the unnamed villains. “It is true, it is true. These cynics served Macedon well many years ago but did not contribute to your great accomplishments in Asia. They wish to marginalize me, use me for their own purposes, and tell me I cannot speak on behalf of my own husband.” More slurs could be heard as the army became incensed that any Macedonian could doubt their precious Queen, especially someone who did not fight in the great campaign.

  “Tell us who these cowards are so we may kill them!” demanded the crowd.

  “My countrymen, they make great haste to come to this very place and take control of the Argeads. I speak of none other than Antipater and his regime of allies.” The crowd fell silent from its previous fever pitch as the weight of what she was now asking sunk in. I looked over to Vettias, who had an uncharacteristic look of worry on his face. Perhaps sensing the same, Adea continued. “This man does not care for you, he does not care for Alexander, and he looks to begin his own dynasty through his son, Cassander- a mere boy who never marched one step in Alexander’s army.” The crowd still remained quiet. Vettias frantically looked in Ox’s general direction and towards the Silver Shields. Neither were showing signs of support. Adea continued. “This man Antipater, who only crosses into Asia after the battles have been won- an old withered man who has to get up and piss five times a night lest he wake to a wet bed. A man who willingly pays the wages of Macedonian veterans returning home, yet refuses to give those who remained to fight what is due to them.” This last accusation struck a chord since many veterans were owed money, especially the Silver Shields. Grumblings could now be heard in their precincts which gave hope that an eruption of support would ensue.

  “And does this man travel to Triparadeisus to pay your just rewards? No, he travels here empty handed with intentions to undo all you have fought for. I speak now to the Silver Shields and all veterans who demand what is rightfully theirs. I, Queen Adea of the Argead House, descendent of Heracles and Zeus Ammon, hereby decree that, if you support me as your rightful Queen, I will quickly provide all back wages to whom it is owed!” Her promise was the final catalyst needed to break the deadlock. The Silver Shields burst into wholehearted support for the Queen. This was followed by the Perdiccan officers and their units around Ox. Finally, three quarters of the army were shouting Adea’s name and swearing their allegiance. She had won the day, yet Vettias did not look pleased. I shot him a confused glance to which he replied, “She doesn’t have the money! We need to speak with her at once; come with me. That attendant better be sitting in the palatial gardens at the proper hour.”