A Tryst with Destiny

Marcus Antonius had been the Master of the Horse and the second in command of the new Roman autocracy for ten years. Rome had never been stronger nor more prosperous. Emperor Julius Caesar had prevailed over his detractors time and again, and forged a vast empire controlling all of Mediterranean Europe from Iberia to Anatolia. The war with Gaul in turn enabled him to become the undisputed master of Rome.

Having slaughtered the conspiratorial senators with assassins, his greatest foes were out of the way. Marcus would stand beside the most powerful man in the world, as his second in command, but Julius Caesar who had conquered all kingdoms that stood before him, now faced an enemy he could not prevail upon, that of time. Age was weakening him, the administration of the new empire could no longer be borne on his shoulders alone. Thus, did Caesar bequeath the Eastern frontiers to his beloved General Marcus Antonius.

Rome was unchallenged in the West, but in the East enemies surrounded her borders. The kingdoms formed in the wake of the destruction of the Alexandrian empire remained a threat to Rome's power. Byzation which had once been the greatest city on earth, was the centre of the Grecian kingdom on the black sea, which threatened Rome's Grecian holdings. Farther East the diadochi of Hierosalem which had been a mere frontier province of the old Alexandrian empire, now conducted pitched battles with Rome's phoenician protectorate. To the South lay the kingdom of Egypt where Queen Cleopatra reigned as the new pharaoh. Farther East lay the empire of the Parthians, to whom Rome lost the shadow war for Babylon. Marcus' thoughts lay there.

"It was my fault, I had failed Caesar" he said to himself, it is only true, that the plan of waging a proxy war was his, but it was king Hiram of Phoenicia who was tasked with its execution. Babylon had become a wasteland. Caught in between the ambitions of three powerful entities, the once grand city was reduced to a ruinous state with the constant wars and uprisings that these powers imposed upon it. King Hiram of Phoenicia had failed to take Babylon, and it was now Phraates IV , the lion of Persia, whose governor rules over Mesopotamia.

"I had lost Babylon, it was for me that the pride of Rome had been hurt, and it is for me to right my wrong" . Marcus Antonius however, was determined to redeem himself. On the next day, he would petition Julius Caesar to attack Persia with an army of legionaries.

It would be an important day for Julius Caesar, and for Rome. With the Roman republic toppled, the new system of power saw Julius Caesar as the elected Autocrator for life, ruling through a high council of ministers and generals. Marcus was master of horse and second in command over Rome, and had authority over the empire's Eastern provinces. The emperor's adoptive heir Octavius ruled the Western provinces from the regional seat at Iberia. Marcus had called a council wherein he would present his proposal.

" All Hail Caesar ! " Marcus saluted " All Hail Caesar !" the councillors chorused, " Take your seat council men. Today we are gathered here in council to deliberate, at the instance of our esteemed Master of the Horse, Marcus Antonius. So tell us, general, why do you call us so ?" Marcus arose, "My emperor, it is a matter of great importance that faces us today. It is also a matter for which I hold myself responsible. The question at hand, is our war with the Parthian Empire." with the mention of the Parthian empire, all the councillors began chatting with one another in hushed voices, Octavius looked at Marcus with contempt, "If the emperor gives me his permission, I would much like to give my own opinion on this matter." " Permission denied, the East is not your concern Octavius, let Marcus Antonius give us his solution on this matter." " Your majesty, Babylon has fallen out of our hands. This defeat is a sight on the glory of Rome, the burden of this defeat lies upon my shoulders, and only I can right this wrong. It is my humble plea to you my emperor, and all councilmen, that i be given command of the army of Anatolia and two units of catapults be given to us. With this army I shall conquer the Western dominions of the Parthian empire, I shall take back Babylon for the Glory of Rome and the province of Armenia."

The proposal shocked the council, soon derisive voices were being heard from all around, none were louder than that of Octavius. "This plan is folly ! You mean to drain the treasury of Rome and weaken our war with Egypt ! Do not think Marcus , that we do not know of your affair with the Queen of Egypt !" a hush fell over the council "Octavius !" Julius Caesar roared, "Know your limits Octavius, I have placed you on this high pedestal knowing you to be capable of sitting on that chair. Do not disappoint me" silence fell on the council, broken only by the words of Julius Caesar. " I do not blame you my dear friend, for the defeat in Babylon. The task was borne by the unworthy king of Phoenicia, who could never face the might of Persia on his own. That being said, I see no reason why the army of Rome cannot fight Parthia."

Caesar steepled his fingers and sat contemplating for a brief moment, no one said a word, but Octavius was fuming, his hard breathing was the only sound in the hall. he then broke his silence, "The gates of Mars have remained opened in Rome for near a hundred years. It is time that we bring one war to a close. Marcus Antonius, with my authority as Autocrator of Rome, I give my assent to your request. Two catapult units shall be provided to you, and you are tasked with using the army of Anatolia to bring the Parthian provinces of Mesopotamia and Armenia under your control!"

No one could dare oppose the word of Julius Caesar, but on that day Octavius played with fire as he walked out in indignation sparing only one scorn filled look at Marcus "I declare this day's council dismissed" Caesar walked down from the throne of Rome and came to Marcus, he put his hand on his shoulder and said " There are many things that you do not yet know Marcus. Come with me, I have something to show you." Julius Caesar took Marcus to his chamber, at his work table, there were stacks of messages. He sorted them out one by one and unrolled one message sent on an Egyptian papyrus scroll. The message was sent in Latin, he read out :

The Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra sends her greetings,

For decades now, our people have been at war. Rome sends legions after legions of men but to no avail. Egypt has fought with determination and courage and our people have foiled the ambitions of your invasions thus far, but at great cost. For every city your legions ransack thousands of lives are destroyed. Villages have been wiped out, cities destroyed, and entire families uprooted all for the ambition of an empire ? Every year new battalions of legionaries land on Egyptian soil only to be killed by our people who will not surrender to the foreign usurpers who come to lay waste to our land. Every year Rome loses hundreds of their sons on the deserts and plains of the Nile.

I write this letter to you Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome, let us come together and end this war. Enough blood has been shed on both sides, now is a time to bring an end to this. Egypt shall be open to your terms but only if they are fair to her people and if Rome intends to repay for the lives she has ruined.

It is also my earnest request that General Marcus be the mediator in our peace talks. To him I have sent a letter written and sealed for his eyes only.

Marcus could not believe what he had just heard, it was fifteen years ago that Marcus had met with the infamous Queen of Egypt, that seemed so long ago that peace was at hand between the two ancient nations. "She has called for peace this time, and she means it" a myriad thoughts ran through Marcus' mind, "but ... I won't.." "No friend, you won't be there for the Queen. You will be in Persia fighting for Rome. I cannot accept Cleopatra's request, not anymore. I was hoping to read this to you, but you had called the council already." "You knew of this Caesar.. why would you still send me to Parthia?" Marcus was angry, he felt cheated, on the one hand was the woman he loved and on the other his redemption, and he had no choice any more. Caesar replied, "I did it for your own good" .

Good writing! The only thing that I would advise you to change is that you start a new line each time a new person speaks, like this:

"Hello!" said mrrandomplayer.
"Him how are you doing?" asked Adhraj.
"I'm well, thanks," said mrrandomplayer.

The debates around the war plans against the Parasikas were intense. Intelligence reports showed a large force of mercenaries defending Gwadar while a smaller but better trained force of archers defended Persepolis
"We won't take Persepolis unless we have to, we have no right to that land, it belongs to the Parasikas" said Amatya Chakravarty, the emperor listened to all opinions carefully.
"Agreed. Persepolis is not our claim, our claim is Gwadar and the lands of the Parad kingdom. What we need is a plan that can secure us a quick but thorough victory", the ministers continued their deliberation, then Amatya Aditya, the Royal Cartographer and the minister for explorations came forth with a plan.

"Samrat, if I may, I believe there can be a way we can take Gwadar and overwhelm the Parthian empire without losing many lives." He caught everybody's attention.
"What do you have in mind ?" Samrat Pulovami asked, then Amatya Aditya placed a map before the ministers.
"This, my lords, is what we know of the Parthian empire, here lies Parsa and this is Gwadar," he said pointing to the cities on the map, "from our intelligence reports, we know that a large force of roughly eight to ten thousand mercenary companies are stationed at Gwadar. Their task thus far has been to quell internal rebellions are defend Gwadar which is nothing but a colony composed of Parasik settlers. Here at Parsa we know of only two divisions of archers, one of whom are the infamous Judean archers. All in all, five thousand archers stand between the any foe and the conquest of Persepolis."

Amatya Aditya kept on this another map, this time highlighting the location of the Army of Magadh. "The army of Magadh has six very diverse military units. four thousand Kamboja horse archers, five thousand armored sword fighters, five thousand armored axe warriors, three thousand spearmen, and one division of archers numbering another three thousand. Add to this, my lords, two units of catapults totaling twenty siege weapons and each having a crew of ten men and one elephant each. In total this army consists of twenty thousand troops with additional logistical support of another four thousand. The army of Magadh comprises of our best trained and best equipped fighters. On its own they would be strong enough to prevail over the mercenary forces at Gwadar."

Senapati Virappalli then spoke, "The mercenary companies, samrat, were once under our pay, and they belong to the Parasikas by effect of treaty signed with your predecessors. Their loyalty would be dubious at best, not to mention their lack of morale and mercenary character"
"Quite right Senapati, perhaps we should simply overwhelm Gwadar with the strength of the army of Magadh alone.."
Amatya Chakravarty spoke, "Phraates will not yield so easily, the so-called 'lion of persia' has a pride as large as a mountain. We will need another measure"
"I have thought of the same samrat, allow me to point out.."
Amatya Aditya opened the map of the empire again and pointed to Herat, "The garrison of Heart, emperor".
"The garrison of Herat defends the province against the Kushans in the North." spoke Senapati Virappalli.
"True, but the Kushans are no longer a threat. Our immediate enemy lies to the South. At Herat, we have a division of two hundred armored war elephants, they are our most powerful military unit."

It started to become clear what was on Amatya Aditya's mind, "We mobilize the garrison of Herat and bring it Southwards. With them, we shall threaten the city of Persepolis" the samrat spoke.
"But what of the Judean archers ? " asked Amatya Chakravarty.
"The Judean archers seem better than they actually are. From our intelligence reports, Persepolis has been shown to be unguarded. There are no walls, and the city is built on a plain region. They have left the mountainous countryside undefended. We can simply walk up to Persepolis and threaten them with our superior forces. Samrat, my proposal is that we use the forces from Herat to ravage the Persian countryside distracting the troops away from the defense of Persepolis. After we take Gwadar.." Samrat Pulovami raised his hands to silence Amatya Aditya, "Speak no more Amatya."

The discussions seemed to near to a close a resolution was at hand "Amatya Aditya, you had been appointed as the Royal Cartographer and the ministry for explorations." Amatya Aditya started feeling nervous "your excellency I only.." "However, you have the mind of a general ! Till you came, we could not decide on a path to victory, but you have given us a most brilliant solution." The emperor walked up to Amatya Aditya and put his hands on his shoulder, "I agree to your war plans. Does anyone else have any opposition to it ?" "I agree with Amatya Aditya's plan" the Senapati declared, "Me too" the other Amatyas stated.

"And what do we do with Gwadar when we take it?" Amatya Mukteshwar broke his silence.
"Come again?" the samrat seemed surprised, and then the Amatya explained.
"I seek your apologies your majesty, but this war is meaningless. Gwadar is but a slum of settlers, the product of the madness of emperor Phraates, Our empire is prosperous our people are at peace, there is no point in dragging us to this wasteful war and all for what? Control over Gwadar? I say if we must take that city we raze it!" Amatya Mukteshwar spoke to a stunned audience. All ministers stood in shock with eyes widened and their jaws dropped, but samrat Pulovami stood with folded arms gazing with anger at this nay sayer.

"We sent our messenger to the Parasik emperor, in good faith. We warned him of the consequences that would flow should he deny our offer. Over decades and even centuries ! These Parasikas have raided and assaulted and humiliated our people ! You would have me stand by and watch, as Bharatiya men women and children are assaulted with impunity ! A fie on your coward !" Samrat Pulovami slapped him hard, the amatya fell to the ground. None among the ministers supported Amatya Mukteshwar, then Amatya Chakravarty spoke.
"We cannot raze Gwadar. it would be ungodly. " Samrat pulovami turned to him, the samrat had a very unique quality shared only with the Persian emperor Phraates, that quality in his stare which could inspire fear in people with just one look. "I … I don't feel .. this war is correct" a slap came the way of Amatya Chakravarty, even harder than he had Amatya Mukteshwar.

Amatya Aditya tried to calm down the emperor, "Your excellency please ! I beg you to calm down, this is no way…"
"You too Aditya !"
"Your excellency, if I may, I would like to point out, there may be a merit in burning Gwadar. On its own Gwadar is of no use to us, it is only the land we intend to claim."
"Speak !"
"If we burn Gwadar it might appease the Paratraj."
"I don’t give a damn about what comes to that city. Let Paradraj deal with it. There, that is my decision, any more questions !?", all the ministers shook their heads, "Good. Then we finalize our war plans first thing in the morning. Senapati Virappalli, you will make for Sindh to lead the Army of Magadh and you Amatya Aditya shall make for Kambojadesh and lead the chose units from the garrison of Herat for the assault on Persepolis".
The order came as a surprise for the Amatya, "but my lord.. I am no military leader.." "You are now, I declare that from today Amatya Aditya shall be the Up-Senapati and will assist Senapati Virappalli on all military matters. He shall act as second in command of our offensive forces in this war".

Amatya Aditya could never have imagined such a reward. Within the same week, he had been gifted the largest diamond in the world and promoted to the high position of an Up-Senapati, but the move did not go well with the rest of the ministry. Amatya Mukteshwar never felt more humiliated than he did then, 'how could a king slap an amatya like this. This is preposterous !' he sat contemplating "he is not fit to be samrat" just as he said those words, a man knocked on his chamber door, "Amatya Chakravarty! What brings you here?" Amatya Chakravarty closed the door behind him, "Vengeance. Vengeance for today's humiliation Arya." their eyes met, and a conspiracy was being formed.

Oh yeah!

Things are getting intense!

Well, Gwadar will be completely useless...

We must team up random! No amatya shall ever be slapped again!

The march to Gwadar ;

In Bengal, there is a belief that the manner of the coming of the Goddess Durga signifies how the year shall pass. This year, she came on a horse, signifying the coming of war and upheaval. From the sands of Sindh, the army of Magadh prepared for a long march to Gwadar. Their travel will take them through a harsh desert and many hills till they would finally reach their destination.

Senapati Virappalli, grew up in the lush green fields of Chola Nadu, he was not used to this dry desert weather. For that matter, neither were most of the soldiers in the Army of Magadh. Sindhudesh was a harsh land, the waters of the Sindhu river had long since dried in this region, leaving marshes and desert where once there may have been fertile fields. It was only a faint glimmer of the harshness that was to come.

The Parad kingdom was known to the Yavanas as Gedrosia, while the Persians called it Balochistan, or the land of the Balochis. The people spoke a mixture of languages, some Pharsi, those in the east Sanskrit, and yet another people a tongue that seemed more like Tamil. Senapati Virappalli could familiarize with these people, though the harsh desert weather had made them fairer and taller than their Tamil brethren. The soldiers of the army of Magadh assembled in their armor, archers, siege weapons and armored infantry men. Senapati Virappalli would address them for the long march ahead.

" Soldiers, men of the army of Magadh. Today you bear a great burden on your shoulders. The burden of honoring your motherland. As you would know, we are at war with the Parasik empire. But it is not merely because it is your duty that I ask you to fight. The lands to the West belong by rights to Bharata, since the age of Gandhari, our ancestors have dwelled on these deserts. They have dwelled on the great river that flows behind us, and on the plains and steppes that lay before us. Our forefathers had a vision, a vision of a united motherland. All of Bharata under one rule. It was a vision that had guided the great Samrat Chandragupt maurya, and Chanakya Vishnugopa. The righteous strength of Bharata cast out the Yavan invaders three centuries ago, and today, we march to cast out the usurpers who hold the lands in the West. Let us pledge our swords and our lives to this cause ! That no one shall usurp the lands of Bharatvarsha, that your lives are forever pledged to the defense of the Mother land. This is your burden to bear, and you the men of the Army of Magadh, have that honor. Before you to the West , lies the harsh desert lands of the Parad-desh. I can promise you no comfort in this march, but I can promise you this, that when you march through this desert and cast out the usurpers who have taken the lands of mother Bharati, that you shall be reborn into nobility, that each of you shall find salvation in the afterlife. For now, soldiers you are, and soldiers you will die. Then let us die in service of Ma Bharati, Jai Ma Bharati ! "

Each soldier was waiting for this day, the day when they would march against the tyrant Phraates and liberate the Parad-desh from his tyranny. "Jai Maa Bharati !" the soldiers chanted, "Jai Maa Bharati!"

Senapati Virappalli hid his inner conflict very well. His ancestor was a Tamil spearman who had died in the defense of Kanchipuram, a hundred and fifty years ago. Then, his family had fought against the very army of Magadh that he leads today. The Senapati reflected "fate… has brought me to this point. That I call for the very unity my people fought against".

Hours had passed under the desert sun, hours more would pass before they would meet their first village. The caravan had marched with massive supplies furnished with millions in state grants from the treasury of Magadh . The supplies, Virappalli gauged, would last an army of twenty thousand for at least three months. It ensured survival in the harsh desert, but keeping pace with the caravan slowed the army down.

"How much farther to the next village ?" the senapati asked his second in command,
"Twenty leagues arya, it will take us at least another day's march"
"We will complete it by night. We must"
"But Senapati.."
"No buts, the sooner we reach the first Parad village, the better" .

The march went on unceasing, unpurturbed and unstopped. Day turned to dusk, then dusk turned to night, but there was not one sign of civilization in sight.

The second in command pleaded to Virappalli, "Senapati, the men are weary, give them rest"
"We won't rest now. Not till we reach a village"
"The day has been harsh, the men are not used to such conditions. We must rest, or we will be too fatigued to fight"
Senapati Virappalli contemplated on that, he thought to himself, 'We must reach this village.. how can I explain. Our plan would fail if we don't.'
"If we don't find a village, then we shall camp for the night."
Virappalli did not like the thought of that, but he conceded nevertheless. The men needed their rest and it would not do well to exhaust his strength before meeting the foe in battle.

The setting sun had all but disappeared on the horizon beyond the barren brown hills of the Parad country. A horseman could be seen making his way back to the caravan, it was a Kamboja horseman scout in the army.
"A village … beyond that hill to the North West" the scout informed.
"We make for the North West!"
Senapati Virappalli rallied his men to the broken hill in the North West. An hour's march later, they could see the villagers come to greet the men.
"Samrat Pulovami ki Jay !" "Bharat mata ki Jay!" the women and children had come out to greet the beleaguered soldiers, they brought food and water with them, precious relief for the soldiers marching through the desert heat.

Virappalli got down from his horse, he walked up to the village chief and handed him a parchment. The two embraced each other, as though they were long lost friends. Virappalli was led to the village chief's cottage. It was a modest cottage, the only distinguishing feature which made it stand out, was that it was larger than the other mud brick cottages in the village. That small distinction was enough to distinguish it as the chief's dwelling.

Seated before the Senapati was the man he had intended to meet. The Paradraj was a well built man, tall and strong. A great mustache seemed to add definition to his personality.
"Namaskaram Paradraj" Virappalli greeted,
"Pranam Arya. Sit, we have a lot to discuss".
"I shall ask my wife to bring refreshments" said the village chief and walked away.
"It will take the army another month before it finally reaches Gwadar. Without your help, this march would be doomed."
"Just as would our cause be, without the help of the Army of Magadh. My parada warriors shall lay down their lives to be free of the tyranny of Phraates."
"We need a path that would take us through the Parada desert to Gwadar. Only you know the way. You have talked with the Samrat"
Paradraj spoke in a rather contemptuous tone, "Our people love Bharat as their motherland, but you samrat did not feel like a very amiable person."
Senapati Virappalli tried not to remember the more unsavory experiences with the samrat, it was true what they said of Samrat Pulovami, he was ambitious, in truth, he was Bharata's own Phraates, but far more cunning. "Samrat Pulovami promises to extend every possible assistance to the cause of liberation of the Parad kingdom."
"Pulovami did not seem to distinguish between our liberation from Persia and the subjugation of our people to the Empire of Magadh."

The truth of that statement stung Virappalli, but he was a man who was known to think on his feet, he put his hand on the shoulder of Paradraj, a comforting gesture. "Then take it on my honor as a Kshatriya warrior, that no injustice shall befall your people", the assurance seemed to work, "It is men of honor such as yourself Senapati Virappalli, that give us respect for your people. Ah refreshments have come".

The refreshments were modest, but after a day in the desert heat, every drop of water and every morsel of meat felt richer than nectar. "I shall give you a map, you should lead your troops according to it", said the Paradraj.
"You will march with us ?"
The Paradraj smiled, "How else would you survive?"
"That is true enough. But faced with Phraates' minions, you would not survive long without us".
"That .. is also true."

After their refreshments, Paradraj walked to a small trunk kept in the corner of the cottage. He took out a parchment and unfolded it, then placed it before Virappalli, it was a Persian map indicating every village that lay between Sindhudesh and Gwadar, and the roadways linking them.

"We shall march from village to village, inciting the people to revolt against persia." Paradraj said,
"Here is a persian outpost, which should not have more than few hundred lightly armed horsemen trained to terrorize the villages in its vicinity. If you destroy it, Twelve thousand Paradas will join you for Gwadar !"
The plan was now coming a full circle.

For the Magadhland!

The march to Persepolis ;

Kambojadesh was a dry and barren land, but still prosperous. The town of Herat had no more than a few thousand dwellers in it, mainly civil servants and their families and some merchants. traders came from across the world and across Bharat to do business in Herat. It was quite literally a crossroads of the world.

Its newfound wealth and prosperity was made possible by the diamond mines to its East and its central location in the silk route trade roads. Most Kambojas did not bother to live in the town of Herat, they were nomads who only came here for trade once every week, and then would go back to hunting and cattle rearing once the trade was complete.

The wealth and prosperity of Herat however, would attract more unsavory visitors. In the distant North, dwelled the vicious Kushan tribes each around a city state. The most powerful of the city states was that of Afrosiyab. From there, raiders used to come down to terrorize the people of Kambojadesa, not any more.

Senapati Krishnadev had posted a massive army of spearmen, war elephants and armored infantry to defend the town. The mere sight of the armored war elephants was enough to ward off any potential raiders from the North. It was known since the time of Alexander, that horses had a natural fear of the scent of elephants. Whenever they would get near the elephants the scent of the beasts would drive the horses mad, and then their natural instinct to evade from danger would make them run away from the beasts.

With peace in the north, the army stationed at Herat would now be tasked to march South, into the deserts of Persia. Amatya Aditya, now Up-Senapati Aditya never led an army in his life, nor was he known to be proficient in the art of fighting, but during his time as a student of the famed Amatya Chitragupt, he was known for his prodigal skills in map making as well as his keen knowledge of military cartography. He had studied volumes upon volumes of military books. He knew of the strategies and doctrines from the time of the Mahabharata till the conquest of Kanchipuram. But it was one thing to possess knowledge of books and quite another to practice it on the ground.

"I am not ready for this" he said to himself, "Better men should lead this army".

He walked down the central avenue of Herat leading to the army camp where his troops awaited him. Four thousand armored spearmen, two divisions of archers number six thousand troops, and Magadh's most powerful weapon, two hundred armored war elephants, this was the garrison of Herat assembled for the march.


Aditya took a deep breath, it helped him calm down. He had not prepared a speech, nor did he know much about how to address his troops, yet Samrat Pulovami thrust the responsibility of leading this army on his young shoulders.

The sight of the war elephants was truly intimidating. It frightened Aditya, the tusks had swords, and the armor on the elephant's legs had spikes.

'Here goes nothing' he thought to himself before beginning his speech,
"Goddess durga has blessed us !"
"Jai Ma Durga !" "Jai Bhavani!" the men cheered.
"We begin our march now, on this day of Shashti, when the Mother resides in our land, with her blessings we move forth to vanquish the Persian usurpers !"
"Let us then march ! March for victory !"
"Jai Bhavani !" "Jai ma Bharati!" the men seemed enthusiastic enough, but when faced with the harsh deserts of Parthia, would this enthusiasm last ?

While the Southern army went through the Parad kingdom, where any bharatiya would find a friend in the Paradas, the Northern army had to pass through the hostile desert homeland of the Parthians. This was the ancestral seat of the Parthian emperors, no man of Bharat would find a friend here.

Their march took them to the horse lands where ancient Kamboja would train their children in the art of equestrian warfare. Wild horse roamed here, in the flat desert lands, they would roam far and wide in search for grasses to feed on. These lands belonged to the Persians now, for decades the Kamboja and Parthians fought for the horses of this land. Over the decades, the plains had been bloodied with the blood of Parthians and Kambojas.

The Kambojas would not give up their ancient way of life, which began and ended with horses, but neither would the Parthians. As the army marched ahead, Aditya's horse struck what felt like a brittle rock. It was a human skull which broke as his horse stepped on it. "The field of skulls" a Kamboja soldier remarked. This land fell on a disputed part of the border between the Empire of Magadh and the Parthian empire, and consequently had seen a disproportionately larger share of the fighting.

"Look ! There!" A soldier exclaimed when he saw the sight of a two bands of horsemen charging each other,
"Kambojas, they are fighting Parthians. Its a horse war, we have no call to intervene" said the second in command.

The Parthians must have numbered at least a hundred, while the Kambojas not more than twenty, they seemed like horse rearers returning with their catch. There were children among the Kambojas, while the Parthians were all composed of what looked like trained warriors replete in Parthian rider's armor. There was really no surprise on the outcome of this skirmish, after a brief exchange of arrows from either side, half of the Kambojas were left dead and the horses they had taken scattered. Those who were lucky managed to run away, those less lucky were on the hard earth shaking and injured.

His child ran to him, "Baba, baba!" he yelled, "Get away get away!" the sight became clearer as the army marched closer, the parthian horsemen played with their prisoners before beheading them, a horseman pulled the injured father by his hair and had his dagger to his throat, while the son pleaded for his life.

'Will I just stand here and watch?' Aditya thought, "I say we test our muscle. Bring the elephants forward."
"Take a dozen of your elephants, position it for a charge"
The captain of the elephant division had an evil grin on him. The armored elephants lumbered ahead, then Up-Senapati Aditya gave the order, "Charge!"

The elephants rumbled ahead, the ground beneath their feet shook and a massive cloud of dust arose behind them. The elephants trumpeted and the armor on their skin rang with a distinct sound. 'I pity our enemies' Aditya thought, as the elephants charged on. Before long, the fear struck Parthian horses neighed, then dispersed. Archers and javelin throwers seated from the elephant fired bolts after bolts on the Parthians. Many of the hundred horsemen died, those who lived, would tell live to tell the tale.

Two parthian horsemen fell from their horses in the retreat, "Take them prisoner" Aditya ordered.
They were brought before the Up-Senapati bound hand and foot. The road ahead perilous, but there were places where the army could rest, Aditya realized that perhaps the parthians themselves could aid them in that. He stood before them, staring at them with judgmental eyes,
"Your lives are in my hands. Chose wisely and I will let you live. You may either serve us in our march to Persepolis, or die here in the horse lands." He unsheathed his sword to make his intention clear.

"We will never work for you. Indian swine! Thoo!" the defiant Parthian spit on Aditya's sword, then lowered it. "bring an elephant here" an armored elephant came forward, "ready this man for execution" three soldiers led him on to the elephant and pushed him to the ground. Aditya nodded, signaling execution be started, the elephant put its foot forward and stepped on the head of the hapless victim. "Watch carefully prisoner," the elephant pushed its foot down, squashing the head of the parthian. "yyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh" the horseman gave one final shriek of agony before his head was nothing but a squashed pile of bones and flesh.

"What do you chose?" Aditya turned to the second prisoner, the prisoner was quivering in fear, his jaws hung loose, "What do you chose!?" Aditya asked again, this time placing the blade of his sword on the prisoner's neck.

"I surrender" the Parthian whelped.
"Good, now you will tell us all you know about the path to Persepolis."
"Yes.. yes master" the parthian bowed.

Nicely done, Aditya. Nicely done.

The reports were grim, Indian troops had entered the realm of Persia and taken many lands and villages in Parthia and Gedrosia. The Balochis had arisen incited by the presence of the army of Magadh, and cast off parthian rule in much of the land.

Two months had passed into the war with india, and the Persians had nothing but defeats to show for. The Army of Magadh had taken over most of the province of Balochistan and surrounded the port colony of Gwadar on all sides. Insurgents wreaked havoc across the Balochi countryside and scuttled any effort at building infrastructure near the port.

Gwadar was a sitting duck being surrounded by insurgents on all sides. It was a massive army of horsemen, infantry and siege engines. It was more than twice as big as the army at Gwadar.

From the North terrifying reports of a massive horde of elephants and armored Indian infantry were heard making their way South. It was said they wished to conquer Persepolis itself.

"I will not send in the mercenaries. I will keep Gwadar." Phraates declared,
"But your majesty, those are our best troops ! We must move them to Persepolis your majesty, they cannot defend Gwadar like this" the chief advisor pleaded
"I said no!" the emperor bashed his fist on the armrest of the throne.
"We do not have a wall your majesty, we did not care to build up Persepolis' defenses since Alexander destroyed them."
The words of the Persian Spahbod(general) Sura II, incensed him more than any others, "Come here, come closer" the emperor than pulled his ears and punched him in the face. "I said we beat the indians in Gwadar then that's what we do !"
Phraates then stood up, "Do I have only nay sayers in my court ?" "Are you all so frightened of these weaklings from across the Indus ?" He walked through the hall, with all his ministers watching.
"We are the blood of Aryans ! We are Persians, strong and bold ! We have fought the Greeks and retaken the lands they had taken from us! We have fought the Romans and their lackeys and took Babylon under our rule!"
"Our empire spans a thousand leagues from Mesopotamia to the Gedrosia!"

Phraates walked back to take his seat on the throne, "We have defended against more powerful invaders, and survived. We are at our strongest today ! Persepolis is capable enough on its own to fight against these marauders from the North."

"What is your plan o wise one?" asked his domestic advisor,
"Every Aryan in this realm, will fight for me. Every man, woman, child and elderly ! Put everybody with hands to work on the iron mines, we will need the resources. Take every able bodied man in Parsa above the age of 12, put a spear on his hand and armor on his chest. They will be our new immortals."

The plan did not augur confidence in his advisors, but his domestic advisor ever the loyal follower of Phraates knew better than the antagonize the lion of Persia, "You are as wise as you are strong o lion of persia. I shall prepare the decrees and make the arrangements for training new conscripts."
"This is folly," Spahbod Sura II spoke, "One cannot simply put a spear and armor on a peasant and expect him to become an immortal overnight. Even with an army of trained immortals, we have never faced armored elephants. No, I beg you emperor Phraates call the mercenaries to Parsa"

"Rraawwrr" Phraates' pet lion Darius roared from behind the throne, and suddenly there was silence. "Even Darius doesn't like your cowardly proposals Spahbod Sura. It is a shame that you are named for your father, a great hero who gave us Babylon. I see you have a great love for these damn mercenaries, then fine, I shall send you to them." "Spahbod Sura, the second of his name, I command you to go Gwadar, you are hereby tasked with defending the city. Defend it to the last man, if you lose, do not come back to Persepolis."
"your majesty.."
"Do you dare defy my order Sura !"
Sura knelt down, "Your wish is my command o king of kings."

"Your majesty, your majesty.." a messenger came running into the great hall, he ran past the guards and opened the gates of the hall to meet with the Emperor, he fell on the floor panting, "Who is this man? Does he not realize that the Emperor is seated with his council men?!" the emperor questioned derisively,
"O .. King of Kings… I have grave news…"
"What?"
"Babylon… Babylon… and Arthashat.."
"What about Babirush and Arthashat?"
"Babylon has fallen!"
A collective shock went through the hall of ministers, every minister was gaping, speechless, and stunned.
"… Artashat too?…"
"yes … your majesty.."
"The Indians could not have gotten that far" the foreign minister said,
"No.. Not Indians"
"Then whom?"
"Romans."



____________________________________________________

Aryan was a shepherd whose village lay to the North West of Persepolis. The war had not yet touched this part of Parthia, though the tremors were felt from afar. The Horse lands lay North East of here, where the Indian marauders had entered with their hordes of elephants. His uncle was a horseman who would venture to the horse lands to catch wild horses for the Parthian empire, young Aryan had grew up to idolize the heroics of his horseman uncle.

As a boy he would hear stories of how he and his band of horsemen would brave the borders of the Kambojas and fight them for horses and for Parthia. Many a border war was fought over horses, and his uncle had killed many Kambojas. "When I grow up I want to be a horseman too" young Aryan reminisced about his childhood, a slap from his mother followed soon after that.

Whatever enthusiasm he may have had in his childhood, it was gone the day he heard of his uncle's capture and execution. The gory tale was retold by his close friend who had witnessed it all,
"Three men pushed him to the ground, they had him bound hand and foot, then.. then this armored beast, it put its massive leg on his head, …. and I watched it explode." Aryan could still feel shivers remembering the vivid descriptions.

The day was passing much like most days, with Aryan taking his flock of sheep for grazing. Villagers had started to leave since the last month, what was once a village of a thousand had reduced to half its size,
"soon this village will be deserted. Heed my warning Aryan, the Indians are coming with their ungodly beasts. Only in Persepolis do we have a chance of being safe" his aunt would say,
"I was born in this village, and I will die in this village. Neither me nor my family would flee like you"
"Fine then ! Die here in this piss pot village !"
His aunt was never fond of him, but his uncle's death had made her more bitter.

"My uncle died serving the realm. He died a hero, why has Ahura Mazda spared me?" Aryan thought to himself.
"Aryan. Aryaaan!" his mother yelled,
"What ? What is it ?"
"Come.. come quickly they are taking everybody!"
"What ? Who ?"
"Phraates' guards. They are taking your grandfather, come quickly please!"

Aryan ran down the hill as fast as he could, back to the village, where he was met with a frightening sight.

Almost all the village had come out, and they were fighting Parthian horsemen. The horsemen whipped and beat the hapless villagers, and were dragging women, children, the elderly, everyone they could find. Among the crowd, he could see his father. His face was bloody and he lay on the ground pleading with the horsemen to stop beating him, while his grandfather fought with another horseman grabbing his arm. The sight drove his mother to tears, but Aryan rushed towards the guards.

He took his staff, and hit the horseman who was beating his father, and pulled him down from his horse. Another came in to subdue Aryan, but he met a similar fate. Finally three horsemen converged on him, Aryan fought hard, but he could not fight off three at once. "Stop!" the captain of the horsemen yelled.

A bloody and beaten Aryan gathered his strength to stand up, "Why are you here ? Why are you beating my people?" he asked,
"Are you the chief of this village ?"
"No, my father is. You beat him half to death!"

The captain rolled out a parchment and read out the emperor's decree, that every man, woman and child be gathered to work on the iron mines, while every able bodied man above the age of fifteen be sent for compulsory conscription.
"So you see young man, we are only following the emperor Phraates' orders. Your father, refused to let us take the people of this village."
"Take the men if you must, but spare the women and children and the elderly."
"We came here for four hundred people, and you will hand us … how many?"
"There are no more than seventy five. Including me"
Aryan's mother came to him and embraced him "No, don't …"
"I must mother.. if it will spare you and the village. I will give myself to Phraates."
"No Aryan.. don't leave me alone in this world" her embrace grew tighter.
"Son.. stay.." the father begged,
"No father"
"Ha ha ha ha! You're a brave boy.. Are there any more braves here ? Or have we come to a village of cowards!" the captain yelled again,

Twenty youthful boys came forward, then thirty more, and then twenty five, some gave their mothers a final embrace, others kissed their lovers. Aryaan stood beside the Captain of the horsemen and addressed the villagers.

"Men, don't be afraid. We are going to fight for our motherland, for our village. Phraates has chosen to arm us against the invaders from India, then we will wear that armor proudly and wield that weapon proudly that will be given to us." he then turned to the captain,
"There are loyal Aryans in this village, but you must give your word, in return of our loyalty you will not harm our family or anyone else in this village".
The captain gave a frown, "You have my word."
"Let us march then"

The seventy five volunteers from the shepherd's village marched with the band of horsemen. There were around fifty horsemen who had come for recruiting, but Aryan noticed only thirty riding with them.
"Where are the other horsemen?" he asked the captain,
the captain did not reply,
"Where are the other horsemen!?" Aryan asked in a more serious tone,
The horseman smiled, and turned back "Look"
Behind him, Aryan's village was burning, he could hear the shriek of villagers, of women and children crying out. Smoke was billowing over the horizon.
"You traitor!" Aryan lashed out at the captain, but a whip to his face had thrown him down on the grass.
Other conscripts seeing the village behind them, tried to run back, but the horsemen chased them down and recaptured them.

Those who resisted were killed, and those who could not or did not resist were taken. "Every man, woman and child of Persia will fight for me…" the lion had said, and his minions enforced his words.

Aryan would not see the light of day till he had not seen the gates of Persepolis. The shepherd boy who once dreamt of fighting for Persia, would now stand in defense of Persepolis with spear and shield. The day he held his spear, was the day he was told, that the Indians had taken his village. He thought to himself, 'My old life is gone, there is no turning back.'

Damn! I need more time in my life! Now there are 2 updates which I couldn't read yet.

Maybe in the next hour I'll be able to check them, and update something on the Caliphate.

At Babylon :

Mark Antony had taken the legionary army at Anatolia far East into the kingdom of Armenia. Around the same time, Artavardes, the king of Armenia had revolted against Parthian rule. Their people had been ruled by the Parthian empire for almost two centuries. Armenians and Persians lived in peace, till Phraates came.

By his many cruelties, Phraates had aroused the indignation of the Armenian people, the fallen king, Artavardes had thus seen fit to revolt and declare independence. But their struggle would come to naught. The first rebellion was brutally crushed, and every Armenian who fought against the Parthians were crucified along with their families. King Artavardes had succeeded in fleeing with a small band of liberators to Anatolia, where they took shelter under the protection of Mark Antony.

Mark Antony knew how indispensable Artavardes was to his cause. Artavardes was king of the Armenians, though a king without a crown or throne, but he was still king of his land in the eyes of his people. Mark Antony would use him to incite the Armenians against Phraates, as part of the deal, Armenia would be given to him, a sovereign province.

At Capadocia, Mark Antony divided his forces in two. He would march South with the twelve thousand legionaries, and all the siege equipment of the army of Anatolia, to take Babylon for Rome. Another twelve thousand legionaries were entrusted to captain Hector to march with Artavardes and liberate Armenia and Atropane.

Babylon was weakly defended, there was only one division of armed swordsmen that stood before the army of Mark Antony. "This should not take long" he said to himself, they had crossed the Euphrates far North of Babylon and faced down the Northern wall of Babylon. The swordsmen were not well trained warriors, recruited hastily from among the peasants of Mesopotamia.

Mark Antony placed the siege weapons in front, the massive catapults were loaded with big boulders smeared in oil and put on fire. The scorpions were positioned a little behind the catapults. Mark Antony meant to bring down the walls of Babylon and flush out the defenders, then massacre them with the Scorpions. The legionaries would destroy whatever remained.

"On my signal, unleash hell" Mark Antony raised his hand, when he would lower it, the catapults would rain fiery boulders upon the city till either the walls were destroyed, or the swordsmen came out.

For four hours the catapults rained boulders after boulders on the enemy. The walls of Babylon were battered, but not yet destroyed. The Northern gate was shattered and burning under the impact of two boulders. Mark Antony waited, "They will come out soon. Continue the bombardment!"
the catapults hurled boulders for another hour, then the patience of the Parthian troops was broken at last.

A thousand swordsmen came out of the burning gate of Babylon and assumed formation. "Ready the Scorpions!" the giant spears were loaded and locked and the Scorpions took aim. "Take position!" the Scorpions were moved in place and the siege masters took their aim, "Fire !"
Two hundred Scorpions fired away at a thousand swordsmen, who charged at the Roman lines.

More than a hundred lay dead before they could get anywhere close to the Romans, yet they kept coming. "These are brave men.. let us kill them all" Mark Antony unsheathed his blade, and ordered his legionaries to meet the swordsmen in battle.

The strength of the Roman army lay in its discipline and tactical ingenuity. The Roman testudo formation had been adapted from the Greeks, which as yet has remained undefeated by any army. The Parthians however had understood its weakness, the tactics of the Romans as had been with the Greeks, rested on tight infantry formations. While this made the formation impregnable, it was also immobile. Horse archers could harrow this formation and break it down with hit and run tactics. This was how, the Parthians had retaken Seleukeia Susana from the Alexandrian empire.

Unfortunately for the Parthians but fortunately for the Romans, they had not been able to train many more divisions of horse archers. The war with the Greeks had wasted the strength of the Parthians and even though they had usurped Babylon from the Romans, and thus built one of the largest empires in the world, they had no strength left to defend it. The Parthians would now lose Babylon to the superior strength of the Roman infantry.

The legionaries met the swords in battle, a thousand had been reduced to seven hundred. Seven hundred untrained, injured but fearless men who would give their lives for the defense of Babylon. Seven hundred Roman legions met seven hundred Parthian swordsmen, only a dozen romans died and only a dozen parthians were left standing.

Four more waves of soldiers would come, four more massacres would the Roman army conduct. The soil of Babylon was drenched in the blood of Parthian martyrs that day. Against the bloodied soil and the blood red sky of dusk, the burning wall of Babylon greeted Mark Antony. "So this is what victory looks like" Mark Antony mused as he made his way to take Babylon.

The last of the swordsmen had made their way back to the city and took shelter in the city. The legionaries charged ahead through the broken gates of Babylon. The swordsmen now resorted to unconventional tactics, they hurled stones from atop the walls of Babylon on the oncoming Roman soldiers. Many were injured and some brave Romans would meet their deaths, but Mark Antony and his men would not stop fighting.

Roman legionaries kept entering the city in waves, and fought every last remaining resistance fighter in Babylon. When they had taken refuge in the houses and markets, Mark Antony ordered them to be burnt.

"Burn it all ! Burn the houses, Burn the markets ! Burn them all !" "I will flush out every last man who resists me. Babylon will fall to me or become ash!"
The legionaries went on an orgy of loot and burning. Before long, half the city was lit ablaze. The five hundred or so who had survived the Roman charges were either killed or taken prisoner. Most of Babylon's citizenry either fled or were left to the mercy of the Roman legionaries.
"I did not want it to end like this… I did not want this bloodshed" Mark Antony thought to himself, as a child he had always been fascinated with the city of wonders that was Babylon, the beautiful gardens, the great rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates. The city where a great civilization was born, the seat of Alexander's greatest conquests. A tear went down his cheek as he remembered the stories of his childhood.

The legionaries had completed their loot of the city, and rounded all the prisoners they could and looted whatever treasures they could find. Ten thousand women were taken as slaves of the Roman legionaries, and fifty of the five hundred resistors.

"Bring me the swordsmen" Mark Antony order,
the fifty swordsmen, now prisoners of war were brought before Mark Antony in chains.
"By the laws of Rome, you would now become slaves, but I give you a choice" the prisoners looked up,
"I give you the choice to serve Rome and win your freedom. Or else, be bound to a life of slavery".
The prisoners remained silent and kept their heads down, then one among them spoke,
"I did not chose this life. I did not chose to become a warrior of Persia. Phraates had taken me from my family and put me to defend this damned city".
He rose up and continued to speak "But I swore to defend Persia and her people from invaders like you!"
"No son of an Aryan will submit to your rule. Not in Persia. You gave me a choice between being a slave and being your soldier ? I spit on this offer ! You would have me a slave both ways. I won't submit to you, or take your damned offer!"
The Roman soldiers were incensed, "May I slit his throat commander?" said a Roman legionnaire as he drew his short sword to the prisoner's throat, but Mark Antony stopped him,
"No you may not Kalonus." he looked at the prisoner and spoke "You do not seem to fear death, any more than your compatriots did. This is not the only army that walks against Phraates, another large army of Legionaries marches to besiege Artashat and conquer the province of Atropane. You are surrounded by the might of Rome, there is no chance of escape, nor any chance of victory. Yet you dare to stand before Mark Antony and defy the might of Rome."
"I do not fear death commander, but if I may die, and I know I will, I shall die an honorable death."
Mark Antony stood contemplating, 'This was my war of redemption, if I kill him here and now, I would sully my victory. I have destroyed half of what was once the greatest city on earth, perhaps in forgiveness I may redeem myself….' "Release him"

Mark Antony's order left the Roman soldiers astounded, "but general, they are the enemy.."
"I said release him!"
the soldiers went about unchaining the brave prisoner,
"What is your name?" Mark Antony asked,
the prisoner replied "They call me Surena".

________________________________________________________


Meanwhile in Artashat :

The Roman legionnaires marched to the hills North West of Artashat from where they would attack the city. Artavasdes' scouts aided the army's march to the East, taking them through the hills and valleys of the Caucasus where his people were awaiting the coming of their king.

The Roman army made its way virtually unopposed to the city of Artashat. The region was rich in copper and iron, metals of war and was a vital point of supply for raw materials for the Parthian Empire. Cutting it off would rob the Parthians of a vital source of raw materials, it was no surprise then that Phraates had put so much effort into keeping the land in Parthian hands.

"They say the Indians are surrounding the Persians from the East." Artavasdes said,
"So we have heard. Their emissary in Pompey tells us that Emperor Pulovami means to punish them for some claim they have over the land of Gedrosia. We don't know any more than this."
"My scouts tell me they have brought hundreds of armored elephants to harrow the Persians from the North while a larger army conquers the South."
"Why do you pay heed to what the Indians want?"
"Because Captain Hector, if the Indians succeed in their war efforts.. and I have heard they are succeeding, and we surely will succeed in our's, then it will be the end of Persia as we know it."
Captain Hector looked at Artavasdes incredulously, "Persia is not so easily destroyed" he said.

The men marched on till they reached the hill of Artashat from where the city comes in full view. To call Artashat a town would be a bit of an exaggeration. Since the time of the Greek wars, the city had been in a state of emergency. The people of Atropane never knew any peace, and Phraates had not let them know of peace. The lion of Persia brought war and poverty, and now he by his cruelties he brought the wrath of Artavasdes and the legions of Rome.

"Artashat is in sight!" the scouts reported,
"we will march on the city with the first light of day." Captain Hector ordered,
"We will camp on this hill. From here we will write the freedom of my people." Artavasdes organized his militias and camped them beside the legions.

There were no siege engines with this army, but they may not need it. Artavasdes knew of paths to the city which even the Parthians did not know. He would lead the men through a hidden tunnel under the hill of Artashat.

It was a red dawn. The sun arose from the eastern hills behind the city of Artashat. The romans had their camp set up, but no Parthian troop came to meet them. It would seem that the Parthians did not know of the Romans' coming. Artavasdes had seen to that, his raiders murdered every Parthian scout between Capadocia and Atropane. The Parthians were blind to the Roman threat till it became blindingly obvious.

The tunnel leading them into Artashat was wide enough for three men to walk through at once. The Romans walked in three lines, following Artavasdes and his militia. The tunnel went winding downwards in a serpentine, then it started to climb upwards gently at first and then steeply. A light shone from above where the tunnel ended, Artavasdes' scouts climbed with ropes and hooks. The tunnel led out at an inconspicuous corner of the central plaza between two stout structures. A division of six thousand praetorians were given orders to charge the gates of Artashat precisely four hours from dawn, they were not to move from their camp till then. Captain Gaius, the second in command would lead this division.

Two of the scouts stealthily moved in place above the tunnel's exit, they hooked their ropes in place and threw down the ropes to the tunnel below. One by one, the Romans climbed the ropes and walked out of the tunnel. The archers saw nothing, their gaze was fixed on the approaching legionaries from the West making their way down the hill of Artashat. Six thousand armored Roman legionaries, their shields gleaming in the morning sun. The Parthian archers fired on their foes, they launched volleys after volleys, but the Roman shields met their bolts, and while the archers on the Western wall faced the unstoppable Roman legions, Captain hector and Artavasdes made their way through the secret tunnel.

"We're in!"

"Legions! ready arms !" Captain Hector ordered,
"Three thousand of you make for the Western wall. The rest, march for the barracks. Attack!"
Three thousand legions made their way to the Western wall to charge on the archers from behind them, but three thousand more made their way to the barracks of Artashat where the reserve army laid in wait.

The archers continued to fire on the legionaries from the wall in vain even as they began storming the gates with a makeshift ram. "Bring in the oil!" the commander shouted,
"Sir… look"
"Oh Ahura Mazda have mercy…"

Three thousand Roman legionaries charged on them from within the city. "We are surrounded" the commander said in despair.

"Your order sir!"
the commander stood silent,
"Sir.. Your orders."
He still said nothing. The gates broke under the strike of the Roman legions, even as Captain Hector's troops walked up the walls and began slaughtering the Parthian garrison.

The fighting went on for three more hours, the Romans would kill a thousand of the archers stationed on the wall, while the rest fled in fear. The charging legionaries occupied most of the town of Artashat, while every Parthian official either fled or were captured by Artavasdes.

The next day, a crowd of Armenians assembled over the broken gates of Artashat. King Artavasdes would address his people.

"Armenians! The day is at hand ! At long last, our people are free of the oppression of the cruel Phraates!" the men cheered in joy,
"For long years have our men women and children choked under the suppression of a foreign ruler. Not any more ! I stand before you people of Armenia, Your King ! I promise to you as long as I remain on this throne, and as long as my line resides here, no one shall dare take this freedom from you!"

"Long live King Artavasdes!" "To Victory!" "Long live King Artavasdes!" "To Victory!" the cheers went on for a full hour till they began subsiding.

Captain Hector wrote a message to his commander Mark Antony, "Artashat has been taken. Awaiting further instructions."

Neither Artavasdes nor Mark Antony knew of the betrayals that would ensue.

That was not a good cliffhanger.

It was a great one.

I'm dazed! Well done!