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Thread: The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

  1. #1

    Icon1 The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

    I wrote this FF ages back when the LOTR mod on the RTW:BI engine came out and seeing the Spartan FF below reminded me and I have spent the last half an hour digging around on various USBs and externals and found it at last! I enjoyed reading it again and I hope you will reading it! And obviously the lore was locked in the cupboard bound and gagged when I wrote it so no comments along lore routes please But any general thoughts like "its w*nk" or "its not to bad" are welcome tho!


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    "Third Syssitia, Thracian Battalion! We have won great victories for the glory of beloved Sparta! We have broken the all the tribes that these barbarians could throw against us! Every tribe fell before us! The Dii! The Tralles! The Triballi! The Scordisci! The Bastarnae! We have broken the men all claimed unbreakable! They bow to us! The implacable destroyers of Sparta! On the battlefield none could stand against us!" Talos, the commander of this sysstia called out to his men, at the mention of each victory they had accomplished in the hands of this great warrior who was their commander the men of the third sysstia beat the swords against their shields and cried out his name "Talos! Talos! Talos!"
    At the last they hurled forth a cry of "Sparta!" that rent the heavens and stole the attention of all gods on Olympus.

    Zeus smiled. One more challenge for you he thought.

    "Third Sysstia! My sword brothers! We have one final order!" At this his men almost imperceptibly sank. Talos smiled "HOME!!" At first none reacted then rose again as they realised that they were headed home, to wives, sons and daughters. And no more the threat of the wild men of Thrace running screaming out of the night into their camps as they tried to sleep would haunt them. "Home! We are to return to beloved Sparta once again! Fallout and pack for the march, the Helots will attend the provisions, on the march but assist them, they have served us faithfully."

    Talos had earned a reputation as a great warrior, a warrior of honour with strength and speed unmatched in the Spartan army. He had represented Sparta at the Olympic Games three years before the wars in Thrace started. He had won the running races with resounding ease. At the parade before he was deployed with his brothers the commander Lysander had spoken to him with a mocking tone "Here is the Olympic victor! The fastest of all Greeks. What must the kings have been thinking of when they gave me you? This is war boy, not a race" Talos had spat back "I came to fight sir, not to turn tail and run" He had from that day earned himself the reputation of a soldier who gave no ground to anyone. But he had always given respect to those who had earned it, regardless of social standings, even the Helots, the peoples who had been subjugated by the Spartans and went out of his way to know all their names and assist them when he could. At first this irked the men of his sysstia but they soon grew to follow his actions at seeing the greater effort that the Helots made to assist Talos. After they had assembled with the provisions that they would need for the journey they were given a formal sending off by the other Spartans who were to remain. They marched for many hours; the Spartans kept in step by the pan pipes.

    They were walking up a steep ravine when fog started to descend thick and fast around them. As they reached the plateau that was at the top of the ravine four bolts of lighting struck the ground - one in front, one behind and one either side of the column. The men were unnerved but carried on following Talos who was unfazed. As he walked he heard a voice say "Come back with your shield or upon it" He was puzzled by this voice - he did not recognise the voice, it was none of his men and why was it a whisper yet felt like the rumble of thunder? He continued marching and soon found a small stream and had his men halted to refresh themselves. At this point the fog began to lift and the few intermittent flashes of lightening burned through the rain. As it did Talos looked round to take stock of his bearing. He was disturbed by what he saw that lay below him - a stone wall manned by men covered in metal scales like the men of Persia, but they looked more like Celts - and how could they have possibly built such a stalwart keep without even rumours reaching the Spartans?

    Talos called his closest friend and second-in-command Kleomenes over to him "Do you recognise any of this? They wear Persian style scale looking armour but look like Celts - I have seen no sign of any Persians at all, the Persians would not leave such a keep in the hands of swords only keep my silver."

    Kleomenes replied "I have not, we should alert the men, send down a couple of scouts and find out what is going on" Talos called the troops to attention and outlined what he had seen and the plan of action - he and another Spartan with four helots would descend into the keep, curiously with no wall to block their descent into the keep, and posing as guards of a trade caravan dealing in slaves who had captured some escapees who had got lost in the storm. Kleomenes volunteered but Talos told him to stay and with the men, instead a younger man, Archidamos, joined him.

    Just as they were to set off a huge pillar of flame went up and a huge segment of the wall was thrown into the sky. The whole Spartan Syssitia spun round to see the horrors that rushed to the gap ripping at the men they saw below fighting for their lives

    Talos stood fixed like a statue, his eyes being flooded with images of merciless demons ripping and tearing. Then a woman’s scream for her son from far off pierced his ear. He snapped, his Spartan training and restraint forgotten in an instant. He ran down the slope towards the breach screaming a war cry more gut wrenching and terrifying to his men than any that they had heard in their campaigns
    All the defenders turned to see a man of herculean stature charging on his own towards the attacking uruk-hai then as the bare chest and three crested helm of the warrior was illuminated by a flash of lightening the figure charging out of the dark screamed "ALALAI!!!!!" At this point Talos' men still higher on the slope raised their spears as they charged after him and cried out "ALALAI!" ALALAI! ALALAI!!!!" and threw themselves after their commander with reckless abandon following Talos' decent to the base fury that drove him to slaughter the demons of the night that threw themselves against him. He threw down his spear drew his sword and slashed at the demons with complete disregard for his safety. His men ran to catch up with him but the animal fury raging inside him unleashed by one woman’s cry of pain had unleashed a fury in Talos that could not be contained by any demon that Zeus sent against him! He pushed deeper and deeper into the enemy ranks! His men strove to push the demons past their commander before he was cut from behind! A few times the three red crests of Talos stumbled only to raise again, his men spurred on to reach him finally brought their phalanx up to his back!


    "Brother! AS ONE!" Kleomenes called out to Talos - without even looking back to see where they were he smashed his shield into the demons of the night that were nearest to him and then stood behind it and joined the front line of the phalanx as it pushed past him.

    "A spear! Get me a spear!" Talos cried out, he felt one pressed against his arm and in one swift movement sheathed his sword and reached up grabbed the spear and thrust it through the neck of a demon standing in front of him!

    As the phalanx began to settle into their rhythm of war the defenders on the wall looked down on the wall of men and shields that was turning back the tide of the uruk-hai that Saruman has thrown against the refuge of Rohan! Seeing this sight they took heart and attacked the uruk-hai with renewed vigour throwing uruk-hai and their ladders down from the walls into the amassed host below! They were baying for blood now eager not to be out done by these god like warriors who were pressing back the uruk-hai almost back to the breach ready to push out into the host beyond. Aragon, Gimli and Legolas regrouped the core of the defenders on the walls and organised shield walls in the same way as the phalanx did below to contain the beachheads that the uruk-hai were making on the walls.

    Talos called out "ROTATE!" At this call sign the front three ranks rotated out of the front line and let their fellow brothers move forward to let their thirsty sword drink the blood of the demons! "Kleomenes! Keep them steady here hold the line when you reach the breach - I will take nine others and help retake the walls!" At this he tapped the shields of the nine men who had been with him the longest except Kleomenes, they had served in the Kryptia with him and had been friends since their training in the agoge. They fell out and followed him up the stairs to the keep without a word. They reached a wizened looking man who all the initial defenders were looking to for orders and Talos addressed him "Talos Adamidis, commander of the Third Syssitia of the Spartan Thracian Battalion."

    "I am Théoden, King of Rohan, who are you?" The wizened man replied

    "Théoden, I am the commander of the men who are slaughtering the demons of the night. Our talents might be better put to use before proper introductions. Where is the worst breach? Me and my men can hold it." Talos replied curtly

    "Asides the breach you have already plugged the gate it soon going to-" Théoden started

    "Where?" Talos cut him off

    "Down there" he said pointing trying to study the leader of th savage men who had come to their aid without being called "Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas show them" At this a man in mail coat and a leather jerkin beckoned him to follow down the stairs. He fell in next to the man at a jog.

    “Aragorn” the man said as he jogged along side

    “Talos. No disrespect but me and my men fight as a unit - don’t try and join us - kill those on the floor behind us. You with the bow” Talos shouted

    “Legolas” the blond haired man replied

    “Get up above the gate and cover us and pick out all you can to break up their formations before we engage!” Talos shouted

    As they rounded the corner the gate shattered with splinters flying everywhere. The Spartans out of instinct brought their shields up and tucked themselves in behind their shields - Talos grabbed Aragorn and dragged him bodily behind his shield as well. “No worries” He said smiling and without waiting for a reply he was up and running to the breach “Form up around the breach! On me!! None shall pass!” Talos and his Spartans formed up around the breach in a semi circle instantly skewering any who attempted to get through the ruined gate.

    Aragorn shouted to Talos “Me and Gimli are going to retake part of the cause way - we need to barricade the gate!” Without another word he and a short man ran to a side door and disappeared a minute later they were on the cause way and had opened up a sizeable gap but soon were getting overwhelmed again

    “With me my brothers!” Talos shouted as he leapt through the remnants of the gate and used his shields as ram to throw the demons off the causeway and ripped open many others with his sword. As he slit the throat of an uruk-hai a horn was heard from not far off - Aragon looked up to see Gandalf and Eomer charging down the side of the valley into the flank of the remains of the uruk-hai crushing them in one devastating charge Talos on seeing this hurl forth a cry of “ALALAI!!!!!” and charged into the host of the uruk-hai waiting at the bottom of the causeway once again with renewed energy at the elation of victory.

    Kleomenes on hearing this cry ordered the Spartans at the breach forward into the host of demons! "Forward for glory and Sparta! Onwards! Leave none alive! Make these demons shudder at the mere thought of us mortal men! Make them run at the sound of our feet marching!"

    Soon the uruk-hai who remained were cut down mercilessly between the anvil of the Spartans and the hammer of the horsemen.
    Last edited by Momus; September 23, 2009 at 01:27 PM.

  2. #2
    Borissomeone's Avatar Citizen
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    Default Re: The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

    Enjoyable story.

    Under the Patronage of TheFirstONeill.

  3. #3

    Default Re: The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

    Cheers

    I have been thinking about trying to continue this story somehow but not sure if I will :S

  4. #4
    Borissomeone's Avatar Citizen
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    Default Re: The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

    Not sure if you need to, kinda a good short story. I would leave it IMO. + rep for good work

    Under the Patronage of TheFirstONeill.

  5. #5

    Default Re: The Third Syssitia at Helms Deep

    True true..... *sigh*

    cheers for the rep

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