[EB AAR] Life, Death, and Revenge -A Carthaginian AAR -Part 2-

[Vasiliyi]

Well, here I am starting Part 2 of this 3 Part aar. As Ive mentioned before, Part 2 will be focusing on Hamalcar Barca's invasion of Italy. There will be twists and turns along the way, and I will try to keep it as interesting as possible. I suggest you read Part 1 of this aar before reading Part 2, as things will make a lot more sense.
Thassalokratia- A Carthaginian AAR -Part 1-
Part 1

Thank you for reading Part 1, and I hope you enjoy Part 2.

[Vasiliyi]

DISCLAIMER

The following contents of this aar do not necessarily represent my personal views, nor the forums. Likewise, they do not necessarily represent the views of the Rômaioktonoi, but, if you enjoy the following aar, you may want to consider joining the Rômaioktonoi

[Vasiliyi]

The prophecy-Prologue to Part 2

Filth, Rome, filth. That was the only word the the man could say about
the city. He stood there at the entrance of the forum and watched
the people. So many people were at the forum. Slaves were being bought
and sold, prostitutes were making their daily wages. Here and there
the scum of the city stealing and conniving. The fat and pompous senators
walking around, bribing the mob leaders. Filth.

The man watched a poor beggar sit in his corner. Every day the beggar
would be dragged out there by some scum who would extort the money
that the beggar earned, leaving him with a small portion of bread and
cheap wine.

The man watched as a rich and young man, who was clean shaven and
finely dressed, walked passed the beggar. The beggar pleaded with the
rich man, and the rich man, to the watching mans surprise starting beating
the beggar. Hungry, malnourished and exhausted, the beggar could not put
up a defense at all. Not that it mattered. This happened daily.

The rich man, satisfied with himself, continued walking while making a joke
to his friends about the beggar.

The man, who had been in the city for only a week, finally stood on the
platform where slaves were being sold and shouted to the people.

"People of Roma! Listen to my words and prepare yourself. An invader
comes from the desert, from a land of terror.A dire vision has been shown
to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. He will bring to an end
to all the groaning the shewolf caused."

Some people stopped to listen to the man speak, others laughed at such words.

"At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a
woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by
what I see. My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I
longed for has become a horror to me. No one will be spared. All of you
will be punished. The old will cry out and not be heard. The young will be
thrown off the walls."

The crowd gathered even more to listen the man, who was now the
center of attention in the entire forum.

He continued "People, leave this city, for it like a fat swine, ready for
the slaughter. It will be picked apart and destroyed. He will come, and
he will avenge himself. You are all whores of money, no good thing can
be found in your hearts. All this I say..."

He was interrupted when a pomegranate sized rock hit him square in
the face. He fell off the stage and onto the dusty stone slab. Groaning
from pain, he tried to get up, but it was in vain, as the crowd now
pounced him. A kick to the face, a jab to back. There was no where
to run. His only hope was the what he said would happen to this
evil and barbaric city.

They carried him to the walls of the city, and someone already painted
a sign that said "Prophet of doom". They hung the sign around his neck,
along with a rope to hang him and threw him off the walls of the city of filth.

And so, the prophet of doom spoke, and the city did not listen.

[Vasiliyi]

The general,the lover and the beast

Four seasons passed by since Barca freed the army. For four seasons
he lived in the fort along with the few men that stayed back. He
planned his invasion meticulously, memorizing maps, rivers, cities.
He was ready. Now it was time for the army to come back.

They started trickling in, first a handful, then an several hundred,
and so on until thousands gathered back into the fort they had
built a year ago. Men greeted each other as brothers, and many
games were started to show off their skills. Javelins were thrown,
sword fights began, much beer was drunk in the week that the
men started showing up.

Barca waited at the gates of the fort every day, greeting and
thanking all who entered. He shook their hands, laughed along
side of them, practiced his javelin hurling. He had realized its
great potentional the past year that he was in the fort.

Then, as if in a dream, Barca saw a figure who looked like Likinos.
Barca's heart soared. His champion returned. He was glad, he had
much planned for Likinos. Barca ran up to Likinos and embraced him
like a brother. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Barca went
back to the gates.



Likinos was armed like a proper celt, with a long sword to honor
his father. His mustache was long now, and he had a new shield,
obviosly a gift from his father as well. Those celts, they loved war.

*************

The next day, the army began its march. Thousands of men,
equipped with the finest armour money could buy, and the best
discipline in the world, marched east along the Mediterranean.
Barca rode his horse next to Kanmi and Likinos who were his closest
aids. They were chatting about the elephants that died over the
winter.

"They all got a strange malady and died off in a single week.
I had to ship young elephants from Africa right away, Either way,
the other elephants were old, and we need the young ones for this
campaign." Barca was in a very chatty mood.

Barca looked handsome in his beautiful breastplate and purple cape.
His muscles showed that he was not an armchair generals, but a
fighting one. He was young, and proud, and his heart vowed revenge.

Likinos, even though he was back, thought of home the whole day.
In fact he thought of his home ever since he left to fight the Lusitanians
11 years ago. He married a young woman right before he left to fight
them, and now had a 10 year son and an infant daughter. His heart
acted like a magnet that is being pulled away from metal, which was
his wife. The further he went away from home, the more his heart
ached. When a scout approached the three men, he broke out of
his daze and realized he needed to concentrate on this invasion,
and not his wife.

"Sir, there are men ahead of us on the road. A thousand at least.
Their leader, Laro wishes to speak to you. He wishes you go alone."
The scouts horse was uneasy and he had a hard time keeping it in line.

Barca looked at Kanmi and Likinos, who were as clueless as him. "I will
go, let the army rest and eat."

*************

Barca galloped his horse down the road several miles until he saw
and encampment. He slowed down and pulled on the reigns of his
horse as he approached the gate. The wild man, obviously a warrior
by trade, armed with an axe took hold of his horse and lead them to
the center of the fort. Barca, although a little uneasy, looked straight
out at a figure that was exiting the main lodge of the the fort.

Barca couldn't believe his eyes. A tall, muscular man, also armed with
an axe and dressed like a beast walked up to him. Barca examined him
realizing there was scalps of men hanging from his chest. His face
was dirty and blood stained his fingers and cloths. Barca got off the
horse and looked into the eyes of the man.



His heart stopped. Laro, whom Barca was looking at stood motionless
as well and they looked at each other. None spoke for a while. The
rest of the warriors in the fort also gathered around the two men.
Barca's horse, although finely trained and disciplined started showing
sings of discomfort in this environment.

"Uxentio? Is that you?" Barca asked, his voice quivering.

"Yes, it is my brother, and I am ready to serve you now. These men,
who were under my command, are now under your command. Each is
ready to complete the most daring tasks for you. All of them have sworn
to me to kill a hundred Romans before dieing." With that, Uxentio got
on one knee and bowed down. A thousand warriors followed Uxentio's
actions.

"Thank you my friend, I will put you to good use, now get up and
embrace your brother."

Uxentio leaped up and lifted Barca up with his mighty hands. It was
as if Uxentio never stopped growing. He truly was a beast now, and
the look of him would frighten many men.
Suddenly, Uxentio let out a frightening war cry, and the thousand
men did as well.

He patted Barca's back and said spoke to Barca as the men continued
cheering, "They call me Laro now, for I am their warrior king."
************

The thousand men marched out in perfect lines to the rest of the
army, led by Barca on his magnificent horse. When the men of
Barca's army had saw heard of Uxentio's return they cheered for
him for a long time, and songs started to be sung by the whole army
as they marched east.


(Barca's new army)

[Vasiliyi]

Our fathers

In our lives, few things influence us like our fathers do. From them,
we learn to become the men we are. From them, we either learn to
hate or love, kill or create, encourage or discourage. Fathers either
succeed in showing us what real men are, or fail utterly, creating
within us a void. Some of us try to fill the void with things that matter
little, others with fulfilling things.

Our fathers either provide the love and care that we need to survive,
enabling us to become weak and second class, or they force us to
fight for what we need, making us learn what a fist feels like. Many
young boys learn to do what they hate from their fathers, while
others hate to learn what they see in their fathers. And so it was
like that with them.

**************
"ARRGH!" Bareaus cried out as he swung his sword as hard as he
could at his son. Clang!

The sound of cold steel against steel was unnerving to the child.
Being only ten, he understood little of life. He only understood that
his father was his god. He revered his father, loved him, and most
of all feared him. His father knew right from wrong, the difference
from love and death.

"Likinos, get up!" Bareaus commanded his son.

Likinos jumped to his feet, raising his heavy celtic sword up, parrying
his fathers next hit. Again, and again, his father brought his child down
using the for from his sword. Again and again his son stood up.

Sweating profusely, and exhausted, Bareaus looked at his son. He
looked just like his mother. So beautiful, so full of life. Not like a Celt
should look. There was no barbarism in this boy. Not a drop. He was
gentle and loving like the beautiful woman he married. Still, this child
obeyed his father with such reverence, that Bareaus was touched.

"Good, that is enough for today. Tomorrow is another day."

He sat next to his boy, giving him the goatskin full of water first. He
watched his son drink the water. Whatever his son did, he did gracefully.
It amused Bareaus greatly, being very clumsy himself.

Bareaus thought of his own father. The drunken fool he was. Yes,
he was a chief, but he never payed attention to his youngest son.
He promised to show his son attention. In his heart, he vowed to
teach his son everything he knew, before it was too late.

"My son, the only thing that matters is life. But you must understand,
that life, is nothing without love. Without love, there is no life, and
without life there is no love. The two are like one. One cannot exist
without the other. Remember this lesson." He stopped to drink from
the goatskin himself.

The boy sat silently, exhausted from protecting himself from his fathers
massive blows. He listened to his fathers wisdom.

"Love, is why we are here. Love is why we are alive still. There is much
hate in this world, much death, much revenge, but there is also love.
Love may be little, but it will always triumph against hate. Maybe not
write away, but it will."

Likinos looked up at his father and then out at the setting sun. Bareaus
put his hand on his sons shoulder and also looked out at the setting sun.

**************

"Oh! Give him what he wants! I have much to do, a city can't run itself!"
Avarro yelled at his wife.

His wife, shocked at the response, handed back the falcata to the boy.
Uxentio snatched it from her and looked at his father. He was only ten,
and he looked up to his father. Although he was always busy, he was
always generous in giving Uxentio what he wanted, no matter what the
price.

"Father will you teach me to use it?"

Avarro looked at the boy, annoyed of being taken away from his
work. He spent the half the day avoiding his wife so that he didn't
have to have this conversation. Then he spent the other have avoiding
his son who begged him to get the falcata from his mother.

Avarro, in a mad rage from the days annoyance, took the falcata and
thrust it into his wife's stomach.

A shriek, and then a moan escaped from his wife's beautiful mouth and
then she died.

Avarro, not realizing what he had done, dropped the falcata and left
the room. He was much to busy to think of this. Uxentio, being only a
boy looked at his dead mother. He placed his hand on his mothers
stomach, where the warm sticky blood was flowing from. With his other
hand, he took the falcata. A sense of death came over him. Had he killed
his mother? Why did death excite him so? What would happen now?

He stayed with his dead mother, until the servants came to clean up
the mess. That was the day he learned that life and death are just
a thread away.

*************

"Swear it to me! SWEAR YOUR HATRED FOR THEM!" Hamalcar yelled
at his son.

He held his son over a roaring fire of a sacrificial chamber. He could
feel the intense heat against his skin, and he could only imagine how
bad his son felt.

"I swear to you! I hate them! I hate all of them, they are nothing but swine!"

"What will you do to them!?"

"I will destroy them! None shall escape my wrath!"

He held the boy there for a moment longer, until he was satisfied with
the vow, then he pulled the boy back, and let him catch his breath.

"My son, you must accomplish what you said to me. I know you do
not understand what all this means, but you will one day. One day,
you will understand the importance to do this. They are nothing but
pigs, ready for the slaughter."

The boy was only ten, but one thing was sure in his heart.
Revenge was the reason for life. And he would avenge his mother.

************

I caution you, fathers, to think of the consequences of your actions.

[Julius Barca the Great]

Nice AAR you have here. Good, promising start; continue, if you would be so kind!

[Antiochos VII Sidetes]

Well, I can't say I read the first part, but I sure as hell will read the second. You've got a gift; run with it.

[Vasiliyi]

Reading part 2 without reading part 1 is like watching lord of the rings "the two towers" without watching lord of the rings "fellowship of the ring". It will just be difficult to understand. Although, I will try to do my best.

P.S. I don't claim that this aar is anywhere as good as the lord of the ring series, I was just using it as an example.

[Antiochos VII Sidetes]

I'll get around to reading part 1 eventually, though.

[Vasiliyi]

When you meet angels and men


I looked out at the field. My back was against a tree, my hands resting
on his raised knees while I thought about her. Daleninar. What a beautiful
name. The only name that mattered.

My thoughts drifted to the moment I first saw her. I was twelve,
and just started serving my four years of training. I was in a forest
with Barca and Uxentio Scouting out a spot when I heard a beautiful
voice, singing.

I left Uxentio and Barca to their useless babbling and followed the
singing. I saw a girl, about my age walking carelessly through the
forest. Foolish it was, as the forest was full of bad characters.

I spied on her as she dance and twirled about until I saw a man.
The man jumped out and grabbed her. I drew my sword, but held
my position in hiding.

The man grabbed the girl and pushed her to the ground, yelling something
in a different dialect of Iberian that Likinos did not understand while the
girl pleaded with him. She let out a shrill of horror as the man tore her dress.

Exposed to the man, she started breating him with her bare hands.
The man parried the blows and raised his hand to hit her.

That was when I jumped like a lightning bolt at the man. I let out a
load cry as I charged the man who, stunned, looked at me.

The man didn't even have a chance to lower his hand before I plunged
my sword deep into his chest. The man looked in horror at the girl and
then fell dead, choking on his own blood.

The girl, still in shock of all that happened scurried back away from
me. I took one look at the girl and then turned away in shame. She
blushed, and her face became red like a tomato realizing she was
exposed to me. She quickly tied the top of her dress back on and
stood up. She then stood up and shook the dirt off her cloths.

"Hero, what is your name? She asked me.

I looked at her, examining her figure and answered. "I am no hero,
my lady. To be heroic is more than to just kill another man.

She looked at me and studied me. I could only imagine what she
thought. I didn't look Iberian at all, that she could tell right away.
I was of average height and very slinky. My face was clean, as
facial hair doesn't start growing that early, but it was also clean
from dirt. My hair was long and wavy. I could only imagine how
hideous I looked.

"I am Daleninar, My farm is just down in that valley."

My heart ripped in two when I heard her say her name. Daleninar,
what an angelic name. I looked in her eyes and she looked in mine.
Suddenly I saw a beautiful girl standing in from of me with all her
gentleness about her, even after what the man tried to do.

I snapped out of my daze and replied hastly, "I am Likinos, son of
Bareaus."

About this time Barca and Uxentio ran up to us, their falcata unsheathed
and ready to fight. They stopped suddenly, seeing the dead man. They
looked at me for an answer, but I couldn't stop looking at her.

She finally spoke for me. "That man tried to hurt me, and Likinos saved my life."

Barca, looked at at the dead man, then back at me, "Is this true."

I looked at him, and replied. "He jumped out and grabbed her, I charged
him and then he fell down."

I starred at Barca, unsure of what just happened. They just looked back
at me in disbelief. I don't think that they thought I was capable of killing
a man.

Now she just stared at me. What was she looking at? She bit her lower
lip while her eyes moved from my sandals to the ends of my hair. My
heart jumped when she looked in my eyes. I couldn't believe what was
happening to me. Uxentio was the one who broke our staring.

"AH, well done Likinos, so you really are a celt, and not one of them
Carthaginians." While he said Carthaginian, he pushed Barca aside
while he laughed at his joke.

Barca, insulted, immediately punched Uxentio in the throat and the
two began to wrestle.

I looked at her, and realized she would going soon. Not realizing
before it happened, as asked, "May I walk you home?

My voice quivered and squeaked.

"Please do." She answered.

******************

That night after I meet her I couldn't fall asleep. We were camped
in the same forest, spread out evenly amongst the other trainee's.
I had killed a man that day, my first kill and still my thoughts drifted
to Daleninar.

Her beauty consumed me. Hey blue eyes put the sky to shame. Her
lips, my, they were more red than the blood of that man. I couldn't
take it, I snuck out of the forest and ran to her house.

Her father was a farmer, and I didn't stop until i reached the path
where there was barely on one side and wheat on the other. Although
her father didn't like me, he did have his wife put food out in front of
me for saving his daughter. Carrot soup and roast goose. The best
meal Ive had since training started.

I stood there, a few paces from where she slept, yet I could not get
her attention. I sat next to her window and looked out at the stars.

"Likinos?!"
******************
Like cold water being poured on your as you wake up, such was the
voice of a soldier who called out my name. Reality struck me across
the face. I was here, in Gaul, awaiting to speak to the Gallic King.

"Yes, I am coming." Annoyed of my daydream being distured, and yet
feeling a sense of duty come over me, I stood up and walked into the tent.

The tent smelt of sweat and wine, and the two didn't mix well together.

"Your leader sent you to speak on his behalf, so speak."
The Gallic king started.

"I am here to have you uphold your side of the alliance. Barca needs
as many hardened veterans as you can give up, to help us in our
invasion of Italy." I said, starting to perspire myself from the heat in
the tent.

"Oh does he? And who shall fight for me when the Aedui come to take
my cities? Besides, he is a Carthaginian. He does not know how to lead
celts." He spoke in a tone worthy of a king.

"You will not have any cities if you let the Romans keep attacking. We
are going to attack the heart of Rome. Besides, Barca decided that I
would be leading all the Celts. For I am his champion, and a Celt."

The king looked at me. I hadn't changed my in appearance, but I was
taller, and much more muscular now. I was an awesome sight to see.
I well groomed and bred Celtic warrior who knew how to dress. Daleninar
always told me that I had a look of a lion when I looked at people.

"Your a Celt?" He looked at me, putting his hands to rub his beard
around his chin. "If you can beat my champion, you can have 500
veterans. If not, you will have to report to Barca, that we breed better
celts here, in Gaul. Brennus, teach this miserable fool a lesson."

To be continued....

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Hello. We do not know each other.

You should talk to a guy on the .org. He writes just like you do.

Anyways great work! Allow me to +rep you.

[pericles_plato]

Posted at original place also. Great AAR. + rep.

[sinner]

very well written, I enjoyed how you dwelled into the personal history of your characters... keep it up.

[HunGeneral]

Well it seems I should look to TWC more often - haven't noticed it here yet.

Great as always +rep.

[Vasiliyi]

The duel

The king exited the tent, followed by Brennus then me. A circle was
quickly drawn while we took our armour off. Helmets, shields, chainmail,
all of it. We were allowed our swords. Brennus was a large man. If i
were to compare him to anyone, id compare him to my father. Same
build and height.

The warriors of the camp quickly surrounded the circle each trying to
get the better look. Brennus turned his back to me and started
cheering himself on. With him, the rest of the warriors starting chanting
his name, trying to defeat me before ever swinging a blade.

They cheered and I watched, did he take me as a fool? Suddenly,
though not to my surprise he swung his sword towards me, and a
jumped back. He then turned his whole body and raised his sword
above his body, ready to crush me as he lowered his sword.

I dropped to the ground, my sword in front of me, barely stopping
the weight of his strong arms slamming the sword against my own.
I rolled, and with all the speed I could, i cut his foot, just above
the ankle.

He let out a cry, but then he laughed at me as I got up. I saw a
wave of emotion rush through his face and he charged again, slashing
at me from right to left, not stopping until he ran himself out of the
circle. The crowd let out negative cheers for me, as they watched
their clumsy champion trip and fall.

I was impressed with the endurance of this large man. The fight
continued, neither of us getting the advantage. He had his strength
and I my footwork. My father had taught me how to fight bigger
man, being the bigger man himself.

I could see he was tiring though, not by his swings, which stayed
strong, but by the way he was breathing. Now, I took the offensive.
I jumped up from my latest dodge, and lunged at him. He was taken
by surprise. We now fought man to man, as I dropped my sword.
We rolled as we threw punches at each other while with one hand
he clutched his sword.

We fell to the ground where he planned to finish me, until he realized
that I had his sword in front of his neck, while the hand that was
holding it, was cut from falling on it. He struggled, but he realized it
was in vain. I pushed my sword tightly against his neck. He looked at
me in disbelief and then look at the king.

"I yield." said, until I made sure the blade cut him enough to yell "I yield!"

***************

I returned to the main camp with 500 veterans for Barca but I did
not rejoice in my triumph. Another day had passed since Ive seen her.

[sinner]

interesting, finished the first part a couple of days ago, it was amazing, looking forward to follwing part two...

[Vasiliyi]

Unleashing the beast



Many thoughts were crossing Laro's mind that day. The first battle
against the Romans was before him. They had marched all the way
from Emporium to the walls of Massalia. They quickly set up siege
works around the city and began construction of towers. Within a
few weeks, everything was ready. No relief force came to challenge
the seige. Everything was working out well. Barca, although a little
under the weather, felt good about today.

Laro had one mission today. His duty was to scale the walls, fight
off the first wave of defenders and then wave a flag to to signal
the rest of the army to move in. Laro laughed at the orders. Still,
he agreed.

The tower moved like a slug towards the walls and it was several
minutes before it reached the walls. He yelled his orders and his
men scurried into the towers. Laro was first on the ladders.



They moved quickly, like animals, fearless to the orders being yelled
by the Romans on the walls. They had one master, and his name was
Laro. They all looked to him for bravery and obeyed without a questions.
In return, he lead them without fearing, making them rich with loot.
So many raids they performed, always successful. No one could bring
these beasts down. Who were these Romans, were they more
fearsome than their Iberian warlord?



"Boys, here we are. I hear these Romans are rich and cowardly. They
rely on armour and numbers. Give them hell, and they will run. BOZ
BOZ BOZ!" Laro yelled to his men.

The cheer they produced from Laro's speech was immense. One could
go deaf from the yelling and clanging of axe against shield.

The ramp was unleashed and the beasts jumped to the wall, only to
their surprise there were no Romans near them.



Suddenly, Laro pointed at a tower entry were the Romans came charging
in. Just militia.

"SLAUGHTER THEM!" Laro yelled and swung his axe. His men lunged forward.



There was no order after that. The unarmored, and unskilled militia
fell to Laro's beasts as if they were swine in a slaughter house. Swinging
and hacking with his axe Laro chopped a mans head clean off.



His face was covered in blood as the headless man sprayed his blood
from his neck. He fell with a jerk. The next man looked in horror at Laro.
Laro took his axe and swung again, cracking the mans chest with his axe.



It wasn't long until the real Romans came running to help the militia.
Well armored, they reminded him of Greek hoplites he had seen in
many Greek settlements. These Romans relied on order and discipline.
They wished to fight as one unit. But that is where laro's beasts thrived.
They broke all order. They had no fear. They simply climbed the edge the
wall and jumped right into the Trarii. The Trarii could not stand such
ferociousness and they soon fell.

There was an incident during the fight though. Laro, attempting to
flank a trarii lost his footing in a pile of dead bodies. He starting falling
back off the wall when he swung his axe into a skirmisher.



Using the momentum, he pulled himself back onto the wall and left
the Roman fall to his death off the wall. His men cheered as they
watched the man fall instead of their leader.



Laro was impressed with these Romans.



The skirmishers were cowering behind a single Roman Trarii. He held
his shield close to himself protecting his chest from the deadly axe
of the beasts. He yelled something in Latin and then lunged himself
at them, but it was in vain as they fell upon him without fear.

They charged the rest of the skirmishers and slayed them in droves.
Laro looked back at the dead Romans.



He then remembered what his mission was and realized it was too late.
There were no more Romans on the walls. He took the banner that he
was supposed to show to Barca and threw it into city. No, he would
take the city with just his own men today. He lead his men up to
another tower where Barca's soldiers where waiting in the tower.



"Go back and tell Barca that we alone shall take the city today. I
need no help." Laro yelled.

The rest of the day Laro slaughtered the inhabitants of the city along
with the remnant Roman soldiers. There was a Greek captain along
with some local levy Greek hoplites. They lined up and created a barrier
between the center of the city and Laro. Laro's men did not accept
such a welcome.

They pounced and killed the hoplites. It was a ghastly scene. Whenever
one of laro's men was stabbed or hurt, he did not quit. He had no
right to quit. He would get back up, no matter what the wound and
fight back. Even when strength escaped him, and his life blood slipped
away he would use his teeth to bite the feet of the hoplites.

Then the Greek captain was isolate and hacked to bits and pieces.



Men ran to the center of the city where some citizens armed themselves
with whatever was available. Laro smiled at the day. For they had all
died by his men. When the last man who resisted died, Laro's men
cheered for Laro who looked around at the carnage.


***********
All the while Barca was amassing his men outside the walls. When he
had heard that Laro refused to allow anyone into the city until they
were done, he was infuriated. He waited at the gates with Likino's at
his side. When the gates were finally open, Barca stared wildly at
Laro who was covered in blood from head to toe. Fresh scalps were
hanging off his body. Behind him, Laro's beasts were also covered in
fresh scalps. In his hand Laro carried the head of the Roman commander.
He threw it at Barca's feet.

There was silence for a moment until a wild cheer escaped the mouths
of the Barca's infantry. They did not understand Barca's anger. But
Barca could not rebuke Laro when Barca's men loved him so. Likinos
spat in Laro's direction and rode off on his horse into the city.

And so, the beast was unleashed, the General became enraged, and
the lover continued in his thoughts of his love.

[sinner]

nice update, very cool pictures, especially like the ones on the wall...

[Julius Barca the Great]

Good update.Looks like Barca will have his biggest struggle at the hands of one of his own officers. Interesting.

[Vasiliyi]

Thanks for posting. Always appreciated. Update tonight.