“If we so roundly defeated these women today, why not ensure our baggage is secure and take to the field tomorrow to finish them off?” General Teutamus questioned aloud.
“I am in agreement,” Peucestas seconded. It was clear that he was posturing himself to foil Eumenes’ wishes since the bulk of his army’s possessions remained at their homes in the eastern satrapies. He also appeared to be creating an alliance with the more boisterous of the Silver Shields’ commanders, General Teutamus
“Brothers, please!” Eumenes implored. “If we cede this hard-won ground now, we risk inflating the motivation of our enemies which has been destroyed on this day.” Eumenes made his best effort and put the decision to a vote. It was decided we would withdraw to a defendable position near our baggage and our army retired for the evening, allowing Antigonus, who did not rule through committee, to camp on the field and conduct funeral rights for the dead. The following morning our scouts reported he had withdrawn his entire army back north to lick his wounds and brave the fierce approaching winter on friendlier terrain in southern Media. Our chance to destroy our longtime foe had slipped through our fingers.
****
As a harsh winter set in, General Eumenes divided the army into several divisions throughout northern Susiana. Our inability to finish Antigonus at Paraetacenae meant Eumenes would have to hold his fragile alliance together longer than anticipated, running the risk of further cracks in its delicate foundation. Peucestas was already causing trouble and the Silver Shields made clear they cared more for their baggage train than victory for their foreign general.
As we took up winter quarters I became bolder in visiting Mara and Talos – against my better judgment and all Vettias had taught me. On one occasion, I scheduled a trip to see her when I knew Hyllos would be predisposed for several hours at a Silver Shields’ staff meeting. As I nodded to Protus and entered her tent, she looked very displeased to see me.
“What is the matter? What has happened?” I demanded out of concern.
“It’s Thessala, Hyllos’ wife,” Mara replied in tears. “She saw you leaving my tent last week – I know she did. Now there is an unspoken indictment present in all of our dealings. She never liked me, for obvious reasons, and now she has what she needs for Hyllos to banish Talos and me to destitution. I fear Hyllos is on his way here as we speak. You must leave.”
“I’m not leaving you and Talos to suffer Hyllos’ wrath in my absence. Pack your things. We are leaving this instant!”
“No, no. If you leave now before he sees you I can still explain the previous instance away. But going forward you cannot come here. Hyllos will kill you if he discovers it was you whom Thessala observed exiting my tent. Please, I beg you, for the future of all of us, please, go now and bide your time until we all can safely depart together.”
I agreed with Mara’s reasoning, but hearing her asking me to leave and not return made my stomach sick. I hastily left her tent and returned to my quarters. That evening I decided I would steal my family away from Hyllos and, if he tried to stop me, I would kill him.
****
Several weeks passed when Vettias came to visit my quarters to deliver news from Greece. “This information does not leave this tent, you understand?” Vettias’ grave tone worried me. “Cassander’s forces have defeated Polyperchon and Olympias. Polyperchon has retreated to southern Greece and Olympias is holed up in Pydna with Rhoxane and Alexander IV, under siege by Cassander. My reports indicate her defensive position is strong but there is little chance of her breaking out unless Pydna can be relieved in time.”
“If Cassander is successful in capturing the remaining Argeads, what does that mean for us? For The Hand?”
Vettias only replied with a defeated stare and shook his head. “If the Argeads fall under Cassander’s control, our only chance is to defeat Antigonus here and march this army directly to Macedon – assuming he hasn’t already killed them by the time we arrive.”
“And if he does?” I asked dejectedly.
“He won’t. The boy’s position is still too popular with Macedonians. Olympias may be another story, however. She has made powerful enemies during her life and garners ill will from many over the murder of Philip III and Adea. Cassander may be able to do away with her but Alexander IV and Rhoxane will be safe for the time being. General Eumenes is releasing deserters to Antigonus’ camp with information that our army is too spread out and that Eumenes himself is gravely ill in order to goad him into a quick confrontation. The longer we languish out here in the Persian winter, the more our grip on Greece weakens. Cassander will be in firm control by the time we arrive. I’ve also received word from Davos. He was successful in finding an ally already absorbed into Antigonus’ army and is now securely entrenched into the quartermaster corps.”
“Who were you able to plant there? Who did he make contact with?”
“Not me Andrikos, you. Your friend, Rhexenor. Apparently that fast-talking little shit was already well established by the time Davos found him. All I did was give him a list of people to seek out. Dropping your name went a long way according to Davos, and they are both now in position to send us information and protect us should the worst come about.”
I wanted to tell Vettias about my situation with Mara and Talos, about how much of an important part of my life they had become, and my plan to take them from Hyllos. I couldn’t bring myself to do so, however, for fear of his reaction: these concerns were subordinate to our mission and my oath. He was right in the grand scheme of things, but the latest news from Greece did not raise my hopes for victory. It was becoming more likely the future of the empire lay with a general as opposed to a five-year-old boy and his grandmother.
CHAPTER 17
Another few weeks passed and my commitment had come up for my initial four-year enlistment. A decision needed to be made soon whether I would sign on for continued service in General Eumenes’ army. As it turned out, however, Antigonus’ actions would delay a need for an immediate decision as scouts and sentries reported sightings of a vast army traveling in our direction through the hostile desert. Whether Eumenes succeeded in forcing Antigonus’ hand or the sixty-six-year-old veteran was on his own pressing timeline, it appeared we would have our final battle within the coming days.
Antigonus’ fast approach prodded General Eumenes to hastily call all units back from their winter quarters to be assembled at once. He ordered all detachments to triple the number of fires each evening so Antigonus’ scouts would estimate our separate contingents’ numbers to be larger and deter a direct assault on any one encampment before our full force could be amassed. Vettias again forbade me from taking position within the phalanx, but this time, I would use the fog of battle to put my plan to take control of my family into action.
After several days of maneuvering, both armies again stood opposite each other on a desolate plain near a lake called Gabene just west of the Paraetacenae battleground. A total of sixty-thousand men stared down each other for the second time in a year. No one denied General Eumenes got the better of Antigonus at Paraetacenae. But Antigonus’ men looked confident and well rested – he had used his time well in preparing his disheartened army for the coming battle.
The ground on which both armies stood was barren and arid, with a high salt content. Such soil was extremely fine and easily kicked up into enormous clouds of dust as men, horses and elephants moved into formation in a mass of organized chaos. I thought to myself that the intense haze would assist me in making an exit to retrieve Mara and Talos while Hyllos remained engaged in the thick of battle.
General Eumenes arrayed himself on the left flank with his best cavalry and staff. This time he would line up directly opposite Antigonus in the hopes of slaying the one-eyed greybeard himself as he had done with Neoptolemus. I kept toward the back of the left flank to wait for the right time to make my exit. To our immediate right was Peucestas and his eastern cavalry units. General Eumenes wanted to keep his eye on the Macedonian Satrap and
ensure he remained safely ensconced between his Cappadocian cavalry and the phalanx to make any premature flight from the battlefield more difficult.
Antigonus took his usual place on the far right flank alongside his son, Demetrius, and lined his sixty-five elephants in a single rank in front of his entire army. This was an admission of our phalanx’s superiority due to the Silver Shields and the old veteran hoped to bolster his phalangites with the presence of the intimidating beasts. He placed light infantry in the gaps between the animals to solidify this front rank.
As Eumenes gave the order for the horns to blow, our army lurched forward and the dust cloud expanded to a point where I had to squint my eyes. The battlefield was devoid of wind so the dust clouds billowed in place, making it difficult to see. Each breath brought in soil particulates that dried my tongue and quickly dehydrated me.
Our previous engagement at Paraetacenae did not require those on the battle staff mounted on horseback to engage the enemy. I was thankful for this since I was not an accomplished rider and certainly not skilled in cavalry warfare. It was clear today, however, that Eumenes intended to lead the charge himself and his staff was to remain by his side. The crush of several thousand cavalry approaching the enemy at a slow trot was daunting. Eumenes embodied the warrior spirit of a man who would leave the battlefield either dead or victorious – if only the Silver Shields could see him through the haze, their reluctance to follow him would vanish.
As the armies neared, I could hear the terrible shrieks of elephants engaging each other in the center of our formation. Their brutal encounters consisted of violently locking tusks and attempting to gore one another while their mahouts rained down missiles. The front ranks of our cavalry now engaged with Antigonus’ right flank. The dust had kicked up to such a point that I could not see the front line of our formation and knew we had reached the enemy only by the halt in our advance.
The poor visibility added to the overall confusion and I decided this was the time to make my escape. As I looked to my right, I witnessed a horrifying event that opened a sickening pit in my stomach. Peucestas was using the cloud to lead his contingent of eastern cavalry off the battlefield. Despite the dust providing a screen for their movements, officers from the right flank were alerted to the retreat and began hurling oaths at them to no avail: another Macedonian had deserted Eumenes the foreigner at the most critical point in facing Antigonus. To their credit, our forces remained undaunted and charged at Antigonus’ right flank with even greater vigor.
I made my escape with Peucestas’ fleeing detachment and veered off toward the baggage train by myself. We had placed it about two miles from the battle under a light guard. I would use the weight of my position on the battle staff if anyone attempted to bar my entry. As I immediately found out, however, this would not be an issue. I came upon the baggage train to find it completely surrounded and controlled by a large detachment of Antigonus’ light cavalry. As in Orcynia, he had captured the baggage train in order to turn the Silver Shields against General Eumenes. Their baggage train was of the utmost importance to these famed veterans and Antigonus would have a valuable item to bargain with no matter how the battle ended today. I kept my distance as there was nothing I could do and I looked on in horror as the massive accumulation of families and possessions was ransacked, packed up and marched away toward Antigonus’ lines. Since time was of the essence for their plan to be successful, it did not appear any of the women or children were harmed and I raced my mount back to the front lines to inform General Eumenes of the catastrophe.
My heart was pounding and my head was spinning during my frenzied travel back to the right flank. What did this mean for my plans with Mara? What if Mara and Talos were harmed? How could I escape with them now that they were held captive by Antigonus’ army? Had Antigonus gotten to Peucestas or had the traitor acted on what he believed to be his best interests? Would the gods allow such treachery to thwart our righteous cause for a second time?
I caught back up with the right flank cavalry who were engaged in a direct assault on Antigonus and his immediate bodyguards. I could not see anything but could hear General Eumenes screaming and taunting Antigonus, imploring our cavalry to continue pressing the enemy. I maneuvered my way up to the front and began shouting to any officer who would listen that the baggage train had been captured. Finally, I spotted Vettias and fought my way through our middle ranks to get within earshot of him.
“Vettias! Vettias! Vettias!” I shouted until he finally turned and recognized me. “Antigonus has captured the baggage! He has the baggage train!” I watched as his understanding of my terrible news took hold of his face. He closed his eyes and assumed a defeated expression. His pace slowed and his mount began to lag to the back of our formation. His mental retreat was a metaphor for Eumenes’ entire left flank as they were unable to penetrate Antigonus’ right far enough to reach the general and his young son without Peucestas’ cavalry. Heavily outnumbered, General Eumenes was forced to pull our left flank back and ride round the center to join our right flank which hadn’t yet engaged the enemy.
Despite these setbacks, our center phalanx, led by the Silver Shields, fought masterfully and were successful in completely smashing Antigonus’ phalanx. The number of dead and dying enemy trampled under their feet was astounding. Thousands of slain phalangites from Antigonus’ army lay strewn throughout the center in numbers more numerous than one could count. Their resounding victory and the collapse of our left flank now left them, however, vulnerable to Antigonus’ right flank which was still intact and pushing forward in an attempt to charge into the side of our victorious infantry.
Just as it appeared Antigonus would land a final blow to our army, the superior ability of the Silver Shields again displayed itself. Seeing the collapse of their left flank and the impending charge, they formed an impenetrable defensive square that created several rows of sarissai and swords facing in all directions. They then withdrew in formation back to the safety of a nearby tributary of Lake Gabene. Their execution was so flawless, not one phalangite was lost during their tactical withdrawal – they had single-handedly smashed Antigonus’ infantry and saved the integrity of our fighting force. Despite General Antigonus’ occupation of the battlefield that evening, most would argue General Eumenes had won the day and was in position to completely annihilate Antigonus’ severely wounded force the next morning. But Antigonus had the baggage train …
Night had fallen by the time our entire army assembled in a defensive position at the riverbed, minus the villain Peucestas and his contingent of cavalry. A leadership council was hastily assembled and the mood within Alexander’s tent was dire. Our eastern allies who did not flee wanted to retire east to tend to their satrapies and bolster their forces for some future encounter with Antigonus. General Eumenes was convinced of our victory today and was adamant about pressing our advantage tomorrow to deliver the final blow to our enemies. The Silver Shields, normally in unison with Eumenes’ strategy, were inconsolable. The accumulation of fifteen years of wealth, along with wives, mistresses and children, now lay in the hands of our enemies. There was no telling what wrongs were being perpetrated on their prized possessions. Their emotional state was dangerous and Vettias whispered to me that he worried General Eumenes would not last the night.
General Teutamus was particularly distraught by the day’s events and had never fully supported Eumenes since the time of his successful turn against him back in Phoenicia. He now spoke on behalf of the Silver Shields and publicly berated Eumenes for allowing the entirety of their property to be seized.
“You speak as if after tomorrow’s victory all will be well again!” Teutamus shouted after listening to Eumenes attempt to allay their fears. “Easy for you to assert when your family and fortune remain safely in your own possession. You have acted as though you’re Alexander incarnate but you’re nothing but a secretary from a foreign land! Any man within the Shields is twenty years your senior and has seen ten lifetimes’ more blood
shed. And while you claim all will be made well tomorrow, your wife does not lay in the bed of our enemies on this night. Two times now we have faced this enemy and twice we have smashed his phalanx – yet you still could not turn these massive gains into victory. Why should we believe if the Silver Shields again carry this army on our backs you won’t fuck it up for a third time!”
General Teutamus’ enraged state was approaching traitorous levels. An uneasy silence fell upon the tent after he finished his stinging rebuke. I felt swords would be drawn at any moment but Eumenes, sensing the futility of discussion with men so hysterical, decided to call a temporary break to the conclave so all sides could calm down and rejoin negotiations later that evening.
As each faction let out of the tent, Vettias grabbed me and pulled me into a corner. “Where were you today?” He asked in an accusatory tone.
“I do not understand the meaning of your question,” I responded defensively. “I rode out with you on the left flank and you certainly saw me when I alerted you to the seizure of the baggage train.”
“How did you know it had been seized? It stood a good two miles from the battle?”
“I was informed of it just as I informed you.”
“There was a long break in time between the only two instances I saw you today. You were to stay by my side for the entirety of the engagement. Where were you?”
“I got separated. You of all people know how muddled a battle can be.” I did not utter this last response with convincing confidence and averted my eyes. Vettias saw through my guise instantly and struck my face.
“Where were you?”
“I … I …”
“You went to her,” Vettias hissed while cutting off my stutter. “What was your plan, what were you going to do?”
“I was going to take her and Talos and leave this place!” I exclaimed defiantly. “They have taken no oath and I am responsible for them now, no matter what obligations I made prior. I will remain true to the vow I made, but you said yourself our side is lost in Greece. There may not even be an Argead left by the time we return there!”
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