* * *
The first lady of Rhoma woke in a sweat due to the pitch’s heat burning throughout the night. Laying for a moment with her long black hair sprawled out across the pillows she gazed up at the stone ceiling through her enormous captivating eyes. She wiped her petite forehead of the sweat and traced the line of her small slender nose down to her gentle chin, then sighing at the heat sprawled her arms outwards to stretch her sleek waste line and shapely hips.
It was early, the quiet of the morning allowed the orchestra of riveting crickets to resonate above all other sounds outside of her abode. Her husband had already vacated their bedsit much to her pleasure. She would not have to endure his constant pestering for compassion from her that she had lost towards the man long ago. Somewhat confused by his absence she assumed he would return before he marched with his troops. She despised what he had allowed the lapse of time to make of him. Despite her loss of physical attraction towards her husband, she would always be allured to the rugged masculinity that seeped from his very essence.
The first lady had always been drawn to danger and excitement, and few had such little fear nor were driven by such raging testosterone than her husband. The two had once been wild lovers, though once the discovery of her husband’s past became known, followed by his inability to give her what she longed for most in life, her desires towards him resided. If it was not for simply the lack of interest on her own behalf to embrace the warrior as he lusted for, then she would retain an interest to punish his lack of respect towards her, and her belief that he too desecrated the vows of their wedding. She remained by his side not for loyalty to her husband, but for loyalty to the vow she took before Athena.
Anna pushed the silken bedding away from her and took comfort in feeling the hot air flowing over her naked skin, momentarily before sitting up upon the soft layers of linen and straw beneath her. She reached down for her white linen clothing and looped it over her shoulders and waist to cover her womanhood, her body still un-fatigued from the turmoil of pregnancies and childbirth, she was as well postured and attuned as she was upon her turn into maturity.
She rose from the bedsit to tighten the material around her curvy body that left her slender arms and legs freely revealed. Moving through the stone abode towards its exit the warmth flowing over her skin rapidly fled. The town council would be waiting for her within the temple of Rhoma. She had been informed of the fright the townsfolk had been troubled with as whispers of the vessel above their homes spread. She had not spoken to her husband upon the subject however, she knew he shunned any thoughts of things which he could not understand nor control.
Stepping outside onto the raised granite platform she was briefly startled at the sight of Phelan, Arbephest’s young prodigy, waiting in silence outside of the stone house with a spear and shield in hand.
“Phelan, has my husband asked you here for a reason?” Her voice was so soft and sweet the young guard immediately blushed, standing to attention at the sight of his leader’s love.
“Yes, lady.” He shared a brief moment of eye contact with her before looking down at her legs then at the stone floor, clutching his spear nervously.
“And that reason was?” She rested a hand on her hip, aware of the young man’s shyness though she knew not how to quell his anxieties. Her stunning beauty was enough to throw off most men’s concentration, for a boy who had yet to lay with a woman however one great interest surged above all else. Addressing her in a mature manner for the young man was more of a task than the duty his warlord had commanded him to fulfil.
“Warlord Arbephest, your husband, ordered that I should escort you for the recent rumours spreading amongst the townsfolk. If you should need it, do you need it, my lady?” She laughed lightly through her nose at the awkwardness of Phelan’s words, thinking of ways in which she could break his unease in her presence.
“Thank you, Phelan, how thoughtful of my husband. He speaks very highly of you, he believes you will make an invaluable leader some day.”
“He does?” The guard looked up at her and she smiled at him, then gesturing the two make their way towards town he awkwardly twisted his body and turned towards the stone steps that lead into Rhoma.
The air of the Hellenic landscape was rapidly warming with the rising sun. The rays of dawn dispersed the darkness. The sounds of the crickets became interrupted by songs of birds nesting amidst the trees of the serene greens.
There was much noise amidst the streets of Rhoma despite their scarcity of life, a great quarrel could be heard coming from its southern most regions where the granite temple dedicated to the makers rested. It was here the council members of Rhoma and nearby towns and villages had been called to, urged by the abrupt rumours of invaders from beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
An enormous crowd of hundreds flocked the aged structure, “step aside for your first lady!” Phelan yelled at the masses and as quickly as one recognised her they each joined to aid her way through the ever growing numbers.
There was not a district the first lady’s influence did not touch, she provided resources for the labourers, aided the wounded and harboured the town’s orphans. Long before she had been united with Arbephest her work began, her caring hand too stretched out to all of Greece when necessary.
Often did the first lady pay visit to the temple to give thanks to Athena for granting her people safety and the means to live productively, there had too been a time when she prayed each day for her husband’s seed to be planted within her. Though those days had long since passed, her desires for a child had not, sometimes she prayed for the death of her husband so she could escape the judgemental gaze of Athena, and be free to bring the most precious of her dreams to reality. A new life into the world.
A wall of town guards kept the thriving audience at bay, at the front of the throng a number of warriors stepped forward, creating a slight gap to enable her through in to the cold hall. The crude wooden benches that normally lined the floors of the temple had been pushed to the outer walls. A mass of men and women, old and young, stood in a square looking upon Anna and Phelan.
The gathering’s muttering and laughter fell silent upon noticing their first lady standing amidst them. She bowed her head lightly at those she was closest to before addressing the now tense hall.
“Thank you all for coming today, there are some grave matters we must discuss and resolve before we each leave this hall,” she looked steadily at one person and then another as she spoke. “We know that a nation from beyond the Pillars is invading our lands, attempting to enslave the world that our people have fought to keep free since Athena planted the seeds of life beneath the fertile soils of Greece. For the safety of our people, our future generations, we must act on and off the field of battle.”
“Is it true they come in their thousands from the sea and the sky, my lady?”
“What of our children, Anna?” Gamatha, the head of the town nursery, yelled out grasping the first lady’s attention, all she could do was look upon her and sigh. The crowd erupted relaying their thoughts aloud across the hall.
“Has there been any further sightings of the ship in the sky?”
“The children must be first priority!”
“Are the makers punishing us for our nation’s bloodshed?”
“The labourers should be evacuated to neighbouring towns -”
“The labourers should bear arms and fight for their warlord!” She let the cries reverberate throughout the temple without quelling them, she wanted those present to ventilate their frustration, listening out for the most valid qualms to address. It took little more than a raised hand to reduce the hall to silence.
“Gamatha, come forward.” The first lady gestured the aged Athenian towards the middle of the hall, “does anyone object to the nursery taking all children and their mothers to the safety of Athenia’s boundaries?” A grey male stepped forward who looked as though he was already deceased.
“My lady Anna, do you not have trust in t
he armies of the Hellenes? Our nation has not succumbed to an enemy since the world was young.” She turned to address him.
“An enemy has not beached upon our shores before, Ephos, I have not seen my husband in such a state for many harvests, he wouldn’t have called men and women alike to arms if this enemy was like any other.” The ancient male breathed deeply and exhaled through flared nostrils, nodding slowly in agreement.
“What if running is futile, my lady? A power is said to sweep the world from top to bottom, what if the vessel above this temple was a message from the makers? What if they are warning us of the return of Hades and the coming of the last harvest?” The crowd began to mumble before Anna yelled out above them to avoid alarm from spreading.
“The words of doomsayers cause little more than panic, the will of the makers shall be as it is. Athena shall grant us the strength to overcome the worst of odds, but we must cast our lots together.” A muffle of cheers echoed amidst the granite walls at the first lady’s words. “Any who are not of the military and wish to stand for their country may do so, go to the armoury and speak to the troop captains. Mothers will take their children to the confides of Athenia, with them the most elderly. Is there a troop captain present?” From behind Anna one of the guards at the temple entrance called out.
“I am, my lady.” She turned to look at an enormous male whose face was scarcely visible for a hugely thick black beard covered the majority.
“Please, join us.” He turned obediently without stepping any further into the hall. “Could you pass on all that has been said here to the warlord of Rhoma?”
“My lady,” he nodded, “though I don’t know where warlord Arbephest is, we haven’t heard word from him since he returned from the Northern Pinnacle. We expected he would be laying with you, my lady.” She shook her head distantly, looking at Phelan.
“Do you know of this?” The young male shook his head.
“I thought he was still within your home, my lady.” Anna looked about the hall confused.
“Does anyone know where the warlord of Rhoma is?” Her question was met only by mumbled cluelessness. “What’s your name, Athenian?” She looked once more at the bearded warrior.
“Ureles.”
“Assemble all that will stand to fight for their home. Gamatha, make haste to the nursery and have the children assembled and prepared to march to Athenia. Gather any volunteers who can aid the elderly. Ureles, can you send a messenger to Cele -” A sudden silence fell upon her, reminding herself of Haedra and Arbicos. “A messenger... to alert the town.” The giant nodded at her and disappeared amongst the crowd that enclosed the temple entrance. “That will be all. Come, Phelan.” The first lady turned, making her way with haste to the streets of Rhoma. For all the disdain she had felt towards Arbephest in recent times, she now suddenly felt empty and panicked in his absence. She headed towards the heart of the town, to the clay house of Phesten and Talia in efforts to learn what had become of her husband.
The Echoes of Solon Page 18