MORE LAST CHAPTER Now, just before the sun rose up that grey and cloudy morning, 60 of the Spartan war ships sailed from the cold cove heading east to join up with the King, and his eager, bloodthirsty troops. When the Themiscyrans saw that nearly half of the Greek Armada had departed the warrior women and their captains of war felt a bit of relief thinking the Spartans changed their minds, or their invasionary tactics, but still the Themiscyrans knew these men could not be trusted, so they remained in a heightened state of awareness not knowing just when, or where, the attack would come.
Here Lucia Vega and Lacuna led King Vyakles and 6000 of his armed warriors to the land a few miles to the east of the walled fortress, unbeknownst to Cheveria, or her troops, that their former compatriots were about to give up the secret; which would ultimately lead to the utter destruction of Themiscyra and all her inhabitants. This area, the Greeks marched slowly through, was called the 'Field of Bones' by the women warriors, for it had been stacked up, over the centuries, with the skeletonized remains of their vanquished enemies long since defeated in battle. Severed heads, the skulls of thousands of their foes, swung low in nets hanging from the branches of the towering birch trees surrounding the silent and gruesome landscape swarming with green flies and black vultures picking through the corpses for fresh, dead flesh. The putrid stench of death permeated the air as the Spartans gazed in horror as they walked down a narrow path that lay between the stack of headless corpses: which came up to their knees. The path was narrow, only large enough for the men to walk two by two, and just large enough to bring a team of horses and chariots through. A long line of well armed men with their swords, shields and spears followed Lacuna and Lucia Vega along with their noble King, marching like a line of ants towards down a path of certain destruction. As they slowly, in silence, walked together in the predawn darkness the Greeks stared out in disbelief with shock and awe running like ice through their veins, for never had they ever seen such a gruesome display of broken bones and shattered skulls. For this place was specifically created to serve as a visual deterrent set up by the Themiscyrans to discourage any would-be intruders or armies to stay away.
"There." Lucia Vega pointed to a large group of boulders in the very center of this open-air graveyard. Here she instructed the strong men to roll back a large rock some 16 feet high and it took twenty men using their great strength to move the massive heavy stone to the side where they uncovered the secret that was hidden behind. For the rock formation concealed the opening of a large underground cave where Lacuna and Lucia Vega, bearing torches went in. "This tunnel continues some 16 miles and leads to the western city of Colchise, where you can make your way in, unnoticed, before the sun arises." Lucia Vega explained handing her brightly burning torch over to the King. Now this underground corridor had been hand cut from the rock and earth centuries before, the secret passage was excavated as a quick route for the Themiscyran troops, so the warrior women could come out in times of war undetected without having to open up the gates. This served as a clever way to out strategize their enemies by sneaking up behind them and attacking their flanks during times of siege warfare; which the Themiscyrans had been subjected to many times before in the past. So it was the Themiscyran Military would suddenly appear in formation, as if by magic, like spirits from the netherworld they would come, from out of nowhere attacking their foes raining down deadly blows from their swords and arrows. Those of their enemies who had managed to escape the fight would recall the terrible battles telling gruesome stories to their children, in frightened voices, all about the 'Ghost Army of Death' as they were referred to throughout the years, but now the ancient secret had been given up, and this once cleverly hidden tunnel would serve the Themiscyrans enemy in their own crushing defeat. Never had this secret been divulged by anyone, however, Lacuna and Lucia Vega felt, after the tragedy of what Odessa had done, they owed it to their beloved Queen Thera to be the ones to lead her vengeful King and loyal husband. Out of their deep Love, Unity, Loyalty, Respect and Honor, Lacuna and Lucia Vega felt they had no other choice.
"When you come to the surface you will find the Temples of Apollo and Artemis to the left and to the right, the acolytes and priestess will be unarmed and easy to kill.., for they do not really know how to fight." Lacuna said with a sigh and a nod of her head.
"To the south of the lake," Lucia Vega spoke up "you will come across the military training academy, there you should find little resistance, as the majority of the troops will be assemble along the western and southern gates preparing for the Spartan Naval invasion. The capitol city of Themiscyra along with the Royal Palace are a few more miles down the road to the east." here Lucia Vega paused drawing a diagram in the cold wet earth with her finger "To the north and south of the road are vast fields and orchards, here you must beware of tigers, for they are trained to sniff out the scent of men, they will stalk you from the tall grasses; which keep them unseen, and well hidden. You can only kill them with swift stabs of your spears directly into their hearts.., for a wounded tiger will not fall, and will only become more fierce with sharpened tooth and claw."
"Then there are the daughters of Themiscyra; of whom you should not be deceived, for though they are small in stature they have been brought up in the brutal military, and are as well trained as they are deadly, wielding swords and bows and arrows. Any girls under the age of ten will not be skilled in any sort of defense, they will most likely run away at the sight of you and your well armed men," Lacuna paused knowing full well the Greeks battle tactics were the same as the nations of the Hittites, Assyrians, Israelites, Phoenicians and Egyptians, in that all the living, adults and children would be slaughtered. "But we understand what you must do, and we will not judge you for the blood that you must shed, however young, or innocent those girls might be." Lacuna sighed realizing for the first time that she was now more Greek in her thinking then she ever thought she would be. For she had given herself to this new nation and had sworn allegiance by marriage, so that now the rules of war of Themiscyra no longer applied to her or Lucia Vega in their new lives. Yet they carried on anyway safe in the knowledge that they would not be killing any children themselves, however, by divulging the secret of breaching the walled fortress, they would still have the blood of innocent young girls on their hands. Killing is never easy, but the work of destroying the nation of Themisycra still had to be done.
"Vyakles," Lucia Vega stared over at her King telling him "your army will have the advantage of surprise, for the warrior women will not be expecting, nor anticipating, any attack from inside their own lands. Your troops shall have the upper hand." here she paused looking past the long rows of men then, turning her gaze back to Vyakles she said "I pray you good luck and protection from the gods and goddesses on your mission, and I hope that you fare well in the destruction of this nation.., until we meet again." then Lucia Vega approached her husband, General La Quint, with a great pain in her heart, the depth of which she herself had not felt since she watched in horror as her dearest friend, Queen Thera, died in the arms Vyakles, Lucia Vega lifted her eyes and said "My brave and noble husband, my one true love, I pray to Zeus you come back to me with your shield.., or upon it." a saying Spartan women had been telling their men for hundreds of years, then she sealed her words with a soft sweet kiss.
"We shall meet again my wife, my bride. Fear you not, for I shall live to hear the happy laughter of our newborn child." General La Quint smiled rubbing his beloveds belly as he kissed Lucia Vega goodbye.
Lucia Vega handed her torch over to her husband to help light the way down the long dark passage as she and Lacuna held hands and walked away. They, whom had betrayed their former nation, did not look back as the long column of soldiers went down into the depths of the Earth with their torches aflame, their King leading the way. Both returned to the shore where Admiral Vasha was waiting aboard his ship and when his own wife, Lacuna, rejoined him he held her tight feeling the furious beating within her breast and he kissed her on the lips and said "You have served the Spartan Nation well. Let your heart and mind not be trouble by what shall transpire, for we are here to avenge our murdered Queen. Of this, I know, that Thera would be pleased."
However it is not right that one human being should suppose what would be seen as good and right, or just, by another, especially the heart and mind of a Queen, for Thera herself would weep an ocean of bitter tears if she were alive to witness the unjustified conflict and down fall of her former sovereign nation. Yet now, lie she there, back in Sparta, steps from her Royal Palace, in her dark and dreary tomb, cradled in her crib of Death, her spirit let loose from the flesh, her broken body unable to raise up her voice against the whirlwind of total annihilation that would soon descend upon her homeland, wrought by the hands of her own husband, who in his grief and revenge believed he was doing her spirit honor. Yet their is no honor in the killing of innocent children, who have no knowledge, nor strength to defend themselves against the tyranny of vengeful men. Oh but if the word of Thera could stand up against the world this black and dismal day.., but now lie she in her tomb with no one to heed her command, for there can be no council from the grave.
Here Lucia Vega and Lacuna led King Vyakles and 6000 of his armed warriors to the land a few miles to the east of the walled fortress, unbeknownst to Cheveria, or her troops, that their former compatriots were about to give up the secret; which would ultimately lead to the utter destruction of Themiscyra and all her inhabitants. This area, the Greeks marched slowly through, was called the 'Field of Bones' by the women warriors, for it had been stacked up, over the centuries, with the skeletonized remains of their vanquished enemies long since defeated in battle. Severed heads, the skulls of thousands of their foes, swung low in nets hanging from the branches of the towering birch trees surrounding the silent and gruesome landscape swarming with green flies and black vultures picking through the corpses for fresh, dead flesh. The putrid stench of death permeated the air as the Spartans gazed in horror as they walked down a narrow path that lay between the stack of headless corpses: which came up to their knees. The path was narrow, only large enough for the men to walk two by two, and just large enough to bring a team of horses and chariots through. A long line of well armed men with their swords, shields and spears followed Lacuna and Lucia Vega along with their noble King, marching like a line of ants towards down a path of certain destruction. As they slowly, in silence, walked together in the predawn darkness the Greeks stared out in disbelief with shock and awe running like ice through their veins, for never had they ever seen such a gruesome display of broken bones and shattered skulls. For this place was specifically created to serve as a visual deterrent set up by the Themiscyrans to discourage any would-be intruders or armies to stay away.
"There." Lucia Vega pointed to a large group of boulders in the very center of this open-air graveyard. Here she instructed the strong men to roll back a large rock some 16 feet high and it took twenty men using their great strength to move the massive heavy stone to the side where they uncovered the secret that was hidden behind. For the rock formation concealed the opening of a large underground cave where Lacuna and Lucia Vega, bearing torches went in. "This tunnel continues some 16 miles and leads to the western city of Colchise, where you can make your way in, unnoticed, before the sun arises." Lucia Vega explained handing her brightly burning torch over to the King. Now this underground corridor had been hand cut from the rock and earth centuries before, the secret passage was excavated as a quick route for the Themiscyran troops, so the warrior women could come out in times of war undetected without having to open up the gates. This served as a clever way to out strategize their enemies by sneaking up behind them and attacking their flanks during times of siege warfare; which the Themiscyrans had been subjected to many times before in the past. So it was the Themiscyran Military would suddenly appear in formation, as if by magic, like spirits from the netherworld they would come, from out of nowhere attacking their foes raining down deadly blows from their swords and arrows. Those of their enemies who had managed to escape the fight would recall the terrible battles telling gruesome stories to their children, in frightened voices, all about the 'Ghost Army of Death' as they were referred to throughout the years, but now the ancient secret had been given up, and this once cleverly hidden tunnel would serve the Themiscyrans enemy in their own crushing defeat. Never had this secret been divulged by anyone, however, Lacuna and Lucia Vega felt, after the tragedy of what Odessa had done, they owed it to their beloved Queen Thera to be the ones to lead her vengeful King and loyal husband. Out of their deep Love, Unity, Loyalty, Respect and Honor, Lacuna and Lucia Vega felt they had no other choice.
"When you come to the surface you will find the Temples of Apollo and Artemis to the left and to the right, the acolytes and priestess will be unarmed and easy to kill.., for they do not really know how to fight." Lacuna said with a sigh and a nod of her head.
"To the south of the lake," Lucia Vega spoke up "you will come across the military training academy, there you should find little resistance, as the majority of the troops will be assemble along the western and southern gates preparing for the Spartan Naval invasion. The capitol city of Themiscyra along with the Royal Palace are a few more miles down the road to the east." here Lucia Vega paused drawing a diagram in the cold wet earth with her finger "To the north and south of the road are vast fields and orchards, here you must beware of tigers, for they are trained to sniff out the scent of men, they will stalk you from the tall grasses; which keep them unseen, and well hidden. You can only kill them with swift stabs of your spears directly into their hearts.., for a wounded tiger will not fall, and will only become more fierce with sharpened tooth and claw."
"Then there are the daughters of Themiscyra; of whom you should not be deceived, for though they are small in stature they have been brought up in the brutal military, and are as well trained as they are deadly, wielding swords and bows and arrows. Any girls under the age of ten will not be skilled in any sort of defense, they will most likely run away at the sight of you and your well armed men," Lacuna paused knowing full well the Greeks battle tactics were the same as the nations of the Hittites, Assyrians, Israelites, Phoenicians and Egyptians, in that all the living, adults and children would be slaughtered. "But we understand what you must do, and we will not judge you for the blood that you must shed, however young, or innocent those girls might be." Lacuna sighed realizing for the first time that she was now more Greek in her thinking then she ever thought she would be. For she had given herself to this new nation and had sworn allegiance by marriage, so that now the rules of war of Themiscyra no longer applied to her or Lucia Vega in their new lives. Yet they carried on anyway safe in the knowledge that they would not be killing any children themselves, however, by divulging the secret of breaching the walled fortress, they would still have the blood of innocent young girls on their hands. Killing is never easy, but the work of destroying the nation of Themisycra still had to be done.
"Vyakles," Lucia Vega stared over at her King telling him "your army will have the advantage of surprise, for the warrior women will not be expecting, nor anticipating, any attack from inside their own lands. Your troops shall have the upper hand." here she paused looking past the long rows of men then, turning her gaze back to Vyakles she said "I pray you good luck and protection from the gods and goddesses on your mission, and I hope that you fare well in the destruction of this nation.., until we meet again." then Lucia Vega approached her husband, General La Quint, with a great pain in her heart, the depth of which she herself had not felt since she watched in horror as her dearest friend, Queen Thera, died in the arms Vyakles, Lucia Vega lifted her eyes and said "My brave and noble husband, my one true love, I pray to Zeus you come back to me with your shield.., or upon it." a saying Spartan women had been telling their men for hundreds of years, then she sealed her words with a soft sweet kiss.
"We shall meet again my wife, my bride. Fear you not, for I shall live to hear the happy laughter of our newborn child." General La Quint smiled rubbing his beloveds belly as he kissed Lucia Vega goodbye.
Lucia Vega handed her torch over to her husband to help light the way down the long dark passage as she and Lacuna held hands and walked away. They, whom had betrayed their former nation, did not look back as the long column of soldiers went down into the depths of the Earth with their torches aflame, their King leading the way. Both returned to the shore where Admiral Vasha was waiting aboard his ship and when his own wife, Lacuna, rejoined him he held her tight feeling the furious beating within her breast and he kissed her on the lips and said "You have served the Spartan Nation well. Let your heart and mind not be trouble by what shall transpire, for we are here to avenge our murdered Queen. Of this, I know, that Thera would be pleased."
However it is not right that one human being should suppose what would be seen as good and right, or just, by another, especially the heart and mind of a Queen, for Thera herself would weep an ocean of bitter tears if she were alive to witness the unjustified conflict and down fall of her former sovereign nation. Yet now, lie she there, back in Sparta, steps from her Royal Palace, in her dark and dreary tomb, cradled in her crib of Death, her spirit let loose from the flesh, her broken body unable to raise up her voice against the whirlwind of total annihilation that would soon descend upon her homeland, wrought by the hands of her own husband, who in his grief and revenge believed he was doing her spirit honor. Yet their is no honor in the killing of innocent children, who have no knowledge, nor strength to defend themselves against the tyranny of vengeful men. Oh but if the word of Thera could stand up against the world this black and dismal day.., but now lie she in her tomb with no one to heed her command, for there can be no council from the grave.
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