A whirlwind of choking dust enveloped the advancing infantry to our rear. I could hear one of the men shout a profane jab in their direction, lost in the sound of thundering hooves. One hundred men riding in unison, the sound signaling thunder before the lightning struck against the enemy. The horses spurred forward, so fast I had to close my eyes to clear the tears forming from the harsh wind. I crouched in the saddle tucking my head behind that of my horse. Her large neck granted my face and eyes enough respite to get my bearings. From my position in the skein formation I could see the hill approaching rapidly. Our commander lead from the front, the green plume of feathers on his helmet flapping vigorously in the breeze as his steed pushed onward. Drawing his gladius from his gold patterned sheath, he raised the glistening steel overhead and urged us all forward into the fray.
Together, we drew our swords following our leaders example and shouting as one. The stampede of hooves and roar of voices reached a fever pitch as we crested the hill only to fall into silence as we realized what lay before us. There in the field below us were thousands of enemy soldiers, not the hundreds our scouts had initially reported. We were vastly outnumbered and their cavalry was coming straight at us. We knew as much as our commander did, there was no time to stop and in an instant horses and men collided in a symphony of chaos.
I watched the man next to me speared clear from his horse and slashed out wildly in vengeance striking my faceless foe in the neck as he passed. Immediately I felt the hot blood splash across my face, annointing me in battle. I raised my shield blocking a slash meant to separate my head from neck and pressed forward into the pack. At quick glance we were outnumbered two to one if not more, our only saving grace would be our discipline and training. Men and horses disappeared below the mass of bodies never to be seen again. I glanced the point of a spear away with my shield and buried my steel in my enemy’s chest. Wrenching the sword free I severed the arm off the next victim fumbling for the reigns of his steed. The blunt end of my shield knocked the third victim from his mount to crushed under the hooves of his allies.
The swirling mass pressed tighter together, filling the gaps. Stirrups and reigns became entangled between friend and foe turning the mayhem into full blown madness. Two of my brothers in arms skewered an enemy only to brought down as the horse beneath their slain counterpart toppled over under the unsupported weight catching their saddles and other attachments on the way down. The roar of anger and hatred was deafening.
I lost track of how many enemies fell to the hardened steel of my gladius. With each life taken the blade appeared to vibrate in my hand as if humming for more carnage. Finally the over bearing pressure felt as if it began to release. I was afforded a brief pause as the mass seemed to thin with the fallen outnumbering the living. I glanced forward and saw my commander had become overstretched, surrounded by enemies but fighting like a possessed madman. I spurred my horse towards him, pulling a spear from a body as I passed it, whether it was enemy or ally, I didn’t want to know. Picking my target I leaned back in the saddle and launched the projectile forward, the point finding a home in the wood of a shield. My miss hadn’t been a total failure, the point had pierced enough to catch the arm on the other side, rendering it useless. The momentary pause of my stunned opponent afforded me the opportunity to add another victim to my tally.
“Sir! You’re over extended!” I shouted over the din of battle.
The commander looked back in my direction with a blood soaked smile, “Am I soldier?”
I followed his joyful gaze, to my astonishment my press forward had cleared a path for our remaining forces to join me. Even more surprising, we were winning. As my brothers caught up to me we rallied around our commander. Dozens of enemies fell in our wake. “Fall back! Up the hill boys!”, our leader bellowed. Our job was done, the damage had been dealt. We spurred our horses and took off towards friendly lines, one hundred men, reduced to a handful of souls.