I have seen many people write up stories before on this site. So, after some reading, I've decided to write my own story here. I looked around the site and I found out that there is hardly anything about Thrace, so I decided to write a story based on a campaign I did on RTW. So, without further interruptions, let the story commence!
Birth of a Thracian Empire
Prologue
It is the year 267BC, and Thrace and Dacia are at war against each other. The Thracian king, Prytos, sent his brother Byzas, the crown prince of Thrace, to Dacia. Byzas has an army of new recruits and some veterans to help him, along with him are 2 commanders who help him in their war efforts. But there are other enemies around them, the Macedonians could at anytime march straight into Thrace, Scythia borders Thrace to the north, and they could conduct raids into Thracian villages and towns, Pontus lies across the Black Sea, but they could launch an aggressive campaign into Thrace, the Greeks might help Macedon in attacking Thracian villages and towns, then there is the rising power of Rome, who knows what could happen when Thrace and Rome meet, only time can tell.
Chapter 1: The Coming Storm
The weather began to become colder than before, as if the gods were punishing the Thracians, but they would not have believed it anyway, for they believed the gods were on their side and the storm was to punish their enemy. Consuias walked amongst the soldiers at the camp, ignoring the chilly wind from the north, like all others, he only wanted the weather to be warmer, but in Dacia, it was always cold during winter.
Consuias was an infantry commander in the service of Byzas, crown prince of Thrace. Thrace was cold as well during winter, so Dacia made no difference for Consuias.
‘Will this winter ever end?’ Consuias asked himself, knowing the answer will be no. Winter would be around still for another 3 to 4 months.
‘Still, could be worse,’ he thought, ‘we could’ve been in Scythia.’ He then heard someone shout out his name.
‘Commander Consuias! Commander Consuias!’ shouted a soldier.
Consuias turned around to look at the man. ‘Yes, what is it soldier?’ he asked.
‘General Byzas wishes to see you in his tent’, replied the soldier
‘Alright then, but what does we want to talk to me about?’
‘Don’t know, he didn’t say.’
‘Ok then, go to the refreshments tent and get something to eat and drink’
The soldier nodded, as a gesture of thank you, and left.
‘Wonder why he needs to see me?’ thought Consuias as he headed towards the commanders tent.
Byzas turned away from the stranger and got himself a cup of wine, he then turned back to look at the stranger and decided to offer hum a cup of wine, which he declined. Byzas looked at him again then turned back to think about the information the stranger had told him.
‘So, those reinforcements are going to take a while to get here, better explain this to the other commanders,’ thought Byzas.
A high-ranking commander then entered the tent and helped himself to some wine. Byzas turned to look at him.
‘Good to see you made it, Symarus’, said Byzas to the commander.
Symarus was a cavalry commander and he usually rode with the militia cavalry.
‘Nice to see you haven’t lost your touch, Byzas’, said Symarus. He then turned to look at the stranger just as he was sipping wine from his cup.
‘Who is this man?’ asked Symarus.
‘That will be explained when Consuias comes’, replied Byzas.
The stranger appeared to be cloaked in wolf skin and some leather to keep him warm. Just then, Consuias entered the tent.
‘Greetings,’ greeted Byzas and Symarus.
‘Greetings to you too,’ responded Consuias, he then looked at some wine,'May I?’
Byzas responded with a nod. Symarus looked at the stranger then at Byzas.
‘Who is this man?’ he asked again.
Byzas turned to look at Symarus.
‘He is a messenger, from my nephew, Ziles,’ Byzas replied.
‘So is this why you’ve summoned us to your tent?’ asked Symarus, ‘Is Ziles in command of reinforcements?’
‘Yes he is.’
Consuias then looked at the messenger, then he noticed he was shivering.
‘He must have rode a couple of days just to reach us,’ said Consuias.
Byzas nodded his head. Symarus then looked at the messenger, then back towards Byzas.
‘What did he say general?’ Symarus asked.
‘The messenger said that Ziles is getting his army of new recruits towards our camp, and he should be here around about 1 to 2 weeks,’ replied Byzas.
There was a sudden silence in the tent; it was so silent that the wind could be heard outside. Consuias then plucked up the courage to say something.
‘Seriously, 1 to 2 weeks?!’ he asked with a shocked tone.
The messenger nodded his head.
‘He said he may run into some brigands along the way,' said the messenger, ‘also he is picking up more men from the capital when he gets there, unless he is already there.’
Byzas, Consuias and Symarus looked at each other.
‘Well, he may get here a little late,’ pointed out Symarus.
‘Very well then,’ said Byzas, ‘send scouts out towards the west and north when this weather calms down, we need to know if the Dacians are approaching.'
Symarus nodded and left the tent. Byzas then turned to Consuias.
‘Tell a swift rider to ride to Campus Getae,’ said Byzas, ‘we need extra supplies and some more soldiers, we may need them before Ziles gets here.’
Consuias nodded and left the tent. Byzas then turned to look at the messenger, who was sleeping. He then turned back at the map of Thrace and the surrounding lands.
‘Well,’ sighed Byzas, ‘Lets hope the Dacians don’t make a counter attack. Gods, if you’re watching us now, we will need all the help we can get.’
He then looked outside the tent and sighed again, he could only hope that reinforcements from his brother and nephew could get to his camp quickly.
"Its my duty, my duty as a complete and utter !@#$%^&*!" -Rimmer
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -Gandalf
"Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!"
"The die is cast." -Gaius Julius Caesar
It is the year 267BC, and Thrace and Dacia are at war against each other. The Thracian king, Prytos, sent his brother Byzas, the crown prince of Thrace, to Dacia. Byzas has an army of new recruits and some veterans to help him, along with him are 2 commanders who help him in their war efforts. But there are other enemies around them, the Macedonians could at anytime march straight into Thrace, Scythia borders Thrace to the north, and they could conduct raids into Thracian villages and towns, Pontus lies across the Black Sea, but they could launch an aggressive campaign into Thrace, the Greeks might help Macedon in attacking Thracian villages and towns, then there is the rising power of Rome, who knows what could happen when Thrace and Rome meet, only time can tell.
The weather began to become colder than before, as if the gods were punishing the Thracians, but they would not have believed it anyway, for they believed the gods were on their side and the storm was to punish their enemy. Consuias walked amongst the soldiers at the camp, ignoring the chilly wind from the north, like all others, he only wanted the weather to be warmer, but in Dacia, it was always cold during winter.
Consuias was an infantry commander in the service of Byzas, crown prince of Thrace. Thrace was cold as well during winter, so Dacia made no difference for Consuias.
‘Will this winter ever end?’ Consuias asked himself, knowing the answer will be no. Winter would be around still for another 3 to 4 months.
‘Still, could be worse,’ he thought, ‘we could’ve been in Scythia.’ He then heard someone shout out his name.
‘Commander Consuias! Commander Consuias!’ shouted a soldier.
Consuias turned around to look at the man. ‘Yes, what is it soldier?’ he asked.
‘General Byzas wishes to see you in his tent’, replied the soldier
‘Alright then, but what does we want to talk to me about?’
‘Don’t know, he didn’t say.’
‘Ok then, go to the refreshments tent and get something to eat and drink’
The soldier nodded, as a gesture of thank you, and left.
‘Wonder why he needs to see me?’ thought Consuias as he headed towards the commanders tent.
Byzas turned away from the stranger and got himself a cup of wine, he then turned back to look at the stranger and decided to offer hum a cup of wine, which he declined. Byzas looked at him again then turned back to think about the information the stranger had told him.
‘So, those reinforcements are going to take a while to get here, better explain this to the other commanders,’ thought Byzas.
A high-ranking commander then entered the tent and helped himself to some wine. Byzas turned to look at him.
‘Good to see you made it, Symarus’, said Byzas to the commander.
Symarus was a cavalry commander and he usually rode with the militia cavalry.
‘Nice to see you haven’t lost your touch, Byzas’, said Symarus. He then turned to look at the stranger just as he was sipping wine from his cup.
‘Who is this man?’ asked Symarus.
‘That will be explained when Consuias comes’, replied Byzas.
The stranger appeared to be cloaked in wolf skin and some leather to keep him warm. Just then, Consuias entered the tent.
‘Greetings,’ greeted Byzas and Symarus.
‘Greetings to you too,’ responded Consuias, he then looked at some wine,'May I?’
Byzas responded with a nod. Symarus looked at the stranger then at Byzas.
‘Who is this man?’ he asked again.
Byzas turned to look at Symarus.
‘He is a messenger, from my nephew, Ziles,’ Byzas replied.
‘So is this why you’ve summoned us to your tent?’ asked Symarus, ‘Is Ziles in command of reinforcements?’
‘Yes he is.’
Consuias then looked at the messenger, then he noticed he was shivering.
‘He must have rode a couple of days just to reach us,’ said Consuias.
Byzas nodded his head. Symarus then looked at the messenger, then back towards Byzas.
‘What did he say general?’ Symarus asked.
‘The messenger said that Ziles is getting his army of new recruits towards our camp, and he should be here around about 1 to 2 weeks,’ replied Byzas.
There was a sudden silence in the tent; it was so silent that the wind could be heard outside. Consuias then plucked up the courage to say something.
‘Seriously, 1 to 2 weeks?!’ he asked with a shocked tone.
The messenger nodded his head.
‘He said he may run into some brigands along the way,' said the messenger, ‘also he is picking up more men from the capital when he gets there, unless he is already there.’
Byzas, Consuias and Symarus looked at each other.
‘Well, he may get here a little late,’ pointed out Symarus.
‘Very well then,’ said Byzas, ‘send scouts out towards the west and north when this weather calms down, we need to know if the Dacians are approaching.'
Symarus nodded and left the tent. Byzas then turned to Consuias.
‘Tell a swift rider to ride to Campus Getae,’ said Byzas, ‘we need extra supplies and some more soldiers, we may need them before Ziles gets here.’
Consuias nodded and left the tent. Byzas then turned to look at the messenger, who was sleeping. He then turned back at the map of Thrace and the surrounding lands.
‘Well,’ sighed Byzas, ‘Lets hope the Dacians don’t make a counter attack. Gods, if you’re watching us now, we will need all the help we can get.’
He then looked outside the tent and sighed again, he could only hope that reinforcements from his brother and nephew could get to his camp quickly.
"Its my duty, my duty as a complete and utter !@#$%^&*!" -Rimmer
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -Gandalf
"Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!"
"The die is cast." -Gaius Julius Caesar
[This message has been edited by Bluebottlejr (edited 03-22-2014 @ 07:49 PM).]