Athensia (Part1?)
This was hard to write for some reason. I didn't really want to post this before it's had a proper overhaul and I had a better idea of how to proceed with it but I've been inactive for a while and it's time to do my Furry experiment stories again. Nature and Manufacture is going have another hard look, so expect some kind of progress there in the near future.
Good news at least, I have had two articles posted; one in the most popular Afrikaans magazine in the country and one in a national newspaper. Not much money but it's nice to know that the stuff gets acknowledged.
Anyways, this fantasy type piece is based on Athenian mythology and I'm taking a few liberties with the historicity.
Athenasia
Part 1
The cobblestones were hot under the blazing sun and the reflection from the bleach white buildings burned his eyes. He blinked heavily, combating the shades of grey ghosts that dance behind his eyelids.
A thought reared up like a skittish animal, a thought of discomfort. Thought struck him as a peculiarity, a first time event of something that he'd never realized there was a capacity for. A new thought hailed... it is too bright out here. This was followed by another sluggish thought... where is this? My feet are burning, where are my sandals? Sandals? His mind was swamped with a newfound cognisance like a newborn entering the world for the first time.
He came awake. He was marching, as the leader of a regiment of soldiers.
His wonderment was interrupted by the sound of marching feet and the clink of armour. A spear rested comfortably in his... black paw??? A black bear's paw. The weight of his own armour dragging on his shoulders and the familiarity of the shield on his left arm seemed a queer apparition; somehow it was unnatural to have these things, to be marching in a street with no recollection as to the how and the why. The queerest of all was the absence of knowing the why of it all.
The breastplate that hung on his chest carried the insignia of Athens' republican army. Athens? Yes, he recalled his home; the great city of Athens where we conquered injustices of the spirit and mind.
He spied several rows of the marching men behind him yet they were not man but animal, like himself. Bears, wolves, horses, goats and so it went. All of them were animal denominations of noble houses like those found on the insignia of their genos. He continued marching at the head of the column hefting his spear and then his shield while he thought. The weight of the equipment felt familiar yet there were no memories to lend weight to the familiarity.
Have I lost my mind? Was I always a bear? No.
He wondered briefly whether this experience was a vision from the gods sent to him as an omen or portent of some sort when a disconnected shadow appeared ahead of them on the cobbled street.
Instinctively his fist came up next to his head then clenched as a signal to the marching column behind him. They obeyed.
The clanking stopped as the animal soldiers came to an immediate halt as if obedience to the command was as natural as his signal.
He regarded the strange rapidly approaching shadow as it ran across the street towards them. It seemed like the sun's reflection of a bird flying through the air. His gaze fell to the sky as he tried to ascertain its source. It became apparent; a large boulder travelling through the sky on a collision trajectory with his unit. Its shadow grew as it drew ever nearer and in moments it would hit him and his men devastating their formation; crushing bone and armour and flesh beneath its considerable girth.
He stepped out of formation to the side of the road yelling to his men
'Gaarrt! Oowwhoot! Rawaayy!!!'
His voice came out as a series of growls and snorts. The shadow drew ever closer and the boulder would decimate his regiment in a moment.
He yelled again but the soldiers didn't budge, not a single one in his shining bronze armour even looked at him, their eyes remained blankly fixed in front of them.
'Gaaarrt Oww...' he was cut off as the violent roar of impact deafened his sensitive ears. The force of impact shook the street beneath his footpads and for a moment he struggled to stay afoot as the earth shook beneath him. Debris of armour and shattered spear hafts flew outwards as a wave of shrapnel from among the grouped soldiers. The boulder's forward motion continued its devastating momentum, crushing more of his men as it raggedly ripped forward and through their ranks crushing them unfeeling beneath its considerable weight. There was neither a yell nor cry of pain or of surprise from the stupefied soldiers as they were systematically smothered to pulp.
It came to a lumbering halt, and all that remained of the regiment seemed like the aftermath of a careless painter haphazardly smearing and splashing red ink onto a canvas. Bits of crumpled bronze armour, white pieces of bone and patches of fur remained where the animal soldiers had marched. It was the end of them.
He appraised the scene of carnage with dismay as the moist smell of fresh blood wafted to his nose. What had he just witnessed? Why was he dressed as a soldier of Athens? And how did he know of these things while lacking other memories; personal memories. It seemed as if he should know more of the lives that were so senselessly snubbed in front of his eyes.
Scents of fresh blood and meat whetted his appetite as waves of hunger washed over him. The consideration of picking out a moist morsel of meat from the pile of flesh in front of him was horrifying but felt somehow right; it was a new sense, not familiar just new, and he knew that there was a time when the scent of fresh blood would not have wetted his appetite.
The possibilities of what was and what is choked his mind in a cacophonous assault of silent unreason and emptiness. It seemed as if there was a price to be paid, but to whom the debt belonged he was blank. Anger overwrote his confusion as to the senselessness. But there was a debt he would see satisfied.
The sun's reflection off the whitewashed buildings hurt his eyes and his ears rang in the silent aftermath of the carnage. There was carnage yet to come.
A slight breeze picked up diluting the scent of death in the air. It also carried with it the faint sound of excited voices to his ears.
He hurried into an alley and hid behind a stand of baskets waiting for the voices to approach. They grew closer and louder and more excited. Finally he could make out words.
'That rock fell around here, the next avenue I think. Damned Thebans, catapults destroy the city. What they think they going to get when they finally come in?'
A second voice answered, deep and gruff 'I do not understand your constant protestation Eugenius.'
'What don't you understand 'bout them Hesperos? They throw rocks and break houses. Weren't such houses back in Argos, good houses the Athenians had here.' Eugenius chirped.
'I mean that you complained when we tried to get that gold off that wolf house-wife, complained when we couldn't get into the temple district, complained when Gerion ran off, always protestations with you. Don't it become arduous?' Hesperos' heavy footfalls echoed in the buildings.
The voices were close now.
Eugenius' voice rose 'That bitch killed two of us. The best loot is in the temple, damned mindless animals. And about Gerion, you liked the man but the thieving son of a slut still owed me 10 coppers. I have reason to... by all that is holy Hesperos! That rock got all them soldiers!'
'Armour.' said Hesperos. From behind the baskets the bear could hear the approval. But the bear's heightened sense of hearing heard new voices approaching from the other side. The two men could not hear it yet.
The bear caste around for something to cover himself with and found a canvas covering flung over casks of water behind him. He pulled it over his shoulders and tied it around his neck so it covered his face and his breastplate and greaves.
He could see the large Hesperos, his scarred face and his bare forearms were lashed with the marks of old wounds. The slighter Eugenius also carried the marks of fighting. They were inspecting the sun bright, blood spattered carnage in the street. The other voices drew nearer and the bear lay low behind the baskets. Whatever was happening in his Athens, he would find answers from these men.
Eugenius muttered bitter curses 'Damned rock ruined all the armour and weapons, some spears but we don't want spears.' Then he angrily kicked a dented bronze helm which ricochets noisily from a wall, leaving a blood stained mark against the whitewashed home.
The bear heard the approaching voices go silent; they had obviously heard the clang of the abused helm.
Hesperos added 'That stone hit em neatly. Don't think I ever saw twenty soldiers all killed by a single catapult.' He seemed to consider something 'Eugenius?' he said, 'you see the insignia of the officer?'
'I surely don't, don't matter though. He probably got killed by some bandit.'
The breeze shifted bringing with it the smell of other men to the bear's nose; a more putrid stench of sweat than the two men in front of him. There are more than two others approaching. The bear waited.
'You know we're bandits too, don't you?' Hesperos added.
'We're looters man. We take from the dead. Bandits take from the living and make the dead.'
'If only your skill with a sword were as sharp as your ability for excuses Eugenius.'
'Halt!' came a new voice. The owner of the voice was out of sight. The bear saw only Egenius and Hesperos' surprise and the sudden onset of fear.
'Wait wait!' yelled the larger man immediately. 'We meant no harm!' The smaller Eugenius shook with fear.
'No harm?' came an offended and imperious response 'You men seek to take what belongs to the temple of Poseidon.' His voice was low with malice 'Tis' blasphemy, by the authority granted us by divine right we should by all right strike you down !"
'We'll leave! We seek no conflict with The Temple.' Hesperos yelled back. The bear noted that despite his earlier speech Eugenius was conspicuously silent now.
'Let fly!' came the command. The two looters jumped behind the rock as two arrows flew at them.
'We shall leave! No offence to Poseidon!' Hesperos yelled again.
'You shall die as punishment for desecration!' cried the unknown voice.
Hesperos and Eugenius ran. Two more arrows flew by the alley in which the bear crouched.
Moments later three men appeared dressed in cloaks of blue with insignias depicting a trident. Poseidon, wondered the bear, I know that name.
The newcomers wore matching uniforms except for the one who spoke who wore a horsehair plume on his closed face bronze helmet; the leader of the group. He carried a shield with his gladius but no spear, while the other two were armed with bows and daggers. Their bronze breastplates and greaves threw off rays of sunshine being spotless and immaculately kept.
The leader approached the scene of the carnage and his leathery sun burnt face cracked open to reveal a set of teeth as white as the buildings around them 'It's a lucky find for The Temple men. Everything seems damaged, yet we'll have bronze to smelt for new armour and weapons. Poseidon be pleased!'
The bear growled low, this business of looting the remains of his... men... displeased him. Even if they were animals, they deserved better respect than this. But right now he needed to know what happened in Athens and this man with his zealous praise of this Poseidon seemed a candidate for knowledge. The bear gripped his spear tightly in his paw.
'Too much for us to carry alone sir,' Said one of the bowmen 'should I return and bring more men to carry?'
The leader nodded thoughtfully 'What we have here is a fifth of a lochoi of what used to be the bitch goddess' guards. It would be blasphemy to lose any to scum like we just encountered. Yes, we need more men to sift through this pile of dead fur. By Poseidon but this street looks like a slaughterhouse.'
'Yes sir, I'll return shortly.' said the man. A spear tore through his breastplate into his chest catapulting him from his feet onto the decimated corpses of the animal soldiers. The bear rushed forth from the alley, the canvas around his shoulders fluttering behind him, his own gladius in paw.
The second archer let loose an arrow that bounced off the bear's breastplate. The leathery faced commander brought up his shield as the bear swung at him with a mighty force; the gladius connected with the shield sending the commander staggering back.
The archer, seeing an opening, charged with his dagger but the bear swung his sword up in a backhanded motion cutting through the hapless man's wrist. He fell back screaming, grasping the stump where his hand used to be. The bear followed him in and grasped the man's head in his clawed paw.
The commander's armour clanked, alerting the bear, as he came in swinging his sword. Desperately avoiding the new assault the bear jumped forward onto the screaming archer. They fell to the ground and the bear rolled onto his back bringing the archer around. The commander who had stabbed at the bear's exposed back suddenly found his sword penetrating the breastplate of his own soldier. The wounded man coughed blood onto the bear's face. The bear twisted the man, tearing the sword from the commander's hand.
The commander, sword-less, cleaved down with his shield. The bear rolled clear and the shield crashed heavily against the cobbles.
Getting to his feet the bear ran to where his spear stuck in the first dead archer. He pulled it clear and swung to face the commander who was retrieving his sword from his mortally wounded subordinate.
The two faced each other in the street, spear and, sword and shield; their stares signalling challenge while the wounded man screamed in agony. The bear clumsily measured the words from his muzzle over his levelled spear 'Yoo poot that man out of his misegry' it was a queer feeling forming words with this unfamiliar mouth.
'Who are you? A looter?' asked the commander breathing heavily.
The bear shook the canvas cowl off his head, revealing a thick black muzzle and pitch black pupils in large eyes.
Shock registered on the human's face 'You were an Athenian?! You animals don't speak! Poseidon took your minds.'
'I seem to have regrained mine' growled the bear nonplussed '; your comgrade is in pain. Send the man to Styx and then we shall continue our martial contest.'
The commander looked him askew then shot a glance at his comrade 'He may yet live...' he seemed to find his bearings 'By the authority granted me as a disciple of Poseidon I demand to know how you have regained yourself.'
'I do not know, I awoke marching at the head of these poor souls. That man has a belly wound. He will die in pain, help him and we shall talk.'
'Ahh, I see, you were their commander before Poseidon cursed you. But you shall die and my brothers shall know that I slew one who escaped the curse.' The man smiled at him.
The bear levelled his spear and advanced on the man clad in blue. The commander brought his shield to bear and they circled one another. The man sprang forward, batting the spear aside as the bear in a show of agility ducked under the slashing blade, then spun round low swinging the spear in one paw around like a club. The spear hit the man's leg and he fell heavily to the ground.
The bear stepped upon the shield, pinning it to the ground as he grabbed the man's sword arm. He clenched the man's wrist tighter and tighter till it finally snapped. The man screamed releasing the weapon.