and another...
The first battle....it seemed so far away....
They rode for five days before the sight of farm houses gutted by fire became a regular occurrence, the warriors growing more and more restless with each one they passed. The previous day, Xena found her own personal reason for joining the patrol.
They came upon the farm in the early afternoon, the timbers still smoking from the fire. Uripitus set details to scout the area and the farm. As they search the grounds for clues, Xena approached the smoldering remains of the house. Inside the charred area, Xena could see the remains of at least one adult. As she moved closer, to her dismay, next to the larger set of remains, a smaller set could be seen. Apparently a mother and child huddled here as the fire consumed the house, too frightened to escape the flames, they died here.
As the details finished up, the advance scouts road in. A group of raiders had been spotted about a half a days ride away. They had set up camp in a small gully and didn't appear to be in a hurry to move. Shouting orders Uripitus mounted his horse, ready to ride hard until they reached them. As they rode, Uripitus detailed out their attack plans. Two groups would ride around to flank the camp site, as the third rode straight in. They needed to keep any raiders from escaping and they were to keep some alive for questioning.
As they approached the gully, Uripitus sent scouts ahead and the patrol split into their assigned groups. Xena, Lyissa and Pheolia were in Uripitus' group. They would be charging the raiders head on. Xena could feel the excitement grow from deep within herself as they approached the gully. Little did she know that this feeling wasn't totally her own.
Ares, God of War, looked on as the warriors slowly approached the raider's camp. "Soon," he thought, "soon, we shall see what my prodigy can do." Ares had watched Xena for a long time now. He wanted to witness her battle skills. He was first attracted by Lycius, but he proved to be of lesser quality than Xena herself. The way she grasped each lesson, her agility and stamina were unmatched. This was the one person he could see leading his army to greater glories, all in his name.
Had Xena known of this unseen benefactor, she would have rebuked him. So Ares kept himself hidden and only gently implanted feelings and desires into her mind. The noon sun beat down from the sky as they drew closer to the raider's camp. A sharp cry came from the trees, they had been spotted. Spurring his horse, Uripitus gave a battle cry and charged, followed closely by those in his group. They charged through the sparse trees, the leading warriors engaging the lookouts.
Xena, close behind Uripitus heard the war cries and sounds of clashing steel and let them filled her ears. The excitement she felt earlier seemed to grow. Looking around, she quickly found another raider to engage. Their swords met, the metal ringing out as it met. Xena, letting the excitement overwhelm her, let out a war cry as she pressed into her opponent. The warrior, not ready for her, fell from his horse landing hard on the ground. Sliding down from Argo's back, Xena moved around ready to face him again. Gathering himself, the young warrior charged her, his sword flashing as he raised it. Smiling, Xena met his clumsy charge and turned his blade aside. She taunted him with each pass, clearly superior in skill, Xena toyed with him.
Ares looked down at the bloodied field and smiled. The sounds of battle filled his ears as he watched. Turning his attention towards Xena, he watched as she dispatched her first challenger with ease and then toyed with the next. "Ah," he thought, "This one is worth my attentions. She will be a great force, and she will be mine."
Xena finally tired of toying with her opponent, brought the hilt of her sword down on him, knocking him unconscious. As she looked around, she saw Pheolia pressed by two raiders and went to her aid. As she got there, Pheolia downed one then the other. Seeing Xena, she moved towards her and motioned off to her left. Lyissa was surrounded by several raiders. They rushed to help their friend, and as the raiders fell, they knew the battle was over.
It ended as quickly as it had begun. Uripitus still astride his horse ordered the prisoners chained and sent others to search for survivors. None of the raiders had escaped, their number reduced by a third, while the patrol had only two casualties and five wounded. They set about the grisly task of collecting their own dead, the fallen raiders left were they had fallen. "Good job." Uripitus shouted out, "Now let's move out. We'll make camp back in the forest then we'll detail out a guard to take these scum back to Pellas and the King's justice."
The ride back was quiet, except for the occasional moan from the wounded. Xena reflected back on the battle, wondering why she would feel such excitement. She never felt that way during her sparring with Pheolia or Lyissa. The last time she felt that way was when she quested for her chakrum. That night, she talked to Pheolia and Lyissa about it, telling them how the excitement grew with each pass she made with her sword.
"I have felt that myself." Pheolia said, "it may just be the excitement of the first battle."
"Listen to your friend Xena." Lyissa told her, "All warriors feel this. In the test of arms, the one who feels nothing usually looses."
Xena tried to take comfort in their words, and placed her concerns in the back of her mind. Much later she would discover that the excitement she felt was not wholly her own. Carefully, Ares fed her with his own feelings of pleasure derived from bloodshed, hoping to slowly bring her to him.
"So you had no idea that Ares was augmenting your feelings to pull you to him?" Gabrielle asked
"No I didn't." Xena replied
"If you did, do you think things would have turned out differently?"
"We'll never know Gabrielle." Xena said, "If Ares hadn't taken an interest in me, If Corteze hadn't attack Amph., who knows? So many things affect the people we become...."
As Xena's voice trailed off, Gabrielle looked at her friend wondering. How much of what Xena was came from her dark years and how much came from the times before that.
"So, you came out of that first battle ok, did you have any more while on this patrol?"
"Well, we spent several weeks out, but the only other fighting we saw was on the return trip to Pellas. It wasn't much of a battle...we out numbered the small scouting party 3 to 1. They didn't have a chance."
"Then you didn't actually face the Warlord and his army..."
"No, winter set in, Usyrus kept his army in their wintering camps. The three of us spent the winter camping around the forests near Pynda." Xena said, "Throughout the winter Pheolia and myself spent every waking hour learning all we could from Lyissa."
"So she taught you everything in one winter?"
"Well, not quite everything," Xena replied, "But we covered most of it."
"WOW!" Gabrielle exclaimed, "That's alot of information."
"Remember Gabrielle, we were already trained in weapons, that is a really big part of any Amazon's training. So we only had the rituals, signal markers, and signs to learn."
"Do you think you could teach me?" Gabrielle asked, "I spent so little time with Ephiny, and it would help me get an inside perspective for my stories.." she added quickly.
Xena looked at her young companion, unsure if it would be wise not to teach her some of the amazon ways. "Ok," she finally said, "We'll start in the morning. We'll go over the signal markers and signs."
Gabrielle beamed. She wasn't sure if Xena would agree. "Thanks Xena." she said, "So how long did you stay together? Did you ever meet Usyrus in battle?"
"Yes, we did meet him and his raiders in battle." Xena said, "I lost Pheolia in that battle....."
Winter started to give way to spring. The three women had traveled all winter around Pynda, stopping at the small villages now and then, but rarely staying more than a day or two. They would help the villagers plan out defenses for raids, seek out hiding places for them, train in techniques to keep themselves, and what healing skills they could. Now that spring quickly approached, they headed back towards Pellas.
Uripitus was more than glad to accept them back into service. "I've never had warriors who fought so well together. You are welcome to join us and with the plans to hunt down Usyrus and his men, I need all the warriors I can get. Be back here tomorrow morning."
The three women left and headed to the market to replenish their supplies. After buying what they needed, they headed out of town to set up camp. The night was cool and after a brief training session, they settled down to rest.
"Soon we shall meet Usyrus' army," Lyissa said with a cold edge to her voice, "And soon my tribe will have its revenge." Xena worried over Lyissa's words. The tone of her words and the look on her face didn't bode well. When they encountered Usyrus, Xena felt Lyissa would be looking to kill him or die in trying.
"We will fight as a team," Pheolia said, "Staying close and each guarding the other, agreed?" Xena nodded her ascent and they both looked to Lyissa.
Lyissa looked at each of them, the fire of revenge burning in her eyes. "Agreed." she finally said, "We are now sisters, to do any less would be a betrayal to all I hold dear." With that said, she turned from the fire and laid down. Xena still worried, her concern showing on her face.
"Xena," Pheolia whispered, "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Lyissa." Xena replied, "I'm worried that her desire for revenge may cause her to make a fatal mistake."
"Yes, I know. I'm worried too." Pheolia said moving closer, "Why do you think I brought up our staying together? This way we can ensure she just rushes off to confront Usyrus." Xena thought about what her friend said. Knowing that Pheolia was also concerned helped to ease some of her anxiety. Knowing that nothing else could be done on this night and that fate would have to play itself out, Xena wished her companion a good night and went to sleep.
The following day they traveled to the practice field where all the warriors had gathered. Uripitus stood out in front and called for their attention, "As you all know we will soon be marching to find and defeat Usyrus' army. We will be outnumbered, but we have something they do not. We have families, friends, and homes to protect." He paced up and down the ranks, gazing at each warrior as he passed. "We will be forming three separate units. Each unit will have a commander and be comprised of one veteran for every two novices. Erupitius will lead one group and Felinos the other, I will lead the last. As you are called out join your group."
Each commander called out the names of their units. Xena, Pheolia, and Lyissa were assigned to Uripitus' unit, she noted that his was the smallest of the three. "It will be your advantage to get to know the fighters in your unit and spend time practicing together. The King has decreed that those warriors having little or no armor will be provided what armor or weapons he has in his armory. Report your need to your unit commander and be at the castle armory at noon." With that, he called his group out to the far side of the practice field as the other two groups separated to different parts also.
"You have all noticed ours is the smallest unit. Our task is to capture Usyrus, preferably alive. We will have to cut through his army to get to him, and with fewer swords it will be all the more difficult.", he said looking at each of them, "I choose you all because of your skills, courage, and stamina. Get to know one another, spar with one another, learn your weaknesses and strengths." He turned away and walked towards the other units, calling out to Euripitus and Felinos as he went.
The ten warriors looked at one another and began pairing off to spar. A young man, no more than 17, walked towards the three warrior women. "Excuse me," he said, "Would any of you care to spar?"
Pheolia accepted his offer and left Xena to spar with Lyissa. Metal meeting metal rang all morning as the warriors spared, they traded partners often to best test each other's skills. When the sun rose mid-sky, Uripitus called a halt and dismissed them until evening. As they walked to the market square, Pheolia spoke about the young warrior she first sparred with.
"He is skilled with the blade," She said, "But he's hasty with his attacks and slow to press his advantage. I tried to help him and I hope he listened well. He will be a great warrior if..." She didn't finish her sentence, they knew what might happen, to any of them. The next day was filled with more practice, and Uripitus spoke to them at length. He once again stressed the importance of their success, the danger involved and how each unit was critical to defeating Usyrus' army.
"Finish up any preparations you need to make tonight," He said at the end, "We assemble at first light and will be departing soon after." He left abruptly twords the castle. Some of the warriors left immediately, others stayed to spare Xena and Lyissa being included. Pheolia left to see the blacksmith about shoeing their mounts. That night they didnt talk as usual, each lost in thoughts. Xena worried about Lyissa, her thoughts running wild as she thought about the coming battle. Pheolia worried about both of her companions, though she would not say anything to Xena about it. She worried over her the most. Lyissa sat, naked blade across her thighs, staring at the metal.
"We better get some sleep," Pheolia said breaking the silence, "Morning will come quickly and we have a hard ride ahead of us."