CHAPTER 14

 

Before dawn, Hephaistion opened his eyes; he was still very tired after his extreme journey from Illyria to central Greece but couldn’t sleep well. All night he thought over and over again the battle, he had never before been in the battlefield and the sieges didn’t count, a siege was fought in a very different way than a classical battle, a siege was more about patience and brute force and siege weapons rather man to man combat. He was feeling very anxious…even after all the action he and Alexander had have last night. His grandfather’s words echoed in his mind: the Sacred Band was indestructible.

 

All was very silent. The soldiers had been up until late but their officers had restore order hours ago, they had to be well rested, and everybody went to sleep in their tents.

 

That cricket again –thought Hephaistion. The insect was the only one making noise…well, besides Alexander’s snoring. Hephaistion had troubles sleeping and woke up with any sound, so for him sleeping with someone who snored was the ultimate love proof. But he wasn’t perfect either, Hephaistion couldn’t sleep without moving, in fact once he had kicked Alexander off the bed in Mieza…they always started the night in the most romantic way, both embraced with their fingers intertwined, and morning always surprised them with Alexander on the floor. 

 

But to love someone, wasn’t just about loving his virtues, it was also about loving his faults. And Hephaistion loved all about Alexander.

 

This morning the Prince didn’t wake up on the floor.

 

Since Hephaistion couldn’t sleep he hadn’t moved in all night. He tried to move now but Alexander was embracing him tightly, with the face hidden in Hephaistion’s neck, breathing slowly. He was convinced that his dear one had some kind of problem embracing people… or embracing him. Hephaistion couldn’t believe that the Prince was able to sleep like that, but then again, Alexander was absolutely sure about their victory, so why he wasn’t going to sleep well? Hephaistion sighed, and took his hand to his forehead, brushing aside his long locks.

 

He had to cut his hair, he remembered himself, but, judging for last night activities, his Prince loved his new look.

 

The cricket stop singing and he could hear noise outside, orders that were shouted and the most vulgar words in pure Macedonian, cursing the officers and the King for waking them up at that ungodly hour. The army was starting to get assemble and he had to get up. There was no reason to stay in bed; after all he couldn’t sleep more. He turned his face and smiled looking at Alexander sleepy face. The Prince slept like a baby, with his lips slightly open, he looked so peaceful that was a shame to wake him up, but he had no choice.

 

Hephaistion kissed his eyelids and the golden arc of his eyelashes trembled.

 

- Alex, wake up –he whispered softly, kissing his cheek—The army is moving.

 

- Mm? –Hephaistion scattered kisses on his face, waking him up slowly. 

 

- Alexy-poo –said Hephaistion sweetly and the Prince opened his eyes.

 

- How did you call me? –his friend laughed.

 

- Why? You don’t like it? You break my heart –Hephaistion faked an offended tone.

 

- Where, in the name of father Zeus, did you get that? –asked Alexander, still in shock after that nickname.

 

- Alexy-poo? Oh that’s how my sister called you –the Prince raised an eyebrow.

 

- Eni? –his friend nodded.

 

- Yes, she was teasing me one day, and started calling you like that –Hephaistion explained before kissing him. Oh, how he loved to kiss him.   

 

- I will have to talk with Eni, about that… Alexy--poo? Honestly, what is she thinking? –the Prince said against his friend’s lips.  

 

- Oh just admit you loved it… it’s a flashy nickname —Hephaistion teased him.

 

Alexander surrounded his waist and slid his hand to his hips, they were still naked and the touch of his beloved’s skin against his worked magic on him.

 

Outside the shouts increased, and they heard the sound of steps and the whinnying of horses. 

 

- We should get up –said Hephaistion, licking Alexander’s lower lip.

 

- In a moment –time seems to stop every time they were together, and in that moment nothing else mattered, not even the eminent battle. The Prince just wanted to be with him, and he was sure that he would kill anyone who dared to separate them. 

 

- Alexander! –Ptolemy booming voice sounded outside his tent—Are you still asleep?

 

- Just ignore him –said Alexander taking him by the thigh, to put Hephaistion’s leg on his own hips.

 

- Alexander, I’m going to enter even if you and Hephaistion are still naked! –Hephaistion blushed and the Prince stopped kissing him. How was that Ptolemy knew Hephaistion was there?—The army is assembling! 

 

- I’m coming! –shouted Alexander back. He snorted.

 

- I guess this will have to wait –Hephaistion stood up.

 

Two pages helped them to put their armor on. The Prince insisted that his best friend should eat something but Hephaistion was too nervous for that, he just drank water and ate a small piece of bread that he felt like a rock when he swallowed it. 

 

Why am I feeling like this? This is not the first time I have to fight, then, why can’t I be calm? –thought Hephaistion walking with Alexander where the rest of their friends were waiting, their horses ready and their arms shinning. It was still dark, but Hephaistion could distinguish the first rays of the sunlight among the clouds.

 

- Joy to you Phai! –said Perdikkas with a strange smiled on his face. He didn’t seem surprised to see his friend there, not the rest of the boys, now that Hephaistion thought about that.

 

- Ready for battle? –asked Leonnatos, wearing his new breastplate.

 

As an answered he only smiled, he didn’t trust his voice.

 

I need to calm down, even Leon is relax –thought Hephaistion.

 

- Alexander, did you tell Hephaistion about his new appointment? –asked Ptolemy, mounting his horse. 

 

- My new appointment? –what were they talking about?

 

- Oh, I forgot –said the Prince, taking Boukephalos by the reins.

 

- I can imagine, after all you were really BUSY last night –said Perdikkas, marking with special emphasis “busy”.

 

- What’s going on here? –Hephaistion wanted to know.

 

- Well, you are no longer in the Ile Basilike, at least not the one the King is commanding –said Alexander, resting his weight in one foot.

 

- What do you mean?

 

- Now that I’m 18, I have my own Ile Basilike, so officially you are in MY squadron –said the Prince and Hephaistion smiled so beautiful that Alexander almost sighed dreamily. 

 

- Great! –exclaimed his friend, he was so happy that he couldn’t find the correct words to describe what he was feeling in that moment. At last his luck was changing.

 

- The bad news is: Philotas and Cassander are with us, too –Perdikkas complained.

 

Screw them! I’m under the direct orders of my Alexander –thought Hephaistion, he wanted to dance in that ridiculous way he used to do when he was extremely happy and that made the Prince laugh. 

 

Women in that time as in any other time, loved men with uniform, so when the army started to assemble all the women in the camp, the slaves, servants, concubines, lovers, prostitutes, camp followers…all of them went out to see the soldiers. The prostitutes and the most uneducated women shouted all kind of vulgar words to the men. But, when the turn came for the Prince’s Ile Basilike to pass in front of them, suddenly all the women kept silent, admiring the vision of beauty that was Hephaistion.

 

The heavy silence, which reminded the ceremonies of the Gods’ Temples, made the men to turn wanting to know what had happened, and they found the women mouth open following with their eyes one rider as if they were one entity. 

 

- What happened to them? –asked Philotas annoyed, following the rest of the squadron on his gray horse.

 

Cassander smiled with mockery.

 

Perdikkas followed the women’s gaze and saw Hephaistion making a supreme effort to keep his eyes to the front and remain calm on his outstanding white stallion, which could have passed for Pegasus. He was gorgeous with his armor shining, his black cloak embroidered by his sister on the edges, the two kopis on his back, 2 xyston (spears), his helmet and one shield hanging from the horse saddle. His long bronze-gold hair again on a ponytail, like a cascade of silk.   

 

Not too far for there, the King was ready to go, his purple cloak, the color of the royalty, dancing at the wind’s mercy, with Parmelio and Melas Kleitos behind him, when he saw Amyntor running to him. Hephaistion’s father was tired, sweating and covered in dust; he had rode as fast as he could to reach the King with his news.

 

- Amyntor –said Philip, while one the pages arrived with his horse—News from the Athenians? 

 

- Yes sire –said Amyntor, taking a deep breath to regain his composure—The commander in chief of Athens is Chares –Kleitos rudely laughed and Parmelio thanked the Gods.

 

- Those are excellent news, Amyntor –said the King happy; he was starting with the right foot. Chares was a stupid, to say the least. Athens best generals were dead by now so, the city had nobody better for the job that Chares—Did you tell them about the peace proposal?    

 

- Yes sire, commander Phokion was very interested in the proposal, he wanted to end this in a peaceful way but Demosthenes imposed his opinion –said Amyntor, coughing, he even had dust in his throat.

 

- Bring water to the general –asked the King to the pages—What did Demosthenes say? 

 

- Same as usual, but this time he went as far as saying that the Delphic Oracle had made bad pronouncements because you had paid the Pythia –the page returned and Amyntor drank quickly from the cup.

 

- Good, then we have no other choice but to fight, you can rest while…—but Philip’s words were drowned by hysterical screams.

 

The King, his men, his guards, even the pages took their swords expecting a surprise attack but instead they saw the women screaming as if their life depended on it.

 

- What, in the name of Ares and all the Gods of Olympus, is happening? –asked Philip and the answer appeared before him riding on a white horse.

 

The King opened his eyes so much that one of the pages chuckled. Even Kleitos and Permelio thought that one of the Gods had fallen from Mount Olympus. Was that Hephaistion? Even his own father had troubles recognizing him; he looked like beauty incarnated, he made the gods’ statues look disproportionate and ugly.

 

- Sire? –asked Amyntor, but Philip was one step ready to drool and scream girlishly in front of his army, and that told Amyntor all he wanted to know.

 

He frowned. If he still had doubts about the King interest in his son now all was clear, but he was intrigued, had Philip done something to Hephaistion? Told him something? Made some kind of proposal? Or was just impressed with his son’s beauty? Knowing the King as he knew him he was preoccupy, but Hephaistion didn’t say anything…Amyntor would have to investigate.   

  

- Phai! Are you not going to blow them a kiss? –asked Ptolemy, rising his voice to be heard over the screams.

 

- Shut up! –said Hephaistion trying not to blush. One thing was to have the peasant girls screaming in Mieza, but other completely different to have women screaming in front of the entire army a few moments before one of the most important battles of the ancient world.

 

He was officially embarrassed.

 

- Kiddo! –Hephaistion recognized his friend Kryriakos, and for a moment he was tempted not to turn—Kiddo!

 

He turned.

 

- Kryriakos! –Hephaistion tried to sound as if he hadn’t an army of screaming women behind him.

 

His friend was ready, in full armor, shield in his left arm and the sarissa up in his right hand; surrounded by his squadron companions all veterans forged in the hardest battles.

 

- Kiddo, why you didn’t tell me that you had this power over women? –said the pezhetairoi—You make them more wet than Dios (1) –Kryriakos’ companions roar with laughter and also Hephaistion’s friends laughed.

 

“Men didn’t trust handsome men” –had said his grandfather. And now he was starting to see thing more clearly. He just sighed and followed Alexander, who was very silent.

 

- Aren’t you going to say something? –asked Hephaistion, riding at his side.

 

- Do you want me to say something? –Alexander had his eyes on the front.

 

- No! Is just…are you mad? –the Prince was in a strange mood, but he couldn’t tell what exactly happened to him.

 

- Not with you –was the mysterious answer.

 

Maybe he is jealous –thought Hephaistion—But that is ridiculous, is not like I enjoy this kind of attention.

 

They arrived to the place where Aristander, the official seer, was going to sacrifice a lamb in order to read the omens for that day. A platform with a wooden altar had been built for the occasion and the old, extremely thin man with a long gray beard and a crazy look in his eyes, took a ceremonial knife to cut the poor lamb that looked at him with big black eyes ignoring his own future. Hephaistion puffed out, bored, very bored. He didn’t believe in those things and considered all this ritual a waste of time…but Alexander believed in the gods and since this was important to him he tried to put his most pious face.      

 

As always, the omens were good. Hephaistion hadn’t heard of any seer that made bad omens before a battle. That would be something funny to see.

 

Looking around, there's no fear in your heart

for I know you will never surrender.

Everyone here raise their eyes to the sky.

Now, with strength and with honor we fight!

We'll show no mercy as they fall!

We'll show no mercy -- slay them all!

'Til death engulfs us, we won't fall!

The fire burns inside!

 

Now prepare for war!

 

War!

(Dragonforce. Prepare for war)

 

 

It was August; a date now known as 338 BC. Chaeronea was in Central Greece and the battle took place in a zone used as cornfields, a perfect place to deploy the famous and unstoppable Macedonia phalanxes. Hephaistion saw how all the units took their places: at his right side, on the right wing was King Philip commanding the hypaspists, his elite infantry, at the center were the phalanxes, almost 9 thousand men divided in 6 taxeis in rows of 5 men deep.

 

This is unusual –thought Hephaistion, the lines were too thing, but he supposed that was because of the battle strategy. He blushed remembering how Alexander had explained to him the strategy, and cleared his throat. Why was he so nervous?  

 

At the Macedonian left wing was the entire hetairoi cavalry under the command of the Crown Prince. 2 thousand men under the orders of a 18 years old boy. Alastor moved his head nervous, and Hephaistion patted his horse. He could see the Sacred Band in front of them, commanding the Theban forces. Theagenes was the commander in chief of the Thebans. 300 men in charged of 12 thousand. The hetairoi cavalry not only needed to defeat the undefeated Sacred Band, the Shadow of Death, but also eliminate 12 thousand men, trained and ferocious men, not like the Athenians.

 

Now he understood why he was so nervous. He feared for Alexander. Not only he could die in the battlefield, if things went wrong and they were incapable of overcoming the impossible, the Prince’s reputation will be compromise, and Hephaistion couldn’t allow that to happen.   

 

Even if it cost me my life, we will destroy the Thebans –Hephaistion vowed, taking his horse reins with force.

 

In front of the Macedonian lines, the enemy was ready and formed as Alexander said they would. The Athenians facing the King, 10 thousand hoplites lead by Statocles and at their center allied contingents and 5 thousand mercenaries. The cavalry was behind them, in reserve.

 

- Phai, you are too serious –said Leonnatos, checking his sword belt.

 

- He is scared –said Philotas, with an ugly smiled.

 

- I’m not –Hephaistion replied, speaking louder than he had wanted. Lately he had no patience around Parmelio’s son.

 

- Maybe you want to fight on the other side, isn’t your family from Athens? –Philotas teased him.

 

- That’s enough, Philotas –Alexander intervened, his uneven eyes on the enemy.     

 

- Yes, sir. I didn’t mean to offend your…I’m sorry, I don’t know how to call him after all his noisy display of last night –said Philotas nastily.

 

Alexander turned to face him; he looked impressive in his armor.

 

- What do you mean? –asked the Prince, voicing his best friend’s thoughts.

 

- I’m just saying what everybody here is thinking; the entire army heard Hephaistion’s pleasure moans last night –Hephaistion opened his eyes in astonishment, he thought Philotas was lying, but when he saw his friends faces he knew it was true. Now he understood why Ptolemy knew he was in the Prince’s tent and why Leonnatos and Perdikkas weren’t surprised to see him. Oh how embarrassing.

 

- So? Do you have a problem with me sleeping with MY eromenos? –asked Alexander with all calm—Oh! I get it, what bothers you is that he is MY eromenos, not yours, but as long as I remember Hephaistion turned you down, isn’t that right? 

 

Now it was Philotas turn to blush, nobody knew that he had asked Hephaistion to accept him as his erastes… well with the exception of the Prince and Nikandros, and the Prince had said that louder enough to be heard by the entire hetairoi cavalry. Perdikkas started laughing the same as Cassander.    

 

This is unbelievable, we are about to engage battle against Thebes and Athens and we are laughing because I rejected Philotas, who would have said it –thought Hephaistion. But he had to admit that thanks to that he was starting to feel better.

 

Thebans right wing:

 

Among the lines of the Boetians was a young man of 18 years old named Paris (2) son of Nikolaos. In Thebes Paris was well know, not only because his obvious beauty, but also because of his family wealth, his father was one of the most prominent men in Thebes and Paris was his older son and heir, every girl in the city wanted to become his wife, they had wept when he parted to this battle and made sacrifices to the Gods to assure his safe return.

 

Paris changed his weight from one foot to other, he was very anxious, this was his first battle, and he was scared. He had been trained but had never been in the battlefield, and now he had to fight against so formidable enemy, the legendary hetairoi cavalry.  

 

- We will kick this Macedonians so hard, that they would run like dogs back to their kingdom –said one men, not far from Paris, and the others laughed.

 

Paris couldn’t laugh, he was too nervous, he felt a nod in his stomach and many times had the urge to vomit, but he made an effort to stay calm. He stretched his neck to see the men of the Sacred Band at the front, impressive in their armors, an impenetrable wall with death promises.

 

We can’t lose –thought Paris. It was impossible to defeat the Sacred Band and, and who can defeat the impossible? 

 

- The King put his son in charge of his cavalry? –said another man.

 

- I told you, he is insane or he has run out of good generals.

 

- How old is his lad?

 

- 17 or 18 years old.

 

- My son is older.

 

- You mean your wife’s lover son, because he doesn’t look like you –the men around Paris rudely laughed.

 

Maybe that were they way of fighting their nervousness before a battle. Paris wanted to faint, but he had to stay where he was, for his father, he couldn’t dishonor him.

 

Macedonian right wing:

 

Philip scanned the area with his good eye; everything was according to his plans. Behind his forces was a high ground by the banks of a small stream, the Haemus or Blood River, but he had already decided how to take advantage of the ground.

 

- Sire, we are ready –said one of his officers, and the King nodded. The sun was shining with all intensity but was still early to feel the heat.

 

Philip knew he had to win this battle, if he failed he would never made his dream true, the dream of invading Asia. All his life he had waited for the moment to become the Champion of Greece and take an impressive army to the Persian Empire, but now that dream was fading. If he couldn’t be their Champion, then he would be their hegemon, their leader, their master.

 

He couldn’t lose.

 

- Give the order for the pezhetairoi to advance –Philip ordered.

 

Macedonian center: 

 

Kryriakos heard when the orders were shouted. The offices of each taxei, were at the right side of their battalions, and they advanced in perfect order, rank after rank, sarissas to the front. Each unit looking like a gigantic pincushion. This was the formation Philip had created after years as a hostage in Thebes. He had learned so much from Thebes and now he was going to crash his army with that knowledge. 

 

The Macedonian phalanx formation offered and impressive view, his long spears made impossible to approach the men behind them and the angle in which the sarissas were held deflected arrows or javelins. The phalanx was created to attack with destructive force rather than flexibility and haste and nothing in front of it survive.

 

The phalanx had never been defeated before but the Athenians were sure to be the first ones in demonstrate that Philip was not infallible. 

 

Thebans right wing:

 

Paris saw with awe the advance of the Macedonian phalanxes, the fierce discipline was clear even to him, those were men forged in many battles, he had no doubt. And the young Theban was relieved, knowing that he wouldn’t be fighting against them, he couldn’t find a weak point in their formation. For him they were like a hydra, with many heads and ready to kill whoever dared to stand in its way. 

 

Macedonian right wing:

 

Philip waited a few moments, watching the battlefield with all his attention, then he said:

 

- Send the order for the hypaspist to advance.

 

The air was fill with shouts, and the ranks of the elite infantry advanced, their orders were simple, they had to slightly out-flanked the Athenian left, while the Macedonian center and left wing were echeloned back at an angle from the Greek line (3) Easier said than done, but they were the best in what they did and they would demonstrate why the were the finest troops in the world.  

 

Allied center:

 

The ranks of hoplites advanced to encounter their deadly enemy and soon the first screams of the wounded started to be heard. It was insane to fight a phalanx at the front, the palisade of spears charge in the blood of its enemies when someone tried to approach too much. But the hoplites were stubborn and fought back with all their might.

 

All the men felt their hearts beat in a frantic rhythm, savage instincts replaced the civil men under the armors, they weren’t Greeks or Macedonians, in that moment they were wild beings ready to kill and destroy their enemies. A hurricane of sounds, colors and forms surrounded every man as they fight their way through the phalanx lines, but their efforts appeared to be in vain. 

 

Athenian left wing:

 

Statocles, the Athenian general, gave the order for the left wing to advance when he saw the hypaspist movements. And the Athenian hoplites ran to face their enemies, making the most of their momentum, to take advantage of their charge.

 

The clash between the 2 forces was merciless and the blood started to flow, the first bodies fell and left spaces among the lines that quickly were covered by another man. The corpses accumulated on the ground and their comrades and their enemies stepped over them in their ferocious fight. Friends, brothers, cousins… dead bodies were all the same in the battlefield, there was no time to weep or to stop, the only thing that mattered in that moment was to advance.

 

Macedonian left wing:  

 

Hephaistion tighten his grip on the reins. He had a very good view of the battle and saw the moment when the infantry started to give ground, retreating in perfect order, without loosing their formation. That was almost impossible to archive, but then again this was the finest army in the world. Hephaistion knew they had to wait for the right moment to attack but one thing was say it and another very different to do it. Men where dying on the battlefield, they were not pieces on a game board, they were men with families, friends and dear ones, how many stories were ended in that moment?

 

He turned to see Alexander, but the Prince looked like somebody else, somebody he didn’t know. He was extremely calm, studying the battlefield, aware of what was happening in every corner. Hephaistion thought that, if the Gods existed, they must saw mankind like Alexander saw the battlefield in that moment, as if he were beyond the suffering, the blood, the shouts… beyond everything.

 

- Shouldn’t we go and help them? –asked Leonnatos, feeling his mouth dry. He had fought against the Maedi but there things had been easier and they didn’t have to wait, and the wait was killing him.

 

Leonnatos, as the rest of his companions, wanted to fight, seeing their fellow countrymen dying made his blood burn. 

 

- Not yet –was Alexander answer, even his voice sound different in that moment.

 

Macedonian center:

 

- Sons of a bad Mother! –shouted Kryriakos, retreating step by step. They were arriving at the high ground behind them.

 

The Greeks were fighting like demons from Hades, strongly motivated when they saw the Macedonians retreating.

 

Athenian rearguard, 

 

Statocles, the Athenian general in charge of the left wing, went insane when he saw the Macedonians giving ground. He couldn’t believe it, he would make history by defeating the Macedonians. 

 

- They are retreating! –he exclaimed laughing—The all mighty King Philip is retreating!

 

His military staff, with Demosthenes at the front, cheered and shouted in delight.

 

- We must destroy them –Demosthenes urged him and the commander in chief, Chares—Now is our chance to end Philip’s barbaric tyranny.

 

The rest of the Athenian agreed with him, except Phokion.

 

- I’m not so sure, this doesn’t look good –said Phokion, scratching his chin, his eyes on the battlefield.

 

- What part doesn’t look good enough for you? –Demosthenes faced him, angry at his lack of excitement. They had the victory at hand.

 

- This…situation, is weird, why are they retreating? –Demosthenes rolled his eyes, he considered Phokion a moron and since he spoke in favor of a peace treaty with Philip Demosthenes had accused him of treason, and had threatened to denounce him in front of the people of Athens.

 

- Why? Philip is scared of us, why else have he been insisting so much with a peace treaty? He knows Athens power, that’s why –the men around the Athenian orator nodded in agreement. Phokion had his doubts but nobody paid him any attention, they were savoring the glory, already thinking about the great honors they would receive from the city in reward for their services.

 

Demosthenes went as far as imagine a statue of himself in the agora. 

 

Stratocles rode to his men, and started shouting, completely loosing his head:

 

- “Come on, let’s drive them back to Macedonia!”(3)  

 

Macedonian right wing,

 

Philip saw his men reaching high ground, and then he gave the order to halt and start attacking.

 

- Now Alexander has to attack –said the King to general Attalos at his side.

 

Attalos was a strange fellow. He had 52 years old but all his hair was gray, he had a square jaw and usually he was perfectly shaven, his eyes were small and pale blue and he had an ugly smile, it was as if every time he smiled a puppy died. He had recently married Parmelio’s 19 years old daughter, Daphne and since this marriage alliance he started to have more presence in court. Before that nobody knew him and now he was at the right side of the King.

 

Time passed but the Prince didn’t move, he stayed where he was with the entire hetairoi cavalry waiting. And that enraged his father. 

 

- Bloody lad! What the hell is he waiting for? –asked Philip so furious that he looked as purple as his cloak.

 

- Perhaps he is betraying you, sire –said Attalos in a malicious tone.

 

- Betraying me? –the King had never thought about that possibility—What do you mean?

 

Attalos shrugged.

 

- I mean what I said, sire. Maybe he is plotting against you with the Queen, and what better opportunity to destroy you than this, after all he has the hetairoi cavalry with him, and he know the power he is holding right now –said the General.

 

 Philip clenched his jaw.

 

- You! Ride to the Prince and say to him that the Kings orders to attack in this moment –the King roared to a page, and the poor boy ran to obey. 

 

Macedonian left wing,

 

- Alexander, shouldn’t we attack now? –asked Ptolemy, watching the savage battle at the center and left wing.

 

Everybody was nervous and anxious to enter the fight, a lot of men turned to see the Prince expecting and pressing him with their gazes and silence to take action.

 

- Not yet.

 

Melas Kleitos arrived where the Prince was, he looked angry and he didn’t measure his words when he spoke.

 

- Give the order to attack –said the commander of the Ile Basilike, as if he was talking to a rebel child.  

 

Bad thing that Kleitos had known Alexander since he was born, after all his sister was his nurse, and that made him act with a liberty that sounded like rudeness.

 

- It’s not the right moment –said the Prince for the fiftieth time.

 

- You have been saying that all the battle –Kleitos complained—What are you waiting? Do you want the enemy to destroy our infantry?

 

The Prince turned to see him, his eyes like the ones of a beast, glowing dangerously made Kleitos shivered.

 

- Don’t you dare to talk to me like that –his voice was dangerous, he was clearly angry and all the men around him turned they faces away, all except Hephaistion.

 

A page came riding, directly to the Prince.

 

- Alexander, someone is coming –Hephaistion pointed out, to distract him, and the Prince turned, leaving Kleitos.

 

- Alexander –said the page, arriving without breath—The King sent me, he… orders to attack immediately.

 

The Prince saw the battlefield, the Thebans hadn’t moved since the battle began, holding their ground, but…

 

He nodded.

 

- Tell the King that I will attack when I think is the right moment –that answer made his friends to gasp.

 

Hephaistion narrowed his eyes; he trusted Alexander blindly and if he said it wasn’t the right moment, then it wasn’t, but that would enrage the King. The page saw the Prince in horror, expecting that in any moment he would say that he was joking, but the look in his eyes told another thing.

 

- A-Alexander…

 

- Tell the King what I told you –said Alexander—Don’t worry I know what I’m doing.

 

- You are going to be the end of us all –mutter Kleitos.

 

Macedonian right wing,

 

- He said WHAT?! –exclaimed the King, when he heard the reply from the page’s lips.

 

- T-that, he would attack when he thinks is the right moment –said the terrify page. 

 

The King shouted furiously, scaring the men around him. Attalos smiled.

 

- Who does he think he is to know more than the King?

 

- This is treason! –exclaimed one of Attalos’ men. 

 

Philip clenched his jaw painfully. What was he going to do now? He couldn’t lose, and if he had to kill his son in order to win he was ready to do so.

 

Macedonian left wing,

 

Alexander continued watching the battlefield, and behind him his friends exchanged nervous looks. Every man in the hetairoi cavalry was thinking the same thing, why haven’t they attack yet? Hephaistion knew there was a reason behind this odd behavior, but if the Prince didn’t hurry he would have a mutiny.

 

Then, Alexander opened his eyes. There! A gap had opened, and now was the right moment to attack.

 

XXX

(1) Dios: the Macedonian month of October. October is the start of the raining season.

(2) Again it’s a personal joke, but it will become clear in future chapters why I chose this name.

(3) and (4) Peter Green. Alexander of Macedon, p 75