CHAERONEA

Author: Lysis – February 2012

***Hephaistion fresh off the battlefield at Chaeronea, reflects on losing his horse.

Rating: Excessive gore and the death of a horse.

Chaeronea, Zeus damned Chaeronea. Hephaistion limped wearily off the battlefield repeating the words like a chant in his battle numbed brain. His horse had been killed under him halfway through their charge into the Sacred Band. Helios' his stallion had been lanced through the belly in a place where his field armor had come loose. Hephaistion recalled for the briefest of moments a feeling of shock and cursed.

When the stallion had fallen, it had almost taken him under with it. As it was, it had laid him open to an attack by a Theban hopilite who had jumped in before he had a chance to pull himself free and sliced him open across the forehead. Blood pouring like a torrent down his face, nearly blinding him, he had gutted the man, twisting his sword in brutally thinking he was the man who had killed Helios. For his trouble he had gotten the stink and gore from the man's open belly splashed across his face. He had ended up fighting half the battle on foot though had been given good cover by the other men in his corp.

He kept daubing at the muck with his hand using a piece he had torn from his cloak. He was trying to keep it from his away from his eyes. Already he had fallen twice because he could not see. His left leg poured blood down into his greave from a sword slash above the knee, his right arm and hand ached fiercely from what seemed like hours of slashing, cutting and hacking his way through the Band. It had been a grueling fight that had seemed never to end. Each time one man had gone down another had immediately sprung up to take his place. That damned line of the Band's tightly locked shields he would see it forever in his dreams he was sure of it.

The air stank of blood, piss, shit, and vomit. Battle had started at dawn. He recalled now as he had sat then on his horse waiting the signal to charge the scent of lavender and other aromatic herbs rise in the air as they were trampled underfoot. He doubted it would ever smell sweet here upon this bloodied plain again.

He stumbled over some obstacle and he glanced down, his foot had caught beneath the body of a dead hoplite. For a second he stood there dumbly staring down, swore, and kicked at the body with his other foot until he could move on.

That was unnecessary, he thought as he trudged on scanning the field for any sign of Alexander. It was unnecessary to hack at an already dead body. Dionysius fucking balls! He swore silently and stopped suddenly leaning on the hilt of his sword. He could not recall when he had last felt so weary. Everywhere he looked he saw more horses, scores of them all lying silent and bloodied like Helios had been. He would pause at one now and then if it bore any resemble to his white stallion and prod it to see if it might move.

"Hephaistion!" The voice came to him like the call of the paean as he looked to the right and saw Alexander heading his way urging Bukephalus carefully over the piled bodies.

"Thank the gods!" Hephaistion muttered and raised an arm in greeting. Immediately his spirits lifted. Still astride Bukephalus' back, Alexander took his helmet off, tossed back his hair, and gave a wild shout of joy that resounded across the field and picked up by all Macedonians in hearing range until it echoed around them like thunder.

When he reached him, Alexander jumped off Bukephalus' back and ran to him. Hephaistion felt he was grinning like an idiot a filthy, rank, bloody idiot but did not care. Alexander he noticed did not look much better. He certainly was not a pretty sight now. All he could see of him through the blood on his face was the shine of those blue eyes and the wide grin of his mouth.

"Ah, I see you are in one piece, though a bit worse for wear." Alexander laughed as he slapped Hephaistion across the back.

"Indeed." Hephaistion grunted as he grabbed onto Alexander's arm. "You would scare your Mother silly should she see you now." He studied Alexander who was as muck and blood covered as he was. He was bleeding from a dozen places and seemed not to feel the pain of any of them so great was his joy.

"We have scored a great victory, Hephaistion! Athens will sue for peace now."

"Zeus damned Athenians!" Hephaistion barked as he felt himself beginning to pass out. "Zeus damned Sacred Band, bloody damned fucking hoplites. " He staggered into Alexander who called out for aid. "I lost my damn horse." Hephaistion muttered as he began to sway, he gripped Alexander's shoulder tightly for balance as he struggled to stay upright against the darkness that was trying to overtake him. Alexander grinned into his face, trying to force him down on the litter by his feet, his blood covered teeth exposed in a smile saying.

"I will make sure you get another, one to rival Bukephalus." Hephaistion managed to keep one eye half-open as he tried to study Alexander who seemed to be swaying in and out too.

"You already did that. You gave me Helios." He managed to mumble and swatted at hands pushing him down.

"I will see to it that you get another, even better. I will ask it be awarded to you as your war prize."

"Promise?"

"I swear it by Herakles, now lay back Hephaistion. The battle's over for today." Hephaistion grumbled a little but he consented and finally brushed away the tears from his eyes.

Finis