Well, it seems that I have kept to my Bi-monthly schedule! I hope you all enjoy this installment of Death, The 'Last' Great Adventure.
Chapter Two
Everyday Shenanigans
With Horus and Shinji
One Week Later
The Being woke with a start when a sharp ratatata resounded of the wooden frame of the rooms only door. The Being scowled and grumbled under his breath. Ever since coming to this new world it had been forced to keep to a similar sleep schedule as the child. It was hard for him to do much, even just staying in one spot seemed to drain him of energy as the day wore on. Doing simple things, like lifting objects, wore him out even faster than if he had done nothing. It was odd for him, like exercising a muscle hadn't known he had until recently. It was more than a bit frustrating.
The one thing that was looking up for him though was that, with each passing day, he could expend half again as much energy as the day before. It wasn't much, but with each day he was able to lift heavier and heavier things to help Shinji out around the house.
Something else he had noticed was that he could only interact with things that eh boy himself had touched, or been in the presence of recently. Once more, the Being scowled and released his pent-up anger in a seething sigh of frustration.
"Wake up you brat! It's time for breakfast! Get in here!" The man shouted.
"MMmm, I'm `ake!" Shinji yawned out. His voice caught and warbled for a bit. The Being chuckled soundlessly at the rather cute action. While Shinji nimbly got to his feet and readied himself for the day; making his bed, changing into proper clothes, and brushing his unruly morning bed head, the Being got to his feet.
"Shinji." The boy turned around and looked up into the Being's clear blue eyes.
"Ye~ah, Horus-san?" The child asked. The Being, Horus, the Lupercalian of Cthonia and Warmaster of the Great Crusade, Arch-Traitor of all mankind, Redeemed Son of the Emperor, and longest-lived thing in the known Galaxies.
"It is time to awaken little son, the man wishes for breakfast, I do not wish to see you harmed yet again…," Horus scowled sullenly at the memory that evoked. Just yesterday the man had smashed his plate over Shinji's head for not making breakfast to his exacting specifications. It was also the first day that Horus realized that he was feeling more than just a bit protective of the child he had come to be anchored to.
"Ah… Okay."
"Yes."
"Did you come up with any ideas about how you got here? And why you are stuck with me?" As much as the man downstairs would rave at Shinji for being an idiot, the boy was anything but. Horus had trained with many aspirants back on Cthonia, fought, with and against, hundreds of thousands of different kinds of people over his long life, and few could talk with him on a familiar level of understanding.
"No, not yet at least. It is frustrating to know that somewhere out there is the answer, but to have it so far out of reach is quite irritating," Horus lamented with a weary sigh.
"That does sound frustrating. Well, I will go down and prepare his food," Shinji slipped on some socks and gently padded towards the door. The little boy stopped, however, right on the threshold and turned back to look at Horus. "Will we continue our lessons when I'm done? I really liked the stories about your father… He sounds like a good man, if a bit scary," the raven-haired boy smiled tenderly up at the once-arch-traitor of mankind, his ultramarine blue eyes seemed to sparkle with hidden wanderlust and excitement. It touched something deep within the Ancient Primarchs heart to see such excitement, and at something he could give, willingly at that.
"That is fine with me Shinji; we will have to continue our other subjects first though, I do not want to just bog your mind down with stories of glories past. You must be a well-rounded individual to operate in a communal society such as yours."
"Of course, Hours-san, I wouldn't have it any other way! Your lessons are far more interesting than Sensei's any day!" Shinji giggled boyishly and rocketed out of the room and down the stairs.
'He is a special boy… He knows things that make it impossible for him to get along with children his own age… And even those much older than him. I would say he was more than just a child if I was not able to go back and see his birth. The gift of pre-sight is something of a boon it seems… But to know that this world has suffered because of those creatures is insane. The glimpses of the Future are never set in stone… But what I see is … Horrifying for the boy. If not prepared, he will die, and millions, if not the entirety of Humanity will die. I will Mold him, teach him, clad hi in armors both physical and mental, bend his body but never break it, bend his will to snap and then reforge it in the irons of my father's teachings. He will be what I was supposed to be and so much more.
Death will not hold him, fate shall not keep him, his enemies will fear him, his allies will praise him, and his loved ones will be many and plentiful. Destiny will reveal itself for what it has made me do unto this boy.' Horus smiled evilly at that thought.
"And in Fire, I shall Forge him, the Neo-Emperor of Mankind. Clad in golden Adamantium and mithril he shall conquer the stars and beyond. His will shall shape nations, mold peoples, and charge souls. And I will give freely of myself to be commanded by him when he has become that which I once loved and reviled. He shall be my son, warrior of the Universe and beyond." Horus chuckled soundlessly to himself.
Shinji had finished preparing the food his Sensei requested and was just about to lay it on the small table in the living room when he heard the man walk in.
"It seems… Edible, at least," The man sniffed. He did not sound displeased, but not exactly happy either at the accomplishment. No one should expect a boy, one of three years at least, to make a meal of any kind besides cereal and Milk. So, for a boy so young to have made a Traditional Tamago Kake Gohan for breakfast should be astonishing. It had taken Shinji only three days to get everything down on how to make it, something that would have heralded him as a genius anywhere else.
His Sensei on the other hand simply brushed him aside and with a grunt and tucked into the food his 'student' had prepared. He tasted the Rice and Egg Yoke first, he made some sort of gagging noise that sounded closer to a laugh than anything else. He shot Shinji a scathing sidelong glance. He looked back and picked at one of the Unami Shinji had prepared. The man scowled and scrunched his nose up at it. Shinji thought it smelt heavenly, but apparently, his teacher thought it was simply passable.
"This is… Passable. Prepare this every morning, no exceptions, unless I tell you otherwise. I will give you a paper if I decide to have you make something different. You will always follow its instructions, is this clear?" The man's voice brooked no argument, but Shinji simply paid him little mind. He may be his 'sensei' but he was nothing like Horus, brilliant, soothing Horus who quelled all his fears and brought forth a wellspring of confidence the likes he had never had.
"Very well, Sensei," Shinji bowed at the waist and stayed that way until his Sensei left the room. He had learned the day before that doing anything else with the man would get him a sharp reprimand in the form of a cane to the shins. Shinji knew it was a deliberate attack, something to do with how his name sounded so much like Shin, to begin with.
Shinji quickly cleaned up what little dishes his Sensei had used, no matter how little the man had eaten from them, and left the other half of the meal on the table. Once he had cleaned, rinsed, and dried the dishes he sat down and ate his own half of the meal. It was just as tasty as he had thought it would be. Savory, warm, and light on his little tummy.
A soft glow of contentment enveloped him from tip to toe. He gladly went about the rest of his chores, putting dishes back, sweeping the floors, cleaning the entryway, and doing what little laundry had accumulated in the house. Once he was done with that, Shinji walked out of the living room, a sparse room with doors on the North and eastern walls and almost nothing else but a small table with pillow seats in its center. He trapped out of the west door and out into the entryway, he peered around down either side of the staircase that led up to his room in search of his Sensei, he found none. He looked down the eastern hall that ran the length of Synoske's room and towards the garage. The door was closed, the light was off, and there was no further sign that his Sensei was even in the house anymore.
That all suited Shinji just perfectly. He smiled to himself and ran up the stairs, taking them easily as if he had been doing it every day of his life, and rounded the corner. He entered the short hallway and shot off towards his room with all the energy a three-year-old could manage.
"Horus!" Shinji whispered as he carefully scoped out his room, he saw his favorite person sitting at his desk, a piece of paper on hand with a pencil between two thick, deceptively dexterous, fingers. The man in white robes looked up and smiled at Shinji with an appreciative air.
Every time Shinji found him smiling at him like that it sent a shiver of something through his system. He felt warm like he was wrapped in the heat of a fire without the pain. It enveloped him and coddled him, it swept him away and promised him protection and comfort for any reason and from anyone. It was awesome in its intensity and made him all the more appreciative of his caregiver's presence.
The fact that the man was also his sworn teacher -something Horus had done of his own volition- was just another thing that endeared the giant of a man to him.
"How did your cooking go, Shinji? Did the man eat it finally?" Horus asked. His inquisitive air made the little boy giggle like a child for the second time that day. That had the effect of making Horus himself smile.
"Yes, Horus-San. Synoske-sensei said that the food was 'Passable' and he ate a bit of it. I had mine and thought it was pretty amazing myself. Granted, seeing as I was the one that made it that just means that my mind already knew it was good… Which is an odd sensation, to know that my mind perceives things different depending on who made it and when… Very odd indeed," Shinji muttered, half to himself and half to Horus. He walked in and sat on his bed, mind occupied with his own self-made dilemma.
Horus blinked owlishly and laughed at his student's ponderings. It was something like what he had done when learning from his father so many years ago. It brought back more than a few fond memories and made him think upon his past in a more positive light than he had in many years.
"Do not ponder too long, student mine, we must still proceed with your lessons on history and geography. Then we will look into your maths once more. 'Tis still a puzzle to me how a people so structured around the firm reality of math can be so single-minded in its application. Do you think so Shinji?"
"Hmm?" Shinji looked up from his ponderings and stared wide-eyed at his mentor. "About?"
"The single-mindedness of maths"
"How is it single-minded?"
"Advancement for its own right and the application of maths."
"Well, the maths I know of are used in creating expensive pieces of machinery and other large-scale constructions. Weapons of mass destruction, lunar rockets, mile-high towers, and expansive bridges that cross entire oceans come to mind. But I think that that is not what you mean. Math has, in some places become its own religious fount. Hmm, Math for its own sake is pointless, unless it is going towards a destination… Then are you saying that math should be used for something different?"
"Very good Shinji. And yes, You will grasp it in time, but Math can lead to places greater than the physical realm. I know, for I have seen them, and resided within them. You know this, for I have told you stories of this. Now! To begin our lesson! Who was the greatest emperor of Rome during the first century AD?"
"How was General Custer finally defeated?"
"His arrogance. He believed that he could crush the Native forces with an overwhelming encirclement. His forces were exhausted from the long march. This, along with the fact that the 7th regiment was outmatched heavily in the favor of the Native forces, contributed to his defeat and later death at the battle of Little Big-Horn."
"Passable, but not perfect. It will work for now. Shinji, I have Ten thousand men at my command, the walls of my city are forty feet tall and seventeen feet thick. There are four major towers that allow for anti-artillery weapons to be placed on them. I am facing an army of one hundred thousand.
MY forces are outnumbered ten to one. How should I defend against this army?" Horus asked with a stern look about him. His shoulders were set and his eyes held secrets that would either help or hamper, Shinji's plans.
"First I have questions."
"Very well."
"How many people are in the city? What is its strategic importance? What type of trade does it have and what are its imports and exports? How much food is stockpiled within the city at the moment? How far from the walls are the civilians housed? Where is the Center of town? Is there a moat? What kind of weapons are we using, and what is my enemy using?"
"There are two hundred thousand civilians within the city. The city is the last stronghold still held by your side before the enemy can get to the Capital which is set in a mountain. The city exports lumber and metal ore to other cities in exchange for grain and spices. There is a three month supply of food within the city, this includes the stockpile. The houses are a minimum twenty feet from the walls. The town center, the castle proper, is located towards the northernmost part of the city towards its center. There is a fifty foot wide, ten-foot deep moat that sits around the city. You are using Medieval era type weapons, your enemy is using late Iron age weapons. They are technologically deficient to you. They, however, do have artillery type weapons within their inventory. Trebuchets, Ballistas, Catapults, mangonel, and other such weapons of mass destruction are within their purview.
Does that answer your questions?"
"What people are they? Who are my people?"
"The invaders are Byzantine, You are Catholic Romans."
"So… I am facing the Defunct Byzantine Empire while advocating the Roman Catholic church?" Horus nodded.
"Okay. Where is my enemy?"
"Northeast by east. They have eighty thousand men positioned outside the only exit on that side of the city. The other twenty thousand soldiers are in position over the southwestern entrance to the city. The southeastern entrance is more easily defended by the southern tower. The North and Eastern towers though are more easily able to cover the other gate."
"What do I have on the towers?"
"Basic Catapults. Max range is five hundred feet. A limited supply of fifty shots per tower."
"Okay. What is the firing arc for the catapults?"
"Sixty feet up at thirty a forty-five-degree angle."
"Okay."
"?"
"First. Decommission the western tower. Move its parts behind the Southwestern gate. Take twenty f its shots and divide them up between the north and eastern towers. Move three thousand men to man the northeastern gate. Move the rest to man the southern. Displace ten thousand people and pay them to build three catapults along the southwestern front. Break down the buildings along both gates and turn the rubble into shrapnel for the catapults. Build two secondary catapults near the north gate.
What kind of Herbs, Spices, and poisons, do we have in storage?"
"Aconite, Cumin, Jalapeno, Turmeric, Thyme, Rosemary, Cilantro, Parsley, Carrot powder, Sesame, Poppy, and Cinnamon. All of it is dried."
"Hmm… Ground up the cinnamon, jalapenos, and turmeric. Have the people put them into thin-walled clay jars… Is there gunpowder and phosphorus?"
"Yes, and yes."
"Have the aconite ground into a fine paste… Grind up the poppy seeds as well… Mix both together…. Is the Moat outside linked to the cities living condition? Does it feed the water supply?"
"No."
"Then we will dump the mix of Poppy seed dust and Aconite into the moat at night. Hmm conscript the men and put them into the armor of the men holding the southern gate. Get everyone else set up in the peasant clothes… Do they have enough daggers?"
"Yes…"
"Good… Wait for night. Arm the men with the caustic bombs I had them make. Have the men cross the moat and filter into the enemy encampments. Have them integrate with them and spread out as evenly as possible. After the assault ends on the next night have the men don some of the enemies armor, tie off a single red strip of fabric around their heads to signify who they are aligned with. Once the moon is high in the night, have them set off all the bombs in both encampments. Order both sets of Catapults to arm themselves with the ruble from the buildings and wait for my signal.
From there, wait for the men to gather outside of the encampment. Once their signal torch is set, order the catapults to launch. After the fifth volley, on the southern side let down the gate and order the peasant men to come out and face the beleaguered forces of the Byzantine Empire.
The seven thousand men from earlier will circle around and keep all stragglers from leaving the combat area. From there we will eradicate the southern force and then move back into the city.
What is the enemies response?"
"The enemy staggers. The onslaught from the catapults puts them off guard and on the defensive. The army splits in two upon daybreak. One goes directly south and sets up camp just off the side of the southeastern wall. The other half of the enemy finishes their siege weapons and begins to fire back. A few thousand troops drink from the poisoned water and become severely ill. All but a few die, cutting the now seventy thousand strong armies down to sixty-three thousand."
"Wait three days, recuperate and refuel. How much spice is left?"
"Hmm," Horus contemplated what kind of resources he should give his young protege. The boy had already devastated a force thrice his size with minimal losses. Soe chaos and bloodlust through the enemy ranks, and forced them to kill each other in the darkest hours of the night. "There is still some cinnamon, Jalapeno, and Cumin left. The turmeric is gone."
"Then I want the people to make a mixture of what's left of the Cinnamon, Jalapeno, and cumin. Then I want the carrot dust divided amongst the army. How coarse is it?"
"It is a fine powder, about the one millimeter in diameter."
"Hmmm… Have larger portions given to the most stealth oriented members of the army. Now… We attack in two days."
"Why two days?"
"Because first I am going to send the men into the southern camp from the west. They will be dressed in Byzantine garb and armored with their weapons and armor. Their orders are to filter in at a gradual pace and search out the officers of the army. Once done, they will assassinate them in the middle of the night. At the same time, a smaller group will be heading to the northern army. Their objective is to eliminate all officers, and whoever it is that is leading the army, within the next few hours. They are to use the carrot dust to kill them by forcing it into their lungs. A slow death will be a good reminder to never attack here ever again."
Horus blinked, once, twice, and then he laughed.
"Congratulations. You have just demoralized, defanged, and demotivated over sixty thousand men… All within a weeks time as well. Your casualties are estimated to be in the hundreds, thanks to rocks flying over the walls and a small section being destroyed. You also lost two hundred of your men from the ten thousand strong fighting force you had started out with. Your people hail you as a hero, some as a god, and others as something more. Very good Shinji. History and battle tactics seem to have done you well!"
"I had an amazing teacher, Horus-san!" Shinji smiled brilliantly.
"And I have an amazing student. Use your mind well, and it will never betray you!" Horus laughed at the look of confusion on the boy's face.
"How could my own mind betray me?"
Horus just laughed harder.
Three Months Later
"What is the optimal balance of a sword?"
"Just above the hilt, close to the tang, but no more than two inches up the blade!"
-Thwack Thwack Thwack-
"Where are the best places to strike a body!"
"Neck, thigh, armpit, groin, spine, temple, sternum, solar-plexus, foot!"
"First ring! Incapacitating strikes!"
"Neck! -Thwack- Thigh! -Thwack- Sternum! -Thwack-"
"Good!" Horus walked around the wood post dummy he had helped Shinji erect in the backyard. "First Ring! Mortal wounds!"
"Groin! -Crack- Temple! -Crack- Spine! -C-Crack-k-"
"Very good! First Ring! Debilitating wounds!"
"Foot! -Thwack- Solar-plexus! -Thwack- Armpit! -Thwack-"
"Again! Harder! Crack the Foot! Break the ribs! Shater the ball! Leave your enemy unable to fight, unable to defend himself! Beat him before he can move again and you will have won the war before it started!"
Armpit! -Thwack- Foot! -Thwack- Solar-plexus! -Thwack snap!-" The bokan Shinji was using shattered upon impact with the training dummy, pieces of bamboo went flying and tumbled to the ground. Both Horus and Shinji stared at the broken training sword and maimed chest area of the dummy. Bits of bamboo stuck out of it, buried just under a half inch into its surface.
"Was I always that strong?"
"I do not believe so, young Shinji… This is a new development I believe."
"Can we temper it so that I will not harm anyone? It would be interesting to have such as a back up…."
"Yes, that would a be a good idea. Hmm, I wonder if having myself tethered to you is having some sort of adverse effect upon your body," Horus knelt down and looked over Shinji's growing body. "Hmm, your muscles are not any bigger than they were… Your bones seem to be the same strength as when we first met… For all intents and purposes, you have not changed much. You have grown three inches taller in the short time I have known you, but that is to be expected from a growing boy who is eating a balanced meal every day. Hmmm," Horus cocked his head to the side and peered into Shinji's soul. He saw glimpses of a much older man, still young in the eyes of Horus, but older nonetheless. There was a large machine that stood with him at some points in his life. At other times there were two girls, one blue and one red, those images made Horus think of what he could do to prepare his student for the hormones he would one day be facing, but as he himself barely remembered what it was like when he was young… He 'feared' for his student's sanity when the time came… It would be gloriously hilarious.
"Let us continue this later, Shinji. We will work on your sciences now."
