well...thanks for the review. im sorry its not good enought?... i really thought people would like it...maybe if i get more into the story...but anyways hes the next chappter
The sun rises above the wolves land and there countryside.
dozens of supplicants kneel before the statue of Poseidon and lay down their offerings: bundles of flowers; small carvings; goatskins filled with wine.
prepare a series of fortifications at the beach. Men carrying torches ignite giant pumice urns filled with burning pitch. Others hammer long spikes deep into the sand to hinder enemies rushing up from the beach. There is little conversation and the men look tense. Everything is touched with an air of extreme urgency.
The temple of aplo overlooks the beach.
two priests carve strips of fat from a roasted pig and lay them on the god's altar, muttering chants as they perform the ritual. Kagome, the temple acolyte, stands beside the priests, pouring ceremonial wine on the stone floor.
in the marketplace set up their stalls and display their goods, wine, olive oil, dates, figs, nuts and spices. The bronzesmith hammers a bronze sword into shape.
A shepard watches over his herd of sheep. A farmer and his son lead a team of yoked oxen to the fields. Fisherman in a small boat, a mile from shore, spread their nets in the water.
Two sentries stand in a guard tower on a corner of the wolves city walls, sipping hot broth from bowls. A large flag, emblazoned with there emblem, flies above the tower. A Sentry blows steam off his soup. He raises his eyes, blinks and squints into the distance. He bolts upright. The other Sentry stands and follows his partner's gaze out to the sea. Both of them stand slack-jawed.
A thousand dog demon wat ships clog the horizon, sailing straight for them.
The sentry grabs a gong tapper and begins hammering the brass gong hanging from the tower's lintel. The other Sentry still stares at the swarm of ships. No wolf demon has ever seen such a force.
Sentries in other guard towers hammer their warning gongs.
koga sits on a rug by his bed, beside his wife ayame, watching his son. The boy plays with the wood lion koga carved on the journey back from the dog demons land.
The city bells begin to ring. Koga looks at his wife and walks to the balcony, where he can see over the city walls to the Aegean. He sees a thousand enemy sails. For a moment he stares at the army before hurrying back into the palace.
Priam kneels before a grand statue of Zeus in the great hall. The Thunder God, his stone face a mask of rage, thunderbolts clutched in his stone hands, stares down at the old king. Listening to the bells, Priam takes a deep breath and Looks up into Zeus's eyes. The father of the gods stares back.
Panic in the streets of the wolves. Merchants quickly pack away their goods; mothers run into the streets looking for their children; young men hurry to the armory.
A mad rush to get inside the safety of the city walls.
The farmer and his son hastily load provisions onto a wagon.
The Sheppard hurries his herd toward the wolves gates. He's joined by hundreds of country dwellers racing for sanctuary. The fisherman row desperately for shore.
The ships draws closer to shore. One ship sails far ahead of the rest. Its sail is black.
inuyasha's oarsmen holler encouragement to their shipmates and check to see that their boat is safely in the lead. inuyasha stands in the prow, scanning the wolf shore. shippo stands beside him. Eudorus, a Myrmidon lieutenant, approaches inuyasha
"Should we wait for the others?" inuyasha marks the progress of the other ships. The nearest is a quarter-mile back. Those myrmidon (inuyasha's countrymen and comrades) not rowing are suiting up for battle.
"They brought us here for a war, didn't they?"
"Yes, my lord. But the king…" inuyasha stares at his officer until the man bows his head.
"Do you fight for me, Eudorus? Or the king?"
"For you, my lord."
"Then fight for me. And let the servants of that king fight for him."
The dog king, Nestor and naraku stand in the ship's prow.
"Whose ship is that?" Nestor shields his eyes from the sun and looks. Nestor Black sail. Inuyasha They watch inuyasha's ship approach the beach.
"What is that fool doing? He's going to take the beach of the wolves with fifty men?" naraku said
The archers check their catgut strings one last time.
Tecton dismounts at the door of the armory and runs inside.
The cavernous building is crowded with armaments, racks and racks of spears, swords, breastplates, and shields. koga watches as hundreds of male citizens rush into the armory and are issued weapons by wolf soldiers. The faces of the men reflect fear, excitement, and resolve. ginta approaches the prince and bows.
"The wolf Guards?" koga said
"Waiting at the city gates"
"Good." koga grabs the captain, Hakkaku, overseeing arms distribution.
"how long before the army is ready?" koga said
"Half our men are still coming in from the countryside. We have to arm them, we have to match them with the right officers…"
"how long?"
"noon" he said with a deep breath
"Make it sooner"
the prince in martial mode, He looks different, eyes harder, mouth set and unsmiling.
I want patrols to scour the countryside. Check every home, every pasture. I want every wolves brought inside the walls. If they can't walk, carry them. Hakkaku bows his head. koga walks swiftly away, followed by ginta. Hakkaku and the other wolves watch their prince with silent respect. There is no doubt who leads the city.
Though the oarsmen continue to pull, everyone is now armoured. inuyasha sees shippo, armed and ready to fight.
"where are you going?" inuyasha said looking a shippo
"To fight the wolves." inuyasha shakes his head and takes shippo's spear.
"your not ready"
"I am ready. You taught me how to fight."
"inuyasha rests his hand on the back of the boy's head."
"And you're a good student. But you're not a Myrmidon yet." He gestures to the Myrmidons around them.
These are the fiercest soldiers in our land. Each of them has bled for me before. I can't fight the wolves if I'm worrying about you, cousin. Guard the ship.
shippo looks about the deck. The only unarmored man aboard is an old, one-legged cook, mending spears. shippo angrily strips off his breastplate and drops it to the deck.
Koga and ginta gallop through the gate. They rein in their horses and look over the elite wolf Guard, eighty of the wolves finest soldiers, riding well-groomed, snorting mounts. When koga
speaks his voice is clear and steady.
"All my life I've lived by a code, and the code is simple. Honour the gods. Love your woman. And defend your country." The men roar at his words.
"Our land is mother to us all. Fight for her!" The men roar and thrust their spears into the air. koga leads the charge to the beach.
inuyasha stands in his ship's bow, scanning the wolves dunes. He turns to face his men. And smiles.
Myrmidons, we are brothers of the sword. I'd rather fight alongside you than any army of thousands.
The Myrmidons cheer. inuyasha points his sword toward the beach.
"Do you know what's waiting beyond that beach? ….Immortality."
The Myrmidons raise their swords and cry out with one voice. The oarsmen give one last mighty pull on their oars and beach the tar-caulked keel of the warship on sand. Inuyasha , grabs a coiled rope anchored to a bronze cleat, and rappels down to the beach. The Myrmidons follow him, tossing the ropes off the deck and shimmying down to the beach.
The archers behind the fortifications watch the Myrmidons climb down from their ship. Their captain raises his hand, wait... wait... captain of archers Now! The archers rise and release their arrows.
Hundreds of arrows whistle through the air. Four of the Myrmidons climbing down cry out as arrows hit them; they tumble into the sea. Other arrows rip into the packed sand or zip harmlessly into the water. The Myrmidons, clustered together and holding their shields above their heads, look to inuyasha. inuyasha makes a hand signal. Half his men split off and run to the fortifications on their left, howling like wolves as arrows rain down.
Shippo huddles under the railing beside the cook as arrow after arrow screams by. A flaming arrow hits one of the sails, and then another. The sails begin to burn.
Help me get the sails down! The cook limps over to the sails, ignoring the arrows that rain around him. shippo takes a deep breath and runs in a crouch to the cook. Together they lower the burning sails.
inuyasha sprints toward the archers, half his men behind him. The archers let off another volley. More Myrmidons fall.
The dog king, naraku, and Nestor watch the battle from the prow of their ship. They're still half a mile away.
The man wants to die. they could hear SHOUTS of "inuyasha!" from the other ships, a great clamor as men bash the flats of their swords against their shields and cheer their hero on. The dog king hears the cheering. He grits his teeth and glares at the distant inuyasha. Nestor notices the dog kings barely concealed fury. He speaks quietly, so no one else can hear.
"Give him his battle. You'll take the war." nestor said watching him fight his fury
"Give him too many battles and the men will forget who's king."
koga and his men near the high dunes, galloping at breakneck speed.
three arrows in his shield, inuyasha sprints across the sands. Arrows tear through the air about him. No man alive can run with inuyasha.
He leaps over the fortification, sword flashing before his feet ever touch the ground. The archers crumple to the ground as inuyasha' sword cuts through them. In a moment the Myrmidons catch up to inuyasha and lay into the archers. Within seconds they massacre them. inuyasha turns and nods to the temple, the next target. Eudorus gasps for air. inuyasha regards him with amusement.
"Breathe, my friend." Eudorus takes two deep breaths. inuyasha dashes for the temple. His Myrmidons follow behind.
The archers at the temple unleash a fusillade of arrows. Every few yards another Myrmidon falls. Several of them are wounded, but if they're not dead they keep moving forward.
Ajax's ship is one hundred yards from shore. Legendary Ajax, a huge man, brutally muscled, head shaved, face and body scarred -- stands in the prow, watching inuyasha.
"Look at him, hogging all the glory." He walks over to his rowers, grabs an oarsmen on the front bench under the armpits and tosses him away. Ajax sits, grabs the oar handle, and begins rowing maniacally, the veins in his massive arms bulging through the skin
"Row, you lazy whores, row! Dog demons are dying!"
The oarsmen redouble their efforts and the ship leaps over the waves toward the shore.
koga and the Apollonian Guards rein in their horses atop the dunes. Koga sees Ajax's ship plowing into the beach. Hundreds of other ships are close behind.
The wolf archers rain arrows down on Ajax's ship. Several flaming arrows catch in the hull and begin to burn.
"We can't hold the beach, my prince."
koga sees where inuyasha and the Myrmidons are heading.
"They're trying to take the temple"
"No believer would spill blood in Apollo's temple." ginta said as koga, increasingly uneasy, watches inuyasha dodge arrows. He turns and points to the spot where Ajax's ship has landed.
(to wolf officer) "The archers need help. Burn as many ships as you can, but don't sacrifice yourself. Bring the men back to the city." The officer bows and leads Guards to the fortifications.
"Follow me."
and koga gallops toward the temple" ginta and his men behind him.
inuyasha, his shield now quilled with arrows, hurls a spear. It catches the closest archer just above the breastplate, tearing through the man's throat. The archers near by throw down their bows and take up the spears racked behind them.
But inuyasha is already upon them, cutting them down with ruthless precision. Every time his sword flashes through the air another wolf falls, and inuyasha keeps sweeping through them, his face painted with wolf blood. The other Myrmidons are fighting beside their leader now, and the wolf archers are no match for the Myrmidons in hand to hand combat. Soon the temple area belongs to the dog demons.
Ajax and his men rappel down the ship's hull while arrows rip into wood and flesh. Ajax carries a giant battle-axe and a shield twice the size of most men's. When he reaches the surf he doesn't wait for his men; he roars and charges at the archers in the dunes.
Inuyasha, not even breathing hard after the slaughter, removes his helmet and rests it on the wall. The surviving Myrmidons search the grounds, dispatching any dying wolves. Eudorus hurries over to inuyasha's side.
"The temple is secure." Eudorus said to inuyasha.
"The Sun God is the patron of the wolves, our enemy. Take whatever treasure you can find." The Myrmidons cheer and rush to the temple.
"With your permission, my lord…"
"Speak."
Eudorus gestures to the sun above them.
"Apollo sees everything. Perhaps it's not wise to offend him."
inuyasha nods and walks over to the towering statue of Apollo in front of the temple. Eudorus watches in horror as inuyasha climbs atop the statue and beheads Apollo with a swing of his sword.
"Hector and ginta rein in their horses."
"He dares attack Apollo?" ginta said glaring at inuyasha as Koga spurs his horse and races toward the invaders, followed by his twenty men. The other sixty wolves gallop to Ajax's landing spot.
inuyasha gazes at the sky as if waiting for the sun to blast him for blasphemy. Nothing happens. Hearing hoof beats, inuyasha turns and spots koga and his men, two hundred yards away.
"Get inside the temple, warn the men." Eudorus hurries to warn his comrades.
Eudorus! Wait, wait a moment. The Myrmidon captain stops. Inuyasha hefts a spear, judges the distance, and throws. One hundred yards from inuyasha, the spearhead finds its mark, ginta breastplate. Ginta is knocked from his horse and skewered to the ground. He clutches at the wooden shaft, not comprehending his fate. koga reins in his horse and stares at his fallen captain. The man is finished. Koga turns to look at inuyasha. Eudorus's eyes are wide. No other man alive could have thrown a spear that far or that accurately.
"Now you can go." Eudorus runs inside the temple. koga kicks his horse and gallops toward inuyasha. His men cry out and follow him. inuyasha waits. koga raises his own spear. When he is fifty yards away, he throws. At the very last moment, inuyasha bends his head to one side, an almost lackadaisical movement. The spear rips through the air occupied by inuyasha's head half a moment before. inuyasha smiles. Koga draws his sword and charges, his men right behind him. inuyasha walks, with insulting insouciance, into the temple. A series of high steps lead inside the temple. koga and the wolves dismount and proceed cautiously to the temple. An arrow sticks out of Ajax's leg but he doesn't seem to notice it. He bulls forward, giant shield held in front, and slams into the wolf ranks. Where inuyasha is all grace and speed, Ajax is brute force. Parrying his blows is useless: his battle axe splits bronze shields, bronze swords, bronze helmets. The sound of his axe carving through a breastplate and the man beneath the breastplate is like nothing else on earth. As Ajax drops another wolves, he lifts his axe to the heavens.
I am Ajax, breaker of stones, widow-maker of Salamis! Look upon me, wolves, and despair! The Apollonians join the fight against the wolves. The Guards are far better than the archers at hand-to-hand combat.
Koga and his men enter the temple. Eyes adjusting to the gloomy light, they gingerly advance. All is quiet. Evidence of looting is everywhere. At the back of the temple, stairs lead up to the altar room. koga walks toward the stairs. Blood trickles down the steps. koga raises his eyes. Inuyasha stands atop the staircase, both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, the sword point resting on the top step. He stares down at koga. War cries explode through the temple. The Myrmidons burst from their hiding places and rush the wolves. koga is an obvious target. Two myrmidons charge him, their spears leveled. If inuyasha is the apotheosis of martial grace, koga is something altogether different …a man of ordinary gifts who has become an extraordinary warrior by dint of experience, endless training, and powerful intelligence. As the Myrmidons charge he waits. At the last moment he swings his sword, slicing both spearheads from their shafts. The Myrmidons stare at their decapitated spears. koga doesn't give them a chance to recover. He pounces, sword flashing, and both men fall to the temple floor. Inuyasha watches from the top step. koga begins running up the stairs. Inuyasha disappears inside the altar room. Another Myrmidon bounds up the stairs after koga. The prince wheels about and kicks the Myrmidon in the breastplate. The soldier tumbles down the steps. koga continues up the stairs.
As more dog demon ships make landfall, the Apollonian officer sees that their position is no longer defensible.
"Back to the city! Back to the city!" The wolves begin to retreat. The archers still turn to fire whenever there's time. Mounted Guards haul fleeing archers onto their horses.
koga finds the bodies of two priests. They lie on the stone floor, limbs splayed, throats slit. Sitting atop the altar, half-hidden by the shadows, is inuyasha. He's a terrible sight to behold, splattered with blood, his sword still dripping.
"You must be very brave or very stupid, to come after me alone. You must be koga." koga stares at inuyasha a moment before kneeling by the dead priest's bodies.
"These priests weren't armed." koga closes the eyes of the murdered priests. Inuyasha jumps down from the altar and looks at the bodies
"I didn't kill them. Cutting old men's throats …there's no honor in that."
Honor? Children and fools fight for honour. I fight for my country." koga charges. inuyasha dances back, staying just out of reach. inuyasha looks relaxed, almost playful.
"Fight me."
"Why kill you, prince , with no one here to see you fall?" backs out of an archway opening onto the bright day outside. koga follows.
Down at the beach, scores of dog demon ships are on the sand.
"Why did you come here?"
inuyasha gestures at the invading flotilla.
"They'll be talking about this war for a thousand years."
"In a thousand years even the dust from our bones will be gone."
"Yes, prince. But our names will remain. A band of bloodied Myrmidons, led by Eudorus, emerges from the temple. Koga, surrounded by enemies, warily backs off.
"The wolves are dead." Eudorus said to inuyasha.
"Go home, prince. Drink some wine. Make love to your wife. Tomorrow we'll have our war."
"You speak of war as if it's a game. But how many wives wait at our gate for husbands they'll never see again?"
"Perhaps your brother can comfort them. I hear he's good at charming other men's wives" koga stares at inuyasha and the Myrmidons for another moment before walking away.
"Why did you let him go?"
"It's too early in the day for killing princes."
Thousands of dog demon soldiers on the beach watch as the wolves retreat, many of the archers riding behind their Apollonian saviors. koga mounts his horse and rides back toward the city. When the dog demons see inuyasha climbing onto the temple's roof they stare in awe, silent. Inuyasha raises his bloodied sword toward the sun. The clamour that erupts from the beach is deafening. Thousands of men cheering and yelling his name inuyasha! inuyasha!
inuyasha is like a god isnt he haha, well i hope this is making more sense to you guys, please review so i know what you guys think please and thank you.