WONDER WOMAN : THE ENEMY OF MY ANCESTOR
PART 2
Diana's boat peacefully floated its way home under the night sky, that night she dreamt of memories, memories that weren't hers. In her dreams she found herself standing in a Trojan temple dedicated to Apollo, seemingly invisible to the worshippers surrounding her. She recognized this was the very same temple she had visited recently, the one where she found Leandros.
Diana stepped out of the temple's entrance, her presence unnoticed by the figures around her. Two Amazonian warriors, draped in the bronze armor, stood as sentries at the temple's gates. Their shields gleamed, proudly displaying the emblem of Ares—the symbol of a time when her ancestors had been warriors of conquest, not peace. Diana studied her ancestors of the bronze age, the Amazons of Queen Penthesilea, who only lived to serve the god of war. Her gaze softened as she pondered the distance between herself and these women, aware of the radical transformation her people had undergone under her mother's leadership.
Diana's ghostly reverie was interrupted when one of the guards looked up from her post and froze. Her eyes widened in alarm as she reached for the horn at her side. The shrill call echoed across the temple grounds as the Trojan worshippers rushed back to the city. Diana's gaze turned towards the distant horizon where, emerging from the top of the hill, 500 Myrmidon soldiers were barreling downhill like a deadly tide. At the forefront of the attack, Diana recognized Leandros, sharp and full of life, a much younger version of the specter she had met.
Diana watched with a mix of awe and sorrow as the Amazonian warriors assumed their formations to meet the Myrmidons in battle. This wasn't just a clash of soldiers—it was a clash of ideals. The Myrmidons, led by the insatiable need for glory and conquest instilled in them by Achilles, were fighting the Amazons, who still carried the legacy of Ares's influence, bound to a vision they had yet to escape. Diana jumped up on one of the pillars where she had an incredible view of the battlefield.
The ancient Amazons, numbering roughly the same, stood in a crescent formation, their shields locked tightly together at the base of the temple stairs and braced themselves as the enemy approached. Across the battlefield, the Myrmidons slowed their charge to form tight lines of their own. The distance between the two armies closed quickly, and soon the first exchange began. Javelins arced through the air like deadly comets, thudding into shields and flesh as both sides sought to weaken their opponents before the clash. Moments later, the Myrmidons surged forward, their frontline crashing into the Amazonian shield wall like a tidal wave. The battle locked into a brutal contest of strength and endurance. Steel met steel, cries of pain and rage filled the air, and the ground beneath them became soaked with blood.
From her vantage point above, Diana watched the scene unfold with a grim clarity. The chaos below revealed the chaotic ebb and flow of war, the unseen details that decide the outcome of a battle. The Amazons, defiant as ever, neither yielded nor fled. They fought as they always had—until their last breath. But such valor came at a terrible cost. As the Myrmidons pressed forward, the horrific aftermath of the fighting became clear. The once-proud crescent formation was driven back and the temple steps were strewn with hundreds of dead Amazons and Myrmidons.
The battle wore on, and the Amazons were steadily driven higher up the stairs, their numbers dwindling to a desperate few. Finally, Diana's gaze fell upon the last remaining defender —the commander of the garrison, the embodiment of every heroic tale she had heard growing up. The lone Amazon stood firm against the tide of Myrmidons, wielding her weapon with deadly precision from the high ground. For ten grueling minutes, she held them back, cutting down twenty men on her own. It seemed, for a moment, that she might hold the line single-handedly, that her courage and skill would defy the impossible.
But then, Leandros appeared again. The last defender fought with everything she had, but her wounds and exhaustion were too much to bear. The final blow was struck and with her fall, the victorious Myrmidons stormed the temple, defiling its sacred grounds, shattering statues of the gods and looting the treasures within. Leandros, covered in blood and feeling invincible, exited the temple carrying gold and offerings meant for Apollo, his arms laden with the spoils of conquest.
It was then that Diana felt a presence—it was Apollo, angry and vengeful. The god's wrath pulsed through the air as the storm clouds gathered above. When Leandros stepped out of the sacred temple, his arms laden with stolen riches and offerings, a bolt of unnatural, bright blue lightning from the heavens descended upon him. In an instant, his body was completely incinerated, reduced to a smoking pile of ashes while his riches, armor, and weapons tumbled down the stairs of the temple.
The world faded to black once more, and when Diana opened her eyes, she was awake. The dream has served its purpose and its meaning is unmistakably clear. The Oracle had shown her fragments of the memories of Leandros, revealing his suffering to be Apollo's doing. With it came the realization that her quest to free him could endanger not just for herself, but the lives of her sisters as well. Leandros's path mirrored that of the Amazons, a discarded servant of the gods who is left to figure his purpose. Diana would try to save him, but only if he could set aside his ancient sense of honor and pride.