Travel of Ages

A Historian's Wet Dream

 My eyes swung open to see a man standing over me. "Stand up soldier, we move out in an hour" The man tells me. I stand up and look around to see where I am. Instead of a tomb, I am stood in a tent. What the hell. I look down and see a thick, linen chest piece on my torso, with a skirt like bottom. I see sandals wrapped around my feet and bronze arm guards on my forearms. "This can't be happening" I say aloud. "What?" I hear from behind me. I turn around to see Jones in the same gear as me. "This is real then" I say. I see Rico and Chris stand up and join us in conversation. "What the hell happened back there?" Chris asks. "Who was that old man? Was he the same one from the bridge?" Rico asks. "He looked the same" Jones says. "We must have been sent through time" I say. "To where though?" Chris asks. I see four spears and four short swords laying on the table in the tent. I pick up a sword and see that it's made of bronze. "Grab the weapons and follow me, I have to confirm something" I tell to my squad.

I exit the tent to see where we were and immediately found out. I looked at the flagpole and saw a black background with a sun in the middle, a sun with sixteen rays coming off of it. "There's no way" I say aloud. "What is it?" Rico asks. "That's Alexander's flag, Alexander the Great" I answer. "You're kidding right?" Jones asks me. "No, that is one hundred percent Alexander's flag" I say. "So what, we need to find a way home still" Chris says. "Now where are we exactly?" I ask myself. I look at the ground to see only dirt. Soldiers come running towards us in formation, all wearing the same gear as us. The soldiers get into a square line, with my squad and I in the middle. "What's going on?" Chris asks. "A rallying speech" I answer. There were about fifty men in this square, waiting on the general to give a speech. A man steps in front of the square, causing everyone to stand at attention.

"Men. what lies on the other side of that river, is the edge of the world" The man booms. "If we conquer this land, my empire will be the largest ever seen" the man says "And everyone here will have taken a part of making that happen". "Do you want glory, men!" The man shouts. The soldiers shout back "Yeah!". "Do you want honor!" The man shouts. The soldiers shout back again "Yeah!". "Do you want your stories told by every historian in the world!" The man shouts. "Yeah!" the soldiers repeat. "Then join me in battle, and we can defeat these vile Indians and conquer the world!" the man shouts again "Get everything ready, you walk with me Hypastiats!". "Hypastiats! We are the king's guards!" I say aloud. "Oh, I've always wanted to kill a king" Chris says. The soldiers clear out to reveal the man that was giving the speech. He had an olive, but pale complexion. His nose was large and bent, but his hair was short and curly.

"That's him, that's Alexander" I say in a trance-like state. "Guys, let's get ready for battle" Jones says, joining the other soldiers. We follow Jones into the other soldiers and wait for Alexander to call us forth. Everything begins to feel like a dream, with time seeming to meld together. By the time I snap out of it, we were already in the heat of battle. There were elephants and scores of troops on the other side, just ramming themselves into the wall of pikes. We were at the back, protecting Alexander. My squad was around me, holding their spears in formation with the rest of the soldiers. I turn my head to look at Alexander. His face was distressed as he was calling out orders. The cavalry rammed into the side of the other troops, but immediately got cut down by marauding elephants. We have to be at his final battle.

A large amount of Indian troops came around the side and attacked our formation. Our spears held true, ripping through the unfortunate souls on the other side. They seemed to be running away, as we needed to advance up to them. They picked up speed, forcing us to almost chase them down. That proved to be a bad idea, as two elephants appeared from out the left side. Alexander's horse bolted away, protecting him from the giant animals. The elephants rammed into our formation, tearing men apart with their trunks and tusks. "Oh shit!" Jones exclaimed. Rico reacted quickly to this threat, creating a small stone wall at one elephants feet. The monster smashed right through it though, charging towards my squad. Jones conjured up the strongest wind he could and gusted it at the elephant to slow it down. As the beast drew closer, we were able to see the man on top that was leading it. He was struggling to stay on due to Jones' wind.

"Squad, target the rider!" I shouted to my men. Chris ran forwards, dodging the trunk and tusks, climbing up its leg and onto its back. He charged up a funnel of flame and roasted the rider. Rico formed a sharp spike out of stone and threw it at the elephants head, getting stuck in the skin. He drove it further in with his powers, causing a loud crack, bringing the beast to the ground. We ran to the other elephant and attempted the same tactic. This one had an archer on top as well. By the time we reached it, all of the other Hypastiats were dead, leaving us as the only bodyguards left at the battle. I turned my head to check on the main conflict, and it was turning quickly in our favor. The Indians were struggling to rally, with many fleeing from the Macedonian might.

I turn my attention to the elephant, who was rushing towards us at deadly speeds. Jones created a whirlwind to slow it, and Rico was putting up wall after wall. The monster just kept coming towards us, forcing us to dodge out of the way. Chris shot a fireball at the archer, scorching him. I ran towards the back end of the elephant and jumped on top. I rushed the rider, but he pulled out a dagger and drove it towards me. I caught his hand and electrocuted him, frying his skin and singeing his hair. The shock must've reacted with something that was touching the elephant, because it fell to its knees. I put the final blow on the beast, driving my spear into the back of it's neck and shocking it. The large heartbeat had stopped, as we had killed the magnificent creature. I jumped off and joined my squad. The battle was over, the Macedonians had won it's toughest battle ever.