text: A boy experiences the loss of a close pet and is changed forever, leading him to join the legions. \ I always fought for my younger brother. When we were children, I would stand up against those who tormented, bullied, and stole from him. Usually, he was seemingly too timid to put up a defense himself. But one encounter changed him forever. It was the day that something irreplaceable was taken from him. See, my brother, Marius, had a pet mouse named Leucon. He had white fur with little blotches of brown, and a pair of wide, searching eyes. I remember the creature being playful, intelligent, and fully adored by Marius. The mouse must have known this as he would squeak and chirp gently when held by my brother. Their bond was strong and Marius would often take Leucon with him wherever he went. One fateful day though, our father sent us to the market to acquire some bread, oil, and fish. He even gave us a few extra denars in little coin purses so we could get something for ourselves. This concerned me a bit as Marius was still a little naive. I was worried that he would be swindled out of his money and even warned him myself before we set out. But he told me that Leucon would be watching out for him. As with many outings before, Marius decided that the mouse would accompany him on this trip as well. He tucked his tiny companion neatly into his coin purse, saying that “Leucon would help guard his silver”. To me, such a statement was ridiculous, but Marius was nonetheless my silly little brother and such care-free innocence gave me a sense that something was good about the world. I made it a point to watch out for Marius and by extension the little things that mattered to him. If he thought Leucon was there to guard him, then so was I. They would both be equally my responsibility. When we reached the market we began to wander through the labyrinth of stalls and tents. Marius, being young and easily distracted, wanted to stop and gawk at the wares of every trinket salesman. I did too admittedly, but I also knew we had to press on through our chore. However, the task must have been too burdensome to my brother as somewhere along the way, Marius decided to separate from me. More than likely his eye was caught by some exotic good or toy. I rapidly backtracked throughout the market, panicked at the notion of losing my brother. I asked all sorts of merchants and vendors whether or not they saw him, describing his small stature and auburn colored hair. One vendor mentioned that he saw Marius with two other boys who looked to be cornering him. I asked the vendor in which direction they went and he pointed to a nearby alley. *Oh no...* I thought. I sprinted to the alley entrance, pushing past people in the busy market to get to Marius. The scene that I stumbled into horrified me. I saw the two boys the vendor mentioned standing above my brother. He was on the ground, huddled into a ball and sobbing. The boys seemed to be roughly the same age as Marius but were certainly larger than him. One of them held Marius’s coin purse while the other one seemed to be sucking his finger as if it were pricked. Then I noticed Leucon... The tiny mouse was lifeless on the ground; a motionless clump of white fur with its neck snapped at a grotesque angle. The bastard sucking his finger must have crushed the poor mouse’s neck and then tossed him to the ground like a discarded rag. All in front of Marius. I was *furious* upon realizing this. Immediately, I charged the boy that had killed Leucon. He might have been bigger than Marius, but he wasn’t bigger than me. He turned to face me, but it was too late to stop my rage. Using what tricks I learned from my father, an old mercenary, I slammed the boy across the face with my fist and then delivered a gut-punch. He dropped to the ground, moaning and crying. The other boy, stunned, dropped Marius’s coin purse and stared at me. “Get out of here! Go! Before I decide to hurt you as I have hurt your friend!” I hollered. The coin-thief continued to stare dumbly before it registered that he should flee. He then turned and ran like his life depended upon it. Meanwhile, the boy who I had dropped was rolling on the ground. “You too!” I shouted as I kicked dirt on him. The boy staggered to his feet, barely recovered from the blows I delivered. He proceeded to limp out in pursuit of his friend. I turned to see Marius still on the ground and curled up. I ran to attend to him. “Oh God, Marius! Are you ok?” Marius unfurled a bit from the ball he was in, revealing a bruised face reddened with blood and shameful despair. “Cy-cyrus? He meekly asked between tears. Upon seeing me, he immediately hugged me, resting his chin upon my shoulder. I returned the favor and comforted my little brother by holding him tight. “Cyrus, it was awful!” he exclaimed. “They-they killed him, Cyrus. They killed Leucon! He was just trying to protect himself. But they decided to snap his neck anyway!” I said nothing and just held Marius closer to me as he sobbed. “Why would they do something like that?” he asked. “Leucon was just scared. How could they be so cruel?” My mouth emptily gaped open and closed as I struggled to form an answer. “I...I don’t know,” I began. “I guess people can be horrible to creatures they see as weak or lesser. They think that they can easily take from them or hurt them for their own gain.” Marius held me tighter as his fingers gripped into my back. Something about the mouse’s death struck deep into his soul. I could feel a sense of rage building behind his sorrow. “But why did Leucon have to *die*, Cyrus? Why did they *kill* him?” he asked breathlessly. I contemplated this question as deeply as any philosopher. “I don’t know, Marius,” I said. “Because they could? Because Leucon got in the way of the silver they wanted?” Marius inhaled and exhaled raggedly in between bouts of little sniffles. “But ***why***?!” He screamed, still not understanding. “Life shouldn’t be like that. I don’t understand why good things get hurt. It’s-it’s not...*fair.*” “It isn’t, at all, Marius,” I said in agreement. “It truly isn’t.” I held Marius for a little while longer before peeling him away from my hold. I looked into his face and he appeared to have calmed down a little. However, something else in him seemed deep in ponderance. “Come,” I said. “We should give Leucon a proper burial.” Marius collected the mouse and we found some cheap cloth to use as a shroud. We then traveled outside the city gates to find a quiet place in the country to bury Marius’s former companion. We didn’t have to walk far to find an idyllic patch of flowers on the side of a quiet road. Marius and I knelt down in the flower bed and began to claw out a little grave in the earth. Carefully, Marius deposited Leucon in the hole and remained quiet as I filled the grave back up. We then stood side by side in silent reflection. “Cyrus?” asked my little brother. I looked down. “Yes, Marius?” I replied. “Did...did Leucon die because I wasn’t able to protect him?” he asked with a hint of remorse. “Marius...” I began. “Because if I were as strong as you, Cyrus,” he continued. “I don’t...I don’t think Leucon would have died.” He looked up at me and seemed as if he were on the verge of tears again. “How-how do I become as strong as you, Cyrus?” he asked. How do I protect the things that matter to me?” I knelt down and hugged him. As I stood up, I sighed and grabbed him by the hand before speaking. “We should go home and tell father about what happened today.” \ My father was reluctant to teach us the ways of fighting. He taught us one or two things about defending ourselves and maybe surviving combat if we were ever called to defend the city. But otherwise, our father limited his lessons as he didn’t want us to lead the type of life that he led as a mercenary before he got citizenship. He was afraid we would end up getting ourselves hurt or killed while seeking adventure and glory. But in the days after losing Leucon, Marius wanted to learn everything about fighting and would pester our father constantly. He eventually gave into Marius’s demands, perhaps out of sympathy for the feeling of weakness that my brother felt after losing his companion. So Marius learned how to fight regularly. At first, other boys would continue to steal from and pick on him given his size. But at least he was more than willing to put up a defense by then. Initially, he often lost and I would have to save him. But that didn’t stop him from throwing punches as if he were possessed by a furious spirit who was blissfully unaware of his small stature. Over time though, Marius not only grew, but he also became better skilled in martial prowess. He even surpassed me. Eventually, our father passed and his business and estate were granted on to me, the eldest. Marius could have worked the shop with me, but he felt he had another calling. Over the years, Marius had grown strong and become very competent in the martial arts. So instead he opted to join the legions, figuring that there could be no higher honor than protecting his home and his family. Marius and I would correspond regularly through his training and then his deployment to the outskirt provinces. Through letters, we would often reminisce on childhood, converse about philosophy, or talk about his time in the frontier fort. I learned that the fort where he was stationed was only five day’s travel from our city. He would often remark how peaceful it was out there in the forests of the frontier and how different it was to our home city, despite the relatively short distance. Then one day though, I realized that Marius was late in continuing his correspondence. At first, I figured nothing of it, thinking that my brother was busy with his duties. Then another day passed and then another. Then a week. I came to fear the worst. Eventually, a messenger finally appeared at my door. That was the day I received the news I wasn’t ready to hear: the fort where my brother was stationed was overwhelmed by warriors from the northern tribes. He was likely killed by those barbarian savages in a surprise attack. I could barely stand upon hearing this. How could that even be? My little brother, who, from humble beginnings, became such an impressive fighter. My little brother, who would discuss philosophy with me. My little brother, who cared for tiny creatures. How could he be dead? I shuddered to think of him bleeding out on some forsaken battlefield or upon a cursed rampart. Why would the heavens allow him to be taken from me like that? Worse yet, the messenger still had more terrible news to deliver. Apparently the barbarians who took the fort where Marius was stationed were marching towards our humble city. They would be here in two days' time. I dismissed the messenger and immediately made arrangements to send my wife and children beyond the walls to safety. I decided to remain, days' however. I still remembered a few tricks my father taught me and I wanted to stay and defend my shop and my home. Beyond that though, I wanted a chance...any chance...to seek vengeance for my brother. Over the course of the next days, panic swept through the city. Some fled to the country. Others, like me, decided to hold, not wanting to surrender their homes, to the barbarians. I found my father’s old sword, shield, and some aged leather armor. I cleaned up the armor and sharpened the sword as best as I could. I then joined up with the city militia and received a helmet and some last-minute drill instruction. In due time, the barbarian horde emerged from the forests and came to besiege our city, cutting us off from food and other necessary provisions. From the walls at night, you could see the fires of their camps in the distance. They would hoot and yawp from the darkness, screaming like animals in an attempt to terrify us. It was unnerving, but not as unnerving as the sound of axes chopping wood and saws cutting through timber. Rumor had it that the tribesmen had captured some of our engineers and coerced them into revealing the secrets of siege warfare. God only knew what they were building. We certainly didn’t see anything during daylight. However, on the morning of the seventh day of the siege, we beheld the fruits of their labor. The barbarians had assembled an array of equipment to aid them in their effort to take our city, seemingly having conjured it out of thin air. This included a number of tall ladders, a few catapults, a battering ram, and even an imposing siege tower. They likely built everything piecemeal in the cover of the forest, away from our sight. Then the night before they must have assembled everything in the relative protection of the impenetrable darkness. Their apparent plan was quite clever as the sight that morning was dismaying, to say the least. As the sun rose, the barbarians took various positions around the city and laid in wait for a signal. Then it came. A series of bellowing horns blew and the barbarians unleashed a roaring chorus of battle-cries. All hell broke loose. Archers and catapults pelted our positions. Boulders collided with the battlements, sending men, stone, and brick tumbling through the air. Meanwhile, the wheeled siege tower and battering ram began to lumber towards the city walls. We returned fire with our arrows and ballista shots, picking off the men pushing the siege engines and rushing our walls with ladders. One lucky ballista shot even managed to knock out a support in the siege tower, toppling it in a shower of splinters atop the barbarians. A cheer rose from our men, but the victory was short-lived. Some of the ladders reached our walls and fierce tribesmen, wielding an assortment of clubs, axes, and spears, were climbing towards us. I readied my shield and prepared to defend my position. The initial wave of barbarians clambered over the wall and were met with our steel. I got my first good look at them in the maelstrom. They were large and wild-looking; unshaven and unkempt, often wearing thick flannel or furs to emphasize their beastly appearance and tall helmets to emphasize their height. They fought with ferocity, but there were enough of us on the walls that we temporarily halted them. Then suddenly, a thunderous sound boomed through the battle. **THUD...THUD...THUD...** The battering ram had reached the gates. Half of us were ordered to retreat from the walls to reinforce the men holding the entrance to the city. I volunteered to go. **THUD...THUD...THUD...** 30 or so men and I ran down a set of stairs located in one of the wall towers to reach the ground. We then rushed to the gates, desperately trying to get there in time. **THUD...THUD...KAGRRAASH!** The gates crashed open. It was too late. A wild throng poured through, and by the time we got there, the barbarians were already swamping the men who were desperately trying to hold the entrance. I looked back to the wall ramparts, hoping to see our men still holding somewhere. Instead, I saw the defenders there being overwhelmed as well. Someone ordered us to retreat and regroup at the city center. The walls were lost and barbarians were flooding into the city, spreading fire and slaughter as they went. We tried to stay together, but in the confusion, I became separated from my troop. I ran through the streets that were rapidly filling with a disorienting smokey haze. Screams and shouts could be heard not far in the distance. As I pushed towards the city center, I came across four tribesmen, armed with spears and axes, who were bashing down the door to a stranger’s home. Time almost froze when they fixed their gaze upon me, but I was catapulted back to reality when one shouted and pointed, prompting them to give chase. Not wanting to be caught out in the open, I decided to run. My plan was to lead them to the city center where the remnants of the city’s defenders were most likely going to make their final stand. At least there I would survive for a little longer. But in the haze of fear and confusion, I made a grave miscalculation. I turned into an alley, expecting to find a shortcut. Instead, I was faced with a brick wall. Something about the alley seemed familiar, but I had no time to contemplate such a thing. I pivoted and hoped to exit this obvious death trap. Alas, the barbarians appeared with appropriately grim timing. *So, it has come to this,* I thought. *At least I shall be with God and my brother if I must meet my end this day.* I bashed my sword against my shield and beckoned them to come forth. All four of them exchanged glances. One with a short spear and his own shield gave his compatriots a nod and stepped forth. He charged me individually. I braced myself. The barbarian came crashing against me, almost knocking me off my feet. However, I managed to widen my stance just enough before the impact to maintain my footing. He struck wildly at me with his spear, but I blocked his blows and bided for an opening. He then made his mistake. He inevitably wore himself as one of his thrusts was slower than the last. As he made one last labored strike, he dropped his shield just enough to give me an opening. I used that opportunity to parry, knocking his spear out of the way with my own shield and moving in for a thrust towards his chest. I ran him through, pushing upwards and stabbing into the heart. He gave an animalistic whine. “For my brother!” I quietly hissed in his ear. The barbarian was whimpering and I could feel warm blood coat my sword and my hand gripping it. I retrieved my weapon and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless. My assailant's compatriots gave each other a look and exchanged something in a tongue I barely understood. But before I could piece together their strategy, they all charged. Two were armed with grizzly looking two-handed great axes and the third had yet another spear and shield combo. They brought their weapons to bear upon me and I once again braced myself. The larger of the two axemen crashed against me and my shield and tried to chop at my head from overtop my defenses. I managed to parry his blows with my sword and even delivered a counterattack in the form of a slice across his face. Stunned, he hollered and staggered back, cursing but still alive. The spearman behind him jumped into the fray, replacing his wounded companion and further tying me up. Meanwhile, the other axeman was rushing to my exposed side. I tried to land a decisive blow on the spearman before I would be open to an attack from the axeman moving to exploit the opening in my defenses. However, I took too long in getting to the pole-armed warrior as he wisely used his weapon to keep me at length. This gave an opportunity to the axeman rushing my side. He was nimble on his feet and dexterous with his weapon, managing to flank me and hook my ankle with the flat underside of his ax bit. He pulled, sweeping me off the ground. My sword went flying and the next thing I knew, I was on my back. The huge, grizzled barbarian who I had scarred across the face walked up and was now looming above me. He looked angrier than the furies as he brought his ax up and stuck downward with a yawp. I still had my shield and hefted it above me as a last-ditch effort to survive his rage. The ax came crashing down and bit into the wood, striking through and nearly splitting my face in half. I held onto my shield for dear life, but it wasn’t enough. The ax head was lodged in my last line of defense and the barbarian used that leverage to wrench my shield away from me. I laid there fully exposed as the barbarian set himself for the final strike. I had nothing left. I then recalled why this alley was familiar. It was where Leucon died. Upon this, I remembered everything. That was the day I came to my brother’s aid just too late; the day Marius realized how cruel life could be. It was fitting this would be the place where I would get such a reminder myself. *I guess it’s true,* I thought, *the strong do take from the weak. What is there but suffering and destruction for those who can’t defend themselves?* I could feel my own breath go inward and outward. *Marius,* I thought. *How much I wish I was there for you.* Ready to embrace death, I closed my eyes and listened. I could hear the crackle of fires and the screams of people in the background. It all seemed so hopeless. But that wouldn’t matter soon as I was about to make my passage. I listened to the barbarian heave his huge ax above himself once again. I knew what was coming and resigned myself to my fate. Then I heard it: something else against the background noise of damnation. It made a low *whooshing* sound. At first, I thought it was the barbarian’s ax. Instead, it was my salvation. I opened my eyes just in time to see my executioner be impaled from behind with a thrown javelin. It was as if providence itself stuck down the wild man. He gurgled and toppled to the side in a heap, his prized great ax falling to the wayside. The other barbarians, stunned for just a brief moment, instinctually swung around to face the danger opposing them. I also adjusted my posture to see the interloper who had defied the hand of fate itself on my behalf. Through the smoke emerged an all too familiar figure. He was shorter, but stout; bloodied and bruised, but not broken, and armored like a professional soldier of the legion. My brother, Marius stood as a battered warrior, with sword and shield in hand, defiant of the apocalyptic chaos going around him. He was back from the dead, seemingly returning to pay retribution to the cruelty of the world itself. I again recalled that fateful day in this exact alleyway. I never really considered what Marius must have felt when he saw me coming to his rescue after experiencing such a lowly point in life. But in that moment when I saw him, I began to understand. I remembered why Marius was obsessed with becoming a better fighter. It wasn’t just because he lost faithful Leucon or felt weak. It was because he wanted to protect what mattered to him. Because he saw me throw myself into the fray so many times for him. He saw that he mattered to me and that I loved him as my only brother. And now here he was, returning the favor. “Marius?” I quietly asked myself underneath my breath, not fully believing what I was seeing. My brother glanced over to me and gave a look of relief when he saw I was still alive. He then stared down the barbarians. “Men of slaughter!” he bellowed. “Leave my brother be...or face me instead.” The barbarians cursed at the arrival of this interloper. The spearman was hesitant to engage but the remaining axman had grown enraged at the loss of his counterpart. He charged Marius, with a reckless abandon, running towards my brother with his weapon wound behind his shoulders. But Marius saw the mighty swing coming and deftly ducked below, only to pop back up with a stunning shield bash. The barbarian staggered back, grunting. He then blindly swung back and forth, desperately trying to land a blow. Marius simply dodged by stepping backward. He then used the space to go on the offensive Upon seeing his first opening, Marius did something unexpected: he chucked his shield at the barbarian and rapidly closed in. The barbarian managed to bat the tossed shield out of the way with his ax. However, it was too late for him. The axeman was still on his downswing when Marius came upon him with his sword. The savage tried to parry but wasn’t fast enough. He was run through, coming to choke on his blood and then collapsing to the ground. The spearman, not wanting to lose his life too, threw his arms to the dirt and ran off. My brother, having seen the day was won, approached me smiling. He offered me his outstretched hand. I took it and was then hoisted into a warm embrace. I almost broke into tears upon receiving my brother’s hug. I thought I would have never experienced a moment like that again. We then pulled apart, clasping each other's shoulders and staring into each other's beaming faces “Marius!” I began. “The attack on your fort...How are you still alive? *How* did you find me?!” “Oh Cyrus! Brother! It is a long tale,” he said. “You must have many questions and I have so much to tell you, but...” He was interrupted by the sound of a war horn blowing in the distance. “But for now we must make haste to safety. Come!” We gathered our arms and then ran. As we sprinted through the streets, I was uncertain of the immediate future. However, that really didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was that my brother and I had each other again. Yes, everything was chaos. But I knew Marius and I would face that chaos together. Together we would stand a chance. I used to fight for my brother. But now...now we would fight as one. \ Hey, thanks for sitting through this and reading. This piece was admittedly more experimental and I wanted to try some new things. I honestly think the story could have come out better though. If you have some criticisms, please send 'em to me. I would love to hear what you have to say.