The Winter Tyrant-Chapter 83: Toppling an Empire

Zach and his peltasts stood gathered in the agoge.

They were equipped for their next operation and were in the act of packing the supplies they needed into their bags and sleds when the door opened from behind, revealing Daniel whom stood there in his standard uniform.

The bronze brown beret of the hoplites sat neatly above his head. Its center badge fashioned from recycled copper, a hoplon with two crossed spears.

It was polished neatly and stood in stark contrast to the pewter grey berets and tarnished silver badges that rested in the equipment racks of the Peltasts.

Zach immediately ceased what he was doing and stood up silently to meet Daniel’s gaze. The two men locked eyes, their expressions as cold as the frost riddled world outside. And the breeze that carried death.

And then it broke, revealing a warmth that was hidden beneath it. Daniel smiled and let his shoulders rest as he stepped forward to meet his peer.

"You guys are heading out again, huh? Are you sure you don’t need backup this time?"

Zach’s posture relaxed subtly beneath his layered clothing. A smirk etched itself across his lips as he shook his head.

"It can’t be helped... You guys are needed here, just like Todd and his men. Although Dean was telling me the other day, he was selecting the most capable among the militia to transition full time into becoming our reinforcements. So who knows, maybe I’ll be a full-fledged squad commander in a month or two."

Daniel chuckled, reaching his hand forward, Zach did the same as they clasped each other’s forearms and shook it once but firmly.

"You and I both... Good hunting...."

Zach didn’t respond, he simply smiled and nodded. Daniel left the room not long after, where Zach stood alone with the rest of his men.

He noticed one of the men beginning to pack up the tripod for their heavy machine gun.

"Not that... That’s not our mission this time around."

The men looked up at Zach, they didn’t speak, they didn’t need to. By now they were men of few words.

A habit instilled in them from surviving out there in the cold where sound was a deciding factor in if they came back alive or were buried somewhere beneath the snow.

Once Zach saw that he got their attention, he was quick to fill them in on the mission briefing Dean had given them.

"The enemy is sufficiently spooked and will probably be adjusting their tactics accordingly now that they know someone is out there hunting them. With this in mind, the Archon has suggested in his infinite wisdom, that we begin a hands off approach to this war."

The peltasts looked at one another, silently exchanging their confusion with their gazes rather than their words.

It was only natural, until now their stated objective was to harass, pursue, and ambush the enemy wherever they found them. But luckily for them, Zach was quick to clarify their new position. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"When we set out on this objective, we figured were alone in this fight. Daniel, Todd, and the others stand behind us, protecting Elysium. Meaning the five of us were supposed to defeat an enemy one hundredfold."

There was a brief pause between his words, as if to gather his thoughts.

"But now we know our enemies are relying on intimidation to force others into giving them the supplies they need to continue the fight. So let me ask you something: how do five hundred men topple an empire?"

One of the peltasts was quick to give the answer. His voice quiet, calm, but by no means meek.

"By inciting an uprising...."

Zach nodded his head, patting young man on the shoulder who had spoken up as he did so.

"That’s exactly what the Archon was thinking. He told me something interesting when explaining the concept to me. There was once a Hispanan conquistador who brought five hundred men to the New World, there they defeated a mighty local empire of slavers. And they didn’t do it alone....":

Zach’s voice carried throughout the armory as he raised his rifle and wrapped its sling around his body.

"They did it by convincing tens of thousands of other natives who were conquered, enslaved and sacrificed by this empire to throw off their shackles and fight against their masters. So as they have done in the world that came before ours, we shall do now."

The Peltasts nodded eagerly, if the gleam in their eyes was anything to go by, Zach’s words had inspired them. They were no longer deep operatives fighting a war in the long winter alone.

They were agents of a homeland sent to destabilize an empire. And as Zach saw how well the analogy, he couldn’t help but admire Dean’s lecture, which he had simply repeated to them.

Your men need something more to fight for than just the idea of protecting what’s behind them. That alone won’t help them get through the cold nights out there.

They need a legacy beyond simply their identities as Peltasts. They need a mythic lineage to walk in the steps of. Now go out and make them believe this fight is winnable.

When Zach reflected on how certain Dean was that this idea, which seemed so absurd to him at the time, would work in rallying the Peltasts to face the dangerous and complicated mission of inspiring insurrection against the raiders. He almost felt foolish.

However, the Peltasts truly believed they were about to topple a "mighty empire." And because of that, Zach could only smirk and scoff.

"Alright, enough fucking around, we’ve got an empire to dismantle."

The peltasts finished packing up their gear and headed out from Elysium once the sun had begun to fall. They silently prowled the snow dunes like ghosts in the winter mist.

Headed towards the foundry where they would follow the next group of raiders brave or foolish enough to go collect their tribute.

And they would remain out of sight and out of mind until they had mapped every location that was handing over manpower and resources to the enemy.