The Campaign Begins

Pionus recoiled as he smelled burnt flesh, carried by the lazy afternoon breeze. The scene he was witnessing, however, was anything but lazy. A group of men and women lay on the ground, completely pulverized, brains, bones, clothes, and rubble were in one huge pile. "Who did this?" Pionus whispered to himself. He made his way to the city square, dazed. Crushed stones and building supports littered the streets. The walls surrounding the city were the only recognizable, untouched structure, curiously. He trudged to the barracks, seeing bent and intact weapons littering the ground. A man lay groaning on the ground with a pulverized left arm. Pionus ran up to the injured soldier.

"What happened? What happenned to my city?!" Pionus demanded, placing his hand on the man's chest.

The man looked at Pionus with foggy eyes, his mouth opening and closing. "They called themselves Amazons..." The man spoke with surprising clarity for someone who was half-dead, "Three young women...three young women came and did this to your city..."

Pionus glared at him, and commanded, "Think straight, boy! Who did this? How did they bypass our defences? Where are the people?"

"The ones that could fled to the Pyrie estates for shelter" The man said, a trickle of blood now running out of his mouth. "My lord, please save yourself, do not let the Amazons get you..." He coughed, a profuse amount of blood now gushing out of his mouth and nose. "AGHH! IT HURTS! Give me my knife!" He pleaded. Pionus honored his request, and the man drove the blade into his heart, his eyes widened and then relaxed with the bliss of death. 

"The Amazons." Pionus said out loud. "Hm."

24 hours later. Pionus marched with his men to the Pyrie farmland, and was talking with one of the guards in the large gathering of military men in the estate house.

"My king, I do not lie to you! Three women, all as tall as I can throw a javelin long!" The guard said, wild eyed. "They came in and just started killing and destroying everything. They told us they were Amazons, here to end the evil rule of man. I swear to it, lord! I swear to it on my own life!" 

Pionus contemplated for a while. The entire host of soldiers and guards remained silent as he looked down at the floor, and rubbed his hands together. All the men jumped when Pionus spoke up, "Where did they come in from?"

There was another silence until a soldier spoke up, "Their tracks make it look like they walked straight in from the South Cynthian Desert." Malem who was in the room made an odd noise. 

"Something to say, Malem?" Pionus inquired. 

"Yes!" Malem said eagerly. "For approximately 70 years our empire along with the Mycerians have been trying to send overland trade routes through the South Cynthian Desert and through the mountain passes. And we've never had success, no diplomats or merchants have ever returned. We've pretty much given up, assuming who ever inhabits the land south of the mountain pass was either uninterested or hostile. And here, we have our hostile inhabitants!" Malem was breathing heavily, looking around the room for reactions. 

"Malem is right." Pionus said confidently. "It explains two more things. The massive femur bone found along the Rislis River, and the massive stone damn at the end of the river that has always perplexed us. We know where these 'Amazons' live." The soldiers immediately began chatting amongst themselves exchanging wild theories excitedly. "Malem! Come with me, I need a word." Pionus called out.

Pionus shut the door of the storage room next to the hall, and said to Malem, "My good friend, the empire is now under your tyranny for the time being until I return. Make sure Cynthys is repopulated and rebuilt just how I had organized it. We have the funds, so you aren't permitted to increase taxes as long as we don't have a trade deficit." 

"Until you return? Where the hell are you going?" Malem asked.

Pionus grimaced. "These Amazons want war, and it sure as hell isn't being fought on Cynthian land. And besides, I never lose on the offensive, you know that." Pionus said.

"But...but Pionus, these are two hundred foot tall humans, they'll slaughter you! You can't be serious." 

"I'm sure the height was an exaggeration, Malem. I won't fail, I never do. Do you doubt my ability to succeed?" Pionus asked. 

"Well, no-" Malem started.

"Good then!" Pionus interrupted. "I'll be sure to say goodbye before I depart." And with that, Pionus briskly walked back into the hall, and all heads turned to him. "Eat well and sleep well men. You're not off duty, after all!" 

After two weeks of preparation, Pionus confidentaly set out to conquer the land south of the mountain pass, inhabited by the Amazons. He set his army up in a clearing in front of a massive eucalyptus forest, capable of hiding a 200 foot tall woman. His army consisted of skirmishers, pikemen, reserve cavalry and spearmen, and mercenaries. He brought an abundant amount of naptha with him as well.

"Are all positions set? Is every soldier set?" Pionus thundered over the sound of rolling tortion ballistas, and clanking weapons. A loud cheer, and bashing of weapons from the nervous men answered his question. "I feel fear in all of you!" Pionus shouted atop his horse. "Don't be afraid, you are the most capable men in the world! No bitch of a woman could stop your might, and my leadership! No foul creature that relies simply on brute force can overcome us! Now take your positions, the hunt starts any minute!" Pionus said, a wide grin on his face. This he liked. A tactical situation in which he had the advantage of planning, and could begin the process of avenging his beloved capital city. 

Now to set it all in motion. He thought. "Send the signal." He said calmly to the trumpeteer next to him. A harsh tune was played out, and the groaning of a eucalyptus tree was heard. The first tree, which was about to topple in the first place fell once Pionus' men rammed it. A loud crash could be heard as the 300 foot tall tree smashed into the ground, pulling a tree next to it secured by the rope to the ground as well. The trunks splintered each other in half, making for an even louder noise. If that doesn't get one to come, the next part will. Pionus thought. 

Naptha was spread all over the massive fallen trees, hurled up the trunks, on the leaves, at the base, and when the fire started the site was spectacular. A collosal column of smoke rose over the massive 600 foot bonfire, and the red flames could be seen dancing around the trees, The fire wouldn't kill the whole forest, as their were clearings with no brush almost surrounding the mass of trees, Pionus noted. 

One hour later.

The men sat in silence, fidgeting with their pikes and sheilds, with the skirmishers lying low in the brush everyone awaiting a noise, when one came. The old branches of the eucalyptus trees to the left flank of Pionus' army rustled massively, all men immediately turned their heads. "Relocate the skirmishers to the left" Pionus ordered to the scout by his side. A tree swayed. Everyone was holding their breath. 

Suddenly, a head poked out. A massive head, almost up to the top of the eucalyptus trees with wildly curly brown hair, huge, soft brown eyes, and plush red lips. The Amazon peering out of the forest was stunning. 

Like Pionus had ordered, his pikemen located right at the foot of the burning, naptha soaked trees on the outskirts of the forest began roaring and yelling, bashing their sheilds, and making a rucus. Like he had hoped, the Amazon angrily walked toward his pikemen. As she revealed herself from the forest, Pionus was impressed. She was naked, with a fair skin tone, and a very athletic, and well proportioned body that any man would lust after if she were human. She walked over to the mob of men, and her beautiful lips formed into a smile as she put her hands on her hips, and leaned to one side in a teasing pose. 

"Now, signal the skirmishers to advance withing firing range, they know when to fire." Pionus commanded the trumpeteer, who blared out the tune. 

The Amazon lifted her foot, and loomed it over the pikemen, and right as her muscles tensed to bring it down, the men lept forward about one foot into their holes they had previously dug, lifted their pikes completely vertically, and braced. Her foot smashed the ground with terrifying force. The pikes at the front and back of the formation were shattered but a few dozen in the center, near her soft arch-skin were 15 feet up the inside of her foot before she noticed. She lifted her foot immediately screaming an ear piercing scream, a number of pikes sticking out the bottom of her foot, and to Pionus' dismay, a few crushed men were stuck to her soles as she lifted. Unable to put the foot down, as it would drive the pikes even farther, she tried to hop away on one foot, but the skirmishers opened fire, hurling painful javelins, ballista bolts, and arrows into her forcing her to brace. Almost exactly as Pionus' imagination had planned the event out, she toppled into the mass of burning forest, smashing into the ground and bringing a flaming trunk down across her chest. Her screams were replaced by coughs, as she struggled under the burning wood.

His men closed in, as it was now safe, and used the abundant naptha pots Pionus brought with his army to cover her, torching her skin. The coughing and screaming eventually stopped. The battle was won.