Dianera's Song By Valerafon Dianera, the Amazon, must find a new path in a changing world. Dianera is the daughter of Diana a legendary general of the Amazon nation. Jason her father was captured by Amazons in the famous battle of Astan and became the chattel and later husband of Diana. Dianera also has a younger brother who escaped, from the Amazons, on his eighteenth birthday with his family's blessing. He now resides in the lands to the west of the great Amazon nation. If you wish to read more about Dianera's family and to get a better perspective on this sequel, I recommend you read "Among the Amazons" first. valerafon@aol.com All the gods are dead except the god of war. Eldridge Cleaver Prologue A darkness fell over the whole earth after the last great world empire fell. It was an age of twilight, cold bitter winds, and madness. Even the earth itself seemed to be in a period of tumult and upheaval. Every manner of disaster held sovereignty over the earth. Floods and volcanic eruptions decimated the country side. Huge tidal waves swamped the great seaports. Plagues ravaged the people. And above all, the great god of war reigned supreme. It seemed in the blink of an eye, every country and nation came under his spell. Everyone lost heart and fell into bitter despair. Knowledge and history were forgotten and chaos ruled the day. No tribe, no nation, no empire, great or small, were spared from his wrath. The god of war took firm control from the immense impassable ocean far to the west, to the great plains of Commore and Astan, all the way to the lands of Nem. Even the vast territories of the Amazons were invaded in the name of Ares. Endless war assailed the hearts and minds of the people and sapped their wills. The strange and exotic lands far to the East were not exempt from the great god's gaze either. Endless battles were fought by countless hordes in the vast steppes and rolling hills of Ruse. These mysterious and savage people began to cast their gaze westward. Farther still to the East Ares also held sway, all the way beyond the great mountain ranges which blocked the path to the lands of Cathay. The whole world seemed cursed. No person, no family was spared, and countless thousands left or fled their homes and roamed the land in search of what the earth had temporarily lost. These lost souls wandered from land to land looking for a safe haven or a place to rebuild and start over, and usually found none. This was the beginning of the Dark Ages. Twilight and the god of war ruled the whole world. Countries were destroyed in his name and whole nations of people disappeared and were forgotten in the hearts and minds of the people that survived. This was the time of myth and legend. ----------------------------------- Chapter One The Beginning of the End From the heart of Ruse they gathered. The nomadic tribes that wandered the vast wilderness that was the cold and endless steppes. They gathered in vast numbers that were unheard of before. These were tribes of people who were use to fighting among themselves. In fact, this was the only way of life they knew. These uncountable tribes all lived a solitary existence spurning other bands like themselves. They only lived for the moment and for the people of their tribe, nothing else mattered. Their only goals being survival, endless war, and plunder. But now they gathered in vast numbers. Brought together by one man who answered only to one god, the god of war. He was known only as the Dark Lord. He had no face. His features were always hidden behind an ornately jeweled mask. No one knew where he came from and no one cared. He had no friends, no family, and he loved no one or was he loved by anyone. His thoughts were his own, and his plans were nothing short of plunder and conquest of the entire planet. His instrument would be the Nomadic tribes of Ruse. The dark Lord had one virtue and one virtue only, patience. Slowly he gathered the tribes like red cherries ripe for the plucking. At first, conquest was the only means to sway them. The only thing the tribesmen understood was the sword, and the sword is was the Dark Lord gave them. Whole tribes were slaughtered and disappeared under his heal. Many would rather die than be broken, but what did a few cherries matter when their was a mighty tree to harvest. Slowly very slowly the word spread throughout this vast wilderness. Fear gripped all of the tribes, and all prepared to fight, but the Dark Lord had one great ally. These tribes had no history of working together for a greater purpose. One by one they fell, till the trickle became a torrent and the torrent became a flood. The Dark Lord's numbers grew slowly. From the first days when they numbered in the hundreds, till two years later when they numbered in the thousands, to the tens of thousands of yesterday, till today when he had an army so vast the likes of which the world had never seen before. Eventually, even coercion proved successful. Now, no one could stand alone and survive. The Dark Lord became generous and merciful, near the end, for it suited his purpose. So they came to him freely now, and the flood became a tidal wave of armed men ready to do his bidding. The Dark Lord's ultimate goal remained hidden, but unshakable. He and his minions were not interested in land or people. They did not wish to conquer or enslave. Conquering would mean precious soldiers and valuable officers would have to remain behind and rule. And the Dark Lord trusted no one. Rather, he and his soldiers would live for war and only war. Plundering and total destruction would be all that mattered. Just like the soldier ants of the tropics they would leave their homes for the first time in a millennium....and march. Like the soldier ants they would destroy and kill everything in their path. Leaving only desolation, destruction, and death in their wake. So the vast horde gathered and the Dark Lord turned his eyes and his insatiable appetite for plunder westward. Slowly they moved consuming everything in their path. They moved slowly because the Dark Lord was patient. The great army moved inexorably towards the setting sun, always towards the setting sun. One after another, people, then cities, then whole nations slowly but inevitably began to disappear. High above, the great god of war looked down on his only son and smiled. ---------------------------------------- A coward turns away, but a brave man's choice is danger. Euripides Chapter two The Way of the Warrior Dianera and her two battalions of Amazon horsewomen waited impatiently in a small wooded area. She could hear the sounds of battle in the distance. It was not like her to be patient in battle, but her mother had left her strict orders. Only when the trap had been sprung could she move forward, and the enemy was very cautious today. Finally, the Amazon with the signal pennant appeared. She waved it frantically in Dianera's direction. The trap had been sprung. Dianera turned and gave the order. She yelled it as loud as she could, "AMAZONS ATTACK!" and then charged forward with her sword waving high in the air. The rest of her warriors drew their swords, imitated Dianera's lead, and followed their brave general. When they had cleared the last hill and could see the battle laid out before them, first Dianera, and then the rest of her horsewomen started to yell their famous war cry. It was a battle cry an enemy soldier never forgot, if he survived the encounter. Down below, the Dark Lords troops looked up and could see cavalry attacking from three different directions. For the first time today the Dark Lords troops knew fear. Dianera could see her mother's forces in the middle of the plain. They were under heavy attack from three sides. As she raced toward her mother's position, Dianera remembered the night before, and her mother proposing to her generals the plan for the great battle that would happen on the marrow. Her feelings of unrest came back to her now just like when she had first heard of the plan. Now she prayed, as her cavalry raced forward, that she would reach her mother's position in time. The plan called for her mother to lead a force of Amazons into the middle of the plain drawing out the main body of the enemy. The Amazon cavalry would relieve her and flank the Dark Lord's troops. It would require extreme bravery on the part of the warriors sent into harm's way. Their mission would be very dangerous and many warriors would lose their lives. It was so dangerous that Dianera's mother could not bring herself to order any Amazon to take on this mission. Instead, volunteers were to be chosen. Dianera remembered with pride, the night before, when the plan was outlined to the troops and nearly the entire army volunteered. Still Dianera argued with her mother's plan. She did not think that the supreme general of all the Amazons should lead the attack. Dianera argued that Milkia or Servana should lead it, but Diana, her mother, would not listen. Dianera remembered with apprehension, their last embrace before she left to take charge of her cavalry. As they embraced, a cold shudder went through her to the very core of her being. Was it a premonition? When they waved and parted, Dianera was not sure she would ever see her mother alive again. Now she raced with her troops headlong, like the point of a sword, toward her mothers endangered position. They would slice through the enemy and relieve the general's tired but brave troops before they could be overwhelmed. She was very proud that her mother had chosen her two battalions as the troop to relieve the endangered forces. Her attacking force pierced the enemy and was making great progress. Many of the Dark Lords troops were scattering before her onslaught. She could see that the other two groups of cavalry were finding equal success as well. They were executing their portion of the plan and flanking much of the Dark Lords army. In the distance far to the rear, the remainder of the Amazon ground forces rushed forward. All their forces were now committed in this life and death struggle on the Plain of Commore before the blue hills of Almonon. Dianera could see her mother's position drawing closer. She was no more than several hundred meters from relieving the embattled Amazon's, when the soldiers resistance before her stiffened. At the same time, a vast horde of the Dark Lords troops and cavalry swarmed over some nearby hills and swept down on the battle field like locus. Dianera could see a solitary figure remain on the highest hill. He was riding a jet black horse and a dark cape trailed in the wind behind him. She thought he looked like some demonic vision right out of Hades. A portion of the Dark Lord's reinforcements blocked her path to her mother and augmented the troops fighting her cavalry. Both forces resolve stiffened and the ebb and flow of the battle slowly moved her forces away from her mothers position. All her fellow warriors fought with unbelievable resolve that day. The Dark Lords troops fell like so many shafts of wheat, but others would rush in to take their place and the Dark Lord's supply of soldiers seemed endless. Dianera was proud of her forces. They fought like she-demons this day, but no matter how hard they fought or how many of the enemy they killed, the tide of battle kept sweeping them further and further from her mother's position. She barely had time to look, but she could still make out her mother's troops. They were completely surrounded now and the remaing Amazon's, that were still alive, could be seen bravely wielding their swords. Finally, her mother's position moved too far away to be made out clearly and it was becoming difficult to even see positions that were nearby on the plain. The troops from both sides fought ferociously and had no idea who was winning. There was just too much dust in the air as the two armies became completely engaged on the plain. The visibility became so poor that each Amazons whole world became the few feet around her as she struggled to stay alive and kill as many of the enemy as possible. The battle waged on into the evening. Under cover of darkness the Amazons were able to disengage from the enemy. The tired Amazons retreated in good order. The enemy did not follow. They had seen enough of the Amazons for one day. It was the first time the Dark Lord's forces had ever been left in command of the field. Far more of the Dark Lord's forces had died this day, but the Amazons had to yield to the cold mathematical equation of numbers Dianera moved the remnants of her battalions to a safe location and quickly set out to see if she could find her mother. As she neared camp, she saw Milkia and her daughter Phaedra trying to bring order in the midst of chaos. Dianera hastily rode up to the two women and asked frantically, "Have you seen my mother? Did they get relieved? Did somebody get to them?" Milkia lowered her head and did not speak for a few moments. When she did look up again her face was grave. Dianera immediately feared the worst. Milkia studied the daughter of her best friend for a few more moments and then spoke, "There has been no word. All is still confusion." Milkia lowered her head again and she added in a sad voice, "We may not know till morning." Dianera could not conceal the desperation in her voice as she asked further, "Have you seen any of the officers from her regiment?" Phaedra answered this time. She could see the worry on Dianera's face. She felt her dearest and closest friend's anxiety and could not conceal the worry in her own voice either. "No, there has been no word." Dianera turned her horse to leave and said to the two women, "I must go to the battlefield, and I must go now." In a flash she was off. Milkia yelled after her retreating figure, "Be careful, we can't afford to lose you too." Phaedra turned to her mother and no words were necessary as they looked into each other's eyes. Finally, Milkia spoke to her only daughter with resignation in her voice "Go with your friend. Be careful and come back to me." Phaedra gave her mother a nod of understanding, and then quickly followed after her best friend. Milkia couldn't and wouldn't stop her daughter from going with Dianera. As an Amazon, she understood how important friendship and honor were. As she watched her daughter disappear in the dark, the memory of Diana flooded back into her mind. She lowered her head and wept for the first time in her life. -------------------------------------- Dianera and Phaedra walked through the battle field holding their horses reigns in one hand and a torch in the other. The great plain seemed to the two young searchers to be very dark and eerie place this night. It felt like the dead had not yet departed. Phaedra believed in ghosts and thought this place would be haunted till the end of time. Too many thousands had died on this field today. Every so often, they would her the occasional moan or outcry of a man. When they found the injured man, they pierced him through the throat with their sword. This was not cruel. The Dark Lord had no time for injured troops, even his own. So the two women knew they were performing an act of kindness. Even the enemy deserved such respect. All the dead on this battlefield were kin. They were brothers and sisters in death. Moans or outcries from Amazons could occasionally be heard as well. When they were found, if the wound was severe or mortal, they joined their brothers in death. Amazons who were not severely wounded had to find the strength to make it back to camp on their own. The time had ended long ago when the wounded and dead from the battlefield could be collected. The Dark Lord had a nasty habit of setting up traps or firing upon those that collected the bodies. Besides, no more Amazons could be spared now for such work. The army had to keep moving and burning the countryside before the onslaught of the unrelenting enemy. As they searched, Diana remembered when this nightmare first started. Her father's death by plague was the omen that portended it all. He and much of her mother's village had died three years earlier. The plague seemed to appear out of nowhere. Many were stricken and no family was spared. Even the strongest Amazon warriors died and many men and children died as well. Just when all hope seemed lost, the plaque disappeared as mysteriously as it came. But the plague spared no Amazon village town or city and it weakened a great nation. She remembered sadly her mother lighting her father's funeral pyre and saying the words over his body as his essence gently caught the wind and transported his spirit to his new home beyond pain and suffering. Diana's words had to be said as the fire burned. They were her family's words that were past down from each family member to the next from generation to generation. Finally, till the origin of the words were lost in the vastness of time. Dianera's thoughts came back to the grim reality of the here and now as the two women came upon another mortally wounded Amazon. The woman died bravely looking into their eyes as they performed the gruesome service to their wounded comrade. Both women said a prayer over their fallen sister before they continued on with their search. One hour then two went by as they searched the bodies of the slain. Inevitably Dianera's thoughts returned to her father. She could still see her father's funeral pyre burning in her mind's eye. When the flames were almost extinguished, she remembered her mother dropping down to her knees and crying out his name over and over again, "Jason..Jason..Jason..I will always love you." It was only the second time Dianera had seen her mother cry. It was only the second time Dianera had cried as well. Right after her father's death, The Dark Lord invaded. His army was vast and moved slowly. The Amazon Nation had time to prepare as best they could. All women from the ages of sixteen to fifty were put under arms and even some battalions of the men were formed. When the Dark Lord reached the Danube he may have made his only mistake. He split his vast army into two forces. One force went south and around the Amazon nation to attack Nem. The bulk of his army invaded the Amazons. The war had raged on for over two years. Slowly the Amazons were pushed back. They won every battle, but still they were forced to retreat. In the two years since the Dark Lord appeared, over half of their territory had been lost to his slow but inexorable march forward. Nothing remained alive in the Dark Lords wake. Eventually word had reached the Amazons that the kingdom of Nem had been besieged, but the greater part of their people had remained safe behind the great impenetrable walls of their principal cities. Slowly and painfully Dianera's and Phaedra's search went on. Many hours passed since they started their quest across the immense battlefield. It would be light soon and they would have to give up with a portion of the battle field left unexplored. When it seemed like their labor would prove fruitless, she found where her mother's force had made their last valiant stand. She spotted her right among her troops still clutching her sword. Many dead enemy soldiers laid at her feet. She looked so peaceful Dianera thought. She fought back the idea that she was only sleeping. She took the sword from her mothers hands and threw her own sword away and gently placed her mother's sword in her own sheath. Then very carefully she gently picked up her mothers head and kissed her cold cold face. For the third time in her life Dianera wept. Standing above her friend, Phaedra silently guarded her best friends back. She looked on silently and wept as well. ------------------------------------- Dianera held the torch in her hand and looked on her mother's face for the last time. Standing solemnly behind her were Milkia and Servana and their daughter's Phaedra and Atlanta. Behind them were the remnants of a once great army. Slowly Dianera lit the funeral pyre. She looked on sadly as the fire took hold and started to consume the greatest general the Amazon nation had ever known. As she watched the fire burn, she knew with total certainty that this day her parents would be reunited in a far better place. Then she remembered her brother with sadness. It was not possible for him to be here. She vowed to find him someday and tell him how bravely both of their parents had met their deaths. As she watched the fire consume her beloved mother, she thought of the Dark Lord. In Dianera, a great hate started to burn as well. It burned brighter than the funeral pyre. As she watched the fire burn, she remembered The Dark Lord looking down upon the great battle the day before. She could picture the smile on his face, even though his face was hidden to the world, as he watched the battle. At that moment, this strange man with his ornate mask was forever burned into her mind. Dianera took her mother's sword from her sheath and held it out horizontally in her hands before the great bonfire. With every fiber in her being she made a solemn oath. Upon her dead mother's burning corpse, she vowed to take her revenge on the Dark Lord. She mumbled these words under her breath. "Nothing will save you. I will have my vengeance." Then she remembered the poem her mother had taught her as a small child and her mood became less somber. She remembered how her mother made her recite the words till they were burned forever into her memory. She knew what she had to do. The part that had to do with death must be said now while the fire still burned. Slowly very slowly she said them out loud: The way of the warrior is always perilous and difficult. Courage, duty, and honor illuminate our path. Our calling is harsh, but noble, and almost always brief. I honor and remember those warriors who came before me. I will take something of them into battle with me and put sadness to rest. For when one warrior falls..another is born. I will remember always....that the great wheel turns. ------------------------------------ Dianera and Phaedra sat mounted patiently on their horses. Milkia and Servana were standing beside them. Milkia looked up and told both young Amazons the harsh realities of their situation. "We can hold out no more than three moons. After that all will be lost. Your mission must succeed." Dianera said defiantly, "Send another. I want to stay with my warriors. If I must die, then let it be in battle." Milkia was patient. She had learned from the best, Dianera's mother. She caught the young Amazon's eyes and held them with her own. She had to make the daughter of her best friend understand the gravity of their situation. She knew her own daughter would follow Dianera unquestingly to the ends of the earth. Finally, she answered Dianera in a gentle almost motherly tone of voice, "No! We need you two to go to Nem. The Nemites now are our only hope. If you do not succeed in your mission, then the Amazons nation will perish. All that we have ever been will disappear. There will no one in the future to sing our songs around the campfires. Our culture, our history, and our victories in battle will be sung and honored no more. All that we are will be lost and all that we may become may never come about. You two are our last best hope for survival." The two young Amazons looked to each other and silently nodded. They turned to go, but before they could leave Milkia grabbed the reins of her daughters horse. First she examined Dianera and then her gaze moved to her own daughter. She looked on the two young women with pride as any mother would. Then she spoke so that all those nearby could hear, "If two Amazons can succeed in this mission...you two can. Go swiftly but be careful." Before she let go of her daughter's reins, she looked straight at her daughter and added, "Return to me my daughter. Make me proud." Her daughter nodded once more. Then she spoke to both for the final time, "Remember the ways of the warrior. Do not act in anger. Remember your heritage, you are Amazons. Everything depends on the both of you." As both women slowly rode off, Melkia shouted after them, "The Dark Lords forces are returning from Nem to their master. We cannot hold out much longer. You must convince the Nemites it is in their best interest to combine forces. If they stay behind their walls, they will fall just as surely as we will." Finally, Milkia grew silent and watched them depart. Their was nothing more she could do. The fate of the Amazon Nation was now in the hands of the gods and two young warriors. As Dianera and Phaedra disappeared, Milkia couldn't help but wonder if she would ever see her daughter and Dianera again. End of part one