The Stratigos of Dark Magic

Cea was a beautiful city on the shores of the ocean. Unlike Kostaspolis, most of its houses were relatively humble. They rarely were over two stories tall. Still, they were beautiful with red brick roofs and whitewashed bricks. The streets were lined with various trees to give shade to travelers. Fountains appeared in the city every once in a while.

"It's no Kostaspolis, but it's still impressive," Ganzaya said.

"There's no point in saying a city isn't Kostaspolis. Kostaspolis is the greatest city in the world. No other city can possibly compare," Demetrius replied.

The Ulv nodded. He looked around the city more, scanning the area. Several crowds were wandering around. People were milling around at shops. Men on horses and camels moved through the streets.

"One hump," Ganzaya noted.

"Camels only have one hump," Demetrius said.

"The ones I saw before had two humps," the Ulv stated.

Demetrius put a hand to his chin.

"It seems there are more types of camels in the world. One-humped camels come from the deserts around here," he explained.

"Two-humped camels come from the East. My daughter's married to a man who breeds them for a living," Ganzaya said.

"That seems a bit lowly for the daughter of the greatest warrior of the Ulvs," Demetrius commented.

Ganzaya let out a slight smirk.

"He has a herd of 500 camels," the Ulv stated. "And he is from a very good family. His tribe is one of the most powerful in their region."

A hint of sadness flowed through Demetrius.

"If they were hoping for a marriage alliance with the Ulvs, those hopes were dashed," he thought.

There was a commotion ahead. Several guards walked in a street that the road Demetrius was on crossed. They cleared a path ahead of them, ushering people to the side. The Stratigos, Ganzaya, and Adriadne halted.

The guards were followed by a practical parade of horses, camels, carriages, servants, guards, and slaves. Most of them were dressed in robes, perfect for desert travel. The slaves were more sparsely clothed. At the head of the caravan was a man in shining gilded lamellar armor.

"Who is that?" Ganzaya asked.

Demetrius looked at the insignia on the various parts of the caravan.

"Emir Harun. He's been negotiating with the Doux on behalf of the Alfara Empire. It should be obvious that the Doux is negotiating for the Remen Empire," the Stratigos answered.

"Doux?"

"It's what the Remen Empire calls its governors. Some kingdoms to the West perverted the title for their own means, calling it Duke of all things."

Ganzaya looked back at the caravan, trying to see any sign of his wife being there. However, no women were present. Still, Ganzaya noticed that, among the men in chains, some of them were brown or even black in color. A look of disgust crossed Ganzaya's face.

"Emir Harun is clearly a terrible slave master," he said.

"Why do you assume that?" Demetrius asked.

"Look at his slaves," Ganzaya pointed at a black man. "A quarter of them look like they haven't bathed in months!"

Adriadne let out a deep sigh.

"I can't blame you for thinking that. I thought the same thing when I first saw people from the South," she stated.

Her brother nodded.

"Ganzaya, I can assure you that those slaves are bathed on a regular basis. An Emir would not want to be seen with dirty slaves," Demetrius said.

"Then why are those men covered in dirt?" Ganzaya asked.

"They aren't. They naturally have black and dark brown skin," the Stratigos answered.

A hint of shock crossed Ganzaya's face. However, it wasn't that great.

"I did not know that there were men with skin that dark," he stated.

"People tend to have darker skin the further South you go. People from this desert have darker skin than people from where I live. And if you go South enough, you'll find people who have black skin," Demetrius shrugged. "Of course, that isn't universal. You come from North of the Remen Empire, but your skin's darker than mine. And some people from this desert have light skin like me."

After the caravan moved beyond the intersection, business returned to normal. The crowds kept moving, and Demetrius, Ganzaya, and Adriadne went back on their journey.

They arrived at the foot of a fortress. It was on top of a hill and had high walls of stone. Crossbowmen walked over the crenelated walls above, a few staying in place to keep a constant watch.

Demetrius walked over to the gate. He moved right up to one of the guards.

"I am Stratigos Demetrius Kallergis. I am here to see Tourmarchēs Khalid," the boy said.

The guard went inside the fortress. After a few moments, a man with the skin tone of desert-dwellers stepped outside. He wore a cuirass of lamellar armor, and his black hair was cut short. His beard was small as well, but it was unmistakably present. A glimmer of recognition flashed in his hazel eyes when he saw Demetrius.

"Ah, despotēs. I was been expecting you," he stated, forcing himself to smile.

"I'm not surprised to see you, Tourmarchēs Khalid. We are almost ready to go through the desert," Demetrius gestured to his companions.

Khalid gazed over the other members of Demetrius' party.

"I presume the woman is your sister. But who is the man?" he questioned.

"He is a barbarian mercenary I hired," the Stratigos answered.

"Very well. I take it we'll leave tomorrow?" Khalid said.

Demetrius nodded.

"Tomorrow at dawn. That should give you more than enough time to make your preparations."

"Thank you, despotēs," Khalid spoke.

Then, he went into the building along with the others. When Demetrius' group started settling in for the day, Ganzaya turned to the Stratigos.

"I've heard the title Tourmarchēs twice now. What does it mean?" the Ulv asked.

"It's a title for a type of military commander. Under the theme system, the Tourmarchēs is the head of a tourma. A tourma is a military unit that can have as many as 6,000 men. Though, they normally have between 2,000 and 5,000 men," Demetrius answered.

Ganzaya's eyes widened in shock.

"6,000 men? Even if 2,000 is normal, that's a lot of men! I knew your armies were large, but this...puts it in perspective," he said.

"We can field far more men than any barbarian could ever hope to," Demetrius spoke before thinking. "We can field lots of men, but the issue is that they're scattered all over the Remen Empire. We have too many threats from all directions, so concentrating them in one area leaves another too vulnerable. And then there are the logistical issues, like finding food and water. If we could concentrate our forces more, no one would stand a chance against us."

Adriadne turned to Demetrius. Her expression was neutral.

"Tourmarchēs Khalid seemed to know you," she said.

"We worked together before," Demetrius replied.

Adriadne hesitated to speak, mixed feelings flowing through her. Eventually, she got words out.

"What do you think of him?" Adriadne asked.

"He is a very capable commander. He deserves his position. But I can't have Tourmarchēs Khalid liking me. So, I can't tell my sister the truth. But I don't want to make him seem incompetent either," Demetrius thought before speaking. "He is a servant of the Remen Empire. That is all that matters."

Then, Demetrius walked over to a window. He looked out over the city and into the sea in the distance.

"We'll be wearing robes when we travel out of here," he said. "We've been through the easy part of the journey so far."

"Easy? We've ridden over mountains," clear disbelief was on Adriadne's face.

"Yes. That is difficult in its own right, but we're heading into the desert. It's nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. It's scorching hot in the day and freezing cold at night. Getting through it will be a test of endurance and supply management," Demetrius explained.

"Thankfully, Tourmarchēs Khalid has more than enough experience with that," he thought.