31 January 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2268: Last Stand at the River Sallas

Here's a post inspired by today's daily prompt in Freewriters; 31 January 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2268: the deadly situation

This one's actually a story from the ancient history of my homebrew Dungeons & Dragons setting 😀

Image created by AI in Nightcafe studio

Achilor looked around at his men. Tired, bloody and far, far fewer in number than an hour ago. They had the look of beaten men. But this was not the day for that.

Raising his bronze sword and beating it against his dipylon shield of ox hide, he turned to stand before his troops, deliberately turning his back on the advancing enemy ranks.

"My brothers, I won't lie to you; this is a deadly situation. We are outnumbered a hundred to one by the Amisharian hordes. But we have advantages they do not. We are companions, trained as warriors from birth. The enemy are farmers dragged from their fields, spears pushed into their hands and forced into war. But most important of all, our backs are to the river Sallas. We have nowhere to run to, and they can flee easily if we hurt enough of them."

Turning once more to the plain filled with gradually encroaching enemies, Achilor grinned. He called out a challenge to them.

"Come, Amisharian scum. You put us into the most deadly situation. Now taste the bronze of our sword blades and spear tips. If any of you survive, you can tell your descendants of the last stand of the Elasians, and how each of us slew ten of yours before dying the most heroic death. The legend of the Last Stand at the Sallas will last a thousand years !"