KING OF BEASTS (Hiatus)

Ares looked out to all the Captains and the handful of Majors. He had informed them to meet him on this day in order to speak with them, and so had the training field cleared for them. Each of them stood side by side, their arms behind their backs. They wore their helmets and carried with them a weapon, as was Ares’ request.

Surrounding Ares and the officers were the Roaring Tridents and the Marching Blades, with their heavy gear and weapons at the ready in case anything were to occur.

“I thank you all for meeting me on this fine noon, I’m sure many of you had much to do over the past few days, but there is quite an important matter at hand.” Ares said as he began to pace in front of them, going from one side to the next. “I thought it would be best to inform you all, as Captains and Majors, for this is a part of your responsibilities.”

He stopped on a heel and then swivelled to face them, his eyes flashing between them all. He then stared at Heria, who was happy to stand tall for him and Ares nodded to her, thanking her for showing him some respect in front of everyone in this serious matter. He had been stressing out about what to do if she had acted up, it had been almost all he had thought about over the morning. He had asked her earlier to please act respectfully for the serious half of the discussion and she had been quite dismissive of it.

“I have come to speak of you about the army, and your role within the army, and how I want it to be structured.” He cleared his throat and then looked between them all. “There has been some grumblings from the soldiers that they feel as though the work assigned to them has been… boring and beneath them.” Ares stood up straighter and then ran his tongue along the bottom row of his teeth, squinting towards the officers to see if any of them gave off any signs of guilt.

He walked over to one particular Captain, an oxfolk that was glaring at him. Ares wondered if the oxfolk disliked him, or if he just had such a face. “The army is a path to glory and honour, but it is only the path to glory and honour if you’re willing to work for it. It isn’t fun and games, the life of a soldier is hard, and harder still in times of war. Currently we have no army to face, we have a Kingdom to build.” He then eyed up the oxfolk Captain. “The soldiers of Rivea are not just tools, blades to stab at the enemy and then fall. The soldiers of Rivea are beings with great skill and power, they are men and women that know how to stab the enemy, how to build fortifications, they are soldiers, engineers, medics, cooks, musicians, and so much more.”

Ares stepped away from the oxfolk Captain and then continued to walk. “What use is a soldier to me if they will not create walls to protect their fellow warriors? What use is a soldier to me if they cannot heal the wound of a soldier that had laid down their body to shield them? What use is a soldier to me if they cannot feed their fellow brothers and sisters so they can continue to fight and march? What use to me if a soldier is unable to play the drums to help with the marching orders, or to frighten the enemy, or to bolster the force, or to help to relax the soldiers after a long day of hard work? What use is a soldier that refuses to help Rivea?”

Then he walked away, putting between them a fair amount of distance before he raised a hand. Then he formed blocked of dirt, about five centimetres wide and thick, and fifteen centimetres high. He made six of these blocks, then repeated this six times, and then another six times.

“Each team is made up of five soldiers, and a single Leitenant.” Ares changed the top of one of the small blocks to be slightly different than the other five. “Six of these form a Squad, where there are five Leitenants and one Captain.” He then changed the tops of four more, and then on the fifth changed it so that it looked different once again, though this time with a cape. “Then six of these create a Company, thirty Leitenants, five Captains, one Major.” Again he changed them, but the Major now had a sword raised, or at least that’s what Ares was going for.

“I’m sure you know that I have also asked for whistle and drums to be made. I have a few more ideas of what I would like made, but for now, let us keep it simple. Every single one of these soldiers, in the two hundred and sixteen that form a Company, will hold with them a whistle. Then I would like for each Squad to possess a drum, just a single member of your choice, someone that isn’t an officer.” He then shifted the dirt nearby a block with nothing different about it, forming a smaller block beside it, and then did so for the other Squads.

“The role of the drummer is great, important. The drums will signify not only the army’s arrival, and the heavy steps we will take to storm the enemy, but also to give orders, to signify an advance, and if need be, a retreat. The role of the drummer for funerals will be important too.” Ares looked out to the officers assembled. “If we lose a soldier, they won’t be passing on without our thanks.”

“We will also bring along civillians, or rather, non combatants that will assist with various tasks. Each Team will have an extra member who will help with various tasks, carrying their own gear and such. Typically they will have a speciality, either being engineers or medics themselves, though they may also be a reserve force to replenish the dead. They will assist in various matters, but we won’t have to worry about such things as of yet. Any questions?”

“Ares-kin, you have yet to put us in these Companies, there are many squads still separate…”

“That’s because we don’t need many Companies yet, but every Squad will eventually be formed into a Company, unless we don’t have enough Squads to form one. The Company is the most important unit in the army, though it won’t be the largest. I will come to that in a while, but first I will continue to explain the various roles we will have.”

Ares stretched his neck and then continued. “Each soldier will be responsible for carrying their own gear, food, clothes, weapons, whistles, drum, a stake of wood and a shovel. They will march with such things, though of course, there will be a few more items they may hold, but these are the basics. Each Company will have it’s own responsibilities, and will have a theme associated with it. Such as a Company of light infantry, or archers, or cavalry. The Company is the most important unit in the army, because it will move with a broader goal in mind, but independently for the most part, and even each Squad will move independently in some cases. Each Company will have an oxen to help it carry extra supplies and such, it shouldn’t slow down the Company too much to have a single oxen with a cart.”

Ares then copied and pasted the Companies he had created until there were six of such a thing. “Six Companies will form a Battalion, and the Battalion will be led by a Colonel. So far I will take that role, but the Battalion is probably the smallest unit I would like in the army. Each Battalion will be formed of at least three Companies of light infantry, a single Company of heavy infantry, a single Company of cavalry, and then a single Company of archers.” He formed a wall between each Company of various patterns to signify the role of each Company within the Battalion. He also then changed the Colonel to have a larger helmet than the others.

Then he stepped back. “This is not the final form of the army though.” He said as he then copied the Battalions until there were six, and then changed the sixth Colonel to be on a small platform. “This is the General.” He said as he looked to the others. “This is the General of the Legion, and they will lead over the entire Legion. For now, this is what we shall aim for. This is a lot of information to take, so I will leave it essentially at that.”

Then Ares took about he size of a Battalion beside the Legion of almost eight thousand. “This will be the support network, of helpers and specialists, that will assist during the battles and wars. Take a look, for this is probably similar to what you had seen with the humans.” He said as he eyed up a few of the oxfolk. “I will take all of these and place them near the shrine, and I would like for each of you to bring your Squads here over the course of the next month to explain to them of the plan.” He eyed them up. “Is that understood?”

They saluted him and Ares returned the salute. “Good. If there are any questions, you may speak them after you have informed your Squads and Companies of the plan and the role of the soldiers. Ah, of course, there is much I have yet to explain.”

Then Ares went further into the logistics, explaining just exactly why they needed a shovel and some stakes. This was to form a temporary shelter at the end of a march, and then the layout of tents that should be placed down in the same spot every time for every Team, so that way they always knew where to go, and how this camp should look too. He drew each of these onto the ground, and continued to speak with them for a few more hours about the general tactics he wished to employ, though of course only in battle could it really be seen to work.

“Please let me know if any soldier is without a helmet, shield and spear for now. Everything else will come in due time, but these are the most important things for now.” He informed them before Ares then raised a hand to shift away the Legion.

He paused though. He stared at the Legion for some time and felt as though something was off about it.

‘Oh crap, I cocked it up.’

He sighed and then shifted it away. ‘Oh well, I’ll fix it next time.’