Gladiators Ready for Battle

Ready for Battle

Dan Vadis

Knife Fight

Diomedes

***

The warship positioned itself as close to the shore of the small isle of Crete as the depth of the sea below her would allow. Any closer would risk splitting the wooden ship's oak keel or damaging its rudder.  The warriors would have to lower themselves into waist-high sea water and then wade in to shore a good distance away. 

When the ship's anchor was dropped Diomedes was the first warrior to release his grip on his oar and leap to his feet at his outside position among the oarsmen nearest the stern of the ship. The big muscular bare-chested warrior pulled back his broad shoulders, arched his back, and stretched his massive chest and lean muscular abdomen. 

The gods had not been kind to the sailors that day and the steady nautical breezes that usually blew from the north across the Adriatic were silent for the last few hours rendering the ship's large sail impotent. The warship relied solely on the muscle of its oarsmen to propel it forward toward its destination and to carry its warriors to battle. 

Diomedes' thickly muscled torso was stiff from the day's rowing but the endless hours of pulling on the oar had swollen the muscles in his arms, shoulders, back, and chest to impressive proportions.  Blood surged through the rope-like veins throbbing under the warrior's taut skin, hardening Diomedes' sore muscles while replenishing them with much needed oxygen and nutrients. 

The sun's relentless rays had baked Diomedes' smooth skin to a golden hue that accentuated the curves and crevices of every bulging muscle in the warrior's fully exposed torso, arms, and legs. The sharp definition of Diomedes' musculature was exaggerated by his meager diet for the last several weeks that consisted of nothing more than fish, dates, and nuts. The warrior's nearly naked body looked as if it had been carved from marble with a finely sharpened chisel and a skilled hand. 

Beads of perspiration ran off Diomedes' huge pectorals and rolled down his belly, streaming over the mounds of thick muscle that covered his abdomen. The steady streams of moisture running down the warrior's body disappeared  briefly behind his leather tunic and then reappeared, aimlessly rolling down his thick muscular thighs. Diomedes elicited the amorous, but muted, stares of several other warriors on the ship as he twisted his sculpted torso from side to side and stretched and flexed his muscular body in preparation for battle.       

                   

***

Squabbles between the city states of the Macedonian Peninsula were common but King Philip was intent on conquering the Mycenaeans on Crete and occupying the small island in the southern Adriatic. The island's natural harbors were essential for Macedonia to expand its trade routes to Egypt and the rest of the African continent. 

The Mycenaeans were proud of their independence and resisted Philip's diplomatic efforts to bring them into the fold of the Macedonian Nation. The single warship anchored off the coast of the island had been sent to probe the defenses of the island with a large scale invasion still in the planning stages and several months off. 

***

The other crew members were slow to transition themselves from oarsmen to warriors, meticulously attending to their armor, helmets, and weapons. But Diomedes readied himself quickly and was determined to be the first warrior in the water, eager to reach the beach and engage the Mycenaean soldiers in battle. 

The warriors strapped leather armor onto their torsos, bronze greaves around their legs, and light helmets on their heads. But Diomedes preferred to fight bare-chested, wearing no body armor or helmet. Diomedes was an experienced warrior and favored the unencumbered agility that fighting with a bare torso and legs allowed and he was confident enough in his skill with a sword that he derided body armor as an unnecessary hindrance. Diomedes was also keenly aware of how intimidating his fully exposed massive muscular body could be on the battlefield and exploited the advantage that it provided. 

Diomedes knew the armor the other warriors were wearing would slow them down in the water and tire them needlessly before the battle. The considerable distance between the ship and the beach convinced Diomedes to remove even the short waist-high leather tunic that he usually wore in battle. Diomedes was anxious to meet the Mycenaeans in battle and wanted to move through the water a quickly as possible. 

As he prepared to enter the sea Diomedes drew in his muscular abdomen and undid the clasp below his navel that secured the goatskin tunic wrapped tightly around his narrow waist. The weathered leather tunic dropped unceremoniously to the deck when the clasp was undone. Diomedes was left wearing just a thin linen cloth that fit snugly under his crotch with just enough material to cover his loins and hindquarters. The black linen was trimmed with a thin white band and a thicker red band at the top…the colors of his native province. The black cloth clung low on Diomedes' hips and was secured in place with a decorative bronze pin. 

Diomedes liked showing off his impressively muscled body and he was looking forward to fighting the Mycenaeans wearing even less around his waist than he usually did in battle and just about as little clothing as his Macedonian customs would allow. The warrior grabbed his sword from the ship's armory and hoisted it high above his head while letting out a series of enthusiastic war cries that rallied the other warriors. Diomedes was convinced he was invincible. 

***

Orestes had spotted the ship on the horizon a full half day before it dropped anchor. From his perch high in the hills overlooking the beach the archer had an unobstructed view of the harbor on the north side of the island.

Orestes was sure the other archers, who were strategically positioned in the hills around him, saw the warship approach as well. 
 

Orestes was the most skilled bowman of all the Mycenaean archers and it was predetermined before the archers were dispatched to the hills that, in the event the Macedonians attacked from the northern harbor, Orestes would take out the first warrior to reach the beach. His launched volley of arrow would be the signal to the other archers that the Macedonians were attacking. 

***

Diomedes was the first warrior to lower himself into the sea. The cool water of the Adriatic was welcome relief from the sweltering heat of the late summer day. With his bare feet touching the sandy sea bottom Diomedes' lower body was fully submerged with the water level reaching about even with his navel. The heavily muscled warrior took a moment to scoop up a few handfuls of cool water and splash it on his massive chest and shoulders…the briny sea water glistened on Diomedes' smooth muscular torso under the golden rays of the late day sun. 

Diomedes' powerful thighs easily propelled him through the water and towards shore. Cool water washed over Diomedes' thickly muscled belly as he moved quickly through the gentle swells of the sea, with an occasional rogue wake bringing the sea water lapping higher against his glistening muscular body to splash his large pectorals. The warrior held his beefy arms high over his head as he waded closer to shore, hoping to keep the grip of his sword dry before he engaged the Mycenaeans in battle. 

The other warriors were far behind Diomedes as he approached the shoreline of the island. The beach was deserted but he knew the Mycenaeans were lurking among the cypress trees that lined the beach a stone's throw from the water's edge. The Mycenaeans were brave warriors and Diomedes anticipated a full frontal assault and a brutal battle when the rest of the Macedonian soldiers reached the beach. 

***

Orestes gazed intently at the warship as the first Macedonian warrior lowered himself into the water and started wading towards shore.

The other warriors followed at a considerable distance behind. The archer was slightly surprised that the first Macedonian in the water wore no armor or helmet. From their distance to the shore, the archers' arrows would easily pierce the leather armor worn by the other warriors, rendering it useless. But Orestes was still bemused by the overly confident warrior charging through the water almost naked with his full torso completely exposed and unprotected. 

Orestes' interest was piqued considerably when the first warrior reached knee-deep water closer to shore. The archer noticed that the bare-chested warrior was incredibly muscular. The warrior's two beefy arms were held high over his head and his thick pectorals bounced rhythmically on his large frame as he galloped through the shallower water. The warrior's sharply defined abs were fully flexed as his bounded through the water and approached the beach. Orestes was impressed that such a heavily muscled warrior could move with such agility through the water. 

Orestes was a seasoned warrior who had killed many men in battle with his bow but he had never launched his arrows into the naked torso of a bare-chested warrior before and certainly never one as big and muscular as the Macedonian who now had his attention below. 

As the archer set an arrow on his bow the thought of his arrows ripping into the charging warrior's perfectly muscled bare torso had his heart racing and his loins stirring.

Orestes drew back his bow as far as he could and waited with excited anticipation for the warrior to reach the shoreline. 

***

Diomedes was still charging hard as he neared the shoreline. He held his sword high above his head and arched his back slightly to avoid the rogue waves that were breaking on shore.

But as soon as Diomedes was out of the water and with his feet planted firmly on the sandy beach the warrior heard something whiz through the air at him followed by a muffled aqueous thud. Diomedes grunted and felt a sudden sharp sting on the right side of his abdomen. He looked down and was stunned to see the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his belly. Before he could bring down his sword arm another arrow ripped into the center of Diomedes' gut with a dull thud and enough force to push the big muscular warrior back a few steps. 

Diomedes' massive body recoiled violently when the second arrow tore into his thick abs and lodged deep in his tightly flexed belly. 

"AAAAAHHHHHhhhh!!!" Diomedes yelled out wildly as Orestes' arrows hit their target with lethal accuracy. 

Diomedes' sword slipped out of his hand and fell back into the water and was quickly submerged in shallow water near the edge of the beach. 

Diomedes hunched over and grabbed the shafts of both arrows that were stuck in his belly, one with each hand. His hands were quickly stained red as blood spurted from the two wounds in his abdomen. 

Diomedes flexed every muscle in his upper body hard and gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the fiery pain in his gut. He staggered forward a few steps but managed to stay on his feet. 

***

Orestes was pleased that his two arrows had found their mark. Watching his arrows rip into the overly confident warrior's naked muscular torso had excited the archer beyond any kill he had scored before. 

Orestes set another arrow on his bow as he watched the warrior struggle with the two arrows already lodged deep in his abdomen. The archer hoped to send at least one more arrow into the warrior's hard-muscled torso before he fell to the ground. 

 Orestes pulled back the arrow and waited patiently for an opening.

***

Diomedes was still reeling from the two arrows in his gut and when he pulled back his boulder-like shoulders and arched his back to yell out again, another arrow suddenly slammed into his chest, ripping into his body just below his left pectoral. 
 

Diomedes instinctively covered his beefy left pectoral with his right hand…the shaft of the arrow protruding between his bloodied fingers. The warrior made some guttural sounds from deep in his throat and then fell straight back onto the sandy beach. 

Orestes' third arrow had pierced the muscular warrior's heart and he was dead within moments of falling to the ground.  Diomedes, who wanted to believe he was invincible, lay dead at the water's edge with three Mycenaean arrows stuck in his nearly naked muscular body. Blood flowed freely from the wounds in his abdomen and chest and rolled off his thick torso, staining the sand under him red.

***

Orestes looked down at the dead warrior on the beach and was pleased with the kill.

***

The other warriors charging the beach never made it close enough for the archer's arrows to reach them. As soon as the first arrow hit Diomedes they turned back to the ship.

At dusk, two Macedonian warriors came ashore to retrieve Diomedes' body and carry it back to their ship. The warship pulled up anchor soon after and slowly disappeared over the fading horizon. 

Champion of Capua