Chapter 5: A Feast Fit For Kings

The Throne Room, Great Hall, Castle Of Medina, The Kingdom Of Medina, 540 B.C....

  Much merrymaking was to be had as many a soldier sang and told tales of the past six months when they were marching to meet the enemy head-on before they could find their way to Median. It was the king who had come up with the strategic ploy to rid themselves of a menace before it ever truly got started and it was quite the plan. He sent out his best and most fierce warriors led by his second-born son and it proved to have been the best option for them all. King Myron held the feast mostly to honor his son, but he had been proud of all the sons of Medina who had matched steel with steel when it came to the brutes from the Northern Sea.

Queen Maeva couldn't have been more pleased as she wanted what was best for the kingdom and her husband ever since she arrived. The men continued to praise her womb for birthing such a brilliant military mind and a ferocious warrior for their defense. It was drunken prattled mostly but she got the sentiment all the same.

There was no sign of the first Queen nor her first-born heir to the crown as the festivities got underway. It didn't truly surprise anyone that they neglected to attend. They were never fans of barbarian blood tainting the royal bloodline in the first place and having a half-barbarian for a Prince was something they considered shameful due to their Roman views on other civilizations.

Queen Melba Of Medina however was in attendance and welcomed by all as even Nicodemus was allowed to sit in for a few stories before being carted off to bed before the drunken revelry truly began.

While Lady Mira had paid her respects to her in-laws, they knew she couldn't attend the feast as she was staying home with the little ones and taking care to get adequate rest for her unborn child which everyone had been anticipating the arrival of.

Lycidas was more or less humbled by the stories and modestly attempted to allow another the spotlight even raising the hand of a remarkable general who had been under his command during the fighting for his bravery in the face of an unrelenting assault and war strategy that saved many of their men when the battles first began.

General Mirus was an accomplished warrior and an older man who had served both with and under King Myron when he was still commanding the forces of the Median warriors. Lycidas had come to respect the old general and had almost named his firstborn son after him. It was at the behest of Mirus himself that he did not state that he'd been unworthy of a prince such as Lycidas naming his firstborn after him, but he did declare that he wouldn't be opposed to a second son of his bearing the name. Lycidas had taken to referring to the old man as "Uncle" whenever they addressed one another and had grown up with Mirus' son Tyrus and the two were like brothers as children.

Tyrus of Medina was a formidable warrior like his father and had a sweet nature like that of his late mother Serena. He had not been given any siblings as his mother had perished in childbirth with his second sibling who had also died as a result of the event. By all accounts, Tyrus was a handsome lad about two years younger than the gallant Prince Lycidas and one of his best friends. He had the same golden locks as his mother and the dark calculating glare of his father at times. He was teased rather mercilessly as a child for his pale complexion no matter how much sun he was exposed to and sometimes he'd easily burn, but he loved Medina and he loved making his warrior father proud when in combat.

Tyrus had not been present during the battles with the barbarians as he'd been on a separate assignment to see to the welfare of Medina while his father and Lycidas were away. The closeness of Tyrus and Lycidas had been under scrutiny since they were boys as there was hardly any moment where they had been separated and during their youth both boys were known to be something of a nuisance when it came to chasing the affections of a local maidens as well as their tendency to set about their days looking to stick their respective cocks into the wanton women of the taverns than doing any sort of training for war.

The son of Mirus had not been much in the company of women as of late and spent a good deal of his time with his unit of soldiers on most nights. He had shown no interest in marriage and if he had sired a bastard it would have been during his misspent youth were he had not known how to manage his libido and under the influence of a lustful Lycidas who had seemingly grown out of that behavior once he brought home his new wife Mira.

As the drinking commenced and the stories continued to be told, the decidedly drunken Prince Lycidas grabbed a goblet filled to the brim with very strong mead and stomped over to the old general a smile filed across his aged face as he treated him to a drink from his cup and announced before the men whom had arrived that he was going to be a father for the third time and that if a second son should be brought into the world that he was to be called Mirus after the general whom he held in such high regard.

The men cheered and beat their cups against the table in celebration. Mirus had been at a loss for words even with drink in his system. Tyrus seemed to delight in the adulation given to his father and also proposed a toast to Lycidas in the good spectacle as the drunkenness continued.

The warriors presented the King with the chests containing the spoils they managed to bring back from their battles with the barbarians of the northern isles. Casks of gold, silver, and bronze filled the chests in the form of coins, jewelry, and goblets. It pleased the king to no end to take part in the procuring of riches from monsters that had slaughtered many a kingdom in their quest for power.

It was the good fortune of the kingdom of Medina that they had not fallen prey to the fiends of the north and their well-noted pillaging. King Myron had been a man given to a great many superstitions as he had been anxious in his belief that his victories were approved beforehand and if he had done anything displeasing he'd consult the resident temple keepers known as the three Grimmauld sisters or an oracle in a bid to make everything right again.

Thus far, he was apparently on the right track and it seemed only prosperity littered his future as he continued to revel in the celebration with his two wives and second-born son.

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The Pond Of Thessia, Outside Of Castle Of Medina, The Kingdom Of Medina, 540 B.C...

Drunk and still riding high off the celebrations Tyrus and Lycidas found themselves leaving the castle on a whim and headed in their out-of-sorts state toward an old pond that was in the furthest district from the castle. It was a place where both men in their youth had taken maidens to have their way with them before being rounded up and made to attend their various and rigorous training sessions when they were attempting to join the ranks of the warriors.

They managed to get to the pond in one piece despite their sorry states and tumbled each onto the water's edge. Tyrus was given a few laughs and rolled onto his back amid the muddy banks. Lycidas who had just gotten out of the bath was covered in filth as Tyrus continued to laugh at his expense.

Annoyed, Lycidas splashed some of the dirty water at his friend who in turn splashed it back. The two of them were more like the boys of their youth in that moment aside from the wrestling they often found themselves doing in a bid to prove their mutual strength.

"D-Do you remember this place?" asked Tyrus roaring with laughter as he scrambled to his feet amid the dirty water. "I haven't been back here in what feels like ages."

"Wasn't there a wild wolf that broke through the wall and attempted to eat us both?" asked Lycidas.

"I believe so," recalled Tyrus with a smile as his soaked golden locks began to stick to his face. "You were staring it down as it came for me and it seemed to not want to trifle with the Prince of Medina."

"I recall we found a nearby cave around these parts," said Lycidas doing a bit of reflecting.

"I dare you to find it." challenged Tyrus with a smirk. "We haven't been here in ages and we are both drunk so it's an even playing field."

Lycidas scrambled to his feet his dark locks soaked via the way he fell into the pond as he attempted to make sense of their surroundings in the middle of the night. He was plenty disoriented from the drinking at the feast, but he was confident that he would win the dare his friend had issued.

The two drunkards got further and further away from the main city and out into the wilds of the land where they often went as children to get away from the rest of the world they knew and to seek adventure even in the short term when avoiding their training and respective studies. Life for a young lad in Medina was quite the opposite of fun when duties were to be considered and being that Lycidas was a young prince and Tyrus the son of a well-established general that meant there was a lot of weight on their shoulders when it came to making names for themselves and the task was daunting, to say the least.

The more they traveled drunk and daring each other and trading insults to one's manhood like brash children, the less they were able to make out how to get back home in the dead of night. It had come to Lycidas' attention that there was a cave on the south end of their path and both men ventured toward it not having any other alternative after having been turned around from losing their way to the main city's path due to the darkness and their respective drunken status.