Lupus

Rage and Bravery in battle. You either have one or the other . Rage , it’s a blazing red emotion , makes you do things you wouldn’t have done in a right mind . Bravery is also a red emotion , but not red like fire and violence , red as in nobility , and courage . Bravery makes you aware of those around you , aware of the situation , which makes you do things you wouldn’t have normally done as well.

Rome , the bloody empire . That’s what his people call it. , from the tales and the eyes of many of the elders. They take and they take , they take even when they don’t need. They cause sadness and ache where ever their Gallic helmets rear their heads. They fight with rage , and greed , and the finest armor that can be made .

So when Remus looks over the Numidian walls watching the ocean , and sees Roman boats, he knows it is time. Rage against bravery .

The Numidian soldiers are lined up , Remus walked down the line of soldiers , lining either side of the ocean wall . He wasn’t a general or anything of significance to these people . But Rome was his home . They knew him for that. The soldiers and the country respected Remus for his nobility in battle , and his guardian, Hope . But even Remus doesn’t kid himself by denying the fact that when people think of him they think of the Roman boy.

“Soldiers , today we fight not the battle of our lives , but the battle for our lives . The Romans are nasty creatures , sinister and death has been taught to them their whole lives . When they fight they fight for another country to conquer . When we fight we are fighting for freedom , the freedom we will not have if they win. We will not be another pin on the map of fallen kingdoms .” Remus roars down the line of soldiers , clanking metal and the claps of hands on his shoulder plays loudly in his ears. Remus walks to the end of the line to find King Dumbledore in his tent sitting on his thrown , sharpening swords for battle along with other soldiers .

“Remus , you did well my son.” Says King Dumbledore, the King of Numidia. He’s become some sort of a father figure for Remus after they rescued him from Rome . Numidia took Remus in despite the apprehension from the citizens . Hope housed him all these years , treated him as a son of her own alongside Hagrid who was rescued from a different country as well. He was raised as a Numidian , he was taught Numidian culture , and Numidian way of life. This was his country , he would not let Numidia fall , not to the Romans .

“Dumbledore do you see a victory for Numidia.” Remus says as he looks back at the ocean walls he walked down seconds ago , lined with Numidian soldiers , and the far sights of Roman ships . Among the crystal waters , the shimmering sea , the despair and death to come is inevitable .

“Only the gods know that my boy.” The old man’s gruff voice is withered with the wisdom his old age gives him . The white robe encrusted with a golden belt and red hemmings suits the king. The man bun he has in shows his many earrings , all of which depict a king that has come before him .

Soft buzzing is heard in the chaotic mist around the ocean walls. There are blades being sharpened , catapults being stocked , and men gearing armor. Far off the wives and daughters are gathered in a circle praying , while others are fighting in the line .

Amongst the circle of women leading them in prayer is Hope the woman who took Remus in when nobody else would. The woman has the soul of a giver . Townsfolk call her saint like . She’s always helping pick grain and build shelters , she even carved wooden toys for the children. Remus has plenty of his own. But his all time favorite is a little wolf , given to him as a fretting gift when he first arrived in Numidia . It has a special capsule for itself in his armor , right near his heart , so it’s always with him .

Remus shouts her name , once he draws her attention he kisses his hand and holds it to his blade . Hope kisses her hand and holds it out towards him . Their actions cause the other wives , and daughters in the circles to call out to their own fathers and husbands fighting in the war to do the same . In Numidia it is a sign of respect , “the honor salute” .

The moment is ruined by the deafening battle cry of the Numidian war horn. It’s a long tube that when blown tells the soldiers battle is near. And in this case it means that the Roman ships have gotten close enough to attack , and the soldiers need to prepare .

The plan has been discussed endlessly. Planned , fought over , perfected . The most they could do with only finding out about the war when the golden head of the lead Roman ship came into view . They had used all their knowledge of Roman battle tactics , they know what to expect . So why does Remus feel like he’s dead already. He’s fought before , he’s earned respect from the people from his time in battle . But this isn’t a normal army. This is the Roman Empire. If a country conquers you, you start over under their rule , you adapt to new law , you have less rights . If Rome conquers you , you pray , you pray so hard .

Remus walks up to the pultruding wall in the ocean walls , a wall that sticks out farther than the others so he can see more . On either side of him are twenty canons , and thousands of solders with arrows set .

The Romans are close .

So close

“Remus it’s your call.” General Rosier shouts to him from his elevated stance on the second floor of the ocean wall , armed with a fine sword , and finer armor , along with about a hundred other soldiers .

The ships are closer

So is the pain

The rage

And the despair

Closer

“Remus!” Shouts Frank in fear.

Just a bit closer .

Finally the fog around the ships break as they emerge into just the right spot .

“FIRE!” Remus bellows . If the soldiers hear the fear and anticipation in his voice they don’t bat an eye.

The catapults go off . That’s the plan. The five and each side fire the large carefully crafted heavy boulders . Three hit their ships , the other seven land near them in the water , disrupting their ships and shaking them violently. Remus watches with a cold expression as he sees Roman soldiers wounded screaming on their ships . Remus is unfazed as Roman’s are thrown from the ship by the water landing stones viciously shaking their boats .

“FIRE!”

The next round of catapults is set off , he hears the boom as two hit the ships , and eight land in the Numidian ocean. The ocean that has never seen violence that the Romans seem to carry inside of them. But the ocean must learn quickly , it must adapt to the violence of the Romans . It must fight back to survive . So the ocean spits back up violent waves of water , in retaliation to the water landed catapults .

And Remus watches as more screams emerge from the ships . The screams that fall on deaf ears , Remus is too focused on the Romans that weren’t hurt . Remus can imagine watching hundreds of his soldiers , his friends , the men he has survived with , get hurt in and scream in agony. Any of the soldiers could , that’s war , that’s the ugly truth of any war. But what Remus can’t imagine is the way the Roman soldiers don’t even flinch , don’t look for a second at their fallen friend , Remus can’t fathom this indifferent reaction all the Roman soldiers have to their dead friends . It’s almost as if they are not there , as if the Romans can’t see their war struck friends , as if they can’t hear their screaming. Personally Remus thinks it’s the worst part of Rome , the soldiers , because that’s all they are . They are soldiers , they aren’t remembered , they aren’t mourned by their peers , they serve their country , but for what?

Now the ships are close enough that Remus can make out faces and features of soldiers on the boats . The ships have almost reached the ocean wall.

“FIRE” tells Remus the hundreds of arrows shoot fiercely at the ships . Remus watched in despair as the soldiers kneel and form a ceiling of Roman shields over themselves, blocking every one of the arrows . Every . Single . One . Another round of arrows is fired , it is weak , and they know the arrows will never see Roman blood . But they try any ways . Because they have to . They must .

They must

They must

They must

Roman arrows are fired . And time stops at the amount of arrows shot . They are like rage filled birds flying in a flock, out for blood , their blood . Remus feels frozen in helplessness as soldiers go down all around him. But he must stay strong , for Numidia he must fight this battle. He must , he must , he must.

Panic rises in his chest as the Roman ships hit the rocks of Numidia . More Numidian arrows are fired as the Romans are rapidly resending from their ships and climbing the long ocean wall steps . The arrows hit this time , many Roman soldiers are down. But the numbers , oh the numbers . The number of Roman soldiers is greater than Remus imagined . And it is now that the panic in Remus’s chest reaches an all time high . Out of the corner of his eye he sees the women children and wives of the prayer circle watching from a cliff they had climbed to when the war horn blew , to watch from a safe distance . What he sees is despair in the cries of the women , the shouts of the wives and children when they see their loved ones killed . He watches as the last round of Numidian arrows fly at his word. They can try all they want but it’s clear in the faces of all the soldiers they know, they must know , that the odds of Numidia remaining a free country is fleeting.

The hundreds of Numidian soldiers armed with swords and shields run out to the ocean wall steps to fight the Romans as they come up . At the same time Remus draws his sword , it is his time .

He would easily die for Numidia , he would die for his country .

But he was not willing to let his country die for Rome.

He sees his men getting beaten badly by one particular soldier . The realization that this men is no other than Roman General Crouch dawns over him like a looming cloud. But it dissipates quickly, because Remus couldn’t give a less of fuck if he was fighting Julius Caesar himself , anything for Numidia.

Remus starts to run down the ocean wall steps to fight Crouch. All around him is death , blood splatters on his amour , across his face . Remus cuts off the arm of a man who reached out for him. Suddenly he’s pulled into a sword fight with a large man , buffer than Remus himself , but not skilled with a sword , and in swordsmanship strength doesn’t matter , technique and skill does. The man is stabbed through his armor quickly , the man grips at Remus’s leg as he falls to his knees at Remus’s urgent feet trying to get to the steps of the ocean wall . Remus frees his leg and is charged at by a different Roman man , and is pulled out of the way by one of his own men , as the previous man is thrown off the ocean wall that was behind Remus . Remus tries to pull away from his savior but a strong grip is held on him. Remus is only thinking one thing though . There is no room to acknowledge others . The key is to kill Crouch , if he kills Crouch he kills the faith the Romans have in their army , themselves , and their ability to win this battle . Crouch is their strongest soldier . Remus is able to pull away and keep running through the long ocean walls , he must get to the stairs , must , must must. The man catches up and runs next to him.

With a quick glance at the persistent solder Remus realizes it’s General Rosier , Evan. Remus grew up with Evan , they used to play fight eachother with sticks as children , and here they are . Evan is the General not only because he is a great and noble soldier , but because he is a good speaker , and he holds the people’s trust . This is his first year as General, and he is exceptional . He trains the soldiers well and makes the environment nurturing and comfortable. He makes the prospect of fighting something to be treated as an art , and the prospect of war to be avoided , but to be fought with bravery and nobility.

“You mustn’t try to fight Crouch Remus. We need you , you are no good dead.” Evan says as he keeps up with Remus as they run together through the death and sorrow around them.

They are stopped by a Roman soldier coming at Evan with his sword ready , Remus decapitates him .

“Neither are our soldiers , we kill him we kill their hope .” Remus shouts to Evan while they both fight a skilled Roman soldier , sending him flying off the ocean wall steps .

“Remus-!”

“I must.” Remus calls as he dashes to Crouch , catching the man from behind . Of course he can’t just get to General Crouch , there is many Roman soldiers around him fighting off Numidian soldiers and there was soldiers falling dead everywhere on the flat cliff the ocean steps lead to , right next to where the Roman ships were stopped . Remus was stuck in a robotic trance . His body fought soldiers , his reflexes were that as quick as a rabbit , but his mind was elsewhere. Where his body was alert so was his mind . He was alert of the sound of the bodies falling smack down on the cliff from the ocean walls above . He was alert of the now piercing wails of the women on the cliff , wails of true anguish but not wails of pain , wails of pure torment of the mind , pure eternal misery.

“MEN THE CLIFF , FIRE AT THE CLIFF.” General Crouch cries . A stream of arrows swim towards the cliff . The safe distance the women were at becomes fatal . The united and at the same time scattered shouts of the men are roaring . Remus’s voice included as he prays silently , not Hope , not Hope . He watches as Hope uses her body as a shield to five children she is hugging her back to the arrows . And Remus knows that she will not survive . Remus knows , and as the arrows land he was right , Hope’s body falls backwards off of the cliff , into the water below, the water is plagued with war , plagued with Roman rage. It is now the men’s turn to wail in anguish . Remus feels the tension shift in the atmosphere , a loss of faith runs through the Numidian soldiers , he smells the hope fade from his men . Remus wants to scream at the top of his lungs .

“Stop , stop . You must fight you must! See what they do? They wanted this, fight , you must!” He wants to roar it like a lion but he doesn’t . He dives into the water off of the mini cliff he was fighting on .

If his muscles burn while swimming to Hope his body doesn’t register it . He clutches her in his hands .

The woman who took him in , the woman who devoted her whole life to helping others , the woman who lost her life doing the same thing.

Remus stares back at the ocean walls , he sees General Rosier fall to his knees in a plea for mercy.

Rage runs through Remus , immaculate rage. He feels his vision go dark in it , he sits in his hot anger , until feeling in his body fades as well. Just him in the ocean , the ocean is no longer innocent, tainted with war. Remus clutches the wooden wolf in his armor , he feels wetness fall down his face .

~

He comes to consciousness , still clutching to Hope . He feels rough hands under his armpits lifting him out of the water . Remus’s body is weak but he still kicks the man’s chest roughly. It can’t hurt much other than impact due to the hard armor the man has on , but Remus is still shoved under the waters surface , he’s held under until he is slashing violently , and he’s sure that he will die as well. But the man lifts him at the last moment , and he goes limp against the Roman soldier .

He’s carried out of the ocean and thrown on his knees into a crowd of surviving Numidians all sitting in a square shape . They are sitting on the flat small cliff below the ocean walls , in-front of them is another square , but this square makes Remus want to be sick . The square is filled with the dead lying next to eachother side by side in rows , some on top of eachother to fit them all in the square . It’s cruel , that’s the only word for it . Making the survivors watch as their loved ones are dragged into this square , thrown into it like they were nothing , nothing but an accomplishment for Rome.

Remus disassociates , he must because he knows that he must have sat there for hours while the Roman soldiers rounded up all of the dead. But Remus remembers none of it . What Remus remembers isn’t what happened , he knows that. But it felt real in the moment . Because suddenly he wasn’t sitting in a kneeling position surrounded by weeping citizens . But instead he was gasping for air along the surface of a river bed . Watching as Hope stepped onto Charon’s platform , Remus gets up despite his screaming muscles , he tries to run to the platform . He wants to go the underworld too , he wants to go with Hope . But the platform leaves with out him he watches in despair as the platform gets tinier and tinier in the distance until it is gone . Remus lets out tortured sobs as he watches her go. And suddenly he opens his eyes again and he is back in the square on the cliff . But now the Romans have set their dead loved ones aflame. And now Remus is sobbing for another reason, along with the others in the square .

Remus’s eyes searched for Hopes burning body , instead his eyes fall on Hagrid’s burning body. But that can’t be right , Hagrid lived , he’s sobbing along side Remus in the square , on the cliff. But he’s not Hagrid is dead , Hagrid is burning , at the hands of the Romans.

And the fury that bloomed in Remus is back. It is this new feeling for him , this ever burning hot fire with in him , full of hatred. Bravery they said , fight with nobility and bravery. But where had that gotten him? Nowhere , absolutely no where . The rage in Remus is new , new and there to stay.

He should be burning in the square as well. At least part of him. Because not all of him survived that battle, some part of him died , some part of him will always be in Numidia.