Thermopylae: Inheritance of Sparta

Thermopylae

Greece

many centuries ago

There he stood

Before his company of Sparta's finest

300 Warriors of the highest quality

Shields ready, spears in hand, they watched and waited as their King spoke

"Spartans! Prepare for Glory! For tonight, We Dine in HELL!"

Hearing the resounding cry of his men, the King turned back to the pass before sighing deeply, their enemies had managed to surround them, 'Trapped, down but not out, so long as there is a single Spartan left, We will fight to the death', his attention turned back to the scourge of the last few days, an army of 250,000 Persians, commanded by their self proclaimed "God King", this was it, they fought in the sun, they fought in the shade, and now, the final battle had come, Today they would fall, but this man, This King, would show the world that even God's can bleed.

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Thermopylae

Greece

1 Year after Naberius incursion

There he stood, on the centuries old battlefield, using a secret technique Leon had convinced his adoptive family to bring him here. Standing still where 300 once held, he felt something calling him, an instinctual cry that pulled him ever closer, he looked to the cliff, he looked to the sea, he looked to the sky and the ground beneath his feet, and started trying to dig, he could hear the cries of battle, the clash of shield, spear and sword, he could smell the fear, excitement and blood, he could taste the iron and the ocean as it sprayed against the ancient pass, deeper, deeper, deeper still he dug, looking, searching for what it was that called. Leon could feel his blood pumping and his heart racing, he could feel the it, the feeling of pride, but he didn't understand, was it he whom was proud, or was it the souls of the long dead Spartans who were proud, proud that he had come, scrapping away another layer of dirt he stopped, before him was a helmet, it's black ploom, soft yet strong as if it had only just been made, the helmet, scared from past conflict, but, shimmering in the sunshine that seemed to pierce through the clouds. Leon stood there mesmerised at the beauty of such a simple thing, digging out the dirt both in and around the helmet, he felt he needed to wear it, to put the centuries old helmet on, the helmet that belonged to an ancient King who cared for his people and died alongside them. Clambering out of the hole with his find, Leon turned to his current guards, 30 men and women who would lay down their lives for him, and smiled a triumphant smile as he brought the helmet above his head proudly, that was when he saw it, the spirit of a warrior, on his back a cape of Crimson Vermilion, a Bronze round shield in hand, spear in the other, the Spartan nodded at Leon before fading into the wind and into the helmet with an appearance of dying embers.

"So you found it, tell me child, what is your name"

Turning, Leon saw a tall woman in ancient Greek armor, with long blond hair and bright amber eye's that seemed to pierce into his soul, kneeling down so that they we're eye level with each other.

"My name is Leon, what's yours?"

"My name is Athena, tell me Leon, why are you here?"

"At first I came to pay respect to my ancestors and the warrior's who fought here, but then I felt something calling to me, and so I dug the helmet up"

"I see, do you know who used to wear that helmet?"

"No"

"A King named Leonidas wore that helmet, it was him and his personal bodyguards who fought here against the Persians who wanted to invade"

"why"

"At first the Persians were greedy, but the Athenians fought them off and killed their King, so his son became an immortal thinking he was a god and came back for revenge"

"So they were bullies, but got beaten?"

"yes, in a way, tell me Leon do you have any family?"

"I... did... but now their gone... and then I got a new family... their not the same... but I love them and they love me"

"that's both happy and sad, why don't you put the helmet on"

"OK"

Leon put the helmet on and collapsed unconscious, his guards rushed over and surrounded him, Hana caught him and looked to Athena who just smiled fondly.

"he'll be alright, he's just meeting someone"

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The Warrior from before stood tall as he inspected Leon, 'Short, young, already seen combat, already killed, interesting', Leon stared at the man right when it clicked 'Leonidas, King of Sparta'

"So boy, you are to be my partner, at least the blood of Sparta is in your veins, So tell me, why do you fight"

"King Leonidas of Sparta"

"That's me"

"I fight so that I do not lose anymore than I have already"

"you wish to protect, that's good, means you have motivation, which makes my job easier"

"Job?"

"my job is to help you until you've reached my standards,once that happens, I'll be on my merry way, to get reincarnated"

"you mean Training?"

"that's right, but with you in here I doubt we'll get any done, so, first order of business, waking up, now of course that could be a horrible thing at times, such as now, because then you'd lose the divine lap pillow your getting"

Leon closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling coming from his hair and the back of his head before vanishing from his mindscape.