Heroes of Bronze - The Bridge to Scythia (short story)

My friends!

Today, I finally finished a short story I've been researching, writing, editing and illustrating for the past several months.

I would like to thank Chiara Torrisi for the amazing feedback, that helped to improve the story immensely, and Max Hejtmánek for his awesome grammar corrections.

It serves as a great entry point to the world of Heroes of Bronze, since it introduces one of the main characters of the whole story - Philippos of Miletus.

You may know Philippos from "A Few Steadfast Friends" but he also appears in the Journeys teaser and The Memory short film. In this short story, however, you'll meet him at a much younger age, taking part in Darius the Great's campaign against the lands of Scythia in 513 BC.

Story Introduction:

There was tension ever since the Persians conquered Lydia in 547 BC and set foot on the Ionian coast, looking to attach the Greek colonies to their growing empire. The Ionian Greeks were unwilling subjects to say the least. Nevertheless, most city-states submitted, and by 513 BC, they were firmly under the rule of the King of Kings.

There was, however, another nation that caused a major headache for the Persian hegemony: the Scythians, their distant cousins. They inhabited the vast plains of the Balkans, Ukraine and southern Russia and, unlike their Persian relatives, still led a nomadic life. Yet still, they thrived upon attacking their neighbours, including the Persian provinces.

Around 513 BC, Darius had had enough and decided to conduct a massive campaign to put an end to the Scythian problem. He brought together a large army of more than 80,000 soldiers collected from his various satrapies. He marched north, first subduing eastern Thrace and then continuing to the fields of Scythia. He aimed to pacify the lands north of the Black Sea and show the Scythian chieftains who is really in charge.

Many answered the call - Persian nobility from Gobryas and Megabazus of Persia to Artasari the Mede and Madyes of the Sakai. Many tyrants of Ionia, including Ariston of Byzantium, Miltiades the Athenian, and Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus. All the most powerful men, all united under one banner. Some more willing than others…

Among them were two young men whose paths were about to cross - and with their meeting, the fates of whole nations were about to change…