Elephant

The wall of colour stormed through the canyon, their armour wrapped around their heads in a fierce stare, the uniform march crashing along the walls.

In surprising speed, the camp flooded with life, helmets pushed on and the familiar clanging of swords scraping against a scabbard. The army rushed out to meet the Persians, their small forces eclipsed by the mass of warriors on the other side, their shouts smashing through the Spartan's with a crushing volume, both sides screaming at each other, bashing sword to shield and chanting. The blood of each soldier boiling, their lungs expanding, pushing out until they had practically burst.

Mahon walked from the crowd, the Spartans growing silent and in the face of such a massive wall of noise… Mahon's words rang through the air.

"Silence,"

In the sudden still of the silence, like waters whose ripples had been calm… Like a pond so still it held a perfect reflection of the sky, its liquid mirror calm and serine no matter the shouts that each Persian made. In those calm waters a tidal wave rushed through, the amplified sound seemed like it could be heard in Olympus. The terrifying, ferocious roar booming through the battlefield like a wild beast sizing down a rabbit. Even in the miniscule forces, the blood-red battle cry sounded out, shaking each of the fierce men to their core.

Then the stampede ensued, the Persians recoiled at the terrifying charge, an unexpected and brutal attack all their forces pushed into the mass of Persians, the huge army bewildered and confused, the attackers became the defenders each man on the front lies struggling to survive as the spears ripped through flesh the shields effortlessly smashed into the swords, the huge round painted board knocking through the curved steel. Mahon pushed through his blade, weaving and crashing through limbs and armour with ease.

He had never believed it however… they were the strongest force known, each man handling twenty Persians, the stunned and silent men now cowering in fear.

After minutes of endless slaughter the Persian troops regained their senses, the army outnumbered the Spartans three hundred thousand to a measly seven thousand a truth that was pushed deep into every soldiers' heart, the generals began to bark orders again and the Persians reassembled pulling themselves into form. The long rows of swords shimmered in front of the small group.

The Spartans like a tiger, their strength unparalleled among most beasts however now… the Persians were united their strength crushing the Spartans, the soldiers felt like a cat fighting an elephant.