Shida and Ezra always talked about the dreams they had. They would take a little time to try and interpret them, and then ask Tao for advice on it. They didn't know it, but Tao had nightmares of his own. Despite his nightmares being less vague than theirs, his dreams were just as sporadic, messy, and nightmarish as theirs were. And unlike the girls, he could always pinpoint the source of where they came from.

A distant village, fires falling towards the sky, and a final order of violence from a general gone mad. It was a memory. A memory that haunted him up till this day.

Tao woke up breathing heavy, knowing that he couldn't fall back asleep again. The night cool was around him, and a chill only kept him more awake. Despite having the assembly meeting tomorrow, Tao knew that he couldn't fall back to sleep again. Those dreams were why he often came off as eccentric. Changing moods at the drop of a coin. Shifting from exhausted to energetic at any given moment.

Tao opted to tire himself out by walking outside. He didn't bother waking up Shida and Ezra to let him know where he was going. They needed their rest far more than he did. He stepped out of bed with his woven sandals slipped on, and left the military barracks to take a stroll.

The city felt so small. Tao had seen nearly every city in the Asia minor. Even the Greek colonies outshined the Spartan city-state in terms of architecture. And yet, the other Greeks praised the Spartans like they were glorious. They admired Spartans more than they respected Persians, and in terms of city size, wealth, and scope, it seemed like a backward way of thinking in terms of in inherent values.

How could people with nearly no architectural wonders, become so admired by feats alone? That admiration and praise through humility, ran in counter to everything the Persian empire was meant to be.

Tao didn't understand it yet, but the Spartans gave the Greeks more than just an example of virtue. Sparta was the epitome. The epitome of warriorism and savagery which Tao himself hadn't yet experienced.

Regardless, Tao was vibrant in his goal to get the Spartans under his wing. Darius had personally asked him to make the greatest Greek city burn Athens to the ground, so that all of Greece would be his. The assembly tomorrow would provide him the opportunity he needed, to turn all of Greece against Athens.

Tao reached the endpoint of the town. He found an abandoned building that he could lean against, and proceed to relax as lowered his breathing. The moon was shining black, hiding within the darkness to signal for a new month. It made looking at the sky clearer, with stars emphasizing their flares around the round circle.

Calm, his breaths came out slow as his eyes relaxed. The chill air passed quietly across his skin while his shoulders lowered. A heartbeat's drumming sounded methodically in his chest, relaxing for the first time in days.

The grass nearby rustled. Tao didn't flinch. "If you come closer, you'll die." His voice didn't break. The tone was sooth and calming, like he was stating a simple fact than an actual threat.

Knowing that he'd picked the wrong target, the person in the tall grass backed away slowly, deciding not to pick a fight with the confident stranger. The grass rustled into silence, and Tao finally opened an eye.

Underneath the cover of darkness, Tao saw the figure crouching closer to a stranger not so far from himself. The boy was young, no older than sixteen, and he was sneaking behind another teenager that sat idly in front of a shrine.

The thief leaped at the bystander, and began strangling him to death. Tao sprinted into action. He slid through the grass and tackled the both of them into the ground. Tao pounced on the thief, and pummeled him off of the bystander and into the dirt ground.

In a quick instance, the young boy rolled on the ground and kicked Tao's head back. The boy then jumped and kneed Tao on the chest. He flipped Tao onto the ground and growled, "barbarian."

Tao blocked the incoming punches with his forearms, and didn't waver at the Spartan child unleashed a fury of fists into his own body. "Animal," Tao called out in Greek.

Tao kicked him in the groin, stuck a hand in his jaw and neck, he flipped him over again to get the higher stance. This time Tao pulled the boy's arm back, and twisted it until a crack was heard. The boy only growled as Tao held him into the ground.

"Cheater!" The boy screamed.

"You literally tried murdering someone."

"Unhand me bastard!"

The bystander that was nearly murdered ran off, and went to get the guards as quickly as he could.

XXX

"You could offer them titles," Shida said swallowing another grape, "Greeks seem to like that sort of thing. Give them some sort of fancy name, and I'm sure they'll come running."

"If only it were that easy," Tao said with a sigh. "They could call themselves the city of bread land of wine churning for all I care. Darius wouldn't mind as long as they aided the empire. But I'm doubtful they'd offer warriors for something as mundane as a title."

Ezra shook her head, "you're underestimating the value of reputation, Tao. The most honorable warriors will always go the greatest lengths for the chance of a noble title. These Spartans seem the same. If you can offer them glory, I'm sure they wouldn't let Darius down."

Tao pointed at her, "aha, you admit it, Spartans do have honor!"

Shida chuckled. Ezra let out a deep breathe. "Okay, fine, I'll admit it. I had a low opinion of Spartans before yesterday. So hit me. But I've changed my mind now, and I think I know them better than you do, Tao."

"You are assuming far too much from far too little," Tao said with a stretch, "yes, they are warrior-like, but so are half the tribes in Anatolia. You're not looking at the wider scale. Think logically, what do Spartans always fight for? What do they live for before honor?"

Shida rolled her eyes, "here we go again."

Tao continued, "they fight for their homeland. Look at all the wars Sparta has fought in the last hundred years, not a single war was outside the island of Peloponnese. Spartans always limit themselves to the protection of their own territories. If Sparta stays strictly within their island, why would they send soldiers outside of their geographical location?"

"Honor!" Ezra flung her arms in the air, "that's the problem with you old men, you always lose sight of the honors of war. Some things go beyond maps and numbers you know."

Tao rubbed at his eyebrows. Shida finished the last of her grapes, "can I offer my insight?"

Tao and Ezra both let out a sigh, "go ahead."

Shida pointed a thumb to the Greek slave sitting next to her. He was a young Helot, slightly younger than Shida but thinner from his lack of nutrition. His crow-like hair and dark eyes were common within Greece, but his fragile frame showed he distinctly non-Spartan he was. Shida said, "ask the locals for advice."

The three of them stared at the Greek boy. The Helot was a slave that Tao had saved from the night before. Lindos was his name. Out of sympathy for his near-death experience, Tao invited him to serve the three of them as they oriented themselves for the Spartan assembly.

The assembly was called in the name of their presence. They had three days to prepare. Three days to feel the city, taste its foods, speak to its people. The three of them had all the time they needed to understand Sparta, and to determine the fate of what Sparta's future with Persia could become.

Lindos scratched at his cheek. He was out of his element. He knew nothing about politics or foreigners, but he was the only Spartan resident in the room. "I'm not really sure. But what exactly are you guys trying to gain here? What does Persia want with Sparta in the first place?"

"Officially," Tao said, "an alliance of sorts. Persia doesn't really need Sparta as part of its empire, but it would like an alliance against the Athenians. Seven years ago, Athens and Eretria sent a navy to incite rebellion in the Persian empire. The king wants them to pay for it, and since Sparta is the strongest power in the region, having them as allies would make the invasion go much more easily."

"But why Sparta?" Lindos asked, "Corinth and Elis are two cities that would probably send more soldiers than Sparta would. He said it himself, Spartans never leave the island for war, so why come here instead of somewhere else?"

"Symbolism," Ezra answered. "We want to demoralize the Athenians, and what better way is there than to get the strongest city-state in the region on our side? Persia always tries to gain the best skills from as many people as possible, it's why we've managed to unite talents from around the world. Greeks seeing Spartans on our side would make treaties in this region much easier to handle in the foreseeable future."

"Also, Bitter rivalry," Shida said taking a sip from her wine cup. "A typical Persian tactic. We always try to take advantage of surrounding neighbors before conquering a region. See who's willing to help us against common foes, and then reward them if they make the job easier. In this case, Sparta is a well known shining power in this region, and Athens is a newer rising power in the region. Sparta has enough reason to snuff out Athenian success before they overpower Sparta someday. We might as well use that friction to our advantage."

Tao clasped his hands together, "Also, Darius said he'd promote us if I got the Spartans to join him. It's about time I get a job at the capital!"

"Wait, Darius will promote us?" Shida asked. Tao nodded. "Shit, I hate the capital."

"Don't complain," Tao said waving his hand. "You'll get a nice pay and can transfer out the city after it happens."

Shida moaned, "Yeah, but my family is in the capital. That means I'd have to start visiting my mother." Shida let out a disgusting groan.

Ezra said, "later, we need to talk about your priorities."

Lindos shook his head at all of them, "see? This is the problem. You're all looking at Spartans like it's another tribe to control. Sparta is indomitable. They look at the Persian king like an animal king, ruling over people like an animal would to his slaves. What good would Sparta get from helping animals kill fellow Greeks?"

The three of them stayed quiet. What Lindos said would've been a crime in Persia, but they stayed quiet to pay close attention to the boy's words. "Sparta has reason to fight Athens, yes. But don't fool yourselves into thinking Sparta is a city of logic and pride. Sparta is a city of monsters. Their philosophy revolves around terrorizing slaves like me, and oppressing tribes that surround them. Spartans won't refuse Persians out of honor or rationality, they'll refuse Persians out of unwillingness to be lead. Spartans are like bulls in pens of chickens, they'll trample anyone who thinks they can be shackled."

Tao tapped on his chin, "so... Spartans wouldn't won't ever help Persia?"

Lindos shook his head, "the best you can do is pray they won't claim war with you. Even acts from Gods wouldn't sway them. "

"Acts of Gods," Ezra tapped her foot, "that could be arranged."

Lidos only sighed, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Shida couldn't help but stare at the marks on Lindo's legs. It was like his feet had been tied with thorns vines, with scratches that hadn't healed completely. "Lindos, where did you get these scars?"

Lindos looked down, "A group of Spartan children tied my feet and hung me upside down a tree when I was five years old. I was there for half the day before my brother found and untied me. Citizens that passed by didn't untie me because I'm a Helot. And these scars won't ever go away." Lindos sighed, "my brother died from a hazing last year. You wanted to know why that person tried killing me yesterday? Its because Spartiates are required to kill a Helot in order to gain citizenship. That assembly you're going to walk into? It's full of men who killed my kind to get to where they got."

The three of them stared at him for a long while. The atmosphere suddenly became tense as they realized who the Spartans truly were. Ezra said, "I take back what I said about Spartan honor."

A Spartan soldier bearing a shield and sword stepped into the quarter room, "its time. The assembly is ready." The three emissaries nodded to the soldier, and he left the room.

Lindos tucked his food plate under his arm and made his way out. As a final warning he said, "I don't wish your people ill, but I honestly pray that your people go to war with Sparta. I pray Sparta gets burned to the ground. Because if those people die, my people will finally be freed."

Ezra whispered quietly to Tao, "Tao... Please don't treat these people like the other tribes you've met with."

Tao nodded, "I don't plan to anymore."