Pelasgia
Established Nation
Melissia, Polity of Anaktora, Caria
28/03/2022 | 12:00
A soft spring breeze blew over the rugged slope of the White Mountains, whose snowy peaks separated Caria from its eastern neighbours. It was cool, almost cold, but that was a welcome relief from the scorching heat of the Carian sun, which had already started to burn as the month of March neared its end. The pines, olive trees, and fruit-bearing trees lining the slope shook. The flags flying above the handful of stone-built villages scattered on the mountainside, which grew larger and more numerous as the distance from the sea declined, waved in unison. The fires burning over church candles flickered. Yet, other than that, life went on. Life always went on in inland Caria, much as it had for the last three thousand years. In these lands, it was often said, the latest news was the arrival of Christianity; and even that had hardly changed the locals' habits.
Kostas lied calmly on his back, enjoying the combined warmth of noon on a mid-spring day, and the cool shade of the trees. Somewhere afar, the bees of the beehives that had given his native town of Melissia its name buzzed around. Further still, the vague, distant bleat of sheep sounded. Through it all, however, Kostas could not hear a thing. A thing except-
"Kostas!" shouted the familiar voice of Giorgos, Kostas' younger brother, whose characteristic running had shaken the ground and crushed fallen branches for some ten minutes before finally reaching the young Melissian's secluded refuge. "Kostas!"
"What is it, Giorgos?" Kostas said with a sigh.
"What are you doing here?" Giorgos demanded. "The train to Anaktora departs at four."
"I'm aware," Kostas replied. The two boys' train was to take them to Anaktora--from where the older brother would head south, to Nauplia, and the younger north, to Nikaia, to serve out their national service. National, in Kostas' case, because his scientific skills would exempt him from ordinary military service in exchange for two years of research in the employ of the state; and military in Giorgos' case, because he would be posted to some military base near the border for a couple of years, just like any other Carian young adult. If he were lucky, that would be somewhere south (after basic training in Nikaia of course)--though not too far south, lest Giorgos end up on the highly militarised faraway island of Hagios Georgios, which was the object of perpetual border disputes and skirmishes between Caria and Red Pelasgia. "Anyway," Kostas continued, "what's the rush? We have four hours and the train station's only thirty minutes away by foot."
Giorgos shook his head, annoyed with his brother's perpetual forgetfulness. "Eleni!" he exclaimed. "Eleni's invited us over to her place to cook for us to wish us goodbye. Her sister, Katerina, is also trying out a new desert."
Kostas gulped. Katerina's desert he could do without, but Eleni and her sibling had been like family to him and Giorgos since childhood. Their parents, after all, were good friends, being all among the oldest families in the town and among the few with a university education. Mr. Panagiotis, Eleni and Katerina's father, had taught the two boys half the math they knew...
"Oh!!" Kostas exclaimed, jumping up and shoving his brother aside. "Let's go! We have no time to lose!"
Giorgos, brushing off the dirt his brother's impact had left on his shirt, growled. "Wait for me, you fool! You're the one who was late!"
"Well, we'll see about that!" Kostas shouted back at his brother. Once again, the chase between the brotherly duo was on.
28/03/2022 | 12:00
A soft spring breeze blew over the rugged slope of the White Mountains, whose snowy peaks separated Caria from its eastern neighbours. It was cool, almost cold, but that was a welcome relief from the scorching heat of the Carian sun, which had already started to burn as the month of March neared its end. The pines, olive trees, and fruit-bearing trees lining the slope shook. The flags flying above the handful of stone-built villages scattered on the mountainside, which grew larger and more numerous as the distance from the sea declined, waved in unison. The fires burning over church candles flickered. Yet, other than that, life went on. Life always went on in inland Caria, much as it had for the last three thousand years. In these lands, it was often said, the latest news was the arrival of Christianity; and even that had hardly changed the locals' habits.
Kostas lied calmly on his back, enjoying the combined warmth of noon on a mid-spring day, and the cool shade of the trees. Somewhere afar, the bees of the beehives that had given his native town of Melissia its name buzzed around. Further still, the vague, distant bleat of sheep sounded. Through it all, however, Kostas could not hear a thing. A thing except-
"Kostas!" shouted the familiar voice of Giorgos, Kostas' younger brother, whose characteristic running had shaken the ground and crushed fallen branches for some ten minutes before finally reaching the young Melissian's secluded refuge. "Kostas!"
"What is it, Giorgos?" Kostas said with a sigh.
"What are you doing here?" Giorgos demanded. "The train to Anaktora departs at four."
"I'm aware," Kostas replied. The two boys' train was to take them to Anaktora--from where the older brother would head south, to Nauplia, and the younger north, to Nikaia, to serve out their national service. National, in Kostas' case, because his scientific skills would exempt him from ordinary military service in exchange for two years of research in the employ of the state; and military in Giorgos' case, because he would be posted to some military base near the border for a couple of years, just like any other Carian young adult. If he were lucky, that would be somewhere south (after basic training in Nikaia of course)--though not too far south, lest Giorgos end up on the highly militarised faraway island of Hagios Georgios, which was the object of perpetual border disputes and skirmishes between Caria and Red Pelasgia. "Anyway," Kostas continued, "what's the rush? We have four hours and the train station's only thirty minutes away by foot."
Giorgos shook his head, annoyed with his brother's perpetual forgetfulness. "Eleni!" he exclaimed. "Eleni's invited us over to her place to cook for us to wish us goodbye. Her sister, Katerina, is also trying out a new desert."
Kostas gulped. Katerina's desert he could do without, but Eleni and her sibling had been like family to him and Giorgos since childhood. Their parents, after all, were good friends, being all among the oldest families in the town and among the few with a university education. Mr. Panagiotis, Eleni and Katerina's father, had taught the two boys half the math they knew...
"Oh!!" Kostas exclaimed, jumping up and shoving his brother aside. "Let's go! We have no time to lose!"
Giorgos, brushing off the dirt his brother's impact had left on his shirt, growled. "Wait for me, you fool! You're the one who was late!"
"Well, we'll see about that!" Kostas shouted back at his brother. Once again, the chase between the brotherly duo was on.