Dragon Horse

Date: Mono-3, Triakosia

To: Helike

From: Southern hemisphere, SE

How’s it going, loser?

My sarge told me it's hotter in the south. I guess they do have ice in their veins. It's like all the fire in the world got trapped below the equator. The sun looks red and the ground has dried up. There are no animals or plants, just dust and rubble. Sometimes there's clouds but even the rain boils. We wear respirators here too because if we don't our lungs will burn. This isn't global warming, it's a global incinerator. When the sun goes down it's the north but even worse even though there's no snow.

They cut our hair. Then, the computer people in the tents put some kind of tracking chip in my xyston so they can see where I am. We did some swimming today with our equipment to prepare in case it rains and the trenches flood. We even did rope climbing. And fitness. Always fitness. The sergeant yelled that we still weren't sweating enough. I told him if he did less yelling and more looking with his one eye, he'd see that we were already sweating a lot because of the heat. He made all of us do twenty extra push-ups. Now that I think about it, I understand why he was so mad.

The other recruits have been here much longer than me and they always call me Achilles even though I told them to call me Cadmus.

I made a friend from Triangulum. His name is Khonsu. He says I should be happy I'm in his troop because he has good luck but whenever he bets he always loses.

I'm learning a lot more about the Neos Iliad out here than I did at Colchis. The way my sergeant explained it makes the most sense, so I'll just tell you what he said.

The Arctolean alliance is an equilateral triangle. Polaris, Cepheus, and TRIANGulum, hahaha, all work in unison as one central superpower.

The subquate coalition is composed of three, separate points that are arranged like an inverted isosceles triangle. Cetus and Fornax are at the top and Mensa is at the bottom.

They have a Commandant instead of a general. My sergeant is from Cepheus. They call him Wotan because he lost an eye, but he never loses a battle. He says we're gonna get a command centre from Cetus next week. The Commandant killed all the troops there when she took it.

The food’s not as good as Baba's but I gotta eat. They freeze the rations in the same way they prepared it for the astronauts before the Deucalion which was cool.

Tell mom and dad I'm alright.

Sky bear witness,

"Achilles"

Date: Mono-10, Triakosia

To: Helike

From: Southern hemisphere, SE

How are you, Nikos?

I'm writing this in a tank heading back from the communication centre.

There were fortified walls around the building, so we needed to get inside using grappling hooks.

Sergeant Wotan and everyone started to run out of the trenches and climb over the top.

Once inside, we swam through some canals and crawled through a bunch of narrow hallways. It was dark inside because the lights weren't working. It was hard to navigate even with our night goggles on. Every computer containing important data was either shut off or broken. They knew we were arriving and destroyed it all beforehand.

We found a squadron of surviving Triangulum soldiers. We didn’t see the bombs strapped to their armor until we were too close. I protected everyone from the explosion with my shield but now it's broken.

Before we could get back onto our feet, war animals from Mensa ambushed us from their hiding spots behind the servers. I fought off one with my spear. Khonsu couldn't stand up fast enough and he was mauled.

We had to retreat. Only half of us made it out.

Khonsu is hurt so bad that Sergeant Wotan wont let us go into his tent. My xyston is broken. One of my ribs is fractured and my knee is messed up because of the grenade. Hopefully I'll still be able to play soccer when I get home.

I told Sergeant Wotan I'm still heading back onto the front at the southwest tomorrow. I'm not running away. I'm not abandoning my battalion. General Chiyou didn’t leave the army when he lost his leg.

I've been training in Polaris for this my whole life. Everybody said I was a real Arctolean. And I let the subquates beat me. We lost the communication centre on the first day. I'm sorry for letting you and Ammi and Baba down.

The other recruits are saying that the Commandant might go for Argos and Colchis next since they're where Polaris trains their soldiers, engineers, and scientists.

I'm gonna focus on winning the war. Once we win the war you'll all be safe. And don't worry about me. You worry too much.

I can't wait to see you again,

Cadmus

Date: Mono-17, Triakosia

To: Helike

From: Neutral territory, SW

This is the report Sergeant Wotan gave us tonight:

The Commandant is still gaining on us. Casualties are high. 280 combatants. 115 civilians. Damage to infrastructure is increasing. They haven’t found the antidote for Hyalocin. The number of refugees is growing but they’re closing the borders.

A Fornax soldier came up over the trenches on their side and they stepped on a landmine. I couldn't watch. Once the rubble cleared I crawled out of the ditch and stole their weapon. We're still trying to figure out how to operate it. They have super advanced tech here in the south.

Mensa raided a refugee camp. I rescued a woman trapped under the rubble today. Her name is Lekha. She's looking for her son. She's from a neutral organization called Columba. 43.2994° S, 74.2179° W.

I asked Sergeant Wotan why they didn't tell us about Columba at Colchis and he said that Polaris didn't want us to think about running away. He says it's a coward's way out. And Arctoleans aren't cowards. True Arctoleans fight. Even if their wings burn. For their nation. For each other. Until they win. Until the war ends.

When it does I'll have lots of stories to tell you.

Cadmus

Date: Mono-24, Triakosia

To: Helike

From: Neutral territory, SW

Nikolaos,

The sun is red. I don't know if it's day or night. I can't see the sky anymore because of the artillery smoke and the burning rain and the dust. Even the tiny amount of water they have for us tastes like sand. We don't have food, just water. I've gotten used to being hungry. There's too much ash and shrapnel in the air so we need to wear respirators to breathe without coughing. I have blisters on the backs of my arms and neck. I think my knee is getting worse. The sergeant gave me a regenerative pill but I still need to use my xyston as a crutch. I can't walk so they put me in the ditches. I think my objective is still important though. I use what's left of my shield to cover the injured soldiers and protect them from enemy fire.

Arctoleans aren't cowards. True Arctoleans fight. For their country and for their comrades. Even if the end of the war isn't in sight, even if my bones are broken, I can take it. For you.

I’m forgetting how it feels to play in the snow.

I hope I don't forget you and mom and dads faces.

Cadmus

Date: Mono-24, Triakosia

To: Neutral territory, SW

From: Northern hemisphere, NW

Achilles,

For the sake of security, we cannot let these letters cross the equator, as they contain confidential information that our enemies could intercept. Your comrades cannot afford this weakness. You must strengthen yourself and be a real Arctolean for your dicrip brother.

If you attempt to send another letter, you will be discharged and sent to a farm.

We hope you will be more cautious in the future, have a swift recovery, and return to the battlefield.

May the sky have mercy on you.

Polaris