Al The Great . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10

Ares turned back to the sea.

“You have good reflexes.  Keep it.  It will return to me when you’ve no more use for it.  Care for it, for by its aid you’ll never know defeat.”

Poseidon touched Ares’ mind briefly.

“We’re done here, Alexander.  Poseidon will return you to your companions.  Be sure to watch out for your cousin; if he gets too eager for kingship, that spear may return to me sooner than you wish.”

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332 B.C.

Alexander left the remains of Tyre, instructing his men to move on.  The siege on Tyre had been necessary, but time-consuming; the sooner he conquered the surrounding area, the sooner he could conquer Persia.  After that, the world!

Were it not for Poseidon’s aid, he acknowledged, the siege would have lasted far longer.  Captains, returning home from sea, found their homes conquered and submitted to Alexander’s authority.  Those who refused to join
Alexander’s cause disappeared at sea.

320 B.C.

After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C. rumors spread about mysterious deaths at sea.  It seemed that a mermaid, searching for Alexander the Great since his siege on Tyre, asked passing sailors if they had any news of the king.  Terrified sailors returned home, saying that she refused to believe that the late conqueror was dead – as soon as she’d heard the men proclaim her hero’s death, she would endeavor to swamp the boat.

“It wasn’t natural,” one sailor said.  “Such fury from so slender a creature!  I knew something wasn’t right when I saw its hair,” he whispered.  “Its hair was in braids, and that was fine enough – but it was green!  Green, if you please!”

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