"What are they doing? Why..." Helios bellowed in rage — but before he could act, the guards seized him, dragging him down from the walls and shoving him onto a waiting mount.
"Go, General!" they roared. "We still need you! This is the only chance — this is the only mount we have!"
Helios paused — listening to the cries of battle rising from outside the walls. He looked at his five faithful guards, their faces resolute.
With a heavy sigh, he bowed his head in respect — then turned and rode out through another gate, galloping towards Nikomedia.
Twenty minutes later, the battered banners of the Roman Empire — already torn to shreds by countless arrows — toppled from the fortress walls. They fell to the blood-soaked earth.
And from the ruins, wild cheers of victory erupted — Turkish battle cries filling the air.
No one else ever returned to Nikomedia.
...
