Hercules Page #2

- Amphiaraus?

The famed seer of Argos.

It is said you have

glimpsed your own death,

so you fight each battle knowing

that it is not yet your time to die.

What else can you tell of the future?

Only what the gods see fit to reveal.

A shame. It would have been a great

gift to know the outcome of this war.

The gods can be frustrating

sometimes, Lord Cotys.

With respect, I fear that the task ahead

might not be suitable for a woman,

even if she is an Amazon warrior.

I stand corrected.

When the kings of yesteryear

built this citadel,

it was intended as the

high seat of all Thrace.

- But now Thrace is divided.

- This war has depleted our forces.

We're left with nothing but farmers

and merchants to replenish our army.

It takes every one of

us to resist Rhesus.

People think that he cannot be

killed by an ordinary mortal.

Only by a god.

Rhesus is a sorcerer.

His magic words confuse men,

bend them to his will.

He leads an army of monsters,

half horse, half human.

Centaurs?

- You've actually seen them?

- They have been seen.

Come, Hercules. Let me show you

what misery Rhesus has brought us.

Every week, more refugees

arrive seeking my protection,

most of them covered in blood,

crippled or burnt by Rhesus' men.

I feared nothing could ever be

good again, till you arrived.

I'm just a mercenary

fighting for gold.

How we view ourselves

is of little consequence.

How others perceive us is important.

And your name, like it or

not, is a rallying cry.

I have seen too much reality to trust

in legends, and I am not alone.

Nobody has any faith anymore.

The people need a hero.

They need someone to look up to.

My son believes in you.

Bring us peace, and...

I will believe in you, too.

I'm convinced these are good people.

I see. And who's more convincing,

Cotys or his daughter?

All the gold on Earth is not as

convincing as a pair of breasts.

Maybe, but gold never ages.

Which is why I got them

to double our price.

Double your weight in gold?

Well done.

- Amphiaraus?

- If it be the will of Zeus.

Which title sounds more terrifying to

our enemies? "Hercules: Savior of Thrace"

- or "Hercules:
A Legend is Born"?

- Both sound terrifyingly boring.

What are we supposed to

do with an army of farmers?

Train them.

Oh, sh*t.

In war, there is one thing

more important than killing.

Surviving. My companions and I

will show you how to stay alive,

so that you may return home

to your farms someday.

Autolycus.

Shield wall! Form!

Corpses! Every last one of you!

Because your shield wall was weak.

Dead. Dead.

Very dead.

Soldier, many lives depend on you.

When attacked, lock your

feet in the ground.

- You understand?

- Yes, sir.

When a shield wall is strong,

nothing can ever defeat it!

You must learn to work together,

react together.

When you do, each individual

will become a link in a chain

that will be stronger than iron.

I hope the enemy has

a sense of humor.

Right. Today's lesson,

how not to stab yourselves!

It is imperative that we strike now,

My Lord, given this opportunity.

Ah! There you are!

Hercules, my scouts have

brought news. Rhesus is on the move.

Archers who shoot lightning

from their bows.

And infantry 4,000-strong,

their minds bewitched.

- Demons march with them.

- So now we're fighting demons.

No stranger than the monsters

I hear you faced, Hercules.

My Lord, Rhesus is preparing

to attack Bessi lands.

He will be on them within six days.

If the Bessi fall, we're next.

Unless we intercept him.

Your men need weeks, if not months,

of training before they're ready.

The Bessi are a fierce

but primitive tribe.

If we do not protect them,

then there will be a bloodbath.

Face Rhesus with an untrained army and you

risk losing far more than a single battle.

My Lord, Rhesus is coming.

I vouch my life on it.

The longer Rhesus lives,

the more villages will be burnt and

the more innocents will be killed.

Assemble your men. We march tomorrow.

Hercules, the gods have

offered us a gift.

We must not squander it.

Are your gods going

to be fighting with us?

No. The son of Zeus will.

I've seen how you

watch over Hercules.

Tell me,

how did a woman,

beautiful woman,

fall in with these hardened men?

Killers?

Son of Zeus need a

woman's protection?

I don't protect him.

I protect you from him.

Hmm.

General, from now on, maybe you

should favor the company of your men.

- He pulled a knife?

- It was only a small prick.

Your mother told you to

stay away. You should listen.

What's wrong with him?

Tydeus is my most loyal warrior.

He was born in war. When I found

him, he was more animal than human.

He never speaks of what he saw.

He never speaks at all.

But he relives it every night.

Come. Let's find your mother.

When I grow up, I want to

be a great hero like you.

- Like me?

- No hero is greater than Hercules.

I know all your Labors. Like the Cretan

Bull, you wrestled it for seven days

- and seven nights.

- Uh, that's a bit exaggerated.

- And struck it 49 times with your club.

- Maybe not quite that many.

Until it fell dead and Crete was saved.

It's my favorite Labor.

Also Queen Hippolyta's Belt, with its

buxom Amazons and exciting bondage.

- Do you even know what that means?

- No.

- Mother.

- Arius.

You're supposed to be in bed.

- Why are you in the hospice?

- My mother saves people's lives.

Many of our physicians

were killed during battle.

So, out of necessity, I taught

myself the art of healing.

If I could be like you, I would protect all

of Thrace and no one would ever get hurt.

Here.

I was going to give

this to someone else,

but I never got the chance.

Only a hero may wear this.

But to become a hero,

you must grow strong.

Is this the Nemean Lion's tooth?

- It is.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Good night.

Good night, Hercules.

Have no fear.

If you fall in the service of a just

cause, your souls will go to Elysium,

where they will dwell forever

among the shades of heroes,

- like Theseus.

- Odysseus!

And the great Achilles.

Or if you're lucky, you'll go to Hades,

where all the fun people are.

Iolaus. Your place is beside

Lord Cotys, where it's safe.

I've been giving it a lot of thought,

and I really feel I'm ready to fight.

You're a storyteller, not a warrior.

- We share the same blood.

- And I will not see it shed. Chariot.

Now.

Thracians, the shield wall

is your home. Your shelter.

When you sleep,

the wall is your blanket.

When you fight,

the wall is your armor.

The shield wall will never break formation

as long as there is breath in your body.

Remember these words,

and you will taste victory.

- Move the army out!

- Move out!

Halt!

Halt!

- Halt!

- Halt!

We are too late. Rhesus

has already been here.

Leave the chariots.

We'll go down on foot.

The lion and crow cross

a field of corpses.

I hate being right all the time.

Halt.

- Halt!

- Halt!

This head is rotting.

A week old, at least.

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