Leandros

Leandros
Details
Race	Human
Birthplace	Akros, Theros
Lifetime	Mending Era
Sources

Leandros is an Akroan warrior on the plane of Theros, a member of the Alamon who roams the perimeter of the city in squads to keep the city border clear of dangers.

History

Leandros's squad consisted of their Captain Kyrillos, the young Haemon, the handsome Nikasios, the stalwart Xanthos, the scholarly Mnesos, the elderly Diocles, the tall and athletic Pallas, and the two friends Bardas and Borias, as well as himself.

After another Alamon squad, led by Eumalos, missed their checkpoint at the Horns, Leandros's squad was sent there to investigate. They did not find any corpses there, but a cyclops charged in from the north. Although the creature seemed more intent on fleeing rather than fighting, it was a threat to Akros, so the squad teamed together to kill it. It managed to get a solid swipe in on Pallas, before Mnesos hit it with a slingshot which caused it to turn, enabling Nikasios to throw his spear into its eye. After that, they could easily dispatch it.

Although Pallas was wounded, the squad considered that the cyclops must have come from One Eye Pass, which was unusual in itself. But with Eumalos's squad still missing, they had to continue to the pass to scout for dangers. The following afternoon, they found Eumalos and his squad. They were all dead, their heads missing. They only identified Eumalos from his sword. They found minotaur tracks there as well. They said a prayer to Athreos and continued carefully to the pass itself. There, they were surprised by a boulderfall, blocking the passage behind them. It was a trap.

Then the minotaurs charged in, led by an especially large specimen. It was a brutal struggle, and death was heavy in the air. Nikasios, Bardas, and Haemon killed a minotaur each, and then Leandros killed another. Bardas and Borias fought back to back but were surrounded. Kyrillos barked orders, Mnesos fought by Leandros, Pallas threw himself into the fray, Xanthos and Diocles flanked Haemon, and Nikasios used his spear wherever he was needed.

Then, Diocles' shield arm broke blocking a blow aimed at Leandros. Nikasios killed that minotaur, but another killed Xanthos, splitting him from shoulder to thigh. Pallas avenged his fallen brother, but then Mnesos was stabbed in the belly and fell to the ground. Bardas and Borias disappeared behind the horde of minotaurs, who trampled Mnesos. Then the leader stepped into the fight, easily ten feet tall. It struck at Nikasios, severing his leg, then threw Haemon into a wall, breaking his neck. Kyrillos stabbed it deep in the gut, but it slammed him to the ground and brought a heavy hoof cracking down on his chest, a hero's downfall. Leandros felled the large beast, and Pallas decapitated it.

With their leader down, the minotaurs were scattering, and there was a lull in the battle. Xanthos, Mnesos, Bardas, Borias, Haemon, and Kyrillos were all dead, while Nikasios had lost a leg, Diocles had a broken arm, and Pallas had some chest wound that did not let him catch his breath. Leandros was the only one uninjured, the only one capable of bringing a warning to Akros. The minotaurs had set a trap for them and were hunting for the Alamon. They surely meant to lay siege to Akros.

The others bid farewell to Leandros, aiming to draw the remaining minotaurs' attention long enough for him to scramble away and run to Akros with their warning. As the beasts converged on the three remaining soldiers, Leandros climbed over the tumbled boulders. He reached the top and ran, not looking back.

He ran for a full day and more, dodging roving bands of minotaurs and finding more squads of fallen Alamon all along the way. But the worst sight was when he finally laid eyes upon Akros and saw that the siege was already in progress. The minotaurs had built a wall surrounding the city, and he was unable to reach it. In the skies above it all, Mogis and Iroas resumed their ancestral feud.

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
The Walls of Akros	Kelly Digges	2014-02-26	Born of the Gods	Theros	Leandros, Kyrillos, Bardas, Borias, Haemon, Nikasios, Xanthos, Mnesos, Diocles, Pallas, Eumalos, Athreos, Iroas, Mogis