"Your royal highness, the king's envoy has arrived and general Polemos wishes to hold council!" the messenger proclaims, panting from exhaustion. I regard him with a cold glance, then turn back to the magos next to me. I have witnessed her cast this very same spell many times, and I know she is approaching the prayer's climax. I find myself grow impatient with the wait, but I know that magic cannot be hurried.
We have gathered at this sacred hill overlooking the city, just like we do every day at this time, to reaffirm the justification for this war. Myself, the magos Milona, and my bodyguards make our trip here every morning so I can see that it is not for nothing. Thanks to Milona's efforts, my resolve has remained steeled throughout the siege.
At last she wafts up the herbal vapours from her offering to the gods to complete her spell. With practiced rote I inhale the smoke and let Milona's magic fill my senses. My head spins with the overpowering smell of the incense. Once I am ready, I open my eyes. Like every day before, she and the gods don't fail me. I can truly see a thousand times more than my eyes are normally able to perceive. Every detail of the world around me, close and far away, is displayed clearly in front of me.
I cast my gaze at the courtyard of the palace, hoping like I do every morning that I see him. My breath is baited as I search for him, and a powerful longing constricts my chest as my desperation rises with every passing moment. But the gods are on my side today as my efforts are rewarded.
Like every day before, I am struck in awe at the beauty of my quarry: Kouros, a prince of Enantios. Ever since I first saw him, I have believed he was delivered in this world by the gods of love and allure themselves, for he displays such youthful, barely pubescent desire that no mortal could ever hope to match. My heart is about to burst from my yearning to touch him, to hold him, to make love to him as I watch him prance nude in the courtyard as he always does. Seeing him like this reminds me of my own youth, when I was still tutored by my elders in ways of war, philosophy and even love.
As much as I would've desired, eventually I too must renew drawing breath. With a long exhalation the smoke exits my lungs, and with it my senses return to the hilltop, surrounded by my companions. As I let my breath even out, I turn to regard the messenger with my full attention. "Polemos has arrived?" I confirm. "Good, let us return to camp and not keep him waiting any longer, this siege needs to be broken as soon as possible."