Welcome to Gaia! ::

...So this was where the tacticians did their training. Meleager paused, feeling rather out of place, and took a look around. It was much quieter than the warriors' training areas; it hardly seemed like the place to plan a battle at all, to his eyes. And there was no sign of Castor. He sighed. His business would have to wait, then, unless one of the tacticians who were present knew where the pale-coated crossbreed was.

The dappled stallion trotted over to the nearest of them, intending to interrupt as politely as he could, and then leave this strange place. When he halted beside her, though, she was intent on the ground, and the movement of the rock caught his eye. Meleager frowned at the arrangement of stones and leaves, his question forgotten for the time being. What was it supposed to be? One of the tacticians' games they played, as their form of practice? It looked like nothing he could fathom, and was certainly nothing like the games he remembered playing as a colt. But then, it wouldn't be. This 'game' was far more serious than that. Even if it looked like a collection of rubbish, it must mean much more to the mare who had created it.

Meleager watched closely as she rearranged the rocks, realising a moment after her explanation that the paler rocks were supposed to represent the Hellene forces - and in that case, the darker rocks were the enemy, and the twigs must stand for trees or the like. Once he knew what each part stood for, the game, or map, or whatever it was, made more sense. The Hellenes-rocks were indeed outnumbered, but with the darker rocks split off into small groups, their numbers were of little benefit to them. If the different groups couldn't communicate or send reinforcements to each other, they would be far easier to defeat. He smiled, realising the shape behind the map. Perhaps there was some merit in this form of practice, as alien to him as it was.

He looked up a little belatedly in response to the appaloosa mare's question. "Ah, I was looking for the Master Tactician - do you know where he is?" he asked, "...It's nothing urgent, though, and if you don't mind I'd like to stay here and watch a bit longer," Meleager added with a smile. He was intrigued as to where she would go from there, because while he could see the advantage of dividing the enemy, if he was in that situation in battle he would be a little uneasy about the way his forces were also split. Still, that was what tacticians were for - to think a way out of unfavourable situations. It could be interesting to look at a battle scene from their perspective for once.

"I know very little about the tacticians' craft," he explained, "but it looks very... interesting." Confusing, too, but he suspected that the tactician's would think the same or similar about the sparring he did with the other warriors.

Meleager smiled. This mock-battle didn't seem to be working out too badly. "I see," he said with a nod. "Bring in unexpected reinforcements... and it's the Omega force, which means they'll have no idea what hit them..." He trailed off, considering the rest of the arrangement. It made sense: if they could surround the enemy, while still keeping them in small groups, then they would cut down on the number of active assailants they had, since those trapped in the centre of those groups would be unable to fight.

"We're lucky to be properly organised," he commented, then corrected himself. "No, not lucky. Well-prepared. And Commandante Clytaemnestra is to thank for that." The army had flourished under her command and with the structure she had set out. In a battle situation, it would be her job, as well as his, and that of the captains, to make sure that the soldiers followed the plan that had been set out in advance by the tacticians. As well as improvising if necessary, of course. Meleager grinned wryly to himself. That was what he was best at - improvisation in the midst of battle, not all this detailed planning and modelling. He would never be any good at it, no matter how much he watched.

Still, it was interesting, and perhaps he would learn something he could impress Castor with later, once he found him. There was no hurry for him to leave, for now, since if he couldn't find Castor here he didn't know where to look.

This one really was going for the compliments, wasn't she? Meleager smiled. Well, he wasn't going to complain about that. "Thank you," he replied, turning his smile on the appaloosa mare. "Although I must add that I do not run the herd alone." That would be a daunting task. The council had always been a great source of assistance to him, even in the early days when he had been young and foolish enough to ignore their advice. "The First Ambassador and Master Tactician have their parts to play, too. As to that matter - really, I know little of how you go about deciding strategies.

"So," he added with another smile, "please continue. What are you intending to do now?" Tilting his head to one side, the stallion considered the new arrangement. The Hellenes were now much closer to equal the numbers of their enemy, perhaps even outnumbering them in certain places. They definitely had the upper hand. But, Meleager concluded, that meant little. The mare beside him had shown that a smaller force could still be successful, and he knew from his own experience that soldiers who had just seen their friends and herdmates slaughtered were likely to become even more determined. He would question the tactician on that, he decided, if her next move seemed to him to be too hasty in assuming their victory. It was not worth bringing it up now - he didn't know enough about how this worked to risk making a fool of himself.

Meleager watched closely as the appaloosa tactician went through the final motions of the mock battle. It seemed reasonable to him; he was glad she hadn't assumed the surrender of the other herd. The final victory of the Hellenes-rocks pleased him, as well, although he wondered if the tacticians ever played out battles in which they lost. It was an option that had to be considered, but surely that would defeat the object of their occupation. Not for the first time since he'd started watching the game, he was glad that he didn't have this job. He wouldn't have had the patience or the logic to make it work. The simulation of rocks and twigs was too unlike a real battlefor him to take it seriously.

Still, what the tacticians did was necessary. He knew that, even if he didn't understand what it was all about sometimes - most of the time. And this one seemed like she was good at it. Turning to face her, he nodded. "That seemed to follow my experience of real battles pretty well. I'm not much of a judge, but you seem to be good at this," he added with a smile, deciding to make the exchange of compliments more equal. "I should go now, and keep looking for Castor-hellene, but thank you for letting me observe you... ah, I never found out your name," he admitted, looking at her questioningly.

Names were important. Address people by name and they believed you showed an interest in them. Even if a name was all he knew, herdmembers were generally flattered that their leader knew anything about them. It was one of the first things he'd learnt - that names had power. He would be sure to take note of this one; the mare had after all done him a favour, and that was even more important to remember.

"Don't worry, Jocasta," Meleager smiled, "That's perfectly understandable. I would expect no less dedication from any tactician," he added with a faint grin. That would probably surprise her, he realised - most Hellenes didn't expect even the slightest hint of humour from their herdleader. It was the only proper reaction here, though. He couldn't be annoyed or offended. After all, he had been so absorbed in watching her game that he hadn't asked her name until now.

He nodded, mostly to himself, and continued in a more serious tone, "I'll mention you to Castor-hellene - I'm sure he'll be happy to meet with you and answer your questions." The new Master Tactician was busy, but not so busy that he couldn't do that favour, and if he did refuse - which Meleager thought unlikely - he might find himself on the receiving end of some advice from an unusual source. If there was one thing the dappled stallion had always had to do by himself - and been good at by himself, too - it was leadership. Since Castor was still new to his position, Meleager wouldn't feel too presumptuous giving him advice on that, if it was needed.

He smiled at the appaloosa tactician - Jocasta, he reminded himself - and waited for her reply before he went on his way.