Act 2 Scene 4

Carthaginian military camp, south of river Ebro, near Roman military installments. Ten years after the death of Hamilcar Barca.

Enter Hasdrubal the Fair, Hannibal, Hasdrubal, Mago

Hasdrubal the Fair: How now? What says our Roman counterparts; it is peacetime; and ‘twould not be wise to strain our forces in open aggressive battle.

Hannibal: We must know our enemy’s mind; on that we must act.
[Aside] Our troops need more training before we go up against Rome.

Hasdrubal: If they want conflict do we have the means to prevent that!

Mago: Dear brother be not so intimidated by Roman forces. They shall face their match ‘gainst us.

Hasdrubal: Ay, methinks Rome; being pleasurable, would rather proclaim peace than provoke war.

Hannibal: Those shall be known for sure shortly. Look ho! The Roman Flag.

Alarum. Enter Roman messenger Marcenidorus, with two guards

Marcenidorus: I come from Rome; to negotiate between our two of the greatest nations, which shall for our future be apt. I believe that Carthaginian power in this country. We do not propose to disrupt peace; Rome just wants a treaty; which states that thou keepst thy state south of this river, and we shall keep ours in in the north.

Hasdrubal the Fair: We understand the need of peace; we are happy to accept thy terms. Gentlemen- what about it?

Other Generals: So do we!

Hannibal: [Aside] Yet, my sworn heart hopes only for war!

Hasdrubal the Fair: Bring thou the pact papers; and official Roman seal, we have ink and our seal ready. Come here put them on the table and lets finalize this formal treaty. Ay, but any breach of this shallst be deemed unfair intervention; which may even lead to war. Art thou sure that Rome wants not any battle?

Marcenidorus: Noble Hasdrubal; we intend not of any quarrel between our nations. I give thy my solemn word.

Hasdrubal the Fair: Then lets us do the needful; and with that ink; ‘tis done!

Marcenidorus: Long live the harmony between our nations. [Aside] My Roman masters orders are on which I act; any change, ay thou shallst feel the necessary impact.

[Exeunt the Romans

Hasdrubal the fair: That done; now onto the other peace agreement must we venture forth; yonder look the flag of the Hispanic warlords who rule over the south. We have asked them to join our cause and they I feel shallst not disappoint us!

Hasdrubal: Hope that is so.

Enter Hispanic warlord Horifice, along with his troops and daughter Imilce.

Horifice: Hasdrubal the Fair we have heard of thy wishes we will gladly assist the in unifying Hispania if thou shall take the hand of my daughter Imilce. Thou shall also get the support of our allied tribes and their fierce horsemen.

Hasdrubal the Fair: Happy is the hour when I hear of this proposal; but ay, thy daughter will be best given to my brother-in-law Hannibal for he and she are of the right age. What sayst thou Hannibal?

Hannibal: Thy wish is my command; we must unify Iberia at all costs.

Horifice: My dear girl, what thinkst thou?

Imilce: I shall comply with thy wishes father.

Hasdrubal the Fair: So it is settled; noble Horifice; wilt thou help us.

Horifice: I most certainly will; come let us enjoy and celebrate this matrimonial alliance and feast and banquet like kinsmen.

All: So all.

[Exeunt

Act 2 Scene 3

A battlefield, Hispania, area north of new Carthage. Enter Hamilcar with troops and two generals, fighting against the tribesmen.

Hamilcar: Go to; Go to; flee from our sights!
[To the generals] Look how easily the day is won, and victory for Carthage secured.

1st General: Ay, fly naked savages, fly out to thy blasted caves.

[Exeunt tribesmen, fleeing

2nd General: Behold how these wretched fools turn their backs to our superior forces!
[Aside] Our own tribes are more cultured than these barbarians.

Hamilcar: So gentlemen stand thou hither whilst me and my right noble soldiers do bury these fallen foes. Without thine generous support our quest would have met a dismal end. These dead that seem like scattered storm debris must now be returned to their peaceful abode in mother earth’s tomb, so that they never shall have the good fortune of tormenting us as sprites!

Both Generals: Hurrah to our great victory, noble Hamilcar!

Hamilcar: No, but ‘tis not the end, we still must march on and like these tribe crush more’o’them who hath pledged their allegiance to Rome.

2nd General: [To 1st General] Does this mean our tribe? If that is so then me shall never let the peace of our tribe get disrupted. Rome has given them harmony and this shall not br disturbed again!

Hamilcar: [To the soldiers] Then let us bury these corpses and scout the area for a good camping sight.

Soldiers: [To Hamilcar] As per thy wish Lord Hamilcar.

[Exeunt soldiers carrying corpses followed by Hamilcar

1st General: This our Lord has marched his troops northward; at this rate I fear we may have to cut the throats of our fellow men! Surely we must convince him not to do so.

2nd General: Ay, well thought of, however he is hell bent on defeating Rome, and all its allies shall also suffer the same terrible fate. ‘Tis possible he march on the morrow against our tribe. I must make assurance that he shall ‘gainst our tribe not wage unneeded conflict; yet if that be his wish he will feel our wrath.

1st General: What noble brother, meanest thou murder? Must we lift aloft our instruments to strike it down upon the man who had given us hope of survival? That is sacrilegious!

2nd General: When our motherland is threatened, our source of birth right under siege it is not meet to think narrowly of one’s goodwill. Our noble Lord, for whom, I have the most unflinching support, would strike him down first without much thought, if perchance, our beloved country be marched on.

Re-enter Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar: Well Gentlemen are we prepared to plan our next course of campaigning northward wherein we must face the more advanced and powerful tribes who are as intelligence seemeth to report have allied themselves towards the Roman cause.

1st General: But Lord Hamilcar, thou didst promise us that in return for our expertise in battle and knowledge of the lay of the land that we should not be forced to cross swords with our fellow men.


Hamilcar: Perhaps then thou couldst negotiate our stand as to the Romans, they may pay heed to the words of their kinsmen.

2nd General: For centuries our people had to suffer in the hands of the savages; then came the Romans; who drove out the barbaric hordes with our success, but we doubted the Romans and fled hither to protect our independence. Off late however we here of peace and have noted that Romans have not caused the fall of our autonomy. Nay, we shall not negotiate to break their peace for thy flimsy hatred of Rome.

Hamilcar: This is treason, no short of it! Nay when I didst recruit men in my army I asked of them supreme hatred towards Rome, shall be their only cause of joining in the army.

2nd General: To break their peace and tranquility would mean tyranny, nay we shallst not support thy cause

Hamilcar: Liars and slaves, all Roman spies, thou hast betrayed us to thy blood enemies!

2nd General: So thou likest not our proposal. Then prepare for thy impending gloomy fate. Here I draw this sword and I charge thee; thou shall fall and so, as martyrs shall we!

1st General: Me too shall strike thee down for our motherland.

Hamilcar: What? Treachery, treason; soldiers! To me!! O! O! ‘Tis too late now!

Hamilcar falls to the sword blows of his generals

2nd General: The deed is done!

Enter Hasdrubal the Fair with the troops and Young Hannibal

Hasdrubal the Fair: Hark! what noise comes from here? Who lies there? What? No it can’t be! Our beloved Hamilcar is dead and I see two of his most trusted men with bloody sabers drawn!! O Tyrannical Time! O Murderous Mayhem! O Barbaric Butchery! O Villainous Vandalism! Thou bloody rascals why didst thou do this most ignoble deed?

2nd General: We had to do it to safeguard our homeland where our people support Rome.

Soldiers: This is betrayal; we will avenge thee Hamilcar!

The soldiers fight and kill the two generals

A senior soldier: That ends all the traitors for any one else who may want to betray us shall be rendered the same fate as that has befallen these foes. Lord Hasdrubal, we now make thee our supreme commander and want thee to pursue the same policies as thy predecessor.

Hasdrubal the Fair: Ay I shall fulfill thy wish most noble Hamilcar who were’t a father to me.
Soldiers: Hail Hasdrubal the Fair! Hail!

Hasdrubal the Fair: Comrades, come let us bury these butchers in a place of secrecy and give our departed Lord a honourable state funeral.

[Exeunt soldiers carrying the dead along with Hasdrubal the Fair

Young Hannibal: Time runs out and day fades away; but is it really true; noble father, didst thou begin thy solitary march for thy heavenly abode so soon? Thou hast indeed fallen like a brave champion to the butcher’s blade. Give me strength most noble father that I may keep mine promises and emulate thy valour against Rome. Now I feel the true meaning of the oath that I did take in Carthage. My pledge is fully solemnized. I shall from this day grow tactful, alert and fearless. To avenge thy death Rome shall burn. From this day to me the world grows fallow; for I have a feeling that is empty and hollow. Nothing but victory over Rome is my only desire, without getting that; it shall burn like a raging fire. Justice, peace and harmony remain thou all far away; this world, as I see, only has a treacherous say. Tricks, felony and thoughts abhorrent which does my mind besiege; Thou world, who ever uses them, thou maketh him thy liege. Enough talk I must hush and hie, for I must not be left high and dry. Rome thou tremble in hellish fear, for thy eternal demon, Hannibal is here.

[Exit

Act 2 Scene 2

A tent, at night, somewhere deep in Hispania. Enter Hasdrubal the Fair

Hasdrubal the Fair: Four years have passed in this foreign place; none have been useless but none have been so disturbing as that yester night, which at first did seem nonchalant. ’Tis true that great events warn of their coming by omens not understood by mere mortals. Outside of this tent as I now watch those wretched souls party yonder I cannot help but ponder over sightings unnatural to every human eye.
Last night at this very hour did twenty owls hoot, why? Ay, and twenty wolves and twenty o’th’other beasts did fight tooth and nail. Thunder and lightning played about fore telling of some great uprising and stupendous feats, which I do fear! Does Rome control nature itself? Nay, that can never happen. Yet with these very eyes I did see ghastly figures jumping around the fire, chanting vile hymns. Ay the leaden sky did upon those hapless knaves rain down glowing flames which, indignant and unabashed of itself, did engulf their homes. The shaman here say such events mean a great war in the near future. So are again at war with Rome?

Thunder cracks outside

What was that? Well just thunder. Ay, ‘tis not proper that I think o these now. I must hush up.

Enter Hamilcar Barca

Hamilcar: How goes the preparation for the conquest of these areas, my boy?

Hasdrubal the Fair: Well, ‘twas a rough night the day before, but I both beast and man keep their health and also hold up their high sprites. How does thy noble son?

Hamilcar: He does well, a boy he is yet he thinks like a man. He grasps quickly the need o’th’hour and likewise uses the available resources. He does enjoy it when the elephants are used.

Hasdrubal the Fair: So what are the plans, are thy men ready to take on these fearless tribes that encircle us from all directions?

Hamilcar: Ay, they are, and on the morrow at first light we shall move and begin our assault upon our foes, most of whom, do pledge their allegiance towards Rome. We must then be at our best energies and thus at this hour put out the light and go abed.

Hasdrubal the Fair: So must we indeed.

[Exeunt

Act 2 Scene 1

A stable and beside it an enclosure in new Carthage; four years later. Enter Hamilcar Barca and Young Hannibal

Young Hannibal: I see father that we possess well-groomed horses; these should be extremely helpful in combat- are these the minions of their races?


Hamilcar: Ay my son, these horses as splendid as they are brought ashore from lands far off from here. But good horses alone canst not ensure outright victory; indeed these are but the first requirements; thou shallst note that training cavalry men is a task of great complications. The Romans train legions, but we bereft of support from our motherland canst not do so.

[Aside]’Tis a shame that even after the first bloody battle that our beloved Carthage hath not given us the plenteous it promised.

Son, observeth thou those huge beats prowling there; which should to thy unhardened mettle be straight out’o’the fantasy! Behold for these animals shall be our secret weapon ‘gainst Rome.

Young Hannibal: What creatures, so unearthly and yet so majestic in their stride and they are given spouts to filter out water like fountains back home!

Hamilcar: These, my son, are called Elephants, from distant places such as India and Persia.The Romans do not use them in battle, but Carthage, as thou shall find out later, does, for it is the main source of surprise, power and dominance in combat over Rome. Mark, that which thou didst dismiss as spouts of fountains, is their nose. Their nose has a name- trunk.They can put that for use in conflict. The infantry terrified at this sight shall be hoisted of the firm earth and cast away to die. Those teeth or, tasks are covered with steel shaped like that-the enemy is impaled on it. Those feet which does produce a thunderous sound; ay; can crush enemy troops. Yet boy holdest thy breath; these must be used separately and with utmost care and caution for these in madness do not know; which soldier is friend or foe!

Young Hannibal: What creatures, so unruly that should be used to fight a vicious enemy as Rome.

Hamilcar: Ay, son for this is the point of our meeting, go thou back to thy camp and gather thy belongings For on the morrow we shall march; therein I shall teach thee ways to maneuver the elephants and infantry alike to from a menacing army.

Young Hannibal: I shall act as per thy wish, most noble father.

[Exit

Hamilcar: His desire to conquer his enemies at such a tender age feels me with a sense of joy and belief. That to us all he shall, in due course, bring harmony and relief. Gods impede not this little boy; shower him all the blessings that thou can. For he shall in the future rise up and become a proper man. Thus to all the world and beyond; go pronounce. That he shall from every willing man’s shoulders Rome’s tyrannical rule denounce. So, may he move on from strength to strength. And by halting Rome, go that extra length.

[Exit

Act 1 Scene 4

Iberian coast. Enter the Carthaginian army, headed by Hamilcar Barca,Hasdrubal the Fair, and other senior commanders, followed by Young Hannibal. They are greeted by Hamilcar's Hispanic and Gaelic troops.

Hamilcar: Here, the place where I put up a colony to thwart Rome's advance and this very place shall be site of a new capital, Name o'that : New Carthage.

Soldiers:Hail, Hamilcar he that will lead us all to victory!

Hamilcar: Peace,keep thy valour to thy work, for now set up camp.On the morrow, we shall venture
out and start the work of carving a new home for ourselves.

Hispanic and Gaelic Allies: Hail, Hamilcar, thou hast given us hope and now we shall follow thee every where;we shall uphold thy every wish and view thy every as that were from Heaven itself,showered on our heads.Hail Hamilcar!

Hamilcar: I am certainly not as powerful as the Divine above, but Amen, and to see thy ever lasting
love and loyalty is heart-rendering; me feels confident that now we shall see our fortunes turned.So on that,come gentlemen let us camp tonight. So that from each later date, we shall give Rome Horror and Fright!

[Exeunt

Act 1 Scene 3

A place of worship in Hamilcar’s residence, and there a sacrificial chamber. Enter Hamilcar along with Young Hannibal

Hamilcar: Now son, prepare to embrace that path which thou hast chosen.

Young Hannibal: Prithee, go ahead father.

Hamilcar lights a fire in the sacrificial chamber; and then holds Young Hannibal aloft over the vicious flames.

Hamilcar: Upon these flames chastise thy self and take oath; that thou shall for all thy mortal years,
never extend a friendly arm towards Rome .

Young Hannibal: Father, Rome shall forever from now be my eternal enemy.

Hamilcar: Take a solemn vow: that with time thou shall take up true responsibility of a Barca; and curb Rome’s imperial charge. As soon as age permit, thou shall with the aid of fire and steel, put an end to all of Rome’s successes and arrest its destiny.

Young Hannibal: I shall father, and effectively by doing so, at an appropriate time, arrest its destiny.So long as I shall draw breath, it shall be my sole purpose of being alive. Nothing shall come between me and my lifelong ambition. Even in my darkest hour I shall never give way to mine sworn enemies. I shall fight them till from my bones my strength will ebb. Nothing stopping ere that, I solemnly do pledge.

Hamilcar now takes his son away from the flames and to the Goddess

Hamilcar: Now let us move to the Goddess and solemnize thy vow further; that thou shall forever oppose the Roman way of life; that vengeance ‘gainst Rome shallst be thy only duty.That never in thy life shall thou rest whilst Rome dines, feasts and enjoys dominating other civilizations. Thou shall find any means to oppose Rome and thou shall begin that practice from now and from this very hour.

Young Hannibal: I redouble my promises that I did make over the flames; so Amen.

Hamilcar: Amen; and son the hours run faster than the fastest winds; let us to bed.
On the morrow we shall sail off to Iberia and begin our relentless quest to defeat Rome.

[Exeunt