Hispania, Hannibal's Tent, Early morning.Enter Hannibal, distressed and agitated, and is cursing the Gods for his recent misfortunes in war.
Hannibal: The
gleaming dawn without, that shouldst enliven a man’s spirit to renew his zeal
to continue in unrelenting strides, towards his desirous design, but alas, in
me it canst not instill progressive thoughts. Hither, as I breathe in the cold
winter air, I choke and suffocate in the claustrophobic thoughts that are
aroused by these vile morning mists. Since that greatest of battles, which I
doubt not, shallst forever be marked for its ingenious design, and for
centuries be revered by the generals of later date; ay, since that, our
fortunes have swayed like a ship caught up in a violent tempest. I had not the
means to take Rome, so to continue this conflict; I had to satiate my thirst by
inciting a general revolt. Emissaries I sent, to many a foreign land, to go
forth and build bridges of bonds so that we may maintain our vantage over Rome!
To these Carthaginian heads, I sent and envoy, no less than my noble brother.
Yet all these measures were feeble, and all faltered and melted away like wisps
of fine vapour in the heat of the cold morning sun. Those men that doth seat
and hold sway over my homeland, have given me the unkindest cut. It doth seem
by some villainy, and the unseen hand of fate, those Councillors took the first
steps to toughen Rome. I was not allowed the reinforcements I longed; I found
that my new found and old allies had me wronged; and the sly Romans like a fox,
did watch and wait, and in my absence laid the baits, that stopped all
anti-Roman sentiments. Thereafter still many battles ensued, and the Romans, I
pursued, but all came to nought, as the fortunes o’th’ships of war, wavering in
the doldrums took its final course, towards Rome! As the morning dew evaporates,
so did my victories vanish into thin air. Friends allies, troops and nobles,
whose support and loyalty made me come this far in my quest, abused and slowly
faded, as do the last embers of a dying bonfire without. The situation, as
such, is far worse and my eviction from Italia is almost certain. Yet I must
fight on, along with the rest of my men until the strength from body ebbs. The
only hope for me, if at all it doth exist, is a miracle, but the sombre dawn
and morose sun only foretell that more gloom is to come- Hark! Who’s here? - A
messenger? Then thou mayst enter!
Enter a messenger
Messenger: Sire, I bring thee a
message from the halls of Carthaginian Council.
Hannibal: [Aside] What do these fools and treacherous cheats want from me? Surely now
the Romans have been too tough to handle and now they find their enormous and
illicit wealth within the reach of a Roman sword! Life, bitter it is for now I
must protect the very skin of the people whom I would love to flay!
What message doth thou bringest?
Speak plainly!
Messenger: The supreme Council
doth command thee to bring forth thy martial talents, for our home Carthage his
under assault from thine mortal enemy, Scipio the Younger.
Hannibal: Tyrants! Traitors!
Villains! Why, if scoff me they couldest when I didst need them most, do they
beg me when their ill-gotten wealth be lost Roman steel? Surely a deal that can
broker and part with only a fraction of their wealth, why waste time in
procuring the services of the man that they mostly distrust? I should see them
burn and rot and wasted, their corpses thrown to the gulls to gorge...Yet that
would mean destroying the very Idea for which my father didst lay down his
life, for which I have wasted my best years in foreign lands without the feeling
the softness of a woman’s touch, suffered the horrors of war, treason, famine
and betrayal. O accursed my life has been, for I have been fighting the wrong
enemy!
Messenger: To thee sire, I agree,
every word of it. But now is not the time for cowardice, but valour; not
stupefaction but action; not personal glory but homeland honour. So I beg thee,
come forth to thy own country and fight the Romans, if not for the Council then
at the very least for its people.
Hannibal: Aye good messenger, thy
words have plucked out my weariness and I long to see the country of my birth.
Besides, the war hither is over, and to avenge my brother, beloved Hasdrubal,
to Carthage I shallst march for the feeling of vengeance is better than the
lethargy of inaction! Onward ho!
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