“Ten thousand… twenty thousand…” Aaron began to count.
It was Octavia, Aaron, and Henry today. They stood in the back garden, on a large patch of grass, well into the throes of their lesson. It was history that they were being taught this day, and as Octavia had been instructed by Miss Spencer, Roman history was the topic of choice.
The rise of the Roman Empire was a particularly fascinating topic and one that Octavia knew well. She loved how it showed the consequences of actions, but not as they happened immediately, rather the slow and steady march of cause and effect. Decisions made, actions felt decades later, often beyond what anyone could have guessed.
I hope to show Aaron how his own actions might have a similar effect, the little things he does that seem to cause no harm, rippling through time and hurting people in ways that they did not even know.
However, sitting in a classroom and learning history was boring, and it would not behoove anybody to waste time with such things as that. For this reason, Octavia had come up with a rather brilliant idea…
Aaron stood on one side of the path of grass. Lined up before him were a series of wooden blocks of various sizes – she had found them amongst his toys from when he was younger. Those blocks represented the number of troops, as well as the type, and only once he had learned them did she deem that she was ready for this exercise.
On the other side of the grassy path stood Henry. He had his own blocks, lined up in a different formation, and the look he wore on his face was just as excited as Aaron’s.
“Fifty thousand!” Aaron cried as he finished counting his final block. “Thirty thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and ten thousand light troops.”
“Good boy.” Octavia nodded once and turned to Henry. “Henry, your turn.”
Henry started to count his own blocks…
Today, Aaron and Henry would be re-enacting the Battle of Cannnae, a famous defeat for the Roman army, and hopefully another lesson. It showed the importance of using one’s brain over brawn, and how a more subtle approach to an impossible task could see victory achieved.
“Eighty thousand!” Henry declared. “Fifty-five thousand infantry, fifteen thousand light troops, ten thousand cavalry. Eighty thousand.”
“Good boy,” she said to her brother.
Octavia walked to the middle of the grassy patch. She looked at the two boys, so eager to start. And she smiled, the thrill taking her, pleasure found in a job that she was starting to love.
“Henry, as you have the larger army, you can start. You remember what I showed you…” She looked at him.
“I do,” he said.
“Well…” She raised an eyebrow. “Show me.”
She had taught both boys separately the details of this battle, making sure that they knew their own strategy. What she had not shown them, however, was who won, and she hoped that by the time that this was done, they would not only understand why this battle was lost by Rome, but why it was so important in history… the larger lesson to be learned.
It took ten minutes for Henry to move his blocks forward and line them up as had been done over two thousand years ago. It was a simple formation, one that relied on a large force and a lack of concern over their enemy.
“Master Aaron…” She looked at Aaron and grinned. “Show Henry what I taught you.”
“All right!” It took Aaron even less time than Henry, just because he was so eager. He expertly moved the blocks, creating a weaker center with heavier wings.
As Octavia watched, she could not help but feel a sense of pride. It would be easy for a child like Aaron to disregard what she had shown him – and that was a part of the test. To see if he couldlisten and take instructions. That he had the patience to do as he was told.
Once the two forces were assembled, Octavia walked the line.
“Now, based on what you can see, who is going to win?” she asked them both.
“I will,” Henry said immediately.
“Oh. And why is that?” she asked.
Henry shrugged. “My force is bigger. Stronger. And Aaron…” He pointed to the formation. “He made a mistake.”
“I did not!”
“Master Aaron,” she warned him. “Let Henry explain.”
Henry scowled at Aaron and then went back to Octavia. “His center is weak, see. I will punch through it easily.”
