Crocus was almost upon him, when he knelt suddenly, and dropped the butt of his lance to the ground, elevating the point. It struck his opponents shield solidly, driving the butt of the weapon into the earth, and literally lifting Crocus from the saddle by the force of his own momentum. Catapulted end over end, Crocus struck the ground almost at Constantine’s feet, the lance tom from his grasp and the shield, split in half by the point of Constantine’s own weapon, dangling from his arm. The sudden unhorsing quite knocked the wind out of Crocus and for a moment he lay stunned and helpless on the field. Drawing his own sword Constantine crossed the short space separating the two and stood with the point touching the throat of the Gallic nobleman.
Caesar Galerius
Vaguely Constantine heard a burst of sound behind him, as the crowd urged him on to the kill. A red haze of violent anger at Crocus for letting himself be so carried away by enthusiasm that he had almost turned a sham battle into a total encounter and at Caesar Galerius for not halting the conflict obscured his vision momentarily. The hand holding the sword at Crocus’ throat even tightened a little and he saw a drop of blood appear where the point pricked the skin.
He knew from the sudden light of fear in Crocus’ eyes that his friend realized how powerful was the urge to drive the sword point down, ending the contest, as the crowd was screaming for him to do. But the temptation lasted only a second; then sheathing his sword Constantine reached down and helped Crocus to his feet. A roar of disappointment came from the crowd but he ignored them, as he did Galerius, who should have stopped the sham battle before it turned into a nearfatal encounter.
Crocus was more hurt by the fall than Constantine realized. When he swayed and would have fallen, the younger man drew the arm of his recent opponent across his shoulders and with Constantine supporting and Crocus limping along, they marched across the field with the jeers of the bloodthirsty crowd in their ears. Meanwhile Dacius had sent horse handlers to catch Crocus’ mount and cut the throat of Constantine’s dying horse before dragging it from the field. As soon as the area before the throne was cleared, a blast of the trumpet signaled the beginning of the next event.
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