001: Starry

A single finger is the symbol of life, existence and propagation, a blessing first bestowed upon the tiny beings who populated the oceans before history. Two fingers symbolize mutualism, sharing and growth, a blessing for those who first understood that cooperation makes them stronger in the face of adversity. Three fingers symbolize instinct, emotions and the ability to determine one’s own existence, bestowed upon the strongest and most resilient beasts who decided to leave the sea in search of new horizons. Four fingers represent intelligence, the understanding of reality, the power to create language, art and civilizations, bestowed upon races who longed for more than the mere taste of meat and capable of controlling their own destiny.

Five fingers; only five species can exist with this blessing, they represent the power, strength and divinity to change existence itself, the ability to wield the fraction of a god's power, the blessing that separates us heleny from the beasts, what gave us the right to claim this world and what forces us to compete against nature itself, the favor of the gods, five fingers for five great races.

Autor without a name – Five hundred twenty-four years after Helena

Asterion woke up from his deep sleep with his long hair and unkempt beard covering his entire face. He wasn't sleeping in his bed, he had fallen into a pile of notes, letters and maps of a labyrinth. However, he continued sleeping as if nothing had happened until the sun hit his pale face and grey eyes.

-Damn, today is going to be a very long day.

The young man of almost four cubits(1) tall got up tired and lethargic, put on his white tunic, some sandals and took a sheet of paper from almost the bottom of the pile of papyrus where he was sleeping, it had a shiny seal of a ram that seemed to emit a faint light of its own. Asterion left his house, the sun was barely rising in the east and there were not many people around, he walked a few blocks until he entered a tavern that occupied at least a third of a street near the sea. In the tavern there was only one employee with some kantharos(2) and some drunks who were still scattered in the corners, the largest of all was still drinking and seemed to bother the employee with his presence, who avoided looking at him.

-Good morning Asterion, you're getting here earlier and earlier.

Asterion just raised his hand and walked to the bar; not only did he separate customers from drinks, but also from a huge map that covered almost the entire wall with a giant labyrinth, full of detailed notes in several parts, but incomplete in others. As he rested his thin arms on the counter, the employee who was cleaning took a pen and a papyrus.

-I see you're alone today. What exploration do you plan for your team today, Polemarch?

Asterion took the scroll with the shiny seal of the ram out of his sleeve, the employee's face that seemed calm became considerably more serious.

-I will inform them to prepare their supplies immediately.

The employee left quickly, leaving the tavern and disappearing from everyone's sight. Asterion sat down to wait at the counter, placing the parchment on the table and relaxing while trying not to fall asleep again. Meanwhile, the drunken giant lying in the other corner couldn't stop looking at the shiny papyrus with the ram. He approached little by little until he saw the seal and couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.

-I-Is this the seal of the Archon of Light?

Asterion just watched the giant as he took the papyrus and hid it under his sleeve to try in vain not to push his luck with the behemoth.

-How can a little piece of shit like you have something like that, do you even know how much that's worth?

The drunk put his big fists on the table and looked the boy firmly in the eyes, the latter was not interested in an interrogation or an argument so he simply grabbed the kantharos that the employee was cleaning and poured wine for both of them.

-Here, when I get back from this exploration I'll have something to give to everyone at the bar.

Asterion tried to avoid a conflict by trying to be nice, but deep down he knew he had already made a mistake, this scroll contained a very high grade seal and anyone could take it from his hands and take it somewhere else, either to complete the task themselves and steal the reward or simply steal the supplies that are given to carry it out, anyway failed missions happen every day and it's not like the leaders care much about who completed the task as long as it's done, although, only maniacs or stupid people would steal something so important that it was signed by an Archon and risk a fight against another heleny, one like the one in front of his eyes; the drunk accepted the drink anyway.

-Haha, thanks for the drink, little one.

The giant sat down next to Asterion; he was carrying a huge club almost the same size as him; about four cubits high, he left his weapon on the opposite side and began to drink from the jug.

-It's delicious, look, I don't deny that you know about wine, but I can't help but wonder how a weakling like you could get a mission from the archon himself?

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The drunk brought the brown ring on his ring finger closer to Asterion.

-It doesn't even shine in the slightest. A man with such a small soul in charge of a top-level exploration, are you sure you can do it or do you just want to steal a few things?

Asterion took a drink and then exclaimed.

-I'm just the polemarch, I don't need to have a great blessing to do my job.

-Aah, so you just carry the load like a donkey and your companions do all the rest, right? You know we don't like cowards here.

Asterion drank the whole cup, he needed to kill time until the employee arrived.

-I'll go get more wine.

The giant gave Asterion's shoulder a strong squeeze so that he couldn't get up.

-Look boy, I'll make it easy for you, give me the scroll and get out of here, I'll take care of this mission.

His grip became more intense, seeking to intimidate the man, but Asterion didn't lower his gaze, even in the face of pain.

-Well, maybe I'll have to break something, so we won't have more useless burdens like you in the labyrinth-.

As soon as he mentioned the word "useless" Asterion made his decision, he grabbed the jar with force from his hand and smashed it into the giant's face, destroying the jar and filling his nose, lips and left eye with splinters. Asterion freed himself from the grip and ran to the center of the tavern looking for someone there, but there were no employees, only drunks lying around the place so he tried to escape, however, the giant's ring lit up brightly and a circle of rocks formed around his finger that seemed to be born from the ring itself as if it were a small Saturn, at that moment a stone wall covered the door and window of the place, locking them all in the tavern. The brown ring lost its shine and therefore the ability to create another favor like the previous one for a time, the giant grabbed his club and ran lunging at Asterion, the latter dodged the club to the left, turned over a table and placed himself behind it, the giant raised his hand and from the tip of his five fingers small stones sprouted that formed an increasingly larger and dense rock, which he grabbed and threw with destructive force, the rock destroyed the table forcing Asterion to leave his improvised hiding place throwing a wooden chair at the huge heleny which he broke with a punch, at that moment the polemarch ran up to the giant carrying a leg detached from the table, with which he hit the drunk's crotch, however the latter before falling from the pain managed to swing his weapon and hit Asterion with the club, throwing him against the wall created by the subject, both writhed in pain on the ground for a while before returning to combat.

-A ring of that quality should recover in one cycle of a clepsydra(3), it should be halfway there already.

Asterion thought, he had to escape or end the fight as quickly as possible, his left arm was broken along with some ribs, so he opted for the second option, he raised his right arm and shouted.

-HEY, FATASS, HOW MUCH MORE ARE YOU GOING TO WRINKLE LIKE A MUDDY PIG?!

The offended giant ran towards the young man and with all his strength swung the two-handed club towards his head, but Asterion managed to dodge by running under the weapon and crashing his body into the giant's left leg, making him lose balance, hitting the wall with the club and his body, knocking down his own creation, the giant was left lying down and stunned, but Asterion was not very composed either, he was trying to catch his breath after receiving a knee in almost the entire area of his torso, again both slowly got up from the dust and rubble, they looked at each other for a few moments thinking about their next move and the giant's ring shone again, generating its own stone rings again.

-Shit.

It was the only thing Asterion could mutter, at that moment the giant buried his fingers in the ground and with a herculean strength he lifted a huge stone of almost his same size, the ground however had only small marks and erosions, as if the guy had immediately replaced the stones from the ground while he dug up this rock from nowhere, he threw it at Asterion during the same movement with which he dug it up and without losing any momentum, as if it weighed the same or even less than the rock from his previous throw, Asterion could only cover himself with his arm and jump back, the stone destroyed against his body and threw him violently down the street. He could no longer continue fighting and was barely conscious, the giant was in pain and confused, but he was victorious.

-HAHAHA Why didn't you use your blessing you piece of shit, do you think you're so good you damn conceited bastard?

Asterion thought about all the beatings he suffered and how they always end up the same, all living beings who are born with five fingers on their hands receive a blessing, an ability to transform matter based on the brightness and size of their soul, rich and poor, fools and enlightened, men and women, each and every one of the heleny are able to use their blessings from birth, all except poor Asterion, a true defect of nature, a false heleny, a beast more than a man, an omen of bad luck and other insults that he has received in his short existence, so Asterion already knew it, he already knew that he could never have won that fight and time before he would have given up in the frustration of his weakness, but now he is fine, because the moment the cold of the stones on his back began to be overcome by the heat he felt approaching his body, he knew that the fight was already over. The giant approached slowly and as he extended his arm over Asterion's body a black greatsword made of pure obsidian cut his hand, the ring the giant had almost instantly turned the severed piece of flesh into a rough, eroded rock, barely maintaining its original hand shape, the drunk screamed in pain and when he raised his severed wrist with his other hand to see the damage he already had the black blade pointing at his neck.

-Does he live or die?

The tall and athletic woman asked, holding a two-handed sword with red scales that adorned her entire body like natural armor. She looked with her yellow eyes and vertical pupils at Asterion, who simply raised his hand and hid his thumb with his other fingers, with which the warrior immediately removed the weapon from the giant's neck, hid his wings and hit him on the chin, leaving him unconscious. Her sword glowed red hot and cauterized the cut on the already downed man.

-Thank you, Laconia.

The polemarch softly mentioned on the ground. The woman slowly lifted him off the floor and carried him, resting him on her shoulder, into the tavern. A warm light emanated from her that faintly, like the movement of the sun on the horizon, healed Asterion's wounds.

-How come you are so unlucky?

-Well, the gods didn't bless me with anything but a lot of sleep and several dreams it seems.

-And yet you are still here... The next time you receive a mission from the fool of light I will stay with you.

-Don't worry about nonsense.

As she said those words, the reptilian tail and wing of Laconia hugged Asterion with deep affection, she sat the polemarch down and took the papyrus from her sleeve.

-Is the rest coming?

-Just the new one, I doubt the other two will show up.

-That's enough.

They both take a sip of wine and watch the destruction, the drunks sleeping on the ground didn't move a millimeter, miraculously none of them were hurt and they snore as if nothing had happened, Laconia lets out a small laugh.

-Even the drunks are more blessed than you.

Laconia mentions the last thing with a slightly sarcastic tone and Asterion finally smiles a little.

-Hehe, just give me time, you'll see what a poor and weak man with some sense is capable of.

Polemarch: The brain of the phalanxes and usually the leader of these groups, in charge of managing the resources and choosing routes in the labyrinth, in combat they give orders and organize strategies, they specialize their blessings in supporting their allies or hindering the enemy, they are usually blessed by Aura or Antrifide.

Cubit(1): Unit of measurement, one elbow equals 0.463 meters.

Kantharo(2): Clay vessel.

Clepsydra(3): Water clock, one clepsydra cycle equals one minute.