The king of Odrysia was fond of hunting. Upon arrival of the summer, along with his entourage, the king would set out for days at a time. Often, he would spend months roaming the forests with his men, handing over the business of running the kingdom to his son. The king loved his nephew as he loved his own. Consequently, Eumoplus was always seen next to the king, during his hunting expeditions, giving him company as well as suggestions.
Tegrios never suspected his beloved nephew of harboring malice towards his son. Eumoplus was very careful not to reveal his hatred for Ismarus. Nonetheless, creating friction between the king and his son was always his hidden agenda. Ismarus would try to dissuade the king from doing what he felt was wrong. On the contrary, the king’s nephew encouraged him in his foolishness, praising the king when it was obvious to all, the king was wrong. Hence, often the king would become furious at his son. But eventually, his fatherly love won over his anger and frustrations.
One day the king decided to take Ismarus with him on his forthcoming hunting expedition. Having handed over the responsibilities to a trusted minister, the king and his entourage set out for hunting on an auspicious date. The king moved ahead cheerfully with his son and nephew on either side. A long column of horses and men behind the king made it look like the king had been heading for a battle. As they reached the edge of the forest, Tegrios told his men to slow down. He told his men to enter the forest quietly, in a queue, one behind the other. After a while when they were deep inside, Tegrios saw a deer standing under a tree. With the bow and arrow in his hand, the king dismounted from his horse. As Tegrios aimed his arrow at the deer, suddenly a fawn jumped out of a nearby bush, and trotted under the deer for milk. The tender scene of the fawn with its mother could not deter Tegrios. He pulled the line of the bow as hard as he could. Before he could release his arrow, Ismarus held the king’s bow with his hand. It was totally unexpected by Tegrios. He could not imagine anyone having the audacity to stop him. Tegrios glared at his son, and growled, “Where did you get this audacity to stop me? Let go my bow. Do not be a disobedient son. The consequence of it could be quite disastrous for you.”
Like his father, Ismarus was a stubborn son. He said to his father, “No father, I cannot let you kill that deer. Do you not see, it has a fawn?”
The king’s patience ran out. Sternly he told Ismarus to leave at that very moment, or else he would be killed. He was not to show his face to the king, the rest of his life. From then on, Tegrios decided to consider Eumoplus as his heir. Calysto was also there while the king and his son were locked in this feud. She had been quietly watching as the drama unfolded. However, when her son was deprived of his birth right, before being thrown out of the kingdom, she could not remain silent any longer. Contemptuously, she said to Tegrios, “Your majesty, all your life, your attitude was that of a despot. Often you treated as wrong what was most reasonable. For the sake of my son, I tolerated it all these years. But today, after watching my son get banished for no reason at all, I see no reason for me to stay with you. I do not want to be part of your tyranny anymore. I have decided to go to exile with my son, and I pray, so that I do not have to see the face of a husband and a father who is so inconsiderate and oppressive. But remember, those who cannot differentiate between well-wishers and pretenders, a dismal future awaits them.”
Upon chastising her husband, she took a sword in her hand from one of the bodyguards of the king before mounting her horse.
Tegrios was amused to see his queen taking such a radical step. He said to her, “I knew it was coming. But why do you need a sword? Are you going to fight against the wild animals for your disobedient and insolent son?”
“Your majesty, perhaps you do not remember that I’m a Spartan lady. The day the Spartans reach the age of seven, the lessons for all Spartan children begin. They prepare themselves, learning how to survive in the most impossible situations. I was also taught the same lessons by my father. Hence, to me it’s a piece of cake, fighting with a sword for the well-being of my son.”
As mother and son were about to depart, Eumoplus said to Ismarus, “Dear cousin, it may be that we will never see each other again. Before you leave, I wanted to talk to you privately.”
Ismarus dismounted from his horse, feeling obliged to accept his cousin’s request. Eumoplus held his hand and led him behind a tree in the forest. Then Eumoplus said to Ismarus, “Dear cousin, since you are leaving us for the rest of your life, as your little brother, I would like to have something from you as a souvenir.”
Ismarus looked startled by this token of affection from the most unexpected of places. “What could I give you as a souvenir at this time?” he asked.
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Eumoplus took out an arrow from the quiver of Ismarus, and said, he wanted to keep the arrow as a reminder. When Ismarus nodded to Eumoplus, he placed the arrow with Ismarus’ name engraved on it, in his own quiver and came out of the forest with Ismarus. Then the prince and the queen bade good bye to their friends and disappeared into the forest on horseback, taking with them a few days’ provision.
That very night, in his tent, Eumoplus arranged a feast in honor of the king. During the feast, with his funny tales, the king’s jester became the center of everyone’s attention. Quietly Eumoplus left the tent and disappeared into the forest. Everyone was busy dancing, singing, drinking and enjoying the food. He returned as quietly as he had left. At the time, the jester had been telling another of his tales to the king. How a king’s nephew usurped the throne by fooling the king, was the subject of the story. The king was advised to retire for the night after Eumoplus had pushed the jester away from the king. The long journey to the forest had already exhausted the king. The moment Eumoplus advised him to rest, Tegrios was only too glad to return to his tent.
Meanwhile, before dusk, Ismarus began searching for a safe shelter in the forest for himself and the queen. Finally, next to a tiny stream at the foothill of a mountain, they discovered a cave. Ismarus explored the cave before inviting his mother into it. Calysto was weary. Nonetheless, before resting, she washed herself in the nearby stream, and quenched her thirst from it. Upon returning to their new home, she could hardly remain awake. She spread a blanket on the floor of the cave, and fell asleep while Ismarus went back to the forest to collect twigs and dry leaves for lighting a fire. Within half an hour, he returned to the cave with enough fuel to last a night. The interior of the cave was dark. He piled some dry leaves outside the cave. Tightly, he held the iron in between his fingers and used his flint for lighting the fire. Once the fire was lit, he transferred it to the much larger pile of dry leaves and woods he had placed on the floor of the cave.
Calysto was still asleep. Albeit in her early fifties, age could not yet fully deprive her of her previous self. In her not so regal garb, something in her look still gave out an aura of grandeur. Ismarus stared at his mother’s oval shaped countenance, her silky brown hair mixed with a few grey ones here and there, waiting for her to wake up. A sense of guilt began haunting Ismarus as he looked at Calysto’s glowing face. He kept telling himself, he should not have stopped his father. If it was not for his stubbornness, his mother would have been where she belonged. However, the incident revealed to him, what a mother could do for her child. Ismarus retracted himself from this state of introspection, before getting back to work. He took out two pieces of dry meat, impaled them with a stick, and held the stick over the fire for a while. When the meat was ready, very gently he touched his mother’s forehead to wake her up from her slumber.
Ismarus knew what pleased his mother the most. He put on a cheerful expression on his face when he saw her getting up. Calysto looked at her son with a smile and inquired, “Ismarus, why do you look so cheerful? I must say, it’s the last thing I expected to see in our humble abode.”
Ismarus smiled back at Calsyto. He said, “I do not know why, but somehow I feel like we are out here for an adventure.” Ismarus began whistling a tune when he was done talking to his mother.
“Ismarus, you just lost your throne. Whatever you achieved in life, you lost that as well, and you’re saying, it’s like an excursion to you!” Calysto exclaimed.
“Yes mother, that’s how I feel because I have lost nothing.”
“What do you mean, you have not lost anything?”
“Mother, as long as you are with me, nothing in this life can hurt me. As for the throne, to me it’s nothing but a well decorated seat with a lot of burden. This seat is adorned with gold and blood, while ordinary seats are made of plain wood, that’s the difference.”
For a while Calysto remained speechless. She wondered, what to say to her foolhardy son. In the meantime, on a plate, Ismarus served his mother the meat he had cooked. Earlier, Ismarus had refilled the container from the stream. Instead of wine, they drank the cool water. Having taken care of his hunger and thirst, Ismarus could no longer keep his eyes open. The fall from grace, and its psychological after effect, the long arduous journey, and a sense of guilt for his mother’s hardship, all these had a debilitating effect upon Ismarus. After the meal, it became unbearable. He sat on the floor of the cave, a few feet from his mother, resting his back against the wall of the cave. In seconds, he fell deep in a slumber, while Calysto stared at her son in a depressed state. Calysto struggled to visualize her little son who had grown up to be an unfortunate young prince. Unlike most men, her son managed to retain his boyhood innocence. The reflected light of the fire presented to Calysto the innocence in such a way, that the mother’s heart was full of anguish for her son’s misfortunes. It must be mentioned that at the time of this sad tale, the whole of Europe was submerged in paganism. However, Calysto was an exception. From one of her messengers, she heard of monotheism, practiced in the deserts of the south. To Calysto that appeared to be more logical. After marriage, she had prayed to that one God for a son to whom his mother would be the most precious gem in life. After so many years, in that cave, it seemed to Calysto, her prayer had been answered. She had no doubts, Ismarus was the son she prayed for. As she gently she stroked her son’s head, she was filled with an unfamiliar sense of gratitude. She was not sure what or who it was, she wanted to bow to.