Had she been found out? For just a moment she had felt a greater presence directed her way. The damned owl was perceptive, as expected of that woman’s tool. The Gorgon’s tail stood perfectly still as she leaned against the half-closed entrance to the Greenhouse, hoping that the dagger like glare would loosen up soon.
It was pathetic. The way she had to hide from that woman’s gaze as well as the human girl’s ears. What was she even doing here? A question that certainly had been repeated inside her mind endlessly for the last few days. To sneak around like a common thief on her own island was humiliating!
Even so, the Gorgon was unable to slide into the garden. Her long snake half felt ironically petrified to the ground. It was no curse that bound her, not even the presence of a vile goddess. The sole emotion tying her in place was guilt. A guilt that was irrational, foolish and yet too powerful a foe to wear down with her usual stoic demeanor.
The human girl had been sulking on her own ever since that night of the endless stars. Medusa’s actions were to blame, but she could not accept that so easily. For the first time since the girl had arrived, Medusa was at a loss for what to do. Her desire to gather information on the incoming threat was still there, but somehow it had been eclipsed by the ever-present guilt. Her focus should have been on pressing the girl for everything she knew, but Medusa found herself following her from the shadows, always with worry clouding her mind.
She should have gone in there right now and threatened the girl into spilling all her secrets. It was her right to interrogate her prisoner. Every time she thought to do so the image of the girl’s hurt expression flared up behind her eyes. How could she overcome these mental chains that seemed to imprison her again?
The girl was gasping loudly and then seemed to talk to herself. After perking up her ears she managed to make out what the girl was telling her voiceless ‘pet’ soon enough. She shared with her the thing that she had denied the Gorgon. Her lips twisted in a mix of displeasure and curiosity.
“Do you want to hear how I first met Typhos?”
----------------------------------------
I remember that it was a hot day in Athens. The kind of day where I wished to hide myself away in the cool shade of the temple’s pillars and listlessly let my ears wander through the sounds of the Akropolis around it. Once cleaning duty was finished us acolytes were free to take a break and wander the temple gardens or practice the teachings in the common room. But on that particular day I had gotten into trouble with the priestesses for a blunder in the ceremony hall. Lady Akacia gave me a mission of great importance, one I had never been entrusted with before. Venturing beyond the gates to enter the main city was unusual for me and I had never done so alone.
Before I left her room the grand priestess slipped something into my pocket without a word. I knew not to question her at that point, but my curiosity got the better of me the moment I left the main hall. In my small fingers I held several clinking coins! They were rough and worn, but I could still make out the engraved owl symbol which identified them as Attican currency. There were other things engraved on them too, but I could not make them out. Of course my mind was on fire with conflicting thoughts of what Akacia meant by giving these to me. They could not have been for my personal use, so I assumed I was to give them to the scholar as well.
I clutched the coins in my small hands and then put them into a dirty pouch from my personal pile of belongings in the common room. I could not sense anybody watching me, but there was no telling how accurate that impression was. Quickly slipping outside with the parchment tied to my belt I ran out the temple gates and into the sunny outside world where I was greeted by some guards patrolling the area. These armed men were ever-present in those times, though I had never been able to find out why there was so much protection going around.
As I nervously followed the path towards the main gate that I was forced to memorize before, I was sullenly going through the events of the day inside my head. It is shameful how childish I had been back then and I have no excuse for my behavior. Even when given such an important mission I could only wallow in self-pity. That’s why I descended the large hill of the Akropolis with tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. I nearly tripped over uneven ground several times until I finally took it slower. Due to my lack of sight it was common for me to miss rocks or elevations, so I was known as a clumsy girl that often tripped, but I vowed to not fall this time. Not on such an important errand.
The agora was enormous and could be found merely by following the loudest yells in the city. Nowhere in Athens would you be threatened to go deaf faster than in the middle of the market or the agora square. It was one of the reasons I tended to avoid market duty. Buying necessities for the temple was one of the duties assigned to the priestesses in training and the fresh acolytes, but nobody trusted me with money or provisions, so I mostly just tagged along. The temple had its own garden and goats as well as the occasional deliveries via wagons, but the priestesses had a more diverse palate as befitting of their standing. The amount of candles and torches the temple burned through was also impressive!
The closer I got to the crowds of people, the more hesitant my steps grew. It was like standing with my ear pressed to a drum and my head was shaken dearly. Over the years I had practiced to tune out all unnecessary noise, but I could not do it this time. My goal was to find a scholar, so I had to listen carefully to the debates on the platform in the back. It was where the biggest crowd had gathered and I was forced to cover my ears from the occasional yells of disagreement of the displeased citizens.
“Blasphemy!”
“You put your trade to shame!”
“Throw ‘em to the lions!”
Such shouts were the most common, though I could not tell why. The aggression of these people terrified me. I could not get a grasp on what had them so riled up and getting too close felt like a bad idea. A child had no place in whirlpool of politics and public judgement.
The people on stage, who were judged so very harshly, could not get a word in edgewise. They were overpowered by the fury of the crowd, possibly feeling as helpless as I felt about finding my scholar by now.
Clang.
My teeth vibrated from the sudden reverberations that went through the agora. It was like the greatest bell in the temple had been smashed against a statue of Lady Athena herself. The noise was centered to my far left and I had to hold on to a herma close by to keep my balance. Someone bumped into me and cursed under their breath, but I could not even make out who or what it was as my head went through painful throbs. My ears were too sensitive for that sudden ringing.
That moment of silence after the bell’s shock was when I first heard his voice. Like a pleasant wind that blew away the cloud of pain in my mind he spoke with confidence and a calm cadence.
“Citizens of Athens, your disapproval is clear and surely justified. Parklos of Thebes has failed to convey his ideas in a manner that suits our ears and educated minds.” His voice moved from my left to the center of the stage, to my full attention - the entire world’s attention.
He sounded young, like he had just come off age. And yet he carried himself so deliberately that people hung on his lips. Though he was met with a few scoffs, the tension around the audience shifted noticeably. It was my first time listening to him and yet I already understood that he was different.
“Finally, the mad scholar’s ward, that Typhos boy. I’ve been waiting to hear him speak again.” A man close to me spoke to his friend and crossed his arms in anticipation.
“He looks no older than my own brat. Who does he think he is, causing all that racket?” The friend didn’t seem quite as taken.
“Quiet! Let him speak.”
The murmuring increased as the man named Typhos let his words linger just long enough. I was elated that the one I sought out was right in front of me of course, but now that he was up there and I was blocked by the crowd, I had no way to complete my mission. I was hesitant to approach a stranger already, but how could I have made myself noticeable to someone who had all the attention on him? There was little choice but to wait.
“Yes, his words were ill-chosen, but I believe that his ideas have merit.” Typhos finally followed up his initial criticism with a new perspective. “The truth is that I encouraged Parklos to speak before you today, because I was fascinated by his contemplations about our relation to the gods as well!”
Now the crowd was getting considerably less favorable and some booed him unabashedly. The gods were always a sensitive subject to the common man as we were taught every day at the temple. It was not in the nature of a carpenter or a farmer to question the gods or the priestesses. It was our sole prerogative to guide them and mediate between everyone and the gods.
That was what I was told, but I had always found it a little odd. The gods were known to talk to humans directly, especially heroes and kings. Those were the tales that were told to the street children of Lamia. My mother had often retold the legends of Herakles, Odysseus and Persephone on long rainy nights in front of the fire. Those people in legends were special no doubt, born from god and man, born beautiful, born intelligent and wise. But not all of them were born that way, some became something that was worthy of attention by their own merit and effort. Did not every human have the potential to do something that was valuable enough to even reach the gods?
My heart hurt when thinking of this divide in the teachings and my own thoughts. There were many people worth so much more than a clumsy girl like me and yet I was declared ‘special’. The great and wise Athena had blessed me, where others may have been more worthy in my mind. But even that thought was blasphemy in itself as Athena could not choose wrong. If she was not wrong about me, then that would mean all these people so much more impressive than I should also be able to talk to her, right?
Those ideas whirring through my head could never be spoken aloud, I had learned this the hard way. Chosen or not, it was not my place to question the priestesses. Perhaps it was exactly because I was declared special that I could not waver in their eyes. It was hard to become what they wanted to see in me. The other acolytes never tried to speak to me, but I heard them. At the temple the other girls would often… nevermind.
This was about Typhos. He had riled up the audience, but not as badly as the previous speaker, clearly, because they still quieted down when he continued his speech.
“I am a simple man who studies the world the gods have created around us. For those of my profession it is invaluable to hear the perspectives of everyone, be he Theban, Attican or even Spartan.” He cleared his throat when the crowd was about to erupt again. “You are right to be suspicious of my words! Exactly because I am a simple man. Yet I too was created by the gods’ favor and blessings, so is it truly wrong to want to understand my benefactor and all of those who benefited as well? Does a beggar not have the right to thank the man who handed him a coin? Do we not thank our parents for raising us?”
Some people gave tentative sounds of agreement.
“That’s right, we are all thankful for what was given. To convey our gratitude I believe it is essential to understand our benefactors, however. The temple is our mediator, but is that enough? The question I want to ask is whether we can improve our relation to the gods more proactively. You there, which god do you follow?” He must have pointed at someone and the air grew tense around them.
“I o-often give offerings to the temple of Hermes. As much as I can.” The man spoke in a hesitant tone, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
“I assume you must be a merchant then. You are impeccably dressed and from the bulge of your coin purse I can see you are well off. I respect a man with good business sense.” He praised him jovially. “Say, do you believe that your life was blessed by the great and clever Hermes?”
“Of course!”
“So it is thanks to him that you made your profits, found a good trade route and outsmarted your competition?”
“Well…” The words got stuck in his throat for a moment, but he quickly confirmed it after swallowing.
“I disagree.” Typhos said bluntly. The merchant made a weird sound of surprise. “Do not sell yourself short, good man. Those qualities are as much your own as they are a consequence of the gods blessings. Hermes is known to give to those who prove they can take things by their own wit. That is what I was taught in the temple of Hermes myself.” He put his arms behind his back and walked across the stage. “Humans can get results out of their own might and wit, but the gods’ favor is infinitely more potent of course. That is why we are so thankful for their blessings when things go our way.”
“You speak as if we are ungrateful if things do not.” Suddenly another man spoke up, standing on the same elevation as Typhos. His voice was old and dry, but carried the importance of age and experience. If he was up there, he too must have been a scholar.
“I knew you would pick up on that, great mentor Eukleides.” I could almost hear Typhos’ whimsical grin in his words. “But you wrong me with that assumption, as it has no bearing on my ideas.”
“Then let me hear what your thoughts truly entail.” The old scholar scoffed.
“It would be my pleasure. You see, we are caught in a system that may not be entirely beneficial. It is inefficient.” He clapped his hands loudly, just once, to draw all attention. “What do we have to offer to the gods?”
“Do you ask what offerings we provide to the temples again?”
“Not at all, if I wanted to know that I would have asked the friendly merchant down there what kind of coin he thought could buy Hermes’ favor.”
“Careful boy. Your words are dangerous and loose.” Eukleides reflected the sentiment of the shocked crowd well.
“I apologize for my choice of words.” He bowed slightly, but he surely was still smiling. “It was not my intention to appear impetuous. As I said, I deeply respect those who work for their success. This does not mean I will take back my original meaning, though. I know of the offerings that are given to the temple of Hermes, I have seen them when I studied there. I ask you Eukleides, do you believe Lord Hermes has need of another priced dagger? Does he feel joy when he sees one more herma placed on the street to celebrate a merchant’s success? Can we offer anything to a god that they do not have aplenty?”
The crowd began to chatter after those words and some people seemed to argue amongst themselves. Eukleides rubbed his long beard and seemed to contemplate his response.
“The priestesses speak to him and listen to his wishes. It is not up to us to decide what the gods desire. We honor our patrons in the way they most prefer.” He finally concluded. Most people agreed audibly.
“I agree!” Typhos suddenly conceded and everyone gave him confused moans. “It is as you say, we give the gods what they desire and that is all good. And yet. I assert that we have a fundamentally false understanding of what that desire actually entails. The gods have no material needs, to claim otherwise would be true blasphemy in my eyes.” He chuckled lightly. “We give what we can, we pray as we will and we erect splendid monuments in their honor. We give from what we have, whether it is only a small investment or half our winter’s meal. To a god the difference may be entirely indiscernible, for what we mortals value could not be the same. All of it, every last thing, is a show of our deep respect. Our offerings are merely a way to convey how much we respect and honor the divine.”
“So what if it is?” His debate partner did not seem to understand where Typhos was going with his line of thinking.
“I spoke just a moment ago of how I deeply respect businessmen like those who are present in the crowd. Respect is a basic requirement for trade or else the market would soon collapse under the vileness of theft, fighting and cutthroat tactics. If I pay a merchant for his wares, I expect to receive those wares out of sense of mutual respect for the transaction.”
“Boy, you are losing focus. Prayer and offerings are not comparable to your anecdotes.”
“Are they not?” He chuckled again, to the dismay of his opponent. “You are right in a certain sense. Although I was not finished yet, you are right. My ‘anecdotes’ are about the most basic requirement for an exchange, but let me add to that! If respect is the foundation for business, then there must still be an exchange of valuable things to complete the trade.” His voice changed sharply all of a sudden on the next sentence. “We offer respect to the gods in the hopes that our thanks will reach them and that they will smile on us and bless us in return. But that is not enough.”
“Do you mean to say that we are not devoted enough? Do you fancy yourself a reborn priestess now?” Eukleides mocked Typhos openly this time and was rewarded with laughter from the crowd.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Who can truly say? My soul may well come from a place that none of you could imagine.” He said with a slight edge to his mirth. “But my devotion is real. I devote my mind to the understanding of the world, I devote my efforts to furthering the rise of those who deserve it and I will never stop devoting everything to the goals I have set for myself.” For a moment he seemed lost in thought as if his soul was wandering a distant land. “For that reason I would like to present my thesis: We are not offering the gods what they need. Every offering is merely the most basic form of respect in hopes to draw attention. But once you have acquired that divine gaze, what do you truly have to offer?”
“Preposterous. You said it before, the gods have no need for material things. You are contradicting yourself.” He pointed out.
“That would be true, if I was suggesting that I knew what they need.” He shrugged lightheartedly.
“Excuse me?”
“We have grown stale in our ways, do you not see? We have long stopped trying to understand the gods, because we follow the strict doctrine of what we are told by our ancestors and the temples. We have not proven to the divine that we can offer anything worth a trade. That is the simple truth of our current society.”
“You cannot trade with the gods! Do not desecrate their name by comparing them to lowly merchants!” The old scholar seemed quite upset now. Those words also earned him some angry shouts. It seemed there was an abundance of ‘lowly merchants’ present after all.
“But everything in its most base form is an exchange. We give respect in hopes of miracles. We show our love to receive love in turn. A trade need not involve coin or wares after all. The truth of the matter is that we do not dare ask the gods what they actually want. How can we be useful to them so that we can get their favor in return? Our relationship with the divine is hopelessly one-sided.” Typhos sighed sweetly. “It is my believe that we must strive to become useful to the gods so that we may benefit from each other in the most reliable way! Aimless offerings and prayers will only reciprocate aimless whims and favors as well! Our passivity is the reason for our low standing.”
“Athena sees far ahead of you. She always has a plan for our city and our people or do you also object to that, boy? Do you have the arrogance to claim she is mistaken in guiding us the way it has always been?”
“Not at all. I am certain that the owner of this owl cage knows how to keep her pets.” He replied in a joking tone, completely unfazed. “But if my pet showed a greater aptitude for certain tricks, I would be delighted indeed. If my dog catches a hare or lays into a boar so that I do not have to lift my bow, then it deserves a share of that meat.”
The crowd laughed again, although this time it seemed to be in Typhos’ favor. He conveyed his points in a charming manner and nothing his opposite said seemed to ever throw him off. His attitude hit a cord with me as well. The confidence, the eloquence and the certainty he exuded were all things I deeply desired for myself. It was vastly different from that authority Lady Akacia embodied and it was not quite the same as the songs the performers in the courtyard of the palace sang to garner attention. His charisma was… unique.
More than his enviable traits, his words touched something deep inside of me and dragged it out of hiding. At first I had only wished to wait for the end of his talk so that I could hand the letter to him as I was instructed, but I had quickly been unable to tear my ears away from his words. The topic was incredibly delicate, something that would have gotten me punished if I had even thought about it within the temple grounds. It was not right to question the ways of the divine in this way. I knew that I could not listen to this any longer.
And yet…
I was entranced by his words. My honest feelings were that he was right. I had always believed myself to be useless to Lady Athena and that is exactly why I strived to make up for that wherever I could. I had to make up for my blunder, for the tragedy of my home village. There was nothing I could give to our mistress as I was then, because I was weak. But if what he said was true, if everyone could band together to find what the gods wished for so that we could give them what they truly wanted, then that would have been wonderful. A miracle. Salvation.
----------------------------------------
The debate lasted quite a bit longer and eventually Typhos left the stage and was replaced by yet another scholar. Whether he had managed to convince the crowd or not was hard to tell for someone like me, but he was not pelted by rocks and shouting as he descended the steps, so he could not have failed completely.
I knew that I had to make it to him somehow, but it proved a lot harder than expected. The crowd was still blocking my way and in the overwhelming noise surrounding me I had a hard time making out the young man’s footsteps. The pain that assailed my temples when I tried to do it anyway was far too great. I staggered forward while holding my ears and bumped into a man’s leg.
“Watch where you are going!” He growled in annoyance. I was gripped by fear and rushed off through sheer instinct.
After I made some distance from the densely packed agora I returned to my senses and anxiously grabbed the parchment on my belt. My head turned left and right as I frantically thought about what to do. If I had known where this scholar lived I could have tried to find the place, but I was too scared to wander the city alone. I couldn’t even tell how late it was from just the warmth of the sun on my skin as the sky seemed to have been clouded. My options were between forcing my way back into the crowd and returning to the temple in shame.
Lady Akacia’s disappointed voice rang in my ears and my heart sank into my stomach. My eyes began to water and I crouched down in the shade of a pillar. Due to my weakness of mind back then I was prone to losing myself in tears and shameful as it was, I did pity myself greatly at that moment. I blamed the priestesses who condemned me for a crime I didn’t commit and I was angry at Lady Akacia for siding with them. For just a heartbeat I even felt resentment towards Athena. But when I realized what my unfaithful heart had done I immediately knelt down and asked for forgiveness.
Paralyzed by my lack of decisiveness I simply kept sitting there in the alley and smoldered in my self-loathing. By that point surely Typhos had already long left, I thought to myself.
I tightly grabbed the rolled up parchment and stuffed it into my clothes. Maybe if I hid it away I could forget about my failure. My hand brushed against the dirty linen sack that I had used to carry the coins I had been entrusted with. My slim fingers picked out one of the round pieces and rubbed it against my hands. The cool metal gave me a sense of stability. Although I had never bought anything myself, I found the idea of money curious enough. Back in Dankana we would exchange our products for other wares. In Lamia they used currencies from all over the region, but I was too young to handle money back then.
Maybe the same could have been said about the me from that day as soon became clear. My first lesson should have been that it was unwise to play with money in the open, especially when all alone. As I spun the coin between my fingers it slipped and rolled over the uneven ground. The metallic sound stopped abruptly when the coin made contact with something leathery.
“Did you drop this, child?” A man spoke up after bending down to take the coin in his hand.
“You gotta be careful with your belongings.” Another man was right behind him and seemed to sneer my way. I could basically sense their immoral looks on my hunched over head.
“He’s right, you know? This isn’t somethin’ to let go off so easily.” The man’s sandaled feet brushed over the dirt alley and I felt the hairs on my neck stand up in terror as he put his large hand on my shoulder. He was clearly glancing at my coin sack. It was easy to tell from the way he leaned down.
My heart began pounding wildly as I thought about how to escape. The agora was right there, so I should have been able to sprint out of the alley, but I was already in the man’s grip and his partner blocked my path in seconds. I breathed panickedly and kept my head lowered in fear. The man’s hoarse snicker made me nauseous.
“Let me help ya with that. I’ll gladly keep an eye on those for you.” He reached for my belt.
“Yes yes, so you won’t drop them again!” The other man laughed.
“P-Please stop. The coins don’t belong to me.” I whispered with a jittery voice.
“My, we got a thief on our hands! Can you believe this?”
“What a disgrace to her family. Criminals like that deserve to be punished.” He agreed.
“Good thing you confessed, child. We’ll be holding on to the stolen goods - until we find the owner of course.” Their laughter hit my numb ears faintly.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” I repeated over and over under my breath as I held my head. Not only had I failed my mission, I also lost the money entrusted to me. I was consumed by despair.
“No need to apologize to us! We’re just helping ya out. Keep those words for the poor wretch you stole from.” The large man had taken the coins and let go of my shoulder, surely leaving a painful mark where he had grabbed it.
The two men moved closer and looked at their spoils. I could hear them shake the sack and sift through the contents. I was hunched over in impotent sadness and started crying.
“Not bad. How did a brat like that get such a big haul?”
“Child pickpockets are the best in the business.” His friend replied with a shrug. “Time to get us our finder’s reward!” They laughed loudly and turned to leave.
“Finding coin on a priestess is the same as finding grain in a mine.” A third voice joined them and made them freeze on the spot. This voice was different from them. Calm, young and soothing. “There is always an interesting story behind it.”
“Who in the blazes?” One of the thieves hissed at the newcomer, but his accomplice held him back.
“Priestess?” He had picked up on that word quickly and then glared my way. The acolyte’s clothes were not distinct enough for most people to tell of our allegiance, but he seemed to suspect me now.
“I was meant to meet a friend of mine today, but she did not show up, to my great disappointment, so I thought of taking a little walk to the temple of Athena. Care to join me, friends? You seem to want to get your finder’s reward after all.” The young man said with an amicable smile no doubt.
“Who are you?” The first man repeated his question with more agitation this time.
“They call me the mad scholar’s apprentice sometimes, though I prefer to simply be called Typhos.” He replied with a subtle bow.
“You some kind of performer?” He spat out. The calmer Typhos acted, the angrier he seemed to get. “Get out of our way or they’ll carry your corpse to the temple instead.” He was drawing a dagger from its small leather sheath and pointed it the scholar’s way.
“Hold on. If this kid is connected to the temple I don’t want nothing to do with that.” His companion put an arm on the angry thief’s shoulder and nervously glanced between me and Typhos.
“He’s bluffing! He just wants the loot for himself.”
“I can assure you, money is of no import to me.” Typhos shook his head and raised his hands. I could not tell why that action seemed to shock them so much, but they took a few steps back. “But it happens that I am a man of business as well. The world of money can be a dangerous one indeed, so I share the profits with those in my employ generously. Money divided is safer as they say.” He stepped forward and raised his hand. From somewhere that I could not perceive something rushed through the air and cut right past the thieves. Something sharp penetrated a wooden cart and stayed stuck in it.
“Shit! Let’s scram!” The taller thief shouted and dragged his partner along. The loud thud of the coin pouch hitting the ground was their only parting gift.
There was deafening silence for a moment, until Typhos stepped towards the half spilled coins and quickly gathered them back into the sack. With a playful motion he threw it slightly in the air and caught it a few times. Then he finally turned towards me and stretched out his hand.
“This belongs to you, I believe.”
“N-No… They’re for you.” I replied in confusion.
“Oh? I was not aware that Akacia is in the business of donating to unpopular scholars. Surely my master would have needed such generous support more dearly.” He chuckled amusedly and then pushed the coin pouch into my hands. “All I need from you is that letter you so courageously protected for me.”
“Yes! H-Here!” I scrambled to pull the parchment from my clothes and hastily presented it to the young scholar.
“You have my gratitude, young acolyte.” He took the parchment and gave it a long look before he returned his attention to me. “What might your name be?” He asked in a soft tone, possibly because of my fearfully lowered head.
“Eugenia.”
“That’s a pretty name. Hm, Lamian?” He guessed.
“Er…” I was confused how he would guess something like that, but I could also not say it was entirely accurate.
“Do not mind my idle talk. I just did not expect Akacia to send someone so innocent on such a dangerous quest.” He squatted down before me and our faces were finally aligned. He tensed up slightly when he noticed my milky eyes. “She must put a great deal of trust in you.”
“I’m a humble servant.” I replied with my hands firmly pressed into my legs and my back straightened as a pole.
“We all serve someone in the end.” He responded with a nod and then brushed his hand against my face, which made me shiver. “Have you cried recently?”
I was so ashamed that my face must have turned completely red, even if I had no idea what that color looked like. It may have turned blue quickly from the nausea I felt as the anxiety shook me next. The scholar I had sought was nothing but polite and yet I felt like I had wronged him by leaving him behind. If he had not come here on his own I would have never delivered that important letter to him.
Noting my pathetic expression no doubt, he sat down next to me on a large stone left from construction of the house near us. He had wiped it with his sleeve first and then released a satisfied grunt when he settled on it.
“Has Akacia told you what this letter is about?”
I quickly shook my head. Meanwhile I also realized just how casually he spoke of the grand priestess. I wondered what their relation was, even if I knew that it was not my place to know.
“It’s a recipe for my favorite dish.” He responded seriously.
“What?” I blinked instinctively and made a weird face.
“Hah! Is that not a fun idea? That got your curiosity for sure.” He seemed delighted at my favorable reaction. Did this mean he had just made it up? “My favorite is roasted boar to tell you the truth. But I have not eaten it in years.” He rubbed his smooth chin and reminisced about something. “Will you tell me your favorite meal as well?”
“I don’t have any.” I replied quietly, but I did not want to disappoint him for some reason, so I went through everything I had ever eaten in my head and came to a conclusion. “I like olives, though.”
“Haha, an exemplary priestess of Athena.” He took it with mirth and then leaned forward on his legs. “I have never seen you at the temple, so you must be new.”
Just how often did a scholar like him visit our temple, I wondered back then. He had also mentioned visiting the temple of Hermes, which, while much smaller, was also very important. His speech up on the court of public debate was dangerous, but he seemed very devout to me.
“We arrived here not long ago.” I nodded.
“And yet Akacia sent you to me already. You must be... special.” I felt his curiosity in every word. His sideway glances were accompanied by his shifting weight on the right leg.
“I don’t-” I wanted to deny his claim, I wished nothing more. But the reproachful attitudes of the priestesses and the rejecting words of the other acolytes passed through my mind. As long as I was blessed, as long as I was treated different form the others, I must have been special. But was that a good thing?
Taking in my conflicted expression he tapped his fingers together and voiced some silent words with his lips. Then he turned my way completely and put a hand to the sack on my belt again.
“Akacia gave these to you for your own use, I believe. Do you want to go to the market to make something more enjoyable of them?”
“No way, she would never give me s-something so valuable!” I was completely shocked by his claim.
“I most certainly do not need that donation, so let us use it to cheer you up instead. That seems a worthy cause to me.” He elegantly rose from the stone and held out his hand to pull me up. His soft hands were covered in rings, but otherwise he did not seem to have ever so much as scratched his skin. I felt embarrassed about how much rougher my own hands must have felt.
It was like I had been dragged into a different life as I accompanied the scholar to the market and was made to pick out foods for us. It was the first time I had eaten such delicious goat cheese and the taste lingered in my mouth for a long while. Eventually Typhos pulled me to a stall where they sold olives and haggled the merchant’s price down to an obscenely low sum.
As we settled down near a tree he tried the olives I was holding in a basket. He made a low approving sound and then sighed.
“The olive season is almost over, but these are quite delectable.”
I knew little of harvest other than the minor assistance I had provided in the gardens at the temple. I was surprised how many different topics Typhos was versed in. It seemed like his curiosity was as endless as the inspiration of bards favored by Apollo and his Muses.
Despite his words he did not indulge in another olive and left the basket to me.
I diligently put it on my lap as I sat against the tree and listened to the bubbling of the river close to us. The atmosphere of the city had changed in my heart. The oppressiveness had dissipated and left behind a more harmonious presence. Maybe I felt at peace around the young scholar. At the very least our little trip had made me forget my sadness from the events at the temple for a bit.
“Thank you.” I said quietly with my face turned away.
“How odd, you would thank me for the food you purchased yourself? If anyone should be thankful, it is I. You delivered this important letter to me in one piece despite your condition.” He spoke so tactfully of my blindness that I didn’t even feel ashamed of it for once. There was a short silence in which he played with his rings audibly, then he settled down across from me again. “You have no obligation to speak to me about this, but I am so incredibly curious! How do you manage to move so well? It is as if you were not afflicted at all.”
It was not the first time I had been asked such by curious people. But as long as I could remember it was either out of suspicion, pity or fear. The scholar’s genuine curiosity was resonating with me.
“My hearing is blessed.” I replied truthfully.
“Aha, I knew it. You are the chosen girl that is the talk around the streets.” He snapped his fingers with enthusiasm.
“Huh? P-People are talking about me?!” I was horrified at the very notion.
“Some people. Those who deign to talk to someone like me.” He shrugged. “I am honored to be in the presence of Athena’s chosen.” He made a reverent gesture, but I lowered my head in response. It was all I could do. He seemed to understand my apprehension and tilted his head to the side.
“I’m just an acolyte.”
“And I am just an inexperienced scholar. It appears we are both still learning much.” He smiled in response and put a finger to his temple.
“Y-You are amazing, though! I heard your debate and you said so many clever things!” I burst out without the ability to hold it in this time.
“I did see an unusually small person in the audience. So you attended, how flattering.” He cupped his chin. “I would not expect to get praise for my words from someone of your standing. It may sound inappropriate coming from my own mouth, but my ideas are rather fringe among my colleagues.” Not to mention the general public, he added quietly.
I knew he was right. It was not something I should so openly support. But… “I think it is wonderful. We should be helping the gods with their struggles! I want to be of use to Lady Athena.” I spoke with unbridled emotion.
“But Eugenia, you are an aspiring priestess. Surely if there was anyone in this city who had a way to assist the goddess, it would be you?” He spoke kindly, but he did not understand yet.
“I wish that were true.” I nodded weakly.
“As the chosen girl, do you not speak to her often?”
“No. I have never actually heard her voice.” I admitted with a downcast expression.
“Curious.” He muttered. “Surely it will not be long until you get your chance.” He picked up one of the olives and pressed it to my mouth. I bit into it gratefully.
“I’m not so sure. The priestesses say I am a… failure.” It was like he had me under a spell, because I could not help but pour my heart out to him. “I am not good at helping anyone, least of all our mistress. There is no way that Lady Athena would still choose me after all I have done. I think she may despise me too.” My heart was stinging with pain at the memory of my home village and that stormy night.
“Hm.” He rubbed his short hair within deep thought. Then his expression sharpened with determination. “Did you know that you are not the first blind human blessed by Athena?”
“Really?” My ears perked up with interest.
“Indeed, there is a rather famous tale they love in Thebes. The details are somewhat disputed among different families and storytellers. In Athens it could even be considered slightly blasphemic. Do you still wish to hear it?”
The spark inside my heart had already been ignited and there was little I could do to staunch the fire of interest it had stoked. So far away from the temple, with someone who I admired telling me about the goddess I loved, how could I deny myself?
“Please tell me.”
Typhos smirked and leaned on his knees, clearing his voice for his grandiose tale.
“This is the story of Teiresias, the greatest seer the world has ever known and the only son of the nymph Chariklo, beloved of Athena.”
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As the priestess began to retell the tale that had been taught to her by the scholar so long ago, Medusa’s snake like eyes widened. Her fangs grew out as she felt the anger and sadness of the curse sweep over her soul. That name, Chariklo.
She knew it.
And with it an intense feeling of regret that was not her own.
The Gorgon, unable to clear her own guilt, was assailed by the regrets of another as the past tale of a broken heart filled the silvery eyes beyond the isle.