Zeus’s Law

“Captain!” Screamed the jovial yell of Eurylochus as he stumbled from out of one of the buildings from the beautiful coastal city of Ismarus, a bottle of wine in one hand, and wrapped around the waist of a beautiful woman in the other. “Hail Zeus’s law! The food here is so divine I could go to war for another 10 years!” He chuckles.

“Ay! And don’t be forgetting about the lovely company we have here as well.” Another crew mate yelled from across the clearing as he held two women, one in each hand, as he chuckled drunkenly.

I just rolled my eyes and chuckled as I cleaned the blood off of my blade. “If only our male hosts were just as generous…” I say softly as I hold the blade to the sky, catching the glimmer of the sun as it shined off of the fierce iron. “I did not wish to meet this place with even more violence…”

“We did what we needed to survive, captain.” Eurylochus said, though through his drunken haze it sounded a lot less sincere than I’m sure he meant it to. “For now, enjoy yourself! Find yourself some food, wine, and fuel yourself for the journey ahead.” He said, laughing slightly as the woman he held began to trace her fingers along his abs.

“To Ithaca!” I yelled out, which lead to a roar of approval from my crew before the debauchery continues in mass. I returned to the fire I was by, however, polishing my blade even more, as if it were to cleanse me of my sins rather than just the blood. Though, my reflexes kicked in a little too well as I heard a voice beside me

“Excuse me madam, but are you the captain?” He said, and before a second thought my blade came rushing, cutting through the air and only stopping a mere centimeter from the mans neck as he held his hands to the sky. “I mean you no harm! I am Maron, a priest of Apollo, guardian of these lands! I only wished to speak with you.” He continued, though his voice was much more high and unsure now as one wrong pulse in his throat could leave himself with a nasty scar.

The man was not much unlike the God himself, or at least from the tales I had heard. Perceiving him to be in his late 30s, his hair more dirty blonde rather than the bright gold of myths, but despite being a priest the man also seemed to be quite fit. A good fit for the Sun God.

I put my blade away, but still left a single hand on the handle for protection as I met the mans eyes. “You are the first man here that did not meet us with hostility.” I say, as if I were speaking a mere fact that was easy to see. “You may speak, my friend.” I motion for him to sit next to me on the torn down log next to the fire, as I went back to warming my hands.

“You spared the church, and myself, during the raid of our city.” He responded, just as calmly, as he sat next to me with a small smile. “As the captain I assumed it was your decision to do so, so I wish to thank you for your mercy.”

I start to stoke the fire with a long tree branch I had found nearby, letting the flames burn ever so slightly more before I spoke, letting the fire illuminate my face. “I do not claim it as mercy. More accurately I do not wish to anger the Gods on our journey home. My men have suffered enough.”

The priest nodded, staring into the fire as well as I refused to meet his gaze, so out of respect he did the same. “I heard you speak the name of Ithaca.” He said, raising an eyebrow slightly. “That is a far way away traveler. Even with favorable winds you are looking forward to at least another week on the seas.”

I freeze for a second, as the timeline begins to make sense in my head. With a small sigh I throw my stick to the ground, lean back a bit, and take a quick look around the coastal city, for once enjoying its beauty rather than seeing it for its resources.

“Ithaca used to be a lot like this.” I say softly, my eyes glazing over the beautiful architecture, statues, and pathways that mimic similar styles as we have back home. “While some of our buildings are larger we still share similar styles. The craftsmanship is almost identical.” I say, running my hand along a stone pillar that was right next to me now.

“Ms. Odysseia, if I may.” Maron starts, moving slightly closer to me as he stares up into the night sky. “While the great God Apollo can only be seen as his chariot pulls the sun across the sky, I am still able to appreciate his beauty even during the night.” He says, before meeting my eyes again. “It is the absence of those which we love, that makes us appreciate it more upon its arrival. And it is my belief that the longer you are away from your homeland, the more beautiful it will be once the sun rises for you once again off the coast of Ithica.”

His words bring a small smile to my face as I sit up a little straighter, and I look to the skies once again. “Do you appreciate Artemis, of the moon, the same way you do her brother Apollo?” I ask, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Much to the same as I can appreciate your city as a sister to my own, bountiful, and plenty to love, it is not my home. Nor is that the God you worship.” I say, pointing to the sky and directly to the moon. “The sun will rise on Ithica once more, and I will be there to see it without delay.”

Maron smiled as he stood beside me. “You are correct, my friend. If I may, for your journey, may I give you a gift?” He says as he pulls out a jar with a bright purple liquid inside. “As a priest of Apollo, he is no stranger to wine due to his friendship with Dionysus.” He chuckles, before pushing the jar into my hands. “This is the world’s most delicious wine, with the potency to even put the minotaur to sleep with only a couple pints.”

I open the bottle and the smell was the first thing to assault my senses. Grape and sin, a delightful combination, yet dangerous in the wrong hands.

“Do try it, Captain Odysseia. If you enjoy it I have more back at my home that you may take on your journey home. Enough for your crew to be satiated for days before your return.”

I hesitated, but slowly raised the jar to my lips. As soon as the liquid poured down my throat like nectar I understood this mans words. It was divine in all senses of the words, as if it were plucked from the garden of Dionysus himself. Sweet, fruity, and even with a single taste my head started to spin.

“So, captain.” Maron said as he pulled me a little closer to him with a sly smile on his face. “Do you wish to come back to my home with me?”