Empire

Hard, cold, rain pelts down on your face, abruptly waking you up. Groaning, you slowly sit up and blink as your eyes adjust to the dark. The back of your head is pounding and when you gingerly touch it, you're met with sharp pain. You pull your hand away and grow slightly concerned when you see your fingertips are now covered in blood. Dismissing this for now, you begin to warily take in your surroundings. The dark forest around you is unfamiliar and you realize you can't remember how you got here. Glancing down, you see you're wearing a torn chiton and are covered in a series of bruises and scratches. Shivering, you hesitantly get up and look around more. There appears to be a small path a few feet away and you cautiously make your way towards it. The cold wind seems to push you along while you move down the path. It seems you at least followed it in the right direction as you're soon met with sight of a large stone temple. You feel a slight wave of relief when you recognize it as one belonging to Athena. The relief quickly dissipates as you approach the temple and realize it has been long abandoned.

Regardless, you quickly head inside to get out of the wind and rain. The stone is cold against your bare feet and there is a musky scent in the air. A strange tingle runs down your spine as you make your way towards the stone table at the end of the room. Some rain trickles down the large cracks in the ceiling and splash against your already wet skin. A weathered statue of Athena towers ahead and feels as if it's staring directly at you. Exhaling deeply, you stop before the statue and stare at it for a moment. Moss covers the altar in front of it and is beginning to creep up the sides of the ancient figure. Thunder rumbles in the distance while you gently place your hands on the moss covered slab. A small sense of calm returns to you as you slowly close your eyes. Before you can completely relax, the sound of footsteps outside quickly draws your attention. When you turn around, you're met with a dark figure standing in the entrance of the temple. "Did you really think you could get away?" The deep voice that comes from the unknown man causes the hairs on the back of your neck to rise. Without waiting for a reply, he begins moving towards you. Your pulse quickens and you step back, only to be stopped by the large table behind you. The dim light in the small temple prevents you from making out the man's features until he reaches you.