Chapter 4
INSIDE ARGIVE
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Nine years had passed since king Philip of Macedon was murdered at the wedding of his own daughter. After that, his successor, his son Alexander, became the leader of his kingdom, to carry on the legacy of his father. Since then, the kingdom of Alexander entered a prosperous and thriving era. One could say a golden era, greater than any that the Greek homeland had ever seen. Even Pericles would be jealous of Alexander’s achievements. He put down the rebellions at Pannonia, Illyria, and Thrace, he made every Greek City State who opposed him, to submit to his rule.
When he was fighting in Thrace and Dacia, some ill-doers spread to the Greek world that Alexander had perished in the war. Most Athenians and Thebans, influenced by an Athenian orator, called Democritus, took up arms and laid siege to the Macedonian garrison at both Athens and Thebes. Alexander, upon hearing that, furious at those impudent Greeks, he marched from Tylis, a fishing village of the Odrysian Kingdom to the city of Thebes in 13 days. Although the united army of the Greeks decided to fight Alexander, they were defeated in the end. In his rage, the young king burned to the ground the city of Thebe, who challenged his authority. He only left one house standing, the one of the poets, Pindarus, because he was fond of his work. But he showed mercy to the city of Athens, due to her historical significance. After that skirmish, no one ever dared to challenge Alexander ever again.
After all that, he turned his eyes on the prolonged enemy of the Greeks, the Persian Empire. He called a synod at the city of Corinth, where all the Greeks, except the Lacedaemonians, announced Alexander the leader of the campaign against the Persians.
Against all odds, Alexander managed to defeat the huge Empire, into three major battles at Granicus River, the plain of Issus and the battle near the village of Gaugamela. Although the Persian Emperor Darius had the numerical advantage (in Gaugamela some said that his army reached up to one million men!) he could not stop Alexander’s war machine. The King of all the Greeks seemed to be unstoppable, a god on earth. No one could oppose him. The whole world was his for the taking.
[…]
Life on Delphi kept going. No one blamed them for the assassination of king Philip yet. But the philosopher Aristoteles visited the Temple, not one but plenty of times. Some said that he did to honor the god Apollo, to enhance his faith. But those who knew better the great thinker from Stagira knew that something else was going on. After all, Aristoteles was never known for his piety. He was a reformist, like his teacher Plato and his teacher Socrates before him. They couldn’t accept the polytheism of Greece and tended more to monotheistic points of view. But other than that, no one bothered the Temple or the Brotherhood. The regime of Alexander, after all, kind of helped the faith to thrive.
All the Greeks were under one ruler. It was the first time, after hundreds of years, that there was peace in the land. The Brotherhood''s numbers were increasing by the day. Achilles, a full-grown man by now, was growing in strength and wisdom. His Elemental powers were increasing too, with the guidance of the Priesthood of the Temple, the most wise and knowledgeable people in the whole world. He was mastering Water Manipulation, a gift, which was given by his father Poseidon, upon his birth.
The rank of the Warriors of the Temple was divided into small groups of individuals, usually six to seven. It varied depending on the purpose of that specific group, on the missions they were going to embark on. Achilles was the leader of such a group. Due to his agility and speed, he was given the name “The Silent Assassin”. A fitting nickname that started to be used after the killing of Phillip. After that many other foes of the faith fell to his blade. He was wearing light armor, made from leather and wool, in order to move easily and also protect himself, and above this, he was wearing a cloak with a hood. He was always carrying a Celtic Dagger, which was given to him after his initiation.
“Now this is yours” said the High Priest after the ceremony. “Your father Poseidon, the God of Seas and Earthquakes asked me to keep this Dagger and give it to you when you are ready. I believe that today is this day. The day you became an Argive”.
Achilles had looked at the Dagger with rolled eyes and accepted this gift. It had some strange power in it, one strangely familiar and yet so difficult to understand.
“If he wanted, he could have come himself to give me that!” Achilles had answered to the Priest.
The High Priest always knew the bitterness that this young demigod carried in his heart.
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“That is not for us to decide. The thing you can do, is to master your powers, both godly and humane, in order to become the best of the best!”
And he did a lot of training to use it for stealth assassinations, in contrast with the other weapons he was using, sword with shield many times, when he was hired by an army or warband in general, which he also carried with him – a small but strong shield under his cloak and a sheathed sword, right under the shield – and a spear, which he was using during one-to-one combat.
*
One day Achilles was summoned by the high priest, the head Argive. The meeting point was the edge of a cliff secluded and private, meaning that the matter in hand is serious and most likely secret. He was on time, as always. He gave the high priest a low bow and awaited his response.
“You may get closer”
“You summoned me, oh High Argive.”
“I have a very important matter that only you should know of and must be kept secret at all cost”
Achilles kept silent awaiting the High Priest to continue,
“Since today we have a newcomer, a prospect that will soon be tested to join our cause… I want you to be her guardian and teach her the ways of the Argive”
A quick silence with the sound only of the wind and the leaves was present for some seconds, indicating that Achilles was gathering his thoughts.
“I cannot argue nor turn down your orders sir, but may I only ask… why me? I have never taken such responsibility before; surely there would be better people more qualified for this kind of request”
“The Argive is a brotherhood committed to the will of the gods and the faith our people put in them… We Argives achieve wonders and exceed in combat by the Gods blessings and boons, but there is one more thing that unites us… Do you know what that is?”
“No sir…”
“Our mortality, our… humanity! Respectfully my son Achilles, you are not equal to us and the rest of our brothers know it, they can see it, feel it. You are a son of Lord Poseidon, this information brings disturbance in the balance of our brotherhood.” Achilles hearing his masters words lowered even more his head and sat on his knees, as the high Argive continued
“That is what should have happened normally, but your case was different… You were actually brought here as an infant by your father, so even though we knew you were a son of a deity, you were just a baby so we watched over you and raised you properly as our own… That is something I am proud of, and of you who always stayed humble with your powers and never provoked or caused anyone any harm.”
“It is only natural, oh High Argive… You are the only family I ever know… The only family I’ll ever need!”
“Do not say that your father loves you… surely in the coming years you will find a way to bridge your relationship.”
“Respectfully, I doubt it sir”
“A topic for another time… Silly me, again I let myself speak a tiny bit too much ohoho.” the elder man giggled as he continued his train of thought, “ What I was trying to say is that… The newcomer is also an offspring of a God!”
“What?!” Achilles was shocked at the news
“Yes! She is a daughter of … Hermes!”
“Hermes? The messenger of the gods… How did she find us?”
“Nikolaos actually found her, in his recent rogue mission. He must have told you, since he belongs in your squad.”
“So it is her. Yes, he told me he found someone in a dire state, he rescued her and brought her here… Does he know?”
“No! No one knows that she is Hermes’s daughter but me, and this because the god himself appeared only to me and revealed this truth to me. As I said before, no one else has to know of this but you. Train her, allow her to join your team and slowly bring her to the truth of her heritage. Only you can do that and you can understand why!”
“I understand. Where can I find her?”