Prologue:
A falling star streaked across the night sky. A young man held his wife as he watched the blue star streak across the night sky. From his house on Baleeber Ridge, the man followed the fallen star into the valley below him.
He found a strange pod, not a star, smoldering in the dark valley below him. He found, on the pod's hull, a great Zeta carved into the strange pulsing metal. The pod opened before him and inside he found a baby boy. The young man took the boy back to his home and raised him as if he was his own son. He named him Zod, son of Zeus.
Chapter 1: A Tale of Tusks
Zod crawled through the underbrush. Ahead of him, he stalked a wild boar. The boar would feed his family for a week, if he could catch it. Gods know that they needed the food, he thought. It had been a hard winter for the three members of his family. His father, once a strong man, was growing weaker and weaker with age and though he was only 15, Zod did most of the hunting now.
As he crawled through the winter snow, his hand grew numb from holding his spear in the exposed, cold snow. When he came to the edge of the dense bush, he rose from his prone position into a crouching stance. A hundred feet ahead of him, the boar paused to eat berries from a bush ahead. Zod composed himself and prepared himself to throw his spear at the grazing animal.
Throwing a spear accurately from this distance would be impossible for most people. Zod, however, reared back and heaved the heavy spear with deadly accuracy. The spear sailed through the winter air and found its mark squarely between the boar's shoulder blades. The beast fell with a heavy thud and Zod beamed with pride.
Zod retrieved his spear from the boar's back and knelt beside the dying animal. The boar's breaths were rapid and its squeals were weak. From his belt, Zod drew his celestial bronze knife.
"Poor beast, I am sorry to take your life." He said quietly to the dying boar. "Your body will nourish and feed the ones I love and I assure you my friend, in my eyes, there is no greater sacrifice." He stroked the boar's hair for a moment more and said a prayer to the gods as he drove the blade of his knife into the boar's skull.
He picked up the boar's carcass and placed it onto his back and started back towards his home on Baleeber ridge. The walk was not far but the snow and the boar slowed him down. As he walked, he heard strange sounds coming from the surrounding woods. At first he just dismissed it, but as he came closer to Baleeber ridge, there was no denying the unmistakable snorts coming from the woods around him.
Zod paused and looked in all directions around him. He could not pinpoint where the noise was coming from. He assumed it was another boar but from the sounds of the snorts, this boar was much larger. Its snorts sounded like thunder coming at him in all directions. He lowered the great, dead pig from his back and braced his spear, ready for an impending charge.
What broke through the woods, in a ferocious charge, was a boar larger than Zod had ever seen. The boar's shoulder blades, pounding with strong, thick muscle, stood at Zod's eye level. The Boar was huge, but Zod did not retreat. Zod calmly planted the shaft of his spear into the ground behind him and aimed the sharp point at the boar's charging chest. When the boar hit, the spear snapped in half and Zod quickly jumped out of the way of the Boar's sharp tusks. Half of the spear was left scattered on the ground and the other half jutted out of the boar's torso.
The piercing blow, while maybe fatal to most, barely deterred the boar. It turned around and charged at Zod again, angrier and more ferocious this time. Zod stood before the boar with nothing but a hunting blade and his two strong hands. Blood spilt from the boar's wounds, crimsoning the white snow as it charged. The spear tip, still puncturing the boar's body, but it dragged useless against the ground as the boar ran. As the great boar came within a foot of Zod, the boy sidestepped the boar's charge, with inhuman grace and speed, and stabbed his knife hilt deep into the Boar's skull.
The boar charged past him a few more paces before finally falling. As Zod turned around to view his kill, he watched as the giant boar's body fell to dust. All that remained was one of the boar's giant tusks, the boar's folded pelt, ready to be packed away, and Zod's weapons. Zod retrieved the fallen trophies and thoroughly examined the boar's tusk in the fading light.
"Aghh, celestial ivory." He said, turning the tusk over and over in his hand. It shined magnificently. He would be proud to show the priceless token to his old man when he returned. Zod's thoughts left the tusk for a moment and focused on the beast itself. Surely this was no normal boar, he thought to himself. The boar he had caught earlier that day, was maybe an eighth of the size that this beast, if that. Despite even that, the best he carried on his back did not fall to dust once he killed it like this one did. There was only one thing that fell to dust when it was killed: Monsters. He knew of many monsters from his bedtime storied but he never heard of any large boars. Zod found the whole thing mysterious.
Zod packed the trophies, gathered the rest of his hunting supplies, and raised the dead boar back over his shoulder before continued on his way home. He found no more troubles or strange noises coming from the woods as he journeyed back. Zod just walked thought about his kill. He admired himself for how calm and natural he felt in the heat of the moment. He had hunted boar for many years but he had never came into a situation as dangerous as that one before. Zod, for a moment, felt unsure of whether or not he should even tell the old man what happened. Zod imagined that the tale would just make the old man worry, but he conceded that the man deserved to know the monsters that gathered in his woods.
Zod walked along the steep cliffs of Baleeber Ridge towards his home. His family's house stood atop the highest cliff of Baleeber ridge, overlooking the valley beneath them. The old man had told him that once when Zod was a young child, he fell off the high cliffs into the forest below. The old man was devastated and thought that surely his son was dead. He climbed down the mountain as fast as he could to find his boy. He had expected to find a mangled corpse but instead he found Zod, barely harmed, laughing and playing with small animals. The old man told Zod that Zeus, his true father, had spared him that day. Zod was not as easily convinced.
Zod had never given much thought to his Olympian father, he knew he should, but he just never cared much for him. The old man had raised him and loved him as if he was his own son and Zod loved him as if he was his real father, in return. When the old man first told him who his true father was, Zod cried. Zod said, with tears pouring from his eyes, that he wanted the old man to be his father. The old man smiled, with a tear in his own eye, and told the boy that he would be proud if he could call Zod his own son but alas, he could not. Zod was a true son of Zeus and destined to be a great hero, or at least, so he was told. Zod wasn't sure about any greatness coming his way. He was many miles away from all the city-states of Greece. He was sure no one even knew he was a son of Zeus, and Zod resolved he was fine with that. As long as no one knew of his godly lineage, Zod would get to stay with the old man and woman for as long as they lived.
Zod happily arrived back at his home and rested the boar on the side of the house before heading in to greet his family. The old woman turned around from the soup she was preparing and hurriedly walked over to Zod, "Zod, my boy, it is the old man. He is growing weaker and weaker. I am so worried for him. Did you find any food?" She asked hurriedly.
"Oh yes, mother, look at this large boar I killed." He said as he took her outside. He would not show her the tusk and hide of the actual large boar he had killed.
"Oh, Gods bless you Zod. Our family may survive yet. Thank you, but Zod I have warned you not to call me your mother before. I don't want to anger your true, Olympian parents." She said with a momentary gesture to the ceiling above them.
Zod laughed and kissed the old woman on the head, "Whatever you say, Mom."
The woman gave the boy a smile and a loving pat on the cheek. "You go check on the old man. I know he will want to see you. I'll take care of skinning the boar."
Zod nodded and walked into the back room of their small, mountain home. The old man rested in a bed, under multiple heavy furs. From even far away, Zod could tell the old man was in bad shape. He was shivering profusely and he looked sickly and dying. Zod walked over to the man's bed and pulled the large boar pelt trophy from out of his pack and slung it over the old man's bed. Zod sat beside the old man and watched him rest.
The old man woke after a while and croaked, "Zod, my boy, I am glad to see you've returned. How did the hunt go?"
"Excellent," he said smiling at the old man, "I killed a boar and we should have food for the week."
"What a good man. Your father would be proud of you." The old man said. Zod winced slightly as he mentioned his Olympian father. The old man, however, did not notice. "I should have been there with you. I am sorry."
Zod patted the old man's arm. "It is alright. You don't seem to be in the best condition anyways. It probably wouldn't be smart."
The old man laughed, "If I was a smart man, you probably wouldn't be living here. The woman told me not to chase falling stars in the dead of night after all, but I did, and because I did, I found you. Sometimes great things happen, my boy, especially in our most foolish moments."
Zod laughed and the old man returned his smile with his own toothless grin. Zod pulled the great boar's tusk out of his pack and placed it on the old man's lap.
The old man's eyes widened, "Where did you find this, my boy? Do you know what this is?"
Zod sighed and told the old man the story of his hunting trip and the great boar and the tusk. The old man sat quietly and listened to the entire story. When Zod finished, the old man turned the tusk over in his hand and said, "This is indeed celestial ivory, my son, but I have no idea what beast you killed. Whatever it was, it is surely a sign of bad things to come, but nonetheless, you slayed it and thus this tusk is your reward. Congratulations my boy."
Zod looked at the tusk, "Well, what do I do with it?" he asked earnestly.
"Well my boy, heroes who receive these trophies do many things with their gifts. Some carry them around and display them to show their prowess while others turn them into great weapons. It is your token, my son, and your choice what to do with it." He said returning the tusk to the boy. "Now, no talk of this in front of the old woman, you understand?" he warned. "You'll give the woman a heart attack." He smiled at the boy. "Now go help the woman with the food, boy, I need my sleep."
Zod grabbed his tusk, walked out of the room, and shut the door gingerly behind him. The old man smiled with pride as the boy left. The old man could see the great man the boy was becoming, and he couldn't imagine being prouder to have had a small part in the man that he would one day be.
Chapter 2: An Unexpected Dinner Party
Zod helped the old woman skin and salt the boar meat. When they finished treating and preserving the meat, Zod took the meat into the ice cellar beneath their house. It was cold down underneath their home. A cold natural spring of water had always helped them keep the place cold enough to preserve meat but Zod always hated the place. Bodies of water had scared him since he was a small child. He may have miraculously survived a fall off their cliff when he was small boy, but he also nearly drowned in their cellar's ice pond. Zeus had not saved him that time, it was the old man who pulled out of the freezing water. Since then, the thought of drowning always haunted his dreams. He carefully left the wrapped boar meat in a vacant space and walked out of the cellar as quickly as he could.
When he rose out of the cellar, he saw multiple torch lights in the distance heading up their ridge. Zod went inside and told his mother. She nodded and asked what the people looked like. They always had to be careful of raiders and bandits out here in the wilderness. Zod looked out the window and saw banners alongside the burning torches. "They have banner men, I believe it is a king's entourage, mother." He called to the old woman.
"A king?" she asked. "Oh god, we have never seen Kings up here before. Zod go get the rest of that boar meat for our guests."
Zod did as the old woman requested him. He grumbled and swore quietly as he pulled the boar out of the cellar. He had killed the boar under the idea that it would feed his family for a week, only to his disdain, it seemed he would have to go hunting again tomorrow.
Zod slung the boar meat over his back and took it to his mother. She started to prepare the meat and Zod was shocked to see the old man out of his bed and dressed to meet the coming men.
"Come on Zod. Let's go meet our visitors." He said. Zod helped the old man walk out onto his porch to greet the men.
Many men stood outside of their mountain home. The men were all dressed extravagantly with bronze chest plates, impressive helms, and mighty weapons. Zod would have thought they were warriors invading their ridge home until one walked ahead of all the rest and spoke.
"Greetings!" The mighty warrior said, "I am Prince Meleagar, son Oineus, future king of Calydon. We are here on a hunting excursion and I wish to ask to take refuge here on your land, if you would let us, of course. I promise you that you will be overpaid for any food or resources which we use." He said with a gallant smile.
"My land is yours, prince of Calydon, and although my house is small, and our food is scarce, I'd like to invite you and your men to dine with us tonight," the old man said with newfound tact that surprised young Zod.
"I thank you, good sir." Meleagar said before turning to his men. "Men, make your encampments around the house. We will resume our hunt on the morrow."
Zod inspected the so-called prince. Prince Meleagar was adorned with a majestic chest plate decorated with a brilliant symbol of a grapevine. Each grape was a magnificent amethyst and together, they shown brilliantly, even in the night light. On his hip was a thyrsus, a weapon that Zod had only heard of in legends. The prince took off his decorated armor and handed it to a man beside him. He thanked the man and then said loudly to his men. "Prothous! Kometes! Bring this family food and wine. Even though most of you are not my people, Calydonians have a reputation to uphold. I am the grandson of Dionysus, god of wine, after all." He said with a thunderous laugh. His voice was loud, almost as if he addressed an entire army, and Zod liked him instantaneously. The man walked up and shook the old man's hand and then even Zod's hand.
"Let me introduce you to my band of hunters," he said and as he said this, the men all lined up, ready for their presentation. "The two men carrying supplies into your home are my uncles Kometes and Prothous." Zod nodded at the two men but as he scanned the line of soldiers, his eyes were caught on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Even as Prince Meleagar continued his introduction, Zod just stared at the fierce woman who paid him no attention at all.
"These two", he gestured to two men, one rather large and the other quite small, "are Eurytus, demigod son of Hermes, and his mortal brother Cteatus." Meleagar said the word 'mortal' as if the young man was a lesser species than his much smaller brother. Zod just thought that he would rather fight the half god brother, than the towering Cteatus. "Then there is Euphemus, son of Poseidon." A boy, no older than Zod, nodded his head. His sea green eyes twinkled and a smile curled at the edge of the Sea God's son's lips. "Then these two twins are Castor and Pollux, well one of them is son of Zeus but I can never remember which." He laughed as said this," And the other one is mortal and rightful heir to the Spartan throne." He said with a grim look on his face. Zod's heart fluttered at the mention of Zeus. The old man tighten his grip on Zod's shoulder. The two boys look bored with their introduction. Even though Meleagar did not know which one was son of Zeus, Zod could tell. The one on the left glowed with power. The sight of his half-brother frightened Zod and it made him wonder if people saw him the same way. The other twin looked equally tough and chiseled with muscle regardless of his 'mortal' blood, as the prince called it. "And this midnight beauty," Meleagar continued, "is Atalanta." The beautiful woman sharply turned her gaze from the sunset to the Prince. She nodded to him, to the old man, and to Zod before returning her gaze to the setting sun. "Atalanta the Arcadian. I apologize for bringing a woman to your home, my good man, but I assure you she was a necessity for our hunt." The men shuffled restlessly at this. "She is both a huntress and proxy for the goddess Artemis."
Zod interrupted before he could stop himself, "That's alright, a beautiful woman is always welcome here." He said with what he thought was a charming smile. Her piercing blue eyes caught his momentarily but then fleeted quickly away.
Meleagar laughed and Zod saw red rising into Atalanta's cheeks as she stood intently into the horizon. "A bold one you have raised here, my good man, you might want to warn him of the lifestyle of Artemis's Huntresses before she cuts off his manhood." The men laughed and Zod too became embarrassed. He did not let his anguish show as he puffed up his chest and nodded silently for the prince to continue. The prince waved his hand and finished saying. "Anyways the other three: Peleus, Acastus, and Theseus are mortal men but I assure you, excellent warriors, nonetheless."
The old man smiled and waved to them all as he said, "I beg you all to make yourselves welcome in my home. Our Calydonian hosts to the south protect our lands. Any guest of Prince Meleagar is a guest of ours." The old man gestured for the prince to follow them into their home and Zod helped the man make his way back into their house.
Inside, the old man introduced his wife to the prince. The prince bowed before Zod's mother and kissed the top of her and thanked her for her generous hospitality. If Zod thought that Atalanta had blushed, than he would not know what to call the redness that gathered in his mother's face.
The Prince found his way to the dinner table and gestured for the old man to sit at the head of his table. The prince in turn, sat to the right of the old man's seat and waited for Zod to help the old man to his seat. Zod sat across from the prince, quietly listening to the Prince and his father conversation.
After pleasantries and small talk was exchange, the prince produced a bronze cup from his hip and waved his hand over the cup. Wine suddenly filled the bronze chalice. Zod's face apparently mimicked his surprise because when the prince spoke, he said, "Just a parlor trick, my boy." He laughed heartily and drank the wine till the cup was empty. He waved his hand over it again and it filled to the top with wine once more. "A gift from my grandfather, Dionysus, I am told. An endless supply of wine, a fitting gift from the god of wine and debauchery, eh?" He said, once again with a hearty laugh. "My good lady, will you bring your husband and son cups as well?" The old woman smiled and brought Zod and the old man cups for themselves. The Prince leaned over the table and waved his hand over each of their cups. They, each, filled with dark red wine. Zod looked over at the old man for approval, and he nodded.
"Ah, I am sorry." The prince said politely, "If you wish for your boy not to drink, I respect your rules. I should have asked beforehand. I apologize."
The old man sipped from his cup of wine and smiled toothlessly at the prince, "No, thank you for sharing your blessing with us. I am sure one cup of wine would not do the boy any harm. He is almost a man, anyways."
"Well to the gods then!" The prince said as he raised his glass. The old man and Zod raised their glass as well.
"To Dionysus" The prince said.
"To Dionysus" The old man responded.
"To Zeus and to Dionysus," Zod said lastly.
The prince looked at Zod with curiosity for a moment before absent-mindedly drinking his entire cup. Zod, in turn, put the wooden cup to his mouth and drank the wine. It was sweeter than any wine he had ever tasted before. He finished it entirely and placed the empty cup on the table in front of him.
"Good boy!" The prince roared. "Dionysus would be proud. Gods, it's great to be inside and near a hearth and fire again. This hunt has gone on far too long and the nights are only growing colder, I am afraid."
The old man nodded, "What are you hunting for, Prince Meleagar? What beast requires such a large hunting party?"
"If you think our party is large now, you should have seen it in its entirety. At one point we had 40 men riding with us. Half of them refused to hunt alongside a woman and have formed another party that lingers somewhere in the foothills behind us, and well" he paused, "we have lost a few." He said, suddenly somber and sad. "A few died from the cold and both Ancaeus and Hyleus died at the tusks of the boar, itself."
Zod sat up alertly in his chair, "Is that what you are hunting? A great boar?" He looked over at the old man, who slightly shook his head as if gesturing for Zod not tell his own anecdote, at least not yet.
The prince looked too entertain with his refilling cup to notice Zod and the old man's silent exchange. "Alas, yes. We hunt a cursed gift from the goddess Artemis. Father foolishly forgot to include an offering to the goddess in our recent harvest sacrifice and well, the boar was placed by the insulted god to exact her revenge." He said glumly. "The Calydonian Boar, as people are starting to call it, has been rampaging through our lands, destroying vineyards and croplands, forcing our people to take refuge inside the city walls. And well, its messy business but the people have been starving. We have come on my father's orders to restore peace by killing the cursed pig." The prince finished, looking down into his cup.
"The men you see before us are the most noble hunters and warriors we could afford to send. Yet still, we have had no success." Said Meleagar.
"What of the huntress, then?" Zod asked.
The prince chuckled, "I was not jesting when I told you to watch that one boy. Yes, she is as beautiful as the moon, but I assure you, better men than you and I have tried to win that lady's heart with no avail." He said, "But as for your question, she volunteered for the hunt actually. I was quite surprised myself to be honest. After all, isn't it strange that a proxy huntress of Artemis volunteers to hunt down her Goddess's beast? Well, I couldn't turn her down. I don't say this around the men but, if anyone is going to slay the beast, it'll be her." He remarked.
Zod looked at the prince confused, "You keep saying 'proxy' of Artemis, what do you exactly mean by that?"
Prince Meleagar put his cup down and looked at Zod very seriously, "My boy, I mean that Atalanta is not always under the control of Atalanta. Her body is a proxy, or a channel I guess would be an accurate description, for the goddess Artemis. The goddess takes over Atalanta's body and acts through the poor girl whenever she chooses to."
Zod just looked shocked at the news. He had never heard of anything like this before. Well except for oracles of Delphi, he thought, but he felt this was different.
"Ha, not as interested in courting a goddess now, are we?" The prince asked Zod.
"Actually, more so than ever, your grace." Zod replied with a casual laugh. The prince chuckled and before their conversation could continue, Zod's mother interrupted.
"My prince, our dinner is ready. Do you mind fetching your men?" She asked.
"Of course, my good lady." The prince stood up from the table and walked to the door. He yelled out with his booming voice, "MEN! GRAB YOUR PLATES! DINNER IS READY!" He walked back and sat down in his spot at the table.
The men slowly filed into the small house, plates in hand. Their thanks were given to the old woman, Zod was sure that she had never seen so much flattery in her life before. Each man thanked her and served themselves food and drink. There was not enough space to seat all the men at all their table, but a few stayed and sat with them. Zod noticed, that the few that stayed were all demigods, handpicked by Prince Meleagar himself. Pollux, one of the twin and the son of Zeus sat next to Meleagar. Next to Pollux sat Euphemus, the son of Poseidon. Zod ended up scooting down a seat so his mother could sit next to her husband. She sat and laughed at the Prince's jokes and compliments from across the table. Zod was glad she was receiving so much attention. Her meal was incredible and Zod thought she deserved all the admiration. Zod was happy for her but he was mostly happy to sit next to Atalanta who was seated in the only spot left, besides him.
Up close, Atalanta was even more beautiful than Zod thought before. Her dark brown hair was tied up and Zod got to truly see her beautiful face. She had high cheek bones and a slender face that made her look quick and strong. Certainly she must be talented and strong, he thought. She had earned enough of Meleagar's respect to sit at the same table with him. Zod tried to start a conversation with her, "So, I hear the Arcadian wilderness is the realm of Pan. I imagine you have seen many satyrs in your life."
Atalanta continued to chew the tough boar meat intently. She did not look up or seem to acknowledge his comment at all. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up at Zod, "Oh, are you talking to me?" She looked shocked to see someone speaking to her.
"Why yes." Zod said, scratching the back of his head, slightly embarrassed, "you are Atalanta the Arcadian, or at least that was how I thought you were introduced." She looked into his eyes with a look that Zod could not identify. Another few seconds passed and Zod said, "Pardon me if I am wro-"
"No. You are not wrong." She interrupted. "I am from Arcadia and umm," she stammered, "yes, I have seen many satyrs." She went back to eating her food.
"So what was Arcadia like?" Zod asked.
Atalanta finished chewing a piece of meat and then looked at him, "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"
Zod was slightly taken aback, but then with a smile on his face, he said, "I actually believe that was the first question I asked you."
Atalanta laughed, "Fair enough. I actually don't remember a lot about Arcadia anymore." Her brief jovial demeanor returned to the same solemn complex that it had been before. "The truth is that even though I survived there until I was 10, I don't really remember as much of what happened there as I used to."
"Oh," Zod said, "well I am sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
She looked over at him and Zod's heart fluttered as she placed her hand on his hand and thanked him. The boy across from him, Euphemus, Zod thought his name was, spoke up. "Wow, I have never seen a huntress open up like that before." Zod did not like the smirk that the son of Poseidon held on his face. "Don't expect much more affection from her than that gentle pat on the arm." The boy laughed.
Pollux, sitting next to Euphemus, apparently found their conversation more entertaining than the prince's and joined in. "Yeah mountain boy, you'll want to watch this one," he gestured to Atalanta with his knife. "I suspect that she controls the boar we hunt. She is tricky one, aren't you? I wouldn't be surprised if she is leading us all to our heroic deaths at the hands of her Goddess." He stuttered with an apparent inebriation from the wine that Prince Meleagar kept refilling. Zod looked down and saw Atalanta grasping the handle of a dirk fastened to her leg, beneath the table. She did not expose it, but as the boy, Pollux, continued to speak, Zod could see the knuckles of her hand growing whiter and white as she clinched the blade tighter and tighter.
Euphemus seemed to feed the drunk boy his own assumptions, "You think so, Pollux?" He asked, egging the boy on. "Why so?"
Pollux gestured for Prince Meleagar to refill his wine and drunkenly continued as the Prince silently listened from the side. "Well, you remember that fool, Ancaeus, Euphemus?"
"May he rest in peace," the prince interrupted.
Pollux nodded his head for longer than he should have and then continued, "Yes, that fellow. Well he showed our young huntress a fancy too." He laughed, although no one joined him. "He was always offering compliments to our pretty girl here but she always ignored him. The night before he died, the poor man was very drunk…"
"Worse than you?" the prince once again interrupted. The table laughed, even Pollux.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, son of Dionysus. Judge me all you want. But I remember he sang a drunken love ballad to you," He pointed a finger at the beautiful Huntress. "And somehow the beast that serves your mother, charged and stabbed the man right in his groin the day after."
Euphemus redirected Pollux, "But how does that make it her fault, Pollux?"
Pollux threw his hands up in the air and laughed, "Don't you see the connection? The man's cock was torn apart by her boar's tusks for Gods' sake!" Pollux was growing louder and more obnoxious the more Euphemus baited him on. "Clearly, the daughter of Artemis used the boar to kill the man who sung to her forbidden heart his song of affection."
"Now Pollux," Prince Meleagar chided, trying to calm down the drunk boy. "I am sorry, my hosts. Clearly we are more worn and weary from our journey than I originally thought." The prince tactfully rose and bowed thanks to the old man and woman. "Now come on Pollux, you no longer belong here. Let me…"
"NO! SHE IS THE ONE WHO DOES NOT BELONG HERE!" He pointed his finger again at Atalanta. This time, however, a string sparks erupted from the tip of his finger which sped swiftly at Atalanta's face. Without even taking time to think of what was going on, Zod grabbed his plate and shielded Atalanta with uncanny speed. Zod was glad to see that not a single spark hit her beautiful face and that the wave of sparks had stopped.
Zod's gratefulness quickly turned to anger as he rose from his seat, dropped his plate/shield, and drew his celestial bronze knife, ready to attack Pollux. Pollux unsheathed his own sword and Euphemus rose beside him wielding a sharp, fancy blade as well.
"STOP THIS IN THE NAME OF YOUR FUTURE KING!" Prince Meleagar roared. "For your father's sake, Pollux, don't you realize that this boy is your half-brother?"
Pollux eyes widened, the drunkenness had left his face. "You are son of Zeus?" He asked.
Zod nodded. His face remained solid and resolute but his heart dropped into his stomach. There it is, he thought, the cat is out of the bag, they will take me from the old man and woman, no doubt.
Pollux just sheathed his weapon and stormed out of the house without further word. Euphemus stayed for a moment longer with his blade drawn. He searched Zod's eyes and held expression on his face that Zod could not read, but after a moment had passed, he smiled and sheathed his blade. He laughed and apologized to Zod, "I am sorry for drawing my blade, my good fellow, I just wanted to ensure peace between us all." He gathered his plate and Pollux's and walked out of the house as well.
Once the two left the house, Atalanta broke down into a fit of tears. Zod's heart melted to hear the beautiful girl cry. He tried to put his arm around her but she threw his hands off her and rushed into the back room of their house away and away from the disastrous dinner party. Zod thanked his mother for the meal and the Prince for his company before following Atalanta into the back room.