Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
the hallowed heights of Troy.
- Odyssey 1.1
The temple of Athame was the crown jewel of Thessia. A beautiful, enormous beacon of asari grace and ingenuity dedicated to guiding the followers of the goddess and protecting the histories of the asari, the halls normally echoed with beautiful, wordless chants. The religion had lost its prominence as the asari touched the stars, but many millions still followed the old ways, and made the pilgrimage to this holy place.
But today the temple was empty, for a special purpose.
From her pulpit, High Priestess Benezia cast her eye down upon the two figures before her.
Her daughter, her greatest pride, looked the more nervous of the two, with twitching fingers and a worried frown, though her gaze remained strong, steady.
Good.
She had not raised a coward, though it was clear that her daughter's chosen path; minding the archives rather than entertaining dignitaries and learning the ways of the Priestesses, had left her naive in many of the ways of the world. Liara was far too withdrawn for the duties that would be demanded of her when Benezia stepped down, or died. She had much to learn in the coming years.
The other figure would have herself the catalyst of this change.
'Lady Benezia, I am here to ask for your blessing and support to marry your daughter.'
Shepard, they called her. A human, a member of a race so new to the galaxy that many asari still did not know what one looked like.
They are formidable, she considered. They had rapidly expanded, colonising at a rate that worried the Council, but they assuaged most of the fears by being so politically active... and useful. They volunteered to scout new frontiers, to stabilise dangerous regions, to contribute more than was required of them to shared militaries. They bent the rules, but certainly no more than any respectable species.
And this woman supposedly represented the best of them. The daughter of one of the foremost colonials, she had already made a name for herself by not only convincing the Council to allow the human colonisation of a planet that had been written off by the other species as too dangerous, being as it was a barely habitable world on the border of the Terminus Systems, but also leading the colonisation efforts herself.
That apparently not enough to cement the human's reputation, the planet Ithaka had then skyrocketed to fame as enormous element zero banks were found, and to top it all off, Shepard had managed to keep the planet free of both pirate and slaver attacks by dealing with none other than Aria T'Loak, negotiating a substantial portion of the planet's profits for the pirate queen's promise to keep the planet safe.
It was ingenious, Benezia considered. Most people saw the Terminus as a place without rules, but the matriarch had lived long enough to know that everywhere had rules; they just occasionally did not align with what most people considered "civilised". Shepard understood that the pirates of the Terminus did not fear the Council, or the human Alliance, who would never enter their borders for fear of war, but they did fear Aria, so she acted decisively and accordingly. Reliable sources on Omega told her that even Aria was impressed with the woman.
And she was so young! Not even thirty years old; an adult by human standards, but a young one. Especially considering her achievements in life already.
But was she good enough for her daughter?
'I notice you ask for my blessing, Shepard, not my permission.'
'That is correct, Lady. I love your daughter, and she loves me.'
She is a bold one!
She looked closer at the human. The physical similarities to asari were striking. Shepard was slightly taller than her daughter, and stockier; she evidently did not shirk physical tasks, an unusual trait for somebody whose fame was based in her skills for negotiation. The human's skin was a rich golden brown that spoke of long hours spent in the sun, and her hair was pitch black, arranged in unusual knotted layers around the top of her head, making Benezia think of a crown. It was both beautiful and practical: most human females wore their hair long and were forever playing with it, brushing it out of their sight, or tying it back as though it were nothing more than a nuisance yet refusing to cut it off.
But Benezia's attention was on Shepard's eyes. They were an almost startlingly bright emerald green that demanded the attention of those she looked at, and Benezia felt that the human saw, rather than just looked, a trait she rarely saw in any other than asari; short lived species usually lacking the patience to fully appreciate what can be learned through sight alone.
'And you will marry even if I do not grant you my blessing?' she asked, genuinely curious.
'I would prefer that decision not be made, Lady. I love Liara, and wish her family to be mine, and mine hers.'
As romantic as the words were, the relationship had originally been arranged as one of politics. Humanity had made great headway into brokering treaties with the turians and salarians, but had hit a barrier when dealing with the asari. War and science, they understood, but the hasty race had not yet come to understand just what the asari wanted from them.
And so Benezia had agreed a treaty with the human leaders: that the daughter of one of humanity's biggest heroes would escort the daughter of the High Priestess of Athame in her duties for one year. Humanity would be granted a unique insight into asari culture, and her daughter would learn the tenacity and confidence of the humans.
At some point, they had become rather enamoured with each other.
'You understand, Shepard, that I cannot simply give what you ask.' Benezia studied them both closely as they stood below her, hand in hand. Neither reacted to the statement.
Liara must have warned her of this, she realised with a small burst of satisfaction. Her daughter was learning that nothing worthwhile came without cost.
'However, you have the opportunity to earn it. I have a task I would ask of you, and should you complete it to my satisfaction I will grant you my blessing.'
Benezia had seen this situation coming for some time. It never did to be unprepared.
Shepard bowed her head.
'It will be an honour to prove myself to you and your daughter, Lady.'
Benezia was slightly surprised. 'You would not even hear what I am to ask before agreeing?'
'Nothing you ask would be too great for such a gift.'
Interesting...
'You are to travel to a newly discovered planet, Ilos, previously thought nothing more than a myth. The asari have begun colonising the Prothean ruins there, and have discovered some specimens they claim bear startling similarities to the ancient artefacts of Athame. Your task is to travel to Ilos and prepare for me a report on the validity of these claims. I shall provide for you a ship and crew, and all of your expenses will be paid.'
Shepard bowed her head.
'I shall do as you ask, Lady. We will begin preparations immediately.'
For the first time, Benezia broke her impassive face and let out a smile, carefully calculated to infuriate the human.
'Liara will not be accompanying you.'
Shepard blinked.
'Liara's expertise would be invaluable in generating my report.'
Impressive indeed! Calm even now!
'Of that I have no doubt. However, you have spent one year learning of Athame with my daughter, and I will be sending an expert with you.'
'But, mother!' Her daughter spoke up for the first time, showing far more outrage than Shepard herself. 'I have been petitioning for months to visit Ilos! You know I am the best qualified to oversee this expedition!'
Benezia took a deep breath.
This is for your own good, Liara...
'If Shepard encounters no trouble, she will be back within six months, Liara, and then I will arrange for you to go there together. That is the last I will say of it.'
'Is she likely to encounter trouble?' Liara asked, voice suddenly cold.
Benezia thought to the numerous trials she had planted to test Shepard's loyalty, strength and resolve during the mission. She would accept no less than the best for her daughter.
'Travel through the abyss is always fraught with peril, child.'
Liara frowned. 'That is no answer, mother.'
'It will have to suffice.' She turned back to Shepard, cutting off her daughter's obvious protests.
'Your ship is scheduled to leave tomorrow.' She looked harder at the human, wondering if her daughter had consummated their relationship. The human's face was unreadable, her daughter's a mask of barely contained anger. Their clasped hands, however, trembled with strain. She could not decide. 'Say your farewells.'
Shepard looked at Liara briefly, and Benezia half-wished she could see what was in the look the human gave her daughter, as the delicate features, marred with the ridiculous imitation of human eyebrows, noticeably relaxed.
Shepard spoke up, voice strong. 'Thank you for this opportunity, Lady Benezia. I will not disappoint you, or your daughter.'
Liara stayed silent, merely scowling at her. It tore her heart to see her daughter this way, but she would not abide a weak bondmate for her.
'That remains to be seen. Dismissed.'
The pair turned and left, hands still intertwined.
Forgive me, Little Wing...
A/N: Okay... this part has absolutely no relation to the Odyssey, but is necessary to set up the characters and plot from here. The next chapter will feature book 1 of the Odyssey, the following book 2, and so on.
I plan on keeping as true to the plot and themes of the epic as much as possible, with one rather large exception those familiar with Homer's work may have picked up on: rather than coming home to a wife and son, Shepard (Odysseus) will be trying to return to a wife and mother-in-law. So, as a character reference for this chapter:
Odysseus: Shepard
Telemachus: Liara
Penelope: Benezia
All feedback on this crazy experiment will be greatly appreciated! Updates will be once a week, on Fridays.
For all future reference, Mass Effect, the universe and all characters are property of Bioware. Translations of The Odyssey taken from Fagles (1997), published by Penguin.
Thank you Tayg, for all of your hard work and inspiration :-)
