I notice that I haven't spoken about Laxani yet. He was one of my closest friends and had a great amount of importance in my life.
Laxani was slightly older than me: he was born in the spring and I was born in the autumn in the same year. Our families lived in the same neighborhood, not far from Ares' temple, and knew each other. We met for the first time when we were babies and spent our childhood together, almost like brothers. We spent time playing, wandering around Troy, swimming and often arguing. Laxani was grouchy and he used to complain about almost everything, includinb my habits, while I poked fun at him relentlessly. We cared for each other, though, and we never came to blows.
Laxani's father was one of the palace's scribes and it is because of him that I could become a teacher later in my life.
One day, Laxani announced that we were going to spend less time together from that day on:
"My father said that I must learn to read and write in order to take his place as a scribe one day" he explained "he will teach me himself"
I had always been somehow in awe of Laxani's father because he could read so well and even write. My father could read a little bit too, but just merchandise and numbers for accounting.
"Would your father mind very much if I attended too?" I asked.
"I don't know" replied Laxani, rubbing his chin "I should ask him".
Laxani's father, Syknus, was surprised by my desire to attend the lessons.
"You should spend your time playing as long as your father doesn't put you to work, too" he reasoned "this is much more than you will need one day as a merchant. "Anyway, if you've got nothing better to do, you are welcome to attend. But just as a listener: I don't have time to tutor both you and Laxani"
It was fine for me, and probably even better this way. Syknus was quite stern and demanding with Laxani, because he was supposed to become a scribe one day. But I was just a listener: I could relax and enjoying the things I was learning. As a matter of fact, I looked forward to those lessons much more than Laxani did. When I became a teacher, later in my life, I always remembered this experience.
OOO
Laxani started talking about becoming a priest long before I did.
"I feel at home at Apollo's temple" he told me when we were nine "and something weird happened last time I was there with my mother" he said one day, when we were about nine.
"Weird like what?" I asked.
"Well... my mother said that Apollo's wooden statue is beautiful and I said that the bronze one is even more beautiful"
"But... there isn't any bronze statue there, Laxani" I reasoned.
"That's the point. The high priestess heard my words and she asked how I could know that there is a bronze statue in the sacred area, where visitors are not admitted" he explained, giving me a sideways glance.
I was very impressed.
"Wow. How did you even know about that statue?"
"I have no idea. But I even know how it looks like, details and everything" he said.
We were silent for quite a while.
"Maybe Apollo is calling you as his priest" I said tentatively.
"That's what the priestess said, too. But my father didn't want to hear about it. Unlike you, I have no brothers, just sisters. Who is going to support the family when he is old?" he replied, kicking some stones ahead of him.
"Well... if the god really wants you there, he will provide somehow" I said hopefully.
For some years, Apollo had apparently no intention of providing. Laxani kept longing for Apollo's temple and his father kept refusing. Then, when I was already a novice at Hermes' temple, Laxani had his first epilepsy crisis. It was a common way for Apollo to claim his servants.
At this point, there was little Laxani's father could do and he finally gave his permission. Shortly after his admission to the temple, Laxani's older sister married a wealthy merchant, a friend of my father's.
It looked like Apollo had provided.
OOO
Although our services to our respective gods took a lot of time from us, we still manage to see each other on a regular basis.
Even as a man, Laxani stayed as grouchy and touchy as he had been as a child. However, he became calmer and, with time, influential. His epilepsy wasn't very prominent: he only had a handful of crises in his life, contrary to what later happened to Cassandra. His prophecies were rare but notable.
Many years later, he predicted that Paris' birth would lead to our destruction. Unfortunately, owing to the queen's maids, word got out of the palace and the whole city started to panic. Eventually, Priam and Hecuba decided to place the boy by a shepherd I knew on Mount Ida, far from Troy.
Laxani also advised Priam to consecrate Cassandra to Apollo and Helenus to Artemis. This happened because the newborn twins spent a night at Apollo's temple, as it was customary, and a snake wrapped itself around them and licked Cassandra's ear.
Even if he didn't actively seek the king's attention, Laxani's advice influenced many of Priam's most important decisions.
Laxani died suddenly at the beginning of the war. He fainted and never woke up again, like his father before him. I still miss him deeply and I am always happy when he visits me in my dreams.
After his death, Cassandra became the high priestess.