This story belongs to LaVacaMuh and all credits go to them. I am just the translator.
Please read my notes at the end of the chapter for any updates regarding my progress. You can also read my thoughts on the chapter and other extra analysis on this chapter of the story at the very end.
Enjoy!
Fate/stay night and its characters don't belong to me.
Notes at the end of the chapter, if you have any confusion, wait until the end, and if your question is not solved, you can ask at the end as long as it's not something to spoil before the time.
Chapter 6: The Beginning Of A Legend.
The tranquil forests of Mount Pelion would put anyone at ease, the Centaur could confirm that no doubt. He lived there after all.
Archer had told him that he was going to practice a few more skills before leaving and Chiron had no worries in agreeing. The tanned youth was already prepared to face the adversities of the world, keeping him here any longer wouldn't do any good.
It had been exactly 2 days since Archer had arrived from completing his task, so Chiron decided not to disturb him. For some reason, Archer looked overwhelmed, the expressions he showed spoke for him.
The Centaur had never seen Archer so agitated. It's true that there was some emotion as he recounted his time on his task, but his words definitely told you that he was hassled by everything he had been through.
And after hearing the story, Chiron couldn't blame him.
"A Dragon nearly killed me. If it wasn't for that miraculous Griffin, I'd probably be with Hades right now begging for mercy."
That day the Centaur couldn't help but blink in amazement, he was very bewildered to know that his pupil could deal with a Wyvern. At the same time, it amused him that Archer could make other expressions.
It was hilarious how Archer could replace his sarcastic attitude in a matter of seconds. Chiron didn't even need to ask the young man any more questions to let him vent his frustration out.
Archer was proud of himself for what he had done, that much he could easily tell, but that didn't mean he couldn't let off a little steam.
As Chiron chopped his trees for wood with considerable mastery, he couldn't help himself but thoughtfully smile. His pupil had learned many things during his time with him; it was nice to see him grow.
Obviously there was still a lot of room for improvement, but the potential was still there. Although Archer's skills with a bow were too good to be natural, he still had a long way to go to be on the same level as Chiron.
Chiron was superb with the bow in all aspects. His archery skills reached the domain of the Gods themselves and he could shoot from distances too far.
He could shoot so far that many mortals would consider it almost imaginary.
Archer was very similar to Chiron in that respect, his eye could see very far distances, perhaps even kilometres. However Chiron was at a markedly higher level, although it was still an impressive feat for a young man of his age.
It's true that Chiron's arching bow was dominating and beautiful, but this one had no special qualities that could truly stand out.
His bow was made of some precious materials, with the main intention of withstanding his terrifying archery skills, there was nothing else.
But Archer's bow outperformed Chiron's.
His bow did not have a specially striking design or shape, but the materials from which it was constructed were mysteriously greater. Not only withstanding more strength and magic than Chiron's own bow, but it also seemed more durable.
Aesthetically it was nothing special, yet its qualities were quite unique. Although the Centaur had no way of knowing how his pupil had constructed that bow.
Neither was it his obligation to ask.
Anyway, the main point was that the material was greater than his. This however was meaningless in front of skill, so as a result Chiron had given Archer a few archery lessons since his return.
Chiron simply couldn't bear to see the mistakes he was making with the bow, Archer was very good... But he could be better.
It's not as if it was really concerning. However, Archer was quite young, he could learn a few good things along the way if he kept up his particular pace of learning.
After finishing to cut his tree, Chiron exhaled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The task he was performing was very taxing and tiring, but at least he was about to finish for the next few days. It was really hard to cut down so much wood so as not to disappoint the Gods.
His attention was occupied with one thing in particular though; that was... the Griffin.
It was no surprise to anyone that Griffins were sacred creatures. However... The main problem was the fact that Archer described the Griffin as "divine" and "larger than a normal one".
If you coupled that description with the fact that almost all Griffins were relatively divine because of a certain God, and that wild Griffins did not live in these mountains, the answer was quite obvious.
The Griffin had been sent by the God Apollo to solve the now gone blizzard. But Chiron had sent Archer instead in which, unknowingly, the Gods had involved themselves in.
The thought made him terribly sweat and tremble at times. Chiron didn't even want to imagine what Apollo might do if he found out that an ordinary human had ridden a creature that was devoted to him.
He would definitely be outraged.
Chiron knew Apollo since his childhood. Apollo was practically the one who raised him, and the one who taught him most of what he now knows; from the art of Pankration, to medicine itself. So the Centaur had a lot of respect for the God Apollo and also for the Goddess Artemis.
The two of them had been his light and for that, his respect and adoration for them was high and genuine. But for many reasons, that relationship was gradually lost as time went by; Chiron could understand that. They were Olympian Gods, unattainable figures that everyone revered, no doubt they had many occupations that they had to take care of at all times.
That's why Chiron was worried about Archer, the Centaur didn't want to explain to Apollo what his pupil had done. Even though Apollo was... Gentle, if you provoked his fury... The Underworld itself would seem like a child's toy.
He just hoped that would not be the case.
Meanwhile, Archer was sitting quietly at the edge of a river. The scenery was breathtaking and served to grant him peace as he went about his business.
What he was doing did not particularly require intense concentration, but it definitely required privacy and a lot of attention not to be interrupted or surprised by anyone.
He was examining the spear that had killed the Wyvern. There were many thoughts that went through his head as he felt the intense power the weapon gave off.
Unfortunately, he could not analyse anything from it.
Archer couldn't read the history of the weapon because it had no history, and that was unexpectedly new. It's true that he was now more limited in his copying skills, but it still felt odd not to be able to see the history that the weapon could give you.
Ultimately, the spear was of greater grade and had magical properties, of that there was no doubt. The only question Archer still had was what kind of properties this spear had obtained, something he could not decipher even though it was his own weapon.
It was a bit frustrating.
The bewitching spear was grasped by one of his hands, his gaze wandered to the blue stripes on its surface to try and find something else, and after a few moments of coming up empty, he let out a tired sigh and lowered the weapon again.
"I'd at least like to know the effect of its concept... I can feel a great amount of mana, but I can't identify what it's for... Although I'm absolutely sure it's there..."
It was frustrating to get nothing, Archer felt its power, it was there, but he just couldn't figure out how to put it to the test, and that was damn annoying.
Archer knew that some mana based weapons had their abilities... "deactivated", so in order to not reveal their full power. The name of the weapon had to be revealed.
Of course the wielder of the weapon could use its abilities, but to reveal the name was to reveal its true power. It was the maximum potential that the weapon one had in their domain could reach. Though Archer did not know if this rule also applied to Gods, just as he did not know if all weapons had a name that could be revealed.
However, not every warrior had weapons with this power, just like how everyone could not bring out their full potential. The vast majority of warriors or heroes used such weapons as an extension of their body, therefore also mixing it with their personal battle techniques.
Weapons containing mana did not ensure victory. What did ensure victory were one's fighting skills and talent in combat. Such weapons were an advantage for those who possessed them, but not everything was based on that.
Chiron was the perfect example. Even though he had no magic weaponry, his strength, skill, talent, speed and experience made him a terrifying opponent. His skill with the bow was splendid and easily the most well-executed Archer had ever witnessed in this era.
He did not miss arrows and he also knew some magic spells, even if Archer tried his best to defeat him in serious combat, he would be destroyed. It may sound mean-spirited of himself, but it was true.
Archer didn't stand a chance against Chiron. Archer may have had a lot of battle experience and a mind that was always one step ahead of his enemy, however, he realised something very important that he had overlooked throughout his eternity.
While intelligence triumphed against strength, depending on how much power one had at the time - if someone was not strong enough to use their intelligence, then it would be meaningless.
And what Archer lacked right now was firepower, and experience in his own newly acquired and improved battle style.
Not to mention that now he was within a young body. Having a mortal body limited the time it would take for him to mature, which was a great advantage, but it also had its downsides.
Anyway, the main issue was that he didn't know what qualities the mysterious weapon had acquired.
With a final thought to the mystery, Archer snapped his fingers and the spear disappeared, as if it had never been there. Apparently, he would have to test it in battle to discover its abilities.
He assumed that the weapon had this "behaviour" because it was not a "forged" weapon but an "adapted" one. The weapon had adapted to magic properties without having anything special to support those capabilities, unlike other magical weapons that were designed to compliment such things.
In the meantime, he would return to Chiron's abode to relax, not that he had that many things to do. For now, rest was paramount.
Tomorrow he would leave Mount Pelion to begin his very own "Odyssey".
It would be a lie to say that he was not excited, in fact he was quite restless. He did not show it on the outside, but his thoughts betrayed him.
He wanted to undertake adventures and traverse the world. He had long forgotten this feeling of freedom in the past and feeling it again was too gratifying.
Facing the adversity of the world sounded like an enthralling aspiration, but he needed to start accumulating more magical weapons. That was a problem he had to deal with in the future for sure.
He also needed to fix his clothes, not that the garments were uncomfortable, but the fabrics loosened from his waist gave him some awkwardness in moving. Maybe Alcides was used to this, but Archer wasn't.
Unfortunately, Chiron did not have high sewing skills, nor did he have enough materials to make a good garment. Archer would have to look for someone who could fulfil his personal errand in the future, he just hoped to find them soon.
In the meantime he prepared, he didn't want to have any concerns when it was time to leave.
1 DAY LATER.
In less than a blink of an eye everything was ready for Archer to set off and follow his own path; as Chiron and his pupil walked through the enchanting forest of Mount Pelion, Archer couldn't help but feel a little nostalgia.
He didn't want to admit it out loud, but the truth was that he would miss this place. He had grown quite fond of Mount Pelion and of Chiron himself; the Centaur had not only taught him many lessons, but had become someone Archer could trust.
He didn't know if it was because of his presence or his calm and collected nature, but he would remember the Centaur. It was rare to meet such trustworthy people often, even in different times, to be able to find someone like that was a sort of gift.
He was definitely going to miss him...
"Why the lowered eyesight, Archer?" commented Chiron abruptly with a small smile "You shouldn't be crestfallen, you've completely exceeded my expectations; you've definitely gotten stronger, not just anyone can survive my lessons."
Archer looked him in the eye, the Centaur widened his smile while the tanned youth really didn't know what to say to try and disguise his emotions. So he simply shrugged his shoulders and kept moving forward while turning his embarrassed face away from Chiron.
"It's not that..." muttered Archer "It may sound naive for someone who's only been here a short time, but I'm going to miss this place. I'm even going to miss your presence… Master."
Chiron was silent as he cared and watched Archer's figure, but then he smiled again. hearing the sincerity in Archer's comments made the Centaur feel good.
The fact that this young man was expressing his true emotions and not his sarcasm spoke volumes about his honesty in this moment.
Chiron smilied, this young man who appeared unknowingly had learned a lot from his lessons, not only in strength, but also in character, and that was a gain for the Centaur.
It seemed that the task had not been such a bad one.
"Stop that, it doesn't look good on you, I just hope that when you come back, you will be a splendid hero. You carry the knowledge I've taught you for a reason," Chiron wisely mentioned. There was a hint of teasing in his words, but it served to lighten the mood and make Archer smile as well.
"Heh, I guess you're right, I'll be sure to meet that objective. After all, you didn't train a coward," reflected Archer as he widened his smirk, returning to his normal behaviour.
That was the warrior that Chiron wanted to see because there were many hardships awaiting him on his journey, he had only just begun. Of course he would miss his pupil, but there was no need to be dependent on the Centaur any longer.
They both stopped at the exact same spot where Chiron had seen Archer off last time, but this time, the Centaur knew he would not see him again for a long time. He even knew that he might never appear before his eyes again, yet Chiron was firmly confident that his pupil would somehow triumph in the face of adversity.
"Forging your path is up to you, I only laid the groundwork to create it. Archer, make sure you achieve whatever it is you set out to achieve, don't do it for others, always think for yourself before other people. I know you care a lot about strangers, but there are people out there who won't hesitate to sink their fangs if they get the chance."
"I'll take it under advisement... Anyway, did you put the map in my backpack? I don't want to get another nasty joke like last time," Archer recalled, making Chiron laugh.
"Don't worry, I didn't do anything this time."
There was a long silence in which both people stared at each other and although they said nothing, their gestures were enough to know what they were thinking. Chiron was happy for his pupil, while Archer was grateful and ready to begin his journey.
There was no need for unnecessary emotion or sentimentality, these gestures were enough to convey the respect the two individuals had for each other. A respect they shared for each other that needed no words.
"If that is all... then I'm off. See you later, Master Chiron." finished Archer, turning around and starting to walk down the path, furthering his imposing figure away from Mount Pelion.
Chiron gazed as his student disappeared into the distance and couldn't help but keep smiling as he folded his arms. He didn't need to tell his student any more, seeing him walk away with that joy was enough.
"If there's one thing I could learn from you, it is that you will never back down on your path; no matter how much you fail, you will always keep going, that's one of your strengths. It's also one of your biggest flaws... I'm sure you know that better than anyone else... Still I wonder what kind of things await you in the future..."
With those words being muttered to the horizon, Chiron quietly returned to his abode to plan his next tasks, he had more to do in the meantime.
It was too early in the morning, and he couldn't linger to watch his pupil go his own way; besides, the task wasn't going to end on its own.
And as the towering figure of the Centaur Chiron slowly moved away, the separation of these 2 individuals was over. They might or might not meet again, but if there was one thing Chiron could say, it was that Archer was ready to face the adversities of the world.
Many things were going through both of their minds, yet neither knew what the future held in store for the young man who had met the son of the Titan, Cronos.
On that day, the true beginning Archer's legend began.
The moment Archer set foot outside Mount Pelion, his focus was immediately fired on the next target he had set himself.
Reaching Iolcos.
It was no surprise that Archer was heading there, his Master had told him it was a port trading city and a fairly powerful kingdom in Thessaly. But that was not the main reason he was heading there.
The reason Archer was heading to Iolcos was because it had an exit to the Ocean, and Ocean travel was much quieter and safer than land travel.
Although the Ocean right now was very dangerous and was controlled entirely by a God, it was ultimately much faster and safer than travelling on foot through other kingdoms.
In the Ocean, you could encounter magical beasts of low or high level if the crew did their job badly, but unlike on land, the Ocean had no set or marked territorial boundaries.
If Archer traversed land it would take longer, plus there was also the likelihood that he would be attacked by armies from other cities or kingdoms, even the number of bandits could multiply. Not to mention that there were also supernatural oddities roaming freely.
Archer was strong, but he couldn't handle so many things at once. Soldiers of armies from other countries would definitely be much stronger than the bandits he had killed long ago. A trained army would be overwhelming for someone like him.
He didn't want to make enemies so soon, he had enough with Alcides.
Of course he could fight before he fell, he could even take the whole army with him using his Unlimited Blade Works, but even that required certain conditions. Nothing told him that in one of those armies there could not be one or more warriors of his own level or even higher.
That same reason was what led him to go to the Ocean. Iolcos would be a good city to start with if what Chiron had told him was any indication. On top of that, he had never seen a city from this era, it would be nice to be able to witness one.
Iolcos was the closest and most accessible city, not to mention that it had the reputation of being peaceful; it would be acceptable to relax for a while. Though he vaguely remembered that he had no money with him... Goodbye peaceful rest.
There was the option of selling the gold bar for silver coins, but he wasn't going to do that, he just wanted to save it for a more special occasion. Gold wasn't a good material for making weapons or armour, but it could be used for some kind of ornamentation or something, Archer didn't have that much knowledge in that area.
In fact, one of the reasons Archer was heading towards Iolcos also had to do with the materials he was carrying. Since he had already obtained them, his next plan of action was already laid out in his head.
Archer stopped dead in his tracks and admired the mountains for a moment. He was now walking in a different direction than last time, so he was heading towards Iolcos without the need to take more dangerous or longer routes.
You could say he was taking the direct route.
Taking a deep breath, he admired the landscape to calm himself; beautiful green fields filled him with peace and freedom. Maybe he didn't deserve it, but for this occasion he wanted to make an effort to do the right thing.
He obviously had the goal of helping others, a bit hypocritical, but he could not discard those ideals. He had accepted them permanently a long time ago. However, that noble goal was also somewhat selfish on closer examination.
Archer helped others to see them happy because it made him happy. Before, Archer was a complete egoist just like many others, the only difference being that he had a noble goal in mind, but the most obvious difference was that he cared for others before himself, something he had to change… forcefully.
He obviously felt more concern for himself than before, but that didn't mean he had changed. His ideal was selfish and he was also a hypocrite, that was true. But to overcome that kind of problem was difficult, even though he had identified it a long time ago.
Grimacing, Archer kept walking. It was not a good time to be thinking negative thoughts, rambling on and on wouldn't do much good, he would just stick to what he always stuck to. It was the only thing he could do.
"Trace On".
As he passed through the vegetation, Archer immediately projected the spear he had inspected earlier and grasped it firmly as he continued to walk. The abundant mana exuded itself in the air and he tried to suppress it somewhat.
"This weapon was never built to withstand large amounts of mana"
That thought made Archer frown. Right now, he understood the whole structure of the weapon, but the problem was, was that he couldn't see the magical qualities it carried.
In other words, Archer could see absolutely everything… But the most important thing.
He still assumed it was because the spear was not constructed for magical means, it was simply "reinforced" by supernatural things. It was understandable that he could not see its unique capabilities if that turned out to be the case.
Carelessly swinging the spear from side to side, Archer began to get used to the weapon somewhat. He wanted to try to find some kind of monster to test it in combat, but he didn't know if that would be possible before he reached Iolcos
The Origin of the spear was still "Sword", but there was also something else... Something he couldn't see with his current skills. He didn't know if it was because of the weapon, or lack of understanding, but it definitely had another concept.
Putting those thoughts aside, Archer put on his hood to cover his face, not wanting to draw attention to himself if he got in the middle of a fight or something. However, as he walked by, his senses picked on some danger further ahead.
He could see wolves running towards him with their wild growls, he frowned at the animals' savagery, and readied his spear. Ironically, it seemed that luck was on his side for the day.
It was good to test the spear now that he had the chance.
A huge wolf leapt into one of the gaps Archer had purposely left and was cut cleanly in half, the wolf letting out a whimper before dropping dead.
Meanwhile, the other wolves were enraged to see their companion die, but Archer blinked in surprise at the ease with which he had split it in two.
He hadn't put much force into the attack, he had simply swung the spear and the wolf had been split in half. It was surreal.
One of the wolves tried to bite his right knee but was killed by the spear burying it in its chest. Again, the ease with which it cut into the flesh was absurdly effective.
Normal spears definitely didn't behave like that unless someone put a lot of strength into their thrusts, and Archer wasn't trying hard. He had become stronger than before, but this kind of thing required strength out of the ordinary.
Even more bizarrely, Archer had split a wolf in two with a spear, a weapon that was not designed to split humans or monsters in half.
The other wolves continued to die similarly, Archer moved too fast for what the animals were used to and they were killed without much effort on his part, but the effect continued to linger.
And at that very moment, Archer began to understand what was happening...
The special ability of the spear was to inflict more damage to creatures or monsters, no matter if they were magical or common creatures. The spear would always inflict far greater damage than a common weapon.
So the concept the spear had gained was "More damage to creatures".
Many would think Archer would be disappointed, but really, it was useful for the future. If he needed to kill beasts to obtain forging materials, he could simply use this spear and make the job easier.
The problem still remained that Archer could forge common weapons, not magical weapons.
There was also the problem that mages were very limited during this era. The few mages that existed in the current world were apprentices of mages with scarce and special bloodlines. They were not allowed under any context to teach their knowledge to just any people. "Mages" from his time were not referred to as such during this era; instead they were called "Sorcerers" or "Witches".
Another thing to keep in mind was that having any technique that was related to magic did not make someone a "Sorcerer". Warriors with knowledge of magic used it to enhance their own abilities or even create stronger techniques, but that did not fit into the current culture of a "Sorcerer" or "Witch". From this perspective, Archer could not be considered one.
The cultural traditions were very specific, the two simply could not be compared to each other, and for modern magicians, all handling of anything related to magic was to be treated with great respect and care.
Some warriors did use mana in a certain way, but as Chiron had said once, it was only the basic knowledge that helped warriors to form their techniques. Not that Archer could deny it, a warrior with mundane enforced techniques or weapons would undoubtedly surpass a "pure sorcerer" in combat by a great margin. The sorcerer did not know how to fight hand-to-hand, however, the objectives of a warrior and a mage were completely different.
The best way to describe an encounter of this magnitude would be as a 'clash of mentalities'.
Mages did not seek to fight, while warriors or heroes did, that was the big difference between the two.
Therefore, his main idea was to find some Sorcerer or Witch with advanced knowledge who could help him forge a magical weapon from the Wyvern's core. A tiring and complicated task that would undoubtedly take a long time, but if he wanted to become strong he had to accomplish it no matter what.
His lack of firepower would take a toll in the long run. He had to start building up his Inner World just as he had done in the past, as well as getting used to the new skills he had gained physically.
With a last gasp, Archer continued to move towards Iolcos.
What a frustratingly long task...
He caught sight of the massive walls of Iolcos after travelling for a few days. The huge kingdom was so vigorous and imposing, it was practically demanding respect from travellers arriving in its domain.
Archer's eyes slightly widened as he admired the massive walls of the city. It was surprisingly large and covered a magnificent amount of land, not to mention that it appeared to be even greater on the inside.
A smile grew on his face. He didn't know if it was because of the view or because he had arrived in the city; he was happy to have made it this far. To be able to witness things like this just felt enchanting.
It was nice to be able to act without being tied to an imposing existence. It felt relieving that someone like him could choose his own path after all he had been through.
It was an incomparable emotion that he never thought he would feel again.
Without waiting a moment longer, Archer began to walk towards the huge city gates.
His hood was removed from his head so as not to give off any unnecessary suspicion, not that Archer wanted to provoke misunderstandings over stupid things like that.
His footsteps resonated quietly as he approached the massive gates, his brow furrowed and his smile was replaced by seriousness. The massive gates were being fortified by a few guards, and from what he could see, there were four of them. Archer had guessed that was due to the position they were manning.
"Stop right there, identify yourself!" one of the guards suddenly shouted in his direction. The tone of voice commanded him to dictate his intentions immediately. But Archer being the person he was, simply shrugged and gave him an uninterested look.
"I'm just a foreigner coming to take a ship, I'm not someone very special," replied Archer dryly. His indifferent look caused a sense of discomfort to all the guards present, it even made the senior leader tighten his grip on his weapon.
"You don't look like just any foreigner, you look more like a trained warrior..." The leader of the guards followed his words with a frown.
The other guards stepped back unconsciously with the sound of their armour clanking in place. Archer let out a long sigh at the way things were going, folding his arms in some annoyance.
He was not a fool, he knew very well how to deal with this kind of thing.
"That's because I am a warrior," spoke Archer in response, making all the guards in the place noticeably relax, including the leader himself, who finally breathed easy as he lowered his weapon.
The other soldiers followed his example and were confident enough to return to their posts. Judging by their reactions and appearances, Archer could tell that they were young rookies commanded by the adult leader who had faced him.
"I see, I am sorry for the misunderstandings. Enjoy your stay in our city," the leader commented on his words with some embarrassment, accepting the mistake he had made.
The city gates opened to allow him passage, the leader of the guards returned to his main position and all went smoothly.
Archer snorted as he entered the city. The advantage of using his words well were good, but it was quite bothersome to be interrupted like that. He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if he had said something sarcastic or cynical, that's why he had controlled his tongue.
Yes… Archer also had self-control with his words in this kind of situation, he was not so much of a fool to make gratuitous enemies through bad remarks. Mocking a guard by making the situation more tense would only be an unnecessary problem in the long run.
He certainly didn't want to have a kingdom looking for his head so soon.
The huge city of Iolcos welcomed him in all its glory. If it was astonishing on the outside, it was even more so on the inside.
The houses were built admirably and were slightly separated from each other, the actual area where they were located was a bit far from the docks, but still an impressive sight.
Archer stared at the houses in complete awe. It was amazing how such simple things could leave him speechless, but he was not here to admire the busy houses of Iolcos, he had his own business to attend to.
As he made his way through the streets, he could see a few people talking or strolling around in ancient clothing, and he could also tell that the vast majority were citizens of this city. Although... that was pretty obvious.
His hood was pulled up again out of caution, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Certainly his noticeability was quite problematic and he didn't like it at all. If he could avoid it this way then that was fine.
As he wandered deeper into the city, the smell of various herbs and seafood flooded him. The fragrance was too strong for what he was used to, it was strong enough to make many from the countryside grimace.
The worst thing was that he still couldn't see any springs and the smell itself was already too intense.
Unfortunately that was the way things were, complaining would do no good, the only thing to do was to put up with it and move on.
The people began to double and triple as he walked, to the point that he could even notice some warriors from other countries. A sudden change that let him know that he was already very close to the docks.
Wearily sighing, Archer moved on and after a while of seeing many people, structures, and houses, he could see in the distance the huge foreign ships floating in the sea.
The scene was mesmerising, but the fragrance was more unpleasant. He couldn't bring himself to really admire the harbour and ships as he would have liked.
The smell was disgustingly intense.
The dock was busy and crowded with people of all kinds; vendors dominated practically the entire dock and shoppers were also present in large numbers. The sudden bustling atmosphere was not pleasant for Archer, he became a little regretful that he had come all this way.
Swallowing his displeasure, Archer made his way through the crowd fluidly. It was irritating to emerge from a mob.
Actually everything on the dock was irritating. He knew Iolcos was a maritime superpower, but this was on a newly pointless level.
Whether it was the smell or the large crowd, Archer inadvertently bumped into someone forcing them to look up. The push between the two shoulders was a bit strong, but it didn't cause any difficulty to make them lose their balance.
However, Archer froze for an instant when he saw the person he had collided with.
Her beauty was breathtaking, and her eyes were like two shimmering emeralds. Green hair of unmatched beauty flowed down her back and was lightly braided giving her a brilliant appearance.
Archer's surprise could not be disguised at finding such a beautiful woman, but he ignored those thoughts when he felt that there was a quite remarkable and intense strength in the woman.
And when he saw her clothes, he could immediately tell what it was all about.
"A hunter..."
Despite the chattering atmosphere, Archer regained himself immediately and stared at her with some guilt. It seemed that the woman was also a little dazed and irked, it was quite understandable.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Archer apologised.
The hunter's emerald eyes glanced at Archer for a moment as she snorted with some displeasure, though the gesture was not directed at the tanned youth.
"I'm the one who should apologise. I'm not used to such an environment".
Archer shrugged "I guess that makes us both."
The woman frowned vexingly. Archer had already been able to tell that this expression was being directed at the place she was in. It was not pleasant for the woman to be in the presence of such a cramped and booming environment.
"I'm in a bit of a hurry, my apologies." The woman spoke cordially before retreating into the crowd, losing sight of Archer entirely.
Archer blinked at the expressions the woman had made; he wasn't the only one who didn't like this kind crowd.
Leaving that aside, Archer continued to make his way along the troubled Iolcos's dock.
It's not as if this meeting was important either.
The traders and customers began to thin out as he went along. Apparently, the large number of people before was because he was in the centre of the harbour, so it was normal for that place to have more customers.
It was no less annoying, but at least the fragrance of the Ocean flew through the air, which was way more pleasant.
Suddenly, a large line of ships made their presence known on the docks. Unlike the ones he had seen before, these seemed more specific and larger. They also had various symbols engraved on the sides.
One had a kind of Owl, while another had a symbol that looked like a double-edged axe, there were even other boats that had symbols such as an Eagle.
These were the emblems of the different kingdoms. These kinds of large ships could take you to their symbols location without the need to board personal ships like the ones he had seen before.
It could be said that they were the "personal" ships of each nation.
"Athens, Sparta, Epirus, and Crete... Even if I want to board in one of them, I can't do it. Not only do I lack money, but I don't have any plans either... I just don't know where to go...".
"Hey, thief! Give that back!"
A loud shout snapped Archer out of his thoughts. He wasn't able to recall what he had just heard before he saw an adult running with a huge bow of curiously good quality. The thief was practically flying away from whatever was chasing him and many people's gazes were directed towards this person with interest and caution.
The adult looked back and turned into an alley that ran along the harbour, completely ignoring the other traders. Seeing that, Archer made a somewhat impulsive and senseless action as he was so accustomed to.
Pursue the thief.
He didn't know why he was following this guy, but Archer knew he was stealing something that didn't belong to him.
His feet swiftly moved through the alley, the occasional obstacles he came across were botherless. He had received training from a certain Centaur, it would be "a punch to the gut" to be stopped by this.
The thief looked back and shrieked nervously as he saw that he was being chased; his face filled with terror was genuine, but he could not stop or he would be caught. Even thieves did not want to end up in the dungeons.
Archer glared as he swiftly approached the man, but suddenly, the thief started throwing things across the alley to slow whatever doom was following him.
Barrels, piles of wood and even vases of flowers were just some of the things the thief threw, yet Archer's eyes did not fail to see the projectiles in his way.
Picking his speed even more, Archer took a huge leap to avoid the wooden beams and rolled on the ground, regaining his position.
The thief broke out in a cold sweat and before he knew it, he was kicked into the wall of the alley, leaving him stunned and unconscious from the impact.
"Tsk... What a nuisance, running away taking things that aren't yours is too cowardly," growled Archer with a sharp look, it really was distracting to chase after this thief.
The man was a middle-aged adult, his beard was scruffy and he carried several small wrinkles on his face.
Not to judge… But Archer knew this man was a thief because of those traits.
And that was not for lack of resources, but out of selfish ambition.
If this man had stolen something like food, he could understand, stealing bows however did not fall into that category. His clothes were definitely not of poor quality, in fact they were quite good.
Sudden gasping spread down the alley, which resulted in Archer shifting his gaze to its source.
It seemed to be the person who had shouted earlier, but unfortunately no one had listened to him.
It's really not as if ordinary people could have helped him, that bandit was quite fast and elusive.
"Phew... I finally caught up..." The newly arrived man let out more signs, he did run quite far after all.
Archer could tell that this man had been chasing the thief for quite a while.
"Is this yours?" asked Archer as he raised the bow in his hands, the man smiled and nodded firmly without delay.
"Yeah, that's my bow, you don't know how long it took me chasing that damn thief. It took quite a while trying to catch him. He'd already stolen several minor things which I let slide, I just couldn't let him do this any longer."
"I see," Archer replied as he handed him the bow, now that the situation had calmed down, he could see the appearance of the man in front of him
He was slightly older than Archer but not yet into adulthood, his features were rather flamboyant, and his face was decently attractive.
His neck was wrapped in a red cloth while his lower body was wrapped in a simple white cloth that ended at the shin, and he also wore soleae as footwear.
His upper body was dressed in the classic Greek girdle, but it was adorned in a rather extravagant manner. He also wore a kind of cloth tied around his waist of the highest fashion; various gold ornaments were on his arms as well.
He didn't know if it was a new look for what he was used to, but those clothes would definitely attract a lot of attention.
Well, it's not like it's his problem.
"Thank you very much for getting my bow back, though… What's your name? You're pretty fast if you can catch up with thieves so easily," the man asked with a contented smile.
"My name is Archer," the young man introduced himself confidently. A confidence that he had actually demonstrated without meaning to.
The man's smile widened as he offered him his hand. "My name is Meleager, it's a pleasure to meet you, Archer." He replied while shaking Archer's hand. Meleager was a little older than Archer due to the somewhat remarked "age difference", but the height inequality was not as high as it should have been.
"I cannot leave here without taking that thief to the guards, neither can I leave without thanking you. I will feel bad if I cannot give you something to compensate for the trouble I caused." Meleager firmly claimed. His bow was grasped firmly with one of his hands and the bandit was grabbed on the foot with the other free hand left over, dragging the thief with him.
It was funny to see the man do that.
"HMPH!.."
...
"Archer… I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, but help me some more. I'm quite tired..." Meleager mumbled between gasps while dragging the thief. It was quite a comical scene that revealed a smirk and small chuckle from Archer.
"Hmm... Old people always get tired faster than they should," Archer sarcastically replied as he grabbed the thief's other foot, dragging it in the same manner as Meleager.
Meleager was a bit irked at that comment, and let out a snort as he looked at him.
"I'm not even old, do you see that I have a bitter face full of wrinkles?" Meleager complained childishly, further widening the smirk on Archer.
"It seems that old age is only found inside you."
"Hey, you could at least disguise your disrespect!"
As Meleager grew more annoyed by Archer's derisive comments, the young man widened his sarcastic smile.
It was quite fun to tease Meleager, even though he had only just met him.
It seemed that coming to the dock had not been a waste.
"You made me go back to the gates just to hand over the thief? Couldn't you do it with the nearest guard?"
"I don't like the docks, it's too crowded, I'm not used to that kind of thing; I'd rather walk all over the city than go back there. If it wasn't for the fact that I had unfinished business I'd never go back to the docks. I hate that place."
Archer and Meleager were chatting as they walked through the streets, at Meleager's request they both had to hand over the captured thief at the main gates.
All would be fine if it weren't for the fact that they were literally dragging him across the floor... The looks people were giving them were too embarrassing.
Fortunately, Meleager behaved quietly and calmly throughout this time. It was all too rare for Archer to find someone like that in such a bustling city.
Meleager had been a little shaken by the fatigue, but after catching his breath, his true persona had been revealed.
At least he could say that this man was pleasant talking to.
"I understand that you don't like the dock because I don't like it either, but we went all over town with one person being dragged by us. Do you realise how much attention we attracted?"
"Relax, it's not like it matters much, it's not an issue anyway, I can handle that kind of attention no sweat."
Archer sighed and folded his arms, Meleager really was a somewhat peculiar person. He was quiet, but also direct when spoken to.
"Anyway, that aside, are you a hunter? I don't think you'd be so worried about your bow if you weren't one. Chasing a thief for so long is certainly not something I'd do... What a waste of time..." .
Meleager was defensive at the last words dictated and stared at Archer. The tanned youth did not seem too upset by the man's gestures, so he simply shrugged his shoulders as he waited for a response.
"I'm not really a hunter, but my bow is important. I can't let some random scoundrel take it," replied Meleager.
Archer didn't know if he was angry, though he didn't really care if he was or not, he was just walking with him because he had nothing to do.
Suddenly Archer took off his hood to pull his hair back, wearing his hood for so long made him sweat, however, Meleager kept watching his appearance out of the corner of his eye. He had not been able to see Archer without his hood on before.
Meleager could confirm that he looked very much like another person he had seen before, obviously there were clear differences, but the similarity was there.
"Oh? So white hair? You really have a peculiar look. I'd recommend you to use a different kind of cloth, the one you have looks... Dubious." Meleager advised Archer, trying to appear as uncouth as possible, though he failed miserably in the attempt.
Archer looked at Meleager with a blank look and stare. This man had taken advantage of his actions only to say that his clothes were 'dubious'.
In short, Meleager had indirectly told him that he was aesthetically like that thief.
To tell the truth, he felt like hitting him for it.
"Don't look at me like that, it's the truth. You're obviously an adventurer, that's easy enough to tell with your appearance, but you could do better. Don't take it the wrong way, it's just a bit of advice." Meleager tried to fix his misunderstanding. Archer resignedly nodded as he looked away from the man.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, no need to rub it in my face," Archer complained annoyingly, making Meleager break out in a sweat for a moment, so he had to drop the subject smartly.
Before Meleager could say more, footsteps followed them by a somewhat loud call that attracted their attention, although Archer did not pay much attention to it.
Meleager looked at Archer for another moment with some disappointment, but quickly shifted his gaze to the direction of the noise, noticing that a person was walking towards them with a face full of indifference.
A face that Meleager knew perfectly well.
Although the figure's clothing was a traditional male Greek garb, his presence was powerful in its own right. Archer was immediately alarmed, narrowing his piercing eyes at the newcomer..
The figure had wheat-blond hair and bright lilac eyes, the frown in his eyes told you he was not pleased at all.
"I've been looking for you for a long time, you know very well that I hate to waste my time like this."
His voice was thick and also had some slight anger in his words; the newcomer's face twisted into a grimace of displeasure; a frown rose on his eyebrows as he noticed the person standing next to Meleager.
Meleager scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I'm really sorry, I had a small matter I had to deal with. It won't happen again, Castor. "
The newly arrived Castor immediately sharpened his gaze at Archer, ignoring Meleager completely, the grey and the lilac eyes met wildly in a duel of gazes, and clearly animosity was in the air. Meleager needed no further proof to know that these two were not going to get along at all.
Definitely not good...
"What the hell is going on with these two guys?!"
"What are you doing wasting your time with an inferior human like this?" the rude and savage voice spilled from Castor's lips breathlessly.
Meleager's body was tensing up even more because of the atmosphere the place suddenly got; he was also quite worried about what might happen.
"No one asked for your presence here. If Meleager wanted to waste his time with me, that's his problem, not yours," Archer responded sternly. Castor's eyes sharpened more savagely than before and that angry presence began to pour out of his body.
Meleager could describe this presence as very much like that of an angry God, and yet Archer did not hold back with his comments, he gave a cynical smile and went along with it.
"How does it feel to know that Meleager would rather waste his time with an inferior human than a superior one?" The mocking, sarcastic voice of Archer echoed in Castor's ears. Practically whoever was insulting him was in for a beating.
"You bastard..."
The snarl that left Castor's lips looked downright menacing, but steeling himself, Meleager decided he had had enough of these games, so he stepped in between the two and stopped the animosity.
"Damn it, calm down for a moment!" Meleager raised his voice, calming both people instantly. Castor averted his eyes from the tanned youth and stepped back, clicking his tongue, while Archer closed his eyes and sighed provokingly.
"I'm not here to waste any more time anyway, that jerk Jason called the whole crew for a meeting. Just hurry up and get there," Castor muttered.
Meleager nodded. "All right, I'll be there soon."
After Meleager answered his words, Castor stealthily turned his back on them and left the way he had come without another word. Just before he left though, he gave Archer one last threatening glance out of the corner of his eye, causing the latter to smirk in response.
It's not like he was afraid of that "blond boy".
With another snap of displeasure, Castor averted his eyes from Archer and moved on, letting this little encounter go unnoticed. As if wasting time with an inferior human would do him any good.
"All went well... I have to thank all the Gods. For a moment there I thought they were going to fight..." muttered Meleager to himself with concern, noticing Castor out of sight. "You don't know how tense the place was while you were looking at each other... At least try to calm down next time, I don't want to cause any trouble."
"It was that guy who started it. If you want to blame someone you can blame him." Archer commented with a scowl tightened on his face; he was calmer than Meleager expected.
"Ah... Well, I guess this is where we split up... Ah, I forgot something! Have you seen a girl with brownish-green hair? I was with her but we parted ways because we had personal matters to attend. Because of that my bow was stolen with extreme ease." Meleager asked Archer and Archer nodded in response.
"Sort of, I bumped into that girl by accident while walking along the harbour. She looked like she was coming back from somewhere, I don't really have much to add." replied Archer, at this point the subject of his hair had been lost, leaving it completely messed up.
"Ah, thank goodness," Meleager sighed with relief "Then it's alright. That girl's name is Atalanta, she's someone quite... Important, I can't let her get hurt by the stupidity of selfish people before we've even started."
Archer didn't exactly understand what he was referring to, so he simply shrugged and nodded indifferently at Meleager.
"Well then, it looks like this is it, I hope to see you again some other day. Oh, by the way, take this as a thank you from me."
Before Archer could reply, a small bag was carelessly tossed towards him, Archer caught it with one of his hands and looked at Meleager with scepticism as he saw that it contained silver coins.
Archer tried to refuse, but Meleager shook his head, and smiled in response.
"Don't worry, you underestimate my riches too much if you think I have a problem giving that to you. Use it well, you don't look like the type of person who has a lot of money, at least it will help you somewhat."
And just as he had said those words, Meleager had withdrawn silently, leaving Archer completely perplexed. He expected the man to give him some kind of reward, but he didn't expect it to be money..
He had also said that he had a lot of wealth, so he was definitely not an ordinary person. No sane human would give away a bag of coins so quietly as if it were an everyday thing.
That man... He was more important than he let on, Archer was completely sure of that. It's true that he was nice and quiet, but he definitely carried something special.
The thought made him a little uncomfortable for a strange reason.
At least he liked him, unlike that other guy...
"...Wait a minute."
Now that he thought about it, Meleager had told him he was poor in a discrete way to his own face twice.
Change of opinion, Meleager and that other guy could screw themselves.
It was no surprise that the members of the future ship, Argo, were noisy when they wanted to be. However, there were always reasons behind all events no matter what they were about, and this was no exception.
"Try to come near my sister again and I'll cut out your tongue, you scum!"
"You threaten the King's son? You degenerate... If you want to be beaten up so badly, I'll gladly give it to you."
"It's not as if someone as pitiful as you could do me any kind of harm. You will definitely die, you wretch!"
"Brother, stop! He was just waving at me!"
The inn was loud in every aspect of the word. The majority of the crew were hurling insults or otherwise arguing with each other whenever they got the chance.
The commotion gave a nasty feeling of hostility. Despite the fact that almost everyone was arguing, there were a small number of people who remained silent and detached from everyone else.
Two of them were Asclepius and Alcides, both of whom looked at the discussions with rolling eyes. The ship's doctor was in quite noticeable displeasure and no doubt wanted to get the hell out of this place, while Alcides just stared at everything with a detached stare.
"Ugh... This is worse than being in the Sun… Damn it, somebody kill me..."
The soft voice of Asclepius was heard by Alcides, the white-haired man frowned and tried to cover his ears to avoid the discussions, which for obvious reasons did not work.
"Hang in there, Asclepius..." Alcides tried to encourage his friend, but those words only served to further expand the stress Apollo's son was feeling. His expressions deepened.
"How on earth did Jason get all these idiots on board? What kind of lunacy was going through his head that made him think it would be a good idea?"
Asclepius' grunts and insults were humorous to Alcides, but he still understood his friend's thoughts. Asclepius was a person who had never liked noise; to top it off, he was a doctor, so he disliked noise even more.
Alcides shrugged his shoulders at Asclepius' words and averted his gaze to all the people arguing. Alcides' eyes scanned and assessed each person, letting the thoughts in his mind give him some kind of information to use.
However, it was impossible for Alcides to find anything because of the mess they were making.
"Damn it... Where's Jason...? He was the one who asked us to meet and he's not even here..."
Asclepius' discomfort was still present as he spoke, it was increasing even more in his vocal cords. The pressure on the son of Apollo's ears grew stronger as he tried to avoid hearing anything. Predictably, his efforts remained unfruitful.
While all this was going on, Alcides sighed and folded his arms, waiting for the foolish arguments between the others to end.
"You rubbish excuse for a bird! I'm going to make your life hell!"
"I detest inconsequential people who speak without knowing. These wings are the representation of the God Boreas's bloodline running through my veins. As his son, I cannot allow you to keep insulting them with that nasty mouth of yours."
"Calais, stop it, you're acting so damn immature. Father would be very disappointed in you."
"Quiet Zetes, I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget."
Alcides groaned as he saw that another fight was about to break out in the inn. However, the colossal human's eyes were fixed on the other brother and sister duo. He noticed that they had something very interesting on their bodies.
Both had a somewhat peculiar appearance, being that they carried on their heads and heels two beautiful white wings of regular size.
These physical characteristics were quite remarkable, and gave Alcides a mild curiosity. But he did not pay as much attention to them as he should have done.
He has honestly seen worse.
The other guy who was insulting the brothers did not seem special, in fact Alcides could describe him as an average warrior. He had an ego that was too... Repulsive.
"Apologise to my sister this instant, you bastard!"
"Why the hell do I have to do that? You're the one who came to me looking for a fight!"
The various fights and bickering continued in the inn making Asclepius moan in desperation. Alcides could do nothing to help his friend, so he looked at the members of the boat who were in relative peace to try and ignore the other troublesome bunch.
As he surveyed the others who kept their composure... He could see the woman Atalanta keeping her to herself with her eyes closed, a man named Meleager whom he had met earlier, another man staring at some kind of instrument and a few people he had not yet met personally.
The worrying thing was that the number of people who were quiet was quite low.
In other words, there were more members insulting each other than trying to get to know each other.
Alcides could understand that all this happened due to the imposing clash of personalities, prides and egos that almost all the members of the future ship carried. Not to mention that he could also identify some people coming from the royalty of other kingdoms.
And as the bickering and squabbling on the boat continued, the door of the inn was suddenly slammed open, bringing the whole "warring" atmosphere to a halt.
Asclepius finally relaxed as he felt the heavenly but temporary silence again. Meanwhile, the blonde-haired, green-eyed young man who had arrived was smiling egocentrically, drawing a grimace of annoyance from many of the crew members at once.
"I was pleased that you all attended this meeting. As you may know, the Argo is nearing completion, however, I have not called you here to talk about that."
Jason was a young man who was always relatively calm and confident, and no wonder. After all, he had a huge ship at his mercy to accomplish the task at hand, not to mention that they were all heroes and splendid warriors.
However, there was one thing Jason could not foresee when he summoned all the heroes, and that was... The behaviour they displayed.
"Why do I have to follow your orders, Jason? You think because you're the Captain of the ship I'm just going to obey you like that? Don't make me laugh..." One of the many warriors spoke followed by several of the same comments. Many of the heroes sounded resigned to being commanded, while others were quite irritated.
It didn't take much to know that they had reached a silent agreement.
"H-hey! W-wait!" Jason tried to calm his own heroes. They continued to shout and act loud most of the time, to the point that attempts to appease the group were to no avail.
As such, Jason's words were completely ignored, being replaced by voices full of complaints about having him as captain of the ship.
Jason started to get more nervous and broke out in a cold sweat. The brilliant idea of forming a group of heroes to accomplish a goal sounded pretty ambitious and cool by his own standards; for that reason he didn't expect things to turn out so... Chaotic from the start.
The young "Captain" of the Argo also had a dream to fulfil and unlike what many thought, it was not a selfless dream. On the contrary, it was quite... Greedy and even naïve, but it was not a bad dream at all.
This is why Jason had to use his skills as a Captain to make the whole trip go smoothly. The journey would be very long; living with these people and commanding them every day would be a daily part of the job that he would have to deal with.
However, the young blond could feel nothing but helpless as he watched all the complaints coming in his direction. The worst part was that he felt so... Minuscule in comparison to the others that he was actually stunned.
He evidently didn't let his emotions betray him... completely, but Jason still felt a little disposable when he realised that almost no one would accept him as the Argo's own Captain.
"All of you, be quiet."
Alcides' deep voice boomed in the ears of the entire ship, stopping the complaints dead in their tracks. The few people who were calm were surprised by the sheer force and presence of those simple words.
And in the blink of an eye, peace returned.
Jason watched in complete surprise as the inn returned to its quiet atmosphere. Almost all the heroes were in complete shock at the sheer intensity with which Alcides had spoken.
Jason couldn't be more grateful to his friend right now.
"Uh... well... I guess... I've got to talk..." Jason started hesitantly, coughing a little to get himself together. At least he had the attention of the whole group now.
"As you all know, we don't have an estimated time in which we will reach the target, so I thought I would create a set route that we should follow to guide us."
Before Jason could speak further, he was rudely interrupted by another warrior from the boat without the slightest hint of respect. The boy appeared to be slightly younger than Jason.
"Wouldn't that be a bad plan? We definitely can't go straight to whatever it is you're looking for. It'll take longer than it should."
It was surprising that the young man was so respectful after interrupting him, but at least it wasn't a bad thing. Jason was thankful that nothing bad was happening right now.
"At least let me finish young man... Uh..." Jason paused suddenly as he waited for the name of the person to continue his comments, so the other warrior quickly replied to his Captain's gesture.
"Butes." The young man pointed out his name.
Jason nodded "As I was saying, Butes, it won't be a direct route, we'll be making several stops indefinitely. As such, I need a plan in place that I can follow to replenish the boat's supplies; I don't want to starve anyone either."
Butes seemed to want to say something else but refrained and kept silent for some reason. Jason noticed the gesture but didn't think anything of it.
"It seems to me the most obvious and self-evident thing. If you as Captain are not able to even perform or plan for the primary things, then I doubt very much that you are going to be of any use to the ship."
Castor rudely interrupted Jason, drawing a grimace of astonishment at the coldness with which he had spoken his words, even making him recoil with some fear. Such a cold look was not normal at all.
Jason had known Castor when he was younger, so he could say that he was a genius on par with Alcides in matters of combat, his very commanding presence demonstrated his capabilities.
It would not be a lie to say that he was jealous of him in the past.
"As much as I dislike this man, I agree with him." One of the other people in the room spoke with relative neutrality. His brow furrowed, and it was the same man who was holding animosity against the acclaimed Castor.
Castor gave a sidelong glance at the person who had spoken. He didn't like this 'other guy' who had decided to open his mouth.
Jason stood there dryly with scepticism, he didn't know what else to say or at least think in this situation. He was just listening to what they had to say because it was the only thing he could do.
"I don't consider you fit to be a Captain, Jason. A captain is one who leads, and commands, and you... You just haven't demonstrated those skills."
Jason's eyes widened as Castor closed his eyes, seeming to silently agree. To make matters worse, some of the crew seemed to nod towards the person who had said those comments, making Jason even more nervous and overwhelmed.
"Don't misunderstand me, I am not speaking as the son of King Pelias, I am speaking as Acastus, a future member of the Argo. Like you I also care about the expedition, that's why my doubts persist. I cannot agree with you being in command".
"Wait a minute, Acastus," interrupted Meleager, "Are you not exaggerating? Some people here don't even know him, we can't judge him if we haven't seen what he's capable of."
The attempt at appeasement was truly extraordinary coming from the renowned hero Meleager, but at this moment Acastus could not allow the words of a strong hero to stun him in his stance on the issue.
"That's the main problem. If he had leadership, he would have already planned everything by now. The ship is almost finished, and it's a matter of weeks before we set sail and yet there are people who still haven't met the 'Captain'. How can we really trust him to do a good job? I'm sure you know what I mean, after all you are the prince of Pleuron and Calidon, you yourself could see King Oeneus rule with his leadership. You are his son after all."
Meleager frowned and folded his arms. "They have nothing to do with each other; running a ship is very different from running a kingdom. You can't compare the two.
Castor, Acastus and a few other people gave Meleager somewhat dubious and annoyed looks, but the latter was used to the pressure. This meant nothing to a hero as renowned as he was.
"On this occasion I am obliged to agree with the hero, Meleager." A soft female voice interrupted the conversation all too serenely, causing the vast majority of those present to gasp in astonishment.
"P... Pollux!" Castor was filled with surprise to see his sister speak in this situation. He didn't expect at all that someone like her would disagree with his point of view.
"Brother, you are beginning to be blinded by anger. If Jason didn't show himself before the ship, it was because he had several important tasks to do. You should remember that he is claiming his right to rule an entire nation, things can't be as simple as they seem."
Although it was a woman who had said those words, the other people could not reply to the girl's common sense, including her own brother.
Pollux was a girl whose hair was blonde like wheat just like her brother Castor. Her body was quite athletic compared to other girls her age, and her physical abilities were high level.
She was powerful and she was also excellent at boxing, easily the best boxer in the entire crew, surpassing Alcides. No one could stand up to such a powerful hero regardless of her being female.
Meleager smiled to see that someone else agreed with his words. It was nice to know that there were also people with a little common sense. Castor may be stronger than Meleager, but that did not ensure that his words were right.
Meanwhile, Jason had fallen silent. The motivation he once had evaporated as if it had never existed, he was questioning many things in his mind.
Asclepius and Alcides noticed that change after all the comments that the members of the boat had made, and knew that right now Jason was not in the best condition to continue. So, Alcides had to act quickly so that things would not get any worse.
"Everyone, listen to me," Alcides called in a deep voice, catching the immediate attention of everyone in the room. "For today go back to your rooms and rest, if you have more things to do, you can go take care of them right now. You are too tense and some of you can't even think properly about your own desires. Tomorrow we can take care of this discussion. Until then we cannot talk civilly anymore."
Whether it was because his words were powerful or because he was possibly the strongest person to exist, they all decided to listen to him in silence. Some went out the door to attend to their personal issues, while others simply went to their rooms to rest without making any more fuss.
Within minutes, the inn was almost emptied and the remaining people could be counted on one hand.
Alcides and Asclepius approached Jason. The future Captain of the Argo's face looked somewhat frustrated, and his eyes were slightly crestfallen. Seeing him that way was strange for both of them because they had never seen their friend behave in such a manner.
"Jason," Alcides called, "You should get some rest as well. Dealing with so many people can be tricky."
Asclepius nodded in agreement with Alcides' words "That's right, too much stress can also be bad for your health. I can't let you get sick before we set sail."
Jason raised his head and smiled wryly. "Heh, I'm too bright for these heroes to understand me, but I'll take your advice and sleep for today. Tomorrow I will take care of everything on my own!"
The huge grin and self-centred tone returned to Jason, drawing a grimace from Asclepius and a smile from Alcides.
Before they knew it, Jason flew off to his room to rest. Alcides and Asclepius blinked in unison in surprise. It was amazing how Jason had recovered in a matter of seconds, though Alcides was glad it was all over for the day.
"That man really doesn't change at all... Sometimes his own stupidity surprises me," murmured Asclepius.
Alcides smiled "That may be so, but his stupidity is something that characterises him. He wouldn't be Jason if he didn't have that."
"A fair point."
Asclepius withdrew silently without saying goodbye, this was very common for someone like him, so Alcides let his other friend go about his business. It was not his duty to meddle where he was not called.
The giant man sighed and began to walk slowly towards his room. Jason had to rest as best he could to be in top condition while he explained his business. Jason may have looked strong on the outside, but inside he looked rather dubious.
Jason obviously had the best of intentions, but being questioned so rudely by other people was a difficult thing to deal with for someone of his type. It was even worse since he now realised that they didn't agree with him being the Captain.
Alcides could understand what they meant, but they were underestimating Jason too much if those were their thoughts. That man was the one who had brought them all together here, as well as being the only person who treated Alcides like a human.
Before Alcides left, someone called out to him, interrupting his exit and making him shift his gaze towards whoever it was.
He could see that he was holding a lyre in his hands, something that was rather... Unusual.
"I apologise for my rudeness, this may be very sudden for you but I have to ask... Are you the monster that was rumoured so much?"
Alcides frowned and nodded without saying a word. Anyone would recoil at the menacing look the giant man was giving him, but that was not the case for the man who had spoken, so much so that he smiled brightly.
In these moments Alcides was more curious than annoyed. He may have hated being known as a "monster" rather than a hero, but what struck him was that this man did not mean it in a bad way.
"My name is Orpheus, nice to meet you."
The young man presented himself too calmly to be a warrior, his very body did not look like that of a trained man either. In fact, it looked like a rather weak body.
"I really apologise for what I am going to say next. I am very embarrassed to ask you this, but... Could you help me train myself? I feel that I am too weak, and... I myself have not received the training of a warrior or hero in the past either... I am at best an ordinary person."
Alcides blinked, startled at his words. He did not expect to meet someone who at this stage did not have some minimal training, it was simply too dumbfounding.
Besides, if this guy didn't have any training... Why had he accepted Jason's call?
Orpheus blushed with embarrassment "Lately, I heard rumours about a Dragon slayer in Thessaly, at first I didn't pay much attention to them. But gradually, I realised that I will need some strength to endure the journey. I may be the weakest in the boat, but at least I want to be able to defend myself against danger".
The giant man stared at Orpheus, causing the latter discomfort, but nodded at his words, bringing another bright smile to his face.
"Ah! Perfect! Then tomorrow I'll meet with you to start. Thank you very much!"
With a final bow, Orpheus made his way to his room with some excitement. Alcides could even see his eyes sparkle like those of a small child being told stories about the Olympian Gods.
Alcides had heard about the recent rumour of a Dragon slayer, but it seemed absurd in every sense of the word. If there really was a Dragon slayer he would have at least received Jason's call for the expedition as it was too important a task.
That is why he was sure that the Dragon slayer was only a rumor.
Moreover, the descriptions were ridiculous. The vast majority of people said that "A brilliant hero in control of a majestic creature defeated the evil Dragon and restored peace to the mountains".
It was so exaggerated that it hardly seemed real to him. Besides, facing Dragons was literally suicide if anyone went alone. Unless they were very powerful or had a great plan, it was something unlikely to happen.
Alcides shook his head and dismissed those thoughts.
This was no time to believe in fanciful rumours.
Meleager had been generous, but Archer himself was also... Limited.
Because he wanted a good night's rest, Archer had decided that finding an inn would be good. However, he needed to research some necessary prices for later use in the city - wasting money would be foolish.
The most important thing to note were the prices of the boats and of the meals, the price of the inn was at the end of it all.
Fortunately, Archer was able to find an inn where he could rest, but this also brought with it the limit of the little money the man had given him.
If his calculations were correct, he only had enough money for exactly 5 meals, and if you subtracted from that money the fact that he had to catch a boat soon, then he could only afford three meals; not to mention that he could no longer afford the inn.
Meleager may have bragged about his wealth, but honestly it's not as if he had much.
Although Archer couldn't complain either, he literally had no money with him at all. It was funny really. Archer should be grateful but instead he was annoyed with the man because he hadn't given him enough money.
It was disgraceful behaviour by his own standards.
Archer surveyed the small room of the inn quietly, it was already quite late at night, so he needed a good night's rest. Most probably tomorrow he would sail on one of the ships.
He could not afford to spend the money unnecessarily, he had to start moving forward as soon as possible.
With a final sigh, Archer lay back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling of the room with mixed feelings. Things may have changed a lot, but it was fascinating to be present here and now.
At the end of it all, it felt good and allowed him to go his own way without being tied to something. Chiron had been a key pillar in making him understand things he didn't know before because of his own naivety, and Archer was very grateful for that.
He had no words to thank him, but he had to be on his way to honour his master's wish, and his own wish.
To become a hero.
With that thought, Archer slowly closed his eyes and slept in that peaceful room.
It was a long way to get to Iolcos, so it was normal to be tired.
Besides... he had only just begun.
Meleagro (Meleagro)
He was the son of Aeneus (King of Calidon and Pleuron) and Altea (Leda's sister). It was said that when he was a child, the Moiras had announced to Altea that her son's life would be tied to a burning log of wood, and that when the log was consumed, Meleager would die. Otherwise, he was considered invulnerable. Altea, having learned this, took the blight out of the fire, extinguished it and put it away.
15,104 words.
Welcome to chapter 6 of Fate: Olympus!
First of all, I apologize, I said I was going to update 'Last Chance' and I didn't, but now I swear I will update that story as soon as possible.
Well, now that that's all cleared up, let's go with the notes. First off, this chapter focused on Archer's arrival to Iolcos and a very important Argonauts meeting along with the introduction of some characters, and a very serious topic which is the Captain of the Argo (By the way, obviously there were many more Argonauts to mention, but it was a big meeting).
First of all, something you should know is the fact that Jason at first was not accepted as the Captain. In fact, the crew wanted Heracles to be the captain of the ship but he refused and gave in to Jason. For that very reason, I am starting a new narrative with this theme for the next chapters.
Jason is a great character in Fate lore and is considered as the most human character of all the Argonauts. Heracles himself in Fate considers him the "Most human person he met", he is not just any person, he is the charismatic Captain who united the strongest heroes of all Greece.
Many will not understand, but Jason in his legend is not really a "super powerful" hero as we are used to. He is something like a person who tries to do the right thing by 'moving the chips' because he does not have enough power to do it himself. In the same way that in his journey he changes a lot and for that reason he has to use others to accomplish his goals, becoming quite selfish as time goes by.
I remind you that Jason literally walked away from Medea because she had cut his brother into several pieces and because her killing practices were too dark, rough, and bloody for Jason himself. If I were him, I would also walk away from that woman as many times as necessary. In fact even Medea herself did worse things to Jason like killing the very children she had with him... But it seems that nobody mentions that because she is a waifu... In short Medea is something like a Yandere in that part of the myth.
Jason's suffering was so great that he literally tried to hang himself on his boat, and that is why he caused his own death. I highly recommend reading his Bound CE where you can see his thoughts before he died, and where the only thing he asks for is another chance to do the right thing, a chance he will clearly never get.
If anyone should be blamed, then it would be Aphrodite, as always the gods have to mess up other people's lives.
That aside, I don't have much to explain, it's really all in the chapter. There was also a mini-meeting with Atalanta, and by the way I'll spoil it for you that the way Archer is going to meet the Argonauts in the future will be more intense than you think.
You can leave your reviews and give favs or follow the story, it's always appreciated, reminder that this story is mainly uploaded on Wattpad, I'm just re-uploading it here.
The cow says goodbye! see you soon :D!
26/01/2021
-LVM
Hi there!
Well, we have reached the conclusion of this chapter and I have to say that it was a good way to begin a new story after the previous intense chapters. I was surprised how quick Archer's legend had passed through many places. I honestly didn't expect information travelling that fast. But it still made me happy that Archer had actually inspired quite a few people, ESPECIALLY Orpheus.
I kind of face-palmed myself when Alchides didn't know who the Dragon slayer was. I know it makes sense that he doesn't know who it was or if it was even real. It was funny since I am thinking of a future when he does find out since after the advice of his friend. He thought Archer had most likely died.
The author mentions in their notes that they are going to make Archer and the Argonauts interact with each other in some way. I personally think it will be through Meleager mentioning Archer to some of the crew. Who knows?
Anyway, there have been quite a few new character mentions in this chapter that I wish to give a very brief insight on. Meleager and King Pelias have already been done by the Author and I have already mentioned Castor and Pollux in my previous notes (A reminder that in Fate lore, they are mentioned as 'Dioscuri' if you wish to search them up).
Boreas:
He is the literal personification of the north wind. He is married to Oreithyia, a daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens. They lived in Thrace and had 2 sons: Calais & Zetes and 2 daughters: Cleopatra & Chione. He is well known to have wrecked the massive fleet of Xerxes, King of Persia (If you are wondering, it is the same Xerxes who fought against Leonidas the First in the Battle of Thermopylae) off the beach of Sepias in Thessaly (this is far later in the Greek timeline). There is no mention of him in Fate lore.
Calais & Zetes:
Both are the winged sons of Boreas who in life join the Argonauts. There has been no mention of them in Fate Lore. Now, I don't want to go into spoilers since they are a very important part of a decision the Argonauts make in the future. This decision has a big impact so be careful before you look into their legends. IT'S LIKELY A BIG SPOILER.
Butes:
Although his story is scarce and inaccurate, sources claim that he was the son of Teleon and Zeuxippe (daughter of Eridanus) and later became the lover of Aphrodite. However, other sources mention that he was a native Sicilian king who became the father of Eryx by Aphrodite and Polycoan (Unknown mother). There is no mention of him in Fate lore. There are accounts of his tale with the Argonauts, though I won't mention them to prevent spoilers.
King Aeneus:
He was a Calydonian king who introduced wine making to Aetolia (a mountainous region in Greece) after learning from Dionysus. Dionysus also gave the king a vine plant and taught him how to plant and bear its fruit after the king had displayed his 'generous' hospitality to the god. He is also responsible for the Calydonian Boar hunt (Labour of Heracles) after failing to honour Artemis in a yearly sacrifice. He is father to the famous Meleager and many other children.
Acastus:
This name has been mentioned before as the name of The leader Centaur, so don't confuse them. Anyhow, Acastus is the son of King Pelias, who with his wife (Astydameia/Hippolyte) fathered 2 daughters: Sterope & Laodamia and quite a number of sons. Although other accounts mention him having other children from a different wife as well. His myth begins mainly from his time after the Argonauts' return. I won't make mention of his myth because it acts a spoiler for the future events of the story. If you want a hint, A certain witch is involved.
Orpheus:
Being one of the most famous characters in all of Greek mythology, he was a well renowned poet, but was mainly known for his talents in being a musician and was named a prophet. It is said that his skill in music was so powerful that it could charm stones and even the gods. His origin is uncertain but his myths are legendary, from his time with the Argonauts to his tragedy because of the death of Eurydice (his wife). (From a historical point of view, I highly recommend everyone reading about him and his myths. It's way too important not to read.) As for his time with the Argonauts, (I don't want to give spoilers but…) he is the main reason why the Argonauts are even able to proceed in their journey.
Now that I have explained some of the characters introduced, I hope everyone is having a great time. Also I would appreciate any criticisms about any translation errors since I am looking to improve; I know I have improved since chapter 1. I will revisit previous chapters since I know I can do them better.
Well, this is the beginning of something new and I can't wait for what happens next.
See you next chapter!
-Odyssey7