DISCLAIMERS:
The Iliad © Homer
Troy © Wolfgang Petersen and David Benioff
Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel © Luo Guangzhong (translation credits go to Moss Roberts for the version used here)
Beyond the Phantasm of Humanity © Noelle Grace Ocana Pico
Princess Ren Ziyi and other related characters © Sleepwalking Dreamer
APOLOGIES AND EXPLANATIONS:
Regarding the accuracy employed herein, I will be the first to admit that they will not be accurate. For one, I am about to change a crucial decision that was made even before the events of The Iliad took place. For another I may have to redirect certain events in the Chinese novel (or make them up) to aid in the flow of the story.
Also, I know that the stories and events in Three Kingdoms take place at a later time in comparison to The Iliad, and, in an attempt to correct this, I have tried to set the events at an earlier time period, one that is closer to the time during which The Iliad supposedly occurred. This would mean that I would have to place events roughly during the Shang Dynasty of China, which had reached its Golden Age at roughly the same time the events in The Iliad are reputed to have taken place. Three Kingdoms is supposedly an account of the latter days of the Han Dynasty. What I have attempted to do, in order to reconcile the timelines, is to transfer a few events and machinations from Three Kingdoms into the Shang Dynasty. I hope that people will forgive me for this.
Regarding the presence of women warriors, this was quite plausible, since Chinese history does speak of the presence of many women who have chosen the life and path of the warrior. If I remember my history correctly, Fu Hao (posthumously Si Mu Xin), was not only a royal consort of Emperor Wu Ding (mentioned sometimes as the twenty-first, at other times, the twenty-second, emperor of the Shang), but was also a military general as well. Her tomb is the only Shang tomb found intact, containing valuable bronze and jade pieces. She was also found buried with weapons – objects traditionally associated with male burials. This, in addition to the oracle bones that specifically name Fu Hao as a general, point out the fact that women could, in Bronze Age China, be equals with males.
Regarding the use of silk, it must be said that silk was already in use by 3000 BC, having been discovered supposedly as early as 6000 BC by a Chinese Empress.
And finally, I am not quite sure if the martial arts were already prevalent during the Shang Dynasty, but I do know for certain that one of the modern-day tourist attractions in Henan (the province where Anyang, the site of the Capital of Yin, which was the capital of the Shang) is the Shaolin martial arts temple, located on Mount Song. Since Henan seems to have been a seat for the martial arts, I have thought it plausible that, if martial arts did exist in Shang times (and I think that they did, in some way or form), an Emperor would not have to look very far for masters who would be willing to indulge his daughter's thirst to learn how to fight.
Overall, I do hope that people will forgive me for making the choices that I did, and will enjoy my retelling, regardless of its faults and flaws.
TEASER:
It is amazing just how thin and tenuous the threads of destiny are. If there is but one small change in the fabric, then the entire tapestry is changed.
And because of one simple bet, many, many things have changed.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
To make it easier on the readers to imagine just whom I have in mind when writing this, I will give a short list of actors and actresses whom I have imagined could play the roles of various characters within the story. The major characters in Troy will be represented by the actors who have played them, with one chief exception, and she is mentioned below. The list is as follows:
Oenone – Diane Kruger (I chose her to play Oenone instead, because I do not think any woman in the world could ever be beautiful enough to be Helen.)
Hecuba – Judi Dench (I chose her to play Hecuba because she is, firstly, of the right age to be mother to Eric Bana's Hector, and secondly, because she has such a powerful aura – one that befits someone who must play the Queen of Troy and Priam's wife. One only needs to see her in Shakespeare in Love and other movies, besides, to see that aura.)
Imperial Princess Ren Ziyi – Karen Mok (She was one of the lead actresses in the Chinese movie So Close. I chose her to play the Imperial Princess because first of all, she has a face that is not quite beautiful, and Ren is not supposed to be stunningly beautiful. Secondly, she has an intense look about her sometimes that suits how a woman who seems to be carrying the weight of a dynasty on her shoulders should look.)
General Cao Bei – Ken Watanabe (I was impressed by his acting in The Last Samurai¸ and, frankly speaking, I really think that he deserved an award for his performance – he was, in my opinion, the real star of The Last Samurai, not Tom Cruise. His portrayal of Katsumoto in that movie has become the basis for Cao Bei's character.)
Dong Shao – Masato Harada (I saw him as well in The Last Samurai, and when I was conceptualizing Dong Shao, his character in the movie came to mind.)
Shang Zhu – Shin Koyamada (Again, I was influenced by The Last Samurai. I chose him to be Shang Zhu because he seems able to project a calm, unperturbed exterior, which he uses as a mask to hide a raging, violent temper.)
Ren Yi, or Emperor Ren – Shichinosuke Nakamura (His interpretation of Emperor Meiji in The Last Samurai was somewhat how I wanted to portray Ren Yi, though Ren Yi is certainly not as strong as Emperor Meiji. It is simply that Shichinosuke Nakamura's face had a softness to it that would befit a rather weak and childlike Emperor who was easily manipulated by someone older than he.)
As for the gods and other immortals, I think I will leave their images up to the reader. No one person can ever dictate how these entities look like, because it is up to us to paint their faces in our minds. I would not dare presume to force my image of them upon others who would see them as otherwise.
PROLOGUE: Freedom of Choice
He smiled as he looked upon the world that was spread out before him. It was quiet – almost too quiet. While he was not violent by nature, it was simply a part of his nature to induce change, though whether that change was violent or not tended to depend on just whom exactly he was working with.
He tilted his head upwards, looking up to the clouds. "I hope that you're watching me, because I'll show you just what I can do," he said softly, before heading down to the field below, invisible and undetectable by the sheep that grazed on the tender grass he walked upon.
A soft breeze ruffled his hair, and he lifted a hand to smooth the strands down – not that it helped much, since his hair always refused to obey any attempt to tame it. Shading his eyes from the glare of the sun, he looked around, trying to find the shepherd, to whom these sheep belonged, knowing that the shepherd was the reason why he had come here in the first place.
It did not take him long to find him: the lad was sitting in the shade of a large tree, his back leaning against the trunk as he watched his flock with an alert eye.
Free Choice chuckled as he drew nearer, noting that the lad's eyes were not quite so focused, showing that his mind was clearly wandering elsewhere. Not so alert, then, he thought with a small shake of his head. He took his place beside the lad, resting his back against the trunk so that he could take some weight off his feet. A few moments later, three flashes of light appeared in front of the lad, who seemed to jerk so sharply he could have toppled off the rock that he was sitting on, had he not grabbed a low-hanging branch to steady himself.
He sighed quietly. And let the show begin, he thought wryly as he settled down to watch what would happen next.
Paris stared at the images of beauty and power before him, stunned into silence by their appearance. One moment he was sitting quietly on the edge of a wide field, watching the flocks that were under his care, and thinking of his wife Oenone, when suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded his sight momentarily, and when he recovered, he was gazing upon three goddesses, apparently fresh from the ambrosial halls of Olympus itself.
Directly in front of him stood Hera, wife of Zeus, and power radiated from her very form. This was she who was Queen on Olympus, she who ruled at Zeus' side. Among all the goddesses her sovereignty over the other gods was unquestionable, and when she made a decision none dared to oppose it save Zeus himself.
To his left was Aphrodite, born of the foam of the sea and the wind. It was said that none of the goddesses could equal her in beauty and in the arts of seduction, and it was for this reason that many, man and woman both, prayed to her that she may grant them success in courtship, or to draw love to them.
And to his right was high-hearted Athena, her gray eyes gleaming brightly with the fire of immortality. She was Zeus' favorite child, and she was most renowned for her intellect and courage in war. She favored brave and intelligent mortals, and she was wont to guide and protect her favorites on their quests and adventures.
Paris stood up, fully aware of how clumsy he seemed, and bowed to the three of them. "Great goddesses of Olympus," he murmured respectfully, "for what reason have you come to me, a humble shepherd? If you wish to set a task for me then I will do it, as best as I may, that I may please you and earn your favor."
"Rise Paris, son of Priam of Troy. We have indeed come to you to ask of you a favor, but your task cannot be accomplished if you cast your face to the ground."
It was Hera who had spoken. Blinking, Paris looked up at her, curiosity in his eyes. Had she called him a son of Priam? But Priam was King of Troy, powerful and revered! He could not be the son of so mighty a man.
Perhaps the goddesses could read his thoughts, for Athena spoke to him then. "You are indeed a son of Priam, Paris. Your wife and your foster parents know of this fact well." She waved her hand, and the leaves of the olive tree above his head shivered slightly, as if disturbed by a breeze, though there was no breeze. "But we did not come to you to speak of that."
Aphrodite spoke then, and Paris was dazzled not only by her beauty, but by her voice as well. "We came to you because we wished you to be the judge of an important matter."
Paris watched as a golden apple appeared in Aphrodite's hand, and continued to watch in stunned silence as the goddess held the apple out to him in her fair, slender hand.
The laughter-loving goddess smiled at him encouragingly. "Take it, Paris. It only right, I believe, that the judge should see the prize."
Trembling with awe and amazement, Paris took the apple from Aphrodite's outstretched hand. It had the same feel and weight in his hand as an ordinary apple, but it was a deep, rich gold all over. It was as if Hephaestus himself had chosen to forge this precious and beautiful thing out of the finest gold that the earth could give. He tilted it slightly, watching as the sunlight gleamed off the polished surface. As he did so, he encountered three words inscribed into the golden flesh of the apple: "For the fairest."
He looked up at the goddesses, confusion written clearly on his face. "What must I do?"
"You are judge who amongst the three of us is worthy of receiving that apple," Athena explained. She smiled at him then, her gray eyes gleaming like stars. "If you give it to me, I promise to cover you in glory and wealth in war. If you give me that apple, Paris, you will exceed all men in the battlefield, and none will be able to stand against you."
Paris' head spun with the possibilities. If he had Athena watching over him as he went to war, then he knew that none would be able to stand against him. The goddess would sweep all who dared oppose him. He could rule over the Aegean, and he would sweep the petty kings of the Achaeans aside.
Aphrodite laughed condescendingly. "And of what use is glory and wealth in war, if you will have no wife who is suitable to stand by your side?" As Paris turned to look at her, she gave him her most seductive smile. "Give me the apple, Paris, and you will have Helen for your bride. You have heard of Helen, have you not? She is a daughter of Zeus, and fair as an immortal goddess. Oenone is nothing in comparison to her."
Aphrodite's offer suddenly seemed far more appealing to him than Athena's. He had indeed heard of Helen, who was reputed to be the fairest of all the women in the world. A daughter of Zeus, she had been kidnapped once by the hero Theseus when she was but a little girl, intent on making her his bride when she grew up. But her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, pursued him, and they won their sister back from Theseus.
"Your offers are nothing," Hera said then. "What is success in battle, and what is a beautiful wife, when one can have mastery of the world?" She extended her hand to Paris, a benign smile on her face. "If you give me the apple, Paris, I will give you power immeasurable. You will rule not just the Aegean, but all of Asia as well. Once you have the world, you will have your fill of glory in war and of beautiful women as well. Why settle for one or the other, when you could have both, and more besides?"
Paris' gaze leaped from one goddess to the other. He did not know whom to give the apple. They were all beautiful, and they could all claim to be the fairest of the goddesses.
Their promises whirled temptingly in his mind. Which did he want? Did he wish to be a great warrior? Did he wish to have the beauteous Helen for a wife? Or did he wish to become master of the whole world?
These were the choices that were laid before him. He closed his eyes, thinking. Which did he choose? To whom did he bestow the gift of the golden apple?
Whatever the case may have been, he had come to a decision, and he would not go against it. Inhaling, he looked upon the three goddesses before him, and said quietly: "I have made my choice."
So saying, he reached out, and placed the golden apple in the hand of the goddess he had chosen.
The Fates raised their heads disbelievingly, unable to comprehend what had just happened. This was not what they had expected to happen.
"Paris did not make the decision we thought he would," Atropos muttered, her hand dropping to her side – the hand holding the shears she used to cut the threads of mortal lives.
Lachesis shook her head. "It is done, sister. He has made his choice, and it is in the past. We can no longer do anything to change it."
Klotho said nothing, merely bowed her head over the thread that she was holding out for her two sisters. So he has done it, she thought. He had done what he had said he would do, and while she admired him for his ability to keep his word, the fact that he had done so troubled her.
It was only a harmless bet, nothing more, when they had discussed it. But now it had grown into something larger, something that was beyond her control or that of her sisters.
"What shall we do now?" Lachesis asked then, her voice showing that she was a little nervous about this situation.
Atropos shook her head. "There is nothing that we can do. It is all in Klotho's hands now, and when it comes to her, it is unchangeable. We cannot change the past."
"But what you foresaw did not come true," Klotho said quietly. "Does that not trouble you?"
Atropos chuckled derisively. "Oh, it certainly troubles me, just as much as it troubles you and Lachesis. But as I said, it is in your hands now, and we can do nothing about it." She frowned. "Free Choice has begun meddling in our affairs. Hera may think that everything has turned to her advantage, but she has forgotten that Free Choice serves no one except himself, and that makes him all the more dangerous."
"He serves no one," Klotho said softly, to herself. It was probably just a dream then – their conversation in the hall, the agreement that they had made. Perhaps it was not real.
And yet, in spite of her denial, she knew, in the core of her being, that it was real, and that it had happened. And now, because of a simple bet, many, many things were going to change.
But, as Atropos said, there is nothing that they could do. Free Choice had done what he had done, and because of that, he would now "run the show," as he so often termed it.
And the gods – even they, the Fates themselves, who were feared even by Zeus – would not be able to overturn his influence.
The frown on Zeus' face was clear when he found out what had happened. "So he chose you?"
Hera smiled at him, a proud, gloating smile as she turned the apple over in her hand. "Yes. You do not sound pleased – though that does not surprise me. You had expected him to choose Aphrodite, did you not?"
Zeus nodded. "Yes, I had expected that. The Fates had thought he would choose her. That would have meant he would have stolen Helen away from her new husband, Menelaus, which would have led to a war of so great a magnitude that our names and the names of those who fought in that war will live on. But that will no longer come to pass now."
Hera snorted derisively. "You ought to be pleased, mighty son of Kronos. I know of this war you speak of. If it had happened, then Troy, a city that you highly favor, would have fallen, its glory living on only in song and memory. But now that will not necessarily be the case, will it?"
"Oh, I am glad that Troy will not have to fall," Zeus said, "but that is not how it was supposed to be." He frowned. "There is something amiss here. It was as if some other entity had been with Paris, influencing him. But I know for certain there were no other gods, great or otherwise, who could have been there when he made his decision. Then why did he go against his destiny?"
"Because I helped him make his own decision."
Zeus looked up, as did Hera, startled that their inner sanctum upon Olympus could be broken. "Who speaks?" Zeus boomed, and in his voice was the roar of thunder.
There was soft laughter from the shadows, and a figure slowly stepped into the light of the chamber. It was a young man, with dancing green eyes and a head of dark brown hair, made up of recalcitrant curls. He was wearing very foreign clothing, and they gave him an air of carefree indifference that seemed to suit him quite well.
The young man bowed to Zeus and to Hera. "I am Free Choice. I was the one who helped Paris come to his decision."
Zeus narrowed his eyes when the young man said who he was. Now everything is made clear, he thought. He drew himself up to his fullest height. "So, it was you who influenced Paris to choose Hera instead of Aphrodite, as the Fates had decreed."
"I wouldn't say I influenced him," Free Choice explained, looking up at Zeus with cheerful green eyes. "I only helped him to come to a decision. That is what I'm all about, after all: I just show people the possibilities, and it is up to them to choose which one they want. I never try to influence anything – just not in my nature, you see."
"Why did you come here?" Zeus turned to look at Hera, as she continued, "What drove you to come here and make these changes?"
Free Choice shrugged. "Does Free Choice need a reason to go anyplace, or do anything for a reason? Some people make choices because there's a reason behind it, and others choose things for no reason at all. In this case, I'd have to say that it was partially the latter that I did what I did…and partially because I made a bet with someone, and I wanted to win."
Zeus scowled. "A bet? You have done all of this, simply because you wished to win a bet?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm Free Choice. I can do whatever I want."
This is getting more infuriating with every passing moment, Zeus thought, though he did his best not to let it show. He was familiar with the power that Free Choice exerted, and he really did not want to anger him. Inhaling deeply to rein his temper in, he asked: "How long will you be staying here?"
"Well, let me see…" Free Choice paused for a while, tapping his bottom lip thoughtfully, before he smiled, and replied: "I think I'll be hanging around for quite some time. Things are bound to get interesting now that Paris has made a different choice from what was expected. Besides, I still want to see that person I made the bet with."
Hera raised an eyebrow. "And just who did you make your bet with?"
Free Choice laughed, and he turned around, walking back into the shadows from which he had emerged. "Wouldn't you like to know?" And with that, he disappeared completely from view.
Free Choice left the halls of Olympus, chuckling to himself. The looks on their faces when I went in was priceless, he thought, continuing to chuckle as he made his way to another part of the world. He was intent on going farther east, past the lands of Troy, which many in the Aegean considered to be the easternmost kingdom in the known world.
Of course, he thought, that's just their assumption. He knew that there were other kingdoms farther to the east, that the world was round, even when most people thought it was flat. He had just hit on an idea, as he was going up to Olympus to announce his presence to Zeus, and he was intent on carrying out.
He grinned. This was going to be fun.
He stopped, having reached his destination. He settled himself on the pinnacle of an immense cliff face, and looked down upon the valley below him. The air was cool, almost cold, as twilight began to settle upon the valley below him. The bamboo groves clicked and whistled as the night breeze wended its way through, and the mist thickened slightly.
A few moments later several lights sprang up through the mist, tiny pinpoints of light that were screened by the haze. In spite of that, he could clearly see that a camp lay below him, consisting of several tents of varying sizes, and small bonfires that were lit outside of them.
He spied out the largest tent, which stood in the very center of the congregation, and he knew that the people he was looking for were inside. He closed his eyes, and willed himself into the tent. There was slight shift around him as time and space bent a little to his will, and when he opened his eyes again, he was standing inside the tent itself.
It was a warm and well-lit area, smelling of fragrant and exotic incense. The glimmer of gold and the shimmer of silk in firelight caught his eye, and he moved forward, deeper into the tent.
A large group of armored men were gathered around a table, over which was spread a map that was marked with characters and lines. He could read the characters well enough, though this system of writing had long since disappeared and been replaced by another, simpler style.
"General Cao Bei, I do not think that that is a wise move!"
Free Choice looked up then to watch as a middle-aged man, dressed in red silk richly embroidered in gold thread, glared at a fellow who seemed to be around the same age as he, only the latter was dressed in a more somber blue and gray. "Councilor Gu Quan, I still think that this is the best plan that we have. For too long have we closeted ourselves up in our own borders. No, this time, we must seek outside help, even if it must come from those in the West."
The man named Gu Quan snorted. "Ask help from barbarians? They might sooner turn on us than on Dong Shao!"
This raised more arguments from the other people gathered around the table, and Free Choice had to chuckle in amusement as he watched them. He considered helping Cao Bei to agree with Gu Quan, but then another voice cut into the quarrels and disagreements.
"My Lords, I would feel much better if you stopped arguing so! We will not be able to decide anything if we go on like this."
Free Choice peered past the shoulders of the men around the table, and his smile became wider when he saw who was sitting in the place of honor at the very end. It was a young woman, though she did not look quite so young anymore because of the care and worry that were evident on her countenance. She could have been beautiful, were it not for the fact that stress and a hard life seemed to have robbed her of the glow and freshness that was part and parcel of beauty.
Yet there was an intense shimmer of intelligence and cunning in her eyes, as she gazed at the map spread before her, and that was all Free Choice needed to see to know that she would be the one he would help.
He rounded the table, and stood in the empty spot on the woman's right side. This is beyond the bounds of the bet, he thought, but it's just too much fun to stop now.
He wondered for a moment if Klotho would disagree with what he was about to do, but he shrugged the thought off. She won't mind, he thought.
Then he saw the woman lean forward, and he paid closer attention, knowing that his time to help her was about to come.
She eyed the map in front of her moodily, her gaze focused on the leftmost border of the paper. There the map stopped, for it showed only the lands that were under the Empire's jurisdiction. She knew well enough that there were other lands beyond that border, and that these nations often traded with the Empire, but none of her people had ever dared venture into these lands, willingly or otherwise. They didn't have to – the traders were the ones who came to them, not the other way around.
But now they were in such a situation that they needed help from beyond their borders. She had heard rumors tell of great kingdoms far to the west, with ships and men enough to overrun the Empire and topple that demon incarnate Dong Shao from his place, but that was all there ever was – rumors, stories, and no proof. She needed proof that these mighty kingdoms did indeed exist, because if it were so, then she would go them for aid, even it if meant damning her pride as an Imperial Princess and General of her troops.
Lady Ren Ziyi, now more popularly known as Phoenix General Lang, once more felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. I swore an oath to my father on his deathbed, she thought. She knew that promises made on deathbeds were not so easily broken – especially if they were made to one who was both father and Emperor.
For the first time in a long time, she was completely at a loss about what to do. A part of her wanted to go with Cao Bei's suggestion and try to find the western kingdoms she had heard so much about, but at the same time, another part of her wanted to follow what Gu Quan said. She knew – and this was fact – that the West was a land of barbarians, who had none of the subtlety and elegance of her own people. She had heard that they were a violent lot, that they knew nothing but war and bloodshed, and had no culture to speak of.
But I have to fight, she thought, resisting the urge to bow her head and bury it in her hands. Dong Shao was holding her younger brother Ren Yi captive. Ren Yi was supposedly the Emperor at the moment, but in truth he was nothing more than a puppet, forced to serve Dong Shao. She had to do all she could to save her brother, and in the process, save the Empire from a ruthless and coldhearted dictator.
What was she supposed to do?
She raised her head to look upon her fellow generals – all of them good and trustworthy men, for they respected her not only as a princess of the Empire, but also as a warrior and strategist.
Her voice was clear and unwavering. "I have made my decision."
Free Choice smiled as he left the tent, rising through the air once more to stand upon the sharp crags that overlooked the valley.
"Very interesting indeed," he murmured. He headed back towards the west. It was time to pay Klotho a visit.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The bet that was discussed here – the one between Klotho and Free Choice – is discussed more fully in Noelle Pico's Beyond the Phantasm of Humanity. It also includes the relationship that these two have.