Celebwen Telcontar: This is the newest update in Queen of Kings. The two diabolical horses, Enyo and Areia, are going to be major characters in the story.
Balrog: Who's Diomedes?
Celebwen Telcontar: When Heracles was sent to do his Labors, he had to deal with a man named Diomedes. This man had four mares that he had trained to devour all who came trespassing. As far as I'm concerned, one of the mares taught her peculiar eating habits to her twin fillies, Enyo and Areia.
Balrog: I see. I'll stay away from them from now on. It seems Eudorus can handle them, though.
Celebwen Telcontar: Yes, they have taken a liking to Eudorus.
Balrog: Do you own anything here?
Celebwen Telcontar: Enyo, Areia, and… that's about it in this chapter. The next one though, I will own a character besides the horses.
Enyo kicked at her stall, and Eudorus, now able to handle the two savage mares with ease and not be dismembered, set his hand on her nose. Briseis was up on deck, enjoying the breeze, and the Myrmidon could hear the ropes straining at the sails.
The Lady of the Myrmidons came down the ladder, and she came to Eudorus.
"Easy, Enyo. It's just a ship. Eudorus, Agamemnon is dead, by my hand, and so his son Orestes must be ruling Mycenae. Menelaus' son, Aethiolas, must be ruling Sparta for his father. From my knowledge, Orestes and Aethiolas aren't as strong as their fathers, politically speaking, and so the Greek empire is probably dissolving as we speak. Right now would be high time for any of Greece's enemies to attack, and find us vulnerable."
"My Lady?" Eudorus asked, not knowing what to make of the strange conversation.
"Don't worry, Eudorus, I am getting somewhere. Greece was a very formidable fighting force, while Agamemnon held the throne and kept the kings together in the alliance. Separate, the Greek kingdoms are just targets for our enemies to pick off, one by one. If I can re-unite the kings of Greece, then we won't be just a big mess inviting the Hittites or other invaders. By your estimation, can we get the islands and kingdoms on the way home to be our allies and so re-cement the alliance, only under the Myrmidons?"
"There may be. The Ithacan ships are on our starboard side, and their king, Odysseus, was a good friend of Achilles. He may be able to help us."
"Can we alert him to land on the nearest island so that we can talk to him about this?"
"We can try." He nodded to her, and she stroked her mare's necks. I like how she thinks. A re-alliance between the Greek kings, under her, might not be a bad idea. It might not be bad at all. Now, how to ask Odysseus to land on the nearest island? "My Lady?"
"Yes?"
"May I tell the oarsmen to row us close to Odysseus' ship to tell him to land on the nearest island?"
"Yes. Excellent idea, Eudorus."
Odysseus climbed to the deck when one of his men called down to say that the Myrmidon ship wanted to talk to him.
"We'll land on the next island to speak. Tell the Myrmidons and the other Ithacans that."
"Yes, sir." The Ithacan ran to tell the Myrmidons, who were near enough to nearly scrape sails with the Ithacans, what Odysseus had said.
The beach at Lemnos was deserted save the woman exercising a black savage mare, and the Myrmidons relaxing on the beach, save Eudorus who was standing near an unusually tranquil Areia. Odysseus' ship came up on the beach, and Enyo neighed. Areia whinnied, and Eudorus backed away quickly. The malicious mares ran to stand near each other and their mistress, while the other Ithacan ships scraped up on the beach. Odysseus jumped down, and the woman told the two mares to stay there, and she came up to him.
"Odysseus of Ithaca. I am Briseis of Troy, now Briseis Lady of the Myrmidons. I asked you to come here because I would like to re-form the alliance that was under High King Agamemnon, only this one under the Myrmidons. Odysseus, the Hittites and all of Greece's enemies are right on our doorstep. The longer we remain divided, the longer they have to attack and invade Greece. I'm hoping that you will be able to help me put some sense in the other kings."
"It's an excellent plan, Lady Briseis." Odysseus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And I agree with the fact that together we are far stronger then we are divided. I will help you." He smiled and reached out to pat Areia's neck.
"Don't—" she began, when Eudorus slapped Odysseus' hand away just as Areia's teeth almost closed on the Ithacan king's arm. The mare looked at Eudorus as if he had wronged her somehow.
"Are your horses related to the mares of Diomedes?" Odysseus asked conversationally.
"I think so. The first time I sent a groom to deal with them, we never found all of him, just some of his bones. The next time, I groomed them, after hearing that a different groom had a crippled hand from Enyo's teeth. I found them abandoned on Mt. Ida, and raised them." Areia rubbed her nose against her mistress's dress, and Enyo playfully nipped Eudorus' hair. The Myrmidon responded to this unusual show of affection by patting her cheek gently, stroking her neck hairs. Odysseus looked on disbelief. "What can I say? They like Eudorus. But no one else.
He felt the soft sand under his toes give and shape; the sound of waves on the bank was musical and soft. Achilles looked to the sound, and saw a dark wooden barge powered by a single man punting it across. The man was in shadows, his face shrouded by a hood. The hands gripping the punting pole were all but skeletal, and he beckoned with a free hand as he lifted the pole up to push against the bottom of the river again.
"Charon?" Achilles asked. The cloaked figure nodded and held out a hand. Achilles dropped the two coins into the hand, and the Boatman placed them in his robe, beckoning the late hero onto the barge. Then, after Achilles had taken a seat on the massive floating vessil, Charon took up his post at what had been the front of the barge and was now the rear, and began to punt his way back across the River Styx.
Just before they docked, Achilles heard a grating voice, more hiss than vocalization, from Charon's direction.
"Someone will be along shortly to take you into the Halls," the voice said. The sound of it sent a shivver of fear up Achilles' spine, it was so loathsome and terrible. Like hearing a dead and decrepit corpse talk to you.
"Thank you," Achilles said to the Boatman.
"My pleasure," the Boatman hiss/spoke again. Achilles hastened off the ship and Charon took his seat at what was now the rear of the boat again, and began to count his money.
Achilles took stock of where he was, and saw that he was on the front porch of a massive villa. The pillars towered to unknown heights, and the grass was green and lush. The white wood doors opened wide silently of their own accord, and a wind seemed to push him towards the open doors. Inside, he could see a figure swathed in blue cloth, his feet encased in black leather sandals.
"Welcome, Brother," a familiar gruff voice said. The blue clothed figure stepped into the torchlight, and Achilles nearly yelped.
"Hector!" he gasped. The Prince of Troy nodded his head.
"Come." A younger boy stepped into the light beside Hector, a look of ashamed apprehension on his face.
"Patroclus! Never do that again, do you hear me!" Achilles roared, gripping Patroclus' shoulders and shaking him soundly. Then, he embraced his young cousin, placing a fierce kiss on his forehead.
"Come, brother. Námo, known to the Greeks and Trojans as Hades, will be wanting you to come to hold audience with him, as he does with every new member of Mandos."
"Mandos?"
"This land. The world where spent souls may find peace. He is a benevolent ruler, and does all he can to make his subjects find peace. Unless of course they do not deserve peace; such as the redoubtable Melkor, a sibling of Námo."
"What about Agamemnon?"
"He and Menelaus are in one of the...less desirable wings of the Halls," Patroclus replied.
"You may have noticed that we still have bodies. We do not have to eat, but we may. Your actions in death are determined by your actions in life. Agamemnon has been set to stay in a room with a group of vultures pecking at his flesh," Hector explained. "We have been set to wandering the halls if we choose, and have suites to our liking. We are able to manipulate our surroundings—" Hector beckoned at a wall and a trio of dun stallions were formed from mist, each having bridles and blankets on their backs. Patroclus mounted swiftly, followed by Hector. "The horses are fine. I created them, and anything created here has to serve their master."
"But you're his master."
"I told him to obey you," Hector replied. Achilles swung onto the stallion's back, and the horse tossed his head. "Come. We must return to the suite Námo has given you." Hector touched his hand to his mount's neck and the stallion whinnied and turned in a perfect circle. Hector then led Achilles and Patroclus to a long dark hallway, lit by flickering torchlight.
Suddenly, the scene changed. He saw a black horse reaching out to bite Odysseus' arm; Eudorus slapped Odysseus' arm away, and a long pale hand laid itself on the horse's nose. Then, he saw that the hand belonged to Briseis, his beloved Briseis. She looked quite dead inside, and her eyes no longer held a spark of life, only a glint of calculating coldness. When she spoke, her voice was as hard as rock, and as cold as ice.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the vision stopped. Achilles blinked several times to reorient himself in the hallway; Hector and Patroclus were looking at him.
"Did you have a vision of the mortal world?" Hector asked. "Here we observe Mortal affairs. Flame is the most reliable, but mirrors and liquid work. In flame, unlike in mirrors and liquid, we can hear what is being said."
"I saw Briseis, a black horse trying to bite Odysseus, and Eudorus."
"Well, she still has one if not both of her diabolical horses. I pity whoever is riding with her. Areia, one of the mares, devoured a groom once. And Enyo, the other mare, crippled a groom for life. Only Briseis can properly care for them without fear of being eaten."
"By the Gods!" Achilles cried. "Ate a... groom? I thought horses were herbivores!"
"They are. Those two bloodthirsty animals are the descendants of the mares of Diomedes, though. They're carnivorous. Can you see this scar here?" He pulled down on his tunic's collar to almost his shoulder. There, on the upper right-hand side of his chest, almost on the shoulder, was a large scar, and the skin was deformed. "This was from Enyo's teeth. I tried to deal with them once, being a horse-tamer, and the mare bit me, breaking my collarbone and shoulder. It took about two months to heal, and the mare literally ate the skin she had ripped off."
"Dear Gods. Why did you let her keep them?"
"They were being tended on Mt. Ida by who we thought was a budding soldier: Brimus. Instead, it was Briseis, in armor. She showed all of us up, including me. Besides you, she's the only person who can defeat me in fair combat."
"She can defeat you? Why didn't she fight the Greek soldiers who held her captive, then?"
"She didn't have a weapon. If she had a weapon, she would have been better than them, and would have left them dead. She killed Agamemnon, you know."
"I know. I saw."
"She certainly has style."
"Most definentally."
Oh, Gods. What did I eat? Briseis was hanging over the side of the ship, loosing the last meal she had.
My Lady, are you seasick? Eudorus asked, coming up.
I've never gotten seasick. I don't know what it is, she mumbled, dry heaving. Enyo and Aeria were next to her, Aeria's nose right next to her mistresses' shoulder.
"What happened! They were just on an island!" Achilles roared.
"Here time passes differently. If you don't keep an eye on the surroundings, they change quickly. I'd say it's been about two and a half months since the fall of Troy." Hector opened a door and pushed Achilles and Patroclus in, closing it behind him. In the center of the room there was an emmence cauldron which ignited as soon as Achilles looked at it. He soon was watching the people in the Mortal Realms.
Balrog: I don't understand Briseis' sickness. Did she eat some undercooked chicken or something? Sometimes half-metamorphosed marble will make me sick.
Celebwen Telcontar: She's human, not a Balrog. As for what's ailing her, you'll have to see.
Balrog: Will the Odyssey be playing a part in this?
Celebwen Telcontar: No. It won't. Odysseus follows the Myrmidons to Ithaca, and Briseis becomes friends with Penelope, Odysseus' wife.
Balrog: What about the two hellhorses?
Celebwen Telcontar: You'll see. Now I am not answering any more questions! Out, out I say! And listen to me, or you'll get a face full of glacial runoff! Until next time, readers! Please review!