We watch as the city burn, as demons from beyond the star descend onto our land. They carve our flesh, devour our young, and dance on our graves. We cried to heavens to bring us salvation. We call upon Zeus to smite the dark ones, we call upon Poseidon to wash away the flames, we call upon Athena for the wisdom to push the hoard back into the sky. All fell on deaf ears.
Except one, Ares. -- Anon Guest
Fire. Sing, O muse, of the fires of Thebysthenes. Sing of the lives lost to the demons from the stars. Sing, O muse, of the gods who did not listen, and sing great praises of the one who did...
Thebysthenes. A relatively small settlement associated with Mycenae... before the Sea People and disruption of order had cut them off. Many who lived there were prone to believe they were the last people left alive on the face of the world. And then... the black boats floated out of the sky.
They should have been struck down for knocking the temple of Zeus into rubble, but no lightning came to smite them. Thus, it was easy to believe that the gods had forsaken them. The people ran to the temples to pray nonetheless.
They prayed to Poseidon, the king. They prayed to Queen Demeter. To Hera and Hermes, to Iapetus and Moros, to Uranos and Pan. They even begged Dread Persephone to intervene.
None sent aid.
Maedia ducked into the temple of Ares more by accident than design. The gleaming cohort of demons had cut her off from the temple of Aphrodite. She fled away from its turned back, automatically begging for help without naming the owner of this gods house. She only had shears from her work with the sheep, and thus cut her hair roughly to lay into the sacrificial pyre.
"Please," she begged. "Lend me what you can to save Thebysthenes from these invaders who are destroying it."
This god...
Answered.
The barbaric screech of a demon heralded its presence in the temple, and the next thing Maedia knew, it was knocked flat under a fallen column.
Its weapon, used to burn so much and so many, skidded across the mosaic floor to Maedia's feet.
She used her sheers to spill its blood with thanks to Ares. Stripped its body and girded the parts of its armour that fit her. She took up the weapon and learned quickly how to use it.
The invaders fell to ash, just the same as any of their victims. One of their black boats made a wonderful sacrificial pyre. From night until dawn, she razed the invaders from the face of the world.
When they were gone, Maedia collapsed where her rage ebbed. The weapon that slipped from her fingers would do no more of its terrible work.
When the people of Thebysthenes rebuilt their town, Maedia was granted the rights and respect of a man. She had, after all, proven herself to be worth more than any man in the city. For the rest of her life, she was hailed as a hero.
They rebuilt the temple of Ares first.
[Photo by Caglar Araz on Unsplash]
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