The Girl Who Loved the Black Horse (1)
Three months passed by modern reckoning.
Spring gave way to summer.
And as one might expect, the name of Perseus 2 — descendant of heroes — spread like wildfire.
The suitor scandal had been the spark, no doubt, but countless other rumors fanned the flames. Whispers of a temple dedicated to all Twelve Gods. The unveiling of a tome on Lord Hades called the Megisti Abyssos (μεγίστη ἄβυσσος) — The Greatest Abyss. Tales of the miracles he performed and the terrifying power he wielded. All of it.
Even those in Argos who already knew of Perseus wore stunned expressions — so what of those who had never heard of him? The rumors crossed the shallow seas of Achaea above Argos and reached all the way to Delphi, nestled at the foot of Mount Parnassus.
Delphi was not so far from Argos, where Perseus 2 resided. Men who caught wind of the gossip clustered in the shaded colonnades of the agora, chattering away as if parsing truth from fiction — and when that wasn't enough, they took to snatching every traveler fresh from Argos and hauling them over for interrogation.
"I hear he caught a Pasiphaurus bare-handed? And that a little kid suddenly grew into a full-grown man to do it?"
"Sudden growth? Is that some kind of miracle?"
"And what's this biblion — this book — everyone's talking about? I heard the Athenian myths about Lord Pluton rubbed him the wrong way, so he went down to the Underworld himself and wrote a new one!"
"Come off it! How can you believe that?! A man dying and coming back to life? Impossible! The book's contents are fabrications too, mark my words! Haven't I always said so?!"
"But listening to everyone they've dragged in so far, the miracles at least seem genuine. So doesn't that mean the book could be real as well?"
These were the rumors circulating among the common folk, and every last one of them strained belief. But the traveler they'd caught this time seemed to know Perseus 2 rather well — and his answers were satisfying indeed.
"I've just returned from paying my respects to the Twelve Gods there, so I believe I can answer your questions."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. You may have heard the rumors — the Grand Temple has lodging prepared so pilgrims can stay for extended worship. I remained there and saw a great deal with my own eyes."
The words landed like a thunderclap. Men who'd been gossiping elsewhere came clustering over. They brought out travelers seized by other groups and set them face-to-face — and when one said, "We met there, didn't we?" and the other replied, "I remember you bowing your head at length before Lord Apollo," and they exchanged names, everyone knew these men had truly visited the temple in Argos.
"Is it true, then?"
"Gather round, all of you!"
"We've got someone over here we'd like them to meet as well!"
Other groups came rushing in and forced introductions with their own invited travelers. Among them were frauds who'd never set foot in the Argos temple, spouting nonsense just to freeload on the hospitality. They didn't recognize each other, of course, and their stories didn't match — so once the fakes were weeded out, only those who had genuinely visited the Argos temple remained, leading the crowd as if by destiny.
"Perseus 2, young as he is, lamented the state of our age and personally refurbished a temple for the gods. That temple honors all Twelve Gods, and Lord Hades as well — and recently, he has even been offering prayers to Lord Dionysus, who has close ties to Argos. They call it the Grand Temple. Lord Perseus urged us that if we speak Lord Hades's name with proper respect, we shall never be cursed — indeed, we shall be praised in the afterlife. The very fact that we speak Lord Hades's name freely right now is proof of that. And to demonstrate this truth himself, Lord Perseus showed us the book on Lord Hades that he wrote with his own hand after descending to the Underworld."
"That was terrifying, I'll tell you. The Megisti Abyssos, they called it — left open for all pilgrims to see. It burned with a constant blue flame, and when you opened it, the screams of the dead whispered from its pages. Thanks to that, none of us — myself included — dismissed Perseus 2's words as empty boasting."
"He said he wrote the book to clear up misunderstandings about Lord Hades, and he swore it was the most detailed account of Lord Hades ever penned. If you wish to go somewhere even slightly better after death, he told us, offer tribute to Lord Hades according to the book's teachings — but those offerings only reach the Underworld through his temple, so he hoped many would come and visit."
The crowd stirred. This was an age when people fretted over the terrors of the afterlife even more than the troubles of the living — and so their words sounded sweet indeed.
"B-but can we truly believe all that?"
"Give us more proof!"
"That's right. Words alone aren't enough. We want solid evidence."
The more cautious among them pressed again for verification — but the pilgrims from Argos showed not the slightest worry. They wore the blissful smiles of people who had laid down every burden and were walking straight into paradise.
"Then why not go to Argos yourselves and watch Lord Perseus hold court?"
"H-hold court, you say?"
"That child is conducting trials as well?"
"Indeed. Lord Perseus has recently begun holding trials — and he judges truth from falsehood with water drawn from the River Styx by his own hand. Before that water, no one can lie."
"We watched a trial ourselves. Anyone who lied simply collapsed and never rose again. It was as if their very soul had been sucked out. Those of us from other lands could scarcely believe our eyes."
"Those trials are the very proof that Lord Perseus met Lord Hades face-to-face. We were full of doubts ourselves — but that spectacle moved us to offer our entire fortunes as tribute to Lord Hades without a second thought. And now we walk home with light, happy steps, free of all worry."
"What? You gave away your entire fortune and you're happy about it?"
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
At that, the old man who had surrendered his fortune spoke up.
"Hah, why, you ask? My life has been a long one. In all those years I never did anything particularly good — but neither did I do anything particularly bad, great or small. I was a nobody. And so I fretted endlessly over where my soul would go after death — until Lord Perseus showed me the way. Is that not reason enough?"
Hwah!
Quite a few in the crowd flinched as if struck — but the old man had more to say.
"Lord Perseus warned us that even if one treats offerings like bribes, the just Lord Hades will still judge according to the laws of the Underworld. That gave me a start at first — but that clever young man seemed to read my heart completely, for he added one more thing. The soul of a nobody who has done neither good nor evil is difficult to place, he said — and so a single pilgrimage can move Lord Hades's heart."
"...!"
How many small-souled men stood there trembling in the legs, clutching at their chests? Those who had already committed grave sins found their heads aching with thoughts of what lay ahead — but those who believed they had done much good in life trembled with gratitude instead.
"I must go bow my head at least once before it's too late."
"I'd like to bring my wife and children as well."
"I'm alone in this world. No one to share with, and no use for wealth once I'm dead — so I've nothing to lose."
More and more people murmured about visiting the Grand Temple. A stubborn few still refused to believe, but they were a tiny minority. The great majority said they would go see a trial for themselves and decide — and more than a few had already swallowed the whole story hook, line, and sinker.
"You mentioned the Pasiphaurus earlier. His Lordship hated the dung heaps littering the streets of Argos, saying they were an offense that angered Lord Apollo. So he dug canals with his own hands to carry the filth away, and with the money from selling that Pasiphaurus's hide, he built a new public building where anyone could relieve themselves — and socialize while they were at it."
"That's a hard thing to understand."
"Did Lord Apollo truly take offense at such a thing?"
"At the very least, we watched every step of Lord Perseus's path and never doubted him for a moment. A man fair enough to refurbish a temple for the Twelve Gods, defend Lord Hades's honor, and hold trials with the waters of the Styx would never lie to us."
"That's right. He paid for it all out of his own purse. We have not the slightest reason to doubt him."
"Thanks to him, Argos — unlike this place — has no stench of dung at all. It's wonderfully fresh. We didn't understand it either at first, but once you breathe that clean city air, you'll know exactly why Lord Apollo despised the filth."
"Hmm..."
The people of Delphi still couldn't quite wrap their heads around that particular point, even if they accepted the rest. So they set it aside and began trading overall impressions of Perseus 2 — chattering away so much like a flock of girls that a great peal of laughter suddenly rang out from somewhere and snuffed their merriment cold.
Hwahahahaha! Hwu-hahahahah!
"What was that all of a sudden?"
"Well now."
"A woman? In broad daylight?"
In this age, a woman's standing was low.
A wife could not even share a meal with another man — and women themselves ranked first on a household's list of property. Women walking the streets in broad daylight were rare enough. And yet here was one laughing at the top of her lungs right inside the agora. The men could scarcely believe it.
And more than that—
"From the sound of it, that brat's clever as they come! Opening a temple and cooking you lot with nothing but his tongue! But meeting Lord Hades and writing a book himself?! Hahahaha! Believe something worth believing! For all you know it's nothing but a pretty shell! That place is a temple too — sooner or later temple prostitution will be thriving and they'll be wringing you dry for coin, plain as day, and you're swallowing it whole! You stupid, thick-headed men!"
Cackling! Cackling!
Laughing with an arrogance that flouted every ideal of womanhood in the age, she left the men grinding their teeth in outrage. Even those who had never met Perseus worked themselves into a fury, bellowing toward wherever the wench was laughing.
"Insolence! Lord Perseus serves all Twelve Gods, and Lady Danae received a direct oracle from Lady Hera forbidding carnal rites within the temple! I don't know whose household you belong to, girl, but mind your tongue!"
"Oh-ho, now it's an oracle from Lady Hera? The whole family's in on the lies, is that it?! Do you have any idea how treacherous the road to the Underworld is, that you dare bandy its name about?!"
"His Lordship can transform into the shape of beasts through miracles!"
"He can turn into an adult, and now he turns into beasts too? Hahaha! What a pack of clowns you are! I don't know how stupid you have to be to swallow a child's pranks whole — but you won't fool my eyes! Not a chance!"
"You dare call us fools?! Show yourself!"
"Fine!"
Whoosh!
A shadow dropped onto the heads of the male crowd, who had been scanning about for the source of the girl's voice.
"From atop the pillar?!"
"That wench — she's armed!"
"What?!"
It was a height that would have badly injured any ordinary person — yet the woman who came dropping down wore an expression of perfect unconcern. And she carried an ash-wood spear and a splendid shield besides. No one could hide their shock.
"Well then — here I am!"
A heroine, standing tall and proud!
And her body was nothing short of outrageous!
Legs so thick and long they called horses to mind set their lust ablaze — and breasts that rivaled even the widow Danae's poured oil on the fire! A body that promised bliss no matter where you touched it — pure carnal temptation given flesh!
"Hah! You told me to come out, and look at the faces on you! Honestly — men!"
Knowing full well she was being eyed as an object of desire, she gave her black chiton a bold shake. Long black hair that suited the color of her clothes, sharp black eyes flashing — and only then did the men come back to their senses.
"A face I've never seen! Who the hell are you, girl?!"
"Why do you walk about with no regard for your chastity?!"
"Have you no shame? No virtue?!"
Shouting after they'd already drowned in lust the moment they saw her accomplished nothing. The black-haired woman only thrust out her chest with greater pride — and when someone demanded her identity, she laid it bare without the slightest hesitation.
"Tell us who you are and where you're from!"
"Fine — gladly! Burn this spear and shield into those dull eyes of yours! And listen well with those big ears! My name is Adanasia!"
"A-Adanasia (ἀθανασία — Immortality)?"
"That's right!"
"I've heard that name somewhere before…?"
"So have I!"
"It can't be… it can't…?!"
"Yes — my name is Adanasia! And the childhood name bestowed upon me by Tetis herself is—"
The black-haired, black-eyed beauty flared her dark chiton and raised her ash-wood spear high as she declared:
BOOM!
She had only thrust her spear into empty air, yet the ground itself seemed to tremble — and a wave of murmurs rolled outward.
"A c-childhood name, she says?!"
"The successor of Achilles! And the legitimate heir chosen by Tetis herself, they said?!"
"The Immortal Achilles!!!"
"That bloodline — wasn't it wiped out?!"
"I'd only heard the rumors, but she was truly active all this time!"
The great outcry became a wave, and the wave became chaos across the entire plaza — yet the legitimate successor of Achilles stood prouder than anyone.
"I'm very interested in the stories you've been spouting! So from this moment on, I'm going to go meet this Perseus 2 myself! And then! I'll come back here! I promise to speak nothing but the truth when I return — so if any of you want to hear the heroic tale of how I dealt with Argos's swindler, then on the day I come back, hear it from my own lips, right here!!!"
Ahahahahahah!!!!
Laughing loudly, radiating confidence — Adanasia Achilles.
She too was a hero of the age. And so her meeting with Perseus, who likewise claimed the blood of heroes, was a destiny already written.
*1) The sort of thing mainly practiced at Aphrodite's temples — namely, prostitution. There is even a tale that every woman must, once in her life, enter Aphrodite's temple and sleep with a stranger. Considering that the women of Cyprus, who originally worshipped Aphrodite, were so promiscuous that Pygmalion fell in love with a statue, there can be little doubt the temples of Aphrodite were dens of prostitution.
Unlike the myth of someone punished for having sex in Athena's temple, there is evidence of prostitution even in Athena's temples. From the Parthenon in Athens on down, many temples brokered prostitution — content that children's comic books would never dare mention (...). In the myths, acting improperly at a mountain shrine earns divine punishment, yet in reality those places were dens of debauchery. Truly ironic.