“Bravest strongest and arrogant Bashful proud but diligent The un-vanquished city shall be his grave None but a sacrifice to Gods could save The Slayer of Knots would die by, A disloyal Ganymede on day nine: The cursed city would weal havoc A Golden Age would break forth The fire would spread through Hella’s heart A clash of two heavens would cause the spark On the month of Daesius , die or do your part.”
It was as if the words gargled out forth her unmoved lips. Eyes unfocused and lips slightly parted, Cassandra looked horrified as if any evil spirit has possessed her. It remained just for a few moments and then she tumbled down on the steps of Parthenon, unconscious. Silence prevailed wickedly all over. ‘'What was that?'’, whispered Argus with a look of fear beneath his green eyes. Nobody said anything as if they were still enthralled in a trance. ‘ It was what I was waiting for’, came a voice from behind. On turning round Argus found himself looking at the dark grey eyes of his father Damocles. -‘It’s a prophecy. The last of the many after such a long period of silence’.
-‘But. I don’t understand’, Argus tried to argue back. ‘ Whatever she uttered was gibberish’.
-‘Meaningless? Gibberish? What do you mean by that son? Don’t you understand the depth, the grimness of the lines she had uttered?’, Damocles cried out, waving his arms in front of his son. ‘The world is on the verge of collapse’.
-‘What should we do then?’, asked Fabian, a friend of Argus, for the first time.
‘ Why? We would send the news to Delphi at once for deciphering the contents’.
Delphi was the only place that had the power to decipher Prophecies, provide premonitions and future tellings. It was the shrine of Apollo, the god of the Sun, and music and prophecy. The priestesses who worshipped and held the powers of the future at their fingertips were called Oracles.
* * *
Cassandra still laid unconscious on the floor, unaware of the grave fate of all people of her land, that she has uttered. She was carried into the house in which they lived, in the vicinity of the temple. She was still dead to the world. Fabian had left some moments ago to bring some horses from his father, who was a horse-dealer. Damocles went to his room with the pretext of writing a note to Delphi about the prophecy that had been made. Damocles was not surprised when his daughter spilled out the twisted lines of a prophecy. He had always known her to be different from others, just like her mother. She too could predict the future and destinies.
Argus stayed back with Cassandra. He remembered the day she was born. It seemed it had just taken place a day before, for he could vividly cast his eyes back and retrace that woeful stormy night. He was five years old then, a baby crying silently in his father’s arms while his mother was wailing with labor pain. The midwife came out behind the curtain and said that there was a complication and either of the mother and baby can be saved. Argus loved his mother, he simply adored her. She always used to say to him that he was a blessing of Apollo, for Argus could aim very well even at a young age. His green eyes used to sparkle and his golden hair used to fall upon his brow when she complimented him for every perfect hit. But that night, though Artemis leaned down from Olympus to witness the birth of this child, as she had done when their king was born, the storm still raged. Both the son and father were raptured by the ravishing of the storm when his mother chose death to deliver Cassandra into the world. Father named her after the woeful daughter of Priam. He shut himself up in his room for a long period of time emerging only in times of prayers and rituals and it fell upon Argus to chaperon his sister. He loves his sister. She has his mother’s hair and her face was a perfect replica. He knew his father never had looked directly at her for she always made him remember his lost wife. From early childhood, Cassandra showed premonitory signs of being a different person altogether. Her gaze, especially the angry ones tend to break inanimate objects, the ‘gibberish’ she uttered seemed to culminate into reality. Once Fabian brought a new colt as a gift for her tenth birthday. On seeing it, she cried out ‘ O Fabian! Why have you brought me a dead horse?’. They could not understand how a young healthy horse seemed dead to her. But that night suddenly the colt fell ill and laid down. At dawn, it perished. It died of a snake bite. Many such episodes pushed Cassandra more into solitude; people were afraid of the greenish gaze and her cursed lips. Girls of her age evaded her and gave her a wide berth. Boys made fun of her by calling her moonstruck. This resulted in severe depressions during which Cassandra for days would not come out of her room. Only Argus could handle her. He never left her alone. For her sake, he gave up his chance of joining the king’s regiment as a general.
‘Brother! what are you gazing at?’, asked Cassandra slowly opening her eyes, breaking his reverie. ‘At you, my Adelphi'! Are you okay? You fell unconscious at Parthenos.’ Slowly Cassandra stretched out her limbs and Argus helped her to sit. She looked around the scantily decorated room, with a bed, a reclining lounge, a campstool, and shelves full of prayer books and crystal vessels. It’s not the first time she had fallen unconscious, many a time she could not even recollect what she had said or did to meet such a fall. She had always felt responsible for her mother’s death and her father’s coldness. Although Argus always loved her, with him too she always felt doing injustice. For her concern, he could not join the army. She desired death to relieve herself from this curse of ‘seeing’. ‘ I’m good. Just a little weak. What did I say? You look worried,’ Cassandra looked at her brother. Argus repeated the exact words of the prophecy she has uttered with pauses and breaks and then what their father’s reaction was. ‘I’ll also come with you. I won’t stay here alone with ill-thoughts engulfing me’, Cassandra whispered after a moment of silence. -‘But my dear girl, how can you come? You are weak and the long journey to Delphi would be hazardous. We have to pass many kingdoms, barbaric villages, forests and we have to cross Thebes. I heard there has been a political breakdown. I can’t approve-’ -‘No! No! I can’t let you go alone. It’s me, who has predicted. So, I will come. And you are there to protect me, aren’t you?’ Cassandra blurted out in a single breath, hairs flaring all over her beautiful face. Argus smiled back. He has always felt a loss of words whenever his sister argued. After all, there was no one except his little sister who was the light of his eyes.
Thebes was a long way from Athens. It was once ruminated as a metropolis of social intercourse and trade. But all of a sudden, after the conquest of Persia, orthodox people denied the rule of Alexander. They kicked over the traces and rose in arms against his lately adopted practices which were so unknown to them. They feared that he was doing some crime by changing cults and forsaking their so ancient religious values. Chaos reigned freely driving its wild horses among unruly mobs pillaging and slaughtering without restraint. Thebes wanted to become free from the shackles of the united empire of the young Macedonian prince. In this formidable ambiance, the three young people galloped towards the chaotic city.
The great cloud of dust was approaching slowly. There were people upon horseback swords and sickles drawn, braided hair, and leather rags upon the beefy bodies.The Kraken!That's the term they used for themselves. Just like the mythological monster, who heaved havoc upon humans on the behest of Hades, these tribals too looted, killed, and waged battles with the king's men.Their eyes were flaming coals and their skin was tattooed.
The journey to the lair of the Krakens was long and tedious. They passed many hills and valleys, barren lands, roads flanked by forests on both sides, and villages. At last, they reached a valley, with a very narrow pass where they had to snake through it. After crossing the pass, they found themselves on a wide-open ground with forest in the far backdrop. Little straw huts were scattered everywhere. Women were tending fires in front of each house. Upon each fire was boiling little pots of porridge. Children were playing and the atmosphere here was different than any other Greek villages they had known. Each woman carried a dagger tied around the waist and each of the children they saw was lithe and strong. They weren’t delicate and childish like
Argus was sitting on the terrace of the big fort. He could see the whole village from there. Hundreds of people resided under the shelter and protection of Karmen. Huts were made of mud and straw, wooden embankments, moats, and an enclosed area for training. Few people were practicing archery and some were wrestling on the mud. This place was different from the place he used to stay in. Parthenon was peaceful. Temples all-around full of scribes and priests. They had a training area but not many people opted to become soldiers in the King’s Army. But
Argus’s heart stopped for a second. He guessed what could have happened. Both of them ran down the stairs towards the place where the shrieking was coming from. It was from the great hall.Karmen laid sprawled on the floor with a knife plunged into his chest. Blood was spilling from the wounds of his chest. Platters of food laid scattered everywhere. It seemed there had been a fight, a hustle maybe. Selene dropped down on the floor beside he
‘ They took Cassandra’, Argus repeated. He gritted his teeth and punched on the wall in anger. The hall shook. There was a pin drop-dead silence everywhere. Fabian was taken back to his chambers for immediate treatment of his injuries. His sister has always been his weakness. He loved her more than anything else in the whole world. It was not just the duty of a brother, but it was also a promise. A promise made to his mother. When his mother was dying, he swore to her that he would always be with his sister, protect her, guard her, and never lose her from his sight".
‘Friends! Listen to me’, cried the young man in white blood-stained chiton, whose sister has been forcibly abducted by the prince of this tribe. Everyone had gathered there to listen to what Argus had to say.Argus, along with Selene and a few others stood on a high platform in front of the fort, made especially for announcements and delivering speeches. Fabian has been carried to his chambers for rest and treatment. The corpse of Karm
When Cassandra opened her eyes, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head. It felt as if someone was hitting her head with a hammer. Her hands were tied and full of red welts. Her legs were bound too. She looked around. It was a dungeon. A smelly dark place with a small flame burning on one end near the door. There was a small skylight above. The early morning light was streaking inside from it.