ch . 3 . Feared

He would traverse the valley and reach the city of gods.  Few Greeks revered all the gods.  Spartans had Artemis.  The Athenians had Athena.  All feared Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, but only Theseus prayed to them all.  Fate had conspired to make him weaponless, befitting the holy land.  Poseidon had destroyed the ship to bring him, the faithful, before Zeus to be judged.  Theseus wondered if he gazed upon Elysia, if he would be reunited with his wife, Lylia.

Theseus hurried.

#

He'd spent one night in the valley, under the watchful eyes of Zeus.  The sun was in the west by the time Theseus reached the city.

The denizens were wrapped in finery:  silks of rich purple, violet like sunrise, green like the rolling fen of Sparta.  Rivers flowed within the city along small channels carved out of stone.  Vast clay pots stood in the street.  Theseus couldn't fathom the craftsmanship necessary to make them.

Sparta was built of rough lumber, mud and conflict.  It existed for Ares to test the mettle of men.  These people wanted for nothing.  From the east Zeus's countenance seemed an ordinary mountain.  It stared to the west like a ward.

People stopped and stared as Theseus walked the steps into the city.  Theseus stared back, seeking his departed wife, his brother, his father among them, but he saw no faces he knew.  A short woman brought him water in an astonishingly fine jug, and there was no malice in her smile, so he drank deep.  Never in all his life had he tasted water so pure.

Soon a dozen men in light armor approached, armed with thin swords.  The crests of their bronze helms bore the likeness of a bull.  They beckoned for him to follow, but seemed devoid of violent intentions.

"Is this Elysia?" Theseus asked.  "Do you take me to my wife?"

They said nothing.  Theseus was led along a white street to a courtyard that stretched like an ocean of stone, the palace in the centre like an island.  The city fell silent and watched as Theseus was led up the steps.

They stopped in an antechamber.  Spirals were carved into the walls.  One of his escorts gestured him through the door with a curt nod.

A man in white robes took him by the shoulder and led him to the throne room.  Theseus struggled to contain his anxiety as he hastened to bow.  The king perched upon a marble throne.  He wore a towering crown of bronze inlaid with jewels that glittered in the waning light.  At its tip was a bull's head.  Beside the king was an aged priest, who held a staff of solid white, a bull's head at the apex.

The king spoke in a language Theseus could not understand, and the priest whispered in his ear.

"What brings a Greek to kneel before king Minos?" the king said with a sweep of his hand.  Theseus noticed a bulky gold ring on his finger.

"The rage of Poseidon, good king," Theseus said.

Minos frowned.

"Please tell me," Theseus continued,  "is this a city of the gods?"

Minos gave a slow smile.  "I am the son of Zeus, who took the likeness of a bull when he revealed himself to my mother, centuries ago.  I am immortal," he said in a lolling tone, and Theseus believed.  Minos's jaw was superb.  His body was lean and well muscled, his skin tanned.  His face was gifted with perfect symmetry and his eyes were large and knowing.  "I protect these people, the Minoans," Minos said, "but there are no other gods here."

"I am blessed by your presence," Theseus breathed.

"Speak your name."

"Theseus of Sparta, your reverence."

The king grinned as the priest spoke in his ear.

"We offer our hospitality," Minos said.  "The wonders of Knossos are yours.  Indulge yourself and be at peace.  You have suffered a long journey."

A single guard led Theseus through the city under a sky scorched red by sunset.  The people seemed relaxed as they finished their daily routines.  He came to a chamber with a sturdy table and a soft bed.  The escort gestured to a chair and left the room as Theseus sat.  Soon, girls came with bronze trays bearing fruit, wine and warm meat.  They were beautiful, clad in bright silk skirts, and robes open to the belly button.

The Minoans had gentle faces.  Their entire culture seemed devoid of violence.

"Welcome to the holy city of Knossos," one girl said in his ear, and the three began to dance.

Theseus laughed heartily, enjoying the show as he ate and drank.  He was starving, and parched, and the food was delicious.

#

Time became a haze.  It must have been weeks he remained an honored guest of king Minos.  Girls danced for him every night, and rich conversation greeted each afternoon as he drank red wine and feasted on roast meat and fresh fruit.

These Minoans claimed not to believe in war, though their weaponry was fairly advanced.  Still, they wanted for nothing, so it was possible they lived in perfect tranquility.  Theseus supposed the gods might have given them weaponry out of respect for Ares, even if the war god could not affect their mentality.

Theseus awaited his wife, allowing himself to feel at peace.  When king Minos deemed it time, Lylia would be returned to him.  That promise came from the lips of a demi-god.

#

She came to him while he slept.

"Lylia!" he gasped.  Her smiling visage melted in and out of existence before his eyes.  "Lylia, my love!"

"It warms my heart to see you well, husband."  Her voice echoed in his mind.

With swelling tears he saw her hair of golden curls, skin like milk, eyes of crystalline blue and soft, pink lips.  He had not forgotten her beauty, but still he was struck.

"I have been lonely," he confessed.

"As have I, and a warm bed awaits you in the palace of the Unseen One, but it is not your time."

She began to fade.

"Lylia!  My love, don't leave me again."

"You must wake, Theseus!"  And her face blazed heat like the naked sun.  "Wake and be ready!"

#

"We offer to Zeus a traveler from a distant land that he might amuse the gods," chanted an ancient voice, gleaned through ringing ears.  The sunlight made Theseus wince.  "We pray for good harvest, pure water.  May we live free from your mighty wrath."  The bull staff clinked in the stone courtyard amidst the trampling of many feet.  Theseus attempted to rise, but his limbs were chained.

His scream was muffled by a gag