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katerinaaqu · 1 month

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Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty (P1)

Odysseus was hungry. That much he knew. Gods were really cruel with them the days that went through. He had returned from yet another hunt without any success. Not even a single rabbit was visible to Helios’s island. He was already feeling weary and light-headed with hunger; which was why he thought he was hallucinating when he smelt the finest smell of roasting meat he ever met in his life. However it took him no more than two brain cells of his infamous mind to connect the dots and realize what had happened.

“No! Gods no, let it be not what I think it is! Please gods no!”

His legs grew wings as he began sprinting towards the direction of the smell.

“Why did you lull me to that pointless sleep?! Why! It was all to ruin me? To ruin them?!”

He ran with all the strength of his feet to the field only to find what he hoped in all gods he believed in to be a hallucination. He saw what remained of his men from that eventful 3 year journey having lit a fire and roasting a fine cow to the pike, happy and well-fed. In the past days his men just broke. They could withstand hunger no longer and understandably they had only one source of nutrition on that island; those fat, well-kept cows that seemed to be mocking them. Of course his men would do that! Odysseus could not blame them and yet he pulled his long hair in desperation seeing the scene.

“ARE YOU ALL MENTAL? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?!” he yelled desperately drawing their attention, “I told you not to do that! These sacred animals will be our doom!”

Eurylochus, his trusted commander came forward. His eyes were full of snare and gathered anger.

“Captain,” he started, “did you expect us to starve to death? Not even one little bird was flying around and all the grass in this place turned poisonous for us! We would die anyways! This time we were doomed either way!”

The loud voice of the furious man was cut off from the sound of flesh striking against flesh and then Eurylochus’s head turned to the side. Odysseus was huffing and puffing; nostrils flattering aflame as he gathered his strong hand back.

“You fools!” he growled tears burning his onyx eyes, “you damned fools! This was a test! A test for our faith and we failed! We failed miserably! Haven’t you learnt anything? Insulting the gods is never a good idea! We should rather die of starvation than this! The gods will show no mercy on us now! We are doomed!”

“You would know of that!” Eurylochus suddenly bellowed beyond himself, “You doomed us all, Odysseus! If you haven’t done that we would be in our country by now! These three years happened because of you!”

This time it was a punch that stroke his cheek, not a slap. Eurylochus fell on the sand but he had no time to breathe for Odysseus grabbed him by the shirt lifting him up to his feet again. The comrades rushed there to grab him (oh they remembered his rage the other time nearly cost Eurylochus his life!) however Odysseus was almost as unmovable as a statue at that point. His face was red with fury.

“I tried to save us all!” he yelled, “Ungrateful bastard, I tried to save us all! I faced the beast that could have eaten us all! After everything I did for you! I-…”

He stopped. He shivered from top to bottom. Eurylochus was right. All had happened because of him. He had insulted Poseidon by blinding his son; he was arrogant enough to brag about it…no, even further back; Troy fell because of him. So many men died because of him. Ten years they fought a brutal war; they had endured the weather, the living conditions, the battles… More than 600 men started and finished the war with barely any loss…and now…less than 3 years out in the sea and… They started 12 ships and now they were one…less than 40 men left in one final ship…and all was initiated because of him…he could not deny it. He found no words to defend himself. Gradually he let go of Eurylochus, who wiped the blood off his lip with his fist. He noticed his men had gathered around to separate them from each other but it didn’t seem necessary anymore. The comrades had let him go, noticing he was almost limb in their arms. His onyx eyes were bottomless. No, it shouldn’t end like that! He had committed hubris to save his men and he doomed them, he had forced himself to bed a woman for one year after gods requested to rectify it and yet here they were again. None of the sacrifices seemed to be enough to wash that sin away. No, he couldn’t let them die like that! He had to try! He had promised he would repent! He had to save them before that happened!

“Gather up your stuff, men!” he ordered, eyes still shadowed by his hair, “We must go as soon as possible!”

“Go?” Polites asked, “Go where?”

“At ANY land!” Odysseus whispered, “Anywhere but here! We must offer a sacrifice of some kind! We must wash away this hubris!”

As he turned his back at them –oh he couldn’t face them now!- Eurylochus stood up and looked at him with eyes resembling knives.

“Should we take the rest of the meat too…Captain?” that word was almost spat like an insult, “Or shall we hope Poseidon will grace us with a meal?”

Odysseus winced. Eurylochus; his brave and loyal friend; the type of person that sure, didn’t tell him always nice things but he was always honest with him and always told him some things that needed to be said; now he seemed gone; All their adventures and torments had hardened him, killing his old comrade and giving him in his place a bitter, hateful man who could understand no longer the difference between insolence, disrespect and honesty or couldn’t care less to tell them apart. Odysseus couldn’t blame him but at that moment he found his transformation disturbing and concerning. He glared daggers at him. The mention of the meat of the slain animals made even his mouth water. He was hungry too. They wouldn’t survive without food and yes, Poseidon sure wouldn’t allow them to fill their bellies with his fish given the situation and the sea birds even if they graced them with their presence, which he doubted, were inedible and poisonous. Gods forgive me, he thought, but I am just a man!

“Damn you!” he cursed under his husky breath, “Take what you wish! If we survive this, pray to all gods that I will forget this because by all gods one day I’m gonna kill you!”

He could hardly remember the process but he knew they were on their way again; so fast and so hastily inside their last black ship in the openness of the Mediterranean Sea. If it was in his hand, Odysseus would have stayed close to the shore but of course gods were cruel for yet another time as Helios’s magnificent isle lay in the middle of open sea. He had no choice but to head for the sea and hope for the best. He knew there were lands close by; if they could reach them… For six days the trip was uneventful and his comrades had as provisions the meat from the slain animals to feast upon. Even Odysseus had to admit he had tasted the magnificent flesh of the animals, for he could withstand hunger no more. However six days of such a trip and he was always expecting the worst, which never seemed to be coming. His nerves just broke. It was the seventh day of their journey; still no sight of any land and still he hadn’t spoken a word. He was staring at the endless blue of the wine-dark sea and he didn’t speak a word. He could sense his comrades’ tension in the air; he could almost cut it with a knife! And yet, Odysseus could not focus on that. Polites looked up from the deck towards him and then towards Eurylochus who still had his cheek swollen.

“He’s so lost in thought…” Polites commented

“He should be!” Eurylochus replied bitterly, “He might be our king but sometimes he has a lot of nerve to talk to us that way! It was HIS hubris that brought us to this position!”

“Now that is both unfair and blasphemous to our king!” Polites replied

“He is no god for me to perform blasphemy!” Eurylochus replied as a matter of fact

Polites sighed.

“We have our own share of responsibility, you know! If we hadn’t opened that damned sack we might have reached home as well!”

Eurylochus winced at the reminder of Aiolus sack. Yes, that truly was their mistake. They got overcome by greed and distrust.

“And, besides, what Odysseus said is true. You and I were never there. We didn’t experience the week of seclusion in that hole. Perhaps we would have done the same…”

Eurylochus sighed defeated.

“Yeah…perhaps you’re right. And he DID spend a year entertaining Circe till our comrades healed… However…” his face darkened a bit, “I still cannot shake it off, Polites! It is majorly his fault we ended up like this! And he DID keep secrets from us. Or have you forgotten how he kept his mouth shut about Skylla? Six of our comrades dead…and we didn’t even know what was coming…”

“He wanted to spare us…”

“Yeah I am sure he suffered, alright, but we still had the right to know! Perhaps we could have come up with a plan together. Perhaps we could have fought back!”

“Fight back an immortal six-headed dragon? I am not sure how that would have worked but…even if you are right and he should have told us, that doesn’t change the fact that he is here with us now. If he wanted he could have stayed with the witch, Circe and sent us off and we would have no directions and no warnings.”

“He didn’t do that for us, Polites”

“Not entirely, I agree, but wouldn’t be fair to say that he did it for us as well?”

Eurylochus sighed.

“Fine, but seriously it was such a long trip and even longer way… I just want to go home!”

“We all do…” Polites whispered concerned.

Yes, ten years of war plus three years of wandering and danger…more than five hundred good men dead… Everyone could understand the feeling.

“I agree with Eurylochus, though…” said another man, “It was all a big mess that initiated when Odysseus insulted Lord Poseidon. I had warned him that day! I said, stop provoking him! He didn’t listen… We are all paying the price now…”

Polites sighed. Yes, he couldn’t deny that but still it seemed rather unfair to say it was just Odysseus’s fault. If anything, Odysseus was sacrificing many things along the way to protect and save them. He shivered in disgust remembering that he was told he had turned into a swine because he entered Circe’s palace. He felt grateful to Odysseus for rescuing him from such a fate. And yet… He still couldn’t shake that ominous feeling that something would happen and Odysseus’s silence wouldn’t help. Not bearing it any longer he slowly approached Odysseus. He didn’t acknowledge his presence. The silence was deafening. Only the cricking of the ship and the sound of the waves could be heard. There was no land at sight anywhere. It was quiet…WAY too quiet…

“Odysseus…” Polites started, ��we…”

“Sh!” Odysseus harshly shushed him

“Please, I have to say it…” Polites insisted, “We were starving we made a mistake but-…”

“Quiet!” came yet another whisper

Polites gulped soundly, opening and closing his fist nervously.

“Odysseus…” he started, “Have we ruined everything…?”

Odysseus looked at him and he seemed ready to reply but then he raised his head sharply towards the sail and then to the ripples of the waves. All color left his face.

“Odysseus…? What is it…?”

“That is Eastern Wind…” Odysseus whispered almost in a panic, “That is Zephyr that is blowing at us! That’s not normal! Not at this time of year!”

He almost jumped from his standing point, suddenly seen afraid maybe for the first time in a long time if not ever in his life before.

“MEN! PREPARE YOURSELVES! STORM MIGHT BE COMING!”

His comrades didn’t have enough time to question if he lost it or not (given the clear skies around them) because in a few minutes the weather changed so drastically and rapidly that people could only suspect a god was causing it. Black clouds filled the sky in a matter of a few minutes and then suddenly the distant sound of a thunder was heard.

“No…” Odysseus whispered, “No…please, lord Zeus no! Forgive us…please!”

Strong winds raised as a matter of seconds and suddenly the deep blue sea turned into a full-fledged storm. The waves rose in angry white foam and the skies were black like coal with flashes of lightning and thunder. Rain followed that was cold and whipping their faces like needles. The men cried out in fear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” Odysseus bellowed on top of his lungs, “SECURE THE SAIL!”

“SECURE THE SAILS!” Eurylochus transferred the order, “ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

The panic galore was not allowing the orders to properly pass however the soul of the sailor cannot be abided by panic! All hands on deck began to work frantically; they commenced running up and down grabbing the chords and the lines, some of them already climbing to the mast to secure the sail. However it seemed the rage of gods was stronger than the determination of men and their burning wish for survival. A strong current of wind torn the sail to peaces sending quite a few falling on the deck.

“LEAVE IT!” Odysseus yelled as a strong wave splashed over him, “BEFORE THE WIND! HOLD ON TIGHTLY MEN!”

As the ship was played around on the waves like a toy, the terrified warriors and tired sailors would be desperately trying to use the rows to turn the ship; do something, ANYTHING to prevent themselves from crushing on the waves. The sail was now torn to shreds; like the cape of a dethroned king, aimlessly whipping against the mast at the strong wind.

“BEFORE THE WIND!” Odysseus kept screaming over the wind, grabbing the line of the sail in a desperate attempt to keep the material from hitting anyone on deck, “ROW MEN! ROW!”

The ship was being pushed mercilessly upon the waves; creaking and moaning against the wind. Three pairs of rows snapped like twigs leaving the ship spinning aimlessly to the winds. The black ship began to tear apart as cracks and gushes appeared to the sides. The deck started taking water both from below and above from the waves.

“SHE’S TAKING WATER!” one of the sailors cried

“REPAIR THE DAMAGES!” Odysseus cried out in desperation running as he was already ankle-deep in water, “WE MUST KEEP HER AFLOAT!”

It was a pointless order and he knew it. No matter how many times they stuffed torn pieces of the sail in the holes it would be pointless. They were already soaked to the bone, they had no way of lighting fire or softening the wax to fix anything. They were just trying to delay the inevitable and they were failing miserably.

“Lord Zeus…father of all mankind and gods please forgive us!” Odysseus prayed again, “Please, we shall repent! Give us a chance! Poseidon! Oh, Poseidon, please give me a chance!”

The disturbing creaking of wood being slowly broken didn’t need much for Odysseus to understand.

“WATCH OUT!” he cried out

Both the fore-stays of the mast snapped like twigs. The mast began to fall in a disturbing creak and collapsed to the stern. The pilot did not have time but to look up at his upcoming doom as the mast crushed him. Even above the tempest the men heard the disturbing sound of bones breaking as his head was crushed and blood splattered upon the stern. The body fell into the black sea, lifeless and soulless. At the sight of that death there was panic galore. No one heard the orders Odysseus was screaming; no one had any mind but to run up and down aimlessly like ants that were seeing their colony collapse. All they could do was scream their upcoming doom. In a foolish hope or rather a crazy need to survive, Odysseus rushed to the half-broken stern, grabbing the remains of the steer; his hands being died with the blood of the pilot.

“No! No! NO!”

He used all the strength of his mighty hands to do something…ANYTHING to steer the ship away the storm. His hands began bleeding out of the effort upon the splints of the destroyed wood.

“Gods no! Not again! No! No!”

The waves were raising the ship to the heaven and dropping it back down like a walnut shell as people were holding for dear life at the remains of their already tearing apart ship. The steer snapped in the hands of Odysseus and fell into the black sea never to be seen again.

“PREPARE FOR IMPACT!” Odysseus cried out, “HOLD ON!”

Therewith the worst came; a thunderbolt stroke the ship and the sudden flash and tremendous sound left them all blind and deaf. Odysseus screamed in pain shielding his ears. The ship cracked from side to side down in the middle; splintering in the winds like it was a pile of leaves. Ears buzzing and his nose filled with smoke from the fiery fire that lit upon the sad remains of the deck, Odysseus staggered to his feet, struggling to get two steps straight, trying to see through the sulphurous smoke (the only thing he could see was his comrades or what was left of them staggering on the ruins of their ship like drunk) when the last tidal wave came to finish the job. The wave must have been as tall as the remains of the ship as it flooded with tremendous force on the deck sweeping everything…and everyone! Odysseus got violently banged against the hull but he watched in terror through his cloudy from water eyes his comrades falling into the water screaming aimlessly for it was the only thing they could do.

“NOOOOOO!” Odysseus could only cry out as he ran to the rim

He watched the bodies of his men almost like small white dots to the absolute blackness; already almost a mile away, sometimes disappearing under the waves at the force of the tempest. Odysseus nearly lost the remains of his wits as he ran about the ship trying to find literally ANYTHING he could use. Another surge torn apart parts of the keel and the mast snapped from it. Odysseus reacted almost automatically as he rushed to the broken ropes and parts of the keel and mast. His hands and thick fingers began working frantically, almost completely unconsciously as water was hurting his eyes and rain was feeling as if piercing his flesh. All his Being was screaming for him to save himself; to survive! However that tiny part of his brain was tingling to him; maybe there are some men who are still alive! Maybe there is time!

“Please Athena! Please Athena…let me save them! It can’t be too late!” he was mumbling as he was securing the ropes so that the two pieces of wood would tie together, “Please, Pallas please! Let me save just one! Please! Let me return home just one! Please! Please! It can’t be too late! I can’t lose them all!”

Yet another thunder from the skies made him jump and then the remains of his favorite ship were torn apart! Odysseus grabbed upon his last raft of salvation. He jumped into the merciless ocean, rowing frantically with his hand towards the direction he saw his men disappear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” he cried out over the waves, “POLITES! ANYONE! ANSWER ME!”

The only answer he got was thunder and wind. The waves were tall like mountains!

“POLITES!” he called out again

Tears filled his eyes as his voice broke.

“SOMEONE!...P-Please! Anyone! Anyone…!”

There was nothing on site…just waves and storm.

“No…” Odysseus cried, “NOOOOOOOO!!!”

Realization was crueler than what he would expect…there was no one…just himself! He cried…he cried loudly as he never cried before.

“NOOO! WHY! WHY! WHY!” he yelled over the waves, “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN-…”

His mind and wits nearly escaped him. He remembered that day before their sail for Troy…there were more than six hundred men…waiting for their dangerous trip…

Odysseus was standing before his men; the future fleet that was ready for this uncertain trip. Odysseus, dressed in his fine clothes, his long hair neatly brushed and beard trimmed, was looking at them seriously.

“We are heading for a dangerous trip, my men…” he said, “The road is long and we have no idea how long it will take for us to finish with the holy castle of Troy… If we result in war…there is no guarantee it will end soon…”

His onyx eyes stared deeply within countless others of pairs.

“I cannot lie to you, men…I cannot promise you that we shall all return home safely”

He drew a deep breath.

“However I promise you this; I shall do ANYTHING within my power so we can return home safely! I won’t disappoint you!”

Back to the present Odysseus cried. He weakly hit his fist upon the mast.

“No…” he sobbed, “I won’t disappoint you…!”

Six hundred men…they were all gone…disappeared… He began hyperventilating. No, it couldn’t be true!

“No…No, Athena! No Athena!” he cried trying to fist the water beneath him as if it were sand, “No, Pallas…! No… No, my men…! NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!”

He yelled till his throat was sore…till his voice was gone…he sobbed and cried tears almost as plenty as the waves of the sea. The storm was roaming around him… There was no one there to hear his lament… His voice was carried around by the wind…his tears were washed away by sea and rain…His body was borne by the direful winds…

Six hundred men had started that fateful journey…

Now there was only one…

Now he was alone.

The tempest began slowly to subside and the eastern wind gave his place to a breeze from the south. Odysseus was hanging helplessly upon his supposed raft. The nightly fight with the waves had exhausted him and his tears had long now dried out like the salt in his curly hair. His head was already dropping in fatigue when something made him look up. His eyes widened in terror.

“No…” he whispered

He recognized the location. In his pure terror he recognized the narrow path of Skylla and Charybdis; the passage he had struggled so much to get his men out of; the passage that cost the life of six of his comrades. What was worse…he heard an unworldly moan from deep down the sea. His feet felt the low frequency vibration…and then there was a whirlpool. Charybdis had awakened!

“No!” Odysseus cried out, “No, gods, no!”

The merciless current and the frightening groaning from deep down the sea started drawing him. Odysseus at the edge of his wit began frantically rowing with his hand; desperate in his fear to get away from the deathly current that would suck anything to its path! At that moment he remembered Circe’s warnings;

“You must not be there when she sucks it down; for no one could save you from the ruin not even the Earthshaker himself…”

“I HAVE TO TRY, CIRCE!” Odysseus yelled towards the sky in his panic, “I have to try or else my men’s deaths were for nothing!”

The merciless current though wouldn’t bulge as Odysseus realized in terror his pitiful attempts could never save him from this hellish force. The two pieces of wood that were forming his only salvation were being dragged in the ruthless elix. The water was already foaming when he reached the grotto. In panic he scanned the perimeter. Only then his eyes remembered what his brain had erased in fear; the fig tree! Circe had said there was that fig tree shadowing Charybdis! The massive roots and branches were hanging over him; it was his only hope! With strength only panic and adrenaline could give him, Odysseus pushed himself on top of the last remains of his ship and kicked as hard as he could. He had only one chance. His wounded and red hands grasped for dear life onto the rough branches and thank goodness his fingers closed around them!

“ARGH!” Odysseus cried in pain feeling as though his arms would be uprooted out of his own weight, “GODS!”

His legs helplessly hanging over the abyss were desperately moving trying to find a footing but there was none! His arms didn’t have the strength to pull him up at the tree either so he could only hang and hold for dear life. Odysseus dared to look down and saw in terror the gaping hole sucking in the sea and with it his only safety raft. His wet hands would slip and fall if it weren’t for the sheer determination that held him! He prayed to all gods that he knew and didn’t know that this time, just this time, he would find salvation; that his small raft would be vomited out of that whirlpool otherwise he would be lost… The growling rumble from beneath the watery abyss signaled the begin of the outside movement to what it seemed like an eternity later.

“Please gods…please…please…” he was thinking like a mantra

And then he spotted it! The small brownish outline of his mast and keel. He would have a chance! Fear was biting his stomach as he looked down at the whirlpool vomiting out seawater. He knew he had to act quickly or he would have no hope to swim to his raft in that condition. Charybdis below him seemed ready to swallow him even if she was vomiting out the water. What if she really swallowed him if he let go? What if he would be destroyed by some wave? Odysseus looked and looked and the seconds seemed like eons to his tormented heart that was flattering within his chest. He shut his eyes closed; to not see; to not fear and he made his decision

He let go of the branch.

Gravity claimed his body as he fell to the empty space and within the foaming water. The water was hot; hotter than human body temperature and to the tormented king of Ithaca who was freezing from water that seemed like a boiling cauldron. His ears were filled with the sound of bubbles and the hellish growling of Charybdis. He didn’t dare to look; only he paddled like his life depended on it (and it did!) . The suction force that was pushing him upwards this time was with him. Odysseus felt his lungs burning for air and he nearly breathed in the sea water as he hadn’t got a proper breath before diving in the sea. And he was pushed up and up till he was vomited out of the water and drew a soundly breath. He swam frantically till his raft and grabbed onto it with his wounded hands for dear life coughing salted water; nose and eyes aflame from the salt. He rowed and rowed with his hand almost immediately after he caught some breaths. He turned around towards the OTHER dreadful site.

“If Skylla comes out…I’m lost!” he thought

However the dreadful cave that hosted the monster that claimed the lives of six of his crew remained dark and silent. Nothing came out. Odysseus wasted no time and rowed and paddled like crazy to get as far away as possible from that dreadful area. He didn’t know how far Charybdis or Skylla’s ranges were but he certainly didn’t want to know! That was knowledge that even Odysseus of Ithaca, the Man of many Ways could pass on! After what seemed like a full eternity and when the sun was setting for good at the horizon, Odysseus had covered enough distance to see the grotto from afar. He collapsed onto his mast, drawing raspy breaths till his chest began to hurt. He seemed he had no more strength to move. His hands were full of wounds from the ship and the tree branches and hurt from salted water, his lips were torn from the sea and salt had crusted onto his face and hair. Then Odysseus broke down. He cried silently alone in the middle of the sea; he cried for his men he lost, he cried for his dreams that seemed to becoming fainter and fainter; the dreams to embrace his wife and son and he cried for himself. He had barely any hope to survive. He had no men; sea had claimed them. He had no vessel; the storm had claimed it. He had no food or water; those were gone long time ago. He barely had any clothes on for even those were soaked and already tearing apart from the wind and sea. What was the point to keep going, he thought? What would be the point to struggle? He had slim to no possibilities to escape. He was alone in the open sea without protection in Poseidon’s territory. Any kind of sea creature from the usual sharks till the dangerous creatures he faced so far, could potentially kill him.

“I should have died there!” he thought, “Alas this fate is worse than the death in the ship! This agony! Oh, gods I can’t bear it anymore!”

“You are made to endure, Odysseus…”

That was what his grandfather had told him when he visited him in Parnassus what seemed like an eternity prior; almost in another life. However even the tormented Odysseus had his limits. And now these seemed surpassed. Maybe he should let go; allow the sea to take him and end his torment. Maybe he could meet his family in a few decades in the underworld… Why struggle for the inevitable? And yet a small voice to the back of his head made him think that he could not give up just yet; that he had to keep trying and if the sea would claim him then so let it be written, so let it be done. However he had to try and fulfill the prophecy of Tiresias. He felt like he owned this to the 600 lives that were lost under his command. He looked up at the stars that seemed to have started to form. Yes, he would follow the directions that the night dress of Nyx was pointing at. Finding strength anew, the Man Tormented paddled slowly and steadily away from the dreadful spot…

Odysseus traveled once more; this time alone and grabbing upon the last remains of his beloved black ship… The night came cold and he was shivering. By the morning another storm caught up with him and his mast was once more drifted by the huge waves that resembled white top mountains, tearing apart his clothes and his flesh. And yet his hands endured… It was as if his heart and hands combined turned into oak or stones. The Man of many Torments endured. Next day the sun was merciless over his head, sending him almost to the brief of hallucinations and heat as sweat was running down his already wounded body. The night the gods felt pity on him and sent a drizzle rain. Odysseus raised his head to the heavens trying to grab as much of the fresh god-sent water as if that would be enough to quench his insatiable thirst and the burning of the salt. Once a passing seaweed came close to him to which Odysseus made some sort of imitation of a meal for himself. How many times he nearly slipped off his life-raft he lost count…how many times he probably actually fainted on it he could no longer remember. And yet, the King of Ithaca endured…in strength that he had no idea he had. It was as if both his body and spirit had decided he had a duty to survive. He survived the agony and pain as well as the anxiety and fear every time something touched his foot beneath the waves or a passing fish would bite his legs. He had long stopped feeling much.

By night before the tenth day of his painful journey he had collapsed. He didn’t feel the sand beneath his body as his raft finally beached at a sandy beach. He didn’t move as some crab or beach beetle walked over his sea-beaten body. By dawn some hints of his consciousness returned. It was only for a brief second that the rays of sun touched his salt-crusted cheek but Odysseus saw or at least he thought he saw a tall slender figure picking something up from the beach many meters away from him (maybe a seashell). The figure turned towards him and walked there.

And then everything turned black…

~~~~~

Ooookay guys this the first part from my Odyssey story! Poor Odysseus loses everything and gets beached in Ogygia.

Rhapsody 12 must be the most intense or one of the most intense of all the Odyssey and honest the way that Homer describes how Odysseus survived had to be kept as it was from my part!

Poor Odysseus must have passed from all the stages of grief at once!

Now I get extremely inspired by music and soundtracks for my stories. For example the Charybdis description was heavily inspired by the amazing Disney soundtrack for the movie "Dinosaur" with the title "The End of Our Island"

youtube

For his eventful journey I was partially inspired by Mozart's "Kyrie" from the Great Mass in C Minor and also the scene from the film "Les Triplettes de Belville" for the battle with the elements especially the storm and all.

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For the sinking itself I was inspired by various soundtracks and pieces of music.

For my story I kinda take the hypothesis that Ogygia was in fact the small island of Gozo in Malta

As the other time I shall tag some of my amazing commentors/rebloggers and friends! (again forgive me if I forget anyone)

@loco-bird @aaronofithaca05 @tunguszka20 @doob-or-something @jarondont @prompted-wordsmith @simugeuge @fangirlofallthefanthings @ilov3b00kss0much

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chryzure-archive · 2 years

Note

SIREN AU WHERE CHRYSI IS IMMUNE TO JACKS'S VOICE WHICH BOTH ANNOYS AND INTRIGUES HIM (Bonus points if Chrysi is a pirate 👀👀)

how is it that you always know when i’m thinking about certain things? because i was definitely thinking about pirate!chrysi 👁👁 knock it off with the clairvoyance.

THAT SAID, SIREN!JACKS IS INSPIRED. YOU’RE SO SMART. i never even considered that aspect, and it makes this concept all the richer.

i looove the idea of jacks getting chrysi’s ship to crash (everyone on the ship under his spell while chrysi’s scrambling around in the storm, rain lashing at her face and her hair whipping in the wind, trying to tie down the very-clearly-charmed crew mates so they don’t cause any additional harm) and he succeeds…. at least, succeeds in pissing off one of the most formidable pirates on the seven seas. he… did not consider this outcome.

it didn’t take chrysi long to figure out there was a siren nearby charming her crew—so she does something very, very foolish in her attempt to save them.

she makes a deal with jacks.

he’s mildly irritated that his initial plan didn’t pan out, but one look at the very pretty pirate captain + her immunity to him, and he’d do anything to appease her. well, sorta. he does still demand something for his kindness.

he wants chrysi.

gag. disgusting. ew. also, she refuses on principle.

when he claims that he can simply make her follow through on this initial deal, she replies with, “but my gun is very handy, you are a very tempting target, and my entire crew is currently lashed to anything i have nailed down. you’ve got no cards to play.” (pun is intentional)

jacks is annoyed because she’s right.

very quickly, this deal turns into not a deal. jacks reluctantly lets chrysi and her crew go as chrysi holds him at gunpoint.

she very quickly gets her crew to safety and proceeds with all her pirate-y actions of before. this goes swimmingly (lol) for a couple of months!

issue: there is a certain elias bloom kicking around.

he’s not a pirate himself, but he is a… “collector”, if you want to be polite about it. as a result, he interacts with many, many pirates. never has he been able to meet with chrysi one on one before, but he is deeply fascinated (*cough*obsessed*cough*) with her.

the thing is, elias bloom knows that chrysi’s not exactly just a famous pirate captain. because he knows that chrysi’s family is actually royalty and chrysi’s the youngest half-sister.

yikes.

so he wants to add chrysi to his collection, in a sense. it would be a rare addition—this magical, wicked pirate captain who is also a secret princess? it’s the jewel of them all.

because, yeah—in addition to elias collecting cursed items and rare artifacts, he collects living beings. he doesn’t often feel the urge to marry them (or never, really), but he wants chrysi just as much as he wanted everything else.

this results in him hiring people to try and kidnap chrysi :) haha. ha.

her crew puts up a good fight (everyone is so dedicated to chrysi bc she’s a decent person, despite being a pirate! her ruthless legend comes more from her killing off rival pirates that are cruel <3), but in the end, chrysi is knocked out and taken off the ship. everyone in her crew is kept alive (despite elias being a fucking idiot and trying to kidnap chrysi, he’s not stupid. he knew that if he killed any of her beloved crew, he’d be doomed. besides, they’ll make for good bargaining chips in the future—he has another team coming to take her crew into captivity).

chrysi is not a happy camper when she wakes up in the brig of an enemy ship. for a while there, all of her escape attempts fail—it’s almost like the crew of this ship knows about her abilities. the thought sends a chill down her spine. not even her own crew knew about that.

(elias bloom knows just about everything about chrysi)

FORTUNATELY FOR HER, this ship ends up treading the same siren-infested waters that chrysi did a couple months back. it doesn’t take long for her to hear that distant song that almost spelled her own doom a while ago—and this time, she’s overjoyed to hear it.

while it takes a while for it to take total control over the crew, it does make them more susceptible to suggestion—especially chrysi’s suggestion. so when she sweetly asks for the key to the hold, she’s given it.

she’s out of captivity before she knows it—and by then, the spell has been woven over the ship. it’s sailing for a bunch of very shipwreckable rocks.

now things are a little more dicey for her. and it’s not made any easier by the captain and his first mate getting the chance to stick earplugs into their ears before jacks’s spell overtook them.

they get into a bit of a scuffle when chrysi sees the familiar form of jacks in the rocks.

he sees her too. he’s both annoyed by this and also feeling a little bit like this is some divine providence. she escaped his grasp before—now he can take her life, like he meant to from the start.

that’s why it surprises him a little when chrysi calls out and asks if he wants to make a deal, like they were supposed to before. but hey, he’s not going to turn her down. he’s a little curious to see what she’ll say this time—because she certainly looks like she’s going to follow through with the deal, unlike the last time she mentioned a deal.

she says she’ll let jacks take the ship—she doesn’t mind that at all. in fact, her only request is this: make them hurt all the way down.

normally, jacks charms people into a blissful death. but this intrigues him further.

he agrees, if he can have chrysi.

it feels a lot like she’s going from one captor to another, but she figures jacks can’t be as bad as elias bloom (correct, but also—how embarrassing is it, that a siren that regularly lures people to their deaths in the rocks isn’t as bad as the most annoying guy in the entire world?). so chrysi agrees.

unfortunately, the captain (although he can’t hear) can tell there’s something afoot. when chrysi goes to jump off the ship, he tries to shoot her in the leg to stop her (elias was very clear about chrysi being taken alive, but he didn’t say anything about her being hurt).

his shot goes wild and it hits chrysi in the middle of her back. it pushes her off the ship anyway.

this does not endear the captain to jacks at all. how many times does he have to try to make this deal, only to lose the girl?

needless to say, he makes all their deaths hurt in the way chrysi requested. then he dives in and finds chrysi drifting in the waters, blood clouding the water around her. he has to scare off a couple sharks, then takes one look at her wound and figures that he has something that might help that. and, oh right—humans need air to breathe.

jacks brings chrysi to the surface and hopes it’s not too late.

(how inconvenient that his kiss would kill her. if he had been a merman, then he’d be able to bestow air to her under the water with a kiss. oh well.)

jacks then nurses chrysi back to health. it takes her a couple days to wake up, but even then, she’s delirious and feverish. jacks managed to stop the bleeding and heal it, somewhat, with his magic, but he couldn’t stave off the infection that came along with it. she’s in and out of consciousness for a while, shivering.

(jacks rlly should’ve been smarter about this and taken chrysi further away from the surf—the spray of the ocean is not going to help warm her up. eventually, he resigns himself to use the magic to shift him into human form, even though he prefers the company of the ocean, in order to take chrysi further inland. it’s still in a cave, and it has an underwater cavern that links to the ocean, but its miles better than where he had her before)

when chrysi wakes up, jacks has actually grown fond of her. until she throws something at his head.

he very kindly reminds them of their deal and that this is just the way it’s going to be, princess. chrysi’s like “how the fuck did you know?” and jacks is like “wait, huh??????” it was jst a nickname… why did she have to get so defensive over it?

anyway, they spend a lot of time here—chrysi’s regaining her health, and jacks is getting a little more accustomed to his human form (when chrysi’s like “so… uh. legs. 👁👁 didn’t know you could have them” jacks explains that it takes a lot of energy to be in human form + he only does it to kiss girls in the town and absorb their energy when he hasn’t been able to feed off of any shipwrecks. chrysi’s like “oh. cool. shame it takes so much energy to have legs. 👁👁” and jacks realizes that chrysi likes legs. huh. okay. cool. he doesn’t know why it makes him blush, but it does.)

while she and jacks are having their romantic buildup, elias bloom is having the worst fucking day of his life. he thinks chrysi’s gone for good, and he is furious. now he has her crew captured for no reason! he’s about to start killing them when he gets word of the siren that was responsible for the shipwreck has been seen.

in a fit of rage, elias demands the siren be captured and brought to him. as another part of his collection, he says, but anybody can tell that he wants to kill the siren with his own two hands for the loss of chrysi.

this is very, very unfortunate for jacks, who has since become enamored with chrysi. she doesn’t exactly feel the same, but she doesn’t hate jacks anymore, at least. she’s taken to exploring, in an attempt to build up her strength again, and to combat her boredom. jacks will sometimes follow in the water, along the coast as she explores around (it’s beginning to hurt to keep himself in human form, but he likes the way chrysi will look at his legs, so. that’s that. he needs to feed soon though, so he can keep up his strength). it’s like a date.

anyway, one day, chrysi slipped into the pool of water in the cave when jacks surfaced and, after one thing and another, they end up kissing. this is when jacks realizes that chrysi’s immune to his fatal kiss. which OKAY!!! he’s now firmly in love with her.

(he didn’t realize how fatal a mistake he was making, when he let himself fall in love with her)

their happiness doesn’t last forever :(( that crew elias sent out manages to get close to the rocks when jacks is away, so they aren’t charmed to their deaths.

they find chrysi on one of her explorations and, in failing to find the siren but actually finding the girl that elias wanted from the start, they decide to kidnap her and bring her to elias.

she puts up a good fight—making enough noise to draw jacks’s attention as he’s coming back. but he’s too late—she’s stuck on the ship before he can do anything. by the time he gets close enough to charm the crew, they’re in the middle of the ocean and he can’t ram them into any rocks. he tries to charm them into drowning themselves, but they all still have their earplugs in. after all, elias warned them of the siren, and even though they couldn’t capture it, they’re still going to be cautious.

jacks can only helplessly swim after the ship and pray that he can save chrysi.

elias is very pleased by the turn of events when chrysi is the one brought to him. he worriedly inquires if the siren did any lasting damage to her. she can only seethe.

jacks, similarly, is seething. even though he’s under the dock and he knows he could charm elias to his death, the original crew is still wearing their earplugs. they’d kill him before he could get chrysi back.

chrysi ends up being stuck in captivity again as elias tries to seduce her. she continues to turn him down, so he tries to trick her into openly using her powers so he can manipulate her a little more fully (he’s got a cursed item or two that help with that). she still refuses.

he finally gets sick of all this dancing around the issue and informs chrysi that he has her old crew locked up.

that gets her attention.

she furiously demands he lets them go, to which he obviously declines. he says he’ll give her a couple days to think on it, and lets her have a little more freedom in his mansion while she ruminates.

she explores the house restlessly, but she feels most at home by the man-made lake (which, she is informed, is connected to the ocean, for a fresh supply of water. whatever. she would rather be on the ocean.)

FORTUNATELY, jacks found his way in a while back, and has been waiting for chrysi to make her way to the lake for a while. when she shows up, he reveals himself and announces that he can get her out under the wall (since his kiss doesn’t kill her, he can give her air while they’re underwater).

but since chrysi has to care so much for her crew (this is still a point of contention between the two of them), she insists she can’t leave while they’re still captured.

jacks is angry over this and he swims off in a huff. chrysi, similarly, storms away.

jacks feels really bad about it after a while, so he cautiously returns to the lake.

well. uh. so, elias was just being nice by letting jacks sneak in. well, “being nice”—it was more of luring jacks into a false sense of security.

he snatches jacks up quickly and puts him in captivity. this is his final bargaining chip—it’s very clear that chrysi loves this siren. if he threatens jacks, then maybe chrysi will finally agree to be elias’s.

(she doesn’t have to know that he’s going to kill jacks anyway. it’s not a very good thing to have a siren be in love with your future wife, after all).

…i’m going to stop for now, but clearly i’m invested in this idea sdlkfjsdlkfjsdlkfjsdklfjsdklf. i jst love the righteous anger and helplessness of this situation and i don’t feel like resolving it. i want to make chrysi and jacks worry for a while <3333

#didn’t mean for this to get so long #im srry i jst adore the ‘shipwreck survivor x merperson’ trope as they chill on an island and fall in love slowly #.asks #m.filly✨#s.chrysijacks

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