act48side

I've seen with my own eyes how our people died shielding their comrades from the Sargonians, and heard the screaming of the wounded being amputated in village huts.

Hate flowed in your heart and mine, in the hearts of every Minoan.

Even now... in my heart...

I know.

But have you ever stopped to think why we love to drink?

Besides the sweet fragrance of wine and the joy of harvest that it represents, the inspiration and joy that it brings us...

Besides all that...

It's also because it makes us forget, if only for a while.

Too many things trouble us and make us hurt, but we can't forget them completely, because to do so would be a betrayal, so we drown ourselves in drink, seeking a moment's forgetfulness.

But then... I had to leave Minos.

You're Pallas, aren't you? The medics told me you often drink here.

Yes, I am... what is it?

You're Minoan, right? You've been in the Lachedamon competitions? Do you know Dikaiopolis, the Blood Knight? Did you ever fight him?

No... but I've heard of him. A Minoan Infected who participates in the Kazimierz Majors, I think?

Well, actually, the 'competitions' in those two places are not quite the same thing...

But they're both clashes of physical ability and skill, aren't they?

Mm... well... uh...

I knew it! The principles of strength are the same everywhere! The Blood Knight must be strong because of his Minoan upbringing!

I wanted to meet the Blood Knight, but he's retired now.

Still, it's an honor to meet another Minoan master! Can I have your autograph? Anywhere's fine—how about my t-shirt?

...(Quietly signs)

Thank you so much!

So... do Minoans have a special way of training?

I heard you love drinking. Is this part of your training? Accelerating blood circulation with alcohol and increasing explosiveness?

The medics also say you can fall asleep anywhere! This must be a way to save energy! You only fully utilize your physical ability when necessary!

I see! This is why the Blood Knight was so explosive!

Er... these are just my personal habits. I don't know how the Blood Knight trains, but I doubt...

I get it, I get it, just fantasizing about things. Did I get carried away? I hope I didn't cause any offense.

...It's alright. You really love Dikaiopolis, don't you?

Yeah! I lost all hope after learning that I have Oripathy, but the Blood Knight gave me the will to live again.

I watched recordings of his bouts so many times! I've even started training myself, hoping to join an Infected Knightclub someday.

He was the one who blazed the trail for the Infected in Kazimierzian knightsports, paving the way for the Radiant Knight's return to the tournaments!

His bout with the Radiant Knight was one for the ages! I was there for it, and I cried when they took the podium together.

I wasn't sure why I cried. Maybe it's because I saw a flicker of hope for the future.

I guess he's the kind of hero the Minoans talk about!

He's Infected. According to conventional Minoan wisdom...

Do Infected heroes have some kind of special title in Minos?

No... But he's a hero, yes. No one can deny it.

Traditions don't stay unchanged forever, Xanthos.

The stories of the heroes defined and shaped who we are. Yet, because heroes arise from among us, we in turn possess the power to define them and to reshape what it means to be a hero.

I learned that after I left Minos.

Our goddess of victory is back!

I heard you destroyed another Sargon cavalry unit that tried to sneak across the border?

I told you not to call me that when we're in the village... it's embarrassing.

It was the title that we gave to Pallas...

Whoever leads us to victory is our goddess of victory. That's what Pallas said when she left—

'You can use this overblown title however you want, if it scares the Sargonians.'

As long as we still have our 'Goddess of Victory', you'll keep the Sargonians away.

Yeah... although Sargonian raiders still come every now and then, since she signed that 'Non-Aggression Pact' with Sargon's border tribes on behalf of the villages in the area...

The raids have been getting fewer and fewer after we won a few victories. It's all thanks to the reputation of the 'Goddess of Victory'.

Besides, inheriting Pallas's title makes me feel like I can't give up, which helps me pull through in tough battles.

It doesn't just scare our enemies; it also inspires our own.

Yeah, that's what heroes are for.

The village of Akroti... brings back so many memories.

It's very much like my homeland.

All the villages of Minos are alike. The same soil nurtured us.

But it's not just because of the same soil that we're a single nation. It's because we know the same stories.

Only we, upon seeing the olive branch, remember how the hero Pheidippides ran from Athenius to spread the news of our victory over the Sargonians to the other cities.

He was carrying the olive branch of Athenius, and so it became the symbol of victory and hope to us.

This is what truly belongs to us, something that outlanders and invaders cannot take away.

As long as we keep living, we'll carry on these stories, and change the traditions so that the legends of Minos's heroes may continue, that the spirit of Minos may continue.

Minos is wherever we are.

It is a strange scene that unfolds before the eyes of the citizens of Athenius and the guests from Sargon and other city-states.

It is an exhilarating battle. But when the oar-wielding Minoan warrior's blood falls upon the strings of the harp in the hands of Kereseira's statue—

The ancient harp begins to make a sound, like an old machine starting up after a long slumber, its gears slowly beginning to turn.

As the harp begins to sing, the trio on the stage slows down, entering a trance-like state, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, sometimes laughing, sometimes weeping.

When the Minoan challenger is finally overcome by exhaustion and slumps down by the statue's pedestal, the other two on stage finally break out of their trance.

They look around themselves in confusion before running towards the challenger, reaching out to him to try to help him up, but getting no response from him.

The shouting, the cheering, and the angry yelling have all ceased. Those present begin to realize that they have witnessed a miracle.

The harp that stopped singing after the Sargonians invaded has returned to where it belonged, and declared—

The tradition continues, and a new chapter is written in the stories of the heroes.

The harp's music echoes in the sky above the square.

Xanthos looks up.

The autumn sun is painfully bright, but for some reason it seems to bring back dim memories, back to the day that he said goodbye to Ithakos.

Do you believe that the guerrillas can defeat the Sargonians?

Even though we've been losing for a century?

(Nods)

I haven't received any divine revelations, and I can't tell the future. I can't even leave with you.

But I will promise what I can.

I'll protect our village, our houses, our farms and flowerbeds. Perhaps we can go to Athenius, where you came from, once you're victorious.

I'll still be a ferryman, ferrying you to your workplace at the temple on the other side of the city as the sun shines upon the Delphi Canal... I've been imagining the scene ever since you described it to me.

...Are you listening, Ithakos?

Minos is in for a cold winter this year, brother.

Yes. But the spring will be all the warmer for it.

He finally remembers what he said to Ithakos.

And he remembers the warm smile on Ithakos's face at the answer.

The pain and anger of losing a dear friend had clouded his memory and caused him to forget what was most important.

But things will get better, when spring comes and war is over, when life gets back on track.

The wounds of the earth will heal, and the snowmelt from the peaks of Heria will continue to flow, bringing flowers and reeds home.