act48side

Say ah—

...Ah...

No issues with the respiratory tract or vocal cords. The crystals in the lungs have not spread.

Meaning that when you came to the Rhodes Island office a few days ago and stared blankly at our medics, it wasn't because your condition prevented you from speaking.

Looks like I didn't have to come personally.

You've done a lot for the Infected of Athenius, and Rhodes Island's medicine is far more effective than what we had before. We all appreciate what you've done. I won't take up any more of your time...

A checkup alone isn't enough.

Minoan policies are relatively lenient when it comes to the Infected. With the exception of certain occupations, like the priesthood, the everyday lives of the Infected are usually not significantly affected.

Many people still believe that Oripathy saps the Minoan heroic spirit, though. That's why many patients are indifferent about treatment, even trying to hide their conditions.

How many fingers am I holding up?

Four.

Thank you for the concern, Kyría Athopoulou, but my condition is mild. The illness has not affected my vision.

Then why did you visit the Rhodes Island office four times in the past two weeks?

Well...

You're no great liar. Besides, I saw a Rhodes Island monitoring bracelet on Xanthos, your mentor.

Have you been obtaining medication on his behalf?

Yes...

He forgets his appointments because he has so many things on his plate. It's only reasonable that I should pick up his medicine for him.

But you did not register his name with the office, which means there are no records of him having contracted Oripathy.

He saved my life, taught me the lore of the water and the art of combat. He's been a good mentor to me. I didn't want people to know...

To know that he couldn't be a <i>hero?</i>

Visiting the Oripathy clinic may color how others view you and Xanthos, but it will not change the path that you choose for yourselves.

I'm not Kassandra, and soothing the heart isn't my thing. But I know that both of you need proper treatment.

I'll move the two of you up the priority list and follow up closely on your conditions. You can prepare yourselves for a LOT of nagging.

You're more tenacious than you look.

I wouldn't have to be, if I could buy your cooperation with a few grains of corn like the fowlbeast perching on your bow.

Sorry...

Where is Xanthos, anyway?

If your recent reports were indeed his, then he's suffered significant fluctuations in internal Originium levels during this time. He needs rest, as I said.

I told him, but...

Don't tell me he went to the crossing again?

I'm busy preparing boats for the fruit farmers and craftsmen. Make it quick, Hekádemos.

...Why isn't Lykeion around to help? I never thought he would let you out of his sight.

He took a day off. Home visit by a Rhodes Island doctor.

Home visit?

(Did the medicine he picked up not work? Is he so sick he can't even walk?)

If you came to communicate the Astynomos' 'suggestion', you're wasting your time. Tell her I'll deal with the problem at the crossing, and there's no need for her to worry.

Actually, she sent me to inform you that the problem has been resolved.

Resolved? Pallas acted quickly this time.

No, it wasn't her who came up with the solution.

Who was it, then? Did Kassandra calm the people down, or did the Astynomos pull another one of her little tricks?

Neither.

It was the Sargonian ambassador who resolved the dispute between the craftsmen and the fruit farmers. A small Feline with dark skin and black ears.

A black-eared Feline...

That 'Columbian' I ferried at the secondary crossing that morning...

She was the Sargonian ambassador?

Ancient Minoans saw the beauty of marble, and sculpted legends and epics with hammers and chisels.

In the <i>Kerespereia</i>, Kereseira walked through war and plague, wearing out thirty pairs of shoes, before she arrived at the mountain-rimmed garden.

At the site of the First Temple, she saw a boulder split, and received a revelation from the gods.

Her gentle and wise visage reflected the Athenian morning sun; she protected the refugees who followed her and drove the outlanders out with her sword; and her harp—

'Sings only the tales of the heroes!'

You're familiar with the <i>Kerespereia</i>?

I love it! I've read it so many times I could practically recite it from memory. Kereseira gave me my first impression of the heroes of Minos.

'A hero must be a paragon of justice and kindness—'

'A hero must face fate bravely when it comes, and carry their own burden.'

You weren't exaggerating when you said you could recite it.

But reading words printed on a page doesn't compare to the experience of standing in front of Kereseira's statue.

Even if the sculptor exaggerated Kereseira's miracles, even if those were not her original Arts—

Perhaps it's this artistic license that makes it feel so alive. I can easily picture it standing on this fertile soil a century or ten later...

Are you thinking you'd be willing to wait a decade or more for Kereseira's First Temple to be completed to the standard of this statue?

Er, not quite. I want to see as much as I can before the exchange is done and I have to leave Minos.

So, Kereseira's statue is complete, and the amphitheater has proper steps now?

Thanks in large part to your suggestion. The fruit farmers have been working even harder than the craftsmen in the quarries, in order to get sunlight to the orchards as soon as possible.

Stone meant for the temple is being used on the amphitheater first? I read about it in the books, but the Minoan love of theater is really something.

Heroes come from the people, and the people aspire to become heroes, even if only in drama.

Have you identified the inspiration for this statue?

<i>Kereseira and the Outlander</i>, Chapter 11 of the <i>Kerespereia</i>. It was adapted into a famous classical drama that is often used in temple ceremonies honoring the heroes.

But I've visited a few theaters in my time here, and I haven't seen it on the program anywhere.

Are plays meant for religious ceremonies banned in normal theaters?

No, <i>Kereseira and the Outlander</i> is part of the standard classical repertoire. It has not been staged for a century, however, even in the temples.

A century... could it be...?

Yes, it was banned during the Sargonian occupation.

The play's setting dates back to before the establishment of Minos as a nation, and 'outlanders' refers to those not of the ancient Agamem Kingdom in general.

When the Sargonian padishahs banned the play, the outlander executed by Kereseira took on a certain meaning.

The ban is no more, but to play the outlander in the play means playing a Sargonian, and no Athenian would be willing to do that.

What a shame...

Perhaps. To the Minoans, plays are more than just entertainment and art.

Be it the ban on performances, or the burning of the theaters, the heroism inherent in the history and legend depicted by the plays is not so easily forgotten.

Even if no one performs it, and the music accompanying the play can no longer be heard on the streets, any Athenian can still recite its most famous scenes. That's enough.

No...

What is it?

The First Temple was destroyed by war, and <i>Kereseira and the Outlander</i> was banned... there is no denying that Sargon has brought great pain to Minos.

The padishahs' order to return the Minoan relic is not so much compensation as political posturing...

My role as the Sargonian ambassador is just to escort the relic to its destination. I'm not from an influential family, nor do I have a distinguished career. There isn't much I can do.

But I'm still the curator of the Varjavandabad Museum. Knowledge will not betray me.

The relic I am bringing is associated with Kereseira, and has great significance to Minos... this should not be a mere political bargaining chip.

Titi looks up at the statue of Kereseira with her harp, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

She seems to hear the harp sing a song that only the heroes are meant to hear, and see the familiar stories and legends flash before her eyes.

The amphitheater is barely finished. The scaffolds and tarps have yet to be taken away. In them, however, Titi feels something special—

Something that belongs only to Minos, written in the epics, carved into marble by the stonemasons, something that has endured and still stands tall, even after a century of oppression...

I want to hold the exchange ceremony here.

Really? That's an interesting idea, but...

But matters concerning Kereseira's First Temple must be discussed with the temple priests.

Kassandra? What brings you here today?

Forgive me for interrupting. There is something that I must discuss with Pallas in private, Your Excellency.