In Pursuit of Kronos' Scythe (Completed)

II - When Magic Meets with Metal - Part I

Princess Tharalea

"What's wrong, mother?"

Tharalea wiped the sleepiness out of her eyes. Well, wiping her eyes was a pretention. She didn't sleep at all and she didn't feel sleepy. Her mind had been active for the entire night, thinking. Staring out through the gaps of her hands, she saw her infuriated mother and her beaming father. Her mother's blue eyes were glaring at her, her nostrils were blowing steam.

"What's wrong? You sneaked out. That's wrong! You met Hekate and you didn't tell me. That's wrong! Now the Oracle has called for you to determine your fate in a quest that I did not even approve of. Everything is wrong." Clad in a dark blue chiton, Queen Critola's body shook with fury. Everyone said that Tharalea looked like her mother, she didn't think so. She didn't think she could ever possess her anger and rigid demeanour.

King Aetius placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Critola, forbidding Tharalea from taking the quest would mean disobeying Hekate. Hekate has endowed Yurithea with prosperity and happiness for so many centuries. She's never wrong in her judgment. Perhaps it's time to let Tharalea venture out of her comfort zone, to let her grow." His tone was low and soft.

"Well, if you said so, my king." The queen bowed in a mocking manner and stomped away. Her long chiton trained behind her like dark clouds. It looked as if the storm had passed.

Tharalea sighed in relief and turned to her father. "So, what now?" 

She was glad that her father was always there to support her and guide her. How she wished she was born a boy. She could then go for sword lessons without the need to cook up excuses.

"Now, we go to the Oracle's temple," King Aetius said in a somber voice, bringing Tharalea out of her dreamland. Walking in long strides, he led the way to the woods.

Tharalea followed behind, feeling excited and anxious. They rounded Hekate's pantheon and stopped at an opening. A creek ringed the circular opening, and stones served as its bridge. Three pillars stood at the upper sphere. They reached out to the night sky, shrouded by clouds and stars. A small roof was built to connect the pillars, sheltering a silent and old well beneath it.

Everything was so silent. The only sounds that Tharalea could hear were her heavy breathing and the sloshing of the creek water, and some occasional singing of crickets.

"Go for it." King Aetius ushered Tharalea forward.

Tharalea studied the temple, unmoved. She learned from her mother that during the Golden Age, the Oracle chosen was an aged woman, guarded by a dragon. One day, Apollo shot the beast dead with his arrow. The green toxic foam released from the decaying body allowed Apollo to inherit the skill of prophecy telling too. Tharalea wondered whether she would have the luck to see Apollo when the king urged her again. Heaving a breath, she hopped on the stones. When she reached before the well, she slipped over a thin mat of algae and fell just an inch before the rim of the well. Urgh, it hurts! Silly Tharalea! She could've broken her front teeth. 

Rubbing her kneecaps, she called out, stuttering over her words, "O Delphi, I-- I have come to seek for your blessings for my-- my coming quest." 

Nothing answered. The well remained silent.

Tharalea closed her eyes, trying to chase away her fear and doubts. When she opened her eyes and spoke again, her voice vibrated with vigor. "O great Delphi. The Goddess Hekate has granted me a quest of tracing Kronos' scythe, and I've come to seek for your blessings." After chanting, she lowered her body and kissed the damp soil before the well.

At first, the surroundings remained silent. Tharalea resumed bowing until suddenly, a loud humming noise came from beneath her, and the ground where she knelt on creaked. Tharalea's heart pounded against her ribcage, competing with the rising tumult. Tiny fissures formed on the floor and all of a sudden, a jet of water shot out of the well. Seconds later, a figure with a hunchback rose and sat on the roof of the temple.