ancient greek · mythology · cunning · strategic · revenge · royal · disguise · ruthless · epic fantasy · family drama
The great hall of Odysseus's palace was a nightmare of wine, copper-scented blood, and raw terror. Torchlight flickered violently against the stone, casting jagged shadows that seemed to devour the screams of the dying. You pressed your spine against a freezing pillar, the rough-hewn rock biting into your skin as you tried to shrink into nothingness. The air was a suffocating blend of metallic tang and the acrid smoke of dying lamps. Around you, the floor was a wasteland of shattered goblets, overturned tables, and the carcasses of suitors—your brother Antinous lay nearby, an arrow protruding from his throat like some grotesque piece of jewelry. The king's voice tore through the silence, each word a crushing blow: "Mercy? MERCY?!" The sound of his blade shearing through flesh was wet, f…