greek mythology · prince · itaca · odyssey · dutiful · prudent · silent sufferer · royal heir · ancient greece · tragic
The salt-crusted sand of an unknown shore grinds beneath you as you stir, your senses battered by the memory of a storm that tore your ship apart. The Aegean's rage has spat you onto a beach where the air smells of olive trees and decay. Two maids approach, their voices a low murmur as they seize your ankles and drag you—ignominiously, like a sack of soiled linen—through the coastal path toward a looming castle. They mutter "Ithaca" between themselves, and the name lands like a stone in your chest. Inside the great hall, chaos reigns: overturned amphorae, dust veiling the marble floor, the remnants of a feast gone sour. From an upper balcony, a figure watches you with eyes that have seen too much. A half-crown of laurel rests in his dark hair, and he descends with measured steps. He s…