I woke up to a cat’s tongue on my face.

“Whoa.” I burst up to sit in an upright position, slingshotting startling the black, orange and white cat as it jumped back. I rubbed my eyes with my fists, wiped the saliva off my cheek, then checked my body to make sure the dark red scale armor was still there.

A pedestrian couple dressed in the traditional Greek tunic walked past me, staring as they did so. Apparently Cymone dropped me off in the middle of the street an unknown amount of time ago, as the sun just started to rise, casting a bright glow on the city of Ephesus. An archway stretched over the road directly above me, from which water dripped. To my right laid the many wood and stone houses of the citizens, each home built around a courtyard filled with plants. The dark orange tiles of the roofs caught the light of the rising sun perfectly, creating a glare that made it hard to look at them.

To my right laid the marble path that led to the great Artemisium, which overlooked the entire city as it was built on quite a large hill. Stairs led up to the marble structure from every side and massive columns kept the open-concept temple standing. The triangular pediment ‒ decorated with depictions of horses and amazons ‒ rested atop it. 

“Wow…” The word escaped me and the cat from earlier took that as an invitation to approach me again as it brushed up against my legs.

Vast grassland surrounded the Artemisium and mountains rose behind it in a semicircle. The sea breeze wafted inland from the harbor of the city, bringing with it the sounds of whooshing waves, rustling trees and shrubbery and squawking pelicans.

“Cymone said to ‘let the armor guide you to the entrance,’ so, uh…” I looked down at my attire. “Whatcha waiting for?”

Nothing happened.

“Is there a magic word?” I muttered as I patted down the suit. “Does this work telepathically or something?”

Nothing happened.

“Ugh.” I rolled my eyes, and as I did so, caught sight of a very faint red-smoky trail on the marble walkway to the temple. “Oh.”

As I started walking, the cat decided to walk with me, weaving through my legs and looking up at me every few seconds.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come with me.” I spoke to it. 

It just stared at me.

“Suit yourself.” I shrugged as I continued walking, the cat choosing to follow me. “I’m coming for you guys, and by the gods, hold on Atemu. I will make this right. I swear on the Styx, I will make this right.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Now what?” I tapped my armor, then glanced at the cat. “You got any ideas?”

It meowed as it scratched at the earth in front of me.

The trail of red smoky stuff led me to the Artemisium, except it led me to the giant hill that it was built on top of, not the actual temple.

“Is this some sort of trick?” I rubbed my chin.

The cat kept scratching at the hill before me, and then the ground rumbled. The animal meowed a little more violently and bolted away into one of the nearby shrubberies. 

Another rumble.

“That can’t be good.” I darted away into the same bush as the cat, then decided to ask it another question, since I’ve been talking to it for this long already. “What do you suppose that was?”

A stone door swung open from the hill, and two elven guardians strolled out of it, dressed in their usual scale armor. The continuation of the smoky red trail made itself known, extending into the cave.

“A hide out…” I whispered to myself. 

“Come on.” One of the elves spoke to his comrade. “Let’s get the temple ready for morning prayer.”

The other one acknowledged him with a nod, and the two of them made their way up the hill to the Artemisium. I waited until they were a decent distance away, then sprinted towards the hidden door that had started to close. I had barely made it through before the stone rumbled shut, causing some dirt to trickle down on me. Two torches lit up the entrance, but only darkness remained in the path ahead.

“I suppose there’s no going back now.” I snatched one of the torches from the wall and began my trek further into the underground complex when I heard a meow after taking my first step. I looked down to see the cat had made it inside too.

“Great.” I massaged the bridge of my nose. “Don’t make any sounds!”

I resumed walking forwards, illuminating the path as I did so. All four walls were made of stone, and every now and then a rat scurried away from me as I exposed it with the torchlight. I kept moving until some light appeared at the end of the tunnel. I put out the fire, discarded the torch, and made it to the end. 

A massive rectangular room made of marble opened up before me. There seemed to be four total entrances, one on each wall, including the one I stood in. Marble stairs descended from each one. The center of the room was a large marble floor, from which columns of the same material extended upwards into the ceiling at each corner. The platform was surrounded by a mote of blood. Small bridges stretched out from the base of each staircase, connecting the middle part to the rest of the room. Torches crackled everywhere, and braziers in marble cages were stationed on either side of each bridge.

“If you touch her I swear!” A familiar voice echoed throughout the room. “I’ll send you to Hades myself! You hear me?!”

A man dressed in the clothing of a priest of Ra stood in between the two columns to my right. His wrists and ankles were chained to either one, stringing him up in an ‘X’ figure, though his feet were still touching the ground. His disheveled hair flung about him as he whipped his body around to try and free himself from his fetters. His back faced the mote, while his front faced the center of the room where a single elven guardian sat, cross legged, in meditation. 

“Your words and actions are extremely undignifying.” The elf spoke, still with closed eyes. “I would be quiet to spare yourself further humiliation.”

“The only humiliation that’s gonna happen here is yours.” The chained man thrashed around again. “When I choke the snobby, convoluted life out of you!”

“You Athenians are too proud for your own good.” The elf shook his head, opened his eyes, then stood up. “Though I suppose your Spartan kin are a bit worse in that regard.”

“Athenian…?” I mumbled. “Illias?”

The guardian sauntered up to my friend, standing a full head taller than him and snatched his chin. He turned his face to one side, then the other, almost like he was examining his condition.

“Get your hands off me.” Illias jerked his head away from his grasp, then spat at him.

“What is this?” The elf wiped the spit off his face, then turned to look right at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh…”  Anxiety seized me as my entire body warmed. My hands shook, but I managed to control most of the trembling. “I…”

“You must be one of the human initiates.” He beckoned me towards him. “I didn’t think any of you would be here, but since you decided to show, I might as well teach you a thing or two instead of just dismissing you.”

“Yea!” I laughed awkwardly as I descended the stairs. “Th-that’d be great.”

I crossed the bridge, noticing some bubbles on the blood-water, then trudged up to the elf. I glanced at Illias to see a scowl on his face. Most of the lashes that covered his torso were dry, though a couple were fresh as blood still dripped from them, staining both his leopard skin belt and the white marble floor.

“My name is Lykos.” The elf half-bowed. “One of the members of the council of four who serve Artemisia.”

“It is an honor.” I returned the half-bow.

“Your visit is unexpected, as I mentioned.” He motioned for me to go to the center of the room. “Sit and meditate while I fetch what I need to begin your lessons in channeling the power of the blood moon.”

“You can teach me to wield its magic?” I stuttered.

“Of course!” He nodded. “This magic is not like the other schools that require you to either inherit the abilities or have them directly bestowed upon you by the deity itself. During the month before the arrival of a blood moon, the magic saturates the very air around us. Anyone who does not already wield another school of magic, and is devoted enough to our cause, can channel the deity’s power, with the correct guidance.”

“Isn’t corruption just like that?” It slipped out. “I mean, like, the power can be given to others.”

“A peculiar question, pupil.” He peered at me. “Yes and no. Corruption is a power someone is born with. However, one who has mastered it can imbue weapons with the magic and bestow said weapons unto others.”

“Oh.”

“Your curiosity is refreshing.” He turned his back to leave up the staircase I had come from. “Most of the initiates just listen and do as they’re told. Very boring.”

I didn’t know how to respond.

“Now get to meditating!” He glanced back at me from the stairs. “I’ll be back shortly.”

And with that, Lykos went out of sight.

“Theo!” Illias growled, a scowl still on his face. “What are you doing here, traitor.”

“I’m here to‒”

“I don’t want your rescuing.”  He jerked his arms forward and the chains snapped them right back. “I’d rather stay here and suffer at the hands of these pompous elves than accept your help.”

“Illias, I‒”

“Leave me be.” He stopped struggling and hung his head down. “There’s nothing more you can do for me.” 

“No.” I marched up to him. “You may have lost all faith and trust in me, but I haven’t lost either in you. I’m going to find a way to get you out of this whether you like it or not, and then we’re going to find Atemu together and get her the Hades out of here too.”

“If you betray me again.” He lifted his head to return my gaze. Intensity filled his glassy eyes as a single tear fell from one of them. “I will kill you myself.”

The shock of that statement caused me to stumble back a couple of steps.

“Are you ready to begin?” Lykos’ voice echoed from the tunnel.

“We’ll figure something out.” I set my hand on Illias’ shoulder before dashing to the center of the room to sit down and ‘meditate.’ “I just need to deal with this guy first.”