Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Decisions Part II

Praxis wasn’t sure if he believed the sight in front of him.

It was a stretch of the imagination to believe that he was in the personal temple of Apollo, where the god had invited him to take part in his orgy, but it was quite another to see the warrior goddess, Athena, descending from the sky in an apparent challenge.

“This mortal is mine, Apollo,” she growled at him. “You will not have him.”

“That’s his decision, is it not, Athena?” replied Apollo, trying his best to look uninterested.

“What’s going on?” asked Praxis, looking back and forth at both of them. “What is this? Why am I here?”

Athena gave him a look of sympathetic defiance. “You’re here Praxis because you haven’t made a decision yet. Your soul is being pulled in two directions, and only you can decide what direction you go in.”

“Let me guess—you both represent the separate directions that I can go?”

Athena smiled. “That’s correct. I am here to be your champion, for all the things in your life that you hold dear—fighting prowess, intelligence, strength, and courage.

“And I represent everything that you could have if you stopped fighting your instincts,” replied Apollo as he spread his hands apart. “Everything that you see in front of you could be yours. Pleasure, a stiff drink, perhaps even a stiff body part? You’ve fought your entire life for your duty and your honor and where did that get you? Surrender to me now, and reap the benefits of my patronage here.”

“But why?” asked Praxis. “Why must I choose? Why can’t I do both?” He then turned to look at Athena directly. “And why is it you and not Ares? If there would be any warrior patron of the gods, I figured it would be Ares that would be here, not you.”

Athena shook her head gently. “My brother, Ares, is nothing short of a brute. He operates with unthinking and callous bloodlust that is beyond you or me. You act with intelligence, Praxis. You have the discipline necessary to command and to lead. He does not. I am the best choice of your patron god if you would have me.”

“She lies to you, Praxis,” interrupted Apollo. “What Athena represents is a return to the life you once knew. It represents a return to Argos—the city that cast you out. That preferred to call you by a cold nickname instead of your given one. It’s a legacy of death and violence that you don’t need. My kingdom, represented by this temple, takes you over to enjoy the finer things of life. Women, wine, and good food—and plenty of them! All you need to do is to surrender to me. Commit yourself as my discipline and I will reward you with more riches than you can handle in ten lifetimes. I can even do something unthinkable.”

“Unthinkable?” asked Praxis. “Like what?”

“You’ve wanted to understand who you are and where you come from. Most of your life you’ve spent in the pursuit of those dual questions. I can help you with that, Praxis. I can reunite you with your mother, Doris, and your brother, Lampros. How would it be to see them again? Your brother will always be the same young boy that he was but now you’ll have unlimited time with him. And your mother, how happy she will be to see you once more in a world where there is no death and no violence. I could even reunite you with your father.”

“He lies,” growled Athena, glaring at Apollo. “You have no authority to reunite Praxis with his father. And there are many more complications to what you’re offering. It isn’t that easy.”

Apollo scoffed. “Isn’t it? Maybe for a lesser goddess like you but for me, it’s all within my grasp. As long as he submits before me. Will you submit before me, Praxis?”

The offer was certainly tempting. Though Doris had only been dead for a week at most, the offer to see Lampros again was most welcome. As tempted as he was, he couldn’t help thinking that Athena had a point. Was there more to his offer than met the eye?

And if so, why would he hide it?

Praxis turned toward Athena. “I feel like it wouldn’t be that easy. At least as easy as he says it would be.”

Athena smiled at him. “You’re using that brain of yours again, Praxis. It hasn’t served you wrong in the past and it won’t now. It’s telling you that his promises are empty. That offering submission is servitude, no matter which way you present it. I like my patrons to be strong and fierce and free. He only offers you slavery.”

“I offer you a means to escape the troubled existence that you called life,” shrieked Apollo before tossing his wine cup on the ground. “All she offers you is more suffering!”

“Yes, he’s right,” replied Athena. “There is suffering in coming with me. I don’t deny it. But you know there is always suffering, in anything that you might do. It comes with living but to those that are strong, you can minimize that suffering through training and through discipline. I can’t offer you softness, Praxis, but then again, you didn’t seek out softness in life. Why would you want it now? It’s not the kind of man that you are.”

“But if all you’re offering me is that, it makes his offer look better by comparison,” said Praxis.

“Does it? Hmm,” said Athena, pulling back her spear. “I think if you look closer, you’ll see that his offer isn’t real to begin with. That there is untold suffering in the existence that he wants for you. It’s just below the surface.”

Praxis looked around at the party-goers, all of whom were completely ignorant of the conversation happening so close to them. Was this what freedom truly looked like? He saw the wine drinkers obsessing over getting every last drop. Was that true freedom when you were merely enslaved to the cup? Or was true freedom always needing a new person’s body to rub up against your own? Wasn’t that addiction at the heart of slavery?

At that moment, Praxis saw the emptiness of what Apollo was really offering him.

“Yes, think through it, Praxis,” whispered Athena, grinning at him. “Use your mind to see through his tricks. Have you figured out where we are yet?”

Looking around again, Praxis realized that his dreamworld wasn’t entirely fake. It existed on a plane of existence that transcended the mortal domain. And this temple was only the beginning. He could see now that just past the temple, an entire city was waiting for him—a gray city on the edge of shadows.

This was not a dream nor was it the underworld. This was some kind of odd stage of purgatory.

And Apollo was the gateway to it. Following him meant death. Athena meant life, descending from the skies with the glorious blanket of light.

“Yes, I feel you, Praxis,” replied Athena. “Your wisdom is bountiful for your age. It won’t take much to see through his lies. Just a little bit of brainpower.”

For his part, Apollo looked heavily annoyed at how the tides were turning. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at Praxis.

“Is this how it’s going to be then? Are you going to go with her?”

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Praxis looked over at Athena. “I think I have to. I think it’s the reason I was put here. She represents me the best. I’m not ready to surrender yet.”

Apollo scoffed. “Suit yourself but you’ll need to remove yourselves from my party. You’re spoiling the atmosphere.”

There wasn’t much truth to that last part as the orgy continued without any interruptions. Praxis turned toward the entrance of the temple as Apollo called out again.

“And don’t seek my blessing again,” he warned Praxis. “I’ve withdrawn it from you. You will receive no more favors.”

“Understood,” said Praxis. He looked over at Athena. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

Athena only smiled back at him. “Ready to go? We’re already there.”

Looking around, he could see that she was right. Apollo’s temple had completely disappeared, only to be replaced by a small grove of olive trees. It seems to be a fitting sanctuary for the warrior goddess and for the first time, she took off her helmet, letting her blonde hair flow freely.

“This is my home,” she said, gesturing to the trees. “It’s the only thing that I need to be truly happy. Apollo may like his parties but for me, nature is best.”

“It seems fitting,” replied Praxis, at a temporary loss for words. Now that he was alone with the goddess, he didn’t quite know what to say.

“Don’t be shy,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s perfectly reasonable to be shy but not today, not for you. Not after what you’ve just accomplished.”

“What would that be?” asked Praxis, chuckling. “Pissing off Apollo?”

“No, rejecting him. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. Most take his offer.”

“But it’s a gateway to death though, isn’t it? Why take it?”

A sad look appeared on her face. “Because most can’t discern truth from fiction. They pick the course of least resistance without thinking. I had high hopes that you wouldn’t disappoint me and you didn’t.”

“It’s generally not a wise thing to make an enemy of a god though.”

“No, you’re right, Praxis. But in this case, you’re an exception to the rule. You have a powerful new patron by your side. You don’t need Apollo any longer.”

Praxis swallowed heavily. “My family has called upon his protection for generations. It won’t be easy to look past that.”

“No, it won’t,” she replied. “But then again, the easy thing would have been to take his offer, no? You’re used to making the hard decisions and this is no exception.”

That made sense in an odd sort of a way. Praxis got the feeling that Athena knew more about him than he did. For someone to show that much faith in him, let alone a goddess, it was hard to turn away from it.

“So what now?” he asked. “Where do we go from here?”

“Well, you go back to the mortal realm,” replied Athena. “There’s a doctor doing everything he can to bring you back to life right now. There’s also a beautiful young woman that thinks she’s never going to see you again.”

“Lysandra,” he whispered. He looked at Athena. “So there’s really no catch? Nothing else I have to do to keep your blessing?”

“Just keep being you, Praxis. Stand up for what’s right and have the courage to listen to your mind. With a bit of refinement, you could become a hero even greater than Achilles. You just need to believe in yourself and keep me close.”

“Will I heal down there?” he asked, pointing to the mortal realm that he envisioned as being under their feet. “I won’t be a cripple for the rest of my life, will I?”

Athena grinned at him. “That’s only for your doctor to answer. Remember me, Praxis. Think of me in times of battle and hardship. I won’t abandon you as long as you stand up for what’s right.”

Praxis never got the chance to respond. As quickly as he’d appeared in the olive grove, he was gone again. This time, he found himself lying on a very uncomfortable bed. The sun was shining, catching him right in the face. It was morning and he was alive again, having coldly thrown away Apollo’s offer.

It felt good to be alive. Praxis took a deep breath of the morning air, letting it fill his lungs. He felt pain in his side and he was partly relieved to see his wound had been dressed and it no longer hurt as much as it did.

His movements attracted attention. From the side of the room, a pretty redhead jumped to her feet.

“Thank the gods,” whispered Lysandra when she saw his eyes. She crossed the room quickly and embraced him.

Praxis found himself chuckling as he embraced her back.

“You’re back,” she continued. “I was so scared that you were gone forever. We thought we lost you.”

“It’s too soon for me to go,” said Praxis, looking in her eyes after the hug ended. “I have too much to do. I can’t leave the world the way that it is. Someone has to stop Xanthos and the Spartans. It’s going to have to be me.”

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