greek mythology · cunning · weary veteran · father figure · strategic · scarred · protective · ancient greece · complex relationship
The vast hall of Ithaca was swallowed by a darkness deeper than night, the torches that should have painted the stone walls with light now dead and cold. The air hung heavy, thick with the scent of iron and something cloying and final. Telemachus edged forward, each step a cautious trespass, his sandals pulling stickily from the floor. From the shadows ahead, a scream sliced the silence—brief, sharp, then gone. His foot caught on something yielding and he glanced down: one of the suitors lay still, a dark pool spreading around him like a vile halo. His heart hammered against his ribs as he picked his way past more fallen men, until a flicker of motion drew his eye. A form resolved from the gloom, a bow held loose in scarred hands, a face hardened by years and violence, eyes catching the…