Chapter Text
When Grian opened his eyes, he expected to find himself back on the Hermitcraft server. Apparently, the watchers seemed to have other plans.
Another death game? And so soon after the last one? He thought, remembering his final death, and the duel with Martyn in the square hole.
He took a moment to take in his surroundings. He seemed to have spawned in in a forest, and he could hear water running in the distance. It was then that he heard what sounded like singing in the distance.
“I know that you’re tired of the war and bloodshed, tell me is this how we’re supposed to live
Look at how you grip your sword enough said, why should we take when we could give”
The voice was unfamiliar, but for all Grian knew, the watchers likely added a new person to this death game. If it even was that.
He’d hoped to find someone he knew to team up with, but somebody was better than nobody, so he spread his wings and headed towards the singing.
It was then that he realized the wings at his feet.
He took them in for a moment, flexing them and just growing comfortable with their presence. The thought of winged sandals came to his mind, but he couldn’t recall why or who had them.
“Stay back”
He heard a new voice, and resumed his searching trying to find the original voice he’d heard.
“My friend, greet the world with open arms.”
He had to be close.
He followed the sounds of the voices as they talked about food, until he found the people whose voices he’d heard.
“See? This life is amazing, when you greet it with open arms”
That was the first voice, which belonged to a man wearing a red bandana around his head and glasses, spinning around with small furry grey creatures unlike anything Grian had seen before. His clothes were simple, but the scars on him suggested he was a warrior, just as the armor on his friend did.
It reminded Grian of days spent with Scar in the desert, and the fight against the Red King.
Just as the first guy went to eat a fruit, the other man stopped him.
“My friend, I wish that I could say that I agree
But look at the way this fruit is glowing, and filled with glowing seeds.
It took me a while to notice just what kind of fruit they eat
It’s a lotus. It controls your mind and never lets you free.”
Grian made a mental note about these lotuses, while the first guy turned to address the creatures, or “lotus eaters” as he called them. He asked about other food and where to find it, before the lotus eaters pointed him in the direction of a cave east of here.
Then the first man said thank you, and continued singing.
“This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms
I see in your face there’s so much guilt inside your heart
So why not replace it and light up the world here’s how to start
Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open arms”
“Greet the world with open arms” the other guy responded
“You can relax my friend.”
The two had a moment, embracing each other and looking out at the sea from the cliff they were on. Grian could see ships in the distance, much bigger than any boat he’d ever been in during the death games.
It was then part of the branch he’d been watching them from snapped, falling to the ground below. Both men instantly snapped their attention towards him.
Well, there goes any plans he had for approaching them peacefully.
Grian glided down from the tree towards the two men, the second drawing his sword.
“Woah, it’s okay I come in peace.” Grian said, lifting his arms up and showing his empty hands.
The first man, or the one with the bandana, gently put his hand on the other man’s arms, pushing him to lower his sword.
“We were just leaving” the armored man said, sword still pointed towards Grian.
“Oh, um, speaking of which, I was hoping I could join you guys?” Grian started as he made his way over. He stretched out his hand, and said “my name’s Grian.”
The two men looked at each other, and both seemed to ease up a bit.
After about a minute, the first man shook his hand. “I’m Polites, and this is Odysseus. He’s our captain.” He said, giving a little elbow jab at the armored man—Odysseus.
That name felt…familiar to Grian again. Like he was forgetting something important.
Oh well. There wasn’t time to dwell on it as the one who’s name was in question spoke up.
“Forgive me for asking, but…what are you?”
Huh. Guess these two had never seen any avians before. Or…any watchers for that matter.
Grian decided to keep the latter part about himself secret for the time being, but chose to divulge the former.
“I’m an avian. You know, part human, part bird? Have…have you never seen one before?”
“No, not that I can recall.” Polites began. “Although, your wings are similar to those of Hermes, so I guess what my friend is trying to say simply is are you a god? Or affiliated with the gods in some way for that matter?”
“Oh, um, no?” Grian said, biting his lip a bit. While the watchers were in fact gods or god-like beings, Grian chose to associate himself with them as little as possible. The less these two knew about that particular part of his past, the better.
He just hoped that these two believed him, despite his reply coming out more like a question than a fact.
“Alright, then we should be good to go! Unless of course, you know of a place where we could find food to eat. We’ve got 600 men to feed after all.” Polites said with a smile.
He definitely seemed to be the kinder, more open of the two, with Odysseus still eyeing him warily.
“No, I can’t say I do.” Grian replied, when he felt… a presence of sorts nearby. Like something was watching them. Something powerful.
Just then, Odysseus’s eyes seemed to go a light, almost otherworldly blue, and his gaze seemed distant. An owl flew past, landing on Odysseus’s shoulder.
“What…” Grian started, pointing towards Odysseus, before Polites jumped in. “Oh, that would be Athena. She’s his mentor. She does this sometimes.”
Odysseus couldn’t have been like that for longer than a minute, so what Athena had told him in that time, Grian wasn’t sure. But once Odysseus’s gaze returned to normal, the three of them set out to the fleet of ships Grian had originally seen.
Wait, had Polites just said there were six hundred people waiting?!
Bonus little scene: (Post Warrior of the Mind)
Odysseus: That guy, Grian, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about him, would you? He says he’s not a god, but I don’t trust it.
Athena: He’s certainly not any god I know of, but I can feel a sort of god-like energy from him. I would keep an eye on him. Don’t forget what I’ve taught you.