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That Which Forges Man

I remember it well. The sand was scorching underfoot and blinding to


the eye. The wind carried the scent of the Aegean Sea mixed with body odor
and rotting carnage. The air tasted like sweat and blood. The sun stood high
and proud overhead, while the landscape below was warped by tides of feet
and corpses.
A young man of seventeen years of age charged in the third row of a
wave of red splotched spears, glinting helmets, and battered shields. An
indistinguishable figure in a sea of metal and human flesh. He held his spear
in the right hand and a shield in the left, just like any man beside him. He
was fit and muscular, a bit on the short side, yet no stranger to hard labor.
He was well trained in combat with four older, larger brothers that kept his
skills as sharp as the bronze blade hanging from his left hip. Two brothers to
each side of him as they pressed their shields against the backs of their
comrades to support their wall of defense. Suddenly the formation broke and
all Hades with it.
Dellec! Two on your right! Tarv help him Arccus yelled. With sword
and shield Dellec parried his both his attackers blow at once, forcing one to
his knees with a kick between the legs and flinging the other behind him with
his shield. While Dellec dealt with the foe in front of him I engaged the one
behind him. We briefly locked swords, each of us staring deep into each
others eyes; the anger, the rage, and the defiance was easily seen in them.
Not sure what he could have read from my eyes, they werent ones of
conquering, malice, or enraged joy, like most Greeks he would engage. I was
one of the few wished he would be as far away from this Gods forsaken place
as could possibly be.
With a push we both unlocked blades, flashes of bronze light ripped the
air as sword rang on sword. It did not take me long to find a gap in my
enemys defense, with a precise thrust I stabbed my opponent in the sword
arm. I had my foe disarmed and at my mercy, yet I did not go for the kill.
Instead I slammed my shield into the left side of his face and left him
unconscious.
I appalled killing, I left those glorious deeds to the warriors in my
stories. After all, these men were just trying to defend their homeland, we
were the invaders; a fact I loathed deeply. There were only four reasons why I
was on this battle field; Arccus, Juth, Revius, and Dellec, my four older
brothers.
No sooner had I dispatched my foe and joined with my brothers as they
all were engaged in the throes of battle, then the battle suddenly stopped.

Some silent signal had passed through the ranks of soldiers and all fighting
had ceased. Barley a few yards from where we had been fighting a large
circle of men had opened up in the center of the battle field. My four brothers
and I slowly made our way to the circles edge. With horror we saw the
source of the disturbance.
There, leaning against his tipped over chariot, the horse still stuck to
its wood and metal anchor, laid the body of Achilles. A spear had been thrust
through his torso and standing over him was the Tojan prince, Hector. After a
few moments passed, Hector reared back his head and shouted high to the
gods, The great Achilles is dead! A roar of triumph surged through the
Trojan ranks.
Still roaring the Trojans receded from the fight. Leaving us mourn the
loss of our great champion for a brief time before starting up the attack
again. I was numb all over, I couldnt believe that this had really happened.
That Achilles was actually slain. We had all thought him immortal, impossible
to kill. I removed my bronze helmet and bowed my head in mourning, as too
did the rest of my brethren.
A shout suddenly grabbed my attention. I saw one of Achilles soldiers
had come up to Achilles body to carry it back to the camp, but he stood
transfixed with Achilles helmet in hand. He suddenly shout Patroclus! Its
Patroclus! Not Achilles!
It took a few moments for these words to sink in before the air was rent
with thousands of voices. My mind was in a haze, I had a hard time keeping
my thoughts clear as question after question pounded my head. Patroclus?
The best soldier of Achilles? Why was he in Achilles armor? Where was the
really Achilles? What is going on?
I voiced these questions out loud to my eldest brother Arccus without
looking at him, hoping he would make sense of all of this. However I get no
reply from him. I looked right at my bearded brothers face and was about to
ask my questions again when I noticed something was off. Arccus face didnt
move at all, in fact, his whole body didnt move in the slightest. It was as if
he was petrified. Then I noticed something else, the air was quiet. Not a
sound could be heard, not the shout of men nor even the crash of the sea. I
spun around and around, all the world was frozen and silent around me.
Gods of Olympus, whats going on? I blurted out loud.
Exactly what I had been planned to happen. I was so startled I nearly
jumped as high as a mountain, the voice came so clear and sharp. Whats
more it was distinctly female. I turned around and was met by woman that I

had never seen before but knew instantly on sight. Athena, goddess of battle
tactics.
Her features were almost exactly like the paintings and stories I grew
up depicted her. She had a perfect womanly figure that was enclosed in
perfect fitting bronze armor with a purple cloak. A Spartan style helmet was
lifted above her gorgeous face, a massive shield was held in in left hand and
a spear in her right. A gold feathered great horned owl sat upon her right
shoulder which showed the air in as much radiance as did Athena herself. All
in all, there was no doubting this was a true goddess that stood before me.
I was so stunned by her presence, I couldnt find any words to speak.
That seemed to be fine with her as she started walking around me in a
circles and speaking to me as she did so. Her divine voice echoed in my ears.
I will admit, I was a little concerned when Achilles decided not to fight
anymore. Without his help the favor seemed to be turning more and more to
the Trojans and my brother. You may not know it, by my brother Ares, the god
of war as you know, decided to favor the Trojans in this battle. A very foolish
choice, but he was never the clearest thinking individual. Thats my
profession. She said that last part with a laugh.
When Greece started to lose its battles when Achilles left the battle
field, I needed to find a new way to get him back into the war. Thats when I
thought of you.
Me? I finally found my voice, but it was dry and husky, What did I
have to do with Achilles and the war? Im the last mortal to ever be
considered when it comes to war.
Ah, but that was exactily why I needed you. You were not one who had
his mind clouded with dreams of glory, riches, and bloodshed. You were one
of the few who think clearly and have a profound influence on these men.
H..How? I stammered. The goddess gave me cunning smile.
Last night, in the hopes of bolstering your fellow soldiers spirits after
that disaster of a battle that day you decided to recite one of your
grandfathers old stories to them.
I remember. The story I told that night was one grandfather had told
me and my brothers all our lives. It was a story about how the after Zeus had
crafted men from clay that his son Ares wanted to forge man into something
stronger. He did this by bring war to mankind, the flames of war were what
he thought would forge all men into something stronger than iron. However,
that only work for some people, but Ares just thought of those people as
weak and useless. Ares however only had part of the truth, it was Hermes,

messenger of the gods, who found the full truth. Through his travels across
the world he found people of all sorts were being forged into strong
individuals through various acts and deeds. When he brought this news to
Zeus, the king of the gods told him that that was the greatest gift he gave to
mankind. What forged the gods into what they were was each of their own
passions and dreams, and that is what forges men in their lives every day. Or
so the story went.
Your story Athena continued caught the attention of Patroclus,
which inspired him to follow his passion and dreams, and those dreams are
what lead to convince himself that the men needed a figure to rally to. So he
took Achilles armor, riding out on Achilles chariot in an effort to give him
people hope again.
I stared as her in disbelief, my story is what caused this whole situation
to happen! It had to impossible, but here was a goddess, a being of all
knowing, telling me this is what my story did. It was still hard for me to
believe.
And you knew this would happen? I asked in astonishment.
Yes, and I also know what will happen next. Achilles will challenge
Prince Hector to a dual, he will kill Hector, the kings of Greece will let the
Trojans have a period of mourning, and in that time the Greeks will seem to
have fled, leaving a giant wooden horse for the Trojans to take. This horse
will have Greek men hidden in it that will open the gates for the rest of
Greece to pour in and take over Troy. Thus Greece will win the war.
I had a hard time comprehending how she could possibly know that
this is what will happen. How my story will have led to all of that. Then I
remembered who I was talking to, there is no greater tactician in existence
than that of Athena. So, only one question truly remained.
Why are you telling me all of this?
Because, you were such a vital key to my strategy I wanted you to
have the honor of knowing your true place in this war. Not to mention I
wanted you to amend a specific part of your story.
What part?
That while passion and dreams are vital to forging mankind, never
forget that it is the Gods themselves that forge every part of mankinds
existence.

To this day I have never forget that truth, especially as I saw all that
Athena had predicted came true in the war of Troy. What is it that forges
man? The Gods.

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