( video )

[heelies]

[The video feed begins on a close view of a face, revealing a stern set of eyes and a curve of nose but little more. Then the picture shakes as a new perspective is gained. The man who comes into view posesses a princely bearing and wears well the mantle of importance. His voice belongs to one who is accustomed to being listened to.]

I am told that this is the way that men call others to counsel in this land, and so as strange as it seems to me to address those whom I see not, I shall follow the local custom. I am Achilles, son of Peleus — Peleus who rules the fertile plains of Phthia, and who claims for his own worthy father Aeacus, judge of the House of Hades. New as I am to this land, which is farther from my dear native land than even the windy plains of Ilios, I bear many questions, but the first in my heart is this.

What deathless gods watch over the city of Lunatia? I have seen no temples built to honor Zeus who bears the aegis, nor bright-eyed Athena, nor Phoebus Apollo. Where are the priests who aid in the rituals of sacrifice, the seers who interpret the will of the gods in bird-signs? Surely, a city so rich as this, with precious silver trimming its houses, and all manner of riches I have never before seen — surely its people have the benison of the gods. Yet I see no practices that would suggest such reverence. Tell me, therefore, the ways to honor these gods who to me are so mysterious.

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[video]

[hagrides]

[Achilles' video gets a video in return, so that Achilles gets to see a human-sized bug answering his question. Because adjusting wasn't hard enough on him already.]

Well met, Achilles. I am Grimm, vessel to the god that is known in my lands as the Nightmare King, and known in your lands not at all.

The powers that reside here may take even gods from their homes. Such mysterious forces may have no need of worship, or do not desire it.

[heelies]

[What a hideous creature! Yet is speaks like a man, which lends credibility to its claims that it serves a god.]

What manner of god is that, who calls himself the solemn name of Nightmare King?

Moreover, what force is great enough to move gods? There is none but Fate that rules over the deathless gods — almighty Zeus himself cannot deny the course Fate must follow. So what is this you are saying? No gods grant this land their favor? How can this be?

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[bigredcheese]

Holy moley... Are you like the real Achilles?

[And now Solomon's telling him how weird and rude that sounded. Whoops!]

Sorry, I mean... you're a legend where I'm from. I don't know much about the gods around here, but I think you should be fine honoring yours still.

[hagrides]

[Vessel is slightly more literal in this case, but that's probably the easiest way to think about it.]

Perhaps Fate has brought you and I, and he. Perhaps we are merely ignorant as to greater forces at play. Regardless, there are no gods commonly worshipped in this land.

[heelies]

I know of only one Achilles, and I am that man.

[His expression brightens then.]

You have heard tales of my feats in the bloody jaws of battle? How it gladdens my heart to know that my name has traveled so far! Tell me, what do you call your dear native land?

Moreover, I have no intention of ceasing in the honors I pay to the gods, for however far I may be from the shadow of steep Olympus, I fear the gods as every decent man should. [Although sometimes he has not feared them enough...] I thought only that while I am in this strange land, I ought to honor too the gods who dwell here.

[heelies]

Well do I know what Fate has in store for me, and this is not it! My mother, silver-footed Thetis, told me that should I slay murderous Hector, he who sent down to the house of death my dearest companion, Menoetius' gallant son Patroclus, then closely should my own death follow. Slay the son of Priam is what I did, and in doing so my Fate was sealed. I have chosen my path.

Yet now I have been taken from Dardanus' land, upon whose shores I have waged war for nine years at the behest of the sons of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus. This was not meant to be.

[foolishjustice]

[...Well, it's not like this is the first historical figure he's met.]

The gods worshiped here are connected to the moons. There are shrines on the third level of the city to pay respects, though I don't know what sort of offerings they prefer. I can tell you, though, that each god has three holy animals that people blessed by their moon manifest traits of when it's half full or more.

[hagrides]

And you will return to fulfill that prophecy. But fate takes many turns, and only fools believe they completely understand a soothsayer's words.

'A death that closely follows' may mean an hour, a day, a year. Ten years, for those of us who live long enough that such a span of time seems brief.

[bigredcheese]

Oh, um... I'm from Fawcett City. And I'm Captain Marvel, by the way! Since I know your name and you don't know mine...

[Why is this so much weirder than the little voices that guide him? Or maybe it's weird because of those?]

Hmmm. Some people on here might know, but I also think you might be better off asking around in person. Since then you're getting it directly from the source!

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[distort]

[ her selfie cam is flawless, with the perfect angle and moody lighting that leaves her cast half in shadow ... and looking kind of blue?! must be a trick of the light. either way, she looks ever so slightly amused. ]

Achilles. Are you really? Now there is a face to meet in a strange crossroads like this.

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[thedarkbond]

[Well, this is an interesting one to meet. Ren's seen a few historical figures here, but ancient Greece has mostly passed by his purview so far. So what Achilles gets is a man with long red hair and red eyes, pupils slitted akin to a snake, resting his chin on one hand with a gently curious air.]

I've heard there are actually some gods and immortals among the Moonblessed, but none of them are worshipped here. The gods of this world seem to almost be...embodiments, maybe, of the moons that bless us when we arrive. Which would explain where the blessings actually come from...

[Ren's tone is a little train-of-thought and meandering, but he at least sounds like he's familiar with how things go here.]

[heelies]

Yes, I have heard of the three moons that share the night sky. Then is each one tended by a goddess, as Artemis of the silver bow is guardian of the moon I have known my whole life? So too like Artemis, these goddesses give their blessing to their favorites of the animals that roam forest and field.

It seems to me that the best way to honor a god is to offer to the flames the rich fat of ox's thigh bones, but here I have not one ox. Gone are my herds and flocks, and the store of prizes that I won by dint of spear in the bloody jaws of war. I have little to offer the gods — prince though I am in my native land, here I am little more than a migrant. Yet even so I will find some offering or another to give.

[heelies]

What reason have I to lie about my name? The Achilles you must have heard of in story and song, that man is me. To know that my name has traveled so far, it puts me at peace and makes proud my heart.

[foolishjustice]

Each moon has its own associated deity, yes. The best offering might simply to do what they've brought us here for, though...depending on whether or not you know anyone already here, it can be something of a daunting task.

I'm sure the Prismals explained to you the concept of Chroma and moonlacing, right? Finding someone you're comfortable being physically affectionate with produces a form of energy that seems to be necessary for living creatures. Since we all have a connection to one of the moons, the natives think the gods brought us here to generate Chroma after they lost the ability to produce it around two-hundred years ago.

[distort]

Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. A glaring weakness is an embarrassing legacy, I would say.

[heelies]

Well met, Captain Marvel. There is reason in what you say. Very well, I shall have to find one wiser in the ways of this land. Yet I have other questions for you.

First, such a city I have never heard of. Is it one of the far-flung cities of Asia? You cannot be of the barbarian tribes that dwell in the north and do not know the sea.

[He does not quite grasp the concept of different planets yet...]

Also, to earn such a title you must have burnished your name bright with brave deeds and battles won! Another time, you must tell me tales of your feats, and you shall hear from me tales of my own.

[heelies]

There is reason in what you say, servant of the Nightmare King. Yet that is just one prophecy I have heard — so too do I know from my mother that I shall never see my fatherland again, my journey home traded for the glory I have won in war. Moreover, from the seer Calchas I know that in the tenth year of fighting, Troy shall fall. All told, Fate would have me fall on the windy plains of Ilios before the year is out. Then when cools my pyre, my bones shall be placed in the golden urn which holds the precious bones of my dear companion, whom I shall join on the Acheron's far shore.

I cannot see what Fate has in store for me in this land.

[hagrides]

Nor I. But be assured that this too is part of your fate.

[Pause, as Grimm weighs whether or not to say something a bit more personal than all this talk of fate and gods.]

...I am sorry to hear of what has befallen your companion.

[heelies]

I am told that I am blessed by the moons, but what I do not understand is why these goddesses have chosen me, nor why they would choose any who have honored them not. For being of such far-flung lands as we are, how could we know of them until we arrive here?

[heelies]

So then this is how the goddesses protect the city and her people. How strange it seems to me that they should call upon those who have never honored them, never once offered sacrifice in their names. However, the will of the deathless gods cannot always be understood by man.

Yet all they demand in offering is that men and women lie together as is the way between them already! I hardly think it a sacrifice.

[heelies]

What mean you, a glaring weakness? I know not of what you speak! I am lauded as the best of the Achaeans — even wide-ruling Agamemnon cannot dispute this. Therefore, you had better speak outright.

[thedarkbond]

That's true, but it means you're not the only one who was chosen without honouring them. All we know is that this world needs an energy source they call Chroma, but the people from here can't make it anymore. The people like us who are brought here can, so maybe the gods blessing us is more to help their people.

[foolishjustice]

Benefiting someone else doesn't always need a sacrifice. These gods seem to want to protect Prismatica and the life it supports, so us simply living as social creatures is all they want from us.

I do...have theories as to why they brought outsiders, though. I believe the natives of this planet are somehow cursed by a hateful deity that nearly destroyed the world two centuries ago. That event, as far as I've been able to discover, is what heavily depleted this world of its Chroma supply. Local customs seem to indicate moonlacing used to be a major part of Prismal culture.

[heelies]

There is reason in what you say. Yes, the gods have been known to divert a man's course that Fate may unfold as intended. It must be that this land was not destined to fall so soon.

I wonder how it can be that the people of this land, the moon-loving Prismals, can make this chroma no more? Is is not made by lying one with another, as is the way between men and women?

[heelies]

They want no sacrifice of blood and rich white fat? No libations of wine poured in their names? What goddesses these are! Their love for this race seems as boundless as the ocean that stretches far beyond where any man dares to sail. Even white-armed Hera, who loves the Argives above all other men, wants offerings to sate her.

Easier to understand is a god who lashes out in anger when he is not properly honored. Have you any idea of what the moon-loving Prismals might have done to drive to fury such a diety as that?