[Aulis] "Klara's voice droned on, and I ceased to listen. I felt the potion's
sleep effect and began to drift away. I became a bird and soared across the sea to
a great island near the mainland. I saw a narrows with a gulf to the north and
another to the south. The currents worked both ways and provided a clever and
protected place for fleets to gather. Aulis"
[Cassandra] "That way is careless, Helen. There must be discipline. Hecate is
permanent. She has never changed. She is the first keeper of the mysteries. She
alone watches over procreation and pregnancies, and endows the seed with life to
grow, and blesses the harvest.' Her eyes looked beyond me, unblinking.
'That is not so different from Potnia or Phemonoe or Cybele,' I said. 'They
do all those things.' I spoke in a conversational tone, ignoring her grim
pose. She spoke again as though she were receiving a message from Hecate
directly. 'But they do not know the future. Hecate knows. It has always been her
gift. She does not want change. She abhors change. She sees changecoming.'
'What kind of change?' I asked, almost afraid she would tell me, her tone of
voice was so dire. 'A blackness will descend on all people, and the winds will blow, and the
storms will cause destruction and mayhem. Troy will fall in a war with
foreigners, and we will all perish or become slaves'."
[Castor] "'Ah, what a good excuse to give them a lesson,' Castor answered. He sat
cross-legged next to his wife and he ate a fig, which he used to accent his words as
he continued. 'I will tell them that to be King is to be the Queen's mate. It is the
Queen who possesses the mysteries and renders the cycles of life which we
celebrate.' He bit into the fruit, wiped his mouth with his hand and made an
appreciative sound as he tasted its succulence. 'These new kings who seize power
for themselves do not understand: they destroy exactly what it is they seek'"
[Clytemnestra] "Clytemnestra was before us and I realized we stood eye to eye,
although she did not look at me. 'Greetings my sister,' I said. Her hair was
black as night, and long coils hung down around her shoulders.
She wore gold necklaces and bracelets, and her costume of rich material was
tightly belted. Her eyes were lined with cobalt, and the tips of her full
breasts, which could be seen through the folds of her drapery, were touched
with carmine. The hospitality of Mycenae is yours,' she answered, regarding me directly,
briefly. She turned to Polydeuces at her side. Her voice was high and sharp.
'We will return at once.'"
[Index]
