Achilles&Briseis: A Novel

Chapter 7

As months passed Briseis found if she concentrated enough on a place or person the owl would go there on its own. The animal would stay there awhile and then come back to her and the images of what it saw would pop into Briseis' head. It was a fun way for her see things she probably wouldn't ever be able to. That was how this odd connection worked.

Over the years the bird aged and died. She buried the bird in her lemon orchard and visited every day for a long time though it bewildered her handmaidens. She never told anyone about the connection but her handmaidens couldn't fail to notice that a large owl suddenly began to hang around the princess. After its death Briseis wasn't sure if it was some strange occurrence that could never be replicated or not.

One day as she was visiting the grave another owl landed in the orchard. It was of a different type and much younger than the first. She stood under the branch and thought hard about her father and where he might be. It was the time of day he was supposed to be in the council meeting. The bird took off for a few hours and found Briseis on her balcony later that night. A few moments after it landed images flooded her mind of her father at the council.

Time and time again she made these connections to owls. No other animal was able to have this strange connection with her, and no connection made was the same as another. There were some she made connections with that went stronger than others. To the creatures she was closest with, Briseis began to notice what could only be called personalities in them. For example the tawny owl that'd come to her today, would often be distracted by bright colors. It would sit in a tree for hours outside homes of artists and watch them paint, draw and design. The long eared owl that'd come today like to put itself in steep dives and pull out of them at the last second. At the moment these were the two she was closest with and as a result they usually weren't far away unless she sent them on a task.

Now Briseis had connections with many owls and when they flew to Pedasus they would always come to her. Briseis used them to collect information now whereas while she was growing up this was just a strange amusement for her. Her flying spies had limits though. They couldn't transmit any sound, only images so there was some interpretation that had to be done. Usually Briseis was able to figure out from context what was going on or at least had a very strong idea.

After the meal the owls stood ready for whatever instruction she would give. Briseis thought about the temple and pinpointed some areas of interest that her eyes couldn't fully make out from the ground. The birds took off and for a long while they circled the temple. Briseis watched as the birds flew and landed to get a better view of some areas.

They flew into the tree above her and the process of image transfer began. Briseis sifted through them and a few stood out. There were three empty squares on the roof that were used as the base of statues. These squares were very weathered and empty though sharp edges and duller ones were all over the surface. Whatever once stood there had been taken down rapidly and nothing was ever put there again. On the side of one of the bases was a faint impression of a letter. The rest of the name was chiseled off but though faint Briseis could still make out the letter as an A.

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The empty sanctuary of the temple was cold as the horrible weather began again in force. It was nearing midnight and she knew the priests would be fast asleep. As a temple dedicated to Apollo all rites had to be performed while the sun was in the sky so not to venture into the goddess Artemis' domain. The gods were very sensitive that their offerings be given at the correct time or at least the priests claimed that. Briseis doubted they truly cared as long as someone was giving them tribute.

Briseis made the choice to examine the sanctuary at night to avoid troublesome questions. Even though she was a princess, the priests were the ultimate authority in the temples. They likely wouldn't take kindly to her poking around the image of the god. If it was true they were set against her or at least that the head priest was set against her they could demand she leave. The balance between royal power and the rights of the priesthood was a delicate one in Pedasus.

King Eros, Briseis great-grandfather and rumored son of Aphrodite began the trouble. He'd killed the head priest for giving him an unfavorable prediction then killed the other priests who protested. What that prediction was no one knew. Whatever it was Briseis doubted it was worth the trouble that followed. The Trojan War began soon after and with the revolt of the priests and Heracles' crusade against Laomedon, Pedasus found itself fighting a public war with aiding Laomedon and a private one inside its own borders with the priests.

Pedasus would lose both and the consequences were severe. Though peace was eventually made with the priests it came only after Eros died mysteriously in his chambers. It was for the sake of the kingdom that peace was made, though the royal family and priests had a sour relationship ever since. Rumors spread that the priests had slyly assassinated Eros and if the behavior of Eros' son Briseis' grandfather, were any clue it appeared he believed his father was murdered.

Briseis walked up to the statue of Apollo and examined its base. Though hidden well it was clear this statue hadn't always been here. That may not be so unusual for one statue to be replaced for a grander one, and while that could have been the case here Briseis didn't think so. The anchor points for whatever was once here covered a much smaller area which meant that the statue originally here had a smaller width.

Statues of the male gods in a temple of this size were never smaller than the one currently on display. It could have been Apollo posed in a different position but that would be rare. Apollo was most often depicted as standing upright with arms extended to the sky. The next most popular pose was Apollo kneeling with arms raised but even if that had been the case the anchor points would be more widely dispersed.

This could only mean the temple had not always been dedicated to Apollo. Once it must have been a temple to a female goddess. One that had an A in her name but that could be one of many. Hera wasn't likely. Whatever name had been erased from those base on the roof was longer if the chisel marks were anything to go by; Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, or Hestia. Of the four candidates Hestia was the least likely but that still left a one in three chance. Which goddess was it but more importantly why had the patron god of the temple changed?

It was no small task to switch between one and another. All the gods had temples within Pedasus of course but the patron god of the kingdom was Apollo. No god would have a larger temple than the patron god. Apollo was the most venerated and the others were only called upon by the populace for personal reasons. In some cases if a family was in some way tied to another of the pantheon they would have a personal temple in their home though it would be small.

She needed more information. How could the switching of a temple from one god to another be related to her at all?