Today, I finally saw Chloe. This was not the girl I remember from when I saw her last. The look in her eyes has changed a lot. This is n longer a girl, but a woman…or a warrior! Se gave me a device that I recognized as a Haruspex recording device and asked me if I knew how it worked. I said I did and she said I should listen to it and that she no longer needed it. This is what was on it:
Part 1:
Does this thing work? I guess it does. This is really strange. I’m talking to a piece of wood!
Hi, my name is Chloe. My friend Daniel gave me this thing and said I should use it as a sort of diary. This is so weird. Then again. Daniel is a stranger. How should I know what’s weird or normal to them? So a diary. Should I start with dear diary? Or just start talking? This is so strange! Talking to a piece of wood! Ok, here I go. Hi, I’m Chloe. Daughter of Alexandros. My mother is called Berenice. Oh, right! My father is a city guard. And we live in Thebes! I like practicing with weapons much more than that girly stuff other girls do, like picking flowers and learning embroidery and singing. I can scream though. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! That’s my battle cry. Pretty good, isn’t it? I hope this thing works like Daniel said it would. Right. Maybe I should say something about Daniel too. He is my friend. He gave me this thing. And he is Haruspex and he has promised me he would train me how to use weapons! Also, I think he likes me and wants to kiss me. If he tries, I will hit him on the head though! I guess he is a bit older than me. He showed up a few weeks ago and we’ve been talking each day since then. He knows so much!! He knows how to throw knives, and catch frogs. Ans he’s very good at keeping his balance too! Anyway, I’d better stop talking to this piece of wood now and ide it somewhere safe. Daniel did say I should not tell anyone about him and about training with weapons. It’s not something girls do and they wouldn’t understand. I’ll go pick some nice flowers for my mother now.
Part 2
Hi there. This worked last time, so I think this will work again now. For the last few days, Daniel has been teaching me how to fight with knives! He said they’re good, lightweight weapons and great for a first weapon. Later he’ll teach me how to fight with heavier weapons. I can’t wait! I also watch the soldiers train at the barracks. They train with spears and swords mostly. I don’t think swords are my thing. It looks heavy and like a lot of strength is needed for it. I’m just a girl! Well. A woman to be. But I am quick. Even Daniel says so. And very accurate. Yesterday, I threw a throwing knife at a frog at 30 feet distance and | hit it! Daniel had just left. That was fortunate because my father just arrived. He scolded me, but that’s alright. I know part of him is proud of me too. If he had seen Danel there, I’m not so sure. I think he would have attacked Daniel. I honestly don’t know how that would have turned out. My father is a strong man and he has years of experience. But Daniel is…well, he’s Daniel! Maybe it is that he is a stranger, I don’t know. But he can move quick! And he’s stronger than he looks. A lot stronger! Also, I really like Daniel. And my dad, of course!! I’d hate to see them fight. And for what? Nothing is going on with Daniel and me. He still hasn’t tried to kiss me. Not that I’d let him, of course! He’s just teaching me to defend myself and he’s really nice. Tomorrow we’re going to the south of Thebes and train in the water there! Daniel says water training is good for getting strong, but I think he just likes to push me under. He can be playful, like that too. I do wonder if we’ll train with a different weapon there. A spear maybe! Throwing knives in the water seems silly. Anyway. Time to go home now.
Part 3
Hello again. It’s been about a week since I last did this. A lot has happened this week. Maybe this is what Daniel is training me for. To defend me and my loved ones against the evil creatures around Thebes. As I thought ls week. Daniel had me training with a spear in the water. I was so sore the first few days! But I got better. Stronger and faster Daniel says. I think I blushed when he said that. I like training in the water. It’s soft and warm. And I also like how the water makes Daniel’s clothes fit tight around his body. Okok enough! No daydreaming Chloe. While training, a bit further south from Thebes than Orpheus’cave, I saw a stranger fight what looked like women with spears. Daniel said they were Myrinians. Not women, but a species of those monsters. I wanted to take a closer look, so we moved closer to the fight. They look just like humans! But they fight very aggressively. Long jumping attacks with a powerful thrust of their spear. I want to learn how to do that too! The strange fighting them had very powerful weapons and armor, but I saw him weakening wth every attack and finally one of them got through his defenses for the final blow. The moment his body fell to the ground, they turned around and went on as if nothing had happened. Like animals! As much as I want to learn how to do those jumping attacks too, after witnessing that I just wanted to clean up and go home. Daniel saw the look in my eyes and nodded. He took my spear. I cleaned up a bit and picked some flowers for mother. When I get home, I’ll give her a big hug. Tomorrow, I will start working on those jump attacks!
Part 4
I’M SO FRUSTRATED! I can’t do these long jumps! I‘ve been practicing all week long and I can barely jump half the distances these Myrinians jump. Daniel says it is still a very powerful attack, and I know he is right. We’ve also been doing a lot of water training with both spear and daggers, and honestly. I’ve become good at it! Yesterday, Daniel and I sparred at the end of the day and I wiped his feet from under him. I was faster than Daniel! A huge achievement. We also saw the smoke from Thebes. I knew something wrong when I saw that. I immediately ran home. Mother told us, that the king ad just announced the army that was sent out a few weeks ago had perished. I completely forgot to mention that here! I’ve been so busy training, Rumors had been going around about monster attacks increasing. The king sent out scouts. I don’t really know where, but they found something, and the whole army was sent there. It was very impressive to see all of those soldiers board the ships. But the soldiers never came back. I guess that’s also a reason I’m frustrated. If all of those soldiers weren’t enough. Then how much of a difference can I make? That evening, father said he want mother and me to go to Cyzicus. He says it’s safer there. Part of me wants to go there. To escape all of this and live a simple life. No monsters, no training. Mother grew up there. Grandpapa and grandmamma live there. Maybe it’ll be good for me. Another part of me wants to stay here. My friends are here. I grew up here! Part of me wants to stay here, and defend Thebes if it comes to that. I haven’t been training for nothing.! And what about Daniel? Will I ever see him again? I’ve told him mother and I have to leave for Cyzicus. He nodded and said my father had made a wise decision. What does that mean??
Part 5
Well, this has been my first week in Cyzicus and I have to say that it has been an interesting one. When we first got here, I was amazed by how open it is here. Very different from Thebes. Very different also, because of all the things that are not here! No market, no temples, no barracks. Life here is so different. It’s quiet! Too quiet for my liking. One very, very pleasant surprise was that Daniel is also here! I don’t know how he does it, but on my second day here I was exploring around town and he was just sitting there on a rock! He looked very out of place dressed like a stranger but he looked the same in Thebes. But he behaved like he grew up here. He knew every path, every place where you can cross the water. How is that possible?? I asked him, but he just smiled. He also brought a pear and daggers for me and we have been training with them here. Mother is much more relaxed here, so it’s easier for me to come up with an excuse why my hair is wet, or why I have bruises on my knees or arms. While exploring, I found monsters all around Cyzicus. They looked very much like the Arges north of Thebes, but they look a bit different. Daniel said the ones in the south are the Achelous and the ones to the north are the Asterion. They are big and move pretty slow. This week Daniel is teaching me how to look for weak points in an enemy I’m fighting. My daggers won’t do much damage to big opponents, so I need to learn where to hurt them the most. My aim is good enough. Especially on such big targets as these Achelous. Daniel said I’m almost ready to fight those! A bit scary, but Fudge the world! I want to make this a safer place!
Wo is Daniel?? Is he Haruspex? Are they taking an active role in Ancient Greece? Why? Why now?