10 [Escape III]
Fate/Defiance
Chapter 9 [Escape III]
By theMadLad
Icarus had finally flown up high enough to even rise above the Acropolis, the place where his life had suddenly turned upside down.
He felt turbulent emotions bubbling to the surface as questions clouded his mind.
What would he do now? Or, could he really escape?
Focus, he told himself, while choosing to squash down any inner anxiety about the future, and instead looking towards the hill adjacent.
The Areopagus.
Where his father's trial will be held.
He took a deep breath, hyping himself up for his next move.
This was it.
Either make it or break it.
He looked through the scope attached to the compound bow's riser and aimed towards the areopagus. Icarus eventually got a good enough look at the location and eyed the area.
The place was a jagged hill, filled with uneven ground made up of white stone and void of any vegetation.
Carved into the stone were various seats that were elevated over a small dug out pit.
He could see all those seats filled to the brim, with an audience covering the jagged hill in an ocean of people numbering by the thousands.
And finally, his father.
Daedalus.
He was strung up from a large post, with a rope knotted from the top restricting him in place.
Icarus breathed out.
Even though it was only a short while ago and he knew his father was fine, he still sighed in relief at seeing him well.
He felt the perception he had of his father repeatedly shift overnight.
Originally, he planned on leaving Daedalus and seeking out Chiron to become strong and gain a sense of security in this dangerous world. While he regarded Daedalus as his father, he never really felt that way.
He knew how prideful his father was, and as much as Daedalus tried… Icarus would never be his number one priority—only his inventions would be, they were his glory.
That's who he was.
A person who cared for glory more than anything.
Icarus even had to hide his own talents and sabotage himself just to feel comfortable around him, safe around him—his own father.
How stressful was that?
…and his erratic behavior didn't help.
It even made Icarus have to be partially responsible for Daedalus and the things he would do whether out in public or in the privacy of their own home.
Who knew what he would do next?
The murder of Perdix was the tipping point, the drop off of an already fragile relationship.
At that moment, he was ready to cut all ties with Daedalus.
Icarus was of course thankful for everything his father taught him, but that—killing his cousin, Daedalus' own nephew and protégé.
It was too much.
In Icarus' mind, there was no excuse.
—Then what happened next through it all out the window.
Daedalus risked everything to save him.
He threw away his reputation, his fame, his glory.
Everything that Icarus knew his father put above all else.
His father's number one priority, at that moment… became him.
His magic, his inventions, his vanity, they all took a backseat to Icarus. Daedalus even gave Icarus complete access to his workshop just for him to have a chance of escaping.
It went against everything that he knew about his father, it was like he was a whole different person at that moment.
For the first time since he had lived the life of Icarus, he finally felt that his father was truly Daedalus.
…The love of a father that would mourn his son's death by declaring the name of an island after him, just so he would never be forgotten—even thousands of years later.[1]
While he didn't forgive Daedalus for pretty much killing Perdix, he wasn't going to forget what Daedalus did for him either.
His father saved him.
Now, he was going to save him in return.
Because… ain't that what heroes do, save people?
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Alcaeus was ready to fire.
After acquiring a bow and some arrows from the third member of their little group, he took aim at the boy rising into the sky.
The crowd's roars and cheers were distracting enough for him to have struggles concentrating. He was always rather talented at fighting, easily wielding various weapons such as swords and spears with bows included, but not talented to the point of being considered a hero.
A Hero.
—Great men, who rise above others.
Whether they be the descendent of Gods, slayers of monsters, peerless warriors or founders of legendary cities.
They were the unique ones who would become central figures in time of change.
Alcaeus could remember a more innocent time in his life, when he was but a boy with dreams of glory and legend. Playing alongside the other children as they imagined themselves as heroes in the flesh.
When he grew up with the whispers of ambition and fantasy in his ears as he would pretend to slay a ferocious dragon, before building a fort in the woods and generously titling it Thebes, as he proclaimed himself Cadmus—its king and founder.[2]
While one of the other children would grab a small mule and ride it as they imagined it to be Posiedon's winged horse and they, it's legendary rider—Bellerophon, before clashing together with him as they battled out a grand play with the rest of the children watching in audience.[3]
Those were much simpler times.
Much better times.
…His hand grasping the bow began to shake.
Times before Alcaeus became the careless, malicious, and selfish man he is today.
Nights when sleep was easier because he could actually look forward to the next day, when the lulls of the land belonging to Hypnos and his sons filled him with the ambition to accomplish his childhood fantasies.[4]
The day before he lost his parents and was left on his lonesome.
The days before he was forced into a paederasty with an older man.[5]
The days before his childish wonder and innocence died.
The days before he became a bitter man who lashed out at the world any chance he had.
The days before he became the very same kind of man as the one who traumatized him.
A bead of sweat ran down his face as he stared at the boy ascending further into the sky. He could even faintly hear the sounds of Aeschylus yelling in his ear, but it was muted and fading.
The edges of his vision seemed to blur as he aimed his bow.
He was angry.
Angry at his parents for leaving him, angry at that man for forcing himself upon him, angry at Cecrops for controlling his life, angry at Aeschylus for manipulating him into this, angry at the Gods for never answering his prayers, and angry at the world for being a shitty place that didn't care for anyone.
He was dead if he didn't shoot down the boy.
He wanted to shoot down the boy—just to spite the world that took everything from him.
He couldn't become a hero, so why should he let anyone else do it?
…But, for some reason he couldn't do it.
Something deep inside cried out not to.
Alcaeus knew that one day he would die, and when he did, his soul would undoubtedly go into the deepest layer of Hades, Tartarus.[6]
…and he accepted that.
He wasn't a good man.
He was pretty sure he had never even done a single good thing throughout his entire life.
But, as he looked up to the boy above and watched as the light of Helios' bathed him with dazzling golden rays—illuminating him for all of Athens to see as he aimed his bow towards the Areopagus...
—Alcaeus realized something, something that made him feel a sense of self-loathing and doubt throughout himself.
He took a deep breath while still aiming his bow up towards Icarus, before eventually feeling his nerves settle and his body finally release its tension.
To see a boy at the age he used to be when his fantasies were still fresh on his mind—so easily perform those very fantasies right before his eyes… was astounding.
No, more than astounding.
It was eye opening.
To have greatness, and everything he ever wanted in life be so blatantly shoved in his face.
It made him for the first time in a very long time, look back on his actions and feel regret.
To finally confront everything in his shitty life, rather than just run away from it again and inflict that pain he felt inside on others instead.
To have that now foreign, childlike innocence nostalgically reach out once more from the inside and scream out that he could be more… that he could be anything if he tried his hardest.
Looking at that boy in the sky become a hero—become more, right before his eyes, made him want to become more too.
His whole life had led up to this moment, to this decision.
He could kill this boy right now.
But, if he shot down that boy—he wouldn't just be killing him… no, he'd be killing the little boy inside himself as well.
That affirmation gave him the resolve to make a decision, one that he would have never seen himself make.
…he dropped the bow to the floor.
As it clattered on the ground, he saw the boy, Icarus, bring his feet to the little handles on the strange bow he carried, before pulling back with all his might, using his entire body to draw the bow.
—and fired.
Instantly a boom rocked the surroundings, dropping him and everyone in the area to the floor from the sheer force.
They all felt their ears ring with pain, but still smiled regardless, as they had the privilege to witness the birth of something greater before their very own eyes.
The majority of them didn't notice the second boom far off in the distance coming from the direction of the areopagus.
But, Alcaeus did.
It made him realize what he thought earlier was true.
That boy didn't do it for the glory—he wasn't founding some city, slaying some monster, or performing some Gods given quest.
He was just trying to save his father.
…Ahh, so that's what a hero really is.
He was glad he didn't take that shot.
That night, for the first time in a very long time, he finally fell asleep peacefully and rested soundly… smiling as he was dragged into the land of Hypnos, while dreaming of flying out in the sky and saving everything he ever cared for.
—The strings were snipped.
He didn't wake up the next day.
——————————————
Holy shit!
Icarus' eyes were shot open in astonishment as his jaw dropped towards the ground. He felt his ears ring in slight pain as the balloon carrying him seemed to shake in response to the sudden force.
His bow was way stronger than he expected.
He knew it would be strong, but at the level of achieving a sonic boom—no, two sonic booms was something he never imagined.
Well… Icarus should have noticed something earlier, even before he began to draw it.
It was the moment he prepared to fire, that he felt it.
—It was always there, just subtle at first… as he had mostly ignored it under all the pressure he was under.
But, when he pulled that bowstring back, it really hit him.
The bow felt heavier, but not literally—it was metaphysically, or conceptually heavier.
He intrinsically knew that if he fired a shot within Athens, it would go exactly where he wanted.
He didn't even need a scope.
The bow itself gave him a form of clairvoyance over Athens.
"Haha!" He laughed as he realized the reason why.
When he had tried to conceptually tie his bow to Athens while he made it, he had succeeded. His sudden and improvised idea actually worked.
His bow became a sort of metaphorical item representing Athens itself—the city-state which laid the foundations of the western world and bore the name of the Goddess of Wisdom, War, Courage, Industry, and Heroism.
It was rather fitting now that he thought of it.
But, he was still mostly assuming that was the case, and wasn't 100% sure.
Icarus glanced at the large bow with a smile on his face as he tilted his head in thought, "…Now you just need a name."
The moment those words left his mouth, a glare of light seemed to strike his eyes, causing him to squint in pain. He turned towards the light's direction, spotting a massive statue of bronze.
…It was a statue of Athena—one which was remarkable in size. It towered over the city-state as it stood atop Athens' Acropolis with spear and shield in hand, like a divine protector ready to drive off any invader who dared to attack—regardless of their might.
"…I see." Icarus murmured as he noted the dulled bronze belonging to the statue was incapable of reflecting such a light into his eyes.
—It could only be divine intervention.
A signal that Athena wanted the bow's name to be in tribute to her.
"Very well!" He shouted to the skies as he grandly raised the bow above him, giving the side of it a pompous smooch as he spoke, "…I dub thee Promachos!"
Promachos, a phrase meaning 'who fights in the front line.'
It was a name and term attached to Athena, specifically Athena Promachos. The warrior aspect of the Goddess—the 'Athena who fights in the front line.'
The side of Athena who was believed to lead soldiers into battle and represented the disciplined, strategic side of war, and supported only those fighting for a just cause.
As the name left his lips, he could feel a presence in the air suddenly appear before suffusing itself into the bow.
His eyes widened at the sudden event before he clenched his teeth as the bow's conceptual weight seemed to double on the spot. Icarus felt his head blur in response, just looking at the bow made him feel as if he was holding a live bomb in his hands.
It was nerve-racking.
He forced himself to ignore the feeling, sweat dripping down his brow as he turned his eyes back to the scope and once again looked down towards the Areopagus, in the direction of his father.
When he eyed the place, Icarus flinched slightly when he spotted a large number of the people there terrified and crawling on the ground as they looked towards his direction in horror.
He really couldn't blame them much though, especially after seeing the aftermath of his arrow on the cliffside. Which was left with a heavy imprint that was filled with cracks and layered with debris alongside blankets of dust in the air above.
"…Sorry." He grimaced as he murmured silently in apology.
The people there didn't deserve to feel so terrified and he felt decently bad about causing them to.
He shook his head before looking towards where his father was restrained, only to find it empty with no one in sight. He quickly scanned the area in response, but to no avail.
Daedalus escaped.
Icarus smiled slightly at his success.
He had achieved his goals, but for some reason rather than satisfaction he instead felt a bit of melancholy.
He acknowledged that his life was about to undergo a massive change, but how quickly it happened was stressful.
So, as he overlooked Athens from the clouds while slowly starting to gain distance from the city-state, he briefly sighed from his contradictory emotions while he floated out towards whichever direction the wind took him.
…Then, the cry of a bird beside his ear tore him out of his thoughts, before filling them with dread as he spotted it.
—An Eagle.
Eagles only represented one God.
Zeus.
Fuck.
(Here's a cool image of this chapter.)
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Author's Notes
Chapter done! Hope you enjoyed it, please leave feedback whether it be comments, suggestions, or reviews!
Why would Zeus be there? Well, let's just say Icarus really caught Athena's eye.
Leave POWERSTONE FOR MORE, also comments, comments help too.
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Here's some explanations on the whole part with Alceaus if you'd like.
It was a bit of foreshadowing on how Fate works and how it interacts with Icarus' actions.
Basically, Fate acts like a puppet master—ruthlessly setting up events by manipulating the people it needs to make it happen.
A theme I want to explore a bit is Free Will. Specifically, the aspect of 'Free Will' seen in religious connotations, such as things like 'God's Plan' or 'Fate.'
In this chapter, Fate had manipulated Alcaeus throughout his life into a person who hated to confront his past, a person who was bitter with the idea of Heroes, and a person who wanted to take his anger out on the world.
Basically, the perfect person to shoot down a budding hero without hesitation, especially when encouraged with spite—and exactly the kind of person fate needed to take down Icarus.
You see in this fic, Fate can manipulate events and people, but not emotion and will.
To subvert this, Fate will manipulate a person's life in order for them to become the way they want. (So, if Fate wanted someone to be angry one day in order for them to take certain actions, they might fuck up part of his life the day before.)
But that is where the Free Will aspect lies, Fate cannot actually choose how they react for them.
This is what saved Icarus in this chapter.
Icarus doesn't act like a hero of old, because that's not what Icarus thinks a hero is.
He grew up in the modern era, where heroes are determined not by their power, but by their morals.
Heroes who didn't care for slaying monsters, but saving others.
So, instead of Alcaeus being spiteful and shooting down Icarus, he was actually inspired by him and chose not to regardless of Fate's manipulation.
Even at the cost of his life.
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Glossary
[1] The Island of Icaria
Icaria, also spelled Ikaria (Greek: Ικαρία), is a Greek island 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos.
According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was believed to have fallen into the sea nearby. It is said that in his grief, Daedalus wept for his son and called the nearest land Icaria in the memory of him.
Today, the supposed site of his burial on the island bears his name, and the sea near Icaria in which he drowned is called the Icarian Sea.
[2] Cadmus
In Greek mythology, Cadmus was the legendary Phoenician founder of Thebes.
He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles.
Commonly stated to be a prince of Phoenicia, he was sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores of Phoenicia by Zeus.
[3] Bellerophon
Bellerophon is a hero of Greek mythology.
He was the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles, and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera—a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail citing that, "her breath came out in terrible blasts of burning flame."
He is also known for capturing the winged horse Pegasus with the help of Athena's charmed bridle, and earning the disfavour of the gods after, in his hubris, attempting to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus to join them.
Not to be confused with Medusa's Noble Phantasm, Bellerophon—which is instead the Pegasus itself (Sharing the name with the Hero instead of just being called Pegasus.)
[4] Hypnos and his sons
Hypnos, the Greco-Roman God of Sleep.
In Greek myth, he is variously described as living in the underworld or on the island of Lemnos (according to Homer) or (according to Book XI of Ovid's Metamorphoses) in a dark, musty cave in the land of the Cimmerians, through which flowed the waters of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and oblivion.
Hypnos lay on his soft couch, surrounded by his many sons, who were the bringers of dreams. Chief among them were Morpheus, who brought dreams of men; Icelus, who brought dreams of animals; and Phantasus, who brought dreams of inanimate things.
[5] Paederasty
Paederasty, or pederasty, is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term pederasty is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
Some scholars locate its origin in initiation ritual, particularly rites of passage on Crete, where it was associated with entrance into military life and the religion of Zeus.
It is argued that many Greek boys in these relationships may have been traumatized by knowing that they were violating social customs, since the "most shameful thing that could happen to any Greek male was penetration by another male."
[6] Tartarus
In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deepest abyss of the Underworld (which can also be referred to as Hades, sharing the namesake with the God who rules over it.) that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans.
Tartarus is the place where souls are judged after death, and where the wicked received divine punishment.
Tartarus is also considered to be a primordial force or deity alongside entities such as the Earth, Night, and Time.
