Week 7 Story: Hadrian's Tale

Hadrian was a farm boy from the city of Corinth – he had always been told by his mother to be wary of the areas outside their lonely home, since she couldn’t be sure of what was out there. He had asked her one day, while milking the cow, why she had such trepidation to go outside the city limits. She responded with a matter-of-fact reply, “Because it’s dangerous”. She had always been that way with him, never taking any “talkback” and always demanding absolute obedience. Her favorite phrase had been, “so help me child I will throw you into the depths with Cronos if you speak back to me like that.”

It had been that attitude that drove him away. He wanted to see what was out there, to experience all that the world had to offer. The night he ran away had been the hardest, sleeping alone on the side of a barren road, looking out for fellow travelers that might need some company. Hadrian made his way from Corinth to Athens to Sparti, further drifting towards the sea. Since he had laid eyes on the sparkling blue ocean, he was completely transfixed by it – no more working the fields for him, he would be moving onto a better paying, more exhilarating job. He was going to be a sailor.

Working his way through the ports wasn’t easy. The men looked down on him – he hadn’t proved himself at sea yet, so most were wary to have him as part of their crew. Hadrian knew that this is what he wanted so he kept looking for a willing captain. Finally, after weeks of scouring the ports, Hadrian came to a pirate bay– he wasn’t supposed to know where it was, but at a local tavern he had overheard two sailors discussing the illegal underbelly right within the city.

The vessel that let him aboard was heading to some remote island to deliver supplies, apparently to a woman that had talked the captain into delivering opium. Hadrian didn’t care where he wound up.

After a few weeks, they came to the island – it was remote, except for a single path into the deep woods. Hadrian, being the “whipping boy” of the crew, was sent to investigate for signs of the mysterious woman. The captain, before sending him ashore, said to him, “don’t take anything that she gives you – only mention that we have her opium.

Walking in the woods, alone yet again, Hadrian could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on him. Turning quickly, he saw the yellow eyes of creatures within the dark underbrush, looking at him inquisitively. His mother’s words rang in his head, “it’s dangerous”. He could feel that this place was ancient, full of something that he couldn’t understand. Turning back wasn’t an option, he needed to prove that he could handle such a simple task. Hadrian pushed forward, through the increasingly dense forest, with an ever increasing presence of animals growing behind him. Finally, he emerged into a giant clearing, stopping dead in his tracks at what he saw.

A fabulous looking marble palace was standing erect in the middle of the clearing, but that wasn’t what he was looking at. Hundreds of animals were milling about – there were the basic farm animals that he was used to, then the rarer lion or two, but there were dozens of creatures that he had never seen before.

“Hello there!” A shout echoed across the field – a woman, dazzling in the sunlight, stood at the door beckoning to Hadrian. “Come here, young one”. Her voice had a lilt to it, as if she was about to laugh – it was full of joy and love. It was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. Hadrian walked towards her, feeling like his limbs were underwater, as if in a dream.

Getting closer to the woman, she was even more stunning that he could have imagined.

“Come in, join me for supper, your captain is on his way – I sent a raven to your ship, asking for his crew personally.” She said as she walked inside the palace. The inside was full with just as many animals, but now there were handmaindens throwing out feed. Rounding a corner, Hadrian came face to face with a long-table, only reserved for the highest of royalty.

As he pulled out a chair, the witch whispered in his ear to remain still. He couldn’t move – the awe of the palace was pulled out of his mind, instead being replaced by his mom’s ever present voice. “It’s dangerous” and it certainly was – he shouldn’t have left, the beautiful woman in front of him was going to do something terrible, he knew it at the depths of his gut.

Circe placed a grape in his mouth, forcing him to eat. His mind was screaming, nothing was coming out. As his hands turned to hooves and his nose morphed into a snout, all he could think was how mistaken he had been.

Circe and her animals, by Wright Barker

This story was a re-telling of the Homer's Odyssey section where he and his men are almost tricked into becoming animals at the hands of  Circe.

The Magic Spell, by Tony Kline