Princess Theseus and the Bull

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> //On the island of Crete, a prince was born with the body of a man and the head of a bull. King Minos of Crete bade legendary inventor Daedalus build a maze to trap the Bull, as no ordinary prison was strong enough to hold him. Daedalus did, and he called his prison the Labyrinth.// [[Page 2]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> //The Cretans went to war with the noble city of Athens and defeated them in battle. As punishment, cruel King Minos demanded fourteen Athenian youths of noble birth be paid to him every year, to be fed to the monster in his dreadful maze.// [[Page 3]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You watch as the Cretan parade marches down the road towards you, footsoldiers and chalk-whitened horses pulling gleaming chariots. You are Princess Theseus of Athens. Your people gather silently on either side of the road to the temple of Athena, where you wait alongside your royal mother and father at the top of the steps. The soldiers are here for the tributes. Behind you, seven women and seven men of noble birth stand with hands cuffed behind their backs, all linked together by a heavy chain threaded between the wrists. They are guarded by your own houses' spearmen. [[Page 4]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> There is a ceremony, led by your royal father; speeches, blessings, obeisances. You bow and scrape, and burn with shame. You are also a noble youth, and the same age as the men and women bound and shackled there on the steps. As the daughter of King Aegeus, you are the only heir of the high families who is exempt from the tithe. You feel sick. As your spearmen prod the prisoners forward, you fight to contain the emotion rising in your throat. - [[Sorrow]] - [[Anger]] - [[Shame]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Hot tears spill silently from your eyes and drip off your chin. You try to conceal the shuddering breaths you are taking and keep your shoulders from shaking as you watch the fourteen be marched away through reddened eyes. [[Page 5]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Your anger is so hot it feels as though it will burn a hole through your throat. As the tributes retreat, you clench your jaw so hard you feel your molars grind together and pain springs up your neck as your nails cut into the palms of your clenched fists. [[Page 5]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Try as you may, you cannot bring yourself to look at the prisoners as they are marched into the column. You feel sick that you cannot even give them that respect as they are sent off to their deaths. You look at the ground insead. [[Page 5]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> That night, you resolved to act. You are yourself a warrior, so how could you stand by as your people are taken as prisoners of war? There is still time- you know the Cretan ships will remain beached until morning, as the rocky Athenian shores are too dangerous to sail by moonlight. You wait until just before dawn, when the last night watch will be growing lazy and distracted. You sneak onto the prisoner's ship, swapping clothes with the woman who looks most similar to yourself. You set the woman free and bid her send word to the King and Queen that their daughter has left for Crete. The ships set sail at dawn. [[Page 6]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You sit on the floor in the hold of the ship, huddled in the clothes of the woman who you freed. The thirteen other prisoners will not speak to you, furious that you only chose one of them to save. One man tried telling the guard that you had broken in, that you were the Princess, but to no avail. The guardsman believed he was beinng mocked and struck the man hard across the jaw. You had been impulsive. In your grief and anger you acted without thinking, and now you were afraid. You were an accomplished warrior, but to challenge the Bull alone with no allies, trapped in the Labyrinth? May the gods help you. [[Page 7]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> When the fleet arrived in Crete, you were transferred from your hot, briny cell on the ship to a chilly one in the dungeon below the palace. The others had still not forgiven you, and you suspected they never would. You lie awake in the dark as the others sleep. You stir as you sense the cell door open and close. You hear soft footsteps, and see a woman's face lit by a gentle golden light. She is dressed like a weaver, except the fabric of her clothes is an extraoridnary purple, the kind of color only families like yours would be able to afford. A distaff hangs from her hip, wound with miraculous golden fleece. On her other hip, a bronze sword, and in her hands, she holds a spindle of softly glowing golden thread. [[Page 8]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You sit up fully as she draws closer. "Your Highness," she spoke quietly, so as not to wake the others. "I am Ariadne, daughter of King Minos." She looked nervous as she spoke, her eyes trained on the floor. "The Bull was borne of my mother Queen Pasiphaë. He is my half-brother. I beg you please, take this thread and this sword and slay him." She raised her eyes to yours and pushed the sword and the spool into your hands. "I was sent these by the Lady Athena, patron of Athens and of weavers. Use the thread to mark your way- it will never run out. So long as you let it trail behind you, you will not be lost to the maze. Take this sword and name it, and use it to slay the Bull." [[Page 9]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You find your voice as she turns to leave the cell. "Wait!" you whisper fiercely, but she does not turn back. You look down at the sword in your hand reflecting the soft golden light of the thread. Seeing it then, you know that it should be called: (input-box:bind $sword) You use the thread to bind it to your leg, underneath your chiton. [[Page 10]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> The following morning is the Ceremony. Even more lavish than the one in Athens, each tribute is blessed before the lot are lowered slowly into the Labyrinth on a winched platform suspended by thick iron chains. The crowds scream and cheer as you are lowered slowly into the dark. [[Page 11]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You're not sure how long it's been, but your stomach growls and you feel weak. You haven't slept for fear of being found by the Bull while you rest. You haven't seen any of the others since you were brought here- you wonder how many are still alive. You continue to trail the golden thread behind you. Ariadne had been true to her word; though you have been walking for what feels like days, the spool of thread hasn't grown any smaller. You have since moved $sword from its place tied to your leg onto your hip [[Page 12]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Which way do you go? -[[Left]] -[[Right]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Which way do you go? -[[Left again]] -[[Right]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Which way do you go? -[[Left]] -[[Right again]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Which way do you go? -[[Another left]] -[[Right]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Which way do you go? -[[Left]] -[[Another right]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> Just then you freeze, and rush to conceal the golden light of the thread beneath your clothes. You hear scraping and huffing, and the sound of someone singing? You press your back to a corner and try to peer around the wall. [[Page 13]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> It's him! He is a fearsome height and breadth- if you were standing face-to-face you suspect you would only come up to his chest, and you are no small woman. His shoulders are as wide as three of yours, and you can see that he has the hooves and head of an ivory-colored bull. [[Page 14]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> His horns are tipped with battered caps of gold. He is wearing an Athenian-style chiton, and as you listen, you recognize the tune of the song he is singing to himself in broken Greek is a nursery rhyme. You are shocked- you were told this Bull was as an animal, but there he is, wearing clothes and speaking Greek like a man! -[[Try to reason with him]] -[[Ready your sword]] -[[Try to run]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> "Hello?" You call as you step from behind the wall. His head whips around at the sound of your voice. You feel hot breath from his nostrils, and you can see the whites of his eyes. He looks ready to charge. You put your empty hands up where he can see them. "Please," you say. "I am the Princess Theseus of Athens, and I can help you. I was granted a boon from the Goddess Athena- if you follow me, we can both escape from this maze." You see his forehead furrow as he parses your words. He begins to slowly shake his head. "No," he says sadly, "No." [[Page 15]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You step from behind the wall and ready $sword. His eyes flick to yours. You feel a blast of hot breath as he snorts in surprise. He turns and bellows as he charges towards you. [[Page 15]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You thought you were going to fight an animal- not a man with the strength of a beast! You try to slip away quietly, but $sword scrapes along the wall as you move. You see one of the Bull's ears flick back towards the source of the noise, and you are seen. You feel a stab of panic as he turns and charges towards you. [[Page 15]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You are taken aback by the speed and ferocity of his reaction, and you give up several steps as you raise $sword to meet his charge. You cannot meet him head-on, but you dodge to the side at the very last second. He flies past your shoulder and rounds back on you for another pass. [[Page 16]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You begin to panic in earnest. He's too big and too fast! You cannot hope to block an opponent of his size charging at speed; you were hoping you'd be able to catch him by surprise, but the time for that is long over. You almost trip as you throw yourself to the side again, feeling the passage of his body make your clothes flap like a cape. [[Page 17]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> He rounds again for a third charge. You meet his eyes as you brace your back foot, ready $sword, and trip over the tangle of golden thread you've inadvertently laid during your battle! The Bull launches himself at you as you scrabble in the dirt. He is moving with so much momentum you doubt he would be able to change direction at this point. In the last moment before impact, you squeeze your eyes shut and raise the tip of $sword before your chest. [[Page 18]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> If your eyes had been open, you would have seen the exact moment the Bull realized he was about to impale himself on your sword. He tries to divert his path, but rams wetly into $sword and runs it up to the hilt. You had positioned your weapon in such a way that the blade has gone under the rib cage and punched through the diaphragam. The end of it has pierced his great heart. You meet his eyes as he begins to slump to the ground, blood gushing over your hands and your lap. His blood is the same rich red as the blood of an ox. You begin to cry. [[Page 19]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> As the beating of his heart began to slow you held the Bull's great head in your lap. You find an old coin tied to a leather band hanging around his neck. You put the coin under his tongue and you shut his eyes. You turn back and begin to follow the thread. [[Page 20]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> After days of walking yet again, you find yourself standing underneath the bright square of sky where you were first lowered into the maze. You call out, but no one is there. You wait quite a long time, you think, but it has been days since you had last eaten or drunk. You pass in and out of consciousness, until you are awoken by the bleating of sheep being lowered down on the same platform that had been used for yourself and the others. This must be how they keep the Bull fed when there are no prisoners to feed him! [[Page 21]]

<img src="public_html/Tondo_Minotaur_London_E4_MAN.jpg " width="400px" height="400px"> You pull your body onto the platform as it raises itself up. The shepherd screams when he sees you there on the platform, but you are able to convince him not to run once he realizes that you're alive. You must be a sight, filthy and painted in arterial spray. You show him your blood-caked sword and the soft gold caps you'd pried from the Bull's horns. You are free. (text-colour: "gold")[''The End'']