Myth Rewrite
The seagulls were certainly antagonistic that day. I watched as one fought over a piece of bread with its brethren. The sun was beating down on the ship as I waited for the crew to return from their trip to the mainland. I was the helmsman of the ship, and though it was not required of me to stay behind with it as the others went gallivanting around town, I loved staying behind. They would inevitably get drunk and bother some poor women, thinking it was what they were owed after our hunt for goods to sell. I realized that that being here with these men was a terrible idea. I was not a particularly vengeful person, I did not want to see people's belongings stolen but, what choice did I have? I needed an escape from my homeland and this profession allowed me to visit distant lands, and to hear stories about the gods and their deeds. Being a pirate also allowed me the chance to be a man, to escape the feminine world I was forced to live in. Pirates don't ask questions about your life. If you did your job, they would leave you be. I was just lucky I was not blessed by Aphrodite in the figure department. I was grateful I did not have much to bind down.
I continued to watch the seagulls’ squabble; it had now progressed to screaming over rights to the bread. My mind wandered to stories, which it often did. I thought of the blind seer Tiresias. I used to envy Tiresias and would soak up all the stories I could about him. The story of his miraculous (in my opinion) change into a woman and then back into a man made my mind dizzy with possibility. Was that something the gods could give me? Was that what I wanted? Growing up a woman, being referred to as less and being unable to express myself in any form did grate on me. However, as I have been presenting as a man for these past few months, I realized this does not feel correct either. People expected me to be loud and assertive, run through life as if everything was owed to me. I did not want to be loud, I wanted to live a quiet life with people I loved and spend the remainder of my days telling stories with them. I did not wish to be a woman. I did not wish to be a man. Where did that leave me? I was brought back to the present as the two seagulls flew away at the sound of the crew returning from their trip. The men were stumbling and glaring at the sun as they stumbled onto the ship. "Galen! Have fun watching the ship? You missed all the beautiful women and wine!" Adelphos called out to me as he stumbled over, still feeling the effects of the previous night's wine. Adelphos was a rower, loud and assertive, and seen as a perfect definition on how a man should appear.
"A real shame Adelphos, but you know how nervous I get being away from the ship." I moved towards the back of the ship to prepare to guide the rowers to our next destination. Our leader, Ocnus, was the last to board. He was a board man with a serious face. His default expression was annoyance, but he tended to yell at the rowers rather than myself, so I did not fear him as much as they did.
"Galen! Get ready, we are departing to Thebes." Ocnus called to me as he attempted to corral the men to their spots. I nodded and headed to my post. I was excited to be heading to a larger city, all the best storytellers are there. I would certainly leave the boat this time and escape the others to catch a few before we had to depart again. I readied myself and tuned out the noise of the others, already dreaming of the tales I would soon hear. The men sang and yelled with each other as the wind carried us on. The men were lucky the gods decided to give us fair wind so they could relax and try to get over their hangovers. Even if I did not feel like one of them, I had to admit I did appreciate their noise. It helped keep me from getting lost in my own mind, spiraling in an endless loop of what exactly I am. Maybe that is the true reason I joined them. To keep myself from going insane. It was not my problem if they stole from others, the robbed were clearly not being careful enough, and thus nature dictated that the weak must be attacked by the strong. I always wondered if I repeated that enough, would I one day begin to believe it? The wind was on our side the whole afternoon but began to die by nightfall. Luckily, we were not far from land, so Ocnus told us to shore there for the evening.
I was not certain where we were (I believe we were a day or two away from Thebes) but the shore we had come upon did not seem densely populated. The men gathered sticks for fires and, once again, broke out any wineskins they had on their persons. I was shocked they could not even wait for the sun to set before indulging once again. "Galen!" Ocnus called out to me near the trees by the shores, "come, let us see if there are any towns nearby before the sun sets." I nodded and walked to meet him. The two of us set off further into the forest, finding no towns, but a path deep inside. "Well, I suppose we have gone far enough. There are no towns close to us and I do not want the men to have to travel so far to retrieve goods. We will wait until we are closer to Thebes to find us bounty." Ocnus said, though I was not sure if it was directed at me or himself. Either way, I hummed in agreement and turned back towards the shore but was stopped when I heard whistling to the right of us. A young man was walking towards us, though it did not appear that he was even aware we were there. He was tall, and quite handsome. His skin was tanned, his hair was dark, but it appeared almost to have a purple tinge to when the setting sun hit it. His chiton was clearly made from a rich fabric and was dyed a brilliant lilac. With what appeared to be jaguar skin acting as a chlamys. Before I could wrap my head on where exactly this young man came from, Ocnus was already calling out to him.
"Hello my friend! Where are you off to?" The man stopped walking but continued to whistle as he opened one eye to stare at us. I gasped quietly, but Ocnus gave no indication he saw what I had seen and continued his way towards him. I stayed rooted to my spot, suddenly afraid of this man. I swore when he first met my eyes his was a deep purple, almost like wine, before turning to an ordinary brown. Surely it was a trick of the light, but for some reason I was still afraid to get close to him. "What kingdom are you from? Surely you must be a prince with such fine clothing!" Ocnus had a charming smile on his face and held his arms out, "Why are you out here by yourself?"
The man had stopped whistling and turned his full attention to Ocnus, "I am traveling! I wanted to see the world; I have not gotten a chance to explore it much." He sounded amused as he continued, "I was actually on my way to Thebes! I want to obtain more worshippers, and more women!" His voice was pleasant, it was not deep, but it was not high pitched either. Without out looking at him it would be hard to place his sex.
Ocnus stood beside the man. "The gods have blessed you, my friend! For my crew and I are heading to Thebes, you can come along with us." Ocnus sounded different. There was an edge to his voice that made me look to him. At first glance he looked calm enough, but there something sinister about his offer.
"That is kind of you sir, but I would prefer to walk. I want to see if I can find any stragglers befitting my cult!" The young man smiled and made to walk past Ocnus. A cult? Was this man a religious leader or something? I was pondering his quest when Ocnus' hand suddenly shot out to grip the man's forearm.
"Come on friend! Surely your family wants you returned home quickly. And unharmed. It would be safer if you came with us." Ocnus was no longer smiling and seemed very intent on keeping this man with us.
"Captain? I am sure this man can handle himself. We should let him be on his way." I tried to sound sure of myself, but my voice came out weak. I did not want this man coming with us. He frightened me. Besides, I have never been a part of a kidnapping. This was harder to stomach than the stealing. At least with those, I could distance myself from it. I was only the helmsman! I was not hurting anyone! If this man came with us, I could not deny I had helped ransom him.
"Oh! Am I being kidnapped!? I have heard about those, but I never thought it would happen to me! How novel!" The man was staring at Ocnus' hand on his arm with childish wonder.
Ocnus turned to glare at me, "He is coming with us--are you not lad? Surely your family will pay a handsome amount to see you returned." Ocnus began to drag him along back to the shore and barked at me to follow.
"My parents? Oh no, they would not pay a drachma for me! Zeus does not use your mortal coins I am afraid. Though I am intrigued by them, how did you guys decide on using tiny piece of metal to buy things?"
Wait. What? My head shot up to look at him, only for my eyes to meet his. He was smirking at me, and his gaze was full of amusement. “You could have at least come up with something believable. Of course you parents will pay for you--let’s go!” Ocnus just shook his head and dragged the man beside him back to the others.
“I’m not lying! I mean I do a lot, but not this time! My name is Dionysus, and Zeus is my father. Though I cannot tell you who exactly my mother is--everyone’s story keeps changing when I ask them.” The young man (Dionysus apparently) protested, but still followed Ocnus without too much of a fuss. I refused to move for a moment, but eventually shook myself out of my stupor. He is just a man. There was no way he was divine. What kind of god would just walk somewhere? Surely, they would fly or just appear where they wished. I ran to catch up to them and walked on the other side of Ocnus,
“Captain, is this wise? We do not know where he is from. He may not even be rich; he could have stolen these clothes. We should just not waste the effort on this.” Dionysus made a noise and whipped his head towards me.
“Hey! I don’t steal…that often. I had these clothes custom made for me, and I think they look amazing! I wanted a wonderful outfit to premier my godhood to you mortals!” I glance up at him in annoyance. I was trying to get him out of this situation, but he seemed intent on digging himself deeper.
“You see Galen? He is wealthy and apparently a prince ready to take responsibility for his kingdom. He must be needed. Though he sure is arrogant to think himself a god.” I tried to come up with another excuse but fell short. I tried to reason with myself. This is his fault. He should have been traveling with some guards, or not traveling at all this late in the day. It is the law of nature. The weak get taken advantage of by the strong. I am just fulfilling nature, and I will make sure he does not get injured if I can help it. I looked up to see the pair of them were already quite a distance away from me and I headed off to catch up. I arrived shortly after they did back to the crew. Ocnus was already ordering the crew to pack up, because we had to get to Thebes to deliver the prince. Everyone scrambled to ready for departure, and a few of the men took Dionysus to the boat to tie to the mast. Adelphos began to wrap rope around Dionysus as I climbed aboard. Dionysus was chuckling to himself as he watched Adelphos work,
“Excuse me, this was fun, but I must be on my way now. I know Sir Serious did not tell you this, but my name is Dionysus, and I am a god so…bow before me I suppose.” Adelphos snorted and stepped back as he tied the last knot.
“I will do no such thing.” He turned to smile at me and opened his mouth to say something snarky (I assumed) but stopped short when a thump came from behind him. We both looked to the mast to Dionysus calmy standing there smiling at us. Untied. “How…?” Adelphos stood there in shock as Ocnus and the rest of the crew joined us.
“Why is he not tied up yet?” Ocnus moved to the front and picked up the rope.
“I thought I had sir; I must not have secured the knot properly.” Adelphos quickly jumped forward to assist Ocnus in tying Dionysus up again.
“Gentlemen. As I said, I really must be going, but thank you for showing me what is liked to be kidnapped! It was fun!” Dionysus said with his carefree smile still in place. Even though he said he had to leave he did not make a move to avoid the rope. I was fully afraid now. Adelphos is the best as securing knots, there is no way he did not this time. I turned to stare at the man—no, the god, as I was sure of it now. Dionysus was a god, he was here on our ship and this crew was ignoring the signs. Was I in a story in the making? In almost every tale I knew people ignored the very obvious omen that I could see that unfolding before me. I had to get Dionysus off this boat before he decided to smite us all.
"Listen, I realize I am new to this godhood thing, but surely you have heard of the cult in Dionysus' name?" The young man asked us all as the ropes once again refused to stay around him. I was beginning to panic. Why were the others not freaked out by this!? Ocnus glared at our captive.
"Your lies will not free you. You are clearly a prince, and you will get us a large sum of money for returning you." Ocnus tossed the rope towards me. "Galen, you stay with the boy." Dionysus let out an indignant noise. "Do not let him jump ship until we discover his identity." I froze. I had to convince Ocnus of the very obvious situation we were in.
"Ocnus, we should release him. I have not heard of the cults he speaks of, but you have to know that the fact he cannot be bound is somehow divine!" I saw Dionysus turn to study me,
"Wow! Someone capable of using their heads!" I refused to meet his eye and continued to speak to Ocnus,
"We should release him, beg his forgiveness and let us be on our way!" I prayed that Ocnus would listen to me, that greed would not cloud his judgement.
"Are you dense? He is not a god; he would not be here if he were so. He is a prince, which means he is worth money, and you are going to stay by him and keep him on this boat!" Ocnus pushed me towards our captive as he yelled at me. He never raised his voice at me before, and I realized why the crew was so fearful of him.
"Ocnus, please..."
"No! Kyros will take you position, and you stay here!" The whole crew was silent. Even Dionysus had stopped his snickering.
"If that is what you wish captain. I will watch him." I kept my head down as he walked to the back of the boat.
"Everyone! Get to your stations! We are leaving as soon as the wind picks up" The silence was broken, and everyone was back to their busy routines. Some of the men sneered at me as they passed.
"Such a coward. Too afraid to watch some dainty prince?" I refused to look up. I simply coiled the rope up and sat it down.
Just because the others were dumb enough to ignore the very odd fact that the ropes would not hold the Dionysus that did not mean I had to follow their lead. I was used to walking a different path than others. I glanced over to him. He still had that amused look on his face, but there was something just beneath it that caused unease. He looked like he was slowly losing patience with this game. I had heard stories of the gods, and I knew that they could lose interest in a ruse quickly. I just hoped his amusement would hold out until I was far away from this boat. I turned away from him and looked out to the horizon to avoid his gaze. I did not wish to talk to him or give him any more cause to know me. I may have respected the gods, but I did not wish to interact with them, if possible. They were too fickle for my taste. It seems the gods had a sixth sense when a human did not want to meet them, because Dionysus spoke up.
“You have really never heard of my cults?” I flinched but turned my head in his direction, staring at his jaguar skin rather than meet his eyes.
"I have not. We have been sailing for a while and I have not had time to hear new tales." He hummed, sat down on the deck, and patted the space beside him.
"Well, I suppose I can let this little game continue for a bit. I am rather curious to see what they do. Come and join me, it will be more fun to commentate with someone!" His voice sounded inviting, but I still felt that there would be consequences if I refused his offer. So I glanced once more to the sea and made my way to his side. I sat next a few feet away from him and still refused to look up to his face. Gods must really like playing with humans because he simply moved so he was pressed up against my side. He still smelled of wine, even after our trip back to the ship.
"Are you the god of wine or are you just drunk?" I murmured, without thinking about who I was speaking too. I immediately regretted my words, for he was silent for a moment before he burst into laughter. The sound made me think of the feeling of being tipsy--light and carefree.
"I suppose I am! Wine and women are my specialty! I supply the wine to my cult and allow my followers to enjoy themselves!" I relaxed a bit and leaned back against the mast with him.
"You keep talking about these cults, but you have not explained what it is exactly." It seems even when I am terrified, I would still find the courage to ask for a story.
His eyes light up and he turned eagerly to me, “I would love to! My followers are allowed to be their true selves when they are with me. Women can partake in as much wine as their heart desire, they can explore their desires to their hearts’ content. Unlike my fellow gods I do not wish for them to remain chaste--that would be such a bore for them!” I took a moment to let his words sink in. He allowed people to be who they truly are without consequence. Though I tried to ignore it, I felt excitement rise in my chest.
He continued. “I was traveling to gain more followers when you kidnapped me, and it was really fun, but I have to ask. Do I really not give off a godly aura? I thought I looked very divine and important! Everywhere else I have been, people seemed to instinctually know there was something special about me, at least.” He sounded upset that his appearance was not up to snuff, and I could not help but giggle at his frustration.
“No my lord, you very much appear a god to me. The second I saw you I was afraid; you clearly have power. The men are just very thick headed it appears.”
Dionysus looked pleased and turned his head to watch the crew run around the deck. The men were scampering about, clearly, they had managed to tipsy in the short time Ocnus and I were gone.
“My turn to ask a question.” I turned to see Dionysus once again was studying me.
“You asked a question already my lord. But I suppose you can ask another; I am a mere mortal after all.” I began to wonder if just being around this god could make you feel drunk because it seemed my thoughts were no longer being filtered.
“Exactly! Finally some respect. I want you to tell me why you are here with these men. Are you one of their wives? Sister?” Dionysus clasped his hands under his chin and leaned towards me.
I flinched back from him. Of course he would know I am not a man, but it had still stung to be called a woman by him. I had not been referred to as such in quite a while. Dionysus had also jumped when I moved away from him, clearly surprised by my adverse reaction.
“I do not know what you mean my lord. I am not a woman.” I managed to say. I regretted sitting down, I wanted to be back in my original position. I wanted to be in my own head again, imagining tales. I could not think straight. I barely understood what I was and now I was talking to a god about myself!
“I apologize. I misunderstood the situation. So you are a man then?” Dionysus had settled back in his original position and was trying to catch my eyes. “I could never quite understand how you mortals did things. Men must be big and loud and women the opposite. That is very confusing, sometimes I wish to be more feminine and sometimes masculine, so I just do it.”
It took me a moment to process his words, but when it clicked, I glanced over at him. He was smiling at me with some confusion on his face, but he did not seem to be lying. I finally managed to meet his eyes and really look at him. If the stories I heard were true, or at least some parts of it were, it would make sense that he could choose what he wished to appear as. His voice could have been deep, but he chose for it to be a nice middle pitch. The longer I looked at him the more I realized he appeared to be quite androgynous. The only reason Ocnus and I had assumed he was male was because his chiton was slopped off one of his shoulders and we could see half his chest.
“You do not feel like a man, at least all the time?” I questioned without looking away from his eyes. I needed to see if he was messing with me because he tired of the others’ game.
“I am not sure I would word it like that,” he lifted a finger to his chin and looked up to the sky, “I believe I like being in the middle. I like to have a male body, but that does not mean I do not want to wear a peplos sometimes. They can be very pretty!” He nodded to himself and met my eyes again. Something must have showed in my expression because he let out a laugh. “That sound familiar to you?”
It really did. It was like someone finally lifted a veil from my eyes, it sounded perfect. I did not want to be called either a man or a woman, but I wanted to take aspects of each to create something uniquely me. What I was called I still did not know but that did not matter because I was not the only one to feel this way.
“Yeah, I think it does.” I whispered fully lost in all the glorious possibilities laid before me. I could be a storyteller perhaps! A mysterious appearance would make me more intriguing to a passerby and I would not stay in one place too long to be questioned about myself. I was too busy planning my future I forgot the situation I was in. I was a part of a pirate crew that had kidnapped a god and refused to listen to his warnings. Dionysus and I were talking now but that did not make us friends. He could still smite me as well. As all of these thoughts raced through my head, my face began to fall.
Ocnus and the others had finally gotten everything around for our journey and the wind was beginning to return. “Sails up!” Ocnus was at the head of the boat looking towards the horizon. I had realized I got too distracted talking I did not come up with a plan to leave and escape the god’s wrath when we left.
“Where did all that joy go mortal?” Dionysus continued to look unconcerned and more interested in talking to me.
“I am sorry I could not stop them from taking you –“
Dionysus laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the others for a moment.
“I can look after myself mortal, I can leave whenever I wish too. However, I find you very intriguing and wanted to speak with you longer. In fact, I am not done speaking to you yet.” I was about to ask what else he wanted when I heard the crew starting to yell. I noticed that there was a strong wind, but we had yet to move.
“Captain there is something holding us in place!” Yelled a newer rower I did not know the name of.
“There are vines on this side of the boat!” Yelled Adelphos
I started to get up, but Dionysus grabbed my arm and kept me next to him. I turned to look at him and gasped. He still had the smile, but it did not reach his eyes, and his eyes were once again the wine color I saw the first time.
“Stay here little mortal. I have grown bored of the others, and as I said I want to speak to you. If you do not like blood, I would advise you to watch the sea.” His voice had gotten much deeper the more he said, and his body seemed to be growing. I nodded dumbly and tried to become one with the mast at my back. Dionysus smiled and nodded in approval at me, and before my eyes he seemed to shift. Limbs lengthened and he began to bow forward. Fur began to tear through his skin and his teeth began to sharpen. It was slow but it felt like it happened all at once at the same time. Where the god once stood there was now a large lion. The crew had not noticed the threat yet, too busy marveling at the vines holding the boat in place. Ocnus was the first to glance over to us. Dionysus had begun to growl and slowly advanced towards them. Ocnus shouted for everyone to grab their weapons, but Dionysus had already pounced on the nearest men. I saw him begin to tear into their flesh with his teeth and slash at the others nearby. I could not watch anymore and took Dionysus’ advice and turned my attention to the horizon. I could hear the men screaming, Ocnus even screaming for me, but I did what I did best and retreated into my own head.
I began to imagine how this story would be told. Dionysus is a newer god, and this would make an exciting adventure for us mortals to hear. I began to turn words over in my mind to find the best words to spin the tale in a majestic manner. How to make Dionysus appear an amazing god worthy of worship, because I had realized I was beginning to become a follower myself. Gods would always be fickle, but he had showed me what I was and what I could be, so I was thankful for that. Maybe I would investigate his cults myself, I liked the thought of being around women who were free and surely, they would enjoy a storyteller among them. I do not know how long I was in my own head, but I soon realized the screaming had stopped. I felt Dionysus plop himself down beside me.
“That was exciting! They did not even land a hit on me! Sir Serious was certainly regretting not listening to you!” Dionysus was laughing heartily to himself as I turned towards him, carefully keeping my eyes closed until I was facing him entirely. He was covered in blood, but he seemed unbothered by it. It was even in his teeth when he turned his grin back to me.
“Mortals really are terrible at seeing what is in front of them are they not? Ah, but who cares I can finally ask you what I have been meaning too.” He shifted so he was facing me entirely and studied me for a moment.
“So. You are something, not a man or a woman, and you were wise enough to understand that I was to be respected. You like stories and are now free from your previous profession.” I nodded at him, curious to know where this was heading.
“Come with me.”
“Pardon me my lord?” I was shocked. Why would he want me to tag along with him?
“I said come with me. I need followers and surely after this you can be counted among them. I also want you because you tell stories do you not? Well the fastest way to gain more followers is to spread tales of my power. So, I want you to travel with me, record stories of my feats and my cults and tell them to the people you meet.” He was leaning closer to me now, like an excited child. My head was swimming. Travel with a god? How long would this last before he grew bored of me? It was my turn to study him now.
“For how long? You said yourself I am somewhat of a storyteller, and I have heard enough stories to know that the gods will grow bored of a mortal and kill them or worse.” I was past the point of being truly afraid of him. I was not an idiot, I still was cautious, but I figured I survived this long I could surely last a few more moments.
“See there is that cleverness again!” He smiled proudly at me and shook his head. “It is true that we grow bored of you lot, but I swear that you will not be killed. I want you to travel with me and when my name is spread throughout the land and my travels done, you will simply be considered my storyteller. You would have a home with my cults whenever you come across one, they will know your name and welcome you. You might not see me often after our travels, but you would always have my favor.”
I nodded slowly and considered the offer. It is exactly what I wanted. I did not have to a man, or a woman and I could tell stories to those I loved, for I was certain I would feel at home with the women of the cults. We would understand each other and support one another. I could feel a smile growing across my face as I straightened to meet his gaze once more.
“I believe I never have told you my name myself my lord. My name is Galen. Soon to be Galen, the storyteller of Dionysus.” My voice was no longer uncertain, it was the clearest it had ever been.
Dionysus stood and nodded down at me. “That is a fitting title for you, my friend.” He beckoned me towards the island. “Now, I was not lying when I told your captain I was heading towards Thebes but there is a town on this island we can catch a cleaner boat.” He turned to exit the boat and I followed closely behind him. Our feet hit the sand and we both began the walk towards the tree line once more. I did not look back to the boat once, I was too busy looking forward to the life ahead of me. I was still uncertain it would be all sunshine and roses but that was okay with me. It was life. It gave me purpose and I was going to hold on to it with everything I had.
“You know, I was actually thinking about how to turn this into a story.” I spoke as we reached the trees and walked in the darkness, but I trusted Dionysus and the moon goddess Selene to guide my feet.
Dionysus chuckled and turned to me. “Look at you, already starting your job! What does sound like?”
“Well, first I wanted to ask you how your travels started. I want to start with that and see where our travels take us before I decide how to end it. I want to call it ‘The Wanderings of Dionysus.’”
“Exciting! Let us see what adventures we can have to make the ending especially appealing.” He smiled and turned his attention to the front and walked on. And I followed him happily, as I felt I would for a long time to come.
I continued to watch the seagulls’ squabble; it had now progressed to screaming over rights to the bread. My mind wandered to stories, which it often did. I thought of the blind seer Tiresias. I used to envy Tiresias and would soak up all the stories I could about him. The story of his miraculous (in my opinion) change into a woman and then back into a man made my mind dizzy with possibility. Was that something the gods could give me? Was that what I wanted? Growing up a woman, being referred to as less and being unable to express myself in any form did grate on me. However, as I have been presenting as a man for these past few months, I realized this does not feel correct either. People expected me to be loud and assertive, run through life as if everything was owed to me. I did not want to be loud, I wanted to live a quiet life with people I loved and spend the remainder of my days telling stories with them. I did not wish to be a woman. I did not wish to be a man. Where did that leave me? I was brought back to the present as the two seagulls flew away at the sound of the crew returning from their trip. The men were stumbling and glaring at the sun as they stumbled onto the ship. "Galen! Have fun watching the ship? You missed all the beautiful women and wine!" Adelphos called out to me as he stumbled over, still feeling the effects of the previous night's wine. Adelphos was a rower, loud and assertive, and seen as a perfect definition on how a man should appear.
"A real shame Adelphos, but you know how nervous I get being away from the ship." I moved towards the back of the ship to prepare to guide the rowers to our next destination. Our leader, Ocnus, was the last to board. He was a board man with a serious face. His default expression was annoyance, but he tended to yell at the rowers rather than myself, so I did not fear him as much as they did.
"Galen! Get ready, we are departing to Thebes." Ocnus called to me as he attempted to corral the men to their spots. I nodded and headed to my post. I was excited to be heading to a larger city, all the best storytellers are there. I would certainly leave the boat this time and escape the others to catch a few before we had to depart again. I readied myself and tuned out the noise of the others, already dreaming of the tales I would soon hear. The men sang and yelled with each other as the wind carried us on. The men were lucky the gods decided to give us fair wind so they could relax and try to get over their hangovers. Even if I did not feel like one of them, I had to admit I did appreciate their noise. It helped keep me from getting lost in my own mind, spiraling in an endless loop of what exactly I am. Maybe that is the true reason I joined them. To keep myself from going insane. It was not my problem if they stole from others, the robbed were clearly not being careful enough, and thus nature dictated that the weak must be attacked by the strong. I always wondered if I repeated that enough, would I one day begin to believe it? The wind was on our side the whole afternoon but began to die by nightfall. Luckily, we were not far from land, so Ocnus told us to shore there for the evening.
I was not certain where we were (I believe we were a day or two away from Thebes) but the shore we had come upon did not seem densely populated. The men gathered sticks for fires and, once again, broke out any wineskins they had on their persons. I was shocked they could not even wait for the sun to set before indulging once again. "Galen!" Ocnus called out to me near the trees by the shores, "come, let us see if there are any towns nearby before the sun sets." I nodded and walked to meet him. The two of us set off further into the forest, finding no towns, but a path deep inside. "Well, I suppose we have gone far enough. There are no towns close to us and I do not want the men to have to travel so far to retrieve goods. We will wait until we are closer to Thebes to find us bounty." Ocnus said, though I was not sure if it was directed at me or himself. Either way, I hummed in agreement and turned back towards the shore but was stopped when I heard whistling to the right of us. A young man was walking towards us, though it did not appear that he was even aware we were there. He was tall, and quite handsome. His skin was tanned, his hair was dark, but it appeared almost to have a purple tinge to when the setting sun hit it. His chiton was clearly made from a rich fabric and was dyed a brilliant lilac. With what appeared to be jaguar skin acting as a chlamys. Before I could wrap my head on where exactly this young man came from, Ocnus was already calling out to him.
"Hello my friend! Where are you off to?" The man stopped walking but continued to whistle as he opened one eye to stare at us. I gasped quietly, but Ocnus gave no indication he saw what I had seen and continued his way towards him. I stayed rooted to my spot, suddenly afraid of this man. I swore when he first met my eyes his was a deep purple, almost like wine, before turning to an ordinary brown. Surely it was a trick of the light, but for some reason I was still afraid to get close to him. "What kingdom are you from? Surely you must be a prince with such fine clothing!" Ocnus had a charming smile on his face and held his arms out, "Why are you out here by yourself?"
The man had stopped whistling and turned his full attention to Ocnus, "I am traveling! I wanted to see the world; I have not gotten a chance to explore it much." He sounded amused as he continued, "I was actually on my way to Thebes! I want to obtain more worshippers, and more women!" His voice was pleasant, it was not deep, but it was not high pitched either. Without out looking at him it would be hard to place his sex.
Ocnus stood beside the man. "The gods have blessed you, my friend! For my crew and I are heading to Thebes, you can come along with us." Ocnus sounded different. There was an edge to his voice that made me look to him. At first glance he looked calm enough, but there something sinister about his offer.
"That is kind of you sir, but I would prefer to walk. I want to see if I can find any stragglers befitting my cult!" The young man smiled and made to walk past Ocnus. A cult? Was this man a religious leader or something? I was pondering his quest when Ocnus' hand suddenly shot out to grip the man's forearm.
"Come on friend! Surely your family wants you returned home quickly. And unharmed. It would be safer if you came with us." Ocnus was no longer smiling and seemed very intent on keeping this man with us.
"Captain? I am sure this man can handle himself. We should let him be on his way." I tried to sound sure of myself, but my voice came out weak. I did not want this man coming with us. He frightened me. Besides, I have never been a part of a kidnapping. This was harder to stomach than the stealing. At least with those, I could distance myself from it. I was only the helmsman! I was not hurting anyone! If this man came with us, I could not deny I had helped ransom him.
"Oh! Am I being kidnapped!? I have heard about those, but I never thought it would happen to me! How novel!" The man was staring at Ocnus' hand on his arm with childish wonder.
Ocnus turned to glare at me, "He is coming with us--are you not lad? Surely your family will pay a handsome amount to see you returned." Ocnus began to drag him along back to the shore and barked at me to follow.
"My parents? Oh no, they would not pay a drachma for me! Zeus does not use your mortal coins I am afraid. Though I am intrigued by them, how did you guys decide on using tiny piece of metal to buy things?"
Wait. What? My head shot up to look at him, only for my eyes to meet his. He was smirking at me, and his gaze was full of amusement. “You could have at least come up with something believable. Of course you parents will pay for you--let’s go!” Ocnus just shook his head and dragged the man beside him back to the others.
“I’m not lying! I mean I do a lot, but not this time! My name is Dionysus, and Zeus is my father. Though I cannot tell you who exactly my mother is--everyone’s story keeps changing when I ask them.” The young man (Dionysus apparently) protested, but still followed Ocnus without too much of a fuss. I refused to move for a moment, but eventually shook myself out of my stupor. He is just a man. There was no way he was divine. What kind of god would just walk somewhere? Surely, they would fly or just appear where they wished. I ran to catch up to them and walked on the other side of Ocnus,
“Captain, is this wise? We do not know where he is from. He may not even be rich; he could have stolen these clothes. We should just not waste the effort on this.” Dionysus made a noise and whipped his head towards me.
“Hey! I don’t steal…that often. I had these clothes custom made for me, and I think they look amazing! I wanted a wonderful outfit to premier my godhood to you mortals!” I glance up at him in annoyance. I was trying to get him out of this situation, but he seemed intent on digging himself deeper.
“You see Galen? He is wealthy and apparently a prince ready to take responsibility for his kingdom. He must be needed. Though he sure is arrogant to think himself a god.” I tried to come up with another excuse but fell short. I tried to reason with myself. This is his fault. He should have been traveling with some guards, or not traveling at all this late in the day. It is the law of nature. The weak get taken advantage of by the strong. I am just fulfilling nature, and I will make sure he does not get injured if I can help it. I looked up to see the pair of them were already quite a distance away from me and I headed off to catch up. I arrived shortly after they did back to the crew. Ocnus was already ordering the crew to pack up, because we had to get to Thebes to deliver the prince. Everyone scrambled to ready for departure, and a few of the men took Dionysus to the boat to tie to the mast. Adelphos began to wrap rope around Dionysus as I climbed aboard. Dionysus was chuckling to himself as he watched Adelphos work,
“Excuse me, this was fun, but I must be on my way now. I know Sir Serious did not tell you this, but my name is Dionysus, and I am a god so…bow before me I suppose.” Adelphos snorted and stepped back as he tied the last knot.
“I will do no such thing.” He turned to smile at me and opened his mouth to say something snarky (I assumed) but stopped short when a thump came from behind him. We both looked to the mast to Dionysus calmy standing there smiling at us. Untied. “How…?” Adelphos stood there in shock as Ocnus and the rest of the crew joined us.
“Why is he not tied up yet?” Ocnus moved to the front and picked up the rope.
“I thought I had sir; I must not have secured the knot properly.” Adelphos quickly jumped forward to assist Ocnus in tying Dionysus up again.
“Gentlemen. As I said, I really must be going, but thank you for showing me what is liked to be kidnapped! It was fun!” Dionysus said with his carefree smile still in place. Even though he said he had to leave he did not make a move to avoid the rope. I was fully afraid now. Adelphos is the best as securing knots, there is no way he did not this time. I turned to stare at the man—no, the god, as I was sure of it now. Dionysus was a god, he was here on our ship and this crew was ignoring the signs. Was I in a story in the making? In almost every tale I knew people ignored the very obvious omen that I could see that unfolding before me. I had to get Dionysus off this boat before he decided to smite us all.
"Listen, I realize I am new to this godhood thing, but surely you have heard of the cult in Dionysus' name?" The young man asked us all as the ropes once again refused to stay around him. I was beginning to panic. Why were the others not freaked out by this!? Ocnus glared at our captive.
"Your lies will not free you. You are clearly a prince, and you will get us a large sum of money for returning you." Ocnus tossed the rope towards me. "Galen, you stay with the boy." Dionysus let out an indignant noise. "Do not let him jump ship until we discover his identity." I froze. I had to convince Ocnus of the very obvious situation we were in.
"Ocnus, we should release him. I have not heard of the cults he speaks of, but you have to know that the fact he cannot be bound is somehow divine!" I saw Dionysus turn to study me,
"Wow! Someone capable of using their heads!" I refused to meet his eye and continued to speak to Ocnus,
"We should release him, beg his forgiveness and let us be on our way!" I prayed that Ocnus would listen to me, that greed would not cloud his judgement.
"Are you dense? He is not a god; he would not be here if he were so. He is a prince, which means he is worth money, and you are going to stay by him and keep him on this boat!" Ocnus pushed me towards our captive as he yelled at me. He never raised his voice at me before, and I realized why the crew was so fearful of him.
"Ocnus, please..."
"No! Kyros will take you position, and you stay here!" The whole crew was silent. Even Dionysus had stopped his snickering.
"If that is what you wish captain. I will watch him." I kept my head down as he walked to the back of the boat.
"Everyone! Get to your stations! We are leaving as soon as the wind picks up" The silence was broken, and everyone was back to their busy routines. Some of the men sneered at me as they passed.
"Such a coward. Too afraid to watch some dainty prince?" I refused to look up. I simply coiled the rope up and sat it down.
Just because the others were dumb enough to ignore the very odd fact that the ropes would not hold the Dionysus that did not mean I had to follow their lead. I was used to walking a different path than others. I glanced over to him. He still had that amused look on his face, but there was something just beneath it that caused unease. He looked like he was slowly losing patience with this game. I had heard stories of the gods, and I knew that they could lose interest in a ruse quickly. I just hoped his amusement would hold out until I was far away from this boat. I turned away from him and looked out to the horizon to avoid his gaze. I did not wish to talk to him or give him any more cause to know me. I may have respected the gods, but I did not wish to interact with them, if possible. They were too fickle for my taste. It seems the gods had a sixth sense when a human did not want to meet them, because Dionysus spoke up.
“You have really never heard of my cults?” I flinched but turned my head in his direction, staring at his jaguar skin rather than meet his eyes.
"I have not. We have been sailing for a while and I have not had time to hear new tales." He hummed, sat down on the deck, and patted the space beside him.
"Well, I suppose I can let this little game continue for a bit. I am rather curious to see what they do. Come and join me, it will be more fun to commentate with someone!" His voice sounded inviting, but I still felt that there would be consequences if I refused his offer. So I glanced once more to the sea and made my way to his side. I sat next a few feet away from him and still refused to look up to his face. Gods must really like playing with humans because he simply moved so he was pressed up against my side. He still smelled of wine, even after our trip back to the ship.
"Are you the god of wine or are you just drunk?" I murmured, without thinking about who I was speaking too. I immediately regretted my words, for he was silent for a moment before he burst into laughter. The sound made me think of the feeling of being tipsy--light and carefree.
"I suppose I am! Wine and women are my specialty! I supply the wine to my cult and allow my followers to enjoy themselves!" I relaxed a bit and leaned back against the mast with him.
"You keep talking about these cults, but you have not explained what it is exactly." It seems even when I am terrified, I would still find the courage to ask for a story.
His eyes light up and he turned eagerly to me, “I would love to! My followers are allowed to be their true selves when they are with me. Women can partake in as much wine as their heart desire, they can explore their desires to their hearts’ content. Unlike my fellow gods I do not wish for them to remain chaste--that would be such a bore for them!” I took a moment to let his words sink in. He allowed people to be who they truly are without consequence. Though I tried to ignore it, I felt excitement rise in my chest.
He continued. “I was traveling to gain more followers when you kidnapped me, and it was really fun, but I have to ask. Do I really not give off a godly aura? I thought I looked very divine and important! Everywhere else I have been, people seemed to instinctually know there was something special about me, at least.” He sounded upset that his appearance was not up to snuff, and I could not help but giggle at his frustration.
“No my lord, you very much appear a god to me. The second I saw you I was afraid; you clearly have power. The men are just very thick headed it appears.”
Dionysus looked pleased and turned his head to watch the crew run around the deck. The men were scampering about, clearly, they had managed to tipsy in the short time Ocnus and I were gone.
“My turn to ask a question.” I turned to see Dionysus once again was studying me.
“You asked a question already my lord. But I suppose you can ask another; I am a mere mortal after all.” I began to wonder if just being around this god could make you feel drunk because it seemed my thoughts were no longer being filtered.
“Exactly! Finally some respect. I want you to tell me why you are here with these men. Are you one of their wives? Sister?” Dionysus clasped his hands under his chin and leaned towards me.
I flinched back from him. Of course he would know I am not a man, but it had still stung to be called a woman by him. I had not been referred to as such in quite a while. Dionysus had also jumped when I moved away from him, clearly surprised by my adverse reaction.
“I do not know what you mean my lord. I am not a woman.” I managed to say. I regretted sitting down, I wanted to be back in my original position. I wanted to be in my own head again, imagining tales. I could not think straight. I barely understood what I was and now I was talking to a god about myself!
“I apologize. I misunderstood the situation. So you are a man then?” Dionysus had settled back in his original position and was trying to catch my eyes. “I could never quite understand how you mortals did things. Men must be big and loud and women the opposite. That is very confusing, sometimes I wish to be more feminine and sometimes masculine, so I just do it.”
It took me a moment to process his words, but when it clicked, I glanced over at him. He was smiling at me with some confusion on his face, but he did not seem to be lying. I finally managed to meet his eyes and really look at him. If the stories I heard were true, or at least some parts of it were, it would make sense that he could choose what he wished to appear as. His voice could have been deep, but he chose for it to be a nice middle pitch. The longer I looked at him the more I realized he appeared to be quite androgynous. The only reason Ocnus and I had assumed he was male was because his chiton was slopped off one of his shoulders and we could see half his chest.
“You do not feel like a man, at least all the time?” I questioned without looking away from his eyes. I needed to see if he was messing with me because he tired of the others’ game.
“I am not sure I would word it like that,” he lifted a finger to his chin and looked up to the sky, “I believe I like being in the middle. I like to have a male body, but that does not mean I do not want to wear a peplos sometimes. They can be very pretty!” He nodded to himself and met my eyes again. Something must have showed in my expression because he let out a laugh. “That sound familiar to you?”
It really did. It was like someone finally lifted a veil from my eyes, it sounded perfect. I did not want to be called either a man or a woman, but I wanted to take aspects of each to create something uniquely me. What I was called I still did not know but that did not matter because I was not the only one to feel this way.
“Yeah, I think it does.” I whispered fully lost in all the glorious possibilities laid before me. I could be a storyteller perhaps! A mysterious appearance would make me more intriguing to a passerby and I would not stay in one place too long to be questioned about myself. I was too busy planning my future I forgot the situation I was in. I was a part of a pirate crew that had kidnapped a god and refused to listen to his warnings. Dionysus and I were talking now but that did not make us friends. He could still smite me as well. As all of these thoughts raced through my head, my face began to fall.
Ocnus and the others had finally gotten everything around for our journey and the wind was beginning to return. “Sails up!” Ocnus was at the head of the boat looking towards the horizon. I had realized I got too distracted talking I did not come up with a plan to leave and escape the god’s wrath when we left.
“Where did all that joy go mortal?” Dionysus continued to look unconcerned and more interested in talking to me.
“I am sorry I could not stop them from taking you –“
Dionysus laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the others for a moment.
“I can look after myself mortal, I can leave whenever I wish too. However, I find you very intriguing and wanted to speak with you longer. In fact, I am not done speaking to you yet.” I was about to ask what else he wanted when I heard the crew starting to yell. I noticed that there was a strong wind, but we had yet to move.
“Captain there is something holding us in place!” Yelled a newer rower I did not know the name of.
“There are vines on this side of the boat!” Yelled Adelphos
I started to get up, but Dionysus grabbed my arm and kept me next to him. I turned to look at him and gasped. He still had the smile, but it did not reach his eyes, and his eyes were once again the wine color I saw the first time.
“Stay here little mortal. I have grown bored of the others, and as I said I want to speak to you. If you do not like blood, I would advise you to watch the sea.” His voice had gotten much deeper the more he said, and his body seemed to be growing. I nodded dumbly and tried to become one with the mast at my back. Dionysus smiled and nodded in approval at me, and before my eyes he seemed to shift. Limbs lengthened and he began to bow forward. Fur began to tear through his skin and his teeth began to sharpen. It was slow but it felt like it happened all at once at the same time. Where the god once stood there was now a large lion. The crew had not noticed the threat yet, too busy marveling at the vines holding the boat in place. Ocnus was the first to glance over to us. Dionysus had begun to growl and slowly advanced towards them. Ocnus shouted for everyone to grab their weapons, but Dionysus had already pounced on the nearest men. I saw him begin to tear into their flesh with his teeth and slash at the others nearby. I could not watch anymore and took Dionysus’ advice and turned my attention to the horizon. I could hear the men screaming, Ocnus even screaming for me, but I did what I did best and retreated into my own head.
I began to imagine how this story would be told. Dionysus is a newer god, and this would make an exciting adventure for us mortals to hear. I began to turn words over in my mind to find the best words to spin the tale in a majestic manner. How to make Dionysus appear an amazing god worthy of worship, because I had realized I was beginning to become a follower myself. Gods would always be fickle, but he had showed me what I was and what I could be, so I was thankful for that. Maybe I would investigate his cults myself, I liked the thought of being around women who were free and surely, they would enjoy a storyteller among them. I do not know how long I was in my own head, but I soon realized the screaming had stopped. I felt Dionysus plop himself down beside me.
“That was exciting! They did not even land a hit on me! Sir Serious was certainly regretting not listening to you!” Dionysus was laughing heartily to himself as I turned towards him, carefully keeping my eyes closed until I was facing him entirely. He was covered in blood, but he seemed unbothered by it. It was even in his teeth when he turned his grin back to me.
“Mortals really are terrible at seeing what is in front of them are they not? Ah, but who cares I can finally ask you what I have been meaning too.” He shifted so he was facing me entirely and studied me for a moment.
“So. You are something, not a man or a woman, and you were wise enough to understand that I was to be respected. You like stories and are now free from your previous profession.” I nodded at him, curious to know where this was heading.
“Come with me.”
“Pardon me my lord?” I was shocked. Why would he want me to tag along with him?
“I said come with me. I need followers and surely after this you can be counted among them. I also want you because you tell stories do you not? Well the fastest way to gain more followers is to spread tales of my power. So, I want you to travel with me, record stories of my feats and my cults and tell them to the people you meet.” He was leaning closer to me now, like an excited child. My head was swimming. Travel with a god? How long would this last before he grew bored of me? It was my turn to study him now.
“For how long? You said yourself I am somewhat of a storyteller, and I have heard enough stories to know that the gods will grow bored of a mortal and kill them or worse.” I was past the point of being truly afraid of him. I was not an idiot, I still was cautious, but I figured I survived this long I could surely last a few more moments.
“See there is that cleverness again!” He smiled proudly at me and shook his head. “It is true that we grow bored of you lot, but I swear that you will not be killed. I want you to travel with me and when my name is spread throughout the land and my travels done, you will simply be considered my storyteller. You would have a home with my cults whenever you come across one, they will know your name and welcome you. You might not see me often after our travels, but you would always have my favor.”
I nodded slowly and considered the offer. It is exactly what I wanted. I did not have to a man, or a woman and I could tell stories to those I loved, for I was certain I would feel at home with the women of the cults. We would understand each other and support one another. I could feel a smile growing across my face as I straightened to meet his gaze once more.
“I believe I never have told you my name myself my lord. My name is Galen. Soon to be Galen, the storyteller of Dionysus.” My voice was no longer uncertain, it was the clearest it had ever been.
Dionysus stood and nodded down at me. “That is a fitting title for you, my friend.” He beckoned me towards the island. “Now, I was not lying when I told your captain I was heading towards Thebes but there is a town on this island we can catch a cleaner boat.” He turned to exit the boat and I followed closely behind him. Our feet hit the sand and we both began the walk towards the tree line once more. I did not look back to the boat once, I was too busy looking forward to the life ahead of me. I was still uncertain it would be all sunshine and roses but that was okay with me. It was life. It gave me purpose and I was going to hold on to it with everything I had.
“You know, I was actually thinking about how to turn this into a story.” I spoke as we reached the trees and walked in the darkness, but I trusted Dionysus and the moon goddess Selene to guide my feet.
Dionysus chuckled and turned to me. “Look at you, already starting your job! What does sound like?”
“Well, first I wanted to ask you how your travels started. I want to start with that and see where our travels take us before I decide how to end it. I want to call it ‘The Wanderings of Dionysus.’”
“Exciting! Let us see what adventures we can have to make the ending especially appealing.” He smiled and turned his attention to the front and walked on. And I followed him happily, as I felt I would for a long time to come.
