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(Fate) Chapter 152: The Heroes' Goddess of Justice, Promise.
🕑 Added 2024-10-01 02:10:13 +0000 UTC(Sorry for the delay, I fell asleep ..)
Several days later...
The heroes arrived on Lemnos island.
Promise was not unfamiliar with the story of this island.
After all, this place was the first destination in the fated journey of the Argonauts, and it symbolized desire.
Lemnos was an island in the Aegean Sea, and according to some versions of the myth, its women, known as the Lemnian women, had angered the goddess Aphrodite by neglecting to worship her properly.
There was another version where they were the aftermath of the conflict between Hephaestus and Aphrodite, as the former humiliated her in front of all Olympus causing her to take out her anger of Lemnian woman, cursing them with a foul body odor.
In any case, the result of the curse was the same; the women of Lemnos were spurned by their husbands in favor of the Thracian women they had captured raiding.
In a fit of jealousy and revenge, the Lemnian women killed all the men on the island, sparing no one, not even their sons, brothers and fathers.. except Thoas, the king of Lemnos, and Hypsipyle's elderly father, whom she secretly sent away during the massacre.
With all men dead, only women remained on the island.
The surviving women consisted of widows, even mothers who had killed their sons.
However, they were all women, beautiful woman.
Of all ages, and more than enough to stir the desire of those, who were already controlled by their lower body.
Therefore, in the myth,
when the Argonauts led by Jason arrived on Lemnos during their quest for the Golden Fleece, and found the island populated entirely by women, they all quickly fell under the spell of this paradise, indulging themselves without any care of the world and their missions...
However, one member of the Argonauts was not as charmed by the luxurious life on Lemnos—Heracles.
He was not interested in getting involved with the women, as he was focused on their mission.
While the other Argonauts were forming relationships with the Lemnian women, Heracles remained aloof.
Instead, he saw the time on Lemnos as a dangerous distraction.
In Greek myth, it was common for heroes to be tested by temptations that could lead them away from their quests, and Heracles recognized this.
Watching the men falling into a state of laziness, forgetting the mission they had set out on, he became frustrated.
He knew that their stay on the island, while enjoyable, was delaying their progress and could lead to failure if they didn’t regain their focus.
But after seeing how deeply the men had immersed themselves in the comforts of Lemnos, Heracles finally had enough
He called a meeting to remind these 'heroes' of their goal: the Golden fleece, that their mission was not one of pleasure but of duty and destiny and by staying here they were forgetting it
But, by this time, the heroes had been fallen to the point of no return.
After all, the women of Lemnos had given them everything they lacked after months at sea: comfort, warmth, and affection.
Jason, in particular, was deeply involved with Hypsipyle, the queen of Lemnos, and their bond was more than just physical as she had even borne him children.
Many of the other Argonauts had also found companionship with the Lemnian women and were reluctant to leave.
So, no matter how much Hercules, the only sober one, cursed them, they looked like they were living in a drunken state.
They lived as if in a dream, refusing to leave.
However, quite ironically, in the original legend, it wasn’t a sudden burst of heroic duty that finally woke them up to continue their journey again.
Instead, it was something much simpler: responsibility.
With no men on the island, the women were now responsible for ruling the island themselves, farming, and even fighting.
But their weak bodies were unable to manage the hard labor of farming and other tasks, so, while the women initially wanted the heroes to stay out of loneliness,
their purpose of keeping them didn't stop just there.
They also needed them for work.
But they forgot something...
Who were they? They were “heroes,” after all.
So, when they found out that they had to toil in order to enjoy the pleasures of the island, they started complaining.
They felt their glory was being trampled upon, and eventually, under the cover of night, while no one was watching, they fled the island with all the food—leaving behind nothing but broken promises and selfish desires.
Therefore, at first, Promise hadn’t planned to stop on this island at all.
After all, the mere thought of the chaos to come gave him a headache, and he had no intention of getting involved in it.
There was no way.
Promise was too familiar with Jason and the others.
And because of this, he knew that they might really do such a thing!
No, this might should be removed.
His experience with them told him they would likely end up doing exactly that.
To avoid trouble, Promise had initially ensured that the ship was stocked with plenty of food, enough to last them to the next island.
However, what he hadn’t expected was a sudden, thick mist that engulfed them at dawn.
And then, it was too late to do anything.
Because, by the time they emerged from the fog, they had already arrived at the island’s port.
Before Promise could even react, the envoys who were to receive them had already arrived on the island.
"Noble heroes who have come from afar, the esteemed goddess of beauty Aphrodite has already bestowed upon us her divine oracle before you came, asking us to wait for you here."
Looking at them, one of the beautiful emissaries announced the oracle softly.
During this period, the heroes were surprised to find that all the people who came to welcome them were delicate and beautiful women.
So, curiosity got the better of them, and upon finding out that there were no men on the island and only women—the heroes couldn’t resist their fascination.
Their gazes lingered on the women, whose eyes were filled with longing.
Before long, most of the heroes on the ship were unwilling to leave.
“Promise, why don’t we stay on this island for a few days?” Jason was the first to suggest as he looked at the young man beside him.
Before the latter could reply, Jason took his hand, pulled him aside and whispered, “You might not care, after all, you have Atalanta and Medea with you, but you have to think about us too.”
“It’s been days since I’ve had the company of a woman!”
The blonde hero pleaded as Promise looked at him in silence.
He then glanced over at several others standing beside him, who were all giving him expectant looks and couldn’t help but sigh internally.
He had known it would come to this.
But, given that these were the heroes of Ancient Greece, it wasn’t all that surprising.
After all, most of them were either perverts, shameless womanizers or well on their way to becoming such.
“You’re the captain. It’s your decision,” Promise said, resigned to the inevitable.
After all, the things had already come to this point and it was too late to do anything.
Not to mention, that unusual fog was undoubtedly the work of the gods, so, resisting would be pointless.
However, just as Jason prepared to cheer in victory, Promise interrupted in a serious tone.
“However, Jason, there’s something I need to remind you of.”
As he said this, he looked at Jason with a serious expression.
And he didn't control the volume, so he was telling this to everyone on the ship.
“You all have your own lives and make your own choices. I understand that.”
These so-called heroes all had bad habits, Promise knew this very well.
Just as he often called Jason a coward, a womanizer, and an arrogant fool, he knew each of them had their flaws.
But even though he knew all this, Promise still counted them as friends.
He had even vouched for Jason before Goddess Hera, insisting that he was a hero.
“But at the same time, Jason, you should know very well how much I despise those who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
Moreover, the goddess of justice, Themis has entrusted me with the scales of judgment and the sword of justice.”
As he said this, he turned his head and looked at the people around him, especially Actaeon, who had been transformed into a stag, and Theseus, who had once kidnapped Helen.
“Although, I won’t interfere with your choices. But if those scales tip, I won’t hesitate to wield that sword against you. Do you understand?”
Promise wasn’t the type of person, who would impose his will on others or preach them about how they should live. He wasn’t that arrogant.
But he would hold up the scales and sword, standing by.
After all, it was he who had gathered these heroes together.
In his mind, he was responsible for them, and beyond that, they were his friends.
This, too, was part of the thread of destiny that the sea goddess Thetis had spoken of—part of the justice that the goddess Themis expected of him.
Therefore, no matter whether it was the affairs of gods or humans, Promise would do his best to make kind and fair judgments.
In that sense, Promise was the very embodiment of the heroes’ goddess of justice.
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