>>5768686“I met with him, once – Asclepius. He had come to Sparta to treat my father's illness. The man was crazed.” Castor says to you, reminiscing. “He never said it aloud, but he believed that he was dueling with ruthless Θανατος himself – battling with the daimon for the life of his patients.” Your eyebrows climb – even for a son of Apollo, such hubris would cause you to be marked for an early grave. Deathless gods do not take kindly to mortals who forget their station. Castor notices your expression and continues –
“Many say that Zeus obliterated Asclepius for the resurrection of the dead, upon Hades’ request; a violation of the natural order. But that is not quite the truth – or at least, not what Pollux and I believe. You see, it was Apollo Θεαριος himself who must influenced his son, directing him to test the power of the Ruler of Many, and of the brotherly bond between him and Zeus. And Pollux and I wonder – what prophecies directed Apollo to guide his son thusly? A tempting riddle!”
You, of course, have no answer and so you remain silent – but you doubt Castor was seeking one from you; a young man of eighteen is not expected to know the minds of the Olympians.
“At any rate – Apollo later interceded on behalf of Asclepius and he was raised to Olympus from the Elysian Fields – made divine by Zeus himself. A few short years in the realm of the Receiver of the Dead followed by divine ascension is hardly the punishment for a blasphemer, no?”
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On the second day, Castor takes it upon himself to demonstrate proper splinting, wound cleaning and core tenets of battlefield medicine. You ask him innocently why you should bother with such things, given your divine regenerative abilities, and Castor exhales sharply in disgust.
“Don’t be a fool, Nikandros – men of sterner stuff than you have been brought low by a badly-healed joint or infected wound. Why, you only just mentioned to me that your concussion has not yet faded, and your bout with Diomedes is a month gone...” His irritation is short-lived - overall, you think Castor is pleased to have an eager student – he seems to have temporarily forgotten your habit of encouraging Pollux’s daring behavior. As for you, it is a pleasure to learn from one of the famed Dioscuri, no matter the subject…
>Nikandros has unlocked the Tier 0 trait [LESSER PHARMAKOS] as a potential selection for his next level-up!>cont 