>>5594139There stands godlike Achilles, his flesh restored to its natural state. He now stands at your shoulder, broad-shouldered and strong of jaw.
“My affairs are settled here cunning Nikandros. My stately mother has accepted that I mean to make war alongside the Atreidae, and she will do you no ill for your instrumental role in my joining the long-haired Hellenes in this great undertaking- only tell me, how and why have you come here to find me?”
“No god sent me after you Achilles. The desire for the glory of being the man to bring Prince Achilles into the war effort alone filled my breast. As for how I found you- I spoke with certain members of your household and determined with reason that you must have come here to Skyros. But answer me this Prince- how could it be that you have children and are married?”
And he told you of how years ago, when he was but a boy, he was a guest of Lycomedes as they worked together to hunt pirates in the Sporades. When he first laid his eyes on the eldest daughter of the king, Deidameia, he wanted her with burning passion. Yet she, strong of mind, rejected each of his advances. She demanded of him commitment, that he would earn the approval of both her lordly Father and his own sire Peleus for their match. Yet such approval was not forthcoming- her father detested his pride and the other King considered her too lowly a partner for his heir.
He prayed to his mother Thetis that she might help his cause. Help she did, but not as he asked- she spirited the girl and him off to be wedded in secret, even as she replaced Deidameia in the palace of Lycomedes for the time. They enjoyed a long honeymoon together during which time the children were conceived. Peleus, wroth with his divine wife and son for the disappearance, petitioned Zeus for their return. The Cloud-Gatherer answered this prayer and ordered Thetis to bring Achilles home. Thus the former state of affairs arose- Neoptolemus and Ptolemais, twin brother and sister, were raised by oreads on the isle and were occasionally visited by their mother and goddess grandmother.
Achilles ended his story looking at you earnestly, golden-blue eyes locked to yours.
“Even this brief time together was a wonder and honor for me. A wife should not have to suffer long years without her husband, a son should not come of age without the wisdom and guidance of his father. But now I am ready to march south- my army, like your own, will be led to the point at which the army will congregate. My peerless companion Patroklos shall bring them.”
