I woke up with a jolt, as if surfacing from a nightmare. Everything around me felt alien, detached, and the sensation was hard to describe. The room I found myself in was unfamiliar. Objects were overturned, as though a storm had just swept through. My hands felt wet. When I raised them in front of my eyes, I saw they were covered in blood.
Looking around more closely, I saw the bodies. Several of them. Lying on the floor, still, lifeless.
Cautiously, I approached one and turned it over. Damipp. My brother-in-arms. A gaping wound split his ches his heart had been torn out. A tear slid down my cheek. Gently, I touched his cold face and, pressing his head to my chest, whispered:
"Forgive me, Damipp… What have I done?"
My memory was silent. A void in my mind. Not a single trace of the previous day. I looked up and saw her. The girl he loved. She, too, lay lifeless just like the other Spartans scattered across the room.
"It… wasn't me… I would never…" I muttered, clutching my head, desperately trying to pull even a shred of memory from the emptiness. But only darkness answered.
"AAAAAARGHHH!"The scream tore from my chest, shattering the deathly silence and echoing off the walls like thunder.
And with it came something far more terrifying icy calm and a quiet, all-consuming fury. I heard footsteps approaching. Spartans burst into the room. Upon seeing the scene before them, they didn't hesitate they drew their spears and pointed them directly at me.
"Damocles," one of them said warily.
I didn't answer. I stayed on my knees, clinging to the broken pieces of memory, to anything that could explain what had happened here. Slowly, a picture began to form in my head.
Yes I had drunk heavily. But I was still conscious, my mind still clear. I remembered the girl bringing the last jug of wine. She handed it to me and after that, everything went black. Until that moment, I remembered everything clearly. I had never seen her face before. Sparta had many people, but I remembered everyone I'd ever crossed paths with. Why couldn't I remember what happened next? How could I have allowed myself to become the instrument of a massacre?
"Damocles," the voice came again. Familiar this time.
I turned. It was Heron.
"I didn't do this…" I whispered. My voice trembled so did my hands.
"I believe you," he replied calmly. "But you must let us arrest you. We'll find the truth I swear it."
I didn't resist. Without a word, I let them bind my hands. Under the watch of their spears, they led me to prison. The iron gate slammed shut behind me. Guards remained at the entrance.
Outside, a commotion was rising shouts and running.
I was barely holding on. My thoughts were in chaos. I wanted one thing: the truth. Closing my eyes, I saw her face again. My teeth clenched hard enough to grind. I forced my mind to work, pulling fragments of memory from the void. It felt like hundreds of needles like spears piercing my consciousness. Blood trickled from my nose and ears. The strain sent me crashing to the stone floor.
But with the fall came clarity. I remembered everything.
I remembered how she had led me into a shadowy room. We gave in to passion. Her whisper soft as wind over grass yet reaching into my soul brushed against my ear. After that, I froze. As if I'd stopped obeying my own will.
I remembered rising, stepping outside. Not knowing where or why I walked until I stood before that house. The one where everything had happened. I went inside.
Damipp and his beloved were there.
And again that whisper. That maddening murmur I couldn't drive away. It drifted through the air like poison, filling my mind.
My hand moved on its own. Without my will. It reached for Damipp's chest, pierced flesh, and tore his heart free.
The Spartan girl screamed. She rushed at me trying to stop me. Her eyes full of terror. But I caught her and, with a single motion, snapped her neck.
The whisper returned, caressing my ear and I collapsed, drenched in my brother's blood.
"Whoever you are…" I growled, rising with fury surging through me, "I will find you and you will pay."
I had killed Damipp with my own hands.
I did not remain alone in the cell for long. Elder Timarch appeared outside the bars.
"Damocles, I've heard what happened. And I do not believe it was truly you," he said. "Tell me everything you remember."
I told him. Every scrap, every image, every drop of fear and pain. The memories throbbed with agony, forcing me to relive it all. I was boiling inside. I wanted only one thing to find the one responsible and tear them apart.
"So, you were enchanted," Timarch said slowly. "There are methods that can strip a man of his will and mind completely. She may not have been an ordinary woman… perhaps not even human. I believe you. But not everyone will. Many now call for your execution, as demanded by Spartan law. The King and I are holding them off for now. But we may not be able to clear your name. The one responsible… could already be anywhere."
"I'll find her myself," I cut him off, clenching my fists.
"You're a criminal now, Damocles. And soon, everyone will know," Timarch said heavily. "I shouldn't ask this of you, but you must leave Sparta. I swear to you I'll use every resource, every moment I have to find the one responsible. I'll question everyone who might have seen you together. I'll gather every scrap of evidence, listen to every rumor. I will uncover the truth."
He paused for a moment, then looked me straight in the eye.
"Please do not let Spartan blood be spilled. Many know your name. Many respect you. Some would even risk everything to stand by your side. But others others hold the law above all else. They will demand your execution. I know it's selfish… but I ask you don't let your pain divide Sparta."
I clenched my teeth, trying to stop the trembling.
"How can I just walk away… when these hands took the life of my brother and the woman he loved?" My voice broke. I could barely speak.
"I swear we will learn the truth," Timarch said firmly. "But you must not allow a war to start within our walls. Whatever you feel pain, rage, guilt don't let them consume you. Hold on to your will."
I exhaled slowly, as if forcing the air from my lungs by sheer will. Then I inhaled deeply. My eyes flickered with a faint yellow light.
I crushed all my emotions into a single fist. I cast away feeling left only reason. But even keeping them locked inside was unbearable. The pain, the anger, the guilt they tore at me from within. If I lost control, I knew I would destroy everything in my path.
"I trust you," I finally whispered.
"Thank you," Timarch nodded, unlocking the gate. Then he gestured toward the passage. "Come."
As I stepped out of the prison, Spartans stood everywhere by every arch, every wall, every path. But all of them faced away from me. As if they didn't see. As if I didn't exist. They would not break their oath, but they would not interfere either. This was their way of letting it happen by pretending not to notice.
It was like that all the way through the city. With every new Spartan who turned their back on me, each step grew heavier. I was no longer a hero. I was a traitor. I had no brothers left.
At the city gates, Timarch stopped.
"Here your spear and helmet. They are yours," he said, handing me the gear. "But you no longer have the right to wear Sparta's insignia. Not until the truth is known."
I took the armor in silence. Without a word.
"I've sent a messenger. A ship will be waiting for you at the coast. It's bound for Athens," Timarch added.
I gave a small nod and walked away. Everything boiled in my chest. My mind knew he was right. But my soul… my soul raged.
All this because I let my guard down. Just once. I allowed myself a moment of peace and they used it. Must I really be nothing but a pawn in the gods' game?
Author's Note
I was talking about this very point, that it may not appeal to everyone. But it's as necessary to becoming a hero as leaving Sparta.