"Give me the strength to kill his father, the King." "King Minos won't kill King Aegeus until he gets the Lexicon from you." "Will you give up your secrets to my priests?" "Will you let me prepare as I wish?" "Aphrodite..." "You!" "There must be another way." "I cannot sacrifice this love to the gods." "You've not only failed that test, Hero." "You've also given up the Ring of the Magi." "How do you know you want him if you don't even know you want me?" "We share something I can't describe." "You can force me to be here, but you can't force me to love you." "Tell me you did not feel something." "I'm going to disappear during the ceremony." "Meet me outside the city at the Temple of Aphrodite." "You think he loves you, but he loves me." "I want a comprehensive account of everything she says and does to add to our compendium." "I saw a pattern left by the gods." "And that, you think, is where I'll find the door to Olympus?" "Where did he go?" "He was taken by the gods." "Claw marks?" "Can you draw?" "For once..." "What have you done with the Oracle?" "She didn't want to come." "So you came in her place?" "Why did you leave me?" "Who else knows you're here?" "No one." "I give you my word." "Our love remains secret." ""Our love"?" "I don't know why I'm even listening to you." "Tell me you feel nothing for me and I will leave you alone." "I feel nothing for you." "You know that's not true." "How many men are with you?" "None." "Did you torture her?" "Of course not." "She came to me." "Didn't she tell you we have become close friends since you left?" "What do you want, Ariadne?" "Your love." "Why?" "You love her, don't you?" "No." "Liar!" "Drop your weapons and show yourselves!" "You are hurting me." "Good." "You risk the life of your Princess!" "Call to your men." "She told me you wanted to run away with her and she didn't know how to break the truth to you." "She doesn't love you." "Why would she tell you that?" "Because she loves me." "Did you never stop to ask yourself why a woman chooses to remain a virgin?" "What do you mean?" "Your precious Oracle... prefers the touch of a woman." "My touch." "You loved her?" "Not as I love you." "Tied up with a scorpion?" "It seems Princess Ariadne was questioning her." "Why?" "We do not know, Majesty." "Go fetch her." "What on Earth is the problem now?" "We cannot find the Princess." "Anywhere." "What have you done with my daughter?" "She was the one who tied me up and tortured me with a scorpion, and then left me there!" "What did you tell her?" "That the Fates sit in judgment." "So?" "That they have passed their sentence." "Oracle... you know how much I love you, but unless you speak in a language I can understand," "I will be forced to pass a sentence of my own." "I don't know where she went." "She didn't seem to like what I had to say." "What did you say?" "That the Fates sit in judg..." "Yes!" ""The Fates sit in judgment." Gods preserve us." "Perhaps you can honour me with a vision of your own." "Of course, Majesty." "What would you like me to ask Gaia... goddess of Earth and sea?" "Where is my daughter?" "I hear..." "Oh, the flutter of wings... and feel a cold breeze." "Ah!" "The call of a kestrel." "The Princess is heading to Mount Ida." "Whatever for?" "A pilgrimage to the goddess Hera, sister of Poseidon, god of the sea." "Why?" "To ask her help in convincing Poseidon to forgive you." "It is my fault." "Poseidon is an uncompromising god." "Is she traveling alone?" " Yes." " Send out a company of my men... and our best trackers to Mount Ida." "You believe the Oracle of Gaia?" "I want her home!" "I want her back by nightfall!" "I see you're keeping well." "Do you recognize them?" "No." "You were schooled in Akkad, were you not?" "Yes." "You studied the ancient language of the gods?" "Yes." "Do these not look like their symbols?" "No." "Your execution has been fixed for the Festival of Dionysia." "I know." "It's very humiliating." "This elixir guarantees a quick and painless death." "It is yours... if you help me." "This... is the ancient symbol for love." "This... this means "heritage."" "What of the last?" "There are very few examples of this one in our ancient texts, but..." "I believe this one is the symbol for the human soul." "Thank you, Priest Xerxes." "The elixir!" "I should ask them to burn you alive, the end you intended for me." "No one could ever touch you, Medea." "You're far too clever." "Perhaps your precious Gaia can help us with the son of Aegeus." "He's disappeared?" "Disappeared?" "Why would you say that?" "I'm assuming that, if you're looking for him, then he must have disappeared." "Did I say I was looking for him?" "Yes." "I said I needed help with him." "I want to propose a deal... not to the Oracle, but to the woman." "The woman?" "There must be a woman in there somewhere, isn't there?" "Sometimes." "Join me." "Not just in word, but in heart and deed." "Help me find my daughter, and your champion, the son of Aegeus." "Let us solve the riddle of the Lexicon together, walk through the gates of Olympus and share in its spoils." "You and I, Oracle... as equals." "Then you may rule at my side as my Queen... for the rest of eternity." "Oracle?" "Yes?" "Did you hear me?" "Yes." "I'm offering you the world." "An everlasting life of wealth, power and comfort." "Yes." "But first... you must do something for me." "What is it with you women?" "We offer you the universe and you find something else to ask for." "Put King Aegeus to the sword and I will do whatever you wish." "Why?" "The clearest vision ever sent by Gaia was also her darkest." "King Aegeus will one day be responsible for the death of the gods and the end of our world." "I found a little water." "That's all?" "It was meant for both of us." "These animals are hoarding food and water..." "Keeping it from their King!" "Shh." "Quiet, Father." "If they find out who you are, they may turn against you." "Cowards, every one." "I have some olives, too." "They're stale!" "You know, Father," "I think I've spent more time with you in here than... well, my entire childhood." "You're a sentimental boy, Lykos." "It makes it bearable, knowing that we're together." "Quiet." "I need to listen for Apollo's call." "I think the gods may have forgotten us." "Their mighty chariots thunder to my rescue." "It's only a matter of time." "Did you ever wonder about me when I was growing up?" "What I was like?" "Fetch me some more water." "I always imagined us spending days together..." "Hunting." "Or wrestling." "You... preparing me for the throne." "You're not a king, Lykos." "You're a court jester." "Slow down." "Please." "If you don't turn back now, I'll start running." "You would leave a defenceless woman alone in these woods?" "There isn't a Harpy or Hyade that could stand up to you." "You should not have come here." "Stop that." "I thought..." "I thought you'd want me." "Look, I'll take you back to the outskirts of the city." "I can't go back." "Don't be ridiculous." "My father will have me killed." "Why?" "I abandoned him for you." "No, no, he'll be happy to see you." "No." "No, I've..." "I've humiliated him, rejected him and everything he stands for... for you." "Why?" "I love you." "Ariadne, where I'm going, I have to go alone." "It's dangerous." "I may even be killed." "No." "Then you shouldn't go." "We can... we can find a safe place to hide from the world, live quietly, just the two of us." "No, lt would never work." "How do you know unless you try?" "I can be your perfect woman," "I know..." "I know I can." "That's not the point." "What else is there?" "Gods?" "Dreams?" "Fantasies?" "We have everything we need already." "Our son would suffer as I have suffered." "If I don't have the courage to settle this now, we will forever live in fear of the gods." "Then take me with you." "Let me carry some of your burden." "No." "Is there not... a small part of you... that could love me?" "Yes, but..." "That yearns for love?" "Daedalus?" "I made a mistake." "My previous calculations were based on a false premise." "What do you mean?" "What's this?" "A beetle." "Actually, now it's a stone, but before it was a stone, it was a beetle, crawling around on the Earth." "Where'd you find it?" "The palace garden." "As you know, in locating the door to Olympus," "I connected the giant edifices of the gods to find their hub." "Naturally, I was convinced, as we all were, that these were the sacred buildings of the gods, constructed by them tens of thousands of years ago, but I was wrong." "They're the gods themselves." "Gods?" "Titans, to be precise." "Victims of the war between the gods, won by the gods of Olympus." "Those aren't buildings... they're petrified bodies." "So if this isn't the door to Olympus, what is it?" "The weapon that killed them." "And judging by their distance from it, it must have fallen from a very great height, indeed, from somewhere deep in our universe." "And what will Hero find there?" "Oh, well, that's the problem." "I call this "point zero,"" "the source of a power so great, it's unimaginable to us." "Not the doors to Olympus at all... but the doors to almighty hell." "I'm coming with you!" "Please, keep your voice down." "We're a team!" "If you disappear," "King Minos will send an army to find you." "If I disappear, he'll feel lucky he has one less thing to worry about." "Or he'll suspect you know where to find the son of Aegeus and send an army to find you." "That's a risk I'll have to take." "The woods are teeming with bandits and deserters." "Then I'll have to avoid them." "Y-You won't reach him in time!" "Perhaps I will." "On foot?" "What else is there?" "The wind." "Have you ever wanted to fly?" "Architect!" "The King wants to see you." "Tell him I'm busy." "Let go of me!" "This is not a good time!" "Tea?" "What do you see?" "It's our destination..." "By the foot of Mount Parnassus, between the fingers of Orion." "Ah!" "Good." "Daedalus." "Yes?" "We need your help, my friend." "Is it urgent?" "Apparently, the only way to kill a king and not offend the gods... particularly Poseidon, the bane of my existence... is, uh... on his throne." "King Aegeus?" "Yes." "And to complicate matters even further, we need to use a ceremonial xiphos with a blade cast from bronze with a silver image of Hades, the god of the underworld, to..." "Help usher in the mortal tide." "Or something, yes?" "Daedalus?" "Yes." "Did you hear what I said?" "Yes." "Well, can you make a xiphos of mixed metals or not?" "No." "Well, then I'll have to use our clumsy blacksmith." "I mean... of course." "Yes, of course, I can make a xiphos of mixed metals." "Uh, but to do it properly," "I'll need a crucible of volcanic stone found at the foot of Mount Parnassus." "But that's miles away." "Oh, shouldn't take long, if I fly there." "Do you think" "I'd ever let you take to the skies again?" "Kre-Kre... keep a close eye on my mad genius, and make sure he has everything he needs." "It won't work without a crucible of volcanic stone." "Just do the best you can in the time available." "According to Oracle's vision, we're doing the gods a favour, so I don't see why everything has to be perfect." "Well, how... how much time do I have?" "Dawn's first light!" "Satisfied... my dear?" "Perhaps we should rest?" "Oh, no, I can keep going." "An hour or two won't harm us." "It's quite comfortable." "That's a hare." "And that's a snake." "Really?" "Yeah, a grass snake." "It's not poisonous." "Are you sure?" "It's just eaten, that's why we can hear it." "It drags its tail on the ground when it's eaten." "I thought you liked being scared." "Only when I'm in my world." "Well, now you're in my world." "If wolves or bears come within earshot," "I'll have us heading upwind before you're awake." "I can't sleep." "You're safe here with me." "I promise." "After you've opened the doors to the gods... what then?" "I'll rid myself of their curse." "Is that all?" "Don't you want to become a god yourself?" "No." "Really?" "An immortal?" "To live forever as you wish?" "All I want is to live an ordinary life..." "Without guilt... fear, and pain, and to love, and not pass on their curse to my son." "And to trust in that love." "Do you trust my love?" "Careful!" "She's a Hyade for sure." "Speak... nymph of the forest." "Are you a creature of Dionysus, dark god of ecstasy?" "Tread carefully... or I will set his fauns among you." "She speaks with the accent of the gods." "Step away!" "My son, Thanatos, is at my heel." "Thanatos?" "God of death." "What mother brings death from her loins?" "Nyx!" "Goddess of the night." "Kneel before me... and I will call on my other son instead." "Other son?" "Hypnos, god of sleep." "She wants to put us under his spell." "Then feed us to Thanatos!" "Keep your hands where we can see them." "I have her!" "Let me go!" "Blessed Athena... touch my heart." "Help me see clearly into the invisible world of your desire." "Absolve me of my guilt." "Let others see that what I do, I do for you." "I thought I might find you here." "Hmm." "Praying to the Athenian Goddess." "I pray for us all." "How considerate." "But I don't need your prayers." "I need the truth." "Of course." "I'll burn an offering and prepare my voice." "No!" "I don't need another vision." "In fact, I don't need the Oracle at all." "I need you." "I've kept my end of the bargain." "It's time for you to keep yours." "What really happened to my daughter?" "She went in search of the son of Aegeus." "He's alive?" "I don't know." "Why would she think he's alive?" "I don't know." "Where did she go?" "To Mount Ida on..." "No!" "Where did she really go?" "I don't know!" "How... how... how will we find them?" "Perhaps I need the Oracle of Gaia after all." "Holy mother... goddess of light and wisdom, let me look into your heart and glimpse the destiny of your champion." "Well?" "No, I'm sorry." "The signs are weak." "Try again!" "No." "It won't work now." "When?" "When?" "When, then?" "Perhaps after the execution of the King." "As a child, I always wanted to walk barefoot in the woods at night, but my father kept me locked in my room." "We've led very different lives." "But we have much in common." "Oh?" "We are loners, both born to kings... both weighed low with heavy burdens... expectation, responsibility, self-sacrifice." "We are destined to be together." "I feel you inside me." "And I know there isn't a woman alive who can weather your storms as I can." "I was born to walk alongside you." "You would... really sacrifice the life you know for me?" "I already have." "And when tonight's quest is done... and we fall into each other's arms..." "Our love will set us alight." "Water." "I'll look for some in the morning." "Now!" "I have nothing else to trade." "My people should give willingly." "I am their King!" ";" "I am your King!" "No, Father." "Quiet!" "Apollo will rain a thousand burning arrows down upon all your heads!" "Please, Father, don't do this." " Please!" " Cowards!" "Lie back now." "Rest." "That's it, try to sleep." ""King"?" "He's delirious." "Yesterday, he thought he was Apollo himself." "He wears the King's mitra." "Have you come to bring me water, slave?" "No, Father." "Quiet, please." "He sounds like the King." "He means no harm!" "Stand him up so I can cut his belly open." "See?" "It's just bluster." "No, it's our beloved King!" "I said, it's our beloved King!" "Please... put the knife away." "Stand and face me, King." "Coward." "No wonder we lost the war." "We have a coward king." "Out of my way, boy!" "I'm going to teach our coward king a lesson." "Apollo damns you." "See, boy..." "I am protected by the gods." "And, in time, they will return me to my throne." "Behave like a man." "Mewly boy." "Father..." "Glory will soon be mine." "I think I'm injured." "Cower before your King... torch of Apollo!" "The blinding staff of truth will sweep you all into the sea!" "Father!" "We will see what dawn's first light does to you, creature of the night." "Where are your sons now?" "They spurn their mother!" "I think I would welcome her third son." "Third son?" "Eros." "Eros is son of Nyx?" "According to the Orphic priests." "I thought the mother of Eros was Aphrodite, goddess of love." "Lust is not born of love!" "It's born of the night." "Is Eros your son, goddess?" "No." "Untie me, or you will carry my curse to the River Styx." "I will taste your charms first." "You will suffer for this, pirates!" "Look away until it is your turn." "Stop it, Father." "She will twist your soul." "What surprises have you in store for me, goddess?" "I will let loose all the dark demons of the night!" "Do not let her scare you!" "But look at her eyes, Father!" "She carries a dark spell for sure!" "Thanatos!" "Spread your wings of death!" "Let me alone!" "She is too dangerous!" "Perhaps it's time for me to teach my son a lesson!" "Kneel, so that I can cut a father's mark across your temple!" "No!" "Please!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "King of Athens." "Kneel before your King!" "A golden apple..." "It is cold as ice." "What will you do?" "Walk through the door." "Pandora's tomb." "The golden apple warns of the chaos inside." "Stand back, Ariadne." "Please." "This cannot be right." "Whoever, whatever led you to this place was mistaken." "Did you expect the door to Olympus to be ringed with angels?" "Let's turn back and take a day or two to think long and hard before we do anything foolish." "There's nothing to think about." "I've waited too long already." "There may be a terrible beast waiting inside." "It can't be as terrible as the beast already waiting inside me." "I will take you back to Athens... leave you at your father's door." "No." "I am yours now." "Then stand aside." "I can feel your heart..." "So tell me the truth." "Do you love me?" "With all my heart." "Rise!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" " No!" "Stop!" " King of Athens!" "King of Athens!" "We must hunt him down... son of Aegeus, the man who will be king... and kill him." "And what of the Lexicon?" "The Lexicon is not a door to the gods." "It's a door to their destruction..." "And ours." "It's the Ring of the Magi." "It's beautiful..." "Don't look into it, Ariadne." "I've never seen anything like this." "Ariadne, look away." "No!"