Amphitrite - Wilbur Soot

~eight~

After Daphne left I uncorked the dark green glass bottle and dumped the contents onto my bed. Two letters; one tied with a dark green ribbon, and the other folded into messy rectangles. I read the folded one first.

Lorelai-

I asked my dad about Thetis, but he didn't tell me anything. I then asked him about any prophecies or curses, and he did tell me something then. It's very song-like; like I could put some chords to it. Maybe I will. That's not a bad idea, actually. Here's what I remember:

"There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword;

He will tear your city down, oh lord."

Dad seems to think this pertains to Techno, but Techno hasn't wielded his sword in years.

"There will come a poet whose weapon is his word;

He will slay you with his tongue, oh lord."

I don't want to sound conceited, but Dad and I both think this one is about me.

"There will come a ruler whose brow is laid in thorns;

Smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lord."

This stanza is confusing to us. None of us are kings or even act like one. Well, except maybe Tommy, but he's just a kid, and has no inheritance. None of us have an inheritance. It all goes to Ranboo. Of course it does. Why wouldn't it? It's not like I've lived my whole life waiting for a kingdom of my own, just to move here and have it all taken away from me.

I hope I see you soon.

-Wilbur, Prince of Nothing

Against my better judgment, I admired his words and how his handwriting nearly floated on the page. He wrote very eloquently, like a prince should, even a prince of nothing. I could feel his bitterness towards the end of the letter seeping through the ink. Next, I untied the rolled letter.

Dear Lorelai,

I hope this letter finds you in good health, and in fair waters. I am writing to you because I have noticed that my eldest son has taken a special interest in you. I have no issue with his infatuation; it's the goddess you live under that I have a problem with. Thetis and I have had a rocky history, to say the very least.

I feel that you are entitled to certain information about my son that you perhaps have not been able to glean from the rocks beyond the shore. Yes, I know you watched my children. I have eyes all across Helia.

My son, Wilbur, has been cursed by Thetis, even before he was born. I was young and reckless and my actions brought this upon him. I do not know exactly what the curse entails, but I know that whatever she has in mind will be debilitating. I'll try not to sound insensitive, but I know that you too have experience with curses, or something resembling them.

It's been years since he heard them, but I know they never really go away. Please, guardian of rebellious children, be gentle with him. I am a god; I am no father. He means everything to me; I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him. His dreams are enough to haunt us.

I hope I didn't scare you, dear Lorelai.

-Philza

My head was swimming. So much information, so little time. The fact that a god would beg me to be nice to his son seemed so out of place. The gods were at work in Helia, and I was caught in the crossfire.

Just then, a rather large black bird swooped into my cove. There was exactly one opening near the ceiling of my cave, and I guess it was just large enough for a bird to fit through. The bird had a strange sort of intelligence about it, something that put me on edge.

"Hello. Who might you be?" Something I had learned from living in the presence of immortals and gods alike was that any animal might be a god in disguise. For example, Apollo usually visits Daphne under the guise of a swan before revealing himself to her.

The crow cawed at me quietly.

"Well, if you are a god who's just being particularly stubborn, welcome to my home. You are in the territory of Thetis, Achilles' mother." I paused, to gauge the bird's reaction. "And a mysterious god named Philza," I added, almost as an afterthought. At the mention of Phil the bird started fidgeting, looking around excitedly. "He's not here." The bird calmed down.

I sat down at my desk, wrapping my cloak around my shoulders. It had somehow gotten colder, despite it being the middle of the summer.

"You're probably waiting for my letters, huh?" I asked the nonverbal crow. It felt nice to talk to something, even though I knew it couldn't respond. "You must be one of his eyes."

Under the watchful eye of the crow, I composed my response to Phil.

Philza,

I hope this letter finds you well and in clear skies. Your son is innocent and blissfully ignorant to what the world is around him. He shows no sign of any curse, but I do not doubt that he may be tormented behind closed doors. Thetis is a very vengeful goddess, but of course, she may be overreacting. If it is you that harvested her coral reef centuries ago, rest assured that it needed some pruning and is now in better condition than before.

Your last paragraph is confusing to me. If you write back, please explain. I may not return the "infatuation" your son claims he has for me, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him. I watched him grow up. Certainly, you, of all people, understand this. You had a child knowing you would watch him die. There has to be some semblance of detachment, but you do still care for him.

Gods are fickle creatures, but their curses have bite.

-Lorelai

The crow seemed to enjoy watching me write. Or was it a raven? It looked much too big to be a crow. It perched on the end of the table and followed the movement of my quill with its head. When I was finished writing, I rolled the letter to Phil, tied it with the same green ribbon, and folded the letter to Wilbur. As I was about to shove them inside of the bottle, the bird lightly nipped at my hands and took both letters from me before leaving the same way it came in.

Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the day alone with my thoughts, running over the nagging feeling at the back of my head that something was wrong. I laid in bed, my cloak tight around my shoulders, and studied the patterns in the rock above my head. I did not like Wilbur, I told myself. He was just like every other Helianite man I had ever met; brash, abrasive, and intrusive. Not to mention violent. So very, very violent for such a pacifistic kingdom. I guess they've got to get the aggression out somehow.

When I dozed off, I dreamt of nothing but gold.

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New chapter pog

I've got ideas for lore ehehehehehehehehehe

Make sure you eat food, drink water, take meds, do homework, and get some good sleep!!! I love you all so much thank you for supporting me as long as you have been :D