The Labyrinth

3: Centaurs

"Go, Drakones! Go!"

The two drakones, beating and thrashing their wings uncontrollably, lifted the chariot and carried Medea, Aegeus, Peter and Victor across the skies. Medea gripped the reins tightly, swerving the drakones this way and that, whilst Peter and Victor clutched at the sides of the chariot, shocked by the swiftness of the great beasts. The wind rushed through their hair and past their ears, shedding all colour from the faces as they curved and veered through thick white clouds and mountain peaks. All they could hear were the drum of the wings, the slap of the reins and whoosh of the wind. Finally, Medea tugged sharply on the reins, causing the drakones to dive downwards to the land. Plummeting towards the ground, dodging trees and bushes and buildings, she yanked the reins once more, skidding to a halt just before the soil.

Aegeus turned to the boys, who were sitting in the back of the chariot with shocked expressions. They loved speed, but had never experienced anything like this before. Faster than any car, more powerful than any rollercoaster — Medea's chariot was like lightning! "This is the gymnasium," Aegeus said, helping the boys down from the chariot carefully, "This is where the Trident trains."

The gymnasium was not like any normal gymnasium. Sixteen tall trees surrounded a great rectangular building, lined with lofty stone pillars. In the heart of the rectangle was an enormous green patch, with clusters of boys and girls exercising and working in the dreadful heat. It was extremely hot, far hotter than London had ever been before. Peter was already starting to feel the sweat dribbling down his forehead and beneath his shirt. The boys and girls were all between thirteen years old and eighteen years old, tall, strongly built and incredibly determined. Divided into groups, some were hurling spears at targets, some were heaving heavy stones with their bare arms, others were practicing sword fighting, or running, or jumping, or using their raw strength in every way possible. They were all dressed in identical white athletic uniform, exactly like Medea's but opposite in colour. "Theseus!" Aegeus bellowed across the grass. The athletes all looked towards the King, shocked and stunned, ready to drop their activities at once to run to his needs. A tall, blonde-haired boy came running over, a long silver sword in his right hand. His face was smeared in sweat, his fingers sore and red, cut and plastered all over. Great muscles popped out of his shoulders, arms and thighs from sunburnt skin. Wiping a layer of sweat from his brow, he threw the tip of the sword into the ground with amazing force so that it fixed, and he stopped before Aegeus, "Yes, father?"

Turning to Peter and Victor, Aegeus said, "This is my son, Theseus. He is the strongest of our Trident," Theseus beamed — he was a particularly charismatic young man, and certainly the eldest of the Trident, "And Theseus, these two are Peter and Victor. They have come from above."

"The Gods?" Theseus, puzzled, asked. Gods were not usually so normal looking; they were often older, bearded and wiser, rather than scrawny and ragged like these two.

"No!" Aegeus whispered, "The Earth."

Theseus' eyes lit up, and he turned to stare at the strange boys from Earth. He did not know whether to be terrified or excited, "They are...normal, aren't they?"

Aegeus smiled, "Yes. Very normal indeed. We're going to need to train them up though, so I am putting you in charge of them for this week. If there are any issues, come to me at once."

Before long, Peter and Victor were in identical white uniform, standing in the middle of the field, looking out amongst the fighters. The sun beat down on their necks as they stood, watching boys and girls of twice their strength doing incredible things. "There are two parts of Trident training," Theseus announced in the same loud voice as his father, "Physical and Skill." He led the boys around the field, showing them the various different physical activities. A teenage girl tossed a javelin straight into the bull's-eye of a target with such force that it sliced straight through. "You will have to learn how to fight like warriors! And that doesn't mean you'll just be fighting humans."