CHAPTER FOURTYN

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Thetis and Achilles come up with a plan: Thetis will ask the god Zeus to make sure the Greeks lose without Achilles fighting for them, so Agamemnon will be forced to beg for Achilles’ return. Patroclus thinks of Chiron and what his advice would be in this situation.

Chiron had once said that no person’s life is more valuable than someone else’s, regardless of what nation they’re from.

One evening, Patroclus meets with Agamemnon and Briseis.

Agamemnon assures Patroclus that he has not violated Briseis and is taking care of her.

The next day the Greek army goes to war without Achilles, leaving Achilles and Patroclus wondering how the battle will transpire.

Achilles and Patroclus learn from Phoinix that Paris had challenged Menelaus to a duel for Helen; whoever won the duel would end the war once and for all.

Patroclus notes that during the fight Paris disappeared, and then Menelaus was struck by an arrow.

Their duel ended in a tie.

Later, Ajax faces off against Hector, which also ends in a draw. Achilles feels excited listening to the story, learning that everyone remarked how Achilles would have defeated Hector if he was there.

As the war progresses the powerful Lycians join the Trojans, leading to the deaths of many Greek soldiers.

While Patroclus feels remorse for the loss of these men, Achilles reads this as a sign that Agamemnon is close to seceding to Achilles’ will.

One night, Odysseus, Phoinix, and Ajax join Achilles and Patroclus for dinner and tell them about the current war situation.

The Trojans are nearby and if Achilles does not fight, the Greeks will surely lose.

Phoinix tells Achilles the story of Meleager, a young hero who once quit fighting for his people because of a slight to his honor.

The only person who could convince Meleager to rejoin the fight was his beloved wife Cleopatra.

Phoinix looks at Patroclus, and Patroclus realizes that he’s the only one who could sway Achilles. Achilles resolutely refuses his participation in the war.

Patroclus warns Briseis of the impending Trojan attack but quickly realizes that she is not in any real danger because she is a citizen of Troy and was kidnapped by the Greeks; the Trojans will free her.

Briseis suggests that she will claim Patroclus as her husband in order to protect him from the Trojans.

Patroclus wonders if he could’ve loved and married Briseis if he had never met Achilles.

That night, Patroclus lies next to Achilles wishing that he could change Achilles’ mind about stubbornly refusing to fight.

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