Acropolis

Captive

Kazimir at once thought he could tell Acacia of all the great lessons he learned at the temple in Acropolis, but his elders were antiquated and the desperation for the old days of the creation rulers weighed heavy in their robes and the despair, work, and loneliness weighed heavy in his eyes. He felt guilty, but Daphne was once again at sea, perhaps, in journeying with Acacia and the firebird. Daphne could not aid him. A few seagulls dropped by the windowsill of his chamber to greet him, but no news came from them.

He recalled the news of Acacia that Captain Marko relayed to him by word of firebird. Last time Marko checked in, he met a young woman in elaborate dress running away from a stranger looking mob. Two unicorns tried to board his ship. Marko was not sure if the unicorns were wild or those caught between the acropolises. He was pretty sure they were migratory and metropolitan by look of their decisive quickness and strategic speech. Kazimir, from his teachings, would have guessed they were in fact, migratory, and in fact, wild. The way Marko described their coloring, lavender or bluish and silvery, suggested their diet of colored mushroom and with hairy hooves, suggested their rugged, gypsy lifestyle. Kazimir, usually would not have believed him, especially by judge of Marko's ruggedness, but it delighted him and lightened his overall spirit to think that Acacia was no longer the sheltered yet lost individual he once knew—and neither was he.

His elders were not what he once knew either, for they were out scouting for wild unicorn to bring to the temple so sacrifice of unicorn blood could be made. The old ways were coming back because the current fashion of celibacy did not work for the acropolises, yet Kazimir wanted no part of the old tradition.

Jason assembled ordinary citizens of Medora that attended the ten-day festival with the elder priests and High Priest of Medora, and especially, the High Sailor of Medora.

"I could not bring Acacia to my side. It stabs me in the chest. The ancient land of Acropolis lies in anarchy, but it does not rest. We shall bring forth the old days of empires and rulers to oversee all cities. Ondrea and I will lead Medora into battle after I reach consent of the judges. The unicorns of the cities will be reunited after the wild ones stick to our side. Can you drink to that?"

The crowd made a few unintelligible noises and cheers in their respective celebratory speech.

"And so, we must drink and be merry, for our celebration has ended, and after it has ended, we will give in to rest and wait twenty days, the distance from here to Siljeca, so we can prepare and wait for our troops to arrive from the stance of brute or comrade."

The High Sailor and High Priest congratulated him by patting his back and shaking his shoulders.

When the guests ventured home and the night started its symphony, Jason felt at rest. He worried about Acacia, but he no longer felt the need to help her. He had other ventures, other strategies.

My inheritance has brought me the worst of pursuits, but it makes me gracious to think I could be doing something important with it. I don't trust how Acacia will spend it, and I need more coverage from Domain if I'm to bind citizen and unicorn. If it's my inheritance that brought me here, it's mine to control. '

He allocated the funds from the festival to his pocket in hopes the armadas full of weaponry and from other distant lands will, in twenty days, find Medora. He lay in his cot thinking and sighing, wishing Daphne had not tried to exile him for attempting to become High Priest of Acropolis. Jason only thought about climbing the social ladder, not attempting to become a high priest. Yet he thought about taking her place as current ruler of Domain.

She did mean to pass the baton to me, right? How can I become a philanthropist if I can't do what's suitable for everyone? It should be Daphne to rule, but she abused her power. She can't know everything. She led us into anarchy. We have been falling ever since. Falling into tunnels, into holes, into caverns and catacombs.