Long ago, the Gods of Olympus held a meeting to decide who was to oversee the development of a new city-state. As excepted, many of the gods disagreed on who deserved the honour. After much pointless arguing, Athena put forward a suggestion: the gods should choose heros to represent them in a tournament. The god whose hero won the tournament would be granted ownership over the city-state. The tournament would be a series of battles between champions and the winner would be the last man alive. The gods liked the idea and agreed. They set forth to find their heros and train them.
A young warrior named Narcissus was quickly becoming popular throughout the land for his highly esteemed combat skills. He had already slayed 3 men that challenged him with ease. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was eager to win the tournament and so she hurried in recruiting him as her hero. Delighted in being chosen for such a monumental task, Narcissus quickly accepted Hera's proposal and Narcissus set off to train at once. He travelled the land, fighting and strengthening himself through various trials. He stopped at Delphi to consort the Oracle. "A great warrior shall fall in witnessing your image", she said. In hearing this, Narcissus was greatly pleased and quickly went on his way. During his travels, he met a fair lady named Nyx. She was the daughter of a rich and powerful man who was extremely controlling. Desperate to get away, she begged Narcissus to take her with him on her journey. Narcissus accepted and with her father's permission, the two set off together. They quickly became lovers and Nyx fell deeply in love with Narcissus.
Eventually, the pair made their way to the new city-state where the tournament was to be held. Once there, Narcissus had no time to spare with Nyx and she became lonely. Narcissus was extremely absorbed in his training and when the time came to participate in the first battle, he was extremely confident about his chances. In the first round, six of the contestants, the heros of Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, Artemis and Hera, were pitted against each other. Narcissus was smart about handling the wide assortment of warriors. He was cautious and defensive at first, letting the others slowly tire themselves out, until he decided it was time to take the offensive. With a burst of speed, Narcissus took to action and attacked the wounded soldiers. One hero fell after another until none were left standing. Narcissus was victorious.
The Gods of Olympus were impressed with Narcissus skill. The gods gave him much praise and small tokens of admiration, even the gods of the heros whom he had slayed. The most interested goddess in Narcissus was Athena, who came to him in the night in the form of an owl. She told him many secrets of the other gods and gave him much knowledge. "The winner of this tournament shall become immortal." Athena told him. "You have great chances in this tournament, and you may make a great ally in the future, if you are victorious. This is why I tell you what I know." Narcissus was extremely pleased with the praise and affection he was recieving. However, Nyx was getting more and more frustrated. Narcissus did not give her the time of day. In her anger, she seeked out a companion to talk to. This companion was an owl that watched over her sleeping quarters each night. She ranted to the owl about many things. Among other things, she said this: "Narcissus spends more time looking at his own reflection than he does looking at me. Even in mortal danger, he would stop to admire his own beauty it would seem". Shortly after Nyx finished pitying herself, the owl flew off.
The next day, the final duel of the tournament was announced. The hero, Narcissus, was to take on the warrior named Nestor, who had intelligently slain his five opponents in battle. They had one night to prepare for battle. Narcissus was so confident in his fighting ability that he decided to go to sleep early without practicing, while Nestor trained hard for hours with his mentor. Nyx, unable to sleep, wandered the grounds until she made her way to the training quarters. There she saw Nestor training, and with interest, she snuck around to watch him train to see if she could learn of his strategy the next day. As she approached, she heard a woman speaking to Nestor. "Use this shield I crafted for you in tomorrow's battle. Without it, you will surely fall. With it, your success is guarenteed. Nyx, Narcissus' lonely lover spoke to me in the night of Narcissus' greatest weakness". Nyx took a quick intake of breath upon hearing this and quickly moved to see what exactly was going on. There with Nestor was his mentor, Athena, goddess of battle and wisdom. Nestor gazed upon a shining, polished shield that she had just bestowed upon him. Nyx could see Nestor's own reflection upon the shields surface. The reflection was like that of a still lake in the night. Realizing what Athena had done, Nyx was taken aback. Narcissus would fall in battle because of her. She must do something to fix her mistake, she thought. And so she went to her bed chambers and devised a plan to save Narcissus.
The next day, Narcissus woke early and prepared for battle. He had no doubt in his mind that he would be succcessful. He had heard of Nestor's victories, but Narcissus knew that he was the stronger warrior. Before the battle, Nyx came to him and gave him instructions for the battle: "Fend him off for as long as you can. He will grow weak and weary and be easy prey for you. Also, whatever you do, do not look at his shield". Narcissus was barely listening, instead he dreamt of life as a god, immortal both in legend and blood. He failed to hear the strain and worry in her pleas. The time soon arrived for the battle to begin.
Armed with both long and short bronze swords, Narcissus stepped out into the ring. This was his moment. His path to immortality was almost complete. The gods watched in anticipation as Nestor walked up and prepared for battle. He readied his sword and shielded, which reflected the bright suns rays back into the heavens. From far away, Narcissus did not notice that the shield's surface was a mirror. As the battle began, the two opponents circled each other, measuring their strength and waiting for the perfect opportunity. As Narcissus examined his enemy, he caught sight of Nestor's shield, which was directed straight at him. He stared in wonder at his own reflection, letting his guard down for a few seconds. That was all Nestor needed. The weaker soldier quickly charged, disarmed and stabbed Narcissus in the gut before he had time to break his entrancement with his own image. Narcissus fell to his knees, dazed and confused. How could he have fallen so easily? Nyx, who watched anxiously, screamed and ran out to Narcissus in tears. As he began to cough blood, Nestor's face grew pale and he took two short steps before falling over and dragging his fingers along the ground. Nyx had concocted a poison to kill Nestor at the moment of battle so that Narcissus would look victorious, but she had been too late. Narcissus bled out, staring into the heavens, while Nestor was overwhelmed with the poison. Seeing her lover's eye deaden, Nyx took out a short dagger and stabbed herself furiously until she too lay on the ground, in eternal sleep next to Narcissus. As the gods watched, they became maddened at having no clear winner. Nestor and Narcissus had perished at the same time. Aphrodite, the goddess of love came forward and proposed that the city-state be named after Nyx and her undying love for Narcissus. All of the gods agreed, although Hera and Athena were angered that they had lost after so much time and effort they had put into the tournament.
The gods held a gigantic feast and funeral parade for the fallen champions that was celebrated by the people of Naxos, the official name for the city-state, every year following the tournament. The festival mirrored that of the original tournament and was bestowed the name, 'The Tournament of Heros'.
