text: [Themes: edutainment, historical, serious]
  
  Tell me, o Muse, of that ingenious man, who traveled far and wide, after he was spoken to by the gods themselves.
  
  'Please aid me, Muses.' You whisper as you walk to the centre of the gathered crowd. 'Welcome, my very honored guests. Tonight I will tell you about the hero Odysseus, who braved many perils on his way home on the island of Ithaca. Once upon a time...'
  
  You spend the following hours reciting all the long sentences you have memorized in the past few years. When you finish your story you are met by a wave of sound, as the audience loudly applauds your story. When the crowd leaves you finally begin to breath more easily.
  
  [Author's Note: A great war is about to erupt, the greatest the world has ever seen since the Trojan war. As the Greek city states are about to be engulfed in civil war, one man has to undertake a great journey. A dangerous road lies ahead, but you must take it, for the odyssey of one will decide the fate of many. This story is loosely based on the famous Greek epic: the Odyssey, by Homer. Note that this is more of a story than a game. Depending on your choices, it can be either pretty long, or very short.]
  
  > The epic begins
  After you leave the odeon, the performing place of bards, you gaze at the beautiful night sky above Athens' acropolis. The beauty of the night sky always calms you after your performances. However, as you gaze at the stars you suddenly see a golden light shining between the buildings of the temple complex, the acropolis.
  
  Curious, you cross the acropolis to get closer to the huge temple. When you approach it you see that someone placed the statue of the goddess Athena outside. Something is strange, though. The statue, that you know is made from marble, gold and silver, is glowing with a golden glow. The statue of Nike that she normally holds in her hand is gone and replaced by her shield, that normally lies by her side. You get uneasy and turn to walk away.
  
  'Halt!'
  
  You turn around. Did someone just say something? You quicken your pace.
  
  'Halt!'
  
  Okay, you are really starting to freak out now. You now start running away from the Parthenon.
  
  'Foolish mortal.'
  
  You spot an owl flying towards you. While you wonder what such an animal would be doing at this time at this place it crashes into your face. While your vision grows black you see a golden glow coming towards you.
  
  > Light in the darkness
  You hear faint murmurs in the darkness, like distant voices. A faint glow pierces your eyelids. When you try to open your eyes you are practically blinded by a golden light. After a short scream of fear and pain you close your eyes. The voices become clearer.
  
  'Do you really think he is up to this task?'
  
  'He is only a mere bard'
  
  'You, out of all people, should not criticize a bard, Apollo. And yes, Zeus, father of men and gods, highest of rulers, I do think that this mortal can complete the task we are about to give him.'
  
  'Apollo? Zeus? How hard was I hit by that flying piece of vermin?'
  
  'He'd better be, the fate of the world rests on his shoulders.'
  
  'Open your eyes mortal. I know you are awake. I hope my owl didn't hit you too hard. Don't be afraid.'
  
  You slowly open your eyes, afraid to be blinded once again by that golden light. But this time nothing happens. When your eyes are fully opened and have adjusted to the darkness of the night, you see three people. Somehow they look familiar, like people you pass everyday without really looking at them. But on the other hand, you think you have seen their faces over a million times. When you realize just who you are looking at, your jaw drops with surprise. You are looking at three of the Olympic gods; the bright-eyed Athena, the ever-young Apollo and the aegis bearing Zeus. 'I... I... How... When...' While you try to make a coherent sentence, Athena speaks to you:
  
  'Please remain calm bard, great teller of tales, and listen to what we have to say. The world as you know it is about to undergo a radical change. War is about to erupt between the Greek city states, a war of which the likes haven't been seen since the great Trojan war. Many heroes died then, and many more will die now. You are the last hope of the Greeks.'
  
  'But what can I do to help? I'm just an ordinary bard. If the fate of the Greek cities hangs in the balance, then why can't the gods solve it? I mean, my people pray to you every day. Is this how you repay us?'
  
  'Insolent mortal. Is this how you repay us? Is this how you repay the immortal gods, who gave you life, who helped you in your times of need? If my daughter didn't favor you so much I would smite you on this spot.'
  
  'That will be enough father. I understand why you are angry, aoidos, but let us explain first. Even the gods are bound by rules, by fate, by moral. After the Trojan war Zeus decreed that no immortal gods may ever be involved in a war between humans again. The fact that we are giving you this advice is as far as we can go without upsetting the balance in the world. In order to avert this war you have to undertake a journey. You have to travel to the great oracle at Thebes, in the lands of the Aegyptians. There you will have to ask for advice on how to avert this war.
  
  Still baffled from your sudden encounter with the gods you answer:
  
  > 'I'm sorry, but you have the wrong mortal, ehm... The wrong person. You're not able to do that
  'Ungrateful mortal!'
  
  As Zeus speaks this words the skies fill with thunderclouds. The sound of the rumbling thunder drowns all other sounds that eminate from the city of Athens.
  
  'Insolent fool! Who are you to doubt the decisions of the almighty gods? I can't understand why Athena chose you as the savior of the Greeks, but she obviously chose poorly! But so be it, if you will not fulfill this task, then the Greek cities are doomed.'
  
  The sound of thunder is becoming overwelming. While you cover your ears to block out the sound you see Athena looking at you with a sad expression. When the sound reaches it's climax a huge lightning bolt hits the acropolis. You close your eyes as the light is too intense to gaze at. You remain in this position for a minute or two, covering your ears with your hands and clenching your eyelids tight to avoid being blinded by another lightning bolt.
  
  When you finally dare to open your eyes you realise that the gods have left.
  
  > A year passes
  A year has passed since your encounter with the gods. Although you doubt you really met the gods, you probably were hallucinating due to the stress you had because of your performance in the odeon, you can't stop thinking about their prophecy of war.
  
  You suddenly realise that you have almost arrived at the assembly of the people. Time flies when you think intensely about things, maybe you should give up your job as a bard and become a philosopher. The assembly of the people is the highest ruling organ in Athens. The people decide on the future of the city, there is no single ruler or single ruling party. Normally only the richer people, that have the right to vote, attend the assembly. Today, however it seems like every person has come to the meeting place on the hill the Pnyx. But then again, today is not an ordinary day.
  
  'The time has come to take up our arms. Sparta, our old enemy has declared war upon us and many other Greek city states! Many other cities, like the city of Thebes, have declared war upon each other. An army of enemies will be arriving here within days! Now is the time to take up our arms, assemble the hoplites, mount our horses with their fast feet. Now is the time to defend our homeland against the aggressors, now is the time to fight!'
  
  The speaker now shouts across the gathered crowd. The crowd shouts angrily in response. The great war has reached Athens...
  
  > Days later...
  You grip your spear tighter as you gaze at the distant flames on the edge of the horizon. The cool evening wind that is always present on the top of the big stone walls of Athens seems to be filled with the smell of burning wood. Great pyres of smoke have been visible for days since the Spartans and their allies invaded the lands of Athens. From your high point of view on top the gatehouse you can see the camp of the gathered enemies. A chill runs down your spine as you think of the fighting that has been occurring the last few days. Although the Athenian forces have been able to repel the invading forces, many people have lost their lives. Frankly, you don't believe that you are able to win this war. Most of the people that are defending the city only had the two years of mandatory military education. They are just regular citizens that were drafted to defend Athens in this great war.
  
  You can see light dawning on the horizon, a new day has begun. A new day, filled with fighting. You can see activity in the enemy camp, men gathering, men mounting horses, people grabbing weapons and gathering in formation. You remember when these men first showed up on the edge of the horizon. You remember the men, women and children in front of them, running away, fleeing into the city. You remember men screaming as they assaulted the high walls of Athens, screaming when you pushed their ladders down to the hard earth, screaming as their souls passed on to the underworld.
  
  You lift your shield as the enemy army marches towards the city, the fight is about to begin.
  
  Moments later you spot the first ladders being put against the walls and you rush towards them, either to push them down or to kill the men that are scaling them. Suddenly you hear a familiar sound, like a thousand birds flapping their wings in the skies. A shadow blocks the light of the sun as thousands of arrows fly towards the city of Athens.
  
  > quickly lie down
  You throw yourself onto the ground, just as the arrows fly over your head. As you scramble to get up you realise that you are one of the few people that have survived this attack. Dazed, you watch across the city walls, oblivious to the rest of the world. However, you quickly come to your senses as you spot a Spartan soldier that has nearly reached the top of the wall. You pick up the shield and spear that you dropped when you tried to evade the deadly arrows. To your horror you realise that you can't move your spear arm and you realise that an arrow has lodged itself in your shoulder.
  
  The Spartan soldiers have now reached the top of the walls and are advancing towards you and a few of the other survivors. Since there is no way that you can win this fight with only a shield, you retreat, stumbling over the corpses that now litter the once great walls of Athens. When you finally descend the walls you spot the swift-footed Polymachos, one of the most experienced marshals in Athens, giving orders to his men. 'Reinforce the walls, don't give them the chance to open the gates!'
  
  You wrestle yourself through the soldiers that ascend the walls, trying to repel the invading Spartans, but finally you reach solid ground. You realize that you are more of a burden then an advantage to your fellow soldiers, so you drop your shield and walk away from the gates. Polymachos gives you an angry look but he turns away from you and runs towards the lion-hearted defenders of Athens. You now have a dilemma. Should you help defend the walls, or do you retreat to another part of the city?
  
  > No, you won't run. You will help defend your homeland
  You pick up your dropped shield and hurry back to the top of the walls. But before you even reach the staircase you hear a loud cracking to your left. As you look at the source of the noise you see splinters coming off of the city gates.
  
  With a thundering crack the gates give way to the Spartan battering ram. At the same time a wave of Spartan soldiers comes flooding through the destroyed gates. You raise your shield and fight valiantly against the endless stream of enemies. Even with your useless arm you manage to injure quite a lot of enemies by smashing your shield at them.
  
  Suddenly you see general Polymachos fighting next to you. 'Cover my back!', he shouts at you, just when the spear of an enemy hits him in the chest. You gaze with horror at the sight of the swift-footed Polymachos, the most-experienced general of Athens, lying dead at the floor. While you are astounished by this sight an enemy manages to sneak up to you. As you finally realise what is going on he strikes you with his sword.
  
  As your soul prepares to leave your body to journey to the realm of Hades you spot a golden light in the corner of your vision. When your soul finally leaves your body you wonder if this tragedy could have been averted.