text: [Themes: edutainment, serious, historical]
  
  She smirks at you. 'Hmpf, I guess you're not that foolish after all.' you see a bronze knife falling from her hand. 'You really are like him. But I guess you have to go too, huh? Why are the gods so cruel? But I'll keep my promise, I'll turn your friends back to their human forms. Although, to be honest: I like them more as pigs.'
  
  The next half hour she goes through the big hall, tapping each and every pig on their heads with her wand and muttering incantations. Finally, all your companions are returned to their original selves. Afterwards, Circe approaches you. 'My noble hero I understand I've caused you and your friends a lot of trouble, and I am deeply sorry for it. Please, let me make it up to you by letting you stay here for a while, to rest and to regain your strength for the rest of your journey. I promise by the immortal gods that I won't harm any of you, else they may take my soul and lock it away in the Tartaros, the deepest pit of the underworld.
  
  After a quick decision with your men you decide to accept Circe's offer and spend some time on her island to regain your strength. Your men each get spacious rooms assigned, but you sleep in Circe's own chambers. You dine exquisitely each day (although you are never served pork) and Circe is the perfect host, with no intentions whatsoever of hurting anyone. The time between meals you spend with Circe, walking on her beautiful island, playing games beneath a pergola while enjoying the cool breeze from the sea or take a swim in the beautiful blue waves. Everything is just so perfect, you never want to leave.
  
  However, eventually the time comes when the gods have grown tired of waiting for you to resume your journey and they send Hermes to command you so. As you and Circe reach the top of the marble staircase that leads to her mansion you see the keen-eyed messenger of the gods standing before you. 'Noble bard, the immortal gods have sent me to bring you a message. You must continue your journey to Sparta or Greece will be destroyed by the flames of war. I advice you to do as they say.'
  
  You look to Circe, ready to say goodbye, but when you see her sad but beautiful face you hesitate. Seeing the hesitation in your eyes she speaks to you despairingly: 'Please, my noble hero, you do not have to leave me. Stay here and live here with me until the end of days. You like it here, you said so yourself during one of our walks. Please... please consider it.'
  
  Hermes speaks sternly to you: 'Remember your journey, mortal. Remember those who depend on you. You have to leave, now!'
  
  Torn between your duty and your newly found love for Circe you decide...
  
  > To continue your journey
  You watch Circe's island growing smaller and smaller until it has finally sunken beneath the horizon. You said your goodbyes to Circe with a troubled heart, promising her you'll come back while deep down you knew you wouldn't. Circe has given you new supplies so you can resume your journey to Sparta.
  
  On top of the white marble steps, with the sun setting beneath the horizon in the east, you gave each other your farewell kisses. The creeping chill of the evening marked your parting. Circe waited on the beach until your ship set sail, watching you as you watched her. But now you are both out of sight of each other. The dream has ended, your break is over, and now you have to continue your journey.
  
  The winds are blowing again and the stars are clear, giving guidance to your crew. Shaking your sad thoughts away you walk towards the navigator: 'Set sail towards Sparta, don't make any stops until we've arrived at their docks.'
  
  > Of course, this is easier said than done...
  Either the gods have not done testing you or your navigator is just really incompetent, but a month later you still haven't reached Sparta. The supplies given to you by Circe, which should have been enough to reach Sparta, are all but gone. Your crew is faced with near starvation. You hear the desperate prayers of the crew members, praying for food or rain, and it pains you that you are unable to aid them.
  
  Even Cyrus, who supported you throughout your journey is starting to doubt. He walks up to you with a worried face: 'Noble customer, and dear friend, I have stood by you during the hard times we've encountered on this journey but now I am starting to lose hope. I thought you were aided by the gods on this journey, you have those dreams, right? But what now, are the gods testing us, have they abandoned us and left us to die here on the wine-coloured waves?'
  
  'I wish I had an answer for you, I really do, but I just don't know. I wish I knew a way to get things right, but I don't. Our fate is now in the hands of the gods. I'm sorry, but my advice is: have faith in the gods, our journey is righteous and the gods will help us. Let us sleep for now, let our minds wander into the realm of dreams and forget about our horrible situation, at least for a moment.'
  
  And so you curl up once again on your sleeping mat, your belly rumbling and your mind troubled. But as you predicted before long your mind departs to the realm of dreams. You are walking across a shadowy island, inhabited by the shadows of oxen. The shadowy grass feel surprisingly soft beneath your ghost-feet. The shining image of Athena approaches you, accompanied by a solemn looking owl. 'Great bard, pride of Athens, you have come a far way since the day you first saw us. The immortal gods have always watched you on your journey and they always will. It pleases us to see you have not lost your faith in the immortal gods, even after so much hardship. However, your trials have not yet come to an end. Tomorrow you will reach the island of Trinacria, a sacred island belonging to the sun-god Helios. Whatever you do, do not disturb the cattle of Helios.'
  
  With these words the wise Athena leaves.
  
  > Trinacria
  You are violently awoken by a crew member, shaking you enthusiastically. As you struggle to remember just where you are you hear him speak to you: '... 've arrived at an island, sir. No, but not just an island, a fertile island. Fertile, yes, with lots of oxen walking upon it. And fresh water! Lots of it.'
  
  You grumble. 'Calm yourself down. Can someone please explain me what is going on, calmly?'
  
  Another crew member, an older man with grey stripes through his hair, approaches you: 'Our prayers have been heard, sir. This morning our navigator spotted a large island, with lush meadows and filled with oxen! A small party went ashore and they reported seeing herds of oxen and pools of fresh water. We have been saved, sir, we have been saved!'
  
  You quickly jump up from your sleeping mat and rush to the dinghies, trying to prevent the crew from leaving the ship. 'Listen to me, all of you. Whatever you may think, however hungry you are, do not, I repeat, do not harm these oxen. You may drink as much of the water as you like but the oxen must remain unharmed. They are the property of the sun-god Helios. Eating them will have dire consequences.'
  
  But despite your attempts, the crew doesn't listen, your pleas get lost in the sea of gleaful shouts from the crew. Their ears plugged by hunger and thirst they slaughter the first oxen that catches their view, hardly taking time to roast the meat they gorge themselves, slaughtering even more oxen as their stomachs command them to. You despairingly gaze at this scene, fearing that this means the end of your journey, and possibly of your lives.
  
  Cyrus approaches you, his chin gleaming with fat. 'Why the sad face, we finally have filled stomachs again?'
  
  'These were the sacred oxen of Helios, the god of the sun. the gods specifically, specifically warned me. But now all is lost.'
  
  You sigh heavily and grab fistfuls of hair with your hands.
  
  'Not every dream is a true one, sir. How could something like this not be a sign of the gods. They heard us beg for food and so they sent us these oxen. You seem hungry yourself sir, I bet there is still some food left, why don't you try some? I promise you you'll immediately feel better.'
  
  > Maybe he is right, what if your dream was just that: a dream? You decide to try some of the meat.
  Cyrus was right: you do feel a lot better. After you tried some of the meat you couldn't control yourself and you ate as much as you could before your stomach was completely filled. Either it was due to the hunger or to the godly nature of the oxen but it was the best meat you have ever tasted in your life. After washing it down with some fresh water from a nearby spring you returned to the ship.
  
  Now you lie on your sleeping mat, gazing at the stars, feeling content about your filled stomach. Your attention is caught by a brightly shining star. Since you started your journey in Athens you have learned a lot about the stars from the navigator of the ship, since the stars guide ships at night sailors know a lot about the constellations. This star, however, you have never seen before. If you didn't know better you could swear it is shining brighter and brighter.
  
  After a couple of minutes your other companions notice this star too. You hear confused talk among the men, every one of them trying to guess just which of the countless stars it is. Deciding you'll won't find out any time soon you close your eyes, trying to catch some sleep. The strange thing is, however, that you are able to see it, even through your closed eyelids. When you open your eyes again the star has almost quadrupled in size and is almost shining as brightly as the sun. It's almost as if you can feel the heat coming off of it.
  
  When the truth about this star finally hits you it's already too late. Tons of flaming rock crash into your ship with a speed unlike anything in this world, even the swift eagle couldn't match it. Men and wood burn alike as the flaming wrath of Helios reaches them.