text: Birds circle overhead, and a light breeze shuffles through the air. It is a perfect day to be outside. What do you plan to do?
  
  > do something inside
  The inside of the temple is reminiscent of a cave. Having been built in and on the side of a hill, the inside is rather dim. During the day a hole in the roof of the cave is opened for light to seep through, but that is only in one location. Everywhere else without sufficient light is lit with torches.
  
  Aristotle's study group took the center of the temple to be under the hole in the cave. Those in the lesson sit in a semi-circle of wooden chairs with Aristotle himself at the head.
  
  > go back to your quarters (end the day)
  Before you know it, the day has gone by and you're left feeling accomplished at what you've spent the day doing. Most days since you've been at Mieza have been spent like this one. Sure the day starts with lessons, hard ones even, yet you've grown to enjoy your time here a lot. You rarely think of home anymore, and instead pour your entire being into your studies with Aristotle, your warrior prowess, and growing closer to your friends.
  
  Later that night, in your quarters, you think of how lucky you are to be alive and born into the situation you are in. The gods really must love you. With that comforting thought, you fall asleep and dream dreams of never-ending happiness.
  
  > Three years later
  Given the continuity of your studies, you held onto the illusion that they would never end. This illusion, it turns out, was entirely incorrect, and of course you knew it was, but pretending that it wasn't was easier. Pretending that you were a simple son of a random noble was easier then remembering that you were the heir to the throne of the Macedonian empire.
  
  So when your father sent a messenger to retrieve you from Aristotle you were shocked. Inwardly only of course. It simply wouldn't due to have everyone know that you were shocked, or in anyway disappointed by your father's summons. There was, however, a farewell for you. all of Aristotle's students gathered to bid you good fortune. Those closest to you even gave you gifts.
  
  From Ptolemy you received a journal to document your travels within. You only got to know Ptolemy during the latter half of your studies, but he became a close friend quite quickly.
  
  From Cassander you received a sword of the finest make. It was a memento from all of the sparring you and him did together. "To protect you when I'm not at your side," he'd told you.
  
  From Hephaestion you received his very own armor set. While not as well crafted as your own, the symbolic meaning behind the gift meant leagues more than the item itself. It was a reference to yours and his most admired people in literature. Achilles and Patroclus. The pair of you often likened yourselves unto the pair of them, and would often argue just as often about which one of you were Achilles and which one was Patroclus. The pair of you would always declare to the other that yourselves Achilles, but neither one of you were ever able to convince the other of this.
  
  The armor itself was a reference to, during the Trojan war, when Achilles was abstaining from fighting. During that time, the Achaeans were being driven back by the Trojans, and were in dire need of their greatest warrior, Achilles. Patroclus knew of their need, and pleaded with Achilles to return to the battle. When Achilles refused, Patroclus instead asked for Achilles armor, so that their army would think Achilles was with them, and thus fight better. Achilles obliged and Patroclus' plan worked for a time, but eventually he was slain.
  
  While you and Hephaestion disagreed on whom was whom, you did agree on one thing. That the pair of you would not fall victim to death so easily like Achilles and Patroclus did. The armor was a message. "Don't die while we are separated," it seemed to say. But what Heph actually said was, "Don't return this to me with your blood on it."
  
  From Aristotle you received your favorite book, The Iliad, annotated by Aristotle himself. Within it contained all of you favorite stories, and advice from Aristotle to reflect on while you read it.
  
  These four gifts eclipsed all other you received, and you felt you were well prepared in all aspects to return home to your father.
  
  The palace looked like it always did. Well, perhaps a tad smaller, but everything else was the same. You mother stood at the front of the palace waiting for you. The touches of old age had barely marred her features, and her brilliant blue eyes shone with tears as you approached her.
  
  "Come here, Alexander." You oblige her and she immediately begins showering you with amounts of affection that only a mother could achieve. After she was done making sure you weren't hurt anywhere, she began the questioning.
  
  "How did you like it?" Her voice is music to your ears. Despite having loved being away, you can admit that being back was nice, for you really do love your parents. Their strict leash on you was overbearing at times, but, looking back, they always helped you become the person you are today. Very few people could compare themselves to you without feeling grossly unqualified.
  
  "I enjoyed it mother. I learned so much, and you must remind me to thank father for choosing Aristotle as my tutor. Aristotle has a brilliant mind. One perhaps greater than anyone else I've has the pleasure of acquainting."
  
  You mother puts her hand on your shoulder, and steers you into the palace. "You can thank him yourself dear. He is waiting inside for you."
  
  You raise your eyebrows at her. "I thought he was on preparing for another campaign?"
  
  She eyes you carefully as you pass through the palace's white marble hallways. "That is actually what he wants to speak with you about."
  
  Your heart skips a beat. Was your father finally going to take you on a campaign with him? You expected something similar, but you thought it would be on the next campaign he led. Certainly not this one.
  
  Silence descends upon the both of you on your way to the throne room. When you get there however, that silence is easily broken from the outside. Attendants and generals surround your father's throne, all of which are speaking each one vying for the king's attention.
  
  Massive white pillars line the way to the throne, and you and your mother walk square in the center of them.
  
  Your presence is noticed immediately. "Alexander, my son. How good it is to see you!" Your father calls from his throne before standing up and walking to you.
  
  To others his presence might be imposing, but you can only feel admiration for the man as he wraps you in a bear hug. "How went the lessons?"
  
  "They went well father. Many thanks for having Aristotle be my tutor. He is quite the teacher."
  
  Your father nods knowingly. "That he is. I had to rebuild an entire village for him to agree to teach for me though. He was expensive."
  
  You widen your eyes slightly. You had no idea Aristotle had required such a high price for his services.
  
  "But let us move on to the topic at hand. Shall we?" You nod and your father places his hand on your shoulder mirroring the position you and your mother were in moments before. He then leads you up to the throne. The attendants and generals were dispersed from it in the wake of your arrival.
  
  "Go ahead Alexander. Sit in it."
  
  You look at him curiously, and he meets your eyes with his. He then motions for you to go ahead and sit. Determining your father is serious, you walk up to the throne slowly. You knew that you would sit in the chair one day, but you figured that that day was still years away. After all your father was still alive, and he clearly had no intentions of dying.
  
  You take a deep breath and settle your self into the throne. It was made of stark white Alabaster, and lined with silk and wool. It was very comfortable.
  
  "Alexander. I now name you acting regent of Macedon. The throne is yours until I return from my campaign." Your father's face is deadly serious, and his voice is grave. You will not dishonor his trust by acting shocked or unworthy of the title. This has been what you've been training for your entire life after all.
  
  It is there, sitting on the throne, that you get your first taste of real power.
  
  > Life continues onward
  Three years have passed since you were first name regent, and in those three years, you have failed more times than any other person you know.
  
  It all started with the Thracians. Not too long after your father left on his campaign, Thrace rebelled against Macedon. Acing as regent, you immediately went to quell the rebellion. While it took some time and resources, you did eventually quell the rebellion. That part went alright. It was when your father returned that things went awry. Several different Thracian settlement began revolting, and, noting your previous success with quelling the previous rebellion, your father sent you to quell these revolts as well. You had to extend your army fairly thin, but you managed to keep the Thracians in line. Once that happened, your father told you to build up your army further, so you could help him in his next campaign against Athens.
  
  You obliged, and everything was going well until the Illyrians made their move. For several month then, they had been making demands. Threatening to invade and other such claims. You dismissed these claims as lunacy, for everyone knew that the Illyrians could barely herd cattle. Let alone build an army threatening enough to invade the Macedonian empire.
  
  You shouldn't have dismissed their claims. While the Illyrian army wasn't very large, it wasn't anything to laugh at. Especially since the majority of your army was occupied with the Thracians. Your were not nearly as well equipped to deal with the incursion as you should have been, and over half of your army was destroyed by the time your father came to intervene.
  
  It was a huge disaster, and you were immediately dismissed from your general position. Even if you were his son, Philip would not have his general be failures. He needed the best of the best, and while you could've been called that in the past, your failure relieved you of that position.
  
  You were no longer in charge of armies, and instead your father made you an ambassador. An ambassador! He would send you as far away from the battlefield as possible. Not because he cared for your safety. No, it was because he feared you would destroy all that he'd spent his life building up. You spent the last three years, until you were nineteen, settling minor disputes and brokering peace treaties among your empire with others. To your chagrin, you were rather good at it, and your father noticed this. He made you lead ambassador which carried a lot of authority, but you were away from battle. That assignment guaranteed that you would never be in charge of an army again.
  
  Well at least until now. Tensions between Athens and Macedon are at an all time high, and war between the two have all but started. The only key left to knock into place was Thebes. The two last powerful kingdoms in Greece not under you father's control were Athens and Thebes, but unlike Athens, Thebes had not yet taken a side. So, your father sent you, the lead ambassador, to see if you could win Thebes to your side. He told you this, and punctuated it with a promise. If you were able to win Thebes from Athens, then you would finally get your own army again. He must've seen that your heart still yearned for the battlefield.
  
  Those were the thoughts going through your head as you were led into the Theban palace. Similar in Architecture to the palace back home, the Theban palace stood as a beacon of hope for Athens. A beacon that you had to put out.
  
  A theban attendant led you through the palace and into the throne room of the King of Thebes. White marble walls were everywhere you looked, and the throne room even had the same marble pillars leading up to the throne itself. The throne that the king was currently seated at. He was a grey eyed man. His wasn't young, yet his black hair hadn't started to grey either. He had an air of confidence and security that only a King could muster.
  
  "Greetings majesty." You bow down slightly, as is only respectful when in the throne room of another king. That, and you are trying to win his favor.
  
  "I am Prince Alexander of Macedon. Sent here on behalf of King Philip of Macedon. I would have words with you regarding your loyalties in the coming war."
  
  The king regards you calmly. "What say you Demosthenes?"
  
  It is only then that you notice a man standing beside the Throne. Greying brown hair sits in an orderly mop atop his head, and intelligent, if arrogant, eyes bore into you from him. You inwardly cringe as you here the name. Demosthenes. One of the most influential individuals in ll of Greece, and certainly the most influential person in Athens. The Athenian ambassador got here before you did.
  
  "I would not put him away out right, your majesty, but I doubt anything he says will be of much consequence to you." You can practically feel the odds of your success stacking against you here. "He is Philip's son after all. He would only seek to control you."
  
  The king listens, but doesn't make any expressions on his face that would give way to what he is thinking.
  
  You're in a tough spot. Demosthenes already got to the king, so anything you say will most likely be second source information.
  
  > tell the truth
  "Your majesty." You begin. "Truth be told. My father is a very brash man, and can quite often be forgettable. Despite this, he is the greatest warrior and leader Macedon has ever known. He is brilliant on the battlefield, and has won many battles in which the odds were stacked against him. Many mistake him for a god when pitted against him on the battlefield. I assure you. You will not be any different if you go against him in war."
  
  Your throat feels dry and you swallow nervously. "Plot with Athens all you want. This will not change the outcome unless you side with us. It would be a shame for a city so great to be razed to the ground just because the king was fooled into believing he had a chance at defeating Macedon."
  
  "Athens has already sealed their fate. don't seal yours as well," you finish with that.
  
  The room is deadly silent for several infinite moments. The king finally speaks.
  
  "You toe a dangerous line Alexander of Macedon. Any more threats and would have had you executed, but you do have a point."
  
  "You majes-" Demosthenes begins, but the king waves him silent.
  
  "Send a messenger to Philip telling him that I would speak to him in person before finalizing any sort of treaty being made." The king regards you for a moment longer. "And find the prince a room."
  
  You let go of a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding in. You managed to get your father the opportunity to make a treaty with the king. You only hope that this will be enough for you to get your army back.
  
  > Continue
  A guard walks you to your temporary rooms, and you get pretty solid rest that night all things considered. In the coming days the meeting is set, and all of the necessary arrangements are prepared. The meeting will be one month from the day you convinced the king to agree with you.
  
  You stay on edge for the first week or so of your stay there, but soon you start to relax as you grow more and more confident that you won't be killed in your sleep. However, you still avoid Demosthenes and the king as much as possible, for you don't want to unnecessarily provoke them.
  
  The month passes by fairly quickly, and before you know it the night before the meeting comes. You go to sleep early in anticipation thereof.
  
  Unfortunately for you, you aren't able to see how the meeting goes, for you are stabbed in your sleep. You guess that they could only deal with so many Macedonian royalty at one time.