NABC Chapter 165 Until I Took an Arrow in the Knee
Chapter 165 Until I Took an Arrow in the Knee
The Centaur Sage by the river's edge rose up on all fours from the verdant meadow and looked back at the old man behind him.
"Has he left?"
"Hmm..."
"Shouldn't you be leaving too?"
"Almost time, I guess."
Luo En nodded, sat down on a piece of bluestone with a bend of his waist, swiftly pulled out paper and pen, then suddenly took on a serious demeanor and asked earnestly.
"So, whom did we talk about last time?"
"Uranus, the Father of Heaven."
"Very well, Teacher Horse, please continue, I'm all ears."
"..."
Chiron glanced at the blind old man before him and ultimately chose not to correct the strange address, opting instead to patiently continue the story about Uranus, the first of the Titan Gods.
A few days earlier, the blind poet who called himself "Homer" had come to his dwelling on Mount Pelion, pretending to seek medical advice.
During the consultation, he showed no concern for his own afflictions; instead, he eagerly asked a myriad of strange questions.
For instance, where did the primal Life originate from?
Did a ruler by the name of "Chaos" exist within the ancient Chaos?
What was the past of the twelve Titans?
Were the gods of the Titan era more like men or more like beasts in their usual ways?
Before the woman Pandora came into being, how did the first golden humanity procreate?
These perplexing questions covered local customs, historical legends, rumors, and secrets among other things; many were beyond his own knowledge, so he could only pick a small portion of the questions he knew about to explain.
Yet, he was extraordinarily content.
And to obtain more detailed information, the odd old man even used his blindness as an excuse, lingering on Mount Pelion for several days.
A gentle breeze brushed by, the old man, now an audience, listened quietly to Chiron's explanation, while his pen moved over the parchment, inscribing line after line of profound and beautiful Sacred Words.
"Uranus, from which all life is born, a constant in the universe,
The oldest of gods, the beginning and end of everything,
Father of the cosmos, you orbit the earth like planets,
The abode of the blissful gods, you traverse in but an instant,
Guarding the heavens and the earth, enveloping all creation!
In your heart, you endure the inevitability of Nature's law.
Within you lies the indomitable deep blue, shining bright, ever-shifting,
An outstanding spirit of bliss, you see all things, and you will birth Cronos,
Hear me speak, grant the faithful a holy Life."
As the last sentence finished, the blind old man set aside the parchment to dry with satisfaction and continued to inquire.
"Good, what about the next one, the second-generation Divine King, Cronos? What kind of existence was he?"
The Sage Chiron pondered for a moment, as usual, offering a fair description.
The old man's pen began to move again, and as he traced the letters, Chiron caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye: around the blind man, nine graceful figures seemed to come in and out of view as if made of air.
Whenever there was a pause in coining phrases or he faced difficulty in refining the text, the nine figures would react differently:
And of course, writers have always loved to mix in their personal agendas.
But to create a universally acclaimed literary work, expanding one's influence requires the sharpest minds and inspiration.
It was for this underlying purpose that Luo En braved the risk of deeply offending Apollo, managing to acquire the nine Muses from the God of Light, and took this opportunity to descend to the mortal world and, under the collective pseudonym "Homer," carry out his long-planned scheme.
—which was to revise the "Sacred Words," write the "Divine Chronicle," and surreptitiously grind up the doctrine of his Dionysian Sect and sneak it in.
Of course, to appear impartial, it was necessary to seek out the parties involved and the informed, to conduct "historical research."
The good-hearted Chiron was his first interviewee.
Aside from this, he had other designs regarding Teacher Horse himself.
It seems that because the linden tree that his mother became was a kind-hearted type of tree towards the world. Its flowers could be used in medicine, and the bark was used for divination tablets.
Thus, even without parental love, Chiron never wallowed in self-pity nor lashed out against the world, but instead grew up to study diligently and become a sage.
Generally speaking, besides being outstanding hunters with the lower body of a horse combined with exceptional bow and arrow skills, centaurs also have a savage side that involves snatching various items.
For instance, the centaur tribes Luo En and Artemis encountered in Arcadia were the untamable kind.
Only Chiron was especially marked with the impression of a "sage," his gentle nature also being unique among centaurs.
Grown up, Chiron mastered all sorts of knowledge, and thanks to his composed character and clever teaching methods, the number of "future heroes" of Greece educated by him were countless.
Hercules, Achilles, Asclepius who later became the god of medicine, and Castor who became part of Gemini were all his students.
In addition, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts and the suitor of Medea, was also one of his students, truly his influence was widespread.
Moreover, the reason Luo En chose the residence of Teacher Horse as his first stop was partly due to his old flame Artemis's entrustment to look after his cheap nephew Asclepius, and partly because he intended to scout for Athena.
——Heeding his advice, that Goddess of Wisdom founded the "Academy of Athens" in Athens, focusing on the popularization of academia and magic.
Since it had just started, there was a severe shortage of both teaching staff and student sources.
The widely respected sage Chiron was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
Furthermore, as an unwelcome son of Cronos, Chiron was also well-suited to become an ally in opposition to Olympus.
Although he was uninvolved in worldly disputes, in these chaotic times, inaction was seen as a weakness, and that would not necessarily spare you from fate at a critical moment.
As far as Luo En knew, one day in the future, while resolving disputes among the centaurs, Chiron, the good-hearted, would be hit by a mysterious poisoned arrow and suffer continuously due to his immortality.
Until the non-confrontational Centaur Sage became "Sagittarius," retired to Olympus, adorned the heavens with divine authority, and returned his immortality to the gods, he would finally be freed from this pain.
And the person who fired the poisoned arrow was none other than his most proud disciple, the great hero Hercules.
Moreover, it was Hercules, who in a quarrel over a cask of wine brewed by the God of Wine with a group of centaurs, started the conflict.
The hot-headed great hero pursued and brutally assaulted these centaurs who angered him.
But one arrow aimed at the centaurs skimmed off the unlucky arm of one and, unfortunately, hit Chiron in the knee.
The participants of this tragedy, aside from Hercules and that group of centaurs, included the venom smeared on the arrow, originating from the Hydra that the Great Strength God had slain.
A destiny cobbled together by a series of "coincidences," if there wasn't some trickery involved, even Luo En would not believe it.
Therefore, whether as a suspect of the case or to vex the King of Olympus, he had to snuff out this potential future, and lure the talented Teacher Horse to Athens.
With this in mind, Luo En's expression turned solemn as he spoke in a deep voice.
"Teacher Horse, your disciple Asclepius has already accepted the invitation from the Academy of Athens and plans to reunite with you in Athens after his travels in Cyprus. Through the revelations of fate, I foresee some misfortune might befall him, so..."
Chiron, upon hearing this, fell silent for a moment, then pulled out the Bronze Eleph of Medusa from his bosom, and after several days of hesitation, finally made up his mind, replying solemnly.
"Athens, you say? Very well, I shall go..."
Seeing that he had finally managed to lure the Centaur Sage onto the bandits' ship, a certain unscrupulous deity who specialized in deceiving the honest showed a satisfied smile.
Buy one, get one free, perfect!