Dancing in the Legendary Sea - Chapter 1

“Lokira, Goddess of Artemis. I believe you know how serious is the sin you have committed this time.”

The high priest stood in front of the high altar in the temple and shouted. Lokira had been listening without saying a word. While being dragged from the patron’s room to the main hall, she was beaten up heavily. Her long brown hair was all tangled up. There were scratches left on her cheeks. It had been an hour since she knelt in the middle of the main hall and was struck by fire. Even if Zeus had a real thunderbolt, it seemed less painful than this.

The sensations in her legs became dull, she couldn’t even move anymore. Even so, Lokira did not cry or pray. Rather, she bit her lips and then replied,

“I don’t know.”

“You should just say yes. Admit it here, admit your sin.”

The high priest’s gaze became cold after reading her innate stubbornness. The high priest said, distorting the wrinkles deeper around his mouth,

“Well, I guess I have to teach you from the beginning. The nature of this beast still sticks out. There, hit her ten more times.”

Priests surrounded Lokira. Her back was bent as the shoulders and back were forcibly pressed. The whip fell without forgiveness on the skin of her thin chiffon dress.

It was a severe punishment, as if to bring a stubborn colt into submission. Lokira endured the sharp pain while swallowing a moan. Her back was torn and her bones seemed to be breaking, but she didn’t want to show them her weakness. In her head, she constantly muttered, ‘It does not hurt. This is similar to the usual punishment. So I’m used to this…’

“Ah!” A cold stone floor touched Lokira’s cheek when she fell down. Her body, covered with scratches, began to shake. The high priest, looking down with contempt, clicked his tongue. He lifted Lokira’s chin with his cane and used it to hold up her face.

“Should I repeat this interrogation from the start? Artemis is watching. The goddess who made you her family. Do you really have no conscience, to confess your sins and reduce the punishment?”

Lokira gasped for breath. A thread of rebellion soared deep in her heart. She stared at the statue standing tall behind the high priest’s shoulders. He shook his head as if he was tired.

“That beast’s habit never dies.Try answering again. Lokira, you were raised here in this sanctuary, Delos. Right?”

That was certainly true. Lokira had never been outside since she came here on the 100th day of her life.

“And you were forbidden to come out of seclusion. Right?”

That was also right. She spent her whole life confined in an isolated room in the patronage of the temple. Outside the window, she could see a palm-sized backyard, but it was impossible to go out and take a walk without permission. Even if she went out, the backyard abuts a mountain cliff. The only scenery she could see from there was the blue waves of the Aegean Sea. It was the sea with no way to escape alone.

“I’ve said it hundreds of times already. You have to live here for the rest of your life. If you go out to the outside world, you will quickly reveal the nature of the beast, and the world will be greatly confused. All sorts of people will come to get rid of you. Your horns will probably be cut off and made into a trophy.”

The high priest’s staff touched Lokira’s cheek. She had been told since she was young that she shouldn’t go out of the sanctuary, but she didn’t even have the energy to talk back. Instead, Lokira opened her eyes. After seeing the rebellion in her eyes, the high priest ruthlessly hit her on the head.

“I’ve been caring and teaching you for my whole life, but you don’t appreciate the grace and went out secretly!”

“I never.…!”

“Another lie! It has already been a few days and you are still lying!”

The high priest suddenly became agitated with anger, and he swung his staff to the point of perspiration.

“It has been revealed long ago that you secretly pretended to be a priest and went down the stone steps.The physical evidence had already been discovered before you were brought here! Why was the chalk powder on the windowsill disturbed ?”

Lokira bit her lips. That was certainly careless of her. She retorted, resenting the white stain on her clothes,

“I just wanted to see the sea. It’s only visible from afar in the backyard….”

“You changed your words. Lokira. This body belongs to your mother. Are you still going to hide your sins?”

The high priest grabbed the staff with his trembling hand. “There was a man hiding in a cave on the coast, right? He was even an idiot from the outside who committed fraud and fled to this island!”

“No. Not like that.”

“This place, Delos, is a sanctuary where Apollo and Artemis were born. As a neutral zone for the Greek alliance, it is always tightly controlled. You overlooked this importance, and dared to forget your status of confinement and threw away the goddess innocent protection, and contacted a plebian*!” (* Ancient Greco-Roman term for a person of low birth and/or commoner).

The high priest fluttered, and the young priests around him were shouting with horror. Lokira was held down the refutation that was filling up her throat. Apparently, she was the first to encounter a man who did not have ichor* flowing through his veins (* ichor – ethereal fluid that runs the veins of Greek gods instead of blood in humans). However, there was no such misconduct as the high priest assumed. The man was just a patient. Lokira only secretly brought herbs or drinking water to him. And nothing happened except that she was enchanted by the story of the outside world as she heard it for the first time. Although the man was a grumpy person who only spoke sarcastic words rather than being friendly, he wasn’t the kind of man that the priests adamantly asserted.

The man didn’t even try to kiss her. He didn’t even try to touch. But why did he sometimes reveal sad eyes? However, this fact could not be known. If it did, she would admit the charges with her mouth. This is the temple of Artemis, the goddess of the moon, the hunt, wild animals, archery, vegetation and chastity. She was pure as gold. The fact that Lokira had mixed words with an outside man was sure to to be taken as a deadly sin. So Lokira decided to stick to silence. She had to deny it all the way. What would they do if she keeps saying no?

The man said he would return to his hometown. Then her past days would end with a gentle breeze that blew for a brief period, like bubbles in the crashing waves, and stagnant water in the jar. Lokira shall continue to obey them again and live quietly. It is a shame that she wasn’t even bold enough to match the priests’ anger with defiant actions.

What if the confined life that her body has been familiar with for a lifetime is shattered? She was both curious and afraid of the outside world. Most of all, there was also her twin brother on this island. She wouldn’t leave her only flesh. But her resignation seemed to be resolute, and the high priest swung the staff once more. This time there was a crackling sound.

“Don’t keep your mouth shut. Don’t even think about crying and making excuses. You’re a real beast, even if you try to evoke pity out of me!”

The cane crackled again. It was the sound of something being hit hard, and the high priest continued nagging again.

“He is also a very unusual man. A monster with horns appeared in front of him, but why didn’t he feel scared and run away?”

Monster. It was a word that came out naturally as if just casually passing by. At that moment, the burning heart of Lokira faded. She dropped her red face with shame. Even this was true. She was certainly not an ordinary human. Everyone called her a beast. She had never been treated like a human for a single moment.

Lokira’s head has two protruding horns. On the outside, it was pure white like human bones. It was hard to the touch. There were two or three small branches on each stem that bent round like a bow. It looked like a deer’s antlers were removed and attached to her head. It was a curse from birth. When she was a baby, the horns were the size of a finger. As her body grew, the horns also grew.

Her horns were not in any way related to the rumor of Prince Somur, who was born in Crete decades ago. It was said that his biological parents swore that he had never committed a crime against a deer. As soon as he got out of his mother’s womb, he threw the town into chaos, and was finally declared dead by the high priest of the Delos sanctuary.

‘This child was born under the curse of Artemis.’ He would harm the world if he is released. Artemis was an especially fiery goddess, so she loosened the beast onto the land she disliked. It was also said that wild boars, who had been violent in the former Calidon region, were also Artemis’. The high priest concluded that the horned baby must have a similar history. A boy born out of nowhere had the potential of becoming a hero in the future. There was no such possibility for a girl. It was just an ominous birth. Lokira’s lips distorted. A strange laugh came out. Some of the high priest’s words were also right. She was a weird being that could confuse the world with her existence alone. If she went out of the sanctuary, people would be terrified of a monster like her. Like Medusa back in the old days, warriors would line up to subjugate her…

Lokira, who was indulging in self-judgement, suddenly had a different thought. ‘That man didn’t do that to me.’ However, the man’s existence was already known in the temple. As the aftermath of the beating subsided, she felt belatedly stiff. Access to the sanctuary was strict. Even the most untainted couldn’t even step in. They would be unconditionally expelled or punished. ‘If the high priest intends to punish him, he will be in danger.’ The man’s injury had almost recovered but how would he be able to defeat the pursuers on his own? As the hour, when all this agitation that is taking place, is getting late, the high priest tapped his staff on the floor.

“Well, good. Anyway, the intruder is being tracked by the guards in charge. Whether he hides in the mountains or goes out to the sea, he will have to pay for the sins of fouling the sanctuary.”

Lokira raised her head. A trembling voice came out involuntarily.

“High Priest. I will…”

“Do you want to tell the truth now?”

The high priest was scary like a monster, and revealed his teeth. As Lokira, who was being punished, crouched instinctively, the high priest began to pour out words like a shower.

“Of course, you must confess! You are under the auspices of Artemis. Unlike any other priests, just meeting a man outside will defile your divinity!”

Lokira didn’t know if the Goddess was real or not, but the high priest’s shouts didn’t work with her horned head. She instinctively raised her arms and wrapped her head. The whip can hurt so much but the ranting in her ears hurt even more.

“You don’t know how to appreciate being able to live in the sanctuary! I took care of you like a princess, but now you’re debased to a monster! I have told you many times that your body is dedicated to Artemis, and no one else.”

The Priests were increasingly incited by collective violence. Eventually, someone splashed something at Lokira; it was as if she was caught in the madness of the moon. Both he and her were lifted up and carried away.

“Let me go!”

“Noisy! I apologize directly to the goddess! Artemis, please relieve your fury!” The high priest shouted.

Then Lokira was thrown at the altar and fell with a big crash. She tried to lift up her painful body. At that moment, her hands stretched out and pressed her limbs down. The main hall was filled with anger and excitement.

“The goddess wants to purify your defiled body!”

The bronze sword held in the hand of the high priest was reflected in the lamp of the pillar. The moment she saw the flashing light, Lokira closed her eyes tightly. Eventually, it would all have ended like this. Dressed up as a goddess, she was nothing but a monster to be displayed. A life of being trapped in eternity, looking at the distant sea, and being raised under the surveillance of priests.There was also a strange feeling of relief that this pitiful life of hers was over. But what if that man was implicated? If an innocent person is offered as a living sacrifice for her, if that bronze sword pierces his chest.….When Lokira came to that thought, her heart suddenly rattled. Her mind was distracted. It was that moment when the power that had been suppressed and buried for many years was about to awaken.

“Wait….Ahhhh!”

A fearful scream rang. Lokira opened her eyes in amazement. However, the scream was not hers. A large shadow suddenly appeared from the back and grabbed the high priest’s arms. His arms were bent in a strange angle, and the bronze sword was pointed at his neck. The frightened high priest screamed. In the next moment, his body lifted like a feather and was hurled to the floor in the near distance. The bronze sword that fell to the floor made a sharp noise. The priests shouted something, but it was for a brief period. The cries happened once, and before long, the silence followed.

Lokira took a deep breath. She couldn’t get up right away because she had been kneeling for a long time. It must have been him. Black hair like a midnight wave. Blue eyes like midday seawater. Among the many people she had seen, he had the largest, most overwhelming body. The man strided her way. A frown came into her eyes. Then she called the man’s name blankly.

“Oh,Orion.”

“Yes. It’s the damn Orion.”

Only then did Lokira realize it. Behind the man was a procession of people spread out like a carpet to the main stairs. The identity of the fallen ones could easily be guessed as their numbers were eclipsed. It was a battlefield that would have greeted the pursuers. The man looked down at Lokira. His right eye with a scar mark flashed.

“I told you. All the women associated with me will die.”

Lokira shrugged, wondering if he was scolding her. The next moment, words that she couldn’t even imagine continued.

“I have changed my mind. Let’s get out of this island.”

“Are you insane?” Lokira was bewildered.

“Why. You look like a woman who is crazy enough to jump off the cliff.”

The man, the invader of the sanctuary, the stupid hunter who was famous in the Aegean Sea. Lokira twisted her lips as if his words were funny,

“Even if I die, I will never see you die.”

???