Listening to the Amalia and Rance, (humming along when appropriate) Lily is tempted to pass her turn on to Jigano. But the story of the man with the wings prompts the memory of an ancient story, a warning, really, if you try and look at the deeper meaning.
“Alright,” she begins, taking a deep breath and looking at the other three.“My story is from my home world and it’s also about a man who flies. His name was Daedelus, and he was a great inventor who had been banished to the island of Crete for killing his nephew out of jealousy. Once he came to Crete, an even more evil man, the king, held him hostage and made him build a vast labyrinth for a monster called the Minotaur - half man, half bull, with a taste for human flesh.” Her voice rises and falls with the story, growling as she describes the beast.
“And every year, twelve maidens and twelve virgin men were sacrificed to the Minotaur. The people were miserable, they feared the time when the lottery came, and Daedelus? Well, Daedalus’s guilt grew and grew. It wasn’t his fault, though, not really. The evil king held his son, Icarus, hostage in a tower, and every time he promised Daedelus his freedom, he broke it soon after.” Lily’s voice grows sorrowful as she tells her audience about the sorry state of Crete.“Daedelus made amazing boats for this king, invention upon invention until one day he’d had enough, and decided to work on something in secret. By this time, Icarus was a willful, headstrong teenager, and more than able to help his father get away from their captor. So Daedelus studied the birds of the sea and designed wings for himself and Icarus, holding it all together with wax.”
She takes a breath and a handful of snow to wet her mouth. “Now Crete was an island by the sea, so one night, when it was beset by strong winds, Daedalus and Icarus lept from their prison. They were carried upward and out to sea, and Icarus so loved the feeling that he was heedless of the rising sun. As they turned towards land, he climbed higher and higher - disregarding his father’s warnings and pleas not to fly too close to either the sun or sea. Eventually he was too high and the sun began to melt the feathers off his wings. He fell into the sea and sank beneath the waves.” Lily pauses and hangs her head a little.
“Daedelus was never the same after that. He never invented another thing.”
“Alright,” she begins, taking a deep breath and looking at the other three.“My story is from my home world and it’s also about a man who flies. His name was Daedelus, and he was a great inventor who had been banished to the island of Crete for killing his nephew out of jealousy. Once he came to Crete, an even more evil man, the king, held him hostage and made him build a vast labyrinth for a monster called the Minotaur - half man, half bull, with a taste for human flesh.” Her voice rises and falls with the story, growling as she describes the beast.
“And every year, twelve maidens and twelve virgin men were sacrificed to the Minotaur. The people were miserable, they feared the time when the lottery came, and Daedelus? Well, Daedalus’s guilt grew and grew. It wasn’t his fault, though, not really. The evil king held his son, Icarus, hostage in a tower, and every time he promised Daedelus his freedom, he broke it soon after.” Lily’s voice grows sorrowful as she tells her audience about the sorry state of Crete.“Daedelus made amazing boats for this king, invention upon invention until one day he’d had enough, and decided to work on something in secret. By this time, Icarus was a willful, headstrong teenager, and more than able to help his father get away from their captor. So Daedelus studied the birds of the sea and designed wings for himself and Icarus, holding it all together with wax.”
She takes a breath and a handful of snow to wet her mouth. “Now Crete was an island by the sea, so one night, when it was beset by strong winds, Daedalus and Icarus lept from their prison. They were carried upward and out to sea, and Icarus so loved the feeling that he was heedless of the rising sun. As they turned towards land, he climbed higher and higher - disregarding his father’s warnings and pleas not to fly too close to either the sun or sea. Eventually he was too high and the sun began to melt the feathers off his wings. He fell into the sea and sank beneath the waves.” Lily pauses and hangs her head a little.
“Daedelus was never the same after that. He never invented another thing.”
