A knock woke Briseis in the dead of night. Fast retreating, but still quiet footsteps were heading away from the door as she got up from bed. Briseis lit the candle beside her bed and took a dagger from under her pillow. Her two guards were in the smaller room that adjoined hers but the knock didn't wake them.

Briseis opened the door cautiously, not expecting to see an assassin but one never knew. She couldn't have realistically fended one off and one wasn't likely to knock, but something about this place made Briseis uneasy the longer she stayed. The priest needed time to gather materials and make sacrifices on the behalf of all who'd come for guidance, and it would be rude to leave before at least Lady Celine's business was concluded, which meant Briseis would be here another few days at least.

Briseis looked into the dark hallway finding it empty of people as expected, though there was a scroll at the base of her door. Briseis looked once more into the hall, trying to see if anyone was peaking at her around the corner but it was too dark. The person who'd dropped off the scroll could be looking right at her and Briseis would never see them. She grabbed the scroll then lit more candles before taking the twine off and unrolling it.

The hand was completely unfamiliar but that was to be expected since she didn't know many people here. The content of the message was surprising.

Three days from now the High Priest will meet with you to discuss your dream. He has taken no actions to find the true interpretation and he will not. He will tell you the gods have granted him no insight. I have performed the rituals and have an answer for you. Not only that, but I can tell you why the priests you have consulted previously also do not want to give you answers. Far more is at play here than you know. It goes back before you were born. I am willing to give you this information, but if you want to it, you must do something first. There is something about this temple, which if I have been informed correctly as to your interests, after a close examination should be obvious to you. In addition, I want you to find out why these nobles are here. Both issues relate to you though why will not be obvious. If you can correctly answer these questions I will give you all the answers. I will be watching you closely over the next three days. If I feel you have done as I asked, we will meet.

Burn this message.

She did.

🦉

Though the weather was overcast Briseis decided to start with the mystery of the temple. She waited out on the lawn for her help which she could feel rapidly approaching. Others were also outside enjoying the break in the rain though it couldn't be called warm. Briseis shivered and pulled the blanket closer around her.

An image of herself seen from above popped into her mind and with the quiet swish of wings, a tawny owl landed on the branch above her. With a soft call a long ear owl landed by its side. Briseis smiled and opened the basket near her knee. Fresh meat was inside, she placed the offerings on the ground and both animals came down to partake in their treat.

As her friends were eating, images transmitted from their minds to hers of the things they'd seen since they last parted. Briseis first discovered her connection to these animals when she was a child. She was out in her lemon orchard lying on the warm ground when an owl landed above her. It wasn't afraid of her and both girl and animal watched the other curiously.

Briseis began to wonder what it would be like to pet the owl but didn't dare. They had been known to use their claws in defense, and rumors even swirled of owls large enough to carry off children. Briseis didn't believe owls could get that big but she didn't want to test it either. She stared intensely at the bird, once again wishing to pet it, when the bird leapt from the branch and glided to her side.

The owl was old with short ears and a mean look in its eyes. The bird cocked its head toward her and Briseis boldly began to scratch its ears. The owl visited her every day for a week and at the end of that week, something curious began to happen. Images popped into her head when the owl was near. They were of things she couldn't have seen, that no one had ever seen. The city from the view of someone in the sky, of a forest near the river late at night and grabbing prey that came to drink, and herself as she stood on her balcony waiting for the owl to return.

As months passed, Briseis found if she concentrated enough on a place or person the owl would go there on its own. The animal would stay there awhile then come back to her and the images of what it saw would pop into Briseis' head. It was a fun way for her see things she probably wouldn't ever be able to. That was how this odd connection worked.

Over the years the bird aged and died. Briseis buried the bird in her lemon orchard and visited every day for a long time, though it bewildered her handmaidens. She never told anyone about the connection, but her handmaidens couldn't fail to notice a large owl suddenly began to hang around the princess. After its death Briseis wasn't sure if it was some strange occurrence that could never be replicated or not.

One day as she was visiting the grave another owl landed in the orchard. It was of a different type and much younger than the first. She stood under the branch and thought hard about her father and where he might be. It was the time of day he was supposed to be in the council meeting. The bird took off for a few hours and found Briseis on her balcony later that night. A few moments after it landed images flooded her mind of her father at the council.

Time and time again she made these connections to owls. No other animal was able to have this strange connection with her, she'd tried to replicate the connection with dogs, cats, even horses but it always failed. Some of the links she made with the owls were stronger than others. To the creatures she was closest with, Briseis began to notice what could only be called personalities in them. The tawny owl with her today would often be distracted by bright colors. It would sit in a tree for hours outside homes of artists and watch them paint, draw, and design. The long eared owl that'd come today liked to put itself in steep dives and pull out of them at the last second. At the moment these were the two she was closest with, and as a result they usually weren't far away unless she sent them on a task.

Briseis had connections with many owls and when they flew to Pedasus they would always come to her. Now Briseis used them to collect information, whereas while she was growing up this was just a strange amusement for her. Her flying spies had limits though. They couldn't transmit any sound, only images so there was some interpretation that had to be done. Usually Briseis was able to figure out from context what was going on, or at least had a very strong idea.

After the meal, the owls stood ready for whatever instruction she would give. Briseis thought about the temple and pinpointed some areas of interest that her eyes couldn't fully make out from the ground. The birds took off and for a long while they circled the temple. Briseis watched as the birds flew and landed to get a better view of some areas.

They flew into the tree above her and the process of image transfer began. Briseis sifted through them and a few stood out. There were three empty squares on the roof that were used as anchor points for statues. These squares were weathered with sharp edges and duller ones all over the surface. Whatever once stood there had been taken down rapidly and nothing was ever put there again. On the side of one of the bases was a faint impression of a letter. The rest of the name was chiseled off, but though faint, Briseis could make out one letter as an A.

🦉

The empty sanctuary of the temple was cold as the horrible weather began again in force. It was nearing midnight and she knew the priests would be fast asleep. As a temple dedicated to Apollo, the sun god, all rites had to be performed while the sun was in the sky so not to venture into the goddess Artemis' domain. The gods were very sensitive about their offerings being given at the correct time, or at least the priests claimed that. Briseis doubted they truly cared as long as someone was giving them tribute.

Briseis made the choice to examine the sanctuary at night to avoid troublesome questions. Even though she was a princess, the priests were the ultimate authority in the temples. They likely wouldn't take kindly to her poking around the image of the god. If it was true they were set against her, or at least that the head priest of this temple was set against her, they could demand she leave. The balance between royal power and the rights of the priesthood was a delicate one in Pedasus.

King Eros, Briseis great–grandfather began the trouble. He'd killed the head priest of Pedasus for giving him an unfavorable prediction, then killed the priests who protested. What that prediction was no one knew. Whatever it was, Briseis doubted it was worth the trouble that followed. The Trojan War began soon after and with the revolt of the priests, and Heracles' crusade against Laomedon, Pedasus found itself fighting a public war with aiding Laomedon, and a private one inside its own borders with the priests.

Pedasus would lose both and the consequences were severe. Though peace was eventually made with the priests, it came only after Eros died mysteriously in his chambers. It was for the sake of the kingdom that peace was made, though the royal family and priests had a sour relationship ever since. Rumors spread of the priests slyly assassinating Eros and circulated for years. Eros' son believed his father was murdered if his chilly behavior toward the priests was anything to go by.

Briseis walked up to the statue of Apollo and examined its base. Though hidden well it was clear this statue hadn't always been here. That may not be so unusual, for one statue to be replaced for a grander one, and while that could have been the case here Briseis didn't think so. The anchor points for whatever was once here covered a much smaller area, which meant the original statue had a smaller width.

Statues of the male gods in a temple of this size were never smaller than the one currently on display. It could have been Apollo posed in a different position but that would be rare. Apollo was most often depicted as standing upright with arms extended to the sky. The next most popular pose was Apollo kneeling with arms raised, but even if that had been the case the anchor points would be more widely dispersed.

This could only mean the temple had not always been dedicated to Apollo. Once it must have been a temple to a female goddess. One that had an A in her name but that could be one of many. Hera wasn't likely. Whatever name had been erased from the roof was longer if the chisel marks were anything to go by. Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, or Hestia were the most likely candidates. Of the four Hestia was the least likely but that still left a one in three chance. Which goddess was it? But the more important question was, why had the patron god of the temple changed?

It was no small task to switch between one and another. All the gods had temples within Pedasus of course, but the patron god of the kingdom was Apollo. No god would have a larger temple than the patron god. Apollo was the most venerated and the others were only called upon by the populace for personal reasons. In most cases if a family was somehow tied to another of the pantheon, they would have a personal temple to that god in their home, though it would be small.

Briseis needed more information. How could the switching of a temple from one god to another be related to her at all?