A cool mist enveloped
Daedalus and chased away the scorching heat. He blinked his eyes,
clearing his vision. The flash of light
was so magnificent that it dazzled his vision even through closed eyes.
If they had been open when the light appeared, he certainly would have been
blinded. Daedalus rolled to his knees
and looked at the altar. The wood remained unlit, and a golden man stood
behind it, gently running his fingers across the wings positioned on top. The
grief that Daedalus felt was mirrored in the lines etched deeply on the man’s
face.
Behind the man rested a
chariot flanked by two people. One, a man calming glittering horses. The other, a woman with arms raised and
serene concentration on her face. The cool mist that brought Daedalus
back to consciousness permeated the area around the new arrivals, muting the
heavenly light. Daedalus recognized the couple near the chariot. Helios and (mom’s name), the divine parents
of (queen’s name), which he had met on several occasions when he was still
welcome in the court of King Minos. Daedalus’ surprise dissipated and he
remembered his manners. He touched his
face to the sand to honor his visitors.
The man by the altar must have been Apollo. Daedalus waited, prostrate, to be addressed.
“Put on the wings,”
Apollo commanded with a thick, choking voice. Daedalus looked up,
incredulous. Apollo glared at him from
across the altar. “Put on the wings,” he repeated. Daedalus rose slowly and walked to the
altar. Apollo stared into Daedalus’ eyes.
The god’s eyes shone gold like a beam of light piercing cloudy
skies. Brownish-red spots swam into view inside the charioteer’s irises,
giving them the appearance of flowing magma. “Put on the wings,” Apollo
commanded a third time. The cadence of
his voice changing, the words not quite matching up with the lips that were
forming them.
The cadence was familiar
and, strangely, made Daedalus’ mouth water. It hit him. It was the same
accent he heard from a young man who traveled with the Venetian spice
merchants. The merchants visited Crete once a year to supply the royal
kitchen with rich spices from around the world.
A young Indian man, a favorite of King Minos, would spend his time
teaching the palace cooks new recipes from his homeland. They could never
quite replicate the curried rice and crispy fried vegetable dishes the man
produced, so King Mino rewarded him richly for his culinary dishes.
“I couldn’t possibly…”
Daedalus began, but grief caught thickly in the back of his throat and he couldn’t
continue. He hung his head.
“Please, Grandson. It
is the only way you can perceive the Convergence,” Athena took a step forward, catching
Daedalus’ eye. The look of urgency
communicated in her dark eyes encouraged Daedalus to stumble toward Apollo and
the altar. Apollo draped the wings
across Daedalus’ shoulders and stepped back.
The world in front of
Daedalus shifted, then sharpened. The
visages of the three visitors dramatically changed and the glow of their skin altering
from gold to bronze. Three additional
horses appeared in front of the chariot, bringing the team’s number to seven. Daedalus
took a double-take as he took in the lead horse. The magnificent beast, white as the purest
snow, had seven heads. The man who took
Apollo’s place seemed amused at Daedalus’ reaction.
“Please, let me
introduce Goddess Saraswathi, Origin of All Knowledge” began the man as he
indicated toward Athena. Daedalus turned
to find her form had shifted as well.
Along with the deepened ruddiness of skin, the compeer donned two
additional arms, the hands containing additional spools of thread. My esteemed companions are Lord Surya, Eye of
the Universe, his consort, Lady Saranya, and his vahana, Uchchaihshravas, King of the Horses.” Daedalus bowed to each in
turn.
“I am Aruna, Charioteer
of Lord Surya and father of Sampati and Jatayu, those slain to procure your
escape.” His eyes narrowed. “You are able to perceive us as well as the
gods who rule over your people because you are draped in my son Jatayu. His essence has strengthened your eyesight in
both the natural and spiritual realms.” Saraswathi
broke the tension by closing the meager gap between herself and Daedalus.
“Athena and I brought
you to Sicily because the old gods of the island still live in the rocks and
trees and each immigrant brings their own gods to protect their hearths and
thresholds. Your Pantheon has a
tenacious hold on this island, so it is easier for mine to reach out to you.” Her form guttered like a candle and was
replaced with Athena.
“Each deity is one soul
containing infinite forms; or essences. The
form that appears depends on the essence of the mortal that perceives us. Your essence calls forth the Olympians. Jatayu’s essence beckons the Deva-Asuras. The many types of essences located on this island
soften the bonds between gods and devotees.
Jatayu’s essence is no longer attached to a mortal soul, so his essence is
able to veil your soul as his wings shroud your physical form and you are able
to observe the Devas.”
“You are each one god
with many faces?” asked Daedalus, looking between the deities surrounding him. Ever the scientist, he quickly evaluated this
new information and produced a hypothesis. “Your omniscience allows each
follower to discern the form they would be most comfortable with. Faces that resemble their own. Language they understand.” Athena’s face glimmered and two faces
simultaneously smiled and nodded. Surya cleared
his throat.
“We are here to offer
you the chance to make up for a grievous error,” he stated. “You may have lost your son, but you can
grant new life to Jatayu. We can take
you to India and bind his essence to your soul.
He can live a full life and fulfill his divine mission.”
“How?” asked Daedalus. “I’m not immortal. I have no interest to be. Will you strip my essence from my soul? I just lost my son. I will gladly sacrifice myself to join him
and bring Jatayu back from Asphodel.”
“Your willingness is
admirable and honorable,” responded Surya.
He nodded toward the Goddesses of Knowledge. “Let us begin.”
Author's Note:
I don't know why Daedalus ended up in Sicily after the flight. The island that Icarus' body supposedly ended up on (Icaria) is marked on the map below. That's a weird trip. Why did Daedalus fly over Greece and just keep going?
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| Map courtesy of Google Maps and Microsoft editing tools. |
When Daedalus reached Sicily, he offered his wings as a sacrifice to Apollo, built a temple to Apollo, and lived the rest of his life in the service of the Sicilian king.
I did a lot of random research for this part of the story. There were three tribes of people who lived in Sicily before the Greeks took over in 6th c. BCE. Two of the three tribes followed gods that were not Greek. I also learned how royalty is supposed to be introduced. Saraswati is the highest-ranking Deva, so she is introduced before Surya.
Bibliography:
Apollo's Chariot (horses)-https://greekmythology.wikia.org/wiki/Apollo%27s_Chariot
Uchchaihshravas-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchchaihshravas
