On Colchis, daytime and nighttime each last roughly 85 Terra hours. The long daylight hours cause the surface temperature to soar, while the extended nights bring sudden drops in temperature.
This extreme day-night temperature swing results in a scorched-by-day, frozen-by-night climate, with thin air and a barren landscape. Most of the surface is desert, with only a few oases along the coast.
Because of this, Colchis developed a unique ecosystem. Plants evolved to store water more efficiently, and animals could stay active for dozens of hours without rest.
Humans, however, are an invasive species and cannot endure 85 continuous hours of activity.
To better adapt, Colchis' ancient ancestors divided a day into seven "sub days": Dawnaway, Mornday, Long Noon, Poost-noon, Duskeve, Coldfall, and High Night. Each sub day was further subdivided into the Work Start phase, Main Work phase, and Rest phase.
Each small day lasts roughly 24 Terra hours, with each phase around 8 Terra hours.
Among the seven small days, Long Noon is the hottest, and High Night the coldest. During these two periods, people usually stay indoors all day.
When the caravan arrived at the camp, it was Afternoon. By the time Lorgar rubbed his sleepy eyes awake, the sun had already set.
The temperature was starting to drop, not too cold, but far cooler than the daytime heat.
As soon as Lorgar opened his eyes, he saw Caelan and instinctively snuggled closer into his arms. He closed his eyes again, letting Caelan's warmth envelop him.
Caelan frowned, pinching his cheek. "Stop sleeping. Time for class."
"Oh." Lorgar dragged out the syllable, lazily shifting from Caelan's arms. Yet he still brushed against Caelan's shoulder before sitting upright, hands obediently on his knees, looking perfectly 'well-behaved.'
Erebus tensed, fearful that any expression might betray him.
Lorgar's gaze drifted lightly over him, without pause, returning immediately to Caelan.
Caelan didn't rush. Instead, he pondered how to educate Lorgar.
During Lorgar's sleep, Caelan had been thinking about this, realizing that no matter how he taught, there were flaws.
So he decided to teach as he always did and let the rest unfold naturally.
"I'll tell you a story," Caelan said. "This is how I taught Curze."
Lorgar lowered his gaze. His long lashes cast faint shadows on his cheeks; a faint light seemed to swirl in the depths of his violet pupils.
Although Caelan didn't tell him directly, Lorgar could guess that Curze was one of his brothers, and had known Caelan earlier. Despite knowing nothing about this brother, Lorgar could tell Caelan held him in deep affection.
"This story takes place in Colchis, but not the land beneath our feet, rather in the kingdoms of ancient Terra."
"Legend tells of a beautiful maiden named Medea. She was the daughter of Aeetes, King of Colchis, and the high priestess of the goddess Hecate."
"In another kingdom, Thessaly, there was a prince named Jason. His uncle Pelias usurped his father Aeson's throne and sent Jason to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece."
"To aid him, the goddess Athena helped Jason gather heroes and construct a great ship, the Argo."
"They overcame countless trials and finally reached Colchis. But the Golden Fleece belonged to King Aeetes, son of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, the guardian deity."
"Aeetes placed the Golden Fleece on an oak tree and set a powerful fire-breathing dragon to guard it, for prophecy linked his life to the Fleece: while it existed, he lived; if it perished, he would perish."
"To help Jason, Hera and Athena enlisted Eros, the god of love, to make Medea fall in love with him. For love, Medea betrayed her father Aeetes, using magic to put the dragon to sleep, allowing Jason to take the Golden Fleece."
"Her brother Absyrtus was aboard the Argo as one of the heroes helping Jason. But to delay their father, Medea cruelly dismembered Absyrtus and cast him into the sea."
"Aeetes, delayed while collecting his son's remains, could never catch the Argo."
"Zeus, angered by Absyrtus's death, sent a storm to confuse the Argo. The ship's sacred wood told them they must find Medea's aunt, Aeetes' sister, the sorceress Circe, to atone for Absyrtus's murder."
"After enduring countless hardships, they finally returned to the kingdom of Thessaly. But by then, Jason's father Aeson had been killed by Pelias, his mother had hanged herself, and his younger brother had also been murdered by Pelias."
"To avenge Jason, Medea deceived Pelias' daughters, convincing them she could rejuvenate Pelias, but only if they chopped him into pieces and cooked him."
"They succeeded in vengeance, but failed to reclaim the throne, which passed to Pelias' son Acastus, himself once one of the Argo's heroes."
"Jason and Medea were then exiled, living in Corinth for ten years, bearing two sons. Yet Jason, tired of Medea, sought to abandon her to marry the king's daughter."
"In rage and grief, Medea poisoned the princess and then mercilessly killed her own children."
Caelan asked, "What do you take from this story?"
"Did she regret it?" Lorgar asked.
"She regretted deeply. She often longed for her homeland and father; her grief made her thin and frail." Caelan answered.
Lorgar's voice was light, like a feather falling on still water, "She was a pitiful woman… but she betrayed her father."
In ancient Terra, this story was well-known worldwide.
People praised the Argo heroes' deeds, but opinions of Medea were sharply divided.
Many scorned her as a witch, focusing only on her radical actions without questioning why she acted so.
The only somewhat positive comment on Medea was that she dared to love and hate.
But did she truly love Jason?
If not for the curse of the god of love, their lives should never have intersected.
She could abandon the world for Jason, but Jason abandoned her.
Yet, digging deeper, the voyage of the Argo was just a game of the gods.
Jason's betrayal and Medea's tragic end were merely a farce left forgotten when the game ended.
Erebus was clever. Like Lorgar, he understood the truth Caelan was trying to teach.
His Adam's apple rolled, knuckles whitening with tension.
His voice was dry, as if squeezed painfully between his teeth, "The gods… are all like this?"
Caelan suddenly chuckled. "No. They are far crueler than the Greek gods, so cruel, the Greek gods wouldn't even have the privilege of worshipping them."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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