#tried to find odysseus with the legs by looking up ‘odysseus legs’ ‘odysseus legs vase’ ‘odysseus legs crossed’

[doloneia]

so this is how the palladium heist went right

[scarred-but-still-smiling]

A Legacy Of Love

In which Odysseus finds a very odd man in his palace who looks hauntingly like the man he used to be.

Read here on AO3!

It had been many years since Odysseus had felt comfortable and at ease; from Troy, through 20 years of tragedies to get home, and the many moons since he finally returned, he was still getting used to not being in danger in his every moment.

Walking through the palace halls, just allowing himself to soak in the peaceful ambience, he suddenly heard a voice from the general direction of the central courtyard. Purely on instinct, Odysseus reached into a nearby vase and pulled out one of the many weapons he'd hidden around the palace since arriving home and crouching low and stalking, close up to the wall, towards the courtyard.

"My King! My King, there's an intruder in the courtyard!" A familiar woman's voice rang through the halls, and Odysseus heard footfalls rushing towards him.

As the woman rushed through the door next to him, he swiftly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, covering her mouth to muffle any more screams that could give away their positions. "Amara," he whispered, "don't worry, it's just me." he released her once he was sure she had registered who he was. "Are you okay?"

The maid breathed heavily, hugging herself tightly, "Yes, my King, I'm okay, I don't think he saw me."

"That's good to hear," He smiled softly at her, "I would hate to lose you." his expression grew stern again, "Okay, did you see if our uninvited guest was armed?"

Amara shook her head, "Not that I could see. He was dressed very strangely, though. Like nothing I've ever seen before."

"And did those clothes look loose enough to be able to conceal a dagger he could get to easily?"

She shook her head again, "It didn't seem like it."

Odysseus nodded, "Thank you, Amara. Telemachus should be on his way to the weapon room with Athena. I need you to inform them both that we have at least one intruder, and possibly more. Ask them to comb the palace for anyone else while I deal with the man you saw. Then I want you to find Penelope and instruct her to arm herself, just in case someone tries to ambush her. Last I saw her, she was in our room, but she did talk about wanting to repair the drapes in the grand hall, so she could be collecting them. Understood?"

Amara nodded, "Yes, my King, right away."

Odysseus watched as the maid retreated until she was out of sight, before continuing his stealthy advancement on the courtyard.

Arriving at the doorway, he carefully slung the sword through his belt and picked up the bow and quiver he'd mounted above the arch, carefully positioning himself behind one of the support pillars to keep himself out of sight.

Carefully glancing around the pillar, he saw the man Amara had reported; she hadn't been wrong when she said he was dressed strangely: his upper body was clothed in an odd, pale blue, enclosed fabric sleeve, with sleeves enclosing his arms down to the wrist, and his legs were equally enclosed in a stiff, dark blue, fabric. He couldn't help but be bewildered for a moment; that couldn't be comfortable. Though, he thought, refocusing, it did mean there was no chance of any hidden weapons, unless they were strapped to his flesh, and those would be very difficult to access with the enclosed nature of the stranger's unusual garb.

Drawing an arrow back, Odysseus stepped out into the doorway, his aim locked onto the intruder's neck. "Who are you?" he snarled.

The stranger spun around, his arms raised, revealing a group of 4 strange characters on the fabric over his chest, and Odysseus almost released the shot, his eyes going wide in sheer surprise as he saw the man's face:

The stranger looked like him.

Like a younger him, the Odysseus who left for Troy all those years ago, an Odysseus unburdened by pain and loss.

He looked almost identical to Telemachus...

"What trick of the gods is this?!" He roared, glaring, his eyes burning crimson, advancing on the stranger. "Why do you look like my son?!"

The man stepped back in fear, his face turning the colour of ivory. "I-I'm not a threat." he stammered, "I'm not going to hurt your family, I swear to Horkos, I mean no harm." The man's gaze didn't waver from the arrow, "As for your other question, that's a very complicated story."

Odysseus cautiously lowered his bow, slowly releasing the tension in the bowstring. An oath to Horkos was serious, calling down a generational curse if broken.

The man relaxed, colour slowly returning to his face. "Oh, thank goodness." he smiled. "I was worried you'd Antinous me for a second there."

Odysseus froze. "What did you just say?" he began to raise the bow again, "The only people who know how I killed that bastard are my family and maids, how do you know that detail?"

The stranger slowly raised his arms again, "That's part of the complicated story, my friend." He laughed nervously, "I can tell you it if you stop pointing sharp things at me."

"You will stay here until my children finish combing the palace for any others who came here with you."

"I mean, I hope none of the others wound up here," the stranger said, "just me getting home is gonna be hard enough." He paused, "wait, children? As in plural?" He tilted his head, "as in you had another kid after Telemacus?" The man tilted his head the other way and began muttering to himself, "no, that wouldn't make sense; he doesn't look much older than his 50s, which means that, even if they had the kid 9 months to the day after he returned, that child wouldn't be nearly old enough to assist in recon, hell it would be barely old enough to hold a sword." He straightened up, beaming, "did you adopt?"

Odysseus was so caught off guard, seeing such joy on a face so like his son's, and his own, he couldn't help but smile himself. "You could say that," he unstrung his arrow and returned it to the quiver, slinging his bow over his shoulder. "It was Penelope's idea."

As if on cue, Odysseus felt two sets of eyes watching the pair of them.

"That'll be them now," he said, "report? Does this man have any friends in the palace?"

Telemachus' voice approached from his left, "Not that we could find, father."

Then Athena's from his right, "Indeed, it appears that, whoever this unusual man is, he arrived alone. What about you? What information were you able to gather? I notice your weapons are sheathed, so I gather you have determined he is not a threat?"

Odysseus nodded. "He's odd, but he seemed about as confused as to how he's here as we are, and if he wanted to hurt us, he wouldn't be in such an open area."

He watched as Telemachus squinted at the stranger curiously, "Is... is it just me or-?" He glanced at his reflection in the head of his spear. "Does he-?"

Athena nodded, "He does resemble you, yes. It's quite strange."

Looking between the two men, Odysseus was fully struck with how uncanny the resemblance was; if he were to remove the stranger's facial hair, they would likely be perfect mirrors of each other.

The stranger clapped his hands over his mouth, "Holy crap," he gasped, "you adopted Athena?"

Telemachus drew himself to his full height, "That's Goddess of Wisdom, Princess Athena of Ithaca, to you."

Athena bowed her head and laughed softly, "That's quite alright, Telemachus. I don't mind."

Telemachus pouted, "But you deserve your full title!"

Odysseus sighed happily as the two laughed together, looking over at the stranger, "Like I said, it was Penelope's idea." He laid a hand on his son's shoulder, "go tell your mother that the coast is clear, she and Amara should be in our bedroom, worried out of their minds. We'll be in the family room when you're done; the stranger has to explain who he is and what he's doing here, and, apparently, it's going to be a long story."

Exiting the courtyard the way he came, Odysseus replaced the bow, arrows, and sword to their hiding places along the way. The stranger raised an eyebrow as the sword was placed back in the vase, "So," he mused, "you've not been home all that long, have you?" Odysseus mimicked his curious expression, "I've noticed a few barely visible pommels between the courtyard and here," he said in response, "you might wanna hide them a little bit better; if I can see them, then there's a good chance attackers could too."

Arriving in the family room, Odysseus saw Penelope and Telemachus already waiting for them, a platter of olives, cheeses, dried meats and fruit sitting on the table in the centre of the room.

As they approached, Penelope stood and smiled, bowing slightly at their guest, "Welcome, strange visitor," she said warmly, "it's nice to meet you, I am Penelope, and you are?"

The stranger's eyes went wide, and Odysseus saw the tips of his ears turn slightly flushed. The man bowed back, "Greetings, Queen Penelope of Ithaca, my name is Jorge Rivera-Herrans, it's an honour."

"That's a very strange name," Athena mused, as the group sat around the table, "from where do you hail, Jorge Rivera-Herrans?"

Jorge paused, as if trying to figure something out, "In terms of the where, somewhere far to the north and west of here."

"What do you mean by 'in terms of the where'?" Penelope inquired, "are you trying to imply that the when is also a factor?"

Jorge laughed, "Sharp as ever, I see," he smiled at Odysseus, "I can see why you fell in love with her all those years ago."

Odysseus blushed; the man wasn't wrong.

"She reminds me of my Talya," Jorge smiled softly, "beautiful, sharp as a new blade and powerful enough to make a man quake in his boots."

"So she was right?" Odysseus asked, "have you somehow come from a different time?"

Jorge nodded, "That's part of why it's such a complicated story."

"Father is remembered?" Telemachus asked excitedly, "for how long? How far in the future are you from? How did you get here?"

Jorge sighed deeply, glancing from Telemachus to Odysseus and back again, "A little over 2800 years. And I predict you'll be remembered for thousands more. Greek myth is full of stories that have been told and retold for centuries." He looked back at Odysseus, and the king felt the weight of eternity on his shoulders. "That's why I know how you killed Antinous, for one thing. And as for why we look so alike," the man from the future smiled kindly, "I'm one of those storytellers."

Odysseus found himself leaning forward in his seat, fascinated by the odd man's story. "2800 years? That's such a titanic span of time, how could you have ended up here?"

Athena tilted her head owlishly, it was a motion that always made Odysseus smile, even though it looked rather uncanny. "Unlike my grandfather, I am no authority on time," she ventured, "but I do know that it can be rather malliable under the right conditions."

"Grandfather?" Jorge said, "That'd be Chronos, correct?"

Athena nodded, "Indeed. If our stories are as retold as you say they are, I'm sure you know his tale."

"How do you mean malliable, Athena?" Penelope asked, "you mean it can be shaped? Altered?"

Athena nodded again, "That's correct; there are spots in the world, places where something monumentous enough happened, where time can be," she gestured for a term, "somewhat thin."

Jorge grimaced, "Note to self, stay away from Troy. Got it."

"While I'm not sure why Jorge arrived at the precise location and time he did, it's likely the thinning caused by Odysseus' return and slaughter of the suitors is what caused it." She looked to their guest, "Would I be correct in assuming that you were, perhaps, walking through whatever stands in this spot in the future?"

Odysseus opened his mouth to ask Jorge a question as the other man nodded in response to Athena's question, but the many he needed the answers to surged forward to choke him.

"Are you okay Odysseus?" Penelope asked, eyes filled with worry.

"How..." he hesitated, afraid of the answer he would get, "how am I remembered?"

The smile Jorge gave him was filled with warmth and care and kindness. "You're remembered as a man who loved his wife and son so utterly, so completely, that he would give anything, sacrifice anything, suffer any pain, to get home to them." the man slid from his seat and knelt in front of him, a gentle hand on his arm, "your legacy, King Odysseus of Ithaca, is a legacy of love." Jorge looked around at them all, "All of you, though your adoption of Athena isn't a tale that carries forward, are remembered as one of the most solid family units in history."

Odysseus felt something catch in his chest as Jorge spoke; to know that history remebered him, not as a monster, but a man, that they wouldn't condemn him for the atrocites he had to commit in order to get home.

"If you don't mind my asking, Jorge," Telemachus piped up, "you said you were one of the storytellers who tell our tale in the future. How did you tell it?"

Returning to his seat, Jorge looked over at Telemachus. "In song." He smiled, "I had the idea to make a musical retelling of your father's story, so i asked around and found many singers who would, over the course of writing and recording, become my dear friends." Jorge looked to Odysseus, "the reason we look so alike, which is also the reason I look like Telemachus since he looks more like you than you think he does, is because I was the singer to portray you." He bowed his head, "And, might I say, it was an honour to do so."

Athena squinted at Jorge, "There's something you're not saying."

Odysseus watched, puzzled and a little astonished, as Jorge glared at Athena, "That part isn't important," he snapped, "all stories change as eons pass, that's a given."

Athena bristled, feathers briefly appearing on her shoulders and neck.

"Talking about the specific details I changed would only cause pain. In Odysseus if I was accurate, and in Penelope and Telemachus if I was not. Do you want that, goddess of wisdom?"

Athena averted her gaze, and Odysseus was lost for words. "No. I do not, they have suffered enough."

Jorge sighed in relief, "Thank you."

For the briefest of moments, hearing the tone that Jorge used in his thanks, Odysseus remembered the argument he had had with Eurylocus before he'd climbed to petition Aeolus, and he shivered.

"Jorge," he said, trying to diffuse the tension in the room, "you're from hundreds and hundreds of years in the future, so I want to know; Athena told me she wished for a world that was kinder, has it come to pass yet?"

A sad smile spread across their visitor's face, "Almost," he said softly, "there will always be cruelty, there will always be ruthlessness and monsters, that's just how things shake out, but so much progress has been made." The man shook his head, a hint of song slipping into his words, tears beginning to sparkle in his eyes, "if that world exists, it's still far away from here, it's one I'll probably miss, it's far beyond my years. But she will live forever, I have faith she'll make it be. It's Humanity's endevour, you have my word it's one they'll see."

Odysseus looked over at Athena, eyes wide, hearing the familiar words, only to be met with an identical expression from the goddess.

A quiet chuckle brought their attention back to Jorge, and they saw him wiping the tears from his eyes with a smile. "From the looks on your faces, it looks like I was right. That's good to know." He sighed, "now then, I'm grateful you didn't shoot me, King Odysseus, and I'm grateful for your hospitality Queen Penelope, but I have friends to get back to who were probably very alarmed when I walked through a crumbled archway and seemingly vanished in front of them. So then," stood from his seat and bowed to Athena, "Goddess of Wisdom, Princess Athena of Ithaca, if you could find it in your heart to help me return to my loved ones, I would greatly appreciate it."

Athena smiled kindly, and Odysseus couldn't help but remember the friendship that they'd built together as he grew from a child into a man. His thoughts drifted to the relationship between Athena and his son, and he looked around the room in search of him, but noticed that Telemachus had left.

"Very well, Jorge Rivera-Herrans. I believe speaking with my grandfather would give us a better understanding of how exactly you got here, and thus how to get you home. Unfortunately that means travelling to-"

Jorge nodded, "If I remember my mythology correctly, he's either prisoner in Tartarus or a king in Elysium, right?"

"I'm impressed." Athena replied, "would you like to join me? There's a chance he'll be able to send you home directly."

"I mean, as long as you're aware that I'm the furthest thing from a warrior and would require your protection."

"That is acceptable."

"Wait! Hold on!" Telemachus rushed into the room with a collection of weapons clutched in his arms; a sword, a dagger, a spear, a bow and a quiver of arrows. "You can't go on a journey without a way to defend yourself, it's dangerous out there, right father?"

Odysseus laughed, "I'm so proud to call you my son." He looked to Jorge, "he's right though. Though I think you know that very well, don't you, Storyteller?"

"Yeah," Jorge chuckled, "and, unlike you, danger and I aren't on the best speaking terms." He turned to Telemachus, "I think, if I'm being protected by Athena, meaning Quick Thought is in play, a bow and arrow would probably combo the best. Though I would also appreciate a dagger, just in case."

Odysseus understood about half of those words, but, as he watched Jorge recieve his weapons, he was brought back to the day he left for Troy, so full of hope and determination. "Be careful out there, Jorge Rivera-Herrans, I would hate for the future to lose a man such as you. And... thank you. You've given me some much-needed hope this day."

"Of course. It's only fair, really; your story has given hope to so many others in my time. Even just from my own telling of it."

Odysseus watched as the strange man turned away and walked with Athena out of the palace, Penelope following behind and calling the maids to escort them to the kitchens to pick up provisions for the journey.

"Oh!" Telemachus shouted after them, "what is father's story called in your time?"

Jorge laughed, not even turning around as he answered.

"The Odyssey!"