Phineus was walking through the forest, cursing his luck. It has already been two weeks since he set off from his village, and if his map is to be believed, then at his current pace, he won’t reach the harbour for another three months.

  Phineus stopped walking, letting out a deep sigh. It was already getting dark, so he dropped his pack, landing with a dull thud.

  “Might as well make camp for the night,” Phineus mumbled to no one in particular.

  After setting up his small tent, he sat down, lying his back against a nearby tree. Once he found a spot where there was nothing pricking against his back, he stretched out his legs and closed his eyes, thinking about the past month.

  Blackstone village is a nice place; in fact, it's too nice to be just called a village, but it is isolated. Maybe because it's so isolated, they feel the need to send everyone out once they reach adulthood. Phineus shook his head; he knew that was not why. The village was just filled with a bunch of battle maniacs. He once asked the village elder why everyone left, and all he said was, “It's to go out there and make a name for yourself, build some strength! Build your legend!” followed by a smack on the back so hard it left a bruise for a week. Phineus likes his village, he really does, but as soon as he qualified as an ‘adult’, he was ready to leave that very day, but the gods seemed to have other plans. So when Phineus asked when the next ship was coming in, and they weren't expecting another for six months, he made the brilliant decision to walk to the small temple of Poseidon on the other side of the island.

  He always knew in theory the island was big, but this being the first time he's actually left the village, he actually understands.

  The true adults seem to consider this place tiny compared to the wider world. That thought put a smile on his face. He liked thinking about how large the world is—how many different things there are to see and experience. It always got him moving. With a newfound fire, Phineus got up and went to his bag. He may not be the strongest fighter, but he’s always been good with a bow. He unhooked the bow and quiver from his pack, made sure nothing was lying around, and started hunting.

  Endless walking through a forest that seems to reach into the horizon couldn't be called anything but a slog. But getting the chance to hunt for his own food has been rather satisfying.

  experience. Growing up in Blackstone, he sometimes got the chance to hunt for the village, but more often than not, any number of the Artemis blessed would jump at the chance before he could. That thought sent him dreaming, getting blessed by a god, that's the first step on the path to power. Every adult in the village has a blessing; those blessed by Hephaestus can make untold wonders in the forge, those blessed by Hermes can gain tremendous speed or steal something from a welded shut box. He’s met people who can make a tidal wave on dry land, cook food that tastes like magic, and the list goes on. When Phineas was 8, he once asked Tireffa, an old seamstress blessed by Apollo, about it, and she said, “While all blessings may not be unique, they are unique to you. It is yours and a sign that a god is watching.” She replied with a gentle smile.

  ‘A blessing unique to you,’ even ten years later, thinking about that still makes him giddy. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he refocused on his task.

  “Time to hunt,” he said with a small smile.

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  Phineus set off from his camp with his bow in hand and quiver on his back; the forest would have been dead silent if it weren't for the sticks breaking under the weight of his steps. It wasn’t long until Phineus spotted a rabbit hopping towards the nearby river, steadying his breath. Phineus calmly reached for an arrow while never letting the Rabbit out of sight.

  “Artemis guide my hand,” Phineus prayed quietly before losing. The arrow shot out in a straight line, piercing the rabbit in the side. Phineus let out a small laugh.

  ‘I'm getting better,’ he thought happily, walking over to the small animal. Looking down at the corpse, he paused for a moment and said a silent prayer for the rabbit. Phineus pulled out the arrow and tied the legs together before setting off back to his camp.

  After skinning and cutting up the rabbit, Phineus dug through his overly large backpack until he found his flint. Striking it with the knife he keeps on his belt, he started a fire and cooked his dinner as the sun finished setting. It wasn't long until he finished eating, sitting by the fire, he watched as the sparks danced off the flames, thinking about everything he'd do once he made it off this island. Once the fire started to die down, he kicked out the logs and crawled into his tent ‘all told, it wasn’t a bad day’ he thought ‘... time to do it again tomorrow’

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  2 weeks later, Phineus was looking at his map, thinking something was wrong. ‘It doesn't make sense, I just had to go west, how can I be lost?’ his map was hand-drawn by one of the elders. It had the rough shape of the island with a handful of landmarks to help orient himself, one of them being right in front of him.

  A mighty oak tree with lightning threaded between its branches, honestly, he would be pretty amazed if it wasn't for the fact that it meant he had been walking in the wrong direction for a week. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Phineus was wondering Why? He had a compass and THE SUN!? How could he have been going in the wrong direction?

  ‘Maybe it’s the map that is wrong.’ No, he stopped that thought instantly. Karra, someone blessed by Athena, swore by it; it must be right, he would sooner believe that the sun is wrong. ‘No… not wrong, maybe it’s trying to confuse me,’ that brought up another thought: how has Blackstone village stayed hidden? In class, he learned that Blackstone village was founded over 2000 years ago as a safe haven for warriors to hide and recuperate. 2000 years is a long time for a village to stay hidden, especially if everyone who is born there eventually leaves. “Could just a forest keep a village with such a rich history hidden?” he said out loud, taking a closer look at his surroundings. Everything still just looked like a normal forest, well, not counting the massive lightning tree, of course. With no way to get an answer, he started thinking about solutions. If his compass and the sun are wrong, he just won’t use them. Looking closer at his map, he planned out a new route. Taking a slight detour, he made his way to the nearby river and decided to follow along. Wanting to be extra cautious, he also began marking every couple of trees with his hunting knife.

  After a few hours of following the river, Phineus saw a tree that was already marked. Looking closer, it was the same as his marks. He quickly turned and ran deeper into the woods until he stopped at the same Zeus-dammed tree! Phineus was mad and confused; he just walked for hours in a straight line and ended up right where he started. ‘By the gods, did I even move!?’ Whether he did or not, it didn't matter; too tired to continue for the night, Phineus decided to set up camp.