Second born; Second place.

You can be the                       moon and still be jealous of the                       s t a r s. tracking url indie rp account for Ilus, founder of Troy. Read about page and rules prior to interaction.

[lostprinceoftroy]

You Who I Called Brother | Closed

[lostprinceoftroy]

               Ganymede watched him, observing the changes in his brother’s face that had come with time. He wondered if he was satisfied knowing he had achieved things Ganymede never could, even imparting some of his own drive and ambition to their father’s city. 

               He knelt beside the bed, remembering he was only a servant now. Only the royal family and fellow kings could stand equal to Trojan royalty. 

               ”I understand if you wish me to leave. But I did not want to see the last of my family pass without … Without seeing one of you one last time.”

[iilus]

      Ragged breath was caught in the old king's lungs when the mirage spoke, proving it must have been real. Confusion settled in soon thereafter, however, when his brother kneeled by his side. Why would he do that? Humility hadn't quite been Ganymede's forte when they'd been princes together.      His face looks exactly as Ilus remembered it. Still angular and pleasing to the eye, with raven hair and unblemished skin. Ganymede had always been blessed with beauty. Ilus, cursed with envy. All his life, he could never find a way out of the shadow Ganymede cast over him. Evidently, he cast an even larger one once he was in the sky. His family bewailed his brother and still praised him in the same breath.

Crooked fingers reach out slowly and touch his face, an action taken only to verify the reality of the situation. He hadn't liked Ganymede, and his brother wasn't overly fond of him, either. Assaracus had been the favorite. Why was he the one Ganymede wished to see?                    "Do you wish to see me die, brother?"

[lostprinceoftroy]

You Who I Called Brother | Closed

               It had been risky sneaking away from Olympus even if his Lord’s attention was diverted as of late. But Ilus was the last beside their grandfather, Xanthos-Scamander, who remembered the boy before the eagle. And it was a strange help too that Ilus had been the only one who would accept his brother’s fall from grace. He had never made a secret of his distaste for the supposed genius. 

               Quietly, with the kind of silence only the divine and those in servitude can manage, he approached his younger brother. His face covered with age as Ganymede’s would never be.

               ”Ilus-?” He whispered. “I’ve come to see you.”

[iilus]

                Ilus didn't move quite like he used to. Actually, he didn't move at all. Ache moaned and creaked in his bones and exhaustion set sooner and more easily than ever before. And, evidently, Ilus was tired. The gods had taken his brother and soon, they would take him, too.  He felt it in his slower beating heart. Some part of Ilus knew that this day would be his last, and he thought it a good day to die; he'd seen and done much as king, and he could rest at ease. However, his only loose end would always be the brother he hated to love and loved to hate.  The slightest movement is detected from the corner of his eyes, and he turns to see the very face he questions. Ganymede. Naturally, he thinks it's a dream.

           "You..."

[aisimos]

iilus:

"And yet you cast judgment upon Paris for not recognizing folly when it was before him, without considering it to have been mistaken," not that he was defending Paris, only that the logic seemed to be flawed in that regard. It had been a long time since Achilles had spoken of the war in such a casual manner … often times he avoided it, because it invoked such vivid memories, almost as visions to haunt him. It was the condition he sought to avoid at all costs, for he had not even discussed the war at length with his own children. But for the sake of hospitality, and the fact that this man obviously meant no ill intent by asking, he would bear it. "It was not a war over Helen — a beautiful woman, yes, for upon my time in Elysium I knew her. Menelaus tried, for he was a man of honor despite how sources may depict him now. It was his brother, Agamemnon who strove to destroy Troy for the sake of his own arrogance. It was not a war to be won over the insult to one Achaean — but a people to be conquered in the name of the king of kings." Each word associated with that man was dripping with disdain from Achilles’ lips .. still to this day he harbored nothing but hate for him. "No —" that response was swift, falling from full lips almost before Ilus had the chance to finish, "The Trojans had never wronged me, I had no reason to kill them in droves — but it was not my choice to be among the fighting Achaeans of that war. It was fate, a prophecy told before my very birth that I should be among the forces there, along the beaches of Troy. My mother attempted many a time to keep me from sailing — as she and I both knew that if I were to embark upon the path of war, that I would find my doom, so far from home. They may say I had a choice — but there was little to be done to sway the fates, nor my appetite for glory."

[iilus]

"Ah, but there is some difference in your case as opposed to his. You were used. I don't think you even really realized such a thing until the very end, but you were rather...unaware of the hand in your fate, from what I have learned. Paris was a fool. Lazy, cowardly, rash...he was not a warrior. He was hardly a prince, much less a man. I think you'll agree that if three goddesses approached you asking to sate their vanity, you'd try and escape it. I know I would have. But he didn't see the harm, he didn't realize that by awarding one goddess he insulted two others. He didn't realize that he was already beginning to turn Olympus against Troy." The mention of Agamemnon made Ilus' lip curl ever so slightly in disgust. "I see. Troy would be his trophy."  He listened to the rest carefully, though replaying the fall of his city made his heart heavy. More than anything, he'd wished for Troy to be safe--to be a place where scholars would venture to learn, for merchants to travel miles to see. However, only two generations after him, it fell. The king nodded slowly and glanced at Achilles, truly looking at the warrior and sensing that he had said the truth. "There is one more think I wish to say...something that moved me even in the kingdom below the earth. i wish to thank you for giving Priam Hector's body. That boy was one of few who brought his family honor, and to give his body to your enemy..that is not something most would expect."

[indomavelx]

                    “ Upon neither side.        I was just passing through but now for             annoyance sake, I might linger. ”

[iilus]

            " Then I suppose misfortune is my companion, yet again."

[lostprinceoftroy]

"Of course its your business. But you make it all sound so simple." He said his defensiveness laced with anxiety. He had wanted this reunion to be happy… "Lord Zeus wouldn’t … He wouldn’t allow me to fight. What use would I have been anyway? Besides he would have given them victory if they’d just returned the Spartan whore to her husband."

As he spoke he had begun to fidget with his hands, somehow making a minor miracle of not repeating ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again. It certainly dominated his thoughts just then.

[iilus]

"It is simple. The gods complicated it with their foolish vanities. All of this was done so that Aphrodite could be the fairest, so that Achilles could be given glory, so that they all could have whatever they wanted from Troy. Even I know that this was no war of man--this was a war of the divine and I don't think they even knew what they were fighting about." Ilus had always been this stubborn, but he was absolutely frozen in this state of anger over this war, this massacre of the kingdom and culture he worked so hard to build and preserve. "You can't honestly be defending them. Have you forgotten who you are so easily?"

[mintynaiad]

" And i thought you said there was clothing here."

[iilus]

"Keep what  you have on until I find one of the servants, please."

[mintynaiad]

"…. You had better find proper female attire because this robe is coming off in a moment." things had become to serious for her liking. Menthe tugged on the sash in a threatening manner.

[iilus]

His hand tentatively closes over the sash knot before she can untie it any further.

"I was under the impression we had already discussed why this is not a good idea, especially in the palace."

[indomavelx]

           “ What a charming clarification.                      And one I can admit to feeling myself for certain of my family divine. ”

[iilus]

            " and yet it incites no new fondness.             whatever is is you want, tell me. i hope to be done with this quickly. "

[lostprinceoftroy]

"I didn’t mean it like that." He said hanging his head embarrased by that absurd title ‘god’. "I just meant it I could have found you sooner …"

He looked back up, once again on the defensive about his lord. “Ilus don’t. You weren’t there. “

[iilus]

You weren't there? An old fire spark's in Ilus' eyes and his back straightens, his lip curling ever so slightly. "I'm sorry. Do you mean to tell me that it is none of my business, brother? Or were you there, fighting along with the Olympians? Do tell which side you were on. Perhaps I overlooked you when I watched."

[wherethelxnelyonesroam-deactiva]

Cassandra has heard the many shades of pity from one lifetime to the next and it wears on her a little more every day now that she has no city to try protecting. It leaves a sour taste in her mouth but there is too much training instilled in her bones to allow such disappointment to show for long. Even in all her madness the woman can still recall every now and again what it means to be some sort of proper. “Yes yes yes she is Cassandra in some fashion or another but the sun still shines and the horses still run.” What that could mean was anyone’s guess. “She does not mean to interrupt, no no no she does not, but the winds have led her this way.”

[iilus]

He cannot help but feel pity; she is his blood, of the last generation of Trojans. Ilus' heart breaks for them all--much is to be said about his emotional capabilities, but he had always been very paternal. However, even then, just. No favoritism was ever shown, as if he went out of his way to assure such a thing. Which, of course, he had. "I suppose." He agreed. "I am another Ilus, too." Pausing, he decides to introduce himself. "Cassandra, I am Ilus, son of Tros, grandfather of Priam, your father. I founded our city."

Our city. It almost hurt to speak of it.

[aisimos]

" —- I knew not that it was of Paris you spoke. Often the terms foolish and boy are associated with myself, and mine own actions during that war." He chose not to answer Ilus’ question, only because it was of course at the wedding of his own parents which Paris decided to show the world just how foolish he was. "Some men are not able to see folly when it is presented to them — but of course it should be taken into consideration that I use the term man in regard to Paris loosely." Although it was not Paris whom Achilles blamed for his death, the prince was not free of the golden warrior’s resentments. Achilles also took a seat, with his son close by, who was allowed to stay. Servants brought forth wine, which was poured and offered to each of them. Both King and Prince offered their thanks, before turning to their guest once more, "You have come to offer and share words … what then, do you wish to discuss with me?"

[iilus]

"No one acts perfectly in war--that is why it is a war. Not all who make mistakes are fools. To folly is to remember one's own mortality." Ilus took some time to get settled -- his eyes had a habit of floating throughout the room, not quite settling on any one thing.  A cautious man, he'd always been, and suspicion was worn so well on his face that there were times when even he did not notice  it. Ilus accepted his wine and nodded in thanks, drinking it slowly before speaking at all. "I was not there; I cannot pretend to understand is if I had been. But as I know it, Menelaus waged this war against Paris for his..." whore. "--wife, yes? Why did he not simply challenge Paris, take his wife, and leave. I don't think Troy itself had done anything to invoke war. Tell me...before you set sail to Anatolia, had you any ill thoughts about the nation? Prior to the war?" 

[mimbletonia13]

[mintynaiad]

" Throat cut." There wasn’t even a moments hesitation. " Ive grown tired of serving."

[iilus]

"That's a shame." Ilus said, "I suppose we should be glad that we are in no such situation, then."

[mintynaiad]

She followed with a cautious look.” how many live here? do you keep slaves? why do mortals enslave each other?”

[iilus]

"I don't know. Several."

"Yes, I keep slaves. Most kings do." She asked an awful lot of questions. "Because, there is little else to do with survivors after a war is done. Killing women and children is a bit much, so they become slaves. Tell me--would you rather wash clothes, or have your throat cut? Most choose to live."

[misanthropicmegara]

"I’m not really in tune with what people tend to do these days. I find it rewarding and interesting to wander, so that’s what I do… though I’m not entirely aimless. I rather like to find the occasional curiosity, and have some time alone with my thoughts.”

[iilus]

"I suppose everyone appreciates some peace and quiet," Ilus agreed, relaxing slightly. "I just find it odd that a lady would find solace here, of all places. Istanbul is hardly peaceful."

[mintynaiad]

The gods screwed everyone… sometimes literally. She took note of his lack of answer and decided not to push.” So we have. Your women will not mind giving me their clothes?”

[iilus]

The doors were opened for them and Ilus stepped in, shoulders untensing. He was home. 

"Perhaps not off their backs, but they will give you something if I tell them to." He said, making a sharp left turn at a long corridor.

[brxakerofhorses-deactivated2017]

Dark orbs stare in awe the man in front of him. A familiar face he could reckon  from the tales his father told him at young age. " You are.." the words died in his mouth, not able to say much but saying as much as he could. The prince of Troy gaze fall upon this visitor, and the only thing he could do is stare.

[iilus]

Hector had deserved better--Ilus believed it with all his might. The lad was noble, strong, and simply good at heart. It left his story (along with Cassandra's) rather tragic, whereas Ilus would stubbornly think that Paris and Priam were foolish and incompetent for centuries. Hector was only born in the wrong generation, cursed to die for a fool's war. " Your great-grandfather. " Ilus finished for him.