Vol. I Chapter III: Trial of a God

Melissa's eyes widened.

Dionysus merely raised his hand, and silence fell.

He stared at Lucius for a long moment.

"Hmm... an unusual wish," the god said softly, stroking his chin. 

"Has my little servant twisted your head around that much? Mortals and creatures like her... don't belong together. Your hearts don't beat to the same rhythm."

Lucius tried to speak, but Dionysus lifted a finger.

"A mortal," he said, stepping closer, "with my servant?"

Then he smiled, wide and wild, eyes gleaming with something dangerous.

"Very well, Lucius. If you truly wish to take her, you must prove you're more than some foolish mortal swept up in ecstasy."

He lifted both arms high, and the music faltered as every eye turned to him.

"You shall face a trial, not of blood, not of steel, but of revelation... and devotion."

A murmur swept through the Thiasos, like wind through a vineyard.

"If you prevail," Dionysus proclaimed, "she shall be yours. But if you fail... you shall never behold her again. And Melissa, along with every joy of my realm, shall be plucked from your memory... forever!"

His gaze locked upon Lucius, eyes glinting with delight.

"Do you accept?"

Lucius did not waver.

"I accept."

"Excellent," the god replied with a dangerous grin. 

"The trial begins at the first blush of dawn. Until then... drink, dance, and drown your thoughts in joy!"

His decree rolled over the clearing like thunder, and the revelers answered with a roar.

And then, as if nothing had happened, the revel resumed with laughter, music, wine, and dancing.

Only Lucius stood frozen, behind him, Melissa.

She told me, didn’t she? We possess nothing. We love nothing but the moment. Why would she ever agree to this? I should have asked her first...

But his thoughts were cut short as Melissa grabbed him and spun him around, trembling.

"You... you idiot," she hissed, her voice cracking.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you even understand what you're asking for?"

Her fingers dug into his shoulders, harder than she probably meant to.

"You want to face Dionysus' trial? A god's trial? You were only supposed to entertain me, not fall in love with me! It's not that I wouldn't like you, but..."

She hesitated, just for a heartbeat.

"...Look, I'm a satyr, not a wife. I could never..."

She stopped, exhaling sharply, then softer, her voice now tinged with sorrow.

"This isn't a fairytale, Lucius. And I'm not your princess."

He said nothing, he only looked at her, calm.

And that calmness shook her more than anger ever could.

"I love you, Melissa," he said, with quiet certainty, like a man ready to fight for what he loved.

Her gaze flickered; the wild, untamed fire in her eyes flared, then faltered.

"It would be better if you didn’t love me," she whispered.

She let him go and stepped back, her voice growing firmer, colder.

"I'm dance, and noise, and fire. Your world and mine don’t belong together."

"I don’t care, Melissa. Even if your home were the underworld. Even if you tried to drive me away. I’d still love you. And I know you feel the same, otherwise, we’d be having a very different conversation right now, wouldn’t we?"

For a long moment, they stood there, two worlds meeting at the edges.

Tears glimmered in Melissa’s eyes, catching the last light of the sunset.

She closed them, drew in a long breath, and when she opened them again, the anger was gone. Only sorrow remained.

"Then dance, Lucius. Dance with the gods, if you think you can keep up."

She sighed.

"Because if you can’t... our dance ends forever."

She turned and vanished into the celebrating crowd.

Lucius hesitated, then he stumbled after her.

"Melissa, wait!"

He searched the crowd but saw nothing.

Hands brushed against him, a nymph giggled in his ear:

"Why chase one heart when you could have a hundred lips?" 

But he pushed her away.

The world around him pulsed with motion: music, flesh, and dissonant voices.

His legs grew heavy until he collided with someone.

A satyr stumbled into him, knocking him down.

He tried to rise, but the world tilted.

And as the music spun and his vision blurred, darkness rose up and swallowed him whole.

Then, there was nothing but emptiness.

And somewhere in that darkness, a sound appeared, soft and distant.

A slow drip.

Lucius stirred and his eyes opened, heavy with confusion.

He looked straight at the ceiling of his room, in his house, while rain tapped gently against the window.

The music was gone, and so was Melissa.

Then someone knocked.

He opened the door, but no one was there, only an envelope on the threshold:

Heavy, wine-red paper, sealed with a golden grape cluster.

He broke the seal and inside was an invitation:

“In the name of the Many-Named, the Roaring One, the Cunning Fox, the Breaker of Sorrows and Crusher of Men: You are summoned to the Masquerade of the Maenads.

Recognize, among all the faces, the one who has never offered you a false smile. Find the one to whom your heart belongs, without using your eyes to seek her. For only if you love the true self, will you see it, even behind veils.“

Beneath was a location and a time.

Lucius folded the paper and exhaled slowly.

So… this is supposed to be my trial, I guess.

When the time came, Lucius made his way to the designated location. 

It wasn’t far, but it lay well off any normal roads.

A narrow country path led him between towering walls of wheat, and there on a hill, stood an ancient looking palace, that normally wasn’t there.

From within the palace poured music, a mingling of flutes, drums, and voices.

Above the palace, the sky glowed a deep violet, and massive braziers cast flickering light across the marble walls.

Lucius stepped closer.

The music grew louder with each step and his first step inside felt like crossing into another dream.

The hall was enormous, both in size and atmosphere.

Dim light from oil lamps flickered over damp, colorful mosaic floors, everywhere stood amphorae brimming with wine, ready for the guests.

And the guests were already there in full splendor:

Laughing maenads, half-human, half-beast, with chestnut fur, curling horns, and long, swishing tails, looking just like Melissa.

Some swayed in slow, hypnotic dances, others lounged across huge silk cushions and devoured food and drink with ravenous delight.

They wore golden masks shaped like the faces of animals.

And soon, one of them approached him.

“Lucius…”

A maenad wearing a lion mask drifted toward him, her tail flicking, her chest glistening with scented oils.

“Ah, there you are at last! Come dance, drink, and join me as we did by the lake!”

She tapped his chest lightly with one finger, but Lucius didn’t even need to see her face.

“You’re not Melissa,” he said softly.

Her voice was too sweet, too gentle.

She recoiled slightly.

“Pah, fine then,” she muttered, pouting, and disappeared back into the throng.

Lucius moved deeper into the reveling crowd, and more of them turned their attention toward him.

It wasn’t long before another Melissa appeared.

“Hey, little wizard! Still drawing your summoning circles all crooked?”

She gave him a mischievous wink and poked him in the chest with her horns.

Her voice was rough and melodic, exactly like Melissa’s.

But it wasn’t her scent.

He shook his head firmly and pushed her gently aside.

And so it continued for a while.

As he moved through the grand halls, new contenders kept appearing.

One had Melissa’s voice, another her walk.

Another tried silence, simply staring at him, she was different from the rest.

“Melissa?” Lucius asked cautiously, almost suspicious while she crossed her arms.

“Finally! Took you long enough, you sweet little idiot.”

She laughed, and her tail gave a small twitch.

She had Melissa’s voice, her posture, but she kept her distance.

No horns pressing against his chest, no playful tail winding around his leg, and Lucius knew, it wasn’t her, as he turned away once more.

Then a voice boomed, rich and thunderous:

“Well? Are you still searching?”

Dionysus sat on the edge of the dance circle’s steps, a grin on his face.

“You have until sunrise, mortal. And dawn is not far off. After that, you must choose, or you will lose her forever.”

Lucius nodded silently.

With a heavy heart, he continued searching, but he couldn’t find her anywhere.

The festival had shifted around him.

The music grew sharper, more shrill, voices buzzed around and he knew he was running out of time.

Everything was too loud, too hot.

He pulled away from the masquerade’s center, stepped toward one of the high arched windows, and stared outside, trying to think of how he could possibly find the real Melissa.

Outside, dawn already tinged the horizon with its first glow.

And slowly, he felt hope fading.

09.08. 2025: This Chapter was revamped (explanation in Authors Notes)