Book 8

The sun shone, having no alternative. And as the sun inevitably rises, so do we Trojans, once again, inevitably prepare for another war. I am tiring of the conflicts, as they pile on after the other. I want rest. I want our journey to end. It seems that the closer we come to our destination, the more senseless the conflict becomes. I do not believe any of this to be a fault of anyone other than Fate's and the gods' cruelty. I suspect, I suppose that I hope, that our reward will be worthy of the trials we have faced. I do not place blame on Aeneas, but I cannot help but feel, down in my soul, that he draws conflict with him wherever he may go. It seems that he brings trouble with him. Regardless, as my captain and friend  I will follow him to the grave, honorably so, as I will eventually die in war, like many of my brethren and comrades; it is an inevitable death for the warrior but one I will accept honorably. Of course, now Aeneas has brought the Arcadians into the conflict, which is strategically intelligent but makes me uncomfortable. Even more innocent lives are being thrown into war, but I suppose that we all have our fated death, and as the sun rises and sets, so must we.

Book 6

     I thank the Gods that I saw Aeneas in the underworld. What the great hero was doing in this wretched place I haven't the slightest idea, but I died living for him, and now I wait in the underworld because of the cruel nature of my fate, my body riding the waves, unburied. It was so nice to see Aeneas, knowing now that he and the other Trojans were safe and sound. That the ship had remained intact. That their fated journey to Italy continues on!
    Aeneas listened to my story, of my fateful fall from the ship as I was guiding the crew through the ocean. How I struggled, fighting to find land. Until, finally when I reached Earth once again, a band of marauders ended my life and left me, dishonorably and embarrassingly dead but not interred. Aeneas listened to my story and wished to help me pass on.
     Ah, but the cruel nature of death and the gods did not allow such joy to me. How Aeneas wanted to help me, for I could see it in his eyes. The Sibyl chastised me for my wishes of Aeneas carrying me across the river Styx. I was desperate. But my soul rests more easily with the words she left me: that a kind people will find and bury me, that my name will live on! Ah how I can only wait for that fated day when I am left to move on. I can only be grateful that Sibyl and Aeneas passed through, and I was lucky enough to see the hero once again.

Book 5

     We were readily welcome by Acestes as we landed upon his shores, avoiding the ominous storm that silently approached. Having been occupied with his past trials, Aeneas didn't realize until our landing that it was the year anniversary of his father's,  honorable Anchises's, death. Aeneas held games in the remembrance of his father.
     First came the boat race. Aeneas and I observed as four ships, full of brave Trojans, took to the sea. There were lead changes and mistakes made; Gyas and the Chimaera lost their lead to Sergestus, who marooned him and his crew on a rock, leaving him in dead last. Aeneas, however, honorably awarded everyone their own prize. The victors earned their extra spoils, while all the courageous participants were rewarded for their efforts. The games seemed all too uncommon for our travels. We, the Trojans, have been treated anything but fairly, yet Aeneas still has maintained his honor and justice, even in such simple an occasion as funeral games.
     After the boat race, the aged but honored foot-race followed. Nisus held the lead for much of the race, but, in an unfair twist of competition (all too familiar to the Trojans, alive and dead, who have experienced the journey to Italy), Nisus tripped the man who followed him, allowing Euryalus to be the victor. Once again however, unlike our travels, a fair decision was reached in the end, as Aeneas awarded each man, even those who tripped, their just rewards for their competition and athleticism.
     Following the foot-face, Dares and Entellus faced off in the boxing ring. Entellus, a man of age, faced the agility of Dares, a young and athletic soldier. Entellus shocked us all, as the aged boxer entered the ring and easily handled the young Dares, even making Aeneas end the match early.
     Finally, the archery competition. The competition was short-lived but brilliantly spectacular, as Acestes showed us a shooting-star of an arrow for his volley.
     After the joyous competitions, however, smoke began rising on the horizon. A young Trojan raced as we followed to find that the women had been possessed by the gods, burning down the fleets. Fortunately, the gods sent a rain down, extinguishing the flames before permanent damage settles. We repaired the ships and set on our way back to Italy.

Book 4

     Dido became more and more infatuated with Aeneas since we first arrived. Aeneas kept us here much longer than we should have remained. The rest of the crew and I wondered what is wrong with Aeneas. He knew that our fate did not belong there in Carthage. He kept us in Carthage far too long, and he spent far too much time with Dido. We were all aware that we must leave soon (and should have already left), Aeneas included, but he continued to spend time with the queen.
     Not even that long ago, Dido and Aeneas went hunting through the outskirts of the city. Since they returned, they had been open about their intimate relationship. I don't think Aeneas realized how dangerous his stupidity could have been. Dido had been struck by the gods. Her emotions were beyond her control , and love flew dangerously and wildly out of her. Before our arrival, she had turned down suitors' requests previously. This was not a change in heart by the queen, no. This was love straight from the divine.
    Finally, Aeneas seemed to snap back into his right mind. He told the men to set up to sail out. It was far form a favorable time to sail, but no one was arguing to get Aeneas away from Dido. Except she became the main problem with our escape. Aeneas had to let her know of his departure, even though he had already stealthily set us up for departure. Anyways, Dido flew into a rage, or so Aeneas said it went. We were waiting until the next day to depart, but Aeneas came through, half panicking, waking us all up and telling us to suit up and sail off immediately. Once again, no one argued. We were all ready to get off that continent.
     I can't help but pity Dido. She was struck by Cupid's arrow, and from then her fate was at the hands of the gods, fate, and Aeneas. Her actions were dominated by her unnatural, out-of-control love for Aeneas. Aeneas didn't help the situation at all. He spent more time with Dido than anyone else I had seen him with since the fall of Troy, and Aeneas led her on with his understanding of the relationship. Any idiot could have seen they were on two different pages. I just hope that we can put this behind us and make it to Italy.

Book 3: Achates

Well, Aeneas finally wrapped up the story of the Trojan War, but then he moved on to the telling of our travels. Aeneas said that Apollo advised us to head to the land of our ancestors. Anchises immediately "recognized" that these message was directing us to the island of Crete. That was a mistake. Famine and, most of all, disease, everywhere. Then Aeneas relayed that the gods had intended for us to sail to Italy. In spite of all of the death and tragedy, I couldn't help but realize that a more accurate history lesson could have saved us from all of that death. I don't blame Anchises or Aeneas; I would have recommended the same destination. Likewise, Aeneas was only paying his due respect to his father. Our next settling point was that dreaded island of the harpies. I still fear their ominous curse of a future famine. We have already suffered a plague that I wouldn't wish on anyone else, except for maybe the Greeks... Speaking of which, we landed on a former territory of Pyrrhus, the very spawn of Achilles. Except, it was delightfully not under Achaean power anymore but of Trojan, by Helenus and Andromache. They were taken as war prizes by Pyrrhus. However, when Pyrrhus was killed for stealing the spouse of another man (the VERY reason that the Achaeans came to Troy, between Paris and Helen, which I find to be beyond hilarious as Pyrrhus thus justly deserved his demise), Helenus and Andromache took over the island! How nice it was to see more territory being re-established with Trojan blood. And I thank Zeus we were delivered to Andromache, as she advised us on how to avoid the dreaded Scylla and Charybdis. Finally, through the divine help of the gods once again.We arrived at Carthage. And so Aeneas finished his telling of our travels.

Book 2

Aeneas retold the story of the Trojan War, and it struck a chord with all of us. I hadn't forgotten about the war, but hearing it retold, especially in such detail, was too much. The sights, smells, sensations, all came back to me. The horse. The cheating, disgusting, vile strategy that it was, it worked. Looking back on it, I can't see how Priam thought trusting it was a good idea. I'll admit, I was swept by Priam's trusting nature, and I sided with him. I cursed Lacoon with the rest of them as he swore against the horse and the Greeks. Our faith led to our demise; Priam's trust caused Troy's end. Then Sinon came and plead his story to us. Oh how strange it seems looking back on it, but once again, Priam and the rest of us fell for his story. We allowed him into our city after hearing his "fate" and exile from the Greeks. Once again, our trust led to our deaths, the city's death. When the serpents took Lacoon and his sons, we were sure that we had been correct. We were sure that our faith had been well-placed. Oh how wrong we were. Then, that night, the end of Troy began. Fire all over our city, my city. I went straight to Priam's house. A man deserves not to die because of his good-will and faith in fellow men, even those most hostile to him. But the gods did not think as such. The city fell, and when it fell, it fell like no other. Sons died before their fathers. Heroes died in their own city. All on account of the deceit of the Greeks. Trust and faith seemed right, but they were not. Prudence, wisdom, intelligence, wit all rule over faith. They betray the trust, and then drive their collective swords through it. I followed Aeneas into the mountains with tears in my eyes. And here I am being forced to relive it all.

Prompt 1: Book 1 From POV of Achates

Both Aeneas and our ship have once again escaped death. At the hands of the sea, many of our fellow Trojans were lost. The winds flew ferociously and waves towered over us, hitting far too close for comfort. By some mixture of skill and fate we managed to hit land. It's interesting that through all of this tragedy, Aeneas has managed to survive, while men around him drop like flies. That seriously has all of the luck. I swear, someone out there is looking out for him in the best way. There's a point where someone stops being skilled, and they are just the luckiest person you have ever seen. Aeneas better do something special to have survived all of this. No sooner does he survive the worst storm I've ever seen, when we land in some forest, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen walks right up to him. Walking into the town was kind of strange; no one seemed to even notice that we existed, which was kind of pleasant considering we should have stuck out like sore thumbs among all of those people. When we got to the gate, there was this huge mural of the Trojan War on it. It was so weird. I've never felt that kind of nostalgia. I just pray that I make it home safely. Dying out here after having survived that entire ordeal would be kind of embarrassing. Anyways, just when I thought Aeneas couldn't get luckier, the queen was giving him the most obvious look ever. She was flirting with him so badly. Next thing you know he's back to complaining about the whole war again....