It is said, in a time when Greece was the strongest empire in the world, and magic still played a bit in the country and in the forests, there lived a beast by the name of the Skia Fotias. With fire the heat of a Salamander, the potency of a Nuckelavee, and the strength of a Chimaera, the Skia Fotias was the terror of the hillside it inhabited. A revenant of pure fire, the beast consisted of only burned bones and massive, crackling fire that spread like liquid onto any flammable surface. The people of the nearby village, who lived only off of their wheat farming, ran when the beast entered their town, not being able to stop it from setting fire to their crops. Every night, the Skia Fotias would rampage the town and destroy the only thing its people had to sell to merchants for food and clothing. This went on for many years, every night filled with the screams of fleeing townsfolk from the burning demon. The people of the town, afraid of the Skia Fotias but desperate to rid themselves of it, called upon the hero of the hillside; Exypeus, a brave and cunning warrior. Exypeus was courageous, but came riding into the town on horseback with only one, small bag. He stopped in the town square, the townsfolk gathering around to see the famous hero perform his task.
“Citizens! I, Exypeus, have come to rid you of your monster! I have dealt with similar creatures before, and I will deal with this one! The Skia Fotias’ power comes from its fire. If I put the fire out, it will be nothing!”
He drew from his bag a leather sack, stitched tightly with twine around the edges.
“This sack holds water! If I throw it upon the beast, it will douse the flames!”
And so Exypeus waited until nightfall. The Skia Fotias, wild and raging, approached Exypeus. Flames charred the crops on either side of it, the grass smoldering beneath its feet. Exypeus drew no sword, nor no spear. He, instead, pulled his canteen from his side where it hung from a rope around his shoulder. He uncorked the top, and turned the whole container upon the Skia Fotias. But as soon as he did, steam rushed from it, engulfing half the town in a haze. The Skia Fotias’s intense heat had evaporated the water! Exypeus had failed, but the next day, once the creature had left, he returned to the town square.
“Citizens! Last night, I failed, and quite miserably. But today, I will use a new tool.” Exypeus drew from his sack a new item; A hook on a long rope.
“I will climb to the highest peak of that hill, where the winds are strong. Surely that will blow the fire out.”
And so Exypeus waited for nightfall. He had thrown his hook to the top of the peak, and the cord hung down the side, ready to be climbed. The Skia Fotias’s blazing fire drew into town, it’s radiant heat engulfing Exypeus. Exypeus drew no dagger, nor no axe. He instead ran off for the rope, which he hastily climbed. The Skia Fotias followed swiftly, climbing the mountain behind him. When he reached the top, the Skia Fotias stood there, powerful and menacing. Exypeus ducked as an intense gust of wind nearly knocked him off the cliff. The fire of the Skia Fotias, however, only burned stronger in the abundant oxygen. Again, Exypeus had failed, but the next day, once the creature had left once more, he returned to the town square.
“Citizens!” Exypeus was battered and burned from the Skia Fotias. And he had fallen a ways down the mountain. “I have failed again, but this time, I have a new idea.” From his satchel he drew his last item, which made the crowd gasp.
“This tool was given to me by a very wise old friend.” It was tall and had a sharp top, and was intricately ornamented with whorls and gemstones.
Right away Exypeus got to work, as the townsfolk watched questioningly. At night, Exypeus waited for the Skia Fotias to return. It tore into the town in a surrounding cloak of indescribable sun-heat. Exypeus stood on one side of a field, the Skia Fotias on the other side. When it saw him, it charged, but Exypeus held his ground, he could almost feel the fire burning his body, but still he stayed put. And then the terrifying Skia Fotias crashed through the moss-covered hole dug by the fancy shovel Exypeus had brought with. He quickly covered it with a wetted cloth net, held together with extra sticks. The Skia Fotias roared and raged inside, but Exypeus held it on tight for hours. In the morning, Exypeus pulled away the cover, to see only the remains of a burned skeleton.
“How did you know?” The townspeople cried.
“On the mountain, the fire only grew when it had plenty of air. So I deprived it of air, and it burned out.”
And so, with the monstrous beast gone, the town cheered away Exydeus as he rode off, and the town became wealthy and prosperous once again.
– To Télos –