"Let us resume the conversation we left unfinished last time. We traced the last of our most important ancestors back to the age of heroes, when the presence of the gods was strongest in the human world."
Uriel walked briskly down a long corridor decorated with ancient paintings and pots filled with multicoloured flowers.
"The great hero Bellerophon, son of Poseidon and Eurynome, slayer of the Chimera and tamer of Pegasus, originally had a brother whom he killed by accident. His father, upon learning of what had happened, exiled him to the city of Tiryns to purify himself."
"There he met Queen Stenebea and King Preto, who took him in and purified him. Living with the royal family, Bellerophon unwittingly aroused the Queen's desire."
Uriel finally stopped his hurried walk, coming to a halt right in front of one of the most central walls of the mansion.
A round coat of arms the size of a person occupied most of the wall, silver with intricate patterns and a delicate and complex relief of a deer next to an owl, behind both a spear and a sword.
The Stone family crest, although the family name changed over the centuries, the only thing that was always present was this crest.
"Estenebea tried several times to seduce Bellerophon, but after being rejected, she sought revenge by accusing the young hero of attempting to rape her. The enraged King Preto sent Bellerophon to the city of Lycia to deliver a letter on his behalf to King Yobates."
Uriel placed each of his fingers inside the five circles at the bottom of the shield.
Five sharp needles protruded from the holes, piercing small wounds in the tips of Uriel's fingers.
William raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had never been in this part of the house before and had only seen the shield from a distance. Red blood flowed through the tiny channels, staining the stellar silver red.
"The Stone family vault requires proof of who you are and who wishes to enter."
"Blood?"
"Lineage."
Multiple mechanical sounds echoed behind the thick wall in a place where William's gaze could not reach. Black steel bars as thick as an adult's arm slid back and forth.
Latches, locks, and complicated mechanisms filled with thousands of glowing runes unlocked in sequence.
The shield split vertically in half and moved aside, as did the wall, revealing a staircase that descended deep into the earth.
As soon as Uriel stepped forward, the bright lights built into the wall illuminated the entire place, a large room with marble floors, white walls, and a vaulted ceiling.
"Another accusation of unrequited love. Our family certainly had problems because we were attractive people."
Like Hippolytus, Bellerophon had a false accusation against him, and in both cases it was because of a queen.
"Don't stray from the subject. King Yobates, who was Estenebea's father, received the letter in which Preto ordered him to end Bellerophon's life without violating the sacred laws of hospitality, which dictate that a host becomes the protector of his guest while he is in his house."
Uriel walked to the right wall. The room was hexagonal in shape and filled with various weapons, armour, accessories, jewellery, brooches and other objects.
Each one was of the highest quality and inhuman craftsmanship. The tapestries were painted with gold thread and vibrant colours, depicting scenes of blond-haired men killing beasts, hunting, fighting giants, or helping people.
"That is why Preto and Yobates could not harm Bellerophon directly without offending Zeus, protector of the Laws known as Xenia."
"All these weapons are from..."
William began to look around in amazement at all the exquisite objects.
"Over the centuries, we have located and recovered the gifts of the gods to the ancestors of the Stoneborn."
"In that display case, we have the ceremonial sabre of Sebastian Stone, who in 1767 killed the Beast of Gévaudan at the request of King Louis XV. The beast terrorised France for three years, hunting children, women, the elderly and livestock, and is estimated to have killed 113 people."
Uriel walked until he was in front of a marble statue of a man sitting on the back of a winged horse, holding a spear and a shield.
"Let us continue with Bellerophon. The method Yobates devised to circumvent Zeus's rules was to assign a task to Bellerophon, one of his two greatest deeds: to slay the Chimera."
"Son of Equidna, Mother of monsters, and the god Typhon, Bellerophon had no way of winning. If it weren't for the help of the soothsayer Polyides and the goddess Athena, he would have died in combat. The soothsayer advised him to tame Pegasus, and the goddess gave him her weapons, two to be precise: the Golden Bridle with which he tamed Pegasus and his shield."
"With the characteristic mark of Athena, goddess of wisdom, science, justice, craftsmanship, and war strategy, the owl and the olive tree."
William held up the adamantite coin bearing the sacred symbols of Athena.
"Bellerophon defeated the Chimera, resisting its fiery breath with his shield, shooting arrows from atop Pegasus high in the sky and piercing its throat with his spear. The lead tip melted in its throat and burned its internal organs."
"How would something like this end up in the hands of a mere cave troll?"
"From what you told me, Damrock was a worthy opponent and Grurk was his son. Bellerophon made a mistake when he tried to challenge the gods by riding his Pegasus into the sky in an attempt to meet them. They did not like that."
Uriel walked over and delicately removed a small silver plate from a horizontal display case, placing it on the floor at William's feet.
"A gadfly sent by Zeus stung the horse's back, and Bellerophon fell into the void."
"Perhaps at some point, Damrock found Bellerophon wounded or found his corpse."
William expressed his theory: the coin around Grurk's neck was accompanied by dozens of other gold and silver coins. Perhaps the troll liked shiny things.
"Now, that is indeed the shield of Bellerophon, gifted by Athena. It will react to your blood, and if the goddess allows it, you will be able to use it."
"These weapons also have pride and will not let just anyone use them without deserving it. That is why they are here, and you cannot simply take them at will."
Uriel removed his gloves, and from the moisture in the air, a delicate and majestic sword condensed in his hands.
*Clink!!*
The blade made of mithril made a pleasant metallic sound as it left its sheath, the sword of Poseidon.
"Unlike Artemis' Spear and Poseidon's sword, which are passed down to the next generation, the rest of the items are more capricious."
Uriel dropped blood from the palm of his hand onto the silver plate after touching the blade of his sword.
"Your turn, the blood of the son and the father."
William did the same, summoning Titan and dropping his blood onto the plate, but not before dropping the Adamantite coin onto it.
The originally darkened coin absorbed the blood and regained its intense shine, resembling the light of the moon and stars.
The coin levitated in the air and then sped towards William, who raised his arm to receive the impact.
The coin stuck to William's wrist, and with a quick movement, it expanded into a round shield, a Greek Aspis that covered William from his neck to his knees.
"I wandered the world to collect three of these treasures, and only two accepted me, And you find one after a night in our back garden. I don't know if the gods love you or if you're just very lucky."
There was a hint of envy in Uriel's tone of voice. This was the shield of a great hero recognised by many people.
"Thank you..."
"You're welcome, my champion..."
William whispered softly, and a sweet female voice that seemed otherworldly replied. The voice was so low that if it weren't for William's keen senses, he wouldn't have been able to hear it.
"Now show me what else you can do."
Uriel drew his sword completely, the blade decorated with Poseidon's trident, a spear with multiple points.
Uriel made several cuts, causing sparks to fly everywhere as they collided with the shield.
William used his new shield to block each and every cut, but his father was fast, and his perfect fencing put him under increasing pressure.
The second characteristic of the shield, apart from its unmatched hardness and lightness, was that it could freely change shape and size.
One second it was a triangular-shaped Heater shield, ideal for use with a sword, and the next it was a rectangular-shaped Greek Scutum shield to protect the entire body.
"This one is nice."
William's favourite shape so far was the small rectangular shield in a horizontal position, which covered his entire left arm and, thanks to its shape, deflected his father's sword without any problems, nor did it obstruct his vision.
"A Hungarian shield..."
Uriel stopped his sword, and William's forehead, which was limited to defending himself, was covered in beads of sweat.