The Xena Scrolls
Scroll#15:  Athens City Academy
of the Performing Bards
By:  Gabrielle Bard of Potedia

February, 48 B.C.

There were once two orphans who spent their days together searching the world for their true families.  They searched for a lifetime together feeling unsuccessful for it seemed that they would never find the people they had seeked.  Until one day the first man had finally reached the end of his journey.  Yet though he was at the end of his journey he found himself at the beginning.  The family he had sought for all of those years had actually traveled the world with him.  For the only family he had ever known or ever needed was standing right beside him all the while.
One day I found myself in a village tavern telling a tale of Xena the mighty warrior princess.  Rudely I was interrupted by an old peasant man who felt the need to correct me in my tale.  Catering to his needs I told the story of The Reckoning when Xena had battled a fierce hooded warrior.  My story felt alive as I told it to my audience.  Yet telling the story for me was like no other experience in life.  Telling the story was a journey in itself despite the experience which had inspired it.  Upon ending the story I received loud applause and many complements for all had been delightfully entertained.  Some of those seated in the tavern even left me a few dinars for my passionate performance.  It seemed to me that I was truly getting a feel for my craft.
Then something very exciting happened.  A young bard approached me and complemented my story.  He told me that I was really good and asked if I were on my way to the competition.  I had not been aware of a competition, but if I had been know that I would have been the first bard there.  The young man told me more about this competition that was to take place at the Athens City Academy for Performing Bards.  I was excited to be invited by a fellow bard and had decided that maybe I would take him up on his offer.  But I had not decided for certain until his father stepped into our conversation.  He seemed uncomfortable that I was talking to his son.  This father appeared secretive and was certain that the life of a bard was unsuitable for a young lady.  He even went as far as to insult me by saying that my story may have been cute at best.  Finally I was completely shot down when my fellow bard’s father proclaimed that the only stories that I could tell were those of the common housewife.  He finished his statement by saying that those kinds of stories were just not popular for entertainment.
And with that he and my new friend had left me in thought.  I had to take in all that had been said and all that I had just experienced.  The more I thought about it all the more I wanted to go.  I realized that in order to be taken seriously by anyone I needed real training.  And so I had decided that going to Athens was my next journey.  Of course Xena had entered the tavern with great excitement for she had heard of a great new adventure for us.  She said that she had just talked to someone who had said that there was a mad Cyclops on the loose steeling farm animals from the people of Caris.  Xena was pumped and clearly ready for action as she was certain that I too would jump at this new opportunity.  Yet I had already determined where my next adventure would be.  I interrupted Xena still thinking of that man who had insulted me as I asked her how far it was to Athens.  My friend seemed a bit shocked that I did not respond with the same enthusiasm for this mission she had seeked out for us.
So we sat down to a meal and I explained to her why I felt that I needed to go to Athens.  It had always been my dream to go there and study the art of the bard at the academy and to compete.  Xena was happy to see that I was going to follow my dream yet she was seemingly disappointed for it would require me to be away for at least four years.  I tried to comfort her by explaining that she would hardly notice that we would be separated.  But Xena insisted that even if she were surrounded by an army she would still notice my absence from her life.  And then the warrior princess asked if she could at least travel the distance to Athens with me.  I had decided that this journey was one that I would take without her.  She understood and told me that I had a good chance of winning for she said that I did tell great stories.  It was nice to hear that from my best friend.  Yet she let me know that despite my leaving she would miss the friend who was like a sister.  This touched my heart to know that Xena truly did have compassion for me despite all of the times that she had tried to leave me behind, and despite all of my flaws and mistakes.  Then just when I was feeling closer to the warrior princess she left the tavern to defeat the Cyclops of Caris.
So I made my own journey without the warrior princess.  When I arrived in Athens at the academy I felt great excitement as I was welcomed by bards from across the lands.  There were so many good story tellers there.  Some were better, and some needed a little help, but we all had something in common.  Our passion and our dreams of being one of the top four bards to be chosen.  Soon after my arrival I again ran into my friend from the tavern.  He introduced me to some of the other bards.  There was Twichinum the shy bard, Euripides the bard of tangled words, Stolanis the olympic bard, and my friend.  He had not yet told me his name and when I asked what it was he seemed uncomfortable.  My friend told me that he didn’t really like his true name and that he was going to change it.
First he thought of the name Draco for it sounded heroic to him.  But I knew of Draco and the last time I had met him he was not doing anything heroic.  And so I told to my new friend and many others the story of how Draco had come into my life and brought me together with my best friend who chose to turn away from the darkness.  I spoke of how Xena had defeated Draco in a battle upon a scaffold sending him away never to return to Amphipolis again.
As my story ended a thunderous applause snapped me back into the present startling me for a moment.  I was pleased that so many were interested in my stories and accepted their complements graciously.  Then I went back to the problem of finding a heroic name to call my new friend.  I suggested to him that maybe the name Orion would better suit him for Orion was known as a true heroic warrior.  And so my friend called himself Orion.  And though Orion’s problem was solved I still had yet to figure out a way to get myself into the competition.  Of course my new friends were so impressed with my stories that they were happy to help me create the official papers needed to register.
And so we all waited in the long line together sharing the many muses of the bards.  Yet there was still one problem.  My papers were not able to be found by the woman checking all of the bards in.  She was quite rude about being unable to find my paperwork, but I solved that problem.  There was just a bit of a spill as a mysterious force whisked the papers onto the ground.  That was my chance to slip in my registration to be found by the woman in charge.  Of course she did find my papers in the end though she was indeed suspicious after discovering that they had forgotten to list my room and board.  I was then sent to reside in the servant’s quarters in the hall of Zeus.
Once I was in there were many wonderful workshops to explore.  I joined Orion to attend the first of several.  When we entered I found myself feeling strange.  It was as if Xena were with me suspecting the worst.  There was that feeling of anticipation, but then my mind was interrupted when Orion asked me what worried me.  I realized that he was right for what evil could be lurking within a place sacred for the arts.  And so the workshop began as the instructor explained the goal of the bard.  He said it was in creating and event, but as he spoke something quite unexpected occurred.  The suspicious man who had bumped me upon entering jumped up from his place in the back of the auditorium and sprung forward.  He dashed toward the unsuspecting instructor and pulled out a dagger.  Then he thrust it into the chest of the instructor escaping through the window never to be seen again.
Orion and I rushed to aid the victim as did many of the other bards in the crowd.  But the excitement soon ended when the instructor rose from the floor unharmed.  It had all been staged.  The event of terror had not been real.  It was almost an injustice and so as he went onto explain his theory of the goal of a bard I interrupted.  I could not resist arguing that faking death was not a story, but that the event of  death itself held much more promise.  And so I sung the story of Sisyphus and of how he had captured Celesta.  Captivating my audience I ended my story with a moral for death should not be feared yet accepted.  My fellow bards seemed pleased at my lesson and my moral as they congratulated me with more admiration and applause.  This truly was an experience like no other.
My fellow bards joined me in the servants quarters every night to listen to my stories though they had all been registered in room 12.  On this night Xena’s darkness was told by all who had heard.  First Euripides spoke of how he had heard of the seduction that Xena used to manipulate the unsuspecting hearts of innocent warriors.  And then he continued on by reminding all who listened that Xena had been responsible for breaking up a wonderful friendship of Hercules and Iolas.  Then he finished and Stolanous stepped up to tell his story of Xena.  Of course he was completely into action though all that he had told of Xena’s slashing, clashing, and thrusting was indeed true for I had seen it all myself.
Euripides seemed interested in the truths of a story yet he was unaware of all that was true of the warrior princess.  And so despite her dark past that all had heard of few knew of the glimmer of light that had changed her.  They didn’t know about the baby that she had saved from being slaughtered by her army.  The common bard didn’t know of how Xena’s own army of men put her through a gauntlet of pain for sparing the life of an innocent child.  Only someone who knew her personally could know of the truth about Xena.  And so I ended my own story of truth with a nice ending.  As all of my stories are told I prefer to wrap them up nicely to put all who listen at ease in the end.
Of course my story had attracted even more of an audience as I had told it for I was passionate about my friend.  My love for Xena was strong and it bled through into my story.  Many of my fellow bards wanted to hear more about the beautiful warrior princess and of my story of truth, but I was starting to find that I missed my friend dearly.  It had been days since I had last seen her and I worried.  I worried if she was still doing good despite my absence for she had said that she would notice I was gone.  And despite her always telling me that she didn’t need my help I always knew that she did.  We had lived many adventures together and I always had my small role in helping no matter how insignificant it seemed.  Mainly it was Xena’s ailing heart that needed me and my own heart was beginning to feel its own pang of separation.
Upon awakening the next morning I was excited for it was almost time for the first competition to take place.  I decided to practice with Orion before having to do my performance.  He was delighted to be my partner and so he began his story first.  As I tried to feel it and to see it I could not although I knew he was trying very hard.  When Orion ended I tried to help him with his block for I could feel that he was much better.  He was frustrated to know that his story was not successful.  When I asked him why he watched me so closely as he told his story he said that it was his way of judging my reaction.  He wanted to be able to adjust and change the story in order to please his audience.  His father had taught him to tell stories that way.  Orion could not understand why it was so difficult for him to express his passions despite his lifetime of storytelling from the age of five.
It was clear to me that he had forgotten how to tell stories because he was concentrating too much on winning and pleasing his father.  Of course with a father like Philoneous I could understand the pressure Orion was under.  The poor bard was torn between his passion and need to tell a real story, and the hope of pleasing his father with success.  Though Orion had his problems so too did I for my fraud had finally been discovered by those who ran the competition.  I was brought into the council and told that there were no records of my registration.  And then Philoneous appeared telling of how it was Orion who had told me of the competition.  He was threatened by my talent and did not want me to win over his son.  Of course for me winning was not the object.  For me it was the chance to tell my stories before my peers that drove me.  I was crushed of course for I was immediately kicked out of the competition and forbidden to compete for a chance at my education, but I could not argue.  The evidence of my fraud was stacked against me.  I was asked to leave and so I went back to my room in the servants quarters to pack and return to my friend.
News of my expulsion traveled quickly for my fellow bard friends came to my aid.  They were disappointed that I was leaving.  I tried to comfort them for it wasn’t like I didn’t have a place to go for Xena needed me.  But they would not accept my good-bye though I tried to comfort them with my story of Iolas.  It was amazing how often I seemed to say good-bye, but Trichinum and the others asked me to stay through the competition before my departure.  It felt good to have friends who cared and admired me.  So I decided to accept their invitation to stay.
The next day I entered into the hall where all were to perform.  The bard Guestacious was the guest of honor and a judge residing over the competition.  He looked mighty in his robes as he sat awaiting the young talent to perform.  The first to be called up was Twichanum.  As he approached all was silent and then he flatly refused to perform.  At first I was astonished for her was indeed a very talented bard, but then the plot was revealed.  When it was announced that his refusal to perform would warrant his disqualification the rest of the bards in the audience stood declaring their displeasure with my dismissal from the competition.  As the panel argued that I had entered into the competition illegally I tried to save my friends from making a mistake.  They were sacrificing their own dreams on my behalf and I could not allow them to do that.
But then the one who twisted his words so beautifully spoke with eloquence when he declared that no bard would perform against his belief in the freedom of art itself.  Guestacious decided that he would allow me to perform since all of the young talent had insisted upon it.  He wanted to see what all of my peers were sacrificing themselves for.  The head of the competition invited me to perform though he was disgusted that I was even being allowed to do so.  I was not prepared to perform, but it was in this situation that I told my best stories.  The story of baby Gabriel came to mind and of how Xena and I had found him a home and two wonderful parents.  When I finished Guestacious stood before the panel outraged that they were going to allow rules and regulations to take precedence over art itself.  He was displeased and so with that my dream was restored once again.
And so the other bards performed as well and all of them performed beautifully.  Even Orion had done better than he had on the day before.  He had taken some advice and decided to try telling his story the old way rather than the way his father had taught.  When he came down behind the curtain we all congratulated him with support and with love.  But his father was waiting displeased with Orion’s defiance of his wishes.  Philoneous declared that Orion’s performance had been terrible and demanded that he tell his story again.  As Orion began to try once again to please his father it was clear that he had been embarrassed.  His embarrassment made it difficult for him to tell the story and his father scolded him harshly for his mistakes.
It was terrible to watch Orion’s spirit suffer its persecution and the pressure became so great that his father drove Orion away.  I was angry at Philoneous for not seeing the truth of his son’s wonderful gift .  I felt responsible for Orion and so I stood up to his father and expressed my anger at accusing me to be the reason that Orion was failing.  I could not see failure, but I could see suffering.  And later that day as I sat with my peers awaiting Orion’s return the news was delivered.  Orion had finally reached his breaking point.  Philoneous’s words hit me like a slap across the face.  He blamed me for Orion’s decision to quit the competition.  Orion had left for home and given up his passion.  Again I felt responsible.  I could not allow such a talented bard walk away from his dream and so I left Athens to seek him before he made his mistake.
It wasn’t too far outside the city that I found Orion.  He was storming up the path angry at all that had transpired between he and his father.  When I called out to him he did not look back.  Finally I ran to catch up to him and explain why he had to continue on.  He told me that he had taken my advice already.  I had told Orion that if it wasn’t fun to tell the story then it should not be told at all.  Orion said that he no longer felt the joy of the bard and that was what had brought him to his decision to give it all up.  I knew deep down that Orion really did not want to give up his passion, but he was indeed frustrated.  My words of advice continued upon those already said.  I told him that despite his joy being lost it was up to the bard himself to recreate that joy once more.  He had the power to do it if only he could believe.  I told him that there are always challenges in life to be met.  Just as in story telling the challenge and the joy is in the journey of the story itself and not the destination.  Orion’s need to succeed and reach his destination of success was the root of his loss of joy in being the articulate bard.  As I put a comforting hand upon his shoulder his eyes gave a look of understanding and a smile spread across his face once again.  A new torch had been lit within his mind and I could see that he was indeed ready to return.
And so on the last day of the competition me and my fellow bard friends competed against one another.  Yet our competition was about our love for the journey of our stories and about sharing in them with one another.  I myself had come to seek out my own dreams in the beginning, but realized that within my journey to reach for my dream that it had been acceptance that I looked for.  At the academy I had been revered by my peers as a great story-teller.  Their acceptance had given me the courage to realize what wonderful experiences I already had with Xena.  It was my real life experiences and adventures with my best friend that truly inspired me.  In the end Orion, Euripides, and Trichinum had all succeeded in reaching their dreams.  They were three of the four elite selected to study at the academy.  Orion expressed is disappointment that I had not made it in with my peers, but it did not matter to me.  After being away from my best friend for so long I had found myself missing our great adventures together.  My dreams of being a traveling bard were not realized at the academy for it was not meant to be.
Despite my failure I realized that I hadn’t really failed at all for this had just been another great adventure.  I had helped a fellow bard realize his own dream, and helped him repair his relationship with his father.  As I prepared to travel on down the road to seek out Xena once again I asked Orion what his real name was.  He said that the academy had wanted to call him the blind bard because he told his stories with his eyes closed.  Yet his true name was Homer.  I told him that I would need to know it so that when he became well-known I could remember him and his work.  If I ever read his stories I could see him telling them even if he weren’t there in person.  With that I said good-bye yet again.  I left father and son together sharing in their joy and in their success together.
Everyday is a new adventure and a new challenge.  We must all look forward to the journey and pay less attention to the destination for it is within the journey that we learn.  In reaching the destination it only means that our lesson is over and it is time to move forward.  And so my journey with Xena shall continue on.  There are so many adventures to be shared and so many to be told.  My passion will truly be realized despite what the judges say.