140 × 210 SPINE: 4.7 FLAPS: 80
DIONYSIS MAZITSOS
THE LION’S SWORD
The answers to the above questions lie hidden deep in the pages of this book - a book with many twists and turns and an unexpected ending...
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He has published five books: ‘Appetizers’; ‘Theatrical Anecdotes and more . . .’; a collection of poems: ‘Tone poems by a moonstruck man’; a book of theatre plays and short film screenplays: ‘Theatrical shots’ and ‘Conjurors’ Anecdotes’. His fairy tales were also included in the three collective publications: ‘The Ocelot’s Fairy Tales, Volumes 1, 2 and 3.’ 2001- : worked as a temporary employee and then, from 2011, as a permanent employee of the Greek Ministry of Culture. During this period and up to the present, he has never stopped writing or painting.
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sword is the symbol of power in the country called Myrolousia: the lions’ sword. Because of the sword the neighbouring kingdoms remained united and, with the sword, King Nikolaos Chrysodimos led them into a victorious battle against the enemy lying in wait for them. Yet it was the same sword that caused the king’s death in the hands of the assassin named Scorpion. Scorpion went to the Old Willow Forest to be paid for his services. What dangers awaited him in that forest? What adventures would he get embroiled in? Who was the ‘two-headed thief’? Who was the man hiding behind the name of ‘Crimson Dragon’, the unidentified foe of Dimitris Chrysodimos? Is this Scorpion’s story, after all, or is it simply the story of the renowned lions’ sword?
DIONYSIS MAZITSOS
2006: graduated from the College of Private Education in Metamorphosis, Athens. 2012: became a member of the Greek Association of Visual Arts ‘APELLIS’, and has since participated in many joint art exhibitions hosted by the ‘LEFA’ art Gallery, the ‘Floisbos’ hall in the Palaio Faliro Cultural Centre, The French Hellenic Union art gallery, the Athens YMCA hall and the ‘Sofia Laskaridou’ municipal art gallery in Kallithea, Athens.
M ILLUSTRATION Dionysis Karavias
ISBN 978-960-564-510-6
Vatatzi 55 str., 114 73 Athens ΤEL.
: +30210 6431108
E-MAIL:
ekdoseis.ocelotos@gmail.com
www.ocelotos.gr
o celotos
ay 29, 1978: Dionysis Mazitsos, also known by the artistic pseudonym of Dimitris Stadas or el tonto, was born in Athens. 1991: after beginning to write from a very early age, received an award from ‘TA NEA’ newspaper for his participation in the writing team of the children’s newspaper ‘Mary Poppins’. 1994: matriculated from the Experimental Junior High School and was given a prize for his paintings in a school competition. Meanwhile, he also took part in an amateur theatre production of ‘Blood Wedding’ by Federico Garcia Lorca, which inspired him to write his first theatre play, ‘The ghost’. 1996: matriculated from the Technical Lyceum in Philadelphia, Athens. 1998: compulsory National Military Service. 2001: drew a series of cartoon illustrations about the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent war and worked as a cartoonist for the magazine ‘ENNEADA’ later in the same year. 2000-2001 and 2003: attended theatre seminars at the ‘IASMOS’ school of drama. 2003: after rewriting ‘The ghost’ and including some new scenes, received an award with Distinction at the 22nd Panhellenic Literary Competition by the Panhellenic Union of Writers and used the pseudonym ‘Dimitris Stadas’ for the first time.
PUBLISHING
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Tittle The Lions’ Sword Original tittle in greek Το σπαθί των λεόντων Author Dionysis Mazitsos Illustration Dionysis Karavias Translation Susan Theodorakis Layout - Design Myrtilo, Lena Pantopoulou Copyright© 2016 Dionysis Mazitsos First Edition Athens, June 2017 ISBN 978-960-564-510-6
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the author and of Ocelotos Publications.
Vatatzi 55 str., 114 73 Athens ΤEL.
: +30210 6431108
E-MAIL:
ekdoseis.ocelotos@gmail.com
www.ocelotos.gr
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Dionysis Mazitsos
The Lions’ Sword
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Preface
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What a wondrous sword! Truly, the more you see it shining in the sun, the more dazzled you are by its excellence and craftsmanship!!! When you look at the carvings on its hilt you might think it took years to design them and they were created by a divine hand, spending one whole day on each stroke. What a really beautiful sword, what a lovely blade and marvellous hilt! Looking at it like this, I cannot imagine it causing death and being covered and stained with human blood right up to its hilt! Can it be true that my father died by this sword? Can it be true that it betrayed him? Your story, my sword, frightens me. Did Fate perchance deliver you into my hands to revive the legend once more? . . . No! . . . It is not yet time for me to go to a cold grave, where the worms that kept my father company will devour my heart!
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Chapter 1
The sword is stained with blood The sword... My beautiful sword... how were you actually created? Oh yes, I remember they told me you were born of fire, fashioned by the hand of a skilled craftsman, the remarkable Leontas Theogenis, who carved the designs on your hilt with extreme care, as if conducting some kind of ritual, with his hands performing the rites. The sword was commissioned by Nikolaos Chrysodimos, my father, the king and ruler of our country called Myrolousias. It had to be sharp, well-balanced and made of the obscure new metal in Theogenis’ possession. It also had to have the king’s symbol on its hilt and be decorated with designs to be envied not only by all the other kings, but by Hephaestus1 himself! Leontas Theogenis really applied all his expertise to making the sword. Its blade is fashioned from a metal which, according to legend, is made from the remains of some giants’ bodies together with steel. Its hilt is made of ivory and gold with embossed designs on it, such as the serpent which begins at its base and curls round it up to its head. The snake’s mouth is open and, between its teeth, it holds the country’s symbol of a shield with two swords and a red rose between them. The colours hail
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1 Hephaestus was the Ancient Greek God of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes.
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from a secret recipe belonging to the craftsman and make the serpent so life-like that you think it might fall between your feet and slither away... Moreover, the design above the shield and swords, a proud eagle, looks as if it is about to fly away. At the two edges of the blade, where it meets the hilt, there are two lions preparing to roar, showing off their power and giving their name to the lions’ sword... there will surely never be any other designs that could ever compare with them!
The battle…
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Yet there was something else that made the sword exceptional. It was not fashioned for war but, ironically, as a symbol of peace! After many years of war amongst the neighbouring kingdoms, that sword was to seal the peace between them and give authority to my father, the king, who was recognized as their ruler. It was placed in the royal chamber, above the throne, to be seen by all those who approached the king. So we lived in peace for a long time, until a warring nation, which had crossed deserts and seas to reach the shores of our country, desired new lands... they desired our lands! So my father took the sword down from the throne room and, holding it aloft in front of him, like a true emblem, he led our kingdoms into war against them. Our king’s determination and bravery gave courage to the soldiers and, even though the soldiers of our kingdom and the neighbouring kingdoms together were still fewer in number than those of the enemy, we fought a splendid battle, which would forever remain in the country’s history.
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There were countless enemy warriors, filling the entire skyline in front of us. Uttering a battle cry, they charged forwards on their horses, creating a huge cloud of dust. But we did not retreat. My father had ordered the archers to go in front, and, when the strangers were threateningly close, he raised the lions’ sword and waited patiently on his horse. In front of the archers was just one row of foot soldiers, kneeling down, with their spears sticking up from between their shields. The king gave the sign, by lowering his sword, and the archers began shooting at the approaching enemy with one arrow after another. When the enemy was even closer, one of the archers shot a flaming arrow, after another sign from the king, just before the enemy’s horses ran onto the spears of the men in the front row. Then, when the king’s sword had been stained with blood for the first time, the cavalry charged in front of the archers’ positions from the mountains to the left and right, from where they had seen the flaming arrow.
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I, Alexander, was on the one side, leading one of the cavalry companies, while my brother, Dimitrios, was on the other side. The battle continued, and, after the king had made a mock retreat, the enemy found themselves surrounded by our troops. A fierce battle followed because, although they were surrounded, our enemies did not surrender their weapons. Thousands were slain, and among the thousands of those killed was my brother... However, despite our losses, we won, and only a small number of the enemy managed to flee towards the sea. Yet our fleet had already surrounded and decimated the enemy ships. So the warriors that managed to reach the land from the defeated ships were forced to join their fellow warriors who were retreating towards them and, all together, they tried to escape into the surrounding mountains. Finally,
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only a small minority succeeded in getting away. We had won a glorious victory...
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When I met my father, he greeted me by saying he had known the lions’ sword would never let him down. Then I told him the news of my brother’s death and his face clouded over. “There are no victors in war,” he said. “After a battle, we are all losers.” And he gave the order for the corpses to be collected.
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140 × 210 SPINE: 4.7 FLAPS: 80
DIONYSIS MAZITSOS
THE LION’S SWORD
The answers to the above questions lie hidden deep in the pages of this book - a book with many twists and turns and an unexpected ending...
•
He has published five books: ‘Appetizers’; ‘Theatrical Anecdotes and more . . .’; a collection of poems: ‘Tone poems by a moonstruck man’; a book of theatre plays and short film screenplays: ‘Theatrical shots’ and ‘Conjurors’ Anecdotes’. His fairy tales were also included in the three collective publications: ‘The Ocelot’s Fairy Tales, Volumes 1, 2 and 3.’ 2001- : worked as a temporary employee and then, from 2011, as a permanent employee of the Greek Ministry of Culture. During this period and up to the present, he has never stopped writing or painting.
A
sword is the symbol of power in the country called Myrolousia: the lions’ sword. Because of the sword the neighbouring kingdoms remained united and, with the sword, King Nikolaos Chrysodimos led them into a victorious battle against the enemy lying in wait for them. Yet it was the same sword that caused the king’s death in the hands of the assassin named Scorpion. Scorpion went to the Old Willow Forest to be paid for his services. What dangers awaited him in that forest? What adventures would he get embroiled in? Who was the ‘two-headed thief’? Who was the man hiding behind the name of ‘Crimson Dragon’, the unidentified foe of Dimitris Chrysodimos? Is this Scorpion’s story, after all, or is it simply the story of the renowned lions’ sword?
DIONYSIS MAZITSOS
2006: graduated from the College of Private Education in Metamorphosis, Athens. 2012: became a member of the Greek Association of Visual Arts ‘APELLIS’, and has since participated in many joint art exhibitions hosted by the ‘LEFA’ art Gallery, the ‘Floisbos’ hall in the Palaio Faliro Cultural Centre, The French Hellenic Union art gallery, the Athens YMCA hall and the ‘Sofia Laskaridou’ municipal art gallery in Kallithea, Athens.
M ILLUSTRATION Dionysis Karavias
ISBN 978-960-564-510-6
Vatatzi 55 str., 114 73 Athens ΤEL.
: +30210 6431108
E-MAIL:
ekdoseis.ocelotos@gmail.com
www.ocelotos.gr
o celotos
ay 29, 1978: Dionysis Mazitsos, also known by the artistic pseudonym of Dimitris Stadas or el tonto, was born in Athens. 1991: after beginning to write from a very early age, received an award from ‘TA NEA’ newspaper for his participation in the writing team of the children’s newspaper ‘Mary Poppins’. 1994: matriculated from the Experimental Junior High School and was given a prize for his paintings in a school competition. Meanwhile, he also took part in an amateur theatre production of ‘Blood Wedding’ by Federico Garcia Lorca, which inspired him to write his first theatre play, ‘The ghost’. 1996: matriculated from the Technical Lyceum in Philadelphia, Athens. 1998: compulsory National Military Service. 2001: drew a series of cartoon illustrations about the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent war and worked as a cartoonist for the magazine ‘ENNEADA’ later in the same year. 2000-2001 and 2003: attended theatre seminars at the ‘IASMOS’ school of drama. 2003: after rewriting ‘The ghost’ and including some new scenes, received an award with Distinction at the 22nd Panhellenic Literary Competition by the Panhellenic Union of Writers and used the pseudonym ‘Dimitris Stadas’ for the first time.
PUBLISHING
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5/19/2017 2:29:29 PM