The Windswept Shores of Troy
The windswept shores of Troy stretch along a bright Aegean sea, where wooden ships with painted eyes lie beached on the long sand and a great city of honey-coloured walls stands proud on the hill above. For a long while two camps, the weary seafarers on the beach and the proud city behind its gates, have been caught in a tired old quarrel that neither truly wants. Across the wine-dark sea lies the long road home, full of wonders: a loyal old hound, a keeper of the winds, and lonely sea-singers on the rocks. Here a hero is not the strongest or the loudest, but the one who is brave, loyal, and full of ideas. The grandest deeds are done not with spears but with a good idea and a kind heart, and the oldest quarrels often end with a single brave act of friendship.
Stories in this world
Argos and the Lost Keepsake
Adult-ledThe ships are nearly ready to sail home across the sea. There is happy bustle all along the Ship Camp, with sails being mended and figs being packed. But...
The Great Wooden Horse
For a long, long time the two camps on the windswept shores of Troy have been cross with each other. The seafarers live in tents and wooden ships along the...
The Long Way Home
The long quarrel is over, and it ended not with spears but with friendship. The great gates of Troy stand open, and now it is time to sail home across the...
Example heroes
Thalia
6 to 8
Strengths
Carries
Pavlos
6 to 8
Strengths
Carries
Cora
9 to 12
Strengths
Carries
Linos
9 to 12
Strengths
Carries
Who's who and what's what
Strengths
- Imagination
- Imagining ideas and trying them. On these shores, a good idea ends a quarrel that a thousand spears never could.
- Courage
- A steady heart on a wide and stormy sea. Courage is not being unafraid; it is staying kind and trying anyway, even when you are afraid.
- Loyalty
- Standing by your friends and leaving no one behind. The greatest heroes of the shores are the ones who keep faith, help, and find their way home together.
- Cleverness
- A quick, kind wit that finds the clever way through. On the shores of Troy, a wooden horse and a well-timed word do what ten years of fighting could not.
- Patience
- Waiting kindly and trying again, across a long sea and a longer war. On the windswept shores, patience brings a wanderer all the way home.
Characters
- Odysseus the Bright
- The captain of the seafarers, famous for his ideas, who prizes a good idea over a strong arm and sends the heroes out with a bright plan and a kind word.
- Thetis the Sea-Mother
- A gentle sea goddess who calms the waves and smiles on heroes that win by thinking and caring rather than by force.
- Aeolus, Keeper of the Winds
- The gentle keeper of the winds on his floating isle, who lends a fair wind to travellers who ask with good ideas and kindly, and never out of greed.
Creatures
- Argos the Faithful Hound
- A loyal old dog who never forgets a friend or a scent, and who helps the heroes track down what is lost along the shore. Loyalty itself, with a wagging tail.
- The Singing Sirens
- Sea-singers on a rocky isle whose song is beautiful but sad and lonely. They are not wicked, only longing for company, and once cheered and befriended they sing travellers safely on their way.
Places
- The Ship Camp
- The seafarers' camp of tents and beached wooden ships along the long windswept beach, the heroes' home, with cook-fires and friendly faces and the sea always near.
- The Great Walls of Troy
- The high, honey-coloured walls of the proud city on the hill, with great gates that have stayed shut through the long quarrel, and watchful but weary folk behind them.
- The Wine-Dark Sea
- The wide, deep sea that lies between the shores of Troy and home, beautiful and changeable, the great road of the long voyage back.
- The Isle of Winds
- A floating island ringed with bronze cliffs where the keeper of the winds lives, and where a fair wind can be asked for with a good idea and a courteous word.
- The Weaving Hall
- Home at last, across the sea: a warm hall where a great loom stands, a homecoming feast is laid, and old friends and a faithful hound are waiting.
Items
- The Great Wooden Horse
- A huge wooden horse on wheels that the heroes build. Filled not with soldiers but with gifts, music, and a hand of friendship, it can surprise a proud city into peace.
- Penelope's Thread
- A ball of strong weaving thread. Tie one end where you start and you can always find your way back, and it is handy for measuring and lashing besides.
- The Basket of Honey and Figs
- A basket of sweet honey and ripe figs. Shared with a wary stranger or a lonely singer, it can turn a frown into a friend.
- The Conch Horn
- A great spiral seashell that sounds a warm, calling note. Its sound carries a friendly message across the water and can soothe a troubled or lonely heart.