Hunger.

It’s a great thing. It can drive people to do things they never would under better influence. It was dangerous, if anything.

And unfortunately, for a certain set of mortals, their hunger won.

One of Athena’s old students, Odysseus, had been out at sea for years. After the two parted ways, he wasn’t mentioned much.

He had a run in with Aeolus and Poseidon, as well as being helped by Hermes against Circe. Nothing incredibly important or relevant to you. He was simply another mortal who had been damned by the divine. That was how you saw him.

He became relevant, however, on the fateful day that he just so happened to dock onto Helios’ island.

And killed one of his cows.

How did you know this? Well, it helped given you had run into Helios only to find him absolutely livid.

He was on his way to Zeus with the intention of demanding him to punish Odysseus and his crew. But you found that unfair.

Yes, they deserve a punishment for their wrongdoing, but punishing the entire crew over one persons’ mistake felt wrong. It wasn’t even Odysseus, after all. It was his second in command, Eurylochus. You felt only he should be punished. Of course, you didn’t tell Helios that to his face. You just said you’d handle it instead, and he surprisingly let you.

And so, here you were, descending from the Heavens like all Gods do when necessary, your feet eventually finding the cracked wood of Odysseus’ ship.

The mortals around you looked a range of things. Tired, scared, angry. All very normal reactions to seeing a God. You yourself weren’t angry per se, just irritated that these mortals were dumb enough to kill a Gods’ cow.

The boat was dead silent, waiting for you to say something. For you to decide their fate.