Compare And Contrast Nicolaos And The Phoenix

Nicolaos and the Phoenix

Tell me, Muse, of the legendary demigod who slew the phoenix in honor of the god of gods, Zeus, in order to turn the war between his people of Elis and the evil army of orcs in his favor.

It all started with the orc king, Borkathemus, declaring war on Elis when he greedily decided that the land he had already was not enough. War was upon them. Sons were taken from their homes and sent to their deaths on the battlefields. The aging, noble leader of the Elisians, Nicolaos, was helpless to stop the onslaught of Borkathemus' armies. For all Nicolaos knew, his glory days were over, but in reality, they were just beginning.

Nicolaos was certain that they required assistance from the gods in order to halt the orcs' advances;

After cutting down the green monsters, they searched each shack to find the gluttonous oracle pathetically cowering under his oversized dinner table. "Well, as you can see, I have found myself in quite a predicament. I am fortunate you men have arrived at such a time," he said with his chin flapping as he heaved himself up into his enormous chair. "I know why you're here. You seek help from none other than Zeus himself to cure this disease that is consuming the land. I see what you must do. Mere livestock will not be enough to satisfy one as powerful as Zeus. No, you must sacrifice something much more righteous to appease him. You are looking for the phoenix, a graceful firebird that will remain docile until threatened. To find the phoenix, you shall go to a ruined castle on the coast far south of here. There, in the underground dungeon, the phoenix awaits. Such a beast will not go down lightly as it will melt even the best of swords. To eliminate it, you will need to find other means of which I cannot say. There is something else I must tell you. I sense now a massive force of orcs heading to the city. You must send all of the men you can spare to make it back to the city to warn of the coming battle. They must hold off the orcs until you can slay the phoenix and put an end to this mess. Go now, for time is running short." Suddenly, one group became as two as Nicolaos brought his two most trusted advisors to take on the phoenix and

Light glimmering off of the damp walls and floors guided them until they reached the blazing creature and all its glory. They drew their weapons and the phoenix attacked. Arrows melted before they hit their mark as did their swords. Nicolaos took cover behind a pillar as the phoenix shot fire from its mouth and incinerated his friend within his own armor. He took out his dagger and hacked and slashed at a keg of water in a last minute attempt to save himself. Steam arose and clouded his vision, but still the phoenix was unharmed. Then, as he was ready to face death, Nicolaos noticed flecks of sand falling between the cracks of the ceiling. He had an idea. He pulled a stone from the crumbling wall and hurled it at the ceiling. With a cracking splinter of wood, the ceiling caved in and sand poured down, burying the phoenix completely. Nicolaos, in disbelief of what had just happened, dug through the pile of sand until he discovered the hot glass encasement of the phoenix. He had done it. He had defeated the phoenix, but, there was one last thing he needed to