Walking beside Easton, Lily raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m actually a bit hazy on the whole Theseus-and-the-minotaur story, Easton. Since we’ve got nothing else to do while we walk, why don’t you tell it to us as you know it.’

Easton nodded enthusiastically. ‘Of course, Miss Lily. Is great legend.’

And so he began.

‘When famed warrior Hercules won Great Games at Underworld for King Zeus, Zeus go to Supreme Labyrinth.

‘At that time, Zeus’s brother—Poseidon—was King of Sea. As homage to his all-powerful brother, Poseidon send his son, the prince Theseus, to accompany Zeus into the Labyrinth. Theseus bad man, cruel prince. He bring three other minor princes with him as royal escorts for Zeus.

‘Zeus’s other brother was Hades, King of the Underworld. Hades give Zeus a gift of nine minotaurs to act as porters in Labyrinth, to carry his supplies and equipment. The leader of this team of minotaurs was Asterion.

‘Asterion smart minotaur. Honest and hard-working. He very proud to do this task.

‘After Zeus use Emperor’s Route to reach throne and prevent Omega, he go to leave. But Prince Theseus tell Zeus that he wish to linger behind, to take final look at amazing Labyrinth. So Zeus leaves.

‘Theseus stays with his three prince friends and suddenly they begin killing minotaur porters.’

‘Wait! He starts killing them?’ Lily exclaimed. ‘Why?’

‘For sport. Many royals think minotaurs dumb animals. Good for nothing except simple labour and killing. Theseus one of those.’

‘What happened then?’ Jack asked quietly.

Easton said, ‘Theseus and the other princes proceed to slaughter minotaurs. Laugh and chortle as they hunt them in passageways of Labyrinth using arrows and swords. It awful scene. Minotaurs scream and wail as they butchered by the young princes.

‘But one minotaur, Asterion, he escape. Not only escape, but he actually disarm and kill one of Theseus’s friends. Wounds two others and even manages to cut Theseus himself in single combat.

‘With Theseus knocked down and wounded, Asterion hurry outside and as he emerge from Labyrinth, he see Zeus in the distance, arriving back at his camp of tents. Asterion flee in other direction, over mountains and away into desert.

‘When Theseus emerge from the Labyrinth, he tell Zeus false tale: that minotaurs revolted and started attacking princes, so he had to kill them and only just escaped with his life. Theseus not tell Zeus that he himself murdered his two wounded companions—finished them off—so that they not be able to reveal the truth of what happened.

‘From that day on, Theseus considered great hero: the man who slayed the murderous minotaurs who probably would have killed Zeus, too. Also from that day, minotaurs considered deceitful, untrustworthy, and treated badly, lower than dogs.’

‘Because the victors write history,’ Jack said.

Easton nodded sadly. ‘Yes.’