The word ‘escape’ brought Hamal out of his shock. “Escape? Do you know what happens to slaves who defy the king? They get hunted down, tortured and probably publicly executed!”

The ram huffed. “Sure, you’re probably right, but only if they can catch us. If we go now, nobody will notice until it’s too late. This is our one chance!” it urged.

Hamal paused, conflicted, but also very tempted. He had thought about escaping before, but he never found the right opportunity. Was this his time? If he did not take this one, there may never be another chance again. The risks were high, but the reward if it worked…

Besides, could he ask for a better escape companion? A sacred animal trusted by the gods? He had only ever dreamed of freedom, but perhaps now he could make it into a reality.

Hamal’s face melted into a grin. “All right fine, let’s do it!”

“Excellent choice! You won’t regret this!” The ram cheered.

Cooperation now established, the duo escaped through the forest with the golden ram leading the way.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

The animal had been correct when it said that nobody would notice until it was too late. Even when the city guards knew about Hamal’s orders, they only stood guarding the outside of the forest. No one thought to be mindful of a slave who had been nothing but obedient for the last ten years. The situation was perfect for the duo’s escape.

After a while of waiting, one guard finally realised how long Hamal was taking and went in looking for him, thinking a wolf might have attacked him. It wasn’t until the guard discovered a rope tied to a branch, a clean cut in the noose, and no blood, ram or slave in sight, that there was a call alerting of a runaway slave.

King Athamas was both shocked and outraged that a slave would defy him and betray his trust. He immediately ordered for the pursuit and retrieval of both slave and ram. They released hounds to aid the hunt. Before long, there was a whole search party sent to track down the escapees.

By that time, both Hamal and the golden ram had already left the walls of Orchomenus’ acropolis. Their next obstacle was to trek through the hilly terrain out of Boeotia and cross into Opuntian Locris.

Hamal grew nervous as he tried to remember all the territories under the king’s jurisdiction. “But crossing into Opuntian Locris won’t stop them, we’ll still be within the king’s reach. The guards will definitely continue to chase us down!”

“Trust me, I’m the great Chrysomallus!” the ram exclaimed with its head held high. “I’ll definitely get us out of this.”

Hamal sighed, he had no choice but to trust in Chrysomallus’ words, the sacred animal was pivotal to his escape. Just the thought of freedom alone renewed his determination to continue the long journey.

Yet it seemed determination was not enough. They did not reach the border until sunset. The terrain had been harsher to travel on than expected, hindering them long enough for their horse-riding pursuers to catch up.

Their pursuers even warned the border guards in time to meet them before
they could cross, cutting off their escape.

“Halt, fugitive! We have surrounded you! King Athamas calls for your arrest. Come with us calmly or we will use force.”

“And we were so close too…” Hamal groaned in despair and exhaustion. He had literally bet everything on this escape!

He knew it did not matter whether they cooperated. Their end will be the same. The guards will restrain him and bring him back to the city, lock him away until the king decides his fate. They will slaughter the ram and strip its fleece. The king will probably sentence him with execution for defying him and ‘stealing’ the golden ram. Then it would be all over…

“Are you giving up already?”

Suddenly, Chrysomallus jumped in front of him and told him to “Get on my back, hurry!”

Shocked, Hamal quickly did as told, grabbing onto his companion’s horns to keep himself steady. Then the golden ram charged directly towards the guards—“Wait, what are you doing?!”—before leaping high into the air.

“Whoa! O Great Zeus!”

Chrysomallus sprouted a pair of golden wings and flew them high into the clouds. They left the guards staring up at them in complete shock and awe. Some tried to fire arrows at them, but none could reach them fast enough. Hamal gripped tightly onto his companion’s horns as he watched the people and land steadily shrink from his view.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Hamal and Chrysomallus flew throughout the night with the moon lighting their way. The flight journey was long and chilly, but as it was Hamal’s first true experience of freedom and adrenaline was running through them both, the duo lasted through the many hours until sunrise.

Hamal had watched as Chrysomallus tirelessly carried them north over the Opuntian Locris region. The ram mentioned the names of several towns and cities as they flew over them, and upon reaching a city called Iolcus, Chrysomallus turned north east to fly towards the Aegean Sea.

Was this what the gods saw when they viewed the land from the heavens? Hamal wondered as he marvelled over the scenery before him.

“So where are we going?” he finally asked.

“As far away from King Athamas as possible,” Chrysomallus replied. “He will probably search for us even beyond the boundaries of his land, so we’re going to a place that’ll be far out of his reach.”

The thought of never seeing the king again made Hamal laugh in relief. He was now a freeman! Words could not describe how liberated he felt.

After watching islands, land and more sea pass under them, the sun finally began rising from the horizon. At that point, Chrysomallus began descending upon a forest some distance away from a coast.

“I won’t be able to fly again for a while, but we should be safe here. There is a sacred grove dedicated to the god Ares nearby that we can take refuge in.” Chrysomallus explained as he chewed on some undergrowth.

Hamal observed the foreign landscape. It surprised him how he felt more excited than scared in unfamiliar territory.

“I want to explore this place!” He declared with bright eyes until a rumble from his stomach forced him to pause. He remembered then that they both had not eaten since the morning of their escape.

“I’ll look for something to eat too,” he added sheepishly.

While Hamal gathered wild berries in the forest, his companion happily munched on shrubs. Once his stomach was full, fatigue from being awake all night finally hit him. If he was still a slave, the king would not have allowed him to rest until after sundown, but now he could do whatever he wanted!

With a yawn, Hamal dropped himself next to a resting Chrysomallus before laying his head on the ram’s fluffy side. “Hope you don’t mind, I’m taking a nap right here,” he informed as he closed his eyes.

Chrysomallus huffed, but kept still. “How carefree. Freedom is good, but it comes with responsibilities you know.”

There was no reply, the other was already sound asleep. Chrysomallus shook his head. Really, did the human truly believe that all his worries were over? Perhaps it was something to address later, but for now rest was the right decision. So the ram relented and also laid his head down to sleep.

All was peaceful in the forest of Colchis.

Unbeknown to the sleeping duo, they were not alone however. A figure quietly creeping through the forest eventually chanced upon them.

A pause, and then the figure smirked.

“Well now, what have we here?”

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Hamal did not know what woke him, but the moment he opened his eyes, he knew that something was wrong.

First, he was lying on the ground, gagged and rope bound both his wrists and ankles. Second, he saw Chrysomallus struggling aggressively against five men whom were attempting to restrain him with rope.

What?! How did this happen?

Unable to move, Hamal could only watch in horror as the combined efforts of the men overpowered his companion, tying him down a short distance in front of him. He was no stranger to these types of barbaric men. They were bandits, and both Hamal and Chrysomallus were their captives.

“We got ourselves a good catch this time!” A bandit grinned wickedly.

“Yeah! Never seen a golden ram before, bet we could sell it for a load of gold to some fancy king.” Another laughed.

Hamal snapped out of his shock. What terrible timing! The bandits found them while Chrysomallus was still recovering from their long flight; it was now up to him to save them. He must do something!

Quietly, while their attention was not on him, Hamal shifted his bounded arms to his waist. Fortunately, the bandits seemed to have failed to notice the small knife attached to his belt, covered by the folds of his chiton. He carefully took the knife out, using his arms to hide the blade, and began discreetly cutting at the rope.

“I reckon better to kill it, this one’s feisty! Just its fleece should do.”

Quickly! Hamal urged himself faster. He refuse to let them kill his friend!

Hamal, rapt with fury, snapped his restrains. He did not go through all the trouble to escape, only to get caught and made into a slave again!

With no hesitation, Hamal charged in fiercely, brandishing his knife.

“Auugh!” He slashed at the back of the closest bandit.

“What?!” The others recoiled in alarm as their comrade collapsed.

Hamal looked murderous standing over the fallen man with his bloody knife in hand. In reality, he had never purposely attacked someone before. But now, with rage coursing through his veins, driven by his abhorrence of becoming a slave again, he will fight to keep his freedom!

“Get away from the ram!” Hamal shouted as he swung his knife wildly, forcing the bandits away from Chrysomallus. Once within reach, Hamal quickly cut the ropes and allowed his friend to flee.

However, the moment he looked down was the moment the wounded bandit stood back up to attack his back.

“Bastard, you’ll pay!” Hearing the voice from behind, Hamal instinctively dropped and rolled away, barely dodging a club to the head.

Coincidentally at that same time, Ares, the Olympian god of war, was watching the kidnapping-turned-brawl. Perched atop his own sacred grove, the god observed while in the form of a bearded vulture.

Ares, having witnessed the bandits’ attempted capture, felt thrilled when the captive young man fought back and rescued the golden ram.

How interesting! A mortal fighting to rescue an animal sired by the god Poseidon, such incidence was unheard of.

Yet the young man’s rage only took him so far, he was full of openings and was eventually tackled to the ground. His arms pinned, and the men threw punches at his face; five against one was much too difficult.

That would not do. Feeling gracious, Ares lent the young man a hand and granted him a divine blessing; revitalise and strengthen his body!

At that same moment, Chrysomallus unexpectedly came ramming into the bandits attacking Hamal, knocking them away. It gave Hamal the chance to get back on his feet, despite the pain and bruising.

Strange, why did he suddenly feel so energised?

“Bastard, you’re gonna seriously get it now.” All five bandits moved to trap Hamal in an encirclement. “Like it or not, we’re taking you and the ram. If you value your life, you’ll submit right now or we’ll kill you!”

So be a slave or die. If those were his only options, then…

The fight quickly turned into a bloodbath. In a corner of Hamal’s mind, it amazed him how well he was brute forcing his way through the barbarians, even with his body covered in bleeding cuts and bruises.

Like a warrior, Hamal fought with his life on the line. To protect what he cared for, to protect his freedom; it was kill or be killed!

Blade slashed and stabbed into flesh. Eventually, the last bandit fell to his knife. Only then did Hamal let himself collapse in exhaustion.

Chrysomallus trotted up and nudged him.

He did it. He defended his freedom and even saved his friend.

“I know I said I liked your guts,” Chrysomallus started, “but you were too reckless this time, and you’re bleeding too much!”

Hamal smiled despite the pain he felt. “I have… no regrets. At least… my
last breath will be as a freeman… and not as a slave.”

“You fool, don’t greet death so soon! I still need to repay you for saving me!” Chrysomallus cried. “The first time you spared me, so I helped you escape. If you die now, how can I pay you back for the second time?”

“I see… That’s how it was…” Hamal whispered as he closed his eyes. He felt lightheaded and weak, so this was what dying felt like.

Chrysomallus panicked. “Hey! Stay awake!”

“Ah, so that’s how this all came about,” said a new voice.

It startled Chrysomallus when he recognised the new person standing before him and Hamal.

What was he doing here?

There stood the king of gods, Zeus, in human form. Chrysomallus bowed his head, immediately acknowledging the Olympian king.

“Ares really found something interesting here,” Zeus smiled. “Who would have thought I would see you, Chrysomallus, and this mortal, who you say had saved your life not once, but twice?”

“It is true, my lord.” The golden ram nodded. “But he has lost too much blood from the fight, I’m afraid he doesn’t have much time left in this world.”

Zeus nodded. “It would be a shame to let go of such a strong-hearted, courageous young man. Chrysomallus, are you willing to help save him?”

“I am!” The ram replied quickly as he stared up expectedly at the god.

Hamal may have been an odd person, but he still showed Chrysomallus a kindness to animals he had never witnessed before. Saving the human’s life was the least he could do to repay him back.

“Excellent!” Zeus clapped before holding a hand out over them. “You two shall now merge into one being, sharing one life.”

The fusion happened swiftly. Both human and ram came together to form a new being that was half-human half-ram. The two consciousnesses combined, and all injuries disappeared. The male human body was reborn, while also inheriting the ram’s horns and gold colouring, changing his hair from dark brown to gold blond.

“Magnificent!” Zeus praised his creation.

Hamal slowly opened his eyes in amazement. How bizarre. He could feel Chrysomallus within him, even recall his memories. Yet everything felt natural, as though they were always one person…

“Yes, beautiful!” Zeus clapped eagerly, “I have decided!”

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Chapter Extras

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Story of the Golden Ram

This story took bits of inspiration from the original Greek mythology for Aries. According to some sources, Zeus sent the original Golden Ram to rescue Phrixus and Helle, children of King Athamas, from being sacrificed by their own father. Chrysomallus flew both siblings to Colchis, but Helle fell into the ocean midway. Only Phrixus made the full journey. Once in Colchis, Phrixus sacrificed Chrysomallus to Zeus and gave its golden fleece to the King of Colchis, who hung the fleece under Ares’ sacred grove where a dragon stood safeguard. In recognition for its efforts, Zeus made the (golden) ram the symbol of Aries.

Aries the Ram

[ 1st Zodiac Constellation ] After his time as a slave, he has become a very self-determined guy. He does what he wants, when and however he wants to. There is dignity in his self-centeredness as he vowed to never become subjected to anyone against his will ever again.

Ares, God of War

[ Guardian of the 1st Zodiac ] He is an Olympian god and the son of Zeus and Hera. He is a warrior who likes violence and all kinds of physical combat. He often gets into fights with other gods and because of that most of them dislike him. He does not care though, so Zeus finds it hard to tame him.

“Even when he is not fighting, there would be a fight going on somewhere near him!”
– Zeus