Bond of the Oracle

Upon Mount Olympus, where the gods dwell, Lycos, son of a Muse, has long nursed a secret crush on Orpheus, god of the lyre. On the night of the Moonlight Feast, he gathers his courage and tucks a papyrus scroll filled with love poems into the raiment of his beloved. By a twist of fate, however, the scroll falls into the hands of Lycus, god of contests — son of Ares the war‑god and Olympus’ most brilliant champion of the arena.Before all the assembled deities, Lycus boldly proclaims them to be partners. He then proposes a perilous bargain: he will help Lycos draw near to Orpheus, on the condition that Lycos plays the part of his lover to defy the political marriage arranged by Ares. Thus begins their bond forged by misdirected affection and deception, unfolding amid the arena’s glory and the shadows of the divine halls.As envious goddesses lay snares, wrathful father‑gods issue edicts, and the trials of the Ninefold Covenant descend one after another, Lycos comes to realize that beneath the golden‑clad war‑lord’s unruly armour beats a heart more ardent than any oracle’s prophecy.