and wild hair who masked their unsightliness with the beauty of their song. And while she didn’t have the long legs or perfectly sculpted eyebrows of a model, Lora hardly considered herself heinous. Or a beast.
Although the oldest accounts likened Sirens to birds, sometime before the seventh century Sirens ceased to be bird-like and instead became more like fish, such as mermaids, or humans with fish heads. Although the Clan couldn’t pin-point when this change from bird to fish occurred in texts, they believed it happened during ancient translations, when scribes mixed up the words wing and fin , which were similar in the Greek language.
Regardless of what the Sirens used to resemble, however, most people had heard the general story. Probably, Lora decided, because English teachers around the world insisted on cramming incorrect tales down the throats of innocent high school students.
In The Odyssey, sweet, innocent Odysseus, who repeatedly cheated on his wife but remained true to her in his heart, prepared to pass the Sirens: evil temptresses who wanted nothing more than to kill him and his crew. As he drew near, three Sirens sat on the rocky shore of an island and sang a bewitching song. Sometimes they played various instruments as an accompaniment. But ultimately, they hoped to entice sailors on passing ships. Once a sailor heard their song, he jumped off his ship and swam toward the island, only to perish in the sea. Abandoned, the ship would hit the rocks and sink into the ocean’s depths.
Mean, nasty, ugly Sirens.
The sorceress Circe warned Odysseus of the danger. Odysseus’s men tied him to the mast so he could hear their song without succumbing to it. His men stuffed their ears with wax and they escaped the Siren’s wrath. But, to be honest, Lora wasn’t certain if the tale had any truth to it. The myth encompassed her legacy, sure, but history wasn’t one-hundred percent accurate. Personally, she had a hard time believing a higher being, like a Siren, would waste her time sitting on rocks waiting to kill stupid sailors.
Although the tale of Odysseus dominated the English curriculum, Lora preferred the tale of Orpheus. Orpheus and the Argonauts, who comprised a ship’s crew, were the only other humans to escape the Sirens’ wrath. Although human, Orpheus had extreme musical talent, and he played his lyre, singing as his ship sailed past the Siren’s waters. His song was enchanting and overpowered the call of the Sirens for the first time in their existence. Fated to die if someone heard their singing and passed unharmed, the Sirens threw themselves into the furious ocean to perish against its jagged rocks and in its angry depths.
But one Siren survived.
This was the part of the story only Lora and her clan were aware of.
A young sailor in a passing ship took pity on one of the Sirens and saved her life. By casting herself into the waters, the Siren’s soul had become pure, losing its desire to force men into a watery fate, and the sailor fell in love with her. Pledging her life to the human, the two married and had children, thus passing the Siren blood to their kin.
Although the sailor and the Siren had tried to keep her identity a secret, Orpheus discovered she survived. Remembering her as she had been, a monster longing to kill him and her crew, he vowed to destroy her. Demeter helped Orpheus, granting him immunity from the Siren’s song, and he trained his sons to track down the Sirens. This continued for generations, creating The Sons of Orpheus. One could not reason with them. Years of learned hatred marred them against the Sirens.
The P.E. teachers blew their whistles, signaling the end of the block, and Lora joined her classmates as they left the gym and moved toward the locker rooms. She changed, locked up her belongings, and left to meet Will. As she dodged students in the hallway, Lora’s mind wandered to her half-blood ancestors. All this time, people had believed Sirens were a
Although the oldest accounts likened Sirens to birds, sometime before the seventh century Sirens ceased to be bird-like and instead became more like fish, such as mermaids, or humans with fish heads. Although the Clan couldn’t pin-point when this change from bird to fish occurred in texts, they believed it happened during ancient translations, when scribes mixed up the words wing and fin , which were similar in the Greek language.
Regardless of what the Sirens used to resemble, however, most people had heard the general story. Probably, Lora decided, because English teachers around the world insisted on cramming incorrect tales down the throats of innocent high school students.
In The Odyssey, sweet, innocent Odysseus, who repeatedly cheated on his wife but remained true to her in his heart, prepared to pass the Sirens: evil temptresses who wanted nothing more than to kill him and his crew. As he drew near, three Sirens sat on the rocky shore of an island and sang a bewitching song. Sometimes they played various instruments as an accompaniment. But ultimately, they hoped to entice sailors on passing ships. Once a sailor heard their song, he jumped off his ship and swam toward the island, only to perish in the sea. Abandoned, the ship would hit the rocks and sink into the ocean’s depths.
Mean, nasty, ugly Sirens.
The sorceress Circe warned Odysseus of the danger. Odysseus’s men tied him to the mast so he could hear their song without succumbing to it. His men stuffed their ears with wax and they escaped the Siren’s wrath. But, to be honest, Lora wasn’t certain if the tale had any truth to it. The myth encompassed her legacy, sure, but history wasn’t one-hundred percent accurate. Personally, she had a hard time believing a higher being, like a Siren, would waste her time sitting on rocks waiting to kill stupid sailors.
Although the tale of Odysseus dominated the English curriculum, Lora preferred the tale of Orpheus. Orpheus and the Argonauts, who comprised a ship’s crew, were the only other humans to escape the Sirens’ wrath. Although human, Orpheus had extreme musical talent, and he played his lyre, singing as his ship sailed past the Siren’s waters. His song was enchanting and overpowered the call of the Sirens for the first time in their existence. Fated to die if someone heard their singing and passed unharmed, the Sirens threw themselves into the furious ocean to perish against its jagged rocks and in its angry depths.
But one Siren survived.
This was the part of the story only Lora and her clan were aware of.
A young sailor in a passing ship took pity on one of the Sirens and saved her life. By casting herself into the waters, the Siren’s soul had become pure, losing its desire to force men into a watery fate, and the sailor fell in love with her. Pledging her life to the human, the two married and had children, thus passing the Siren blood to their kin.
Although the sailor and the Siren had tried to keep her identity a secret, Orpheus discovered she survived. Remembering her as she had been, a monster longing to kill him and her crew, he vowed to destroy her. Demeter helped Orpheus, granting him immunity from the Siren’s song, and he trained his sons to track down the Sirens. This continued for generations, creating The Sons of Orpheus. One could not reason with them. Years of learned hatred marred them against the Sirens.
The P.E. teachers blew their whistles, signaling the end of the block, and Lora joined her classmates as they left the gym and moved toward the locker rooms. She changed, locked up her belongings, and left to meet Will. As she dodged students in the hallway, Lora’s mind wandered to her half-blood ancestors. All this time, people had believed Sirens were a
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