Medea

Medea was nothing if not powerful. She was born on the island of Colchis, veiled by the mists of the Black Sea. Her father, King Aeëtes, was himself a bearer of the gift of magic, and he taught his daughter well. Soon, though, the student would become the master, and Medea’s magic was revered by even Aeëtes himself. 

Though her powers flourished, her freedom did not. Aeëtes was not fond of strangers. Medea found herself trapped within the walls of her father’s palace, and if not there, then within the shores of her island home. Rarely did Colchis receive visitors, until the day the Argos docked at their beaches. 

Medea peered through the castle windows as Jason descended the gangway. She watched as his feet sunk into the golden sand, his tanned skin glistening in the sun. She was awestruck – never had Medea seen such a perfect being. She knew her father would send the Argos back to sea as soon as he heard it had landed, giving her only a moment to intercept. Medea gathered her skirts and her courage, and ran down the stone steps. 

Jason was a bold adventurer. Medea tried to warn him he should choose to adventure somewhere else, but Jason had sought Colchis specifically. He was on a quest for the Golden Fleece, imbued with healing magic and protected by a vigilant dragon in the groves of Colchis. Jason lusted after the Fleece, or more accurately, over the power it held. His ambition knew no bounds, and there were no rules he would not break to achieve his goals. 

Medea’s brother, Apsyrtus, took the protection of the Fleece as his life. She knew Jason would never make it past his watchful eye without her, and even if he could, Apsyrtus’s dragon would finish the job. Jason, too, knew he would fail without Medea. He had heard tales not only of her great abilities but also of her unmatched wisdom.  

Though Medea was hesitant to betray her family, she found herself charmed by Jason’s worldliness. Against her better judgment, she agreed to help him – for a price. In exchange for her assistance, he swore an oath to take her with him when he left Colchis. He agreed to marry her, and to show her the world outside of the palace walls. 

With Medea’s aid, Jason retrieved the Fleece. She provided him with potions to subdue the dragon, strategies to evade the traps that protected the Fleece. As he ran back towards the beach with the Fleece clutched in his greedy fist, Medea jumped aboard the Argos and the two made their escape. 

As the ship pulled away, though, Medea caught sight of her father and brother in hot pursuit. Medea knew her departure from Colchis would not come without sacrifice, and so she did what she must to be free. Drawing back her bow in two swift motions, Medea fired arrows cleanly into the hearts of Aeëtes and Apsyrtus. The Argos pushed forward.

Finally, the pair arrived in Corinth. Her actions weighed heavily on Medea, but she tried to focus on building a new life with Jason instead. Medea bore two sons, whom she raised lovingly. Though they lived as outsiders, never truly being accepted into the community of Corinth, Jason and Medea found solace in each other. For a decade, they were happy, or so Medea thought.

Eventually, Jason again found himself lured by the promise of power. He sought to marry the princess of Corinth, claiming his union with Medea was null under Corinthian law. As a foreigner, Medea was without many rights in her new home, and suddenly, she found herself alone as well. 

Betrayed and enraged, the deep love Medea had once felt for Jason soured into vengeful fury. He wanted to destroy the life they had built together? Fine. Destroyed, it would be. 

Medea set her deadly plan in motion. Rather than show her hand, Medea instead put on a mask of pleasantry. She made her way to the palace, claiming only to want to meet Jason’s new wife, the step-mother of her children. Under the guise of amiability, she offered the princess a beautiful gown, which she had sewn herself. Unbeknownst to the princess, Medea wove something else into the fabric – a powerful curse. 

As the princess slipped the garment over her head, her skin began to burn. Quickly, the mild sting progressed into bubbling, melting flesh, and the princess was nothing but sludge in a matter of minutes. 

Her revenge did not end with simply the princess, though. Jason had taken everything from Medea. Taken her from her home, made it impossible to return, and then left her alone when it was no longer convenient for him to care for her. If she would be alone, so would he. 

In her ultimate act of vengeance, Medea would make him feel the crushing weight of solitude – She took the lives of their two sons. 

Left with nothing, Jason wept. He knelt in the ashes of his life, grappling with the desolation and ruin his betrayal had wrought. Wrapped in the Golden Fleece that Jason had loved so much, Medea fled, leaving Jason to the smoldering wreckage of his own ambitions. There was nothing left for her in Corinth, nor back on Colchis. Instead, she headed for Athens, a city where no one would know her past. A blank slate that allowed her to build the future she so desired.