Lexical scoping
Alex editted the template so that it has comments again.

I finished my myth. It is dull and boring. Enjoy:

Flageleus and the Flail (my real title is written with the Greek alphabet...)

In the heart of the city Athens there once lived a misfortunate soldier named Flageleus. Although he trained diligently for many years, Flageleus did not possess the fighting abilities of his fellow soldiers. He would often spar with others, but his coordination was so awful that he was never able to land his sword on a target. Flageleus�s lack of warrior-like skills proved to be a great disability, as it often worried him. He feared that if there were to be a war, he would surely be killed. He also feared that if this were to happen, nobody would be around to take care of his wife and two daughters. Because of this, Flageleus greatly desired to have the skills to be able to protect himself and his family.

One day, after hours of training with other soldiers, Flageleus realized that no other man could help him with his disability. Thus, he decided to seek help from a god. Flageleus thought that Hephaestus, the god of fire, could forge a weapon to help him protect himself during a battle. With this gleam of hope fresh in his mind, Flageleus built a boat and set off on a three-day voyage through the sea to Hephaestus's home, the island of Lemnos.

When he finally arrived at the island�s shore, Flageleus gazed up with amazement at a volcano that seemed to shoot out of the ground and tear the sky open. He knew that it was under this the volcano that Hephaestus forged his divine weapons. Flageleus began hiking across miles of rock covered with cooled lava, all the while staring at the enormous volcano. As he came closer to it, he could see that the volcano was highly active, which was a sign of Hephaestus�s presence.

Soon Flageleus could see the volcano in greater detail as it leaked neon orange lava that formed streaming rivers flowing down its sides. He could now feel Hephaestus�s presence as rocks screamed down from the sky and shook the earth, matching the rhythm of Hephaestus�s hammering. He could also see the gigantic outline of the god�s form through the glowing lava and he smelled the intense scent of burning metal. Flageleus listened carefully to the repetitive clanking of Hephaestus�s hammer as he felt the earth shake beneath him with each powerful swing.

Suddenly Hephaestus�s clanking ceased, almost as if he knew that Flageleus was about to speak. "I have come seeking your help," shouted Flageleus, hoping that he would be heard.

"I know why you are here," replied Hephaestus in a booming voice which cracked the ground, "and I am willing to help you. I too have suffered from being born with disabilities," as he said this, light poured out of the volcano�s cracked sides, revealing Hephaestus�s crippled form, "but I have learned to live with the way I am. For you, I shall create a weapon never before seen by the eyes of men. It will be indestructible and it will protect you in any battle."

Flageleus waited as he listened to Hephaestus�s hammer at work. Only a couple minutes passed before Flageleus heard Hephaestus�s voice once again, "Behold your new weapon," roared Hephaestus, "the flail!" Suddenly a shining piece of metal floated down from the peak of the volcano. Once it reached Flageleus, he examined it closely. It was a long chain with a spiked iron ball at one end swinging free on an iron handle.

"You must remember," continued Hephaestus, "that you must only use this weapon in self defense. Its sole purpose is to help with your disability by protecting you from others." Flageleus nodded in agreement as he slowly slipped his fingers around the handle of the weapon. The moment he touched the weapon, he felt Hephaestus disappear, and he began his trip back to Athens.

As Flageleus neared his city, he was startled to see smoke, flames, and Spartan soldiers encompassing the land. Knowing that his city must have been attacked while he was gone, Flageleus raced off his boat and rushed straight toward his house in order to save his family. He swung his flail in circles above his head to protect himself from attacking Spartans as he bravely made his way through the crumbled city.

When Flageleus finally arrived at his house, he frantically searched for his family. As Flageleus looked around, cries of helplessness echoed from under the stones behind him. He quickly turned around and lifted the stones, revealing his frightened wife clinging to his two daughters.

Flageleus led his family to safety outside of the city, but he soon left them so that he could help his fellow citizens against the invading forces. As Flageleus swiftly ran toward the battle, he continued swinging the flail around his head, creating a circular safeguard for himself. Once he reached other Athenian soldiers, he briefly informed them about his journey to Hephaestus, and his obtaining of the flail.

The soldiers around Flageleus were impressed by his story, and they encouraged him to lead them forward. Flageleus began to decline, as he remembered Hephaestus�s warning, but he was eager to display the powerful abilities of his flail. Since he had never possessed these abilities before, Flageleus figured that it wouldn�t hurt just to put on a little show. With this in mind, Flageleus began swinging his flail and he led his fellow soldiers into what remained of their city.

Within moments Flageleus encountered a Spartan soldier, and he shouted as he swung his flail in a steady rhythm. While the soldier stared in awe at the flail, Flageleus sharply thrust the handle forward and the spiked ball shot out at the soldier, cracking his skull in half. Suddenly Flageleus felt a rush of savageness run through his veins as if he was filled with the spirit of Dionysus, and he was strangely eager for more carnage.

Without warning, another Spartan leaped out in front of Flageleus, who whipped his flail as if it were a reflex, smashing the man in the chest and killing him instantly. This scared Flageleus because it actually felt refreshing as if he had been given a sip of ambrosia fresh from Mount Olympus. Moreover, he felt more powerful than he ever had before while he wielded his now blood-covered flail.

Once more a Spartan charged at Flageleus, this time from behind him. Flageleus sensed him, spun around, swung his flail, and knocked the soldier to the ground. Flageleus felt as if he was more powerful than any god while he looked down at the wounded Spartan and delivered a fatal blow. Suddenly, Flageleus was overwhelmed by the smell of burning metal, and he felt Hephaestus�s presence as strongly as he did on the isle of Lemnos. "You disobeyed my warning," buzzed words inside Flageleus�s head, "and for that you shall be punished."

Flageleus soon realized that the burning smell was the iron handle of the flail, and before he could let go, it had melted into the skin of his palm. Infuriated by Hephaestus�s punishment, Flageleus began swinging the flail back and forth through the air, attempting to remove it from his hand. He experienced excruciating pain as the sizzling metal continued to melt his skin. Flageleus gave one final overhand swing, sending the spiked ball of the flail into the air only for it to finish its rotation coming right back at Flageleus. The spiked ball mercilessly slammed into his chest and knocked him onto the ground.

As Flageleus lay on his back, blood seeping out from his body and into earth, he realized that the power he felt from using the flail blinded him from the reality of his violent actions. Not only had he misused the flail, but also he had thought that he was more powerful than the gods were. This was indeed a mistake, as Hephaestus would not have men disobeying him and believing that they were superior. Flageleus felt like a fool for what he had done, but there was no way to change his actions. As he slowly closed his eyes while waiting for Hermes to take him to the underworld, he knew one thing for certain: men were powerless to the gods.