Icarus and Daedalus

**Icarus and Daedalus** is a story told in the Adventures from the Book of Virtues episode Responsibility. It is based on the Greek myth of the same name.

## Plot

Icarus was a young boy in Ancient Greece who lived with his father Daedalus, who was a sculptor and inventor. Over on the island of Crete, a monster called the Minotaur has been causing problems, especially for King Minos, the ruler of Crete. Because of that, Daedalus and Icarus have been invited by King Minos where King Minos explains the problem about the Minotaur. Daedalus states that the Minotaur has the strength of a bull, but the cunning of a man, before King Minos adds that no ordinary prison will hold the Minotaur, which is why he sent for Daedalus. Icarus tells King Minos not to worry, because Daedalus can invent anything. After several weeks, Daedalus has come up with an idea to solve the problem involving the Minotaur, which is a maze that he calls the Labyrinth, with the passages being so tangled and twisted that the Minotaur will never find its way out. King Minos then proclaims that he will build it at once. After the labyrinth has been built, the Minotaur has been placed inside as it tries to find which way to go, ending up in different dead ends no matter which way it turns, which only makes the Minotaur even more agitated and angry. King Minos praises Daedalus for his skills, before rewarding him with a bag of gold. Daedalus thanks King Minos for his kind gesture before telling him that he and Icarus must now return to Greece, but unfortunately, King Minos has no intention of letting Daedalus and Icarus leave, telling Daedalus that he is far too clever to let go. King Minos then calls out for the guards as they quickly seize Daedalus and Icarus, before King Minos tells Daedalus that he has decided to keep him and Icarus in Crete, so that Daedalus can invent more devices for him. At the same time, King Minos also takes back the bag of gold he gave Daedalus, then tells the guards to lock them in the tower. Daedalus calls King Minos treacherous while Icarus tells him that he'll never keep them prisoners, because Daedalus will find a way to escape, which King Minos can't help but chuckle about.

Up in the tower of King Minos's palace, Daedalus tells Icarus that they are as trapped as the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, while Icarus is hopeful that Daedalus can find a way out. However, Daedalus is not so sure, because Minos rules the land and the sea, but just as he says this, the birds that were flying by leave behind some of their feathers, which land in front of Daedalus. When Daedalus picks up one feather, he immediately gets an idea while saying, "but not the air", before deciding that the air is the way they should go. Because of that, Daedalus and Icarus set work building a pair of wings made with real feathers, which are tied with thread and held together by melted candle wax. Later, Daedalus hands a rolled-up piece of paper to the guard, which contains the invention that King Minos demanded, the invention in question being able to bring water to King Minos's dry fields. After that, Daedalus asks the guard to bring more candles so that he can continue working at night, as well another feather blanket, under the claim that the tower is cold and drafty. Soon, Daedalus has finished his pair of wings before testing them out as he flies around the room, while Icarus praises him because now they can fly. Daedalus then flies out the window of the tower for a test flight, before turning back around and landing in front of Icarus while telling him that now they must build a pair of wings for Icarus. The next day, Daedalus has Icarus lay in bed while pretending to be sick, while Daedalus tells the guard that if King Minos wants him to build his new palace, then he must have more feather blankets because Icarus has caught a cold, as well as even more candles to work by, which the guard proceeds to grant. Soon, Daedalus and Icarus have built another pair of wings for Icarus, while Daedalus starts teaching Icarus how to fly. However, when Icarus takes to the air, he flies too high and bumps into the ceiling of the room as he falls back down again. Daedalus tells Icarus that he can only stop flapping when he rides the wind, before he gives Icarus a demonstration. Icarus tries again in flying, finding it to be fun before saying that he wants to go faster, but Daedalus tells him to slow down. Unfortunately, Icarus runs into the door again, the commotion attracting the attention of the guard. Fortunately, Daedalus is able to cover up the incident by claiming that he dreamt that he was flying and fell out of bed.

Once that's over, Daedalus berates Icarus for being too impatient and that he must watch and learn, listen and obey, and practice before taking to the sky. Because of that, the lesson resumes, while Icarus is able to watch and learn, before he and Daedalus take to the sky outside of the tower. Daedalus tells Icarus that they must return to the tower, which Icarus questions about because they are free and that they must leave for Greece tonight, but Daedalus tells him that the winds are against them and that they must wait until they are right. Because of that, Daedalus and Icarus fly back towards the tower again in order to wait for the winds to turn. Meanwhile, King Minos has been waiting for his new palace, so because of that he goes to confront Daedalus over trying his patience. Back in the tower room, Daedalus notices that the winds are right, and that it is now time to leave. King Minos still storms down the hall, while telling the guard that he wants to speak with Daedalus, at the same time that Daedalus and Icarus have put on their wings. When King Minos and the guard reach the door, the guard is able to break it down, but it's too late, because Daedalus and Icarus have already (literally) flown the coop, which King Minos is very angry about. Daedalus and Icarus continue flying while Icarus states that King Minos has discovered that his caged birds have already flown, but Daedalus tells him that they're not home yet because he has to remember what he taught him; The first rule is not to fly too low, because the spray from the ocean will wet their wings and make them heavy. The second rule is not to fly too high, because the heat from the sun will melt the wax holding their wings together, which will cause their wings to fall apart. Despite this, Icarus starts flying high up towards the sun and despite Daedalus' repeated warnings to come back down because he's flying too close to the sun, Icarus's wings fall apart, due to the heat from the sun melting the wax. Once Icarus's wings have fallen apart, he ends up plummeting to the sea. Daedalus is too late to catch Icarus so he lands into the sea, which kills him, while Daedalus laments about Icarus's inability to listen. Daedalus then picks up the dead Icarus and flies the rest of the way back to Greece. After returning home, Daedalus buried Icarus's dead body and built a winged statue of Icarus in his honor, and never flew again after that.

## Characters

* Icarus
* Daedalus
* King Minos

## Errors

* When the Minotaur turns around after finding itself at another dead end while stuck in the labyrinth, one of its horns is colored brown instead of white.