Pivot of the Sky

Since Amon's departure, Iso has lived a comfortable old life in Miduli, where he and his famous sage, Tyrus, have been good friends and frequent conversations in Temple Square. He's old enough to tell stories. He has traveled all over the Heavenly Pivot and gone through so many things that he can briefly say a few words about what he has seen in his life, which is also quite wonderful.

Many young people and children especially enjoy listening to Iso tell stories, and gradually Iso, who tells stories in Temple Square, becomes a scenery line in Miduli. There are also legends that Iso tells people about what he saw and heard everywhere, and the main character of the story is not himself. Of course, Ammon is often mentioned in retrospect of experiences. From the Ecuadorian to the Turk Plains, including the countries of the original heavenly pivot, Ammon has left many legends behind.

A teenager who walks out of the mountains eventually becomes a legend, an experience that is very appealing to the rest of the world. One can't help but think of Iso's former driver, also known as Amon, perhaps the name given by this old man, as a symbol of remembrance of his past years, at a time when no one realized that the Amon god had actually lived in Miduli.

The story of Iso inadvertently affected many people, and even some young people began to worship Amon, causing dissatisfaction among others, especially the priests of Miduli. Communicating with people in Temple Square inevitably involves being asked questions about spirits and beliefs, and the culture of conversation is quite open in the states of Heaton.

It has been noted that Iso, although very rich, has never come to the temple to offer sacrifices to spirits, nor to participate in sacrificial ceremonies in the city state. And someone asked him, "Iso, do you believe in gods or not?” Iso replied, “I have my God in my heart.” Someone asked again, "Then why didn't you sacrifice from the temple?” Iso asks back: "Listen to my story, don't you understand where my God is? ”

The wise man understood, of course, that Iso did not say anything disrespectful to the gods, but that the god in his heart was not in the temple in the square. So someone deliberately alienated him, but someone was willing to listen to him tell the story. Iso had an excellent mouth, and he told a story that was both interesting and sensible, and his stories seemed endless.

Finally, one day, a young man came out of the temple and came to Iso. Iso actually knew him, met him in his own shop, was the passerby who had pointed at the idol for a price. Amon warned Iso that this man was Hermes.

And Hermes said to Iso, "Can I make a request to you, old man? ”

Iso nodded with a laugh: "Young man, go ahead. ”

Hermes: “This is the Temple Square of Miduli, the guardian saint of this city is Hermes, and when someone asks you if you believe in God, should you give Hermes enough respect? ”

Iso replied with a smile, "I did not answer that I do not believe in the existence of the gods of Hermes or Olympus, young man, when I saw you, I believed that they existed. But what is asked is not faith, but true faith and followers in the heart. It is precisely because in Temple Square, in the eyes of the gods, I cannot deceive myself. I do not deny people's faith in Hermes, nor do I directly answer my beliefs, and it is already a reverence to the gods. ”

Hermes stared at Isaac and said, "Can't you just say yes to one request? When people ask you again, you answer them. You believe in the gods. Though you have your God in mind, can't you go to the temple and sacrifice to Hermes like everyone else? Even if you don't contribute your belongings, it's just a ceremony. That would make you more popular. ”

Instead of answering Hermes' questions directly, Iso told him the story of the Wolf Coming.

There was a goat-raising kid on the hill, idle bored yelling at wolves, and the grownups down the hill caught up with the wolves and found them deceived. After a few days, the child shouted at wolves and people caught up in the mountains and found themselves cheated. Yet another few days later, the wolf really came, and the child shouted that there was a wolf, but no one came up to the mountain to save him.

The story was short, and after a few words, Iso smiled and looked at Hermes and said, "Is the wolf here? ”

Without a word, Hermes walked back to the temple with his face on board, and there was no way to take Iso. He actually asked Iso to pretend to believe in him, but Iso questioned the point of his disguised devotion and sacrifice. If the world does, sooner or later it will lose its true faith, and the gods in the altar will cease to exist. Iso made it clear that Hermes, as a god, could no longer engage with him on this issue.

Yet another time later, the high priest of the Temple of Miduli came to tell a group of young people in the square about the creation of the city of Salem in the Duke Plains. Everyone was politely dispersed, and Iso rose to salute: "My lord, what can I do for you? ”

The High Priest said, "I heard the messengers of the gods saying that you are the most talented man in the city of Miduli. Why not use this talent to glorify the gods? You tell so many stories, and I haven't heard your praise for the gods. The patron saint of our city symbolizes the glory of the city. Why don't you tell us more about his legend? ”

Iso had a pair of hands: "My lord, you know, I left this place when I was very young, and I came back to my hometown when I was old. I was talking about what I had seen everywhere, but I hadn't heard much of the legend of Hermes. ”

The high priest and the colorful smile said, "It doesn't matter. Why not use the name of Hermes and the gods to tell so many wonderful legends in your mouth?" It's just a little trick, and it's what the gods expect. ”

And Iso laughed, "Then I'll tell you a story about the gods. ”

Zeus, the father of the gods, one day suddenly wondered, wanting to choose the most beautiful bird in the world as King of Hundred Birds. The crows knew how ugly they looked, so they secretly picked up the most beautiful feathers that had fallen by the water and stuck them on themselves while the birds were combed by the water. When Zeus arrived, a hundred birds lined up and found the crow the most beautiful. The birds got angry and retrieved their feathers, and the crow was still the crow.

After the story of Iso was told, the high priest shook his head after hearing it, and said nothing more about turning into the temple. Soon afterwards, the state of Miduli was conquered by Macedonia under the rule of the Kingdom of Macedonia, but the former temple of the city state as well as the citizens' assembly were retained to deal with the internal affairs of the city state.

Immediately after the arrival of the annual Delphi Oracle Festival on the Heaton Peninsula, Midulli City State attached great importance to the Festival, and the merchants paid a large tax as a gift to the Temples of Delphi, of which Iso gave the most money. It is not Iso who believes in the Olympus gods, and because it is the decree of the city state, the merchants must pay this tax, and Iso is now the wealthiest businessman in the city of Miduli.

Taxes for the offering have been collected and envoys need to be sent to Delphi to be donated to the temples. In accordance with established practice, nobility and civic representatives will be recruited by the Temple Priests to elect messengers, and sacrifices will be made to the Guardian Temple in the state temple of the city. This year's sacrificial ceremony adds one element, according to the decree of the Kingdom of Macedonia, to the sacrifice of Zeus, the father of the gods, before the sacrifice of the guardian saint of the city state.

It was at this point that Hermes sent down the Oracle, assigning Iso, the state of Miduli with the best argument, to Delphi, and leaving it to this wise messenger to decide which god and temple the gold of the state of Miduli would be dedicated to, if he thought it worthy of dedication.

Delphi is a sacred site of the Olympus system, with many temples, large and small, where, in addition to today's twelve gods, the ancient gods also have temples. Long ago, the most important temple here was the Temple of Themis, and today it is the Temple of Apollo, the most magnificent of the Delphi temples.

In the near future, the Kingdom of Macedonia will be building a more magnificent temple of the Lord in Delphi, breaking the traditions of history and no longer offering a god alone, but taking Zeus, the father of the gods, as its patron of the Olympus gods.

This year's Delphi Oracle will still be promulgated by the Temple of Apollo. The gold that Iso brings should naturally be the most sacrificed to the Temple of Apollo. The rest of the temples, large and small, must be more or less exposed to rain, so as to show respect for the gods and not offend anyone. Because Delphi's priests are, in a sense, a whole of interests, symbolizing the theocratic status of the Heaton Peninsula. Other gods cannot be ignored for valuing one god, otherwise the entire Delphi Priesthood Group will be offended.

But the divine status of the human being is different. Cities and states inevitably have some advantages. In general, sacrifices are made to every temple, but the distribution is determined by the needs of the interests of the cities and states. A wise messenger knows how to maximize the use of limited gifts. This time, the Oracle appointed Iso as its messenger and gave Iso the power to make his own decisions.

Iso led the Miduli State Mission to Delphi with a large sum of gold. He stayed in Delphi for more than a dozen days and went to see the sacrificial crowds and priests in front of the temples every day, but never gave it away. Just a day before the festival, on the road to an ancient temple in the mountains, a rolling rock blocked half the mountain road - it had been out of repair for years.

The stones are huge and people need to walk around as they pass by, and Iso sits not far away watching. After dusk, he finally stood up. At this time, a priestess came from under the mountain. The woman's strength was not small. She took half a day to move the stone away, and found the gravel to fill the pit on the pavement. At this time, it was already dark. Iso watched her walk into the Temple of Thymes.

The next day, Iso came to the Temple of Themis with a full plate of gold and found the priestess: “This is a gift I gave to the Temple on behalf of the State of Miduli, which is enough to rebuild the mountain road leading here. ”

The priestess frowned: "O kind and generous man, speak first of all to the gods. ”

Iso laughed: "It is a temple dedicated to the spirits, but the people who use it are priests in the temple. ”

And the priestess said, "But that road leads not only to this temple. ”

Iso placed the gold on the altar and saluted to the priestess: "But I only saw you. ”

The following day, the Delphi Oracle Festival was officially held and, as a Messenger accredited by the City State, Iso also attended the Festival and offered a gift to the Spirit. The so-called sacrifice has a dual meaning: the ritual ceremony, and the sacrifice of gifts to the temple, while Iso only attended the ceremony and did not send gold.

It was the Delphi Oracle of the year that Apollo sent down the Oracle, declaring that some of the messengers of the cities and states blasphemed and offended the gods and would be punished by the gods. The Delphi Priests will send messengers to find this man and bring formal charges against him. When the priest announced the news, the great scripture was silent, and people were talking about who was the apostle who blasphemed the gods to be punished?

After the ceremony, Iso set off to return to Miduli, where he offered the priestess a full plate of gold only a small portion of the offering, and most of the other gold was left untouched, a move that naturally provoked Delphi's priests. The mission's entourage was also very disturbing, but the Oracle gave Iso the power to decide, and they were not allowed to interfere.

The gold that was dedicated to the gods was brought back to the city state, something that had never happened in the history of Miduli. When people heard the news, they were worried, and Iso did so while offending the gods and the priests of Santa Delphi, it might bring disaster to the city state. In the Temple of Urban State, Iso was questioned by the House of Lords as well as by representatives of citizens, asking him to explain his actions.

Iso explained: "I did not disobey the Oracle, which gave me the power to make choices in this temple and to dedicate gold to the gods and temples that I thought were worthy of dedication. I already answered, I have my god, and I don't want to say his name here. I was also faithful to my duty, as a messenger of Mitulli, to Delphi, and it took me ten days to find only one priest who really needed this sacrifice, and as for the rest of the gold, I brought it back to the city. It was raised by the merchants in Miduli, and since there was no contribution, it should be returned to the merchants. ”

People's emotions boiled down, and even the merchants who took out the gold were scared and angry when they found that the gold they had given had been returned by Iso. In their view, this is tantamount to losing the opportunity to pray to the gods, or the gods reject their prayers. This was all caused by Iso, who cursed Iso and filed a joint complaint with the City Court demanding severe punishment!

There are also bystanders who are smart enough to believe that Iso brought back the gold because of greed and selfishness, and that the gold was returned to the merchants to buy the hearts and minds, because Iso himself was the one who paid the most for it.

Iso argued: "You want to sue me in the name of faith, but you don't know the price to pay to guard it. The Oracle here gives me the power to make choices, and the choices I make are in keeping with my convictions, and your accusations are the price I pay. The Oracle made this arrangement, and you are the ones who are accusing me. ”

It was at that time that the envoy of Santi Delphi arrived in Miduli, where he saw the scene and found that Iso was the one who blasphemed the gods, as pointed out in the Delphi Oracle, and lodged a public complaint against him. In the circumstances, Iso's defence was useless and he was brought before the City State Court for trial.

The trial had its own proceedings, and the apostle from Delphi was named Antonio. The Delphi Oracle did not mention Iso's name, and Antonio wanted to accuse him of proving to the world that Iso was the man.

Antonio then investigated many of Iso's past events in Miduli and made formal accusations against him - propagating new spirits, poisoning and corrupting the younger generation.

If this charge is found, combined with the performance of Isodelphi, then there is no doubt that Isodelphi will become the one who blasphemed and offended the gods in the Oracle. The judge presiding over the trial was a friend of Tyrus, who allowed Iso to defend himself until the verdict was rendered.

Instead of explaining what he did, Iso told another story in court about a wolf and a sheep. The wolf is upstream and the sheep are downstream, and they drink water in the same river, and the wolf accuses the sheep of soiling the water they drink. Whatever the sheep explained, the wolf ate the sheep. Because it's not about discussing with the sheep who dirty their water, it's about eating the sheep.

Some were puzzled, others were provoked by Iso's attitude and cursed him for contempt of court. But the judge understood what Isaac meant and frowned and asked: "Are you no longer defending yourself? ”

Iso nodded: "I have defended myself and did not violate the Oracle. ”

The judge said with some regret: "You did not violate the Patronus' message, and the Patronus gave you the power to make your choice, and you made your choice. But your choice has provoked people to pay a price, and not violating that message does not mean that you are not guilty, and I will find you guilty. ”

Taylor suggested publicly: "According to the City Decree, Iso has the option of apologizing to the Spirit and paying a sum of money to the City State to atone for his sins. His actions did not violate the substantive interests of the people here, and if so, please stand up, otherwise the Tribunal should give Iso the opportunity to make that choice. ”

The judge asked: "The merchants of Miduli, Iso, have brought back the gold that you have paid, but have not been greedy, nor have you been deprived of your right to sacrifice to the gods. The Messenger of Delphi is here, and you can bring your own gold back to the Holy Land. If anyone thinks I'm wrong, stand up. ”

No one stood up, and the judge said to Iso, "I give you a choice, and you can offer a sum of money to the temple for atonement. ”

Iso laughed: "Well, I'll give you thirty silver coins. ”

Everyone stood still, Iso, the wealthiest businessman in the city of Miduli, who had offered only thirty silver coins to atone for his sins! The judge frowned and asked, "Why is there so much money? ”

Iso laughed: "Because it's only worth so much! ”

* * (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote on recommendations, monthly tickets (qidian.com) and your support is my biggest motivation.)