to his bag and poured out ground willow bark from there, and put this powder in a mug of boiling water. Soon the potion was ready, he stirred it with a spoon, it was wooden here, like so much around, quite comfortable, and when the infusion cooled, he drank it. The Cretan man took out his notes, read what he had written down about the river way, and undressed for bed. In the hands of a northerner held two dishes of fine work silver, brought by Arifarny as a gift many years ago. He turned them to a Cretan figure, he looked up, and saw Alexander, ascending on gryphons and a chased portrait of Elicia, made from his drawing.
A Cretan lay down to sleep, having taken another willow infusion, his heart hardly hurt, lying on warm furs and covered veil was just great, and after a hard long road and bath, he quickly fell asleep and saw the one he dreamed about. It was cold again, even under bear furs, his head was like on fire, he almost did not breathe, his chest was squeezed by steel hoops. She came, this time right away, in all the splendor of her beauty, put her hand on his forearm, her eyes looked intently at him, and smiling at him, said:
– You finally came home a sailor, and you have been waiting for a long time. Your ship is on the shore and your wanderings are over.
Temple of fate
The evening came, it quickly became dark, and the archon of the city of Lato was supposed to reach the temple of Latona. He was not alone, but as befitted, with a pair of slaves walking with torches lighting his way. The shrine was already white nearby, and the ruler was allowed out of the brass door, leaving his companions outside. “They can’t,” said the high priestess. Androtim, who came to Latone for his traditional prayer, offered gifts, and the priestess accepted them. The subjects were taken by a young priestess, but judging by the dress, already initiated into the sacraments. The girl looked like an old ivory statuette of Elisia, holding two snakes in her hands. The face and the statuette, and the young priestess were similar to the people of the far North, where the archon’s grandfather made a pilgrimage to the banks of the sacred river, and visited the most ancient shrines, including the city dedicated to the goddess Lato, as well as his own city ruler. My grandfather met there even pilgrims from faraway Iran, who brought rich gifts to the gods. The attendants had already lit the lamps, and the high priestess went away with gifts to the pronaos, placing the offerings at the feet of the goddess. The statue was beautiful, made of wood and ivory. It was not for the first time that the archon glanced around the temple, the ocher walls, the bronze statues at the entrance, for some reason lingered on the doors. The chants soon subsided, and the sovereign was preparing to leave, when suddenly…
– The mountain gave birth to a favorite under the lucky star!!! He came again! – it began to scream that very young priestess, inexpressibly changed in the face. She shivered, convulsions beat her, and she, holding the bronze lamp standing next to her, continued:
– Saurokton! Savior! The one that was expected! He will not be defeated! He will bring the law again! It will pass all tests, go all the way to the end! And the bull, and the river, and the secret!
And already falling, said the last:
“And at the very end she will meet her sister.”
The sovereign rushed to help, but the elder priestess overtook him, and together with the servants they carried, but rather dragged the insensible body to the tabernacle and to another door from the temple, further to the room nearby. The archon waited, did not leave, he himself was horrified – it’s one thing to know that there are gods, and another to get confirmation of this. He waited for the elder priestess, who came with a helper, carrying something on a tray covered with a veil. She tore the cloth from the shrine, which had been hidden before, and ordered:
– Swear! I implore all dear to you!
The archon, accustomed to what he orders, and accustomed to reverence and submission, nodded without thinking, agreeing…
– I swear… That I will not reveal the secret.
“Not only…” said the priestess. “You swear that you or your son will help him in everything.”
Here the archon was seized with fear, he was not afraid of any battles, nor the autumn sea, was seriously afraid and proud to become a companion of the Messenger of honor, and at the same time bitterness and ruin.
“I’m ready,” he said, firmly pressing his lips.
– Not you. Your son. Now he will be called Nearh. Then you send him to the temple in the Cave of Idea, the mentor will instruct him when he grows up. – she turned to the priestesses, and looked at everyone.
– We are blessed.. For many years we did not have a seer. Swear on everything that no one will reveal secrets, or Latona and Elicia will punish you. said the priestess solemnly, raising the burning torch upwards.
Initiation Nearh
The young man walked alone, as he was commanded.. On foot, as a petitioner, and carried his uncomplicated load on himself, as well as a message for a priestess who would meet him at the Sacred Trail. He liked his native land, it was springtime, and Crete was always particularly beautiful at this time, with many streams, beautiful forests and fields, the road did not seem dull. The son of the archon was thinking about what he had to learn, and how long he would linger for the dedication.: “I hope not for fifty years, as Epimenides… Although, who knows, and my father swore for me. “The young man imagined how he would go into the cave, they would prepare his cell, he would read Homer’s chants, and fall asleep by fifty, no, sixty, or even seventy years. Then he will wake up, but his mother and father won’t (even scary to think), he has a beard up to his knees, and his name is to take damage from some city, or to expel the plague, or the Council will send him to the North, to Elisha’s homeland with gifts, and maybe Ullis himself will help him in his travels… And he will meet the mistress of the Mountain, Beautiful Elicia, solve three riddles, and she will leave him with him. “Dreaming, the young man stumbled and fell on his palms, slightly scratching them, but managed to turn his face away from the stone, not just because his teacher trained. At home, the Teacher tells about the secrets of science, and the tutor teaches me to wield a weapon. “I will soon become an ephebes and dedicate my hair Ull. “Approaching the plateau of Nida, where the idea trail begins, he gazed at the view of the mountainous plain below the plateau, the area covered with bushes and trees seemed magnificent, but he turned and walked along the path overgrown with bushes on either side. There were beautiful flowers and poppies, just unusually red here. Well, where the flowers are, there are bees, but not one stung the young man, they just flew around him with a clear interest. Moving so, the young man moved to his goal, and near the huge cave throat, the adept finally saw the priestess, his mentor. She was a beautiful girl of twenty, with uncovered hair, as befitted a priestess, in a white dress and gray cloak, with a hairpin at her left shoulder. Nearh approached her and called out:
– Hello to you. I came according to the father’s vow and the order of the priestess Latona of our city, Lato. I am the son of the archon, Nearh, must pass the tests and initiations. “I am ready, madam,” the young man said bravely, almost not stammering with excitement.
– Already? Only appeared already and the feat amiss? – the girl replied, in a poetic way, taken aback by surprise by the young man, who did not know what to answer to the girl. Usually, Nearhs didn’t get into his pocket for a word, but here, it seemed, the speech he had spoken about himself wiped out of his memory so many times, and he blushed painfully, and squeezed out of himself:
– I was instructed by the priestess before the path to the ideological sanctuary, I came alone and without a servant, as it should.
– I see.. – she answered meticulously, – Brought with me food? Wooden bucket with you? You can get drunk in the creek. You will spend the night in a cave, and in the morning I will come and instruct you, except for me there will be three more teachers, I will introduce you to them. – the girl said this, and smiled, and the smile painted her extraordinary face.
– What is your