special ledges were lamps made of clay, came up to a niche in the rock, where there was a pile of straw, a bed for a young Cretan, next to a simple clay amphora, covered with a lid, in a special stand and a lamp with oil. The young man threw his bag with a blanket, a new holiday chiton, put a bow and arrows next to it, and Homer’s hymns, recorded on linen, parchment was expensive.
– Sing, drink a cup of an amphora infusion, but not more than one, otherwise you will die. Tell about the visions. Wake up at dawn, teachers will come to you. – she finished in a stern voice, holding her hands in front of her, and looked from the young man to his simple bed.
– Thank you, Kallifena, – Nearh said, turning to the priestess.
– No for that yet. Do not be afraid of dreams and visions, they can be real.
The girl left and Nearh saw how she was already climbing the stairs, it wasn’t so good without her, the priestess was beautifully built, beautiful, and the archon’s son became interesting not only as a mentor or a keeper of secrets, so he sighed heavily and opened his bag There were several flat cakes, honey, cheese, flint, a hair comb, a spare string, a wooden scoop, a new beautiful clothes, bandages and medicinal herbs. He took out a ladle, poured there a decoction of amphora and drank the infusion. He sat for a bit, but did not die, as he secretly feared (who knows what the witches had on his mind), looked at his hand, did not seem to shake, grinned at his fears, ate a cake with honey and some cheese, got out, drank from the stream, scored water in a scoop at night, and looked around. In the distance was a small house, an ordinary earthen hut with a reed roof, apparently serving as a refuge for the priests of God. He promised himself that he would go there the next night without fail. When he returned, undressed and wrapped himself in his veil, he thought about home, father and mother, brothers and sisters, and wished that everything would be fine with them. Especially nothing dreamed of, only the hometown of Lato, the wine-colored sea. Soon dawn came, he fell asleep, got up, went to the stream to wash, got dressed and ate, even read a little of Homer, his beautiful chants. Soon a man came a little above average height, strong but not powerful physique, about thirty years old, without a beard with long dark hair, about which he led two horses, a bay suit, and not so much breed.
– Hello, Nearh, I am a teacher of military skills, at the temple, with me you will become a skilled rider, spearman, shooter, swordsman, you can even outrun Fidipid if he were alive. My name is Diokles.
“Hello, teacher,” said the young man after seeing the mentor, a tall and strong Cretan.
– Sit down on a horse, we will drive along the path where we will study, and you will run every day, morning and evening. – the teacher said.
They rode alongside a trot, and Diokles showed how to change the horse’s gait, how not to injure it, and so that it wouldn’t be able to drive the horse, Nearch learned a lot of new things for himself. They dismounted, and, taking wooden swords and undressing, began to dance to the pyrrhus, and then fence them with a shield and without a shield, with a dagger and a sword. Some racks. with a sword, blows and biases, he saw on the ancient seals, depicting a warrior with long hair, striking his enemies with a deft attack.
– Remember Nearh, fencing with a sword on a horse and on foot, is different, especially when you try to put a gift on the infantryman. Not in vain Athenians from a horse act only with darts, and the sword is in extreme cases. – taught his experienced fighter. One evening Diokles came to him with a long pipe in a precious wooden case with loops of silver.
“The disciple went, the sky is clear,” said the tutor, and impatiently began to push him forward, they rose from the cave, upward, the sky was clear, the stars shone around, and the moon hung full.
“Sit on the stone,” the teacher ordered him, and he opened the elongated casket and took out the receiver, stretched out the narrower end, and stretched it to the young man, he carefully took the device in his hand.
“Look at the phone on the moon,” said an agitated voice. Nearh did not believe his eyes. Diokl approached him and adjusted the smaller pipe and the youth’s eye, and the image became clear, he saw dark dips on the moon.
“Now find Mars,” the tutor added, and he pointed it in the sky, the student put the phone in there, saw the red planet as a small circle, not as a star, and two points nearby.
“Thank you teacher,” Nearhs mumbled in shock, “and our masters are great, I saw glass with jewelers, but that…
“You don’t need to tell anyone, student,” said Diocles clearly, hiding the phone in the chest. “And now it’s time to sleep,” and patting him on the shoulder in farewell, went to sleep in a small house, and Nearhh was still looking at the night sky. And only much later he was able to come down and fall asleep.
Then they usually fought, practicing cunning blows and exits, all from pankration. In the evening Kallifena came, and began to instruct him in the knowledge of hymns, read logograph lists of geography where the edge of the earth was, the boy was wondering, because he was the son of a navigator, did not know much of what she read to him. So his teaching was held day after day, he became much stronger, began to shoot better with a bow, although every Cretan archer, like the navigator, handled the sword quite well. At night, every time he drank a cup of infusion, but nothing has happened to him so far. Two months of intense training and exercises took place, and so one day, following in succession, as usual, Nearh was finishing his dinner at a stream of cheese, cakes, honey, dried grapes and a cup of infusion, it was time to go to sleep at home, to the cave, counting Already her home, he already wanted to sleep, stretched before going to bed a couple of times, and at the bushes on the path, saw a kingfisher sitting on the branches and looking at him attentively, a lizard rustled through the ground, circling around a dozen bees that were not humming angry, and did not try to sting him, with the sacred r Oors suddenly began to crawl after-hour, very thick fog, driving him to a cozy cave, and the adept hurried to take refuge in his shelter, where he felt quite comfortable on the straw, covered with a raincoat and a blanket, and quickly fell asleep. At first nothing dreamed of, but there was a heavy oblivion, then a white-marbled face flashed and an ashen scythe, and then a girlish figure appeared, very tall, much taller than Nearh and the face was covered with a hooded raincoat thrown over the body.
– Is that what you are called Nearh? – Immediately, without delay, the sleeping maid said, “Have you come to pass the tests?” she spoke to him in a deep, low voice. – And I was going to sleep here for seventy years! – she laughed merrily, so that in an emotional outburst she took the cloak over the floor, with difficulty breathing, continued,
Néarch also became cold, and could not move his hand or foot, as if he were icy.
– Oh, the mood immediately lifted.. You are intended to help the Chosen One, I must show you Top and Bottom, World of Gods, Tree of the World, Sacred Source. Come, take me by the hand, and do not let go, otherwise you will be lost, and I will not save. – said the maiden of dreams. Gather courage, with a stiff hand, the adept took Elicia’s right hand with his left hand, and the world spun before his eyes, this unimaginable feeling lasted for almost a minute, the young man would wake up, but it was impossible, and then, something implicit seemed to try to release his hand the envoy, immediately earned himself quite a divine headset, and I must say very weighty, and the maid whispered: “Don’t you dare, not only will you die, disappear without a trace” – Nearh opened his half-closed eyes, tried to look around. Under it was a stony ground, with some growing bushes, with pale flowers that smelled hardly, but very nice, everything was implicitly and indistinct around, as if thick with thick smoke, and this smoke did not dissipate. Several steps passed, and in front of them the immense table of a gigantic tree fell out of the mist, and only at a barely visible height could one guess in the haze of a branch covered with huge leaves. The sky was gray, everything was hidden by clouds, and the sun was not visible, there was also no wind at all. The place is uncomfortable, the young man thought, he looked back at the maiden, but he still didn’t