The Concealment of the Gods
The murder took place in Thebes, the capital of Eygut. The victim was a mage, and it happened at such a sensitive time. Although no clues were found about the murderer, the most direct suspect and mastermind was John. People couldn't help but suspect him.
Pharaoh was furious. If John dared to do this, he would be out of control! After investigating John's background, it turned out that he was a guy who dared to do anything. Pharaoh sent messengers to the Cape States for questioning, mainly investigating two things. One was whether John said that Pharaoh's order was bullshit, and the other was whether he sent someone to kill the priest.
John received Pharaoh's messenger in the barracks. After hearing the purpose of the messenger's visit, he pulled out his sword and cut the table in front of him, scaring the messenger to death. Rod-dick was also at the side, worried that John would hurt Pharaoh's messenger in a moment of impulse, so he quickly stepped forward to dissuade him. John pushed Rod-dick away and said, "Don't worry, I just want to clarify things."
Originally, it should have been the emissary interrogating Hardedef, but in the end, it became Hardedef interrogating the emissary. He asked a question, and the emissary answered honestly, clearly explaining the cause and effect of this matter.
John replied with a sneer, "I did say bullshit, in front of Pharaoh's messenger. I am a soldier. Even if I don't agree with the order, I will carry it out at the time. You can reply to Eygut's military like this. As for the priest's death, it has nothing to do with me. I won't use this method to take his life, I will only fight him directly. If he is still alive, I will kill him. You can reply to Pharaoh like this. "
Just like that, Pharaoh's messenger left the Cape States. But before he left, he accepted a large sum of money from Rod-dick. Lord Dick asked the messenger to mediate between them and make some minor changes to John's answer. John did say that it was bullsh * t, but that was to scold the messenger for speculating on Pharaoh's intentions without permission, and not to directly target Pharaoh's orders. As for the murder case in the Royal Capital, no one could say anything about it since there was no solid evidence.
Several important members of Eygut's military, such as Vladmir and Ankh, were also very dissatisfied with Pharaoh's investigation of John. John's family was also involved, but in the end, the punishment was not severe.
The priest's death was not necessarily related to the impeachment of John. He owed a lot of gambling debts when he was alive, so it was hard to say what the murderer's motive was. It was hard to investigate without any concrete evidence. John was indeed rude to Pharaoh's messenger, and his words were inappropriate. He was demoted to reflect on his mistakes, and the An-Ra Legion's commander was temporarily held by Rod-dick.
John was promoted three times because of his military merits after the war. Now that he was demoted, it was equivalent to a promotion of two ranks. However, he did not become the commander of the legion. Rod-dick had it hard. After Julien's death, the Lord of Eygut became the chief priest of the Cape States. He had just stepped down as the commander of the Legion of Sète, but now he had to take on the responsibility of the An-Ra Legion's commander. It seemed that he had great power in the Cape States, but if anything went wrong, he would have to bear the consequences himself.
The Empire's official decision to punish John was to "demote him to reflect on his mistakes, and wait for conscription". At the same time, it was emphasized that the decision was made because of "his meritorious service to the country, so he should be given a light sentence". The official document also added a sentence: "He has failed to live up to the expectations of the Supreme General Ah, and should apologize to the Supreme General."
The hidden meaning of the document was obvious, for the sake of the face of the Supreme General, John should be given a light sentence. John had made a meritorious service, so it was not appropriate to punish him heavily. However, he could not be arrogant because of his military merits.
Since John was asked to apologize to the Supreme General, John did not bother to report to the military office after returning to Montefiore. He directly followed George to the Supreme General's place. After listening to the whole story, the Supreme General shook his head and sighed. He asked John: "Why did you answer the messenger of the Pharaoh in that way? Anyway, there was no record of magic at that time, so there was no proof. If you stubbornly refused to admit it, no one would be able to catch you. Moreover, the impeacher is dead, so it is not convenient for others to stand out in public and continue to pester you. "
John said flatly: "What I said is what I said. Even if the Pharaoh asked me personally, I would still answer the same way. If it was not bullshit, why did he retract the order and appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the battlefield? As soon as the war was over, he wanted to punish people, and when he was looking for people to die, he thought of you! "
The Supreme General frowned: "But why did you swing your sword in front of the messenger of the Pharaoh, and even cut the table in half? If it were not for Rod-dick's mediation, the frightened messenger would have gone back to add some crimes, and you would not have been able to bear it. Was the irritation and impulsiveness in your heart unable to be suppressed, so that you lost your calm? "
John replied seriously: "I was indeed angry at that time, and I could feel the restless power, but it was no longer out of control. It was like the potential that existed at any time, and I could use it freely. That sword was just to show my attitude. Although I was angry, my heart was very clear, very calm, and I knew what I should do and how to answer. "
The Supreme General stared at John for a long time, and suddenly laughed: "After you recovered from your serious injury, you have changed a lot. It is a great achievement to keep your mind calm in the midst of the restless power! It seems that you don't want to be the head of the legion, so you took the opportunity to escape. It doesn't matter even if you are demoted by one rank. "
John laughed and said, "Yes, it's all thanks to your guidance all this time. I've finally broken free from the double shackles of my body and mind. I've never felt so relaxed before. That restless power can no longer drive me. Instead, it has integrated into my body and mind."
The Supreme General stood up and said to George: "The three of us used to be the three chief officers of the An-Ra Legion, and today we get together here. Let's have a good drink tonight, and also celebrate John becoming a supreme warrior!"
George also laughed: "It turns out that the Supreme General also saw that John has advanced to a supreme warrior, I deliberately didn't mention it just now."
John, on the other hand, was a little shy: "This achievement cannot be compared with the Supreme General and the High Priest. What about Medanzo? He is also a supreme warrior, he should be here, I really want to drink with him. "
Unfortunately, I sent him out on an errand a few days ago. If General John is willing to stay here for a while, he will naturally be able to wait for his return. "
That night, the three drank and chatted merrily together. John felt that sitting in the small hall was not lively enough, so he simply ordered the servants to set up a large tent in the open space, set up the banquet there, and called the guards to eat and drink together. The scene was very lively, as if they had returned to the time when the army was on the march.
John was drunk and was helped back to rest. After the banquet, George called the Supreme General to the small hall alone, handed him a beautiful copper box, and said: "Supreme General, this is the ancient book you wanted to see. Only a supreme mage can open this box intact without destroying the contents inside, so I personally brought it here and took it out in front of you."
The Supreme General said with some embarrassment: "It's hard for the High Priest to come in person, I didn't expect this ancient book to be so particular. When I was in the Archives, I only knew that it was locked in a cabinet, but it turned out that there was a mechanism in the cabinet. "
George smiled bitterly: "It's because of Supreme General's face, otherwise it would be impossible for this kind of ancient book to leave the Temple of Isis. If you want to see it, it's not impossible, but you have to go to the scene yourself and you can't take it away. I told Lady Holy Nv, and she asked me if I wanted to come here to relax. I said yes, and she sent me here with the ancient book, and then I have to be responsible for taking it back myself. "
Ah was slightly surprised: "What ancient book is this?"
George was stunned: "You gave the file number, don't you know it yourself?"
Ah smiled awkwardly: "I have been to many places and heard a lot of rumors, but I only know that there is such a file number, but I don't know the content."
George glanced at him: "Where do you know so many strange rumors? Forget it, I don't want to ask, you can read it if you want! To be honest, even I have not seen this ancient book. According to the Archives' index, it is an ancient myth and legend, and may involve the hidden past of the gods, so it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the lies. A myth like this that may be disrespectful to the gods should be destroyed, but this book is a collection passed down since ancient times, so it was sealed. I checked the records, and the last time someone borrowed it was more than 200 years ago! "
Ah asked curiously: "So, this box has not been opened for at least 200 years?"
George looked at the box with a strange expression: "According to the records of the Archives, it should be so. As for whether anyone has opened it during this period of time, I don't know, it is not in my hands all the time …. Now that you mention it, even I am curious. After you finish reading it, I will also take a good look. "
Both of them were proficient in advanced message magic, so of course the box was sealed by magic, but the traces of the seal were obviously from recent decades, indicating that someone had opened it without registration. As for who did it, it was most likely Bair, but they tacitly did not mention it.
George opened the copper box in front of Ah, took out a roll of pale yellow documents, and then went back to rest. Ah took the scroll back to his bedroom, did not light the lamp, and opened the window to read it in the moonlight, with his eyesight now, he could read it clearly.
The scroll was written on papyrus paper hundreds of years ago, slightly incomplete, but still very well preserved. Surprisingly, it turned out to be written in a secular language rather than a divine text. The notes were slightly messy but neat, in the format of a poem, and the content seemed to be an ancient myth and legend recorded by a folk poet.
The first long poem told the story of the goddess Isis and the god Ra. In this long poem, it claimed that Isis was the first human to master language, and that Ra was the ancient god who ruled the world and was also the first sun god of Eygut, who symbolized the rise of life and hope.
Isis made a snake out of sand, placed it in the place where Ra patrolled every day, and bit the god. Ra was poisoned and felt great pain. Isis came to him and sang: "O God, have you been bitten by a poisonous snake? Language has the power of wisdom, it can overcome pain, please tell me your original name and the hidden language, so that you may be healed. "
Ra replied: "I am the ruler of heaven and earth, the creator of the gods, and as far as the horizon you can see is my realm. I am called An at night, Ra by day, Hepri in the morning, and Atum at dusk. "
Isis added: "This is not your original name, please tell me the real secret, and all this pain will disappear."
So Ra spoke his original name and the hidden language, and Isis gained his magical power, became more powerful than Ra, and became the patron goddess of Montefiore and all of Lower Eygut, while the ancient Ra retreated to the clouds at the source of the Nile River.
This long poem made Ra blink. Many parts of the story told by the wandering poets hundreds of years ago were specious and difficult to understand, such as "language," "original name," "hidden language," which may have other meanings, or were just the poet's imagination of something he did not understand. Some were absurd, but there were also some symbolic shadows.
In this poem, it was clearly mentioned that Isis was once a human being, not a god. According to Ra's understanding, it should be that Isis had mastered some kind of cultivation secret, which was the "language," and obtained the secret of becoming a god from Ra, which was the "hidden language." As for the "original name," it may refer to something else.
How did Isis gain the power of Ra? Was it just the imagination of the wandering poets, or was it an exaggeration of folklore? But Ra clearly remembered that Schrödinger once said that she wanted to find a person who could both save her from trouble and not seek divine power to restrain her. It seemed that there was really such a thing, but she did not know the mystery behind it!
Ra shook her head, temporarily put aside the doubts in her mind, and went on to read the next long poem. The content of this poem was somewhat contradictory to the previous one, and it may be a different version of the legend among the people. It was about the "family" of the Ennead.
Ra was the oldest god of creation among the Ennead, born in the Lotus of the First at the source of the Nile River. Ra spat out the god of wind "Shu" and the god of water "Fu" from his mouth. Shu and Fu gave birth to the god of earth "Geb" and the god of the sky "Nut". Geb and Nut gave birth to four gods, namely "Osiris", "Isis", "Neftis", and "Seth".
The name of Horus, the god of Eygut, was not mentioned in this poem. It was already clear to Ra that the relationship between the gods was not the same as that of the human world, it was just that people understood it that way. In this poem, Isis and Ra were separated by several generations, and her divine power did not come directly from Ra.
If these two poems were read in conjunction, one could make a conjecture that Isis gained power from Shute and Geb, and then used this power and other means to defeat An-Ra, obtain An-Ra's secrets and divine power, and become the supreme Queen of Queens. After Ra's retirement, Horus, the son of Isis, became the king of Eygut, and occupied the position of the main god among the Ennead.
Ah turned to the third long poem, and the story turned out to be the battle of the ancient gods. It turned out that this kind of conflict also broke out between the Ennead. Some of the plots in the poem were still inconsistent and contradictory with the first two poems. The characters in the story were not like gods, but more like a record of a human court struggle, just like what was happening on the continent today.
It was said that Osiris became the most powerful god and was known as the king of the gods. He symbolized fertility, controlled the life and death of all things, established the Empire of Eygut, and was honored as the Pharaoh. His younger brother, Seth, was the protector of the royal power, but murdered Osiris by trickery and became the king of Eygut.
Seth put Osiris in a coffin and threw him into the Nile River, and Osiris's wife, Isis, went through untold hardships to retrieve her husband's body. When Seth found out, he cut Osiris's body into many pieces and threw them in different parts of Eygut. Isis recovered all the parts of the body piece by piece, except for a piece of blood, which was said to have been eaten by fish in the Nile River.
Isis became pregnant next to Osiris's body and gave birth to Horus. Isis raised Horus and taught him power. With the help of the other gods, he defeated Seth, reclaimed the throne, and became the new king of the gods, the king of Eygut forever.
The poem did not end here, and there was a sequel. Isis found Osiris's broken body in the swamp and desert with the help of Neftis, and Osiris was resurrected. The papyrus was a little damaged here, and it seemed to say that Osiris's soul reappeared, and seeing that Horus had become the king of the gods, he returned to the Underworld and became the god of the underworld of the Ennead.
After reading the third long poem, Ash looked out of the window and fell into deep thought. The content of the poem was naturally processed by the poet's imagination, but a few things could still be confirmed, and the legend was not groundless.
The people of Eygut did not eat fish, nor did they fish in the Nile River. It was said that the fish in the Nile River had the blood of Osiris in their bodies. This river led to the Underworld, and Osiris was the protector of the Nile River. The annual flooding of the Nile River, the withering of vegetation, symbolized the cycle of life and death, and also symbolized Osiris's resurrection.
The poem mentioned that Osiris's body was divided into many parts by Seth, and some of his blood was eaten by the fish in the Nile River, which was the origin of the current custom of the people of Eygut. Another unmistakable piece of evidence was one of Osiris's ribs, which was now in Ash's hands. It was a sacred object that Bair had stolen from the Temple of Isis.
It seemed that Osiris had given up his original body and did not return to the world, but became the god of the underworld. Did he have a new body, or was it an existence like a soul? Ash did not know.
The Pharaohs Of Eygut were known as the Horus of the world during their lifetime, and Osiris of the underworld after their death. They had to build magnificent mausoleums for themselves, and their bodies could be preserved for a long time after special treatment, hoping to be resurrected like Osiris, which also proved the existence of the myths and legends from long ago.
Ash sighed and lowered his head to read the last chapter, which mentioned the story of the Eygut Cat Goddess, Bastet. Seeing this, Ash finally understood why Schrödinger wanted him to read this ancient book. The secret of her losing her divine power and being sealed may be hidden in this ancient legend.
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