Chapter 1's background information is a bit too much, thanks to book friend "Bō Ruò Shuǐ" for help, created a map of Tiān Shūo continent's background, marked all the place names mentioned in this chapter, it is recommended to refer to the map with the text content, otherwise it may be a bit dizzy
"Glorious, majestic, benevolent Isis, Mother of Hope, who bestows fertility on the earth and hope on living beings; Horus, King of Kings, whose splendor illuminates the world, protector of Egypt, eternal light that never fades; Noun, Father of Creation, born from the primordial lotus flower, creator of all things; Nine Gods of the celestial river, ruler of heaven and earth, hear my prayer! Only with a heart full of pure devotion can one attain the mercy of the gods. I offer everything to Isis, grant me the tears of the gods..."
Aikaterine-Maria prayed to the gods in a remote town on the border of the Hittite Kingdom, which was part of the great Egur Empire. In this desolate and isolated place, the town of Doukou was not small, with hundreds of households and two thousand residents. The mayor, Dastis, was a nobleman with the title of Baron of Hatti and also held citizenship in the Egur Empire, enjoying the privileges of an imperial citizen.
In such a remote small town, the identity of the mayor is so prominent, of course, because of its special position. Duketown belongs to the southernmost part of the Syrian city-state under the jurisdiction of the Hittite Kingdom. The three things produced by Syria are the most famous, and also the most important commodities for the Hittite Kingdom's foreign trade and the most precious tribute to the Egyptian Empire: iron, divine stone, and snow cedar wood.
Iron can be forged into the sharpest of weapons, especially when refined by skilled craftsmen into high-quality steel. The armor and swords forged from it are both sharp and durable, symbols of power, guardianship, and instruments for plundering wealth. Many countries on this continent produce iron, but production remains extremely limited, and the production and trade of iron are strictly monopolized by the authorities. Hatti's iron is the most famous, although the iron output of Du Ke Town is not high, it produces very rare high-quality steel, and almost all adults in the town are both miners and blacksmiths.
The snow spruce produced in the western plateau of Hatti, on both banks of the Yuji River, is the best material for shipbuilding after being processed by cold water soaking, sun drying, oil immersion and roasting. The ships made from it can sail freely in inland lakes, rivers and seas, not only for military expeditions but also for merchants traveling between countries. Douke Town does not produce snow spruce, although there are mountains where snow spruce grows just east of the town, but it is unimaginable to cut down the giant snow spruce and transport it out of the mountains.
The most important product of Duketown is not high-quality iron, but rather the divine stone. This thing is extremely rare on the continent of Tianzhuan, and the kingdom of Hati's Xuya State is one of the major producing areas, with Duketown accounting for nearly half of the total output of Xuya State. Every country on the continent of Tianzhuan needs divine stones, especially the high-ranking priests in various temples who have an extraordinary craving for them.
Many ordinary civilians and slaves did not know what the divine stone was used for, but only saw it inlaid on the staff of the priest or the armor and weapons of the noble warriors, seemingly a symbol of identity, wealth or divine power. The divine stone itself is also the most expensive circulating currency on the mainland, with one divine stone worth twenty times its weight in gold, and cannot be divided.
As a noble circulating currency, the most common standard divine stone is used, with its texture, size and shape being exactly the same, without any slight difference. Its weight is also the standard unit of measurement on the Tianhuan Continent, and the commonly used unit of weight "Mace" is equal to the weight of one divine stone. It is said that even the luxurious priests directly use divine stones as standard weights on the balance.
Aiko-Maria followed the chief priest and governor of her hometown, Rod-Dick, to Duke Town this time. What she prayed for in front of the gods was not an ordinary divine stone, but the legendary Tears of the Gods. Only by obtaining it could she gain recognition from the high priests of the Isis Temple in Dreamflight City and become a holy maiden who guards the goddess Isis. According to legend, only the purest call can communicate with the gods and obtain the Tears of the Gods bestowed by the divine spirit, which means that her identity has been recognized by God.
Aikka-Maria's prayer was so devout, but in fact, any divine stone produced on the continent of Tianzhuan, including the precious tears of the gods, were not bestowed by the hands of the gods, but were mined by human miners.
Maria's residence was at the southern end of the town, near the Temple of Horus, and was one of the most beautiful courtyards in the town. It was originally the place where the mayor lived. Like other cities on the mainland, the most important building in a settlement is the temple, which worships and sacrifices to the local guardian spirit. Whether the temple is magnificent or not is also a symbol of whether a city-state is prosperous or not.
The temple of Duketown can't be compared to those in the big city-states, but compared to other ordinary small towns, the Horus Temple here is quite magnificent. It was built with tall white giant stones and inlaid with dark green stone carvings. The white marble used for building columns was transported from elsewhere, while the cyanite that shone with a faint blue light was a specialty of the nearby mountains.
There are two main temples of similar size in the town of Du Ke, one is dedicated to the guardian god Horus of the Egyptian Empire, symbolizing that this land is subject to the Pharaoh of Egypt, located on the south side of the town, with a white marble body. The other is the guardian goddess Mu Yun worshipped by this land since ancient times, who was widely worshipped in Hatti and the Assyrian and Balu kingdoms in the northeast and southeast respectively.
The Hittite kingdom was a confederation of several dozen city-states, and although the Egyptian Empire conquered this region, in order to better manage it, Pharaoh Thutmose allowed the Hittites to continue worshiping their own guardian deity, without destroying the original temple, but at the same time ordered that they must also worship the Egyptian guardian deity Horus.
Maria prayed in her room on the second floor, every morning after getting up and washing, before lunch, and when night fell. She had been in Duketown for three days, piously and reverently, not a single detail was missed, even Gabriel, a temple warrior who had received the strictest training, couldn't help but secretly approve of her, thinking that she should meet the requirements of a holy maiden, and the gods might have mercy on her.
In the territory of the Empire of Egu, along the Roni River, there are two vast fertile lands called Upper Egu and Lower Egu. Gabriel is a warrior sent by the Temple of Isis in the capital city of Dreamflight, Lower Egu, to protect Maria, in response to the report and request of Lord Dick, the chief priest and governor of Cape State, Lower Egu. Anyone who has passed the trial of God and is qualified to become a candidate for the sacred maiden of the goddess Isis will be protected by the Temple of Isis.
Maria was praying when Gabriel stood at the entrance of the courtyard, with a heavy long sword hanging from her waist. The two sides of the sword's hilt were inlaid with divine stones. Even in an environment without danger, she still wore silver armor with a stern and solemn expression. From this position, you could see the emerald-green dome of the Mu Yun Temple at the other end of the town. Her mouth was pursed, and there was a hint of cold smile in her eyes that was hard to detect.
It's clear that the guardian warrior of the Isis temple doesn't have a good impression of the gods worshipped by other tribes, but Egyptra has allowed the original temple to remain here, so she can't say much about it. Her duty is only to protect Aisha-Maria, and not to interfere with others' affairs.
Gabriel's figure is slender and upright, sexy and with a strong beauty, her face has obvious characteristics of northern ethnic minorities, white skin, straight nose bridge, and eyes are charming blue. Golden curly hair falls on silver armor, gentle and resolute temperament is so harmonious. She is young and beautiful, but the children in the town who playfully throw stones at each other unconsciously keep a distance from this courtyard, not daring to frolic at the door.
When people see her, the first thing they notice may not be a very beautiful woman, but an invisible aura of confidence and pride surrounding her, as if full of power, without any restraint or disguise.
The only one guarding the courtyard was Gabriel, and the Temple of Isis had only sent her as a warrior to protect Aria Maria, one of the candidates for the Holy Maiden. But Gabriel also knew that in the nearby town of Tuk, in the temple of Horus, Rod Dick's personal guard was stationed, with sixty fully armed elite warriors.
It's clear that Lord Dick doesn't believe she can protect Maria on her own. Although crossing the desert between Egu and Hatti is fraught with danger, bringing so many elite warriors seems a bit excessive. Lord Dick, being a well-bred noble, didn't say anything, but Gabriel could sense his discontent.
Cadbury, however, was completely unbothered, not only due to his upbringing but also due to a noble pride.
……
At the other end of the town, in a small building near the Temple of Muses, Roddick held a wine glass and looked at Gabriel's courtyard from afar through the window. His brown eyes were deep and he was thinking silently about something.
It seems that this Temple Knight from Melfis is not accustomed to restraint, always flaunting her own power and aura. This is no wonder, as one of her duties is to proclaim the majesty of the gods. However, for a hereditary noble like Roderick Dick, this is not a good habit. People always need to hide something, they can't expose all their strength to potential opponents, only showing true power at the right time.
The struggle for secular power and wealth is always cruel, requiring constant preparedness, showing appropriate intimidation, and leaving room for adaptability.
Next to the small building where he was located, not far away, was the temple of Goddess Mu Yun. Lord Dick didn't think there was anything wrong with that, as the people on this continent were originally worshiping all kinds of big and small gods. Some were legendary gods, while others were guardian gods considered by local residents.
The Pharaoh of the Empire of Aegyptus claims to be the human incarnation and spokesperson of Horus, the son of the gods, and the divine king who rules over Upper and Lower Aegyptus. The traditional guardian deity of Lower Aegyptus is the goddess Isis, said to be Horus' mother, whose main temple is located in the capital city of Memfis. Almost every country on the continent of Tenria is under a regime where royal power and divine authority are combined, with monarchs claiming to be representatives of the gods. The Temple of Isis in Memfis is the most important center of power in Lower Aegyptus.
This time, the Isis Temple only sent one warrior to protect the Saint candidate of Cape Town, and Lord Dick was obviously dissatisfied, feeling that he and Cape Town were being underestimated. Cape Town is located in the northeastern border of the Egur Empire, closest to Balen and the Hatti Kingdom, with vast deserts outside its borders, incomparable to other fertile and prosperous city-states.
Its geographical location is very important, but this importance brings not all benefits to Cape Horn. Once a war breaks out, Cape Horn will be the first to suffer from the ravages of war. And in the seemingly peaceful years, it is also an important port for trade with the countries of the Northwest, full of countless opportunities.
Now the Hatty Kingdom is subject to Egypt, but Lord Dick has also vaguely heard that many city-states of Hatti are not reconciled to this fate and want to unite in secret resistance. It happens that the Isis Temple selects a holy maiden, and Lord Dick naturally hopes that this holy maiden will come from the Sea Cape State, which not only means glory for the state but also hopes that the power of the Isis Temple and all Lower Egypt can better protect the Sea Cape State in case of conflict.
Dick certainly didn't want Maria to have an accident, so he brought his most elite personal bodyguards with him. Such a force was obviously redundant for protecting just one person crossing the desert, and Dick of course had his own plans. At a young age, he became the chief official and chief priest of Cape State, holding the great power of combining politics and religion. Apart from his noble birth, he also relied on his own abilities to maximize the benefits of any situation.
The Temple of Isis only sent one person, which is good, it saves a lot of bribes. When Dick saw Gabriel, he felt that this warrior guarding the temple was different from many greedy priests, she was like a proud little rooster, who would not deign to accept any bribes, and apparently, she didn't seem to have any concept of wealth either.
Gabriel seemed to be unaware of the value of the long sword hanging at her waist, which was so expensive that it would not protect her but rather attract thieves if she were to walk alone. Gabriel came to Cape Town from Dreamflight with such a long sword, and even Rod Dick felt surprised, lucky for her to arrive safely! Perhaps it was because the thieves along the way knew her identity and did not dare to offend the Isis Temple.
With so many close guards and attendants, in the name of protecting the Holy Maiden and serving Lord Gabriel, the large caravan was naturally equipped with all kinds of supplies, mainly the most popular fine wines and delicacies in Duketown. With Lord Gabriel present, the border checkpoints between Egu and Hatti would naturally let them pass without any inspection, nor would they collect any taxes.
The residents of Du Ke Town who mined the divine stone had to hand it over to the city-state in the form of taxes. The law of the city-state stipulated that for every ten pieces, one piece belonged to them, which was their reward. At the same time, Luo De Di naturally also knew that Das Ti, the town lord of Du Ke Town who held the power to collect taxes, would not be so selfless and must have kept a lot for himself.
The Godstone is a currency that circulates, valued at twenty times the weight of gold, and it's the same in Duke Town. However, Duke Town's products are both rich and barren, except for producing Godstones and iron, the barren land only grows a small amount of wheat to sustain people, all other living necessities and luxuries need to be transported from outside. And its location is really too remote, everything transported here costs many times more than elsewhere.
The people of Duketown may not be aware that they are perhaps the richest residents on the continent of Tianzhuan, and this is also the place with the highest prices on the continent. Although the taxes collected on the merchant roads are heavy, a successful transaction can still bring in thick profits.
To provide cover for the goods being transported to Duke Town, Dick also organized a merchant caravan from Cape City to travel with his convoy. The merchants were naturally willing to follow Lord Dick's convoy, which was equivalent to having absolute safety guaranteed, saving them the cost of hiring mercenaries. With Lord Gabriel and Lord Dick present, the tax officials at the checkpoints along the way would not extort them maliciously but would handle matters in a fair and public manner. They were filled with gratitude for this benevolent Lord Dick, as many noble officials would not treat merchants so kindly.
At dinner time, Lord Dick had just had a pleasant conversation with the mayor of Dartmouth, and even more pleasant was the transaction between them, both parties were very satisfied. In addition to the divine stone, Lord Dick also purchased precious high-quality iron from the mayor, which was smuggling, a secret that was not worth mentioning to outsiders, and the two men kept it tacit in the midst of fine wine and delicacies.
The transaction was pleasant, but Roddick didn't like the place, especially since it was filled with a smoky and unpleasant smell that made him feel uncomfortable. He felt anxious, not knowing how much longer he would have to wait.
He brought Maria here not only to make a deal under the guise of this name, but also with another motive, which is to obtain the Tears of the Gods. The high priests of the Isis Temple announced an oracle to the outside world, that one of the Tears of the Gods would be bestowed upon the mortal realm, and the person who obtains it will become the Holy Maiden protected by the Goddess Isis.
Roderick had his own thoughts on this, the Tears of the Gods were nothing but a more precious divine stone. If it really appeared, the most likely place would be where the divine stones were most concentrated. So, taking advantage of the geographical location to rush to Duke Town and wait in ambush was the most likely way to get there first. This was also a gamble, but this gamble had its benefits whether it succeeded or failed, and if it succeeded, everything would be perfect.
He told Mary that he had received guidance from the goddess Isis in a dream, and Mary relayed this to Gabriel, persuading the temple warrior to cross the desert border and come.
Maria arrived in Duke Town, praying devoutly every day, while Lord Dick, who fabricated the lie, was getting impatient. In this small town where iron forges were burning everywhere, the harsh environment made it unbearable for Lord Dick to stay even one more day, and he couldn't help but think of the legend of the Tears of the Gods again.
He was already somewhat drunk, muttering to himself: "Is it the will of the gods or a fabrication by the priests? When did this ancient oracle start circulating? It's just a stone, no matter how precious, just a useful stone. Instead of praying to the gods, I'd rather ask for help from miners. Does getting the tears of the gods mean being a holy maiden? Then what about the miner who extracted it, could he be some dirty old man?"
Just then, a gust of wind carrying the warmth of the fireplace blew in from outside. Dick shivered inexplicably and sobered up, hastily placing his hand on his chest to pray: "Great Isis goddess, my thoughts are not disrespectful to you, but just sincere expressions."
Just then, Roddick suddenly froze, as if he felt something - a mysterious power fluctuation that was both strange and unfamiliar. The unpleasant warmth of the fire and the inexplicable chill seemed to have been soothed by some kind of comfort. Tracing the source of the fluctuations, it came from a certain household on the edge of the town.
Rhodan-Dick immediately put down the cup and shouted: "Fajol, come in quickly, the tears of the gods may have appeared, you go and do as I say!"
……
Gabriel, who was standing solemnly, suddenly lifted her head and gazed in a certain direction of the town. She felt a mysterious yet familiar power fluctuation that slightly shook the air, which was both subtle and clear. Her eyes flashed with an inexplicable comforting light, and she turned back to glance at Maria's window.
……
A crisp "ding" sound, followed by a faint humming noise that lingered in the house for a long time. Armand held a heavy pickaxe and struck it against a fist-sized, dark-glinting round stone.
The iron hammer looked so heavy, with a sharp whistling sound falling down, but when it landed on the stone surface, it became light and airy, as if it were just a feather, only making a faint "ting" sound.
Amon held the large hammer with a somewhat comical posture, his grip position was very forward, from his wrist to his elbow, his entire upper arm was stuck to the handle of the hammer. He wasn't very tall, after all, he was only fourteen years old this year and hadn't fully grown into an adult yet.
But his muscles were solid and robust, tightened when swinging the big hammer, and the bulging muscles seemed to have a small snake wriggling on them. According to the ancient rules of Duketown, children of his age did not yet qualify to mine divine stones alone. Using Duketown's unique hammering technique to open this painstakingly mined ore was the final and most crucial step in obtaining divine stone.
But today he had no choice but to do so at home, because his father got drunk again, his hands were shaking uncontrollably and couldn't control the hammer, and tomorrow he must hand over a divine stone.
Xu Gongzi's note: The background information of the first chapter is a bit too much, thank you to book friend "Fan Ruo Shui" for helping me create a background map of Tian Xuan Continent, marking all the place names mentioned in this chapter. It is recommended to refer to the map while reading the text, otherwise it may be a bit dizzying:
Character Appearance Table for This Chapter
Aiko-Maria: A saint candidate from the Cape of Egu Empire, who may become the guardian saint of the Isis Temple in Muehlberg City. The Egu Empire is divided into two territories, Upper and Lower Egu, with Muehlberg being the capital of Lower Egu.
Dastiti: The mayor of the town of Tukulti, which is located on the border between the Hittite kingdom and the Syrian city-state, the Hittite kingdom being subject to Egypt.
Rode-Dick: The lord of Egou Kingdom's Cape City-State, governor and high priest.
Gabriel: The Guardian Warrior of the Temple of Isis in Dreamflight City.
Amon: The son of a blacksmith in Du Ke Town.
This chapter's divine system background —
Horus: The principal god and king of the Egyptians, Pharaohs were considered to be Horus' earthly embodiment and spokesman.
Isis: The mother of Horus in mythological legend, the guardian deity of Lower Egypt, and the holy mother worshipped by the Egyptians.
Muyun: The goddess widely worshipped in the Hittite, Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms, the guardian deity revered by the people of Du Ke since ancient times.
