"Ronald Green - Great Kings War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Ronald)

"It was Highpriest Trythos who contrived the first primitive handgunтАФa metal tube cradled in a wooden
stock which shot a stone pellet." Dras reached down and picked up a golden statue, which he then took
to the first row of seats and handed to one of the professors. "Trythos was pronounced as the first
Styphon's Own Voice and devised the Inner Circle of Archpriests as a means to protect the Fireseed
Mystery. This is Trythos' image recorded in gold. The statue bears a striking resemblance to Styphon's
Great Image in the Great Temple at Balph, made several decades after his death, where the Inner Circle
of Styphon's House meets. Styphon's true believers see this as proof that Styphon himself was the author
of the first handgun.

"Please pass it to your neighbor after you've had a look at it," he admonished the professor who
appeared mesmerized by the statue.

It took several minutes to reach her row, but Sirna found the small gold statue to be very heavy and
cold, but vibrant with a life force all its own. The work was vaguely Babylonian, reminding Sirna of some
of the stonework she had observed from Fourth Level Babylonian Hegemony, Assyrian Subsector that
she had studied in her Empires Frozen in Time class. The beard was long and braided; whoever had
made the moldтАФprobably using the lost wax methodтАФwas a talented artist. The face looked almost
real; there was an arrogant sneer to the tiny lipsтАФprobably made after Trythos was elevated to the top of
the Temple hierarchy. All the Archpriests she'd seen on spool had shared the same look of innate
superiority.

Once everyone had been given the opportunity to examine the idol, Danthor continued, "Styphon's
House was quick to exploit their new discovery. To the Zarthani of that time, it was a fearsome unearthly
weapon from the gods. Styphon's House used that superstitious awe to destroy their enemies and reward
their allies.

"The rest, as they say, is history. It took Styphon's House a century to go from mealed fireseed to
corned, or black powder, and another century and a half to evolve the firing mechanism from the early
matchlock handguns to flintlocks. Firearm technology has remained in a state of stasis ever since as
Styphon's House can discern no advantage to making their weapons more efficient. In fact, there's
evidence they've held back the evolution of firearms, such as cast cannon with flintlock mechanisms, to
keep the military forces from developing more effective arms. Through their control of military
technology, as well as the supply and dispensation of fireseed, Styphon's House has been able to keep
the majority of the inter-kingdom conflicts small and contained, preventing any decisive wars that might
establish peace and lessen the Great Kingdoms' dependence upon Styphon's House.

"The Temple Archives do not contain any documents regarding Styphon's divine beliefs or revelations at
all; in fact, there's a conspicuous lack of normal priestly records of revelations and devotions in the
Temple Archives. Other than Styphon's Way, a series of homilies that pass for divine revelation, there
appears to be a conspiracy of silence over the whole issue of Styphon's godhoodтАФexcept when it
comes to Styphon's oracle. As I already mentioned, in the Great Temple of Balph resides the other
'miracle' of Styphon's House, Styphon's Great Image"

Danthor paused and dramatically smacked his lectern for emphasis. "This is no small statue, either; it
rises up over three stories and is bathed in enough gold to feed the Five Kingdoms for an entire year!
When the Temple faces a problem, the righteous flock to the Great Temple, where the Golden Image, on
rare occasions, 'speaks' to the multitude. It's the usual primitive voice amplification with articulated joints
at the jaw. The 'secret' of Styphon's Great Image is so well guarded that only the head of the Temple and
the highpriests who rule the Great Temple and all its worldly possessions know that it's a fraud.