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

"Styphon's Own Voice is the head of the Styphon's House and is presumedтАФlike the Pope on most
Europo-American time-linesтАФto speak for their god and rule the Temple. In actuality, Styphon's Voice
is typically a figurehead chosen to represent the interests of the Inner Circle of Archpriests, a closely
connected group of thirty-six Archpriests which includes the highpriest of each Great Kingdom High
Temples of Styphon."

Dras turned to the visiscreen and they were shown the innermost chamber of the Great Temple where a
dozen yellow-robed Archpriests were surrounded by kneeling pensioners and penitents. "Only on rare
occasions will Styphon's Own Image will speak to the multitude. These believers are attending the great
idol in the hopes that Styphon's Golden Image will speak and answer their questionsтАФbelieve me, they
pay a lot for the privilege of waiting.

"The current Styphon's Own Voice, His Divinity Sesklos, was an activist until the past year when Lord
Kalvan's rapid military successes discredited his leadership." The visiscreen showed a wizened old man
with a beaked nose and ice-gray eyes dressed in a red robe. "For the past decade, Sesklos has been
promoting his handpicked successor, Archpriest Anaxthenes who has now emerged as Speaker and the
dominant member of the Inner Circle. On the Kalvan Control time-lines it is presumed that Anaxthenes
will follow Sesklos as Styphon's Voice.

"One of the true believers, Archpriest Roxthar, has attracted our attention because he's become a pivotal
player within the Inner Circle on Kalvan's Time-Line. However, this is not the case on the Kalvan
Control time-lines where Roxthar is viewed as a crackpot by the other Archpriests of the Inner Circle
and his harangues on Styphon's Divinity are greeted with derision. Only on Kalvan's Time-Line has
Archpriest Roxthar become one of the major power centers or created his Office of Holy Investigation,
to seek out Kalvan fostered heresy within Styphon's House. Thus, it is now evident that Archpriest
Roxthar's rise on Kalvan's Time-Line is a direct response to the threat Kalvan poses to Temple's
continued existence."

A beefy professor with a red face shouted: "Next you'll be telling us you are a supporter of the Great
Man in History theory!"

Danthor cocked his head, ran his fingers through his hair, looking thoughtful. "It's still too soon to draw
any definitive conclusion, but I will admit the evidence is pointing in that direction."

Sirna couldn't have been more surprised if the Scholar had admitted to friendship with Verkan Vall,
membership in the Management Party or relations with a barnyard animal! The red faced professor and
the rest of the audience were shocked into silence. Was what she was witnessing possibleтАФa tenured
University Professor rising above his prejudices and the group consensus of the Dhergabar herd?

Danthor acted as if the interruption had not occurred, continuing on with his talk. "Now before we get
any further into Styphon's divinity, let me inform you that Styphon and his prime competitorsтАФDralm,
Galzar and YirttaтАФare not the only gods on Aryan Transpacific, Styphon's House Subsector. The
original Indo-Aryan invaders, who called themselves the 'Zarthani,' a contraction of 'za-aryan-thani'
meaning in their language 'the noble people,' brought with them some twenty-five to thirty gods and
goddesses. Many of these 'original' deities have since disappeared from popular consciousness as their
worshippers have declined and are nowremembered only in curses, old sagas, legends and yarns. These
days there are only twelve True Gods and four DemonsтАФfive if you count Styphon as a Demon as many
of Dralm's worshippers do. Although some of the so-called True Gods, like Phydros, God of Wine and
Music, and Lytris, the Weather Goddess who is worshipped primarily by sailors, have a small or select