Cabals of a dead god

The next day, Rufus and his friends were ready to depart the Iron Feather. Suomi, who had slept on the Golden Hind instead of in the shah's palace, was already waiting for them.

"Come on, guys. Let's get going," Suomi called out, eager to leave.

"She's just grumpy because she had to sleep on a hammock and not on top of a hundred soft pillows filled with swan's feathers," Joan teased, as they all had slept in the most luxurious beds they had ever experienced.

As they readied for departure, the shah looked on as if he were seeing them off. They all waved goodbye, except for Suomi.

"You know, Rufus defended you against the shah. Caused us all a heart attack while doing it," Edward whispered to Suomi.

She stared at Rufus, her opinion of him changing slightly.

~~

They were heading to the city of Ctesiphon, the capital of the Qajar shahdom.

They saw that the world of Isra had two continents, as Burzin had explained. The one in the west was inhabited by the Sassanid nations, of which Qajar was by far the most powerful. Its capital, Ctesiphon, was enormous, twice the size of Nicea during the time of Emperor Ala.

As they got closer, they saw the layout of the city. Ctesiphon had a large temple, in which the Sassanids would worship Xerxes, their god. Many people waited in line, hoping they could pray inside so their god could possibly hear them.

This temple was still smaller than the one in the center of the city, a large building with a fireplace at its top, but with no fire lit.

Soldiers guarded the temple, not letting anyone enter.

"I wonder why they are guarding that temple?" Liana wondered.

"It looks abandoned, like no one has used it in years," Amala observed.

"It must be an old temple of Cyrus. The head god of the Sassanid pantheon," Doreen thought.

"Then why is it abandoned and no one is allowed inside?" Liana asked.

"Because Cyrus is dead. Killed by Iskander. A mortal from my homeland," Doreen said, her voice filled with reverence.

King Cyrus, a ruler of the Parsana Sassanids, was a powerful leader who united all of his people from the mountains and plains of Parsana. He declared himself as the first king of kings and set out to conquer all other kings from different Sassanid cultures. The Essyrians, to his west, were the first to fall under his might. Their grand cities were occupied, and Cyrus banned slavery, which was a common practice at the time. He then turned his attention to the nomadic Scethian tribes of the steppes. The once-feared steppe Sassanids were now kneeling before their new king of kings.

Cyrus was a man of many wives, one from the Essyrian cities and one from the Scethian tribes. These two women bore him two sons, Xerxes and Arslan. Born on the same day and raised as twins, these two brothers would play a significant role in their father's empire.

But as the years passed, a dark shadow fell over Cyrus. A powerful demon known as Iblis, the great white demon, had captured and tortured him for years. Though he was saved by a hero, the experience left Cyrus a changed man. He no longer trusted anyone and took out his anger on the humans living on the world of Khosran. There, a community of Olympian humans had settled, allowed to worship their own gods by the tolerant Cyrus. But, consumed by fear, he demanded they worship him instead, and when they refused, he killed them all.

This act angered a previously unknown king on Olympus, named Iskander, who descended to the world of Sassan with his silver shields.

Iskander was a powerful king from the world of Olympus. Along with his father, who was also renowned, they had succeeded in conquering much of Olympus and other worlds that were part of the Olympus heaven. All had been conquered or subdued except for the gods themselves. After his father's passing, Iskander was determined to prove himself as a leader of extraordinary ambition. He had a burning desire to travel and conquer new lands. What fueled him was to achieve the impossible and to see the limits of himself and his men. He was driven by a sense of destiny and purpose and believed that he was destined for greatness. His ambition was not only focused on territorial expansion, but also on bringing knowledge, culture, and wisdom to his people.

To this day his stories and travels are read by many. One such book of his travels was also in the bookshelf of emperor Ala.

After a fierce campaign, Iskander faced off against Cyrus at the Battle of Gaugamela. There, Iskander mortally wounded Cyrus, and his army was forced to flee along with his two sons. Cyrus died at the palace of Babylon, with Xerxes by his side while Arslan traveled to the Scethian steppes to gather his warriors for a counter-offensive against Iskander.

"Why are the Sassans no longer allowed to worship Cyrus?" Liana asked her voice heavy with contemplation. "Why are they denied the comfort and guidance of something that could bring them all together?"

"It is because," Doreen began, "worshipping a dead god is a perilous game. It gives rise to fanatics and zealots, who band together in cabals, following a deity that no longer exists. These worshippers, consumed by their faith, become easy prey for manipulation and can be turned into a weapon of mass destruction."

"But why?" Liana pressed.

"Because to many rulers, and even gods, nothing is more terrifying than a population that has lost touch with reality, controlled by a faith that is no longer real," Doreen explained. "It serves as a reminder that true power lies not in the worship of gods, but in the control of one's own beliefs and actions."

"Or by gods who control the people with an iron fist, dictating their course in life and even their possible life after death," Suomi added, sounding like she spoke of her own experience. "It is a reminder that true freedom can only be found within oneself and not in the shackles of blind faith or oppression."