1. TWO vice-Gods had Sudga, Brihat and Visvasrij. Next to these, Sudga's heavenly chief marshal Atma, who had four thousand marshals under him, and equally divided amongst them to command, one thousand million heavenly warring angels. Atma had authority over thirty thousand generals and captains, to whom were allotted two thousand million angels.
2. Chief of the heavenly generals were: Shahara, Vasyam, Suchchi, Dev, Nasakij, Tvara, Watka, Shan, Dorh, Hudhup, Nikish, Hajara, Hwassggarom, p. 438 Viji, Yatamas, Brahma, Goska, Fulowski, M'Duhitri, Yaya-mich-ma, Hijavar, Duth, Lob-yam, Hi-gup and Vow-iska. And these falsely assumed the names of the ancient Gods and Lords of thousands of years before.
3. Sudga had said to them: That my age may be magnified before the newborn in heaven, ye shall also magnify your own names by taking the names of Gods and Lords who are revered in heaven and earth, for all things are free unto you. But into none others do I give privilege to choose the names of the ancients.
4. Sudga then made the following his Private Council: Plow-ya, Vazista, Kiro, Cpen-ista, Visper, E-shong, Bog-wi, Lowtha, Brihat, Gai-ya, Sa-mern, Nais-wiche, Yube, Sol, Don, Mung-jo, Urvash, Cpenta-mainyus, Vazista, and Vanaiti; and to each of them ten thousand attendants.
5. Then Sudga made two great captains, Varsa and Baktu, and he said unto them: Two thousand million angels have I allotted to go down to the earth, to the land of Vind'yu, to subdue mortals and have dominion over them permanently, and I divide the two thousand million betwixt ye twain. But all other angels shall remain in my heavenly kingdom and work for me, and embellish it, and beautify my heavenly cities, especially my holy capital.
6. Now, when ye twain are permanent on the earth, and secured in the temples and oracles, ye shall survey all the lands of Vind'yu, and the cities, large and small, and all the people therein. And, behold, all men shall be subdued unto my two names, Sudga and Dyaus; and when a city standeth, wherein the people worship any other Gods or Lords, that city shall ye destroy, and all the people therein. City against city shall it be, man against man; for as I am the all highest God of heaven, so will I be the God of earth, and its Lord. And ye twain, in finding two cities to be destroyed, shall divide, one going with his angel warriors to one city, and the other to the other city; and ye shall inspire them against each other unto death; and when they are laid low, ye shall bring into the place, to inhabit it, my worshippers.
7. Thus descended to the earth the two destroying captain Gods, Varsa and Baktu, with their two thousand million angel warriors. And they spread out about over the land of Vind'yu, where were many kingdoms and thousands of cities; and they came to mortals asleep or awake, and inspired them to havoc and destruction, for Sudga's sake.
8. And there were laid in ruins, in twelve years, forty thousand cities, of which thirty-seven were great cities. And chief of these were Yadom, Watchada, Cvalaka, Hoce-te, Hlumivi, Ctdar and Yigam, each of which contained more than one million souls, and some of them two millions.
9. In all of these there were places of great learning, and schools, and temples of sacrifice (worship). In Ctdar the roof of the temple was made of silver and copper and gold; and it had one thousand columns of polished stone, and five hundred pillars to support the roof. The walls were covered with tapestry, painted with written words and histories of heaven and earth, and of the Gods and Lords and Saviors of the ancients. Within the temple were seven altars of sacrifice, and four thousand basins of holy water for baptismal rites. Within the walls of the temple were niches for five hundred priests, for the confession of sins, and for receiving the money and cloth and fruits of the earth, contributed by the penitent for the remission of their sins. Through the central passage within the temple drove the king in his golden chariot, when he came for sacrifice; and the floor of this passage was laid with silver and gold.
10. In the centre of the temple floor was a basin filled with water, and the size of the basin was equal to twenty lengths of a man. In the middle of the basin was a fountain throwing up water. And on the east and west and north and south sides of the basin were four pillars of polished stone, with stairs within them; and the tops of these pillars were connected by beams of inlaid wood of many colors, polished finely, which were called the Holy Arch of Suh-hagda. On the summit of the arch was a small house called the Voice of the Oracle, for here sat the king's interpreter of heaven and earth, the reader of visions. And the spirits of the dead appeared in the spray of the fountain, sometimes as stars of light and sometimes in their own forms and features, and were witnessed by the multitude.
11. Within each of the five hundred pillars was a sacred chamber, for benefit of the priests communing with angels. In the east pillar was an opening from top to bottom, a slatway so the multitude could see through the pillar, which was hollow its entire height. This was occupied by te king's high priest or priestess, as the case might be, and this person had attained to p. 439 adeptship, so that the angels could carry him up and down within the pillar, even to the top thereof, which was equal to fifty lengths of a man. And the multitude thus beheld him ascending and descending.
12. In the west pillar was the library of the temple, which contained a history of its important events for a period of eight hundred years; of the priest and high priests, and of the kings of the city.
13. Next to the Temple, which was called Tryista, stood the House of Learning, where congregated the wise men and women, skilled in philosophy and music and astronomy and mineralogy. The House was made of polished stone and wood interlocked, and in the front with one hundred and forty columns of polished stone and wood. Within the house were the skins and bones of thousands of creatures, ancient and modern, which wre classified and named; and with these were books of philosophy and history, all of which were free to the public one day in seven. Next to the House of Learning was the Temple of Death, dedicated to all kinds of battles, battles betwixt lions and men, tigers and men, and betwixt lions and tigers, and elephants, and betwixt man and man. And so great was the Temple of Death that its seats could accommodate three hundred thousand men, women and children. The temple was circular, and without a roof over the arena. But the greatest of all buildings in Ctdar was the king's palace, commonly called TEMPLE OF THE SUN. This was also made of polished stone, and on the four sides had eight hundred columns of polished stone; and next to the columns were fifty pillars, on every side connected by arches twelve lengths high, whereon rested a roof of wood and stone; and yet on this was surmounted another row of four hundred columns of polished wood, inlaid with silver and gold, and these were connected to the top by other arches ten lengths high, and on these another roof, and on the top of this a dome covered with gold and silver and copper. From the arena to the dome the height was twenty-eight lengths, and the base of the dome across was sixteen lengths. To enter the temple from the west was a chariot roadway, so that the king and his visitors could drive up into the arena of the palace in their chariots. But as for the interior of the king's palace, a whole book might be written in the description thereof, and yet not tell half its richness and beauty and magnificence.
14. Besides these great buildings there were four hundred and fifty Temples of Darkness, dedicated to the spirits of the dead. These were without any opening save the door; and when the communers were within, and the door shut, they were without light. In the midst of these temples, spirits and mortals congregated, and the spirits taught mortals the art of magic; of making seeds grow into trees and flowers; of producing serpents by force of the will; of carrying things through the air; casting sweet perfumes, and casting foul smells; of casting virus to one's enemy, and inoculating him with poison unto death; of finding things lost, of bringing money to the poor, and flowers and food to the sick; of entering the dead sleep, and of becoming unconscious to poin by force of the will.
15. Nor could any man or woman attain to be a priest in the Temple of Tryista until he mastered all the degrees in the Temples of Darkness.
16. The angels of Sudga decided to destroy this city; and, accordingly, they inspired a war betwixt it and the city of Yadom, which was second unto it in magnificence, and possessed of temples and palaces like unto it also. Yea, but to describe one of these great cities was to describe the other, as to mortal glory. For seven hundred years had these cities lain in peace with each other, half a day's journey apart, on the great river, Euvisij, in the Valley of Rajawichta.
17. And the captain God, Varsa, chose one city, and the captain God, Bactu, chose the other city; and each of them took from their thousand million angel warriors a sufficient number, and inspired the two great cities unto everlasting destruction. Even as mortals turn savage beasts into an arena, to witness them tear and flay each other, even so sat these captain Gods in their heavenly chariots, witnessing the two great cities in mortal combat. And when one had too much advantage, the angel hosts would turn the tide, or let them rest awhile; then urge them to it again, holding the game in such even balance as would insure the greatest possible havoc to both.
18. Eight years these battles lasted; and hundreds of thousands of men, women and children were slain; and when thus the great cities were reduced, the Gods let loose THE BAND OF DEATH, whose angel office was to carry poison virus from the rotten dead and inoculate the breath of the living; and then in desperate madness make mortals p. 440 fire their cities, to keep them from falling into other hands. And in eight years the great cities, with their mighty temples, were turned to ruin and to dust; and of the people left, only the ignorant few, starving, helpless wanderers, could tell the tale of what had been.
19. Sudga had said: All knowledge amongst mortals is inimical to the Gods in heaven; therefore I will destroy all knowledge on the earth. And this was the same doctrine maintained by Te-in, God of Jaffeth.
20. In such manner proceeded the captain Gods of Sudga over all the land of Vind'yu, laying low all kingdoms, and cities, and places of sacrific, and places of learning. And in one hundred years the mighty people of Vind'yu were reduced to beggary, and to scattered tribes of wanderers. The great canals were destroyed, and the upper and lower country became places of famine and barrenness. And in the valleys and on the mountains, in the abandoned fields and in the wildernesses, lay the bones and skulls of millions of the human dead. And lions and tigers came and prowled about in the ruined walls of the fallen temples and palaces. Nor were there left in all the land a single library, or book, or the art of making books, or anything to show what the great history had been.
21. Thus perished the Vedic language, the language of song and poetry, and of great oratory. Save in a small degree, such as was preserved by the remnant of Faithists who had escaped through all these generations, still in secret worshipping the Great Spirit.
22. Hear ye next of Osiris and his dominions, and of Arabin'ya, and Parsi'e, and Heleste: