the mood immediately lifted.. You are intended to help the Chosen One, I must show you Top and Bottom, World of Gods, Tree of the World, Sacred Source. Come, take me by the hand, and do not let go, otherwise you will be lost, and I will not save. – said the maiden of dreams. Gather courage, with a stiff hand, the adept took Elicia’s right hand with his left hand, and the world spun before his eyes, this unimaginable feeling lasted for almost a minute, the young man would wake up, but it was impossible, and then, something implicit seemed to try to release his hand the envoy, immediately earned himself quite a divine headset, and I must say very weighty, and the maid whispered: “Don’t you dare, not only will you die, disappear without a trace” – Nearh opened his half-closed eyes, tried to look around. Under it was a stony ground, with some growing bushes, with pale flowers that smelled hardly, but very nice, everything was implicitly and indistinct around, as if thick with thick smoke, and this smoke did not dissipate. Several steps passed, and in front of them the immense table of a gigantic tree fell out of the mist, and only at a barely visible height could one guess in the haze of a branch covered with huge leaves. The sky was gray, everything was hidden by clouds, and the sun was not visible, there was also no wind at all. The place is uncomfortable, the young man thought, he looked back at the maiden, but he still didn’t see the face, only the blinding darkness under the hood. -We are at the place of choice, this is the World Tree. I live here, and Brother Ulls as well.
“It’s dark here,” Nearh said, “and where is he?”
– I will not answer your question.
“You are not ready, so you see it so far,” answered Elicia. -Look, here’s the creek and the well near the Tree. – she said these words.
And he saw the light, and the fog cleared, and he saw the most beautiful meadows covered with flowers, there was a wonderful scent of flowers in the air, butterflies fluttered, and sometimes they circled around the goddess, creating just a spiral of aerial flowers, the sky was dazzlingly blue, the sun shone, but There were two lionesses lying across the tree, looking attentively at the Cretan, and even further, previously taken just for boulders, griffins with golden manes and wings were sitting, sometimes opening their beak, but not announcing the surroundings with their legendary scream that kills all mortals. A golden chain twisted around the tree, one end of it reached the sky itself, where it was lost in the clouds, and the other descended to the ground, curled among the huge roots, roots, or rather tufts of roots, there were three, and looking below, he experienced an incomparable the horror – the Cretan saw the infinitely coiling rings of the Great Gray Worm, or the Serpent, or the Dragon, the Great Kronos Himself, or Python, whatever you call it, everything is one. It is through his rings that the souls of people slide into the realm of the Dead over the Ice Bridge. A source of water was knocked out of the ground next to the roots, and right there was a well, and Elicia called everything, so her words were imprinted in the memory, and they could not be forgotten, the maiden called him Urd, and the fact that this is a source of living water.
“I saw the Golden chain of Homer, as he wrote: “I did not touch the Golden chain, “said the young man with sadness in his voice,
“Do not be sad, sailor,” said the Virgin, “if I allowed you to touch her, you would have a different fate.”
– So it is a good place, my fields, beautiful meadows and flowers, can see the souls of those who did not do evil, and what the souls of those who did evil see here have you already seen- Wet Drizzle, good people see the Champs Elysees,
– So what am I angry? Nearh asked, and I will suffer forever without birds singing, the beauty of flowers and the blue sky?
– You are shown in part how my world looks, but you have not died, and you cannot be here, and you see it with my eyes through my will.
– Why can’t I see you in reality?
– It is impossible, I can be among people only when I will be embodied in human essence, or only in a dream, and seem to be chosen.
“What are you looking at my back there?” He would have sworn that she was laughing if darkness could laugh. – Are you looking for my wings under a raincoat? With the wings did not work, you excuse me, navigator.
– So you were born on Earth, like a man, madam?
– And not once. But I will not say the rest, I will prepare you for the trials. You will have to guess the three riddles that Kallifena will give you, and remember that cunning is not forbidden, and then you will be cleansed with the ichor wine,
– What is ichor?
– The blood of the gods, I’ll show you, suddenly a fiery dagger flashed in her hand from nowhere, and she ran them around her wrist, Nearh frowned at the expectation of someone else’s pain, the pain of a girl, but the darkness instead of Elicia’s face was impenetrable, and then, from under the knife flowed jet of clear liquid. The son of the archon could not take his eyes off the current drops, which flowed down to the ground in a narrow stream, and had already twitched to stop, not blood, but something else…
– You have no scars, Nearh? asked goddess.
“On her forearm,” and without a word, she put her wrist to his forearm, and the recent wound that ichor ran on her eyes turned pale and the scar disappeared completely, and then touched the palm of his shoulder.
– What are you frowning? Look more fun! It does not hurt me, although I will not hide it pleasantly when they are worried about you. This is a memory for me, you will remember that it was not quite a dream.
Nearch began to wake up, but he could not open his eyes, it became noticeably colder in the cave, spasms held down the muscles, as if they had become copper, the body was filled with a feeling of no fear, no, something alien, nearby, and at the same time completely different, implicit and unclear. Finally, this thing left the cave, and Nearh could open his eyes, it was already light, and he ran to wash, and the gnomon showed the hour. Kallifen came, brought cakes and honey, a fresh towel, quickly flashed her eyes over the shoulders and arms of Nearh, then her pupils widened incredibly, as if she saw something important, but she gave no sign, not even a hint.
“Sit Notarh,” she said in an unusual and unusual, tender voice, and showed her to sit down on a folding chair, and he immediately tensed, feeling the hint,
– Did that good tonight? – asked the priestess and carefully looked into the eyes of the adept, not looking up.
“Not bad,” he said.
“Dreams must have been a good dream?” The priestess asked again.
– Interesting, said Nearh illegible, munching on a cake with honey, -And you cook well, I did not think that the priestesses are such masters.
– Eat on health, soon you will be going to go on the road.
– Already? I did not pass the test?
– Where are you, a hearty hand burned? she said, clutching at his right hand tenaciously, and showing him the burn from Elicia’s yesterday’s touch.
“And how, the goddess revealed her face to you?” – the young man slid an eye on his shoulder, and noticed a scar, rather a red spot in the form of a chicken’s foot, or a trident, only a very small one, which he did not notice yesterday.
Nearh attempted to break free, but in vain, despite the small stature, the priestess had
