Mars Underneath The Sceptre of Eternity

Love and Duty

The Dei Maneret or temple of the Sea God was located at the end of the Scarlet Ville village. Ergonn decided to have some words with the Grand Seer in private. So, just after the commencement of the second phase of the Eagle Guard contest; he had left the palace on his horseback along with D'eimeonn and Arold; his two closest followers. He was missing desperately the alien from the Earth, but he was not in a proper mental state to accompany him anywhere. Ergonn felt bad for the man; Amerik really loved the woman, named Volga. Ergonn suddenly thought about Oeilna; could he love her like that or he should love Deodara instead. Prince Amorah's proposal had put him a new dilemma.

Ergonn increased the speed of his brown horse; asked him softly to run faster. His horse 'Windblown' listened to him and started racing towards the white building of Dei Maneret. D'eimeonn and Arold left far behind and Ergonn crossed the Palace's frontier boundary. He had also noticed that Arold was having problem in controlling the horse. D'eimeonn was not good at horse riding; after all he was a thrall in his early life and no one taught him horse riding. Though Arold was a warlord's son, but he might not be habituated in plain land; after all they were mountaineers.

The magnificent white building of Dei Maneret appeared before Ergonn. The village road was empty and no contestant was allowed today to come in this way. Ergonn got down from his horse and slowly appeared before the main entranceway of Dei Maneret. He asked a stable boy to look after his 'Windblown'.

Ergonn started climbing up the steep stairs of Dei Maneret; he was feeling lighter and comfortable in simple hunting attires of dark brown coloured hunting breeches and white coloured high necked, full-sleeved doublet than moving with jewel embedded kingly attires. He was feeling comfortable in leather boots instead of metallic shoes. He loved simple clothes and simple lifestyle. So, he hardly, preferred to wear expensive ornaments like his predecessors and his circlet crown was the only ornament, he had to wear all the time to appease his men.

Ergonn hurriedly climbed up the stairs and reached to the top of the raised platform of the Dei Maneret. He saw seers, novices and the Trainee Seers were moving here and there with large books and parchments.

On the raised platform, there was an open hall, crowded with men and women in grey robes, practising funeral songs; they were the chorus-singers, Ergonn thought. However, none of them moved or bend down their heads to see the King. Inside the Dei Maneret, no one was allowed to bend his or her head before anyone, except the Sea God and the Grand Seer.

Ergonn looked at the end of the hall, where a wooden spiral staircase without railings, leading towards the inner part of the building. He walked towards the staircase and started getting down towards the temple yard. The Dei Maneret had two tier structure. The outer raised platform and outer hall leading to the outer courtyard of the building. The outer courtyard was a square shaped place where residential quarters for novices and the Trainee Seers were located. Those were minor brick structures; four storeyed buildings with a series of small one-roomed apartments. After that outer courtyard, one had to cross an arch shaped entranceway ' The Divine Arch' to enter the inner courtyard. Ergonn crossed The Divine Arch', which led him to a well-maintained garden. He stepped onto the white tiled pathway, which divided the garden into two halves. Both sides of the pathway had small plants full of colourful flowers and small conical fountainheads were standing at a regular intervals. Those fountainheads spat water only in the hour of twilight for watering the plants.

Without noticing all those beauties, Ergonn hurriedly ran towards the centrally located conical roofed white stone building. It was the main temple where the idol of the Sea God was kept and the Grand Seer resided. Like all other buildings; this building also had no engravings or paintings on its walls or roof. Simplicity was the beauty of the building. Ergonn entered the Sanctum Sanctorum through a small rectangular door and found himself inside a big oval shaped chamber, which had four doors at four sides and no other opening for ventilation. However, the architectural design of the Sanctum Sanctorum always kept the inner temperature moderate and air circulation active. It was one of the architectural wonders of this planet.